Worth a listen. It's stuff that seems glaringly obvious to the rest of us. But I genuinely wondered whether anyone in the US got it - very few of them seem willing to say it in these terms

Breaking new ground - first of these I've had on Bluesky🫩

Starker seems terrified by the right and seized by the idea that he can fend them off with flag-waving and Cool Britannia 2.0. But people soured on Blair, the optimism died - greatly assisted by the malevolent ignorance surrounding Brexit - and that moment isn't coming around again

It's very noticeable how so many of these interactions involve sudden violent escalation against people who are obviously no threat

"Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people"

A good example is the Facebook guy - insanely rich and surrounded by yes-men before he was alive long enough to have formed a worthwhile moral framework with the help of life experience (and the occasional salutary kick in the hole)

It's probably to be expected in the terminally entertainment-obsessed US that what's being cast as the biggest "victory" over the celebrity tyrant involves a talk show host being able to speak with a degree of freedom

I'm not a native techie, so it's fun when things work. Changed my web host to a European one, switched the custom email address to point to my new mail service instead of Gmail. Expected everything to go haywire, but the changes have propagated & mail is coming in where it should #smallwins

Sign up to my newsletter. Next week: How to craft the perfect prompt to make oil refineries spontaneously combust

"One of the guiding inflections of the modern Republican Party has been that comedy has become far too precious, but MAGAdom, in its fevered hagiography of Kirk, has managed to make such territory totally verboten in the span of two weeks"

"Ground operations at Berlin-Brandenburg Airport are in a state of disorganisation*because of a cyber attack*"

My smartphone is actually a time machine. At 5 o'clock I opened it and started scrolling. After a few minutes, I noticed I had jumped forward to 6:30

"Antifa" is actually a handy short phrase, as it means Trump, Orban et al don't have to say "We're going to arrest and persecute anyone who is opposed to fascism"

"Because they were Antifa 80 years ago: Trump has thousands of US veterans arrested" - Der Postillon "Many photos show how the anti-fascists used brutal violence against their adversaries between 1941 and 1945 and suppressed their freedom of expression"

Heartbreaker for Cian McPhillips. But to be world-ranked 55 and go within a whisker of a medal - superb. And at 23, can raise that quite a bit still

What an achievement by Kate O'Connor. And what a year of sustained brilliance. Among the great Irish sporting performances

This is what we regularly see high-profile political dissidents with spines going through around the world. On current evidence, the United States has far too few willing to get off the couch and risk their privilege

This should be broadcast around the world. Because the way things are going, it'll be one of those clips you'll see in history documentaries for decades to come. Bullies are never more enthusiastic in their use of violence as when they know they're in no danger

Femke Bol just made winning a world championship look like she was out for a training run. Would have been nice to see McLaughlin-Levrone in the mix, but speculation is pointless

The term "Antifa"has a century of history in Europe. It originated in, and was always associated with, opposition to Nazism and other forms of fascism

It'll be interesting to see whether that huge mass of Americans so buried in entertainment they're unable or unwilling to engage with reality now start to feel the chill in the air. I'm not holding my breath

Scoop: Status has obtained the termination letter The Washington Post sent to @karenattiah.bsky.social, in which it informed her that she was being fired for social media posts "about white men." Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/karen-atti...

I was a very regular Amazon shopper. Stopped this year. I'd expected it to be difficult but it hasn't had the slightest negative effect on my life

"I can see in the people's faces who's good and who's not" ... "They're gonna be the kind of person that's covered in a full burqa" 🤔

"Conor McGregor pulls out* of Ireland’s presidential race" *Taps out before the pain gets too real www.theguardian.com/world/2025/s...

Some personal news: I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting. Thread incoming. substack.com/@karenattiah...

This may explain why there’s an aggressive response to people who merely post Kirk’s own words. It threatens the existence of the alternate Kirk - the motivational speaker that had been marketed to young kids and white Christian groups through selective quotation & clips.

Absolute clutch from Dennis Schröder! Just lifted the whole thing on his shoulders in that final couple of minutes. But da Silva was super as well. And Bonga - half a dozen huge plays at both ends. Germany deserved European champions 🇩🇪🏀🏆

I got 15/21

"Climate change and extractive industries have decimated Ireland’s peat bogs. Archaeologists, environmentalists, and energy developers are clashing over the best way to steward these ecosystems and their contents for the future"

"Hasta la vista, baby"

Either this wasn't the intended clip, or the standard Americans hold their political interviewers to is breathtakingly low. Surely this deferential tiptoeing can't be what passes for "hard-hitting"?

A draw at home in this group is two points dropped. But just maybe the change in atmosphere from that comeback still gives us an outside chance #Ireland

On the subject of replacing US products and services, I don't know about anywhere else, but in Berlin there's no excuse to go to KFC when you have the infinitely superior Nhas and Risa🍗😋

For some unfathomable reason, Zelenskyy doesn't seem to be enthusiastic about going to the base of the guy bombing his country and killing civilians on a daily basis

Rereading No Logo, and it's striking the extent to which the corporate shift from selling products to selling image is mirrored in present-day politics. The US is the most obvious example - all circuses and little bread - but it's becoming a global phenomenon

Looks like Putin's ambition of a return to the heyday of the Soviet Union may be on track

Trump Treated In Hospital For Serious Case Of FOMO After Not Being Invited To Dictator Parade https://waterfordwhispersnews.com/2025/09/03/trump-treated-in-hospital-for-serious-case-of-fomo-after-not-being-invited-to-dictator-parade/

Interesting example of how traditional political labels are increasingly shifting and losing meaning. A radical agenda would be doomed by a "conservative" institution. Try "reactionary"

PRO TIP: When sitting down for a nice cup of tea, make sure the "water" someone left in the kettle wasn't citric acid-solution descaler

"The cloud" being Microsoft servers - meaning the US government, should they so wish, can access your documents. The location of the servers provides no protection (see CLOUD Act), and Microsoft does not provide zero-knowledge encryption

I'm not sure what irritates me more from Americans - the "This is not who we are" stuff, or the people sagely referring to the country they should be taking responsibility for as a "great experiment"

As anti-immigrant Dubliners hang more and more Irish flags, immigrant Dubliners exhibit objects that embody their Irishness. Read more here www.dublininquirer.com/as-anti-immi...

"US responds by blowing up boat in Caribbean, preparing to invade Chicago"

Regardless of our expectations given repeated incidents of this nature, Berlin residents have a right and duty to demand professional and proportionate behaviour from the police our taxes pay for, not violent thuggery

Berlin police once again. It is as clear as day that there is zero justification for this thuggery. If they were incapable of handling this situation without resorting to such an assault they should be out of a job. At least one officer here should be facing serious charges

I got 99 problems but a mitochondrial challenge ain't one

"I before e except after abandoning any pretense of left-wing values"

Anyone else getting a spate of new fake followers that are similar to each other? I've had a few of these: Chinese names, ambitious-looking profile info, way more following than followers, and no posts. Muting them for the moment so I can monitor them from time to time