Ryan McCarrel

Geopolitics & Geoeconomics | published in @foreignaffairs @diplomat_apac @opendemocracy @eurasianet | All the usual caveats.

[Sir Norman of Nowhere. 🏴‍☠️ @Normanjam67]

A new name for the working class, 'lower-value human capital'.
They don't give a shit about you and your family.

[𐌁𐌉Ᏽ 𐌕𐌉𐌌𐌉 @OrevaZSN]

We're in a weird era where a guy gets publicly shamed for running his sprinklers on a Tuesday, while a data center the size of a Costco quietly drains a reservoir so AI can generate a picture of your cat as a medieval knight. And the data center gets a tax incentive for it.

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

fixed it

[Eric Trump @EricTrump]

I am so excited to share the official rendering of Trump Tower Tbilisi.

With a prime location, in the heart of Tbilisi, this tower will quickly become a landmark as the tallest building in Georgia. This marks our first project in the region and we are so excited to bring it to life!

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

There's a law in Georgia that requires branded text of equal size on buildings to be in Georgian and English - so just to be clear it needs to say თრუმპ. Which is more like 'Troomp' because there's not really an 'uh' sound in Georgian, but I digress.

[Eric Trump @EricTrump]

I am so excited to share the official rendering of Trump Tower Tbilisi.

With a prime location, in the heart of Tbilisi, this tower will quickly become a landmark as the tallest building in Georgia. This marks our first project in the region and we are so excited to bring it to life!

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

Why not make the non-playoff teams play in a single elimination tournament for their pick order? The winner of the tournament gets the 1st pick. Teams could add incentives to player contracts to give players extra motivation to win. Problem solved. @KevinOConnor

[Kevin O'Connor @KevinOConnor]

During the NBA GM meeting this week, one person suggested make the bottom three teams ineligible for the top picks entirely. The league, per multiple sources, found this to be way too extreme. But then another person on the call offered a softer version of the same concept: What if the bottom three teams just had slightly lower odds than the teams ranked four through 10? Not zero. Just a little less.

Sources on the call say Adam Silver responded enthusiastically to this idea. Which speaks to the state of lottery reform. The 18 team/8% odds for the top 10 concept is simply still just the concept. The specifics of it will change by the time the league votes on it in late May. And adjustments — like this one — are still in heavy consideration.

I think it’s brilliant. Under that structure, with the bottom three teams having slightly worse odds, there is no longer a single point in the standings where losing helps you. Tanking all the way to the bottom hurts you a bit. It’s not quite relegation that you’d see in the Premier League, but it’s the NBA’s own form that would punish being the worst in the league. And much like Premier League teams have entertaining games to prevent relegation, NBA teams would too.

Picture two bad teams in late March, both within a game of the bottom three, both desperate to win. That's a win for the fans. Picture the front office of the Wizards doing the calculus on whether to shut down Trae Young and Anthony Davis and realizing that, actually, no, the vets need to go play, because falling in the standings is a real cost now, not a reward. That's a win for the sport. Picture Sacramento intentionally fouling Seth Curry late in a game, and the conversation around it shifting from "nefarious tanking" to "bad coaching." That's a win for the league.

More on @YahooSports:

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

This isn’t aging well. @trailblazers

[Bill Simmons @BillSimmons]

I’m gonna predict Portland doesn’t advance

[Acyn @Acyn]

Schiff: I think it's valuable that the American people get a sense of what you have refused to answer today. So these are just some of the questions you refuse to answer, but or have answered with personal attacks on members of this committee. You were asked whether you consulted with career ethics lawyers, as you promised you would do during your nomination hearing. When you approved the president receiving a $400 million gift from the qataris, you refused to answer that question. You were asked who or what role you may have played, or who played the role in asking the trump's name be flagged in any of the Epstein documents gathered by the FBI? You refuse to answer that question. You were asked whether Homan kept the $50,000 bribe money. You refuse to answer that question. You were asked whether Homan paid taxes on the $50,000 bribe money. You refused to answer that question. You were asked, did career prosecutors find insufficient evidence to charge James Comey. You refused to answer that question. You were asked, how are military strikes on these boats in the caribbean legal. And you refuse to even answer that question. You are asked, excuse me, excuse me? You are asked, did you discuss indicting James Comey with the president. You refused to answer that question. You were asked, did you approve the firing of antitrust lawyers who disagreed with the Hewlett Packard merger. You refused to answer that question. You were asked whether you support a restoration fund for violent insurrections, insurrections to attack the capitol on January 6th. Refuse to answer that question. You were asked whether you were firing career professionals, career prosecutors just because they worked on January 6th. Question January 6th investigations. You refuse to answer that question. You were asked by my colleague whether you believe government officials, like immigration officials, have to abide by court orders. You wouldn't answer that question

[Dean @1_syer]

It will trickle down anytime now

[Jill Filipovic @JillFilipovic]

"What about Bill Clinton?!?!?!"

Oh no not Bill Clinton, I am going to have to take off my Bill Clinton Hat and return all of my Bill Clinton Coin and stop reading my Bill Clinton Bible

[Thomas Massie @RepThomasMassie]

If it is called the Department of War, can we finally acknowledge it commits Acts of War,

which require Congressional Declarations according to our Constitution?

[Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea]

It’s wild living in the Information Age and the Dark Age at the same time.

[Covie @covie_93]

Future recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

[Dripped Out Trade Unionists @UnionDrip]

I'm so fucking jealous

[Peter Schiff @PeterSchiff]

Let me get this straight: the Republican Party now favors concentrating power in one individual to impose protectionist tariffs, centrally plan the economy, nationalize stakes in private businesses, and use the Fed to create massive inflation to monetize soaring budget deficits.

[Bruno Maçães @MacaesBruno]

The most distinctive cultural trait in America today is the complete inability to listen to things or people you disagree with. It’s a deeply illiberal culture

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

You're right, we should call in the national guard and militarize our cities so we can prevent wheelie popping hooligans. That seems like a proportionate response.

[Will Chamberlain @willchamberlain]

I brought my family to DC for the Cherry Blossom festival.

The first thing I saw when I exited the L’Enfant Plaza Metro was a gang of youths driving ATVs down the street, one of whom was doing a wheelie

So forgive me if I doubt that crime is down

[Robert Reich @RBReich]

Medicare for All - "That's socialism!"

Social Security - "That's socialism!"

Debt free education - "That's socialism!"

Universal childcare - "That's socialism!"

$1 trillion in tax cuts for the richest 1%...

"That's just how it is."

[BUDDYHEAD @BUDDYHEAD_]

I think about this a lot

[Ryan McCarrel @ryanmccarrel]

Dear @VivekGRamaswamy you can celebrate success with $999,999,999.00 in your bank account. I think you'll be fine.

P.s. I think that's $49,999,999.00 more than your net worth. So you still have some work to do.

[Vivek Ramaswamy @VivekGRamaswamy]

I moved to NYC after I graduated college in 2007 because it was a place that still celebrated success, but that spirit receded in New York & soon could be gone altogether. We’re reviving that American Dream in a new place: Ohio. The revival starts next November.