Interesting contrast: When Putin attacked UKR in February 2022 Germany received about one third of its oil imports from Russia. By January 1st, 2023 the amount that amount had been reduced to virtually nil (-99,9%). As they say, actions speak louder than words.

Eine realistische Politik erkennt die unübersehbare Tendenz: Wir werden in Europa zunehmend auf uns selbst gestellt sein. Sie stellt aber auch in Rechnung, dass solche Abnabelungsprozesse Zeit und Geld kosten und stößt deshalb die USA nicht mutwillig zur Tür hinaus. Europäische rote Linien: JA

Sign of the times

The paper recommends leveraging existing counter terrorist financing tools, strengthening blockchain expertise within policing, enabling rapid digital wallet freezes, and enforcing greater accountability on online platforms.

A lack of a shared legal definition of sabotage across EU and NATO states impedes coordinated responses, compounded by a persistent ‘speed gap’ in which financial flows outpace fragmented enforcement and intelligence capabilities.

Ich recherchiere gerade zu Medien und ihren Präsenzen auf X. Die Tagesschau holt mit ihren 5,1 Millionen Followern bei manchen Tweets gerade mal 2 Retweets und dann 15 Replies, die durch die Bank rechtsradikaler Bullshit sind. Was machen die noch da? Was soll das bringen?

Which economy is more productive - Germany or the US? It seems the answer would be clear, but it's not. The mood in Germany is so deeply negative, even aggressively pessimistic, that I thought we had fallen behind by a lot. But here are the facts - they surprised me as well:

Das ”andere” Amerika

"We were just chanting Javid Shah [Long live the king] and plain clothes killers infiltrated the people a few lines ahead and shot point blank, from behind, with guns directly at their head. We ran away and we don’t even know if they picked up the dead bodies"

"Three doctors, in messages forwarded to the Guardian on Monday, described overwhelmed hospitals and emergency wings overflowing with protesters who have been shot. Medical staff said that the gunshot wounds were mostly concentrated on protesters’ eyes and head"

Maybe you are right. But then comes the difficult part: stabilize, organize win the peace. Iraq, Libya… Unfortunately our track record is not encouraging. Hope someone is making plans.

The Clinton‘s letter to Chairman Comer reads like a call to arms. A major confrontation is shaping up in the US far transcending what we have seen so far. To us and those other remains of what used to be called the West it’s buckle down time. We’re on our own in a sea of unmoored waters.

Are you surprised?

Der beste Zeitpunkt, um X zu verlassen, war der 22. Oktober 2022. Der zweitbeste Zeitpunkt ist jetzt. www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/e...

Time to start thinking about the unthinkable! www.ft.com/content/5690...

But did you not see the German beach towel?

Das Mittel des Mullah-Regimes zur Unterdrückung der eigenen Bevölkerung ist Terror. Weil die Menschen trotzdem die Freiheit wählen, will das Regime ein Exempel statuieren: Der 26-jährige #ErfanSoltani soll hingerichtet werden. Unsere Aufmerksamkeit kann ihn schützen!

The only effective post-war security strategy for Ukraine is the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence model already used in Latvia and Lithuania, Austrian defense expert Gustav Gressel said This permanent deployment creates deterrence comparable to NATO membership euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/11/i...

Although well intended this is a stillborn initiative. Any army needs an effective command structure and there will never be a truly EUROPEAN command structure. A European military toolbox that in a crisis could be called upon by a coalition of willing European countries might be realistic at best.

Konservative Intellektuelle, die Trump als leider, leider notwendig gewordene, wenn auch etwas "brutale" Korrektur eines "dominant gewordenen linksliberalen Weltbilds" hinstellen - sind für mich die Vorboten der Selbstzerstörung auch unserer Demokratie. (Kommentar von Marc Felix Serrao)

😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣

It would have been nice had RFK at least taken the trouble to spell the name of the German Minister of Health he was addressing correctly. And it’s downhill from there 🫣.

The other America finds it’s voice, slowly

Unfortunately not the only European blind spot. Not every blind spot is an invitation to Trump to intervene!

My new column is up on the me, me, me president and his effort to write his name on the map of the world:

A President constrained only “by his own morality” is bad news at any time. With Trump at the helm it becomes a reason to feel alarmed. The West used to be distinguished by the respect for values and norms that are not at the disposal of an individual leader. No more. Fasten seatbelts.

'The scale of the unrest now gripping Iran is the largest since the demonstrations of 2009; some veteran Iran-watchers reckon the protests are the biggest since the overthrow of the shah in 1979' www.economist.com/middle-east-...

Ivo Daalder as always succinct: Take Greenland - Lose NATO. I would suggest to delete the question mark newsletter.ivodaalder.com/p/take-green...

In February’25 I participated in a demonstration in support of Ukraine in central Berlin. This was the self-styled placard I used. I feel it has aged well 😊

Joseph Nye was a formative influence in bringing up a whole generation of students of IR. We have entered a new era that has little time for people of his calibre and sophistication.

Applicable not only in Iran…

Listen I'm rooting hard for change folks -- the Iranian pro-democracy protest movement is amazing and inspiring. I just want to clarify that this is a vicious security state. We'll need to see *key defections* -- ideally a cascade of them -- from that state or the protests alone won't bring victory

Europe controls 11 of the 15 tankers keeping Russia's biggest LNG terminal alive. Yamal earned €7.2 billion last year — enough to fund 240,000 Shahed drones. Britain is banning its six ships. Greece operates five more with no restrictions.

A tale of two Americas

Wer glaubt, dass das ohne einen sehr relevanten Beitrag Deutschlands und auch ohne den entschlossenen Mut, Verantwortung in gefährlichen Zeiten zu übernehmen, gelingen kann, der täuscht sich oder streut den Menschen bewusst Sand in die Augen.

Thankful for remnants of a free press in the US! Hopefully not threatened by “cultural erasure” like poor Europe

Ich wünschte, die Proteste im Iran würden nicht derart romantisiert. Ja, die Menschen sind unfassbar mutig. Viele von ihnen sehen das nicht so. Es ist ein Überlebenskampf gegenüber einem der brutalsten Regime der Welt. Sie tun das nicht, um ikonische Bilder zu produzieren. Sondern um zu überleben.

“Der Krug geht so lange zum Brunnen, bis er bricht“. When?

We need first a good answer to the questions these statistics raise - and then targeted action by the Government. Fast.

Shirvan, North Khorasan In an act of resistance, people destroyed a surveillance camera used by the regime’s repressive forces to identify and detain protesters. The crowd cheered &praised the young man for his courage. @chadbourn.bsky.social @domingosmcc.bsky.social @anneapplebaum.bsky.social

Trump is again claiming that other NATO states raised defence spending because of him. While the Trump admin may have had some effect, the main reason for increased spending on defence by NATO states has been Russian aggression: look at the change after 2014 and 2022.

The problem for us is how to get from here to there unharmed

My latest piece → From state-of-the-art air defence systems and highly effective self-propelled howitzers to life-saving medical equipment. What military aid will Germany provide to #Ukraine in 2026? An overview. deaidua.org/news/2026/01...

“We will always be there for NATO, even if they won’t be there for us", says the president of the only nation to have ever invoked Article 5 and been defended by the alliance.

….und die Kommunisten haben den Reichstag angezündet… www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/p...

Daalder is right: Even in NATO it takes two to tango newsletter.ivodaalder.com/p/us-threats...

Ein Freud‘scher Versprecher, denn Merz hat heute rumgescholzt!

Ist es wirklich vorstellbar, dass UK, F und andere in der Ukraine im Falle eines Friedensschlusses militärische Sicherungsaufgaben übernehmen und DEU sich in einem Nachbarstaat herumdrückt? Leider verfällt jetzt auch Merz in die typisch deutsche Rumeierei und das ohne jeden nachvollziehbaren Grund.