Germany's sane parties really should start hammering the AfD for their ties to MAGA, *before* their apathy leads enough voters to believe that MAGA ideology is just the new normal that one has to find some sort of arrangement with. And the AfD could not make it easier for them.

@abenewman.bsky.social is right. There is an alternative. as.ft.com/r/7b8f914c-f...

I mean sure, but you know who else helped? Germany. Germany's behaviour during the 2-year long carnage in Gaza also helped. You cannot pick and choose. International law is not a menu. You have to respect it. Always. Otherwise it breaks down and then we're where we are now. #IntLaw #Germany

I'm sure the European strategy of offering the least possible pushback against the Trump administration, from tariffs to Ukraine and now Venezuela, will make it clear that European interests cannot simply be disregarded when it comes to, say, Greenland.

For some reason the administration had a much lower threshold for invasion when it invoked the Alien Enemies Act over illegal immigrants present on American territory.

“The invasion of Iraq was a disaster, but what about a slightly more surgical invasion of Venezuela, where the ripple effects of the country’s destabilization will affect us much more directly?” - The Trump administration, apparently

The list reads like a who is who of the most professional international aid organizations. This is yet more proof of Israel's insincerity in committing to the provision of aid to Gaza in the EU-Israel agreement of July 2024.

That stubbornly flat line of Reform unfavourables, despite the Starmer government alienating large parts of their base to court these voters, really speaks volumes to what an ill-guided strategy Labour has been pursuing.

I am growing increasingly convinced that (a) under Trump, the clean cut of security arrangements between the US and Europe will not happen because (b) the ambiguous status quo serves Trump's interests the best, and as it happens it also serves Putin's interests the best.

Right, why not try.

The Israeli FM declares that the country's security needs against a neighboring state trump international law and can be enforced through military means in violation of it, while Smotrich justifies this expansion of settlements with the denial of a Palestinian state's right to exist.

Is defending Ukraine’s sovereignty a European core security interest or not? Protecting stubborn banks’ assets is not. It’s mind-boggling that these banks and their governments expect Europeans to jeopardize their security so they don’t have to write off their investments in a lawless kleptocracy.

More than one third of young adults in the UK enters higher education, they’re all elitist winners? And at least over here, plenty of underprivileged students have the resource gathering skills to open university emails and apply for Erasmus as well as for financial support while abroad.

The Reform leadership’s browser history is probably sufficient to explain this puzzle.

Wouldn’t surprise me if there’s a link between liberals leaving Twitter and MAGA folks increasingly cannibalizing on each other in the absence of a shared enemy on their preferred platform. So I’d rather let that process go on undisturbed.

It’s a great blogpost. America now wants to undermine our institutions, but on the plus side, its foreign policy apparatus may be too uncoordinated and unprofessional to be effective at it. Quite the silver lining. I just have two points where I’m not sure the analysis is not too rosy.

Let’s see how long it takes the Trump admin to switch from “Europe shouldn’t be buying Russian gas” to “Europe should be buying more Russian gas”, all while bombs are coming down on Ukraine.

So the country with a homicide rate multiple that of Europe and which sends armed thugs into cities to commit state-sanctioned crimes against visible minorities is lecturing us on… crime, social cohesion and public safety.

I know little about peace negotiations and conflict resolution, and I'm sure I don't see half of the issues with this draft. But even then there's still so much that remains.

The EU Commission surrendered to Trump on tariff retaliation to keep the US on board for supporting Ukraine. Who would have thought that abandoning essential European interests signals to Washington that Europe can be ignored and presented with a fait accompli in other policy domains as well?

Huh, preying on a grad student and using mentorship as a pressure tool to extract sexual favors seems rather disqualifying for a teaching role…

Shoutout to the great people at @bagss-bamberg.bsky.social for hosting and flawlessly organizing this year’s edition of the Joint Doctoral Conference. It was a pleasure to attend!

Not sure if harmless kitchenware from Esselunga or a new European far-right party has dropped…

In Gaza, just as in Lebanon, the ceasefire is the continuation of war with other (but effectively very similar) means.

The lesson Israel takes from Gaza is that it can break all international norms and laws and still enjoy privileged relations with the West. So why stop? Europe’s policy towards Israel sacrificed rules and laws for a twisted version of stability, and it will achieve neither.

Lebanon is stalling the implementation of the ceasefire, says the country that has not even fully withdrawn from Lebanese territory despite committing to it and is responsible for the “vast majority” of ceasefire violations (quote from UNIFIL).

Opposition to antisemitism is not a deeply-held conviction of today's far right, but a tactical positioning to facilitate normalization and achieve acceptance of far-right movements in mainstream society. It makes sense that the American far right drops it once it is firmly in power.

And my next worry is that if Trump won't let Netanyahu pursue the war in Gaza, he will turn to a different front. Last night Israeli ground forces entered Lebanon and destroyed municipal buildings in border towns, killing one employee. Aerial attacks have already ramped up in the last weeks.

My worry was that the Gaza ceasefire agreement would play out like the agreement between Israel and Lebanon, with Israel unilaterally deciding which terms it adheres to at which point in time, and with continued systematic violations of international law. This seems to be what is happening now.

Überraschend, dass das ZDF-Politbarometer diese Umfrage so verzerrt darstellt: Statt nach der Originalaussage von Merz zu fragen, die tagelang diskutiert wurde, wird in der Umfrage seine späte Rechtfertigung ergänzt. In der Grafik wird das aber gar nicht erwähnt. So geht Framing.

Someone is auditioning for the role of top diplomat.

This rhetoric reminds me of an old NPD (fringe Neonazi party) TV commercial where the party leader argued that foreigners in Germany are like spices in a meal, i.e. only to be added in tiny quantities else the dish would be ruined. That’s the intellectual level of today’s UK Conservatives.

Where we stand, in long arc of history: -Story on left, adding race as a factor when that favors white people. -Story on right, banning race as a factor when that favors non-whites. I often complain about NYT headlines and story-play. But these are strong. Including "If Court Guts 1965 Law."

Weird how the guy who only knows his own narrow personal interests cannot conceptualize other politicians also only pursuing their own narrow personal interests.

Relatedly, when will left (and indeed even mainstream right) parties finally start hammering the radical right with what’s happening in America. Farage, Weidel and so many others are on the record fawning over Trump.

In 2017, a far-right extremist killed six people at a mosque in Québec City. Imagine if the governments of Arab countries had blamed the attack on Canadian foreign policy, say its participation in the anti-ISIS coalition.

"We're gonna whine so much, you may even get tired of whining. And you'll say, 'Please, please. It's too much whining. We can't take it anymore. Mr. President, it's too much.'"

To me it sounds more like a desperate appeal to Putin. I think Trump believes he has a bond with him that Putin cherishes and reciprocates and wants to maintain. "We both suffered under the Russia hoax" etc. Trump will be back to blaming Zelensky any day now. But I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

Drugs really are one hell of a drug. But that aside, I see a lot of people complaining that Starmer is not pushing back on this. I agree, but I also think continental politicians should push back. Musk's reach does not stop at the Channel, so get the message out early.

Ich hoffe, dass ein Fall wie dieser in Deutschland ein ähnliches politisches und juristisches Echo haben wird wie die Gräueltaten deutscher Staatsangehöriger gegen irakische und syrische Zivilisten im Territorium des Islamischen Staats vor wenigen Jahren.

If I was the Emir of Qatar and saw the lackluster response from my primary security guarantor to an aerial bombardment of my capital, the first thing I'd do is to give a very friendly call to Beijing.

🧵Gaza is on the cusp of being completely destroyed. Absent immediate action by the outside world, Gaza could soon be physically erased, its surviving people herded into camps or expelled entirely. Such an outcome would stain a generation of world leaders. 1/12 www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-...

Beyond the shocking scene, this is an illustration of how German state policy in the Gaza conflict enables infractions of civil liberties at home. Good on Ireland for taking this up with German authorities.

Another piece that blames the left for Trump ("both Trump terms were entirely avoidable") and exhorts Democrats to shift their policies rightward to capture the median voter. I found this line of reasoning plausible ten years ago – but then the last ten years happened!

It's weird how many commentators on US politics discuss the upcoming 2026 and 2028 elections as if they will be held free and fair. What in Trump's rhetoric and actions suggests respect for the electoral process, and what in his subordinates' behavior suggests having red lines they refuse to cross?

On the left: Nate Cavanagh, a 28-year-old DOGE staffer and college dropout. On the right: Mohammad Halimi, a 53-year-old exiled Afghan scholar. This is the story of how DOGE targeted Halimi on social media. Then the Taliban took his family. 🧵

Famine Review Committee Alert❗ The FRC has determined that #Famine is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate. Furthermore, the FRC projects Famine thresholds to be crossed in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks. Read more: www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/us...

A famine determination is, by definition, an alarm that comes too late. It is a mark of shame regarding what has already been done. This is a stain on our collective conscience that will never be removed. www.ipcinfo.org/fileadmin/us...