Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

News

Watching/Ignoring

Willis Sparks
By Willis SparksAugust 31, 2018
Willis Sparks
Willis Sparks is a senior editor for GZERO Daily. He is also a Director in the Global Macro practice at Eurasia Group, where he has worked since 2005. He has made speeches on international politics on every continent except Antarctica. Willis holds degrees from Brown University, the Juilliard School, Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris. He also holds an honorary degree from the Moscow Art Theatre School. A native of Macon, Georgia, Willis has worked as a stuntman at New York's Metropolitan Opera. As a child, he declined an opportunity to spend an afternoon riding the Great American Scream Machine, a rollercoaster, with Ronald McDonald, for money. He has never regretted that decision.
See Full Bio

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Canada’s NAFTA deadline – Later today, we’ll find out whether Canada wants to join President Trump’s new version of NAFTA. This isn’t an easy call for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who wants to appear tough on Trump while needing a deal to avoid steep US tariffs. That said, if Trudeau calls Trump’s bluff and says no, it’s far from clear the US Congress will approve a bilateral deal with Mexico that excludes Canada.

Russian trolls, chapter 653 – Scientists at George Washington University say they have discovered a project launched on Twitter by bots and Russian trolls to spread misinformation about vaccination. The study discovered several accounts, known to belong to Russian trolls who interfered in the 2016 US elections, as well as marketing and malware bots, tweeting false information about vaccines. It’s not clear whether the project’s purpose is to generate political controversy or simply to prevent parents from vaccinating their children.

WHAT WE’RE IGNORING

British-French naval battles – “Now I am satisfied. Thank God I have done my duty.” These were the final words of Admiral Lord Nelson as he died below deck on the moment of his greatest victory at the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. His triumph ensured Napoleon would never invade Britain. The British and French are again battling at sea, this time over scallop fishing rights, and these grubby maritime hoodlums have none of Nelson’s panache.

A Kalashnikov on wheels – Russian arms maker Kalashnikov, best known for the AK-47 assault rifle, has introduced a new electric car it hopes will rival Elon Musk’s Tesla. Russia doesn’t have much track record with domestically manufactured luxury automobiles, to put it politely, and your Friday author is having trouble suspending his disbelief.

Latest Videos

Europe takes control of Ukraine’s futureplay icon
Quick Take

Europe takes control of Ukraine’s future

In Wikipedia We Trust?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

In Wikipedia We Trust?

Can we still trust Wikipedia?
Ian Explains

Can we still trust Wikipedia?

Geoffrey Hinton on how humanity can survive AI
GZERO World Clips

Geoffrey Hinton on how humanity can survive AI

Notre Dame, politics, and playing by their own rules
ask ian

Notre Dame, politics, and playing by their own rules

Trump’s new national security strategy targets Europe
Quick Take

Trump’s new national security strategy targets Europe

More For You

Hard Numbers: Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai faces life imprisonment, Half of Israelis oppose Netanyahu pardon, Flash floods in Morocco, Romania protests corruption

​Chief Superintendent of the police force's National Security Department Steve Li Kwai-wah speaks at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the verdict in the national security collusion trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, China, on December 15, 2025.

Chief Superintendent of the police force's National Security Department Steve Li Kwai-wah speaks at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building after the verdict in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, on December 15, 2025.

REUTERS/Lam Yik
156: After a 156-day trial, Hong Kong’s High Court found media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty on national security charges on Monday. Lai, who advocated for democracy in the semi-autonomous Chinese city before the 2019 crackdown, now faces life imprisonment. The decision is another blow for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. [...]

What We’re Watching: Gunmen kill 15 at Hanukkah event in Australia, Chile shifts to the right, South Africa considers concession for Musk’s Starlink

People pay respects at Bondi Pavilion to victims of a shooting during a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, December 15, 2025.

People pay respects at Bondi Pavilion to victims of a shooting during a Jewish holiday celebration at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, December 15, 2025.

REUTERS/Hollie Adams
Australia’s Jewish community in mourning againA Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach yesterday turned into a bloodbath when a pair of gunmen opened fire on the crowd, killing 15 and injuring dozens more. It was the worst mass shooting in Australia since 1996, a massacre that prompted the country to impose strict gun laws. The toll this [...]

An ally under suspicion

An ally under suspicion

Donald Trump at the NATO Summit in Brussels, Belgium. - 25/05/2017 - Belgium / Brussels - Julien Mattia / Le Pictorium.

Julien Mattia via Reuters Connect
In an unprecedented move last week, Denmark labeled its ally the United States as a potential security risk. A report by the Danish Defense Intelligence Service argued Washington is using its economic and military power to “assert its will,” creating new security risks for Europe and for Greenland, Denmark’s semi-autonomous territory.NATO allies [...]

How chads and China shaped our world

​Then-US President George W. Bush with then-People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin following their meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on October 25, 2002.

Then-US President George W. Bush waves as he stands with then-People's Republic of China President Jiang Zemin after the two gave statements to the press following their meeting at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, on October 25, 2002.

Twenty-five years ago, Destiny’s Child, NSYNC, and Britney Spears were atop the US charts, “Google” was a little known search website with a weird name, and two things happened that would shape the world we live in today, where populism defines politics and great power competition is back. First, Congress passed a bill that paved the way for China [...]