Day 395 Tbilisi Georgia

As Trump 2.0 1 year anniversary looms, I'm reminded of The West Wing episode when Republican nominee Vinick speaks of the presidency as: stewardship, service to the nation, worthy example, sacrifice, trust, commitment, honour. Even when it originally aired, these words didn't sound entirely alien.

As the year ends, it's good to see the summary of this study now available on the Clingendael website. It was a privilege to have contributed. Still, rather depressing when you consider what the prospects for Russia would be if there were any justice in the world.

Also making the point in today's Guardian piece that the sight of global companies working overtly with the US government to coerce a UK government desperate for positive headlines about investment is a hugely worrying precedent which we need to be discussing.

A slap on the faces of both Moscow and Washington.

Corruption calls to corruption. Perhaps the most terrible thing about this is that it seems so normal, we are losing our capacity to be shocked.

I'm not pulling any punches: "So, these are not peace talks.[..] They are a distraction that Ru uses [..] to strain the Transatlantic relationship by pitting the “peace-seeking” U.S. against “warmongering” Europe, even though the only warmonger is Putin." www.policymagazine.ca/whatever-you...

"The UN Environmental Program has warned that the [Caspian] sea “suffers from an enormous burden of pollution”." Heartbreaking & likely because of oil & gas extraction - but sure, let's not wean ourselves off fossil fuels.

Fabulous article that a wonderfully critical thinking colleague just sent me. It's a long read but every sentence packs an on the nose punch.

I just overheard 3 British lads at Schiphol airport talking in amazed tones about how this is the train station. 😁

I don’t know what I did in my previous life, but reporting simultaneously on the Trump cabinet meeting, where they pretend “all is glorious”, and Putin-Witkoff business meeting, where they sell out Ukraine, surely feels like I did something I wasn’t supposed to.

South African radio presenter arrested on suspicion of recruiting fighters for Russia

Today is the 70th anniversary of Rosa Parks' arrest. Six myths: 1) She wasn't old or tired. 42 years old that day, she had a "life history of being rebellious" & had spent two decades helping to turn the Montgomery NAACP into a more activist branch alongside ED Nixon and Johnnie Carr.

70 years ago today, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in Montgomery, Alabama.

I just spoke with President Gitanas Nausėda. The situation at the border with Belarus is worsening, with the growing incursions of smuggling balloons into Lithuania’s airspace. Such hybrid attack by the Lukashenka regime is completely unacceptable.

Mexico amended its Constitution to recognize animals as sentient beings. The reform mandates prevention of cruelty, welfare guarantees, and conservation efforts. It was unanimously approved and is now in effect nationwide.

There's a soundbite here that will not play in Ukraine's favour, making this interview sound politically naive.

Copying Denmark’s hardline asylum policy a ‘terrible idea’, Danes say Helene Brydensholt of the The Alternative party has urged the UK Government to think again, explaining it’s been a disaster for integration and led to more racism www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Congratulations to Graham Phillips for achieving this first - Pro-Russia former civil servant becomes first Brit to face Ukraine 'war crime' charges over clip of pigs eating dead soldiers www.lbc.co.uk/article/firs...

“In days after Alaska, a European intel agency distributed a hard-copy report in an envelope to some of the continent’s most senior national security officials, who were shocked by the contents: Inside were details of the commercial and economic plans the Trump admin had been pursuing with Russia.”

4/Former Prime Minister Petr Fiala, commenting on these figures, emphasised that they completely refute the claims of the current parliamentary opposition about the need to reduce support for Ukraine, as the reality clearly shows: this support is financially beneficial for the Czech Republic.

This is beyond evil 🤬

49 years ago. Not long enough for his victims to forget. All of us who spent our school days being racially abused remember the insults, no matter how many decades have passed. We know our racist abusers intended to hurt, humiliate & to isolate us. His denials confirm he's not changed at all.

🤣🤣🤣 I love my Signal group buddies who alert me to stuff like this.

What a shit show. Everyone could see this plan was written by the Kremlin. Adopted by Witkoff and Trump who demanded Ukraine accept it by this Thursday. After a firestorm of objections by Europe and Republican senators it appears Rubio wants to distance himself from it.

If this is the public statement then imagine what was being said in private channels. The drafting of this is so careful, the signatures so universal, you don’t have to be a diplomat to read between the lines.

A must-read for insights into just how much Russian interests are driving US thinking on Ukraine & Europe right now. Plus, into the US actors actively betraying their own state. That being the case, why on earth would any European think they care about Europe?

State investigators said the charges stemmed from an interview that Gozman gave to a “foreign media outlet” in 2023.

Colour me shocked. What else was the uncritical acceptance of gen-AI going to result in?

So good to see this response from many of the Dutch political parties. 🤞🏼

He embodies what they stand for? So they stand for: Racism? Misogyny? Sexual harassment? Corruption? Fraud? Fascism? Okay, got it.

Worth watching this for the last 2/3 especially. We shouldn't leap on this & say it's a sign Russia is about to implode but it's a small crack in the edifice & we know what can happen if you don't tend to even the smallest stresses & strains.

Important insights into the utter hypocrisy of those hounding the BBC. "... if the BBC cannot or will not defend itself, and if it will not stand true for a truly radical concept: fearlessly impartial journalism, not fearful management of impartiality, then it will fade away."

We're officially live. It's incredibly important to have a real record of how our public servants are behaving and this database will be a powerful tool for researchers, reporters, and ordinary Americans.

"If the BBC is so woke, how come it grovels before Farage?" Piece from me on how, leftish bias at the BBC should never be excused. But nor can we avoid the grim truth that the radical right is now a clear threat to independent journalism in the UK open.substack.com/pub/nickcohe...

the Iranian drought story is insanely undercovered. foreignpolicy.com/2025/08/07/i...

Two panels commemorating the contribution of Black American soldiers towards the liberation of the Netherlands in World War Two have been quietly removed from a cemetery in Limburg. It follows a complaint by right-wing think tank The Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission.

❤️‍🩹A sight of love and hope we all need today: rescuers found a cat Claire after Russia attack on apartment building in Dnipro, Ukraine today , and brought her back to her human friend Valeria ❤️‍🩹

Op de Amerikaanse begraafplaats in Margraten is het opeens stil geworden rond de zwarte Amerikanen die hielpen Nederland bevrijden. Twee panelen die hun bijdrage herdachten – én wezen op hun strijd tegen racisme binnen het leger – werden zonder toelichting verwijderd. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...

Ukraine has been elected to the UNESCO Executive Board for 2025–2029 with the highest vote count. Alongside Romania and Moldova, Ukraine outpaced Russia, marking the second time in a row Moscow failed to win a seat. Another diplomatic defeat for the Kremlin.

Nice to have a good news morning, seeing some Americans are trying to make up for the horror they inflicted on themselves and the rest of the world.

Many talented Ukrainian actors, artists, comedians, sportspeople, and others left their professional careers to take up arms and defend their country from Russian occupiers. Russia's war against Ukraine has taken the lives of at least 240 Ukrainian culture […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

Great investigation of the Nazis, racists and criminals mobilising the flag-on-lamp-posts movement. This is the kind of journalism that the national media could and should have conducted: manchestermill.co.uk/the-men-who-...

Good on Radboud! At Leiden, I either feel like Cassandra or a Luddite. I've overwhelmingly witnessed capitulation to market forces amid the belief that all students use genAI anyhow. As for the ethical & environmental implications - people seem to forget I research Russia, I understand whataboutism.

💔 Death toll from Russian strike on Dnipropetrovsk Oblast rises: bodies of two children found

It is good to see the Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights, based in Gaza, continue to their important reporting on the recent Israeli airstrikes that happened, including this testimony that is linked tot he footage verified here by @annonemo.bsky.social.

I was sorry to read this. I always thought him an actor of great sensitivity. RIP.

This is not just the Netherlands. And it is ugly.