PM Tusk: Some say that Ukraine should be grateful for everything. The truth is exactly the opposite. The rest of us should be grateful to Ukraine.

A couple of thoughts about AI and academia (in economics at least): you can’t look at Claude Code without concluding that it’s a complete game changer in the production of research. 1/

The bicycle is an underrated invention Bikes allow us terrestrial folk to be more like fish in terms of efficiency when travelling, and beat pretty much every organism, as well as all powered vehicles. buff.ly/vcH5TLu

Vor 90 Jahren – im Februar 1936 – begann unter der Nazi-Herrschaft in der #Łužica #Lausitz eine großangelegte Welle von Ortsumbenennungen, die in den folgenden zwei Jahren Dutzende Dörfer mit sorbischen Ortsnamen traf. Am 18.2.1936 ging es los mit Skarbišecy/Skerbersdorf (-> Schönlinden),... 1/11

This is the endpoint: alternative thinking is treated as a crime, wanting regime change as illegitimate by law. Not just authoritarianism, but a legal dictatorship. Georgia is being pushed toward a Caucasus version of North Korea or Belarus. 11/11

Step five: speech repression. “Insults” on social media turned into a criminal offense, with prison and ruinous penalties. Political criticism was reframed as personal abuse. Georgians kept speaking. 6/11

Step three: brute force. Mass arrests, beatings, and the use of riot control chemicals associated with WWI-era agents. The state tested fear. Protesters stayed in the streets. Repression failed to break momentum. 4/11

The West cannot hide behind the OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism. By the time reports are written, the damage will already be done. Fact-finding is not a response strategy. Delay now means accepting repression as the new normal. 9/10

🇬🇪Georgia has entered a new phase of political repression. A mass “Opposition Silencing Trial” is now underway in Tbilisi, targeting leading opposition figures in a single, collective prosecution that Georgian Dream brands as a “sabotage case.” 1/10

'A public university in Georgia has condemned the government’s decision to limit which courses institutions can teach, saying that the controversial move will “destroy” many of its faculties, including humanities and social sciences.' 1/3

Good illustration of how drastic the rampage is. I'd quibble with "government critical" -- rather: "insisting on academic freedom."

Great symposium today organized by @uclalawreview.bsky.social & Xiyin Tang on Labor in the Age of Platform Capitalism, where I'm moderating a panel on antitrust & IP with @marklemley.bsky.social, Xiyin Tang, @madhavisunder.bsky.social, and @rtushnet.bsky.social www.uclalawreview.org/ucla-law-rev...

Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes! "Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."

🇬🇪🇩🇪A long read - but worth your time. In his interview, German Ambassador to Georgia, Peter Fischer, is refreshingly direct about Georgia’s crisis and Germany’s position. 1/4 www.interpressnews.ge/en/article/1...

Dieser gedankliche Spagat ist beeindruckend wie erschreckend zu gleich: Katherina Reiche: Wir haben 2022 eine gigantische Krise gehabt, weil wir abhängig waren vom russischen Gas. Reiche einige Sätze später: "Und deshalb habe ich mich für Sicherheit durch Gaskapazitäten entschieden." 🤯

So-called AI - not up in "the cloud", but very much down to earth and causing massive damage to #PublicHealth and environmental damage www.theguardian.com/environment/...

🇺🇦🙏 Lawyer Yevhen Pronin has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport on behalf of Vladyslav Heraskevych. The procedure involves a quick appeal of decisions, and can take place within 24 hours.

Someone was abducted at 10 AM by ICE on Central Ave. Their coworker says they’ve lived here for over 20 years, are documented, and have 3 kids who were born here. Don’t be fooled by headlines when they’ve been lying to us the whole time. We still need you out patrolling until every agent is gone.

In het natuurpark Urbasa y Andía in #Navarra in Noord-#Spanje hebben #archeologen en #paleontologen een bijna compleet, ca. 4000 jaar oud skelet van een #wisent (Europese bizon) gevonden inclusief een #koperen #pijlpunt die in een van de ribben vastzat. /1 inspanje.nl/spectaculair...

#erneuerbare Energien first 💚

The government's "earned settlement" proposals will have far-reaching and negative consequences for up to 2 million people, unless there is a change of course. @jamesbowes01.bsky.social explains. ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...

Bundeskanzler Merz stellt das EU-Emissionshandelssystem (ETS) in Frage. Das trifft innovative Unternehmern wie Heidelberg Materials im Kern. Wer die Spielregeln mitten im Spiel ändert, zerstört das kostbarste Gut der Wirtschaft: Vertrauen und Investitionssicherheit.

London is number one for culture. Great to see that Tate Britain has recorded its busiest winter in more than a decade with a record-breaking 700,000 visitors.

MISLEADING: A new academic paper by @qmul.bsky.social has attracted significant media attention by claiming that EVs & heat pumps deliver no proven carbon savings in UK ahead of 2030 clean power target - and should therefore be postponed. Here is why this paper should never have been published.🧵

Shame on you, IOC. www.zeit.de/sport/2026-0...

Zwei Tage in Kyjiw - viele bewegende Gespräche, Eindrücke und auch unbequemen Wahrheiten.

The White House could have—& should have—reformed USAID. It chose instead to obliterate the agency, causing deaths all over the world. Now we know what happened to the Congressionally-mandated funding for USAID. Ending our rule of law will harm all Americans, on the Right & Left.

That would be quite a Kraftwerk! (OK, not a Blenderwaffe, but a Schnellkaffeereaktionseinheit below) www.youtube.com/shorts/3KzFM...

Feels like I am going to have to keep writing this piece every other fortnight, forever. @thetimes.com www.thetimes.com/article/e624...

Big signing here for the government (and civil service) as Prof Brian Bell becomes Chief Economic Advisor at the Treasury. Brian will bring much-needed economic rigour and expertise, as well as adding A LOT of drive and energy to UK economic policymaking.

Netherlands news: Dutch universities call for action as student numbers fall www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-euro...

I wrote for the Guardian about why Jim Ratcliffe's talk of Britain being "colonised" by immigrants crosses the line between legitimate debate and inflammatory rhetoric. It fuses echoes of Powellism with great replacement conspiracies of "civilisational erasure" www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

„Mit Unverständnis haben wir zur Kenntnis genommen, dass die Redaktion der Talkshow ‚Caren #Miosga‘ ihre vergangene Ausgabe unter dem Titel ,Ist Trump ein Vorbild für Deutschland, Herr Chrupalla?‘ ankündigte.“ Ich bin Erstunterzeichner dieses Appells. Ihr auch? appell2026.de

Ich habe den #Appell2026 zusammen mit vielen Kolleg*innen unterzeichnet - wir stellen uns gegen die zunehmende Normalisierung der extremen Rechten im ÖRR und in der gesamten Medienlandschaft.

Freitag, der 13.: "Übrigens: Das gab es noch nie in der Geschichte des Perlentaucher: In keiner der vom Perlentaucher ausgewerteten Zeitungen - FAZ, FR, NZZ, SZ, taz, Welt, Zeit - gibt es auch nur eine einzige Buchkritik, nicht eine!" - Überrascht mich nicht, traurig ist es dennoch.

Da ich immer wieder einmal gefragt werde, wo man für die Ukraine spenden kann, mit Fokus auf humanitäre Hilfe, verweise ich hier gerne nochmals auf die Hilfsorganisation 1019.ch Das ist Hilfe, die wirklich ankommt! 1019.ch

Nigel Farage has been making the incorrect claim that "one million people living in this country don't speak any English at all" Facts here 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1...

📢 Very excited to be selected for a Kickstart Fund (50 TEUR) by the Joachim Herz Stiftung (@jherzstiftung.bsky.social) 🎉 With this support, my team and I will further develop a digital mentoring platform 🙏🚀 #TechForGood #EducationalInnovation #Mentoring @ifoeducation.bsky.social @cesifo.org

PwC somehow more lucid on AI and education than most university leaders these days

#TerrorInGeorgia #Georgia #EU Unconstitutional Assault Strips Universities of Core Faculties Starting 2026, most programs and faculties will be cut or reassigned, with Ilia State University effectively dismantled and GTU reduced to technical disciplines. ganatleba.substack.com/p/unconstitu...

Dismantling the most renowned and internationally successful university in Georgia. Sadly, it was long expected. Critical thinking, research, and teaching is no longer welcome.

Today, the Trump administration repealed the endangerment finding: the ruling that served as the basis for limits on tailpipe emissions and power plant rules. Without it, we’ll be less safe, less healthy and less able to fight climate change—all so the fossil fuel industry can make even more money.

In terms of what cures are being lost: - Epstein-Barr virus is perhaps the major trigger for multiple sclerosis - herpes simplex virus causes cold sores, genital herpes, infections in babies, deadly meningitis - shingles virus causes an intensely painful disease

As I say here, there is no scientific justification to revoke the engagement finding. In fact, over the last 15+ yrs, the evidence of how climate change affects our health has only grown. Higher risk of allergies, dementia, fertility, heart disease, and death: that’s what’s on the line. @nature.org

Was Palantir lieber nicht in der Zeitung gelesen hätte: Schweizer Armee evaluiert das System und entscheidet dagegen. Sie „fürchtete, dass ein Abfluss von Daten aus den Palantir-Systemen hin zu US-amerikanischen Geheimdiensten wie CIA und NSA technisch nicht verhindert werden könne.“

Der Konzern #Palantir geht gegen das Schweizer Magazin „Republik“ vor. Das hatte in Recherchen nachgezeichnet, warum die Systeme des Unternehmens problematisch für Staaten und deren Souveränität sind. Das Magazin will sich von der Klage nicht einschüchtern lassen. netzpolitik.org/2026/david-g...

Two years ago, I watched the opening of the Summer Olympics with Vladyslav in Kyiv. We talked a lot about memory, about how important it was for athletes to take a stand, to remember those killed. To write him off is to write off some of the values supposedly defended by the Olympics.

CSU-Innenminister Dobrindt will Hunderttausende Zugewanderte von Sprachkursen ausschließen. In der SPD wächst der Widerstand.

Today, UCL turns 200. 🎉 For two centuries, our community has opened doors, challenged convention and pushed the boundaries of knowledge across every discipline. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the UCL story, here’s to the next century. ✨ #UCL200 #LoveUCL