Ben R
@reben.bsky.social
Interested in 🇪🇺🇨🇳🇩🇪🇹🇷 politics & ☕️✈️🚀🍜🚄, CEE/East Med.
Does media stuff.
Once upon a time a teacher in 苏州市
Port of Dandong enjoyer
https://boxd.it/efgrhG
Does media stuff.
Once upon a time a teacher in 苏州市
Port of Dandong enjoyer
https://boxd.it/efgrhG
Pinned
Ben R
@reben.bsky.social
· Nov 21
🇹🇷 ❤️ Shots from my August trip to Ayvalik, a town in Balikesir province on the Aegean coast of Turkey.
An autonomous centre of Greek culture in the Ottoman Empire, it remained an almost entirely Greek settlement until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
An autonomous centre of Greek culture in the Ottoman Empire, it remained an almost entirely Greek settlement until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey.
November 21, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Reposted by Ben R
It was my great honour to go back on the Sinica podcast with @kaiserkuo to discuss the "economic thriller" that is Nexperia
Recommended if you want to go deep on the latest crisis in Europe's strategic autonomy
Thanks Kaiser for having me!
Recommended if you want to go deep on the latest crisis in Europe's strategic autonomy
Thanks Kaiser for having me!
Finbarr Bermingham of the SCMP on Nexperia, Export Controls, and Europe's Impossible Position
Sinica Podcast · Episode
open.spotify.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
It was my great honour to go back on the Sinica podcast with @kaiserkuo to discuss the "economic thriller" that is Nexperia
Recommended if you want to go deep on the latest crisis in Europe's strategic autonomy
Thanks Kaiser for having me!
Recommended if you want to go deep on the latest crisis in Europe's strategic autonomy
Thanks Kaiser for having me!
Reposted by Ben R
Russia once hyped the Kinzhal as an invincible superweapon. Now Ukraine is downing them by blasting it with music and making it think it's in Peru
Ukraine Is Jamming Russia’s ‘Superweapon’ With a Song
A few years ago, Putin hyped the Kinzhal hypersonic missile. Now electronic warfare is knocking it out of the sky with music and some bad directions.
www.404media.co
November 20, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Russia once hyped the Kinzhal as an invincible superweapon. Now Ukraine is downing them by blasting it with music and making it think it's in Peru
Finally decided to become a diabetic cyborg. Diabetes tech has come far since i last had a pump 15y ago. First impressions very positive; small, great OLED, actually good UI (a rare thing in a medical device). Algo-based, fully automatic real-time glucose data insulin delivery here we come.
November 20, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Finally decided to become a diabetic cyborg. Diabetes tech has come far since i last had a pump 15y ago. First impressions very positive; small, great OLED, actually good UI (a rare thing in a medical device). Algo-based, fully automatic real-time glucose data insulin delivery here we come.
Reposted by Ben R
Symptom dieser Regierung, die von unerfahrenen und beratungsresistenten Männern geführt wird, die keine zuverlässigen Mehrheiten in ihrer Partei haben und deren Vorstellungen von Zukunft eine Erinnerung sind an Deutschland 1993 irgendwo in einer mittelgroßen westdeutschen Stadt. 15/15
November 18, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Symptom dieser Regierung, die von unerfahrenen und beratungsresistenten Männern geführt wird, die keine zuverlässigen Mehrheiten in ihrer Partei haben und deren Vorstellungen von Zukunft eine Erinnerung sind an Deutschland 1993 irgendwo in einer mittelgroßen westdeutschen Stadt. 15/15
Kinda weird move after Berlin greenlighting the BAE Typhoon sale to Turkey.
The UK apparently favoring both Hanwha's bid for submarines in Canada and the Swedish effort in Poland appears to cause a bit of a stink with Berlin. Supposedly this is about Babcock having a stake in both programs. Anyway.
www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
www.tagesschau.de/investigativ...
Streit um U-Boot-Deals - Grätsche aus London
Der deutsche Rüstungskonzern TKMS hofft auf Mega-Deals: Kanada will zwölf neue U-Boote kaufen, auch Polen will seine Flotte erneuern. Nun sorgt die Positionierung der britischen Regierung nach Informa...
www.tagesschau.de
November 18, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Kinda weird move after Berlin greenlighting the BAE Typhoon sale to Turkey.
Some news on Nuremberg-Bayreuth. Bundestag budgeting committee is providing funds for electrification works, starting 2030. If and when the line to Cheb via Marktredwitz will be electrified as well, who knows. @jonworth.eu
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/frank...
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/frank...
November 18, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Some news on Nuremberg-Bayreuth. Bundestag budgeting committee is providing funds for electrification works, starting 2030. If and when the line to Cheb via Marktredwitz will be electrified as well, who knows. @jonworth.eu
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/frank...
www.sueddeutsche.de/bayern/frank...
Brought to you by the Melitta Benz Ultras.
November 18, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Brought to you by the Melitta Benz Ultras.
Reposted by Ben R
There's a great article to be written about Tech bros choosing literary or classical names for companies and completely misunderstanding the gist of the original text.
November 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
There's a great article to be written about Tech bros choosing literary or classical names for companies and completely misunderstanding the gist of the original text.
Reposted by Ben R
🇬🇷Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) informed the country’s top court that it could not locate its own internal documents from 2020 ordering the surveillance of @nasoskoukakis.bsky.social.
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
Greek Council of State Probes Missing Surveillance Files in Expanding Surveillance Scandal - Dnews
EYP informed the court that it could not locate the agency’s 2020 surveillance requests. A few months after Greece’s Council of State issued a landmark ruling in favor of PASOK leader Nikos Androulaki...
www.dnews.gr
November 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
🇬🇷Greece’s National Intelligence Service (EYP) informed the country’s top court that it could not locate its own internal documents from 2020 ordering the surveillance of @nasoskoukakis.bsky.social.
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
Reposted by Ben R
2/2
Earlier in the article, the FT notes that "on average, Chinese capital goods are 30 per cent cheaper than those of Europeans."
Perhaps not coincidentally, that's also roughly the amount by which many analysts believe the RMB to be undervalued.
Earlier in the article, the FT notes that "on average, Chinese capital goods are 30 per cent cheaper than those of Europeans."
Perhaps not coincidentally, that's also roughly the amount by which many analysts believe the RMB to be undervalued.
November 16, 2025 at 9:45 AM
2/2
Earlier in the article, the FT notes that "on average, Chinese capital goods are 30 per cent cheaper than those of Europeans."
Perhaps not coincidentally, that's also roughly the amount by which many analysts believe the RMB to be undervalued.
Earlier in the article, the FT notes that "on average, Chinese capital goods are 30 per cent cheaper than those of Europeans."
Perhaps not coincidentally, that's also roughly the amount by which many analysts believe the RMB to be undervalued.
Reposted by Ben R
Nothing makes me stop paying attention quicker than hearing or reading 'I asked ChatGPT...'
November 14, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Nothing makes me stop paying attention quicker than hearing or reading 'I asked ChatGPT...'
Reposted by Ben R
Anteile an der öffentlichen Nettostromerzeugung in Deutschland seit 2002
Daten bis Oktober 2025 und Prognose für November und Dezember 2025
www.energy-charts.info/charts/energ...
Daten bis Oktober 2025 und Prognose für November und Dezember 2025
www.energy-charts.info/charts/energ...
November 14, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Anteile an der öffentlichen Nettostromerzeugung in Deutschland seit 2002
Daten bis Oktober 2025 und Prognose für November und Dezember 2025
www.energy-charts.info/charts/energ...
Daten bis Oktober 2025 und Prognose für November und Dezember 2025
www.energy-charts.info/charts/energ...
Reposted by Ben R
Fires are visible in Novorossiysk following the overnight strikes, according to satellite mapping. Russian sources report Neptune anti-ship missiles were used in the attack.
November 14, 2025 at 8:13 AM
Fires are visible in Novorossiysk following the overnight strikes, according to satellite mapping. Russian sources report Neptune anti-ship missiles were used in the attack.
Reposted by Ben R
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports reut.rs/3WPJaqr
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled a plot by Ukrainian and British spies to tempt Russian pilots to steal a MiG-31 jet armed with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile for $3 million, state media reported on Tuesday.
reut.rs
November 11, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Russia says it foiled Ukrainian-British plot to steal a MiG-31 jet, state media reports reut.rs/3WPJaqr
Reposted by Ben R
This is interesting www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...
Italo gegen ICE: Die Deutsche Bahn bekommt Konkurrenz
Italienisches Rot statt deutsches Weiß: Gleich zwei Unternehmen wollen mit eigenen Zügen gegen den ICE antreten – und dabei Milliarden investieren und Tausende Arbeitsplätze schaffen. Auch die Passagi...
www.faz.net
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
This is interesting www.faz.net/aktuell/wirt...
Reposted by Ben R
The battle for Donbas is now fought with small arms and smaller drones, and men in teams of two or three. But the fighting is even deadlier than earlier in this war.
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
In Donbas, Ukrainian troops fight off endless Russian assaults | CBC News
In Dobropillia, a coal-mining town just a few kilometres from the front line with Russia in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, its few remaining inhabitants shuffle to find food or water under the const...
www.cbc.ca
November 6, 2025 at 4:32 PM
The battle for Donbas is now fought with small arms and smaller drones, and men in teams of two or three. But the fighting is even deadlier than earlier in this war.
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
I visited Dobropillya and spoke with some of its Ukrainian defenders, for CBC: www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...
“Meta’s research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 25 presentation by its safety staff est. the company’s platforms were involved in 1/3 of all successful scams in the U.S.”
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Meta earns $3.5 billion every six months from showing Faceboon and Instagram users 15 billion “higher legal risk” scam ad impressions a day, internal documents state.
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
That haul vastly exceeds how much the company expects regulators
To fine it for running scam ads.
www.reuters.com/investigatio...
www.reuters.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:25 PM
“Meta’s research suggests its products have become a pillar of the global fraud economy. A May 25 presentation by its safety staff est. the company’s platforms were involved in 1/3 of all successful scams in the U.S.”
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Tracks with Sarah Wynn-Williams depiction of Metas culture in “Careless People“.
Let's FedEx Cheneys warm corpse to Den Haag. Should be tariff free.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
November 4, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Let's FedEx Cheneys warm corpse to Den Haag. Should be tariff free.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Or at least put up some defamatory 2003 Iraq war protest memes in his honor.
Went to the only Lidl open on random Christian public holiday in this 1.7m town and this was the sad result (don't judge vegetable section was completely ransacked). That now makes 3! supermarkets that open on Sundays etc. A true world class city ready to host the Olympics in 36 this is.
November 1, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Went to the only Lidl open on random Christian public holiday in this 1.7m town and this was the sad result (don't judge vegetable section was completely ransacked). That now makes 3! supermarkets that open on Sundays etc. A true world class city ready to host the Olympics in 36 this is.
Trenitalia pondering to start long-distance ops in Germany according to Handelsblatt interview with FS CE (although 50 trains sound a bit much?). Hoping @jonworth.eu has some insight.
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
Handelsblatt
www.handelsblatt.com
October 31, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Trenitalia pondering to start long-distance ops in Germany according to Handelsblatt interview with FS CE (although 50 trains sound a bit much?). Hoping @jonworth.eu has some insight.
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/...
Reposted by Ben R
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
October 30, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.
Reposted by Ben R
Sorry no, Americans shouldn’t be posting at this time. Them’s the rules.
October 28, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Sorry no, Americans shouldn’t be posting at this time. Them’s the rules.
