On the subject of "illegal" immigration: I had this email from my cousin today. I also cannot imagine just casually going out the night before doing something so terrifying. It was their second attempt.

(C) @privateeyenews.bsky.social

10 ans. Hommage aux victimes des attentats du 13 novembre 2015 à Paris et Saint-Denis.

An extraordinary, indeed hard-to-believe (but all true, all too true) story. Very much looking foward to @ellehardy.bsky.social's forthcoming book on another self-appointed messenger of God, Sun Myung and his Unification Church.

I'm tempted to say that every book I've read has changed my life. But if I had to choose the one which unlocked everything, it'd be Dumas's Comte de Monte Cristo, read at the age of seven, re-read almost every year since. Dumas is woefully under-rated as a writer. Why? Because he's too much fun.

AI-generated nazi and racist songs are "flooding" Spotify. There are many alternatives to Spotify, which offer just as much choice (in better audio quality) and reward musicians more fairly. Buying physical albums and CDs? Even better. Staying on Spotify is no different to staying on X.

Appalling. AI-generated Nazi songs flood Spotify. It’s hard enough for real human Nazi song writers to make a living.

$7,000 for a cat. A ticket for the WC final. Over seven times what it cost for a similar ticket at the Euro 2024 final, almost five times what was charged at Qatar 2022. Too much is never enough for Gianni Infantino.

New column, in French, for Eurosport. As FIFPro is a rare counter-power to Fifa, Fifa decides to create its own' "yellow" version of a players' union, calling it a "forum" instead. An old trick: autocracies get rid of opposition to them by creating their own. www.eurosport.fr/football/fif...

Holy shit, just learned about the typewriter art of Montserrat Alberich Escardívol, a Catalan typist. Using an extra wide typewriter and 180 color ribbons, she built up elaborate images from simple characters like 'm' and '.' and ';'. Here is her typewritten painting of the Cathedral of Barcelona.

Oh this is beautiful

‘I’ll be executed on Tuesday’: families reveal panicked last calls from foreigners on Saudi’s death row

There is no such thing as a non-human "artist".

Inplay bets offered on amateur US college soccer by offshore sites but who is making it happen? With @jackkerr.bsky.social, @samindrakunti.bsky.social & @philippeauclair.bsky.social for @socceramerica.bsky.social & @josimarfootball.bsky.social Thanks to the FIJ www.socceramerica.com/illegal-offs...

The first of what we can hope will be many legal victories for the music industry in its fight against the AI pirates. A Munich court ruled that OpenAI had breached copyright law and was liable to be sued for damages for appropriating content without authorisation.

New @footballweekly.bsky.social podcast is out. Also on the menu: Yeri Mina's champion shithousery, Fifa's alternative player's union and a HUGE betting/match-fixing scandal in Türkiye, with over 1,000 players and 170 officials facing investigation (and worse). www.theguardian.com/football/aud...

Euro pod! Any questions for the panel? @robyniocowen.bsky.social @sidlowe.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social @nickybandini.bsky.social @paul-c-watson.bsky.social 👇🎙️🫡

Somewhere in Normandy, the kind of sky which Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin would have peopled with gods.

FIFPro have released their statement in response to Fifa setting up what looks like a rival organisation which they can claim represents players. It is as meek and feeble as could be feared.

Turkish sports betting scandal: 17 referees were arrested on Friday, as well as Eyüpspor president Murat Özkaya, under suspicion of illegal betting linked to match-fixing. www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/inter...

More depressing news from the world of sports sponsorship, where World Volleyball, following the examples of FIBA, CAF, PSG and others, has decided to team up with one of the world's worst illegal sports betting operators, 1XBet (who else?). en.volleyballworld.com/volleyball/c...

Now that's what I call...football?

Fifa showing FIFPro the finger by creating yet another of those pretend forums filled with "legends", bypassing the trade union which represents 65,000 professional players worldwide. FIFPro could bring the house of Gianni down if it put its mind to it. It won't.

Bradley lucky not to be Martinelli-ed for two cautionable offences in the space of a few seconds.

As every Remembrance Sunday, a thought for my grandfather, lieutenant Henri Auclair, a Verdun veteran who fought in the trenches throughout all of WWI, died in 1999, aged 103, and taught us about the insanity of war and the necessity to embrace the European ideal.

Beyond Man City, other clubs which profit directly from emirati patronage should ask themselves some inconvenient questions; and if they do not of their own accord, we fans should be pressuring them into doing so. These other clubs very much include Arsenal FC. www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Athletes photographed in the late 19th and early 20th century often look much older to us than they actually were; but these, no...so young. I do love how they lined up for the photograph in 3-2-5, as they would have done on the field.

A reminder that David Kogan was *not* on the shortlist for the position of head of the football regulator service and that the candidates who *had* been shortlisted were then ignored in his favour. Kogan did not even apply for the position.

'"If there is any way to terrify a despot, it is by dismantling the very conditions that allowed him to accumulate power.” [Mamdani] was alluding to Donald Trump, but the sentiment also applies to Fifa.' Excellent analysis and advice from @julesboykoff.bsky.social.

Perfection. #fungifriends

Fantastic journalism.

That band captured all of the excitement of being a teenager and went for it head-on. A contender for the greatest not-number 1 there ever was. There are a few others in their catalogue. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDe4...

The AI loan approval system:

I found my new anti-Fifa anthem: "Demolicion", by Los Saicos, , 1964. Peruvian garage/punk is awesome. TATATATATATATATAYA-YAYAYAYA www.youtube.com/watch?v=haVa...

Yes, fellow fungophiles, they are out, and in numbers. #fungifriends

Fifa president Gianni Infantino on Donald Trump.

French TV analysis of Qarabag-Chelsea at H/T (2-1 at the pause) consists of a "worst of" compilation of Hato in the first 45 minutes. Cruel.

Infantino will present Fifa's "Peace Prize" on 5 December, the day of the 2026 World Cup draw. In Washington D.C. We're all thinking the same thing, yes? Surely he couldn't? Oh yes he could. inside.fifa.com/organisation...

The Turkish FA has suspended...149 (!) referees and assistant referees, out of a total of 571, for between 8 and 12 months after discovering that they were placing bets on football matches. www.mundodeportivo.com/futbol/inter...

"[...] The AI industry’s most important product at this moment is not a chatbot or a video generator; it’s the story the AI industry is telling about itself". @brianphillips.bsky.social enters AI's coordinates in his torpedo launcher. Superb. www.theringer.com/2025/11/04/t...

This looks fascinating. Patrick Modiano and musician Christian Mazzalai have chronicled the history of a single address in Montparnasse, 70bis Rue des Petits Champs, home to Stevenson, Camille Claudel, Henry Ossawa-Tanner, Picasso, Claude Cahun, Ezra Pound and many others over nearly a century.

I'm just asking questions.

This is adjacent to genius. A hall-of-famer.

There are stats, damned stats and @billedgartimes.bsky.social stats and facts.

⚽ Football Weekly ⚽ 🐺 Wolves sack Vítor Pereira. 😱 Rumours are that Nuno Espírito Santo is still dancing. 🫡 Arsenal keep their six-point lead at the top of the Premier League. @maxrushden.bsky.social @barryglendenning.bsky.social , @jonawils.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social

Pour s'y opposer, c'est ici www.linkedin.com/uas/login?se...

Any questions for the pod? @maxrushden.bsky.social @barryglendenning.bsky.social @jonawils.bsky.social @philippeauclair.bsky.social 👇🎙️

On DHS’s unauthorized use of Norman Rockwell’s paintings across social media, an op-ed from our family today in @usatoday.com www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...

Watching Zielinski's astonishing goal for Inter v. Verona (a jaw-dropper and then some), I couldn't help noticing the virtual advertisement for UK-banned, illegal online bookie 1XBet on the *British* feed of the game. Absolute scandal. TNT should be fined, but won't be.