The documents show 2.373 billion euros in funding for Taurus NEO. This is similar to the 2.1 billion euros reported by Spiegel 11 months ago for 600 missiles. The slight increase may reflect higher material costs or a somewhat larger number of missiles being ordered www.politico.eu/article/germ...

Executive orders cannot supersede federal law or the constitution. Federal law sets visa fees, including for H-1B visas. And the maximum fee is $4,500, according to the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (Public Law 114-113). Current State Dept. site: travel.state.gov/content/trav...

Resonant essay by @philipkennicott.bsky.social in today’s WaPo. Great opening line: “Leni Riefenstahl remains a problem to be solved, not because there’s any doubt about who she was, but because we are uncertain as to who we are.” www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...

I worked in RUS during the time Garry Kasparov describes. He gets exactly right how Putin turned the RUS media into a state instrument and crushed any org'zn that dared criticize his rule. Compare w/FCC and Trump's statements this week... www.thenextmove.org/p/i-saw-how-...

📌WARNING: As a former managing editor of Stars and Stripes, what Hegseth's Pentagon is pulling with the press is dangerous as hell, anti-American, and will HURT THE TROOPS. 📌Any news organization that advocates for THEM and reports on their quality-of-life issues will potentially be squashed. 🧵

A Few Thoughts on KimmelGeddon talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/a-few...

This will also be an interesting test case for taking foreign policy decisions by qualified majority. Unlike regular sanctions (which require unanimity) this proposal aims to suspend parts of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which can be done by qualified majority:

AGI President @jeffrathke.bsky.social spoke to ZDF about the Department of Defense's rebrand to the Department of War and what it means for U.S. policy:

The cowardice of the academic military is really just stunning.

EU hits Google with €2.95bn antitrust fine for search advertising practices, in the face of Trump’s threat of retaliatory tariffs over Brussels’ digital regulations @bmoens.bsky.social @financialtimes.com on.ft.com/4mOkV7k

Mario Draghi hat am 22. August in Rimini eine Rede an Europas Bürgerinnen und Bürger gehalten, die alle lesen sollten. Besonders in Deutschland. Hier die Übersetzung mit einem einführenden Kurzkommentar von Lukas Paul Schmelter und mir. legrandcontinent.eu/de/2025/08/2...

Just got round to watching Mario Draghi's speech in Rimini in the original Italian. It is easily the most important speech on Europe so far this year and I hope someone (@grandcontinent.bsky.social?‬) publishes it in English and other EU languages soon. www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMME...

What are the legal and political debates in Germany about a possible ban of the far-right Alternative for Germany party? Join AGI on Sept 4 at 10 am ET for a webinar with former Justice Minister Marco Buschmann on the German constitution and party bans:

Russland ist angeblich gegen Sicherheitsgarantien für die Ukraine, die die Stationierung von Truppen aus NATO-Staaten in der Ukraine beinhalten. Warum denkt überhaupt jemand, dass Sicherheitsgarantien russische Zustimmung brauchen? Es sind Sicherheitsgarantien GEGEN Russland.

Chancellor Merz facilitated virtual talks today with @POTUS Trump, @VP Vance, @ZelenskyUA and European leaders on #Ukraine. They’re a strong sign of our close and trusting cooperation with the US. And: There is great unity between the US and Europe on Friday’s talks in Alaska.

Good to see Chancellor Merz 🇩🇪 on this statement highlighted by @oanalungescu.bsky.social

"There's a critical difference between acknowledging a nation’s history and celebrating its worst moments. In Germany, they don’t erase their shameful Nazi past, but that doesn’t mean they’re erecting hagiographic statues commemorating war criminals."

If the US is offering Russia a lifting of sanctions, they need the EU for that to be meaningful

Impt point @samagreene.bsky.social - EUR leaders should stake out commitments to UKR arms supply+other support. If talks materialize, Zelensky needs EUR backing even if US won't. UKR fate inseparable from fate of EUR security order. Zelensky was right about it at Munich, EUR recognizing more&more.

“Unfathomable amounts of wealth depend on the integrity of the development process behind the release of these statistics” My Q&A with former Fed official David Wilcox following Trump’s firing of the BLS head www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Hello. The president's continued insistence that the BLS numbers are rigged, political, or otherwise manipulated is a lie. Please stop saying 'baseless claim.' Thank you.

Will be interesting if EUR counterparts ignore or refute Trump's assertion. Before 4 Aug mtgs in DC, GER Fin. Min. @larsklingbeil.bsky.social said there are "open points" in EU-US deal, naming the $600bn investment as one "question mark." www.deutschlandfunk.de/vor-antritts...

Germany has amended its constitution in order to invest in its defense. On the latest episode of #TheZeitgeist, @metinhakverdi.bsky.social discussed how Germany's new approach to leadership and burden-sharing have impacted Berlin's relationship with Washington:

Die #Bundeswehr verbucht bei der Rekrutierung neuer Soldaten und ihrem sonstigem Personal wohl dank der Werbekampagnen und gestiegenem Interesse an der Armee erste Erfolge: Zum 21.07.25 leisteten rd. 183.100 Soldaten ihren Dienst & somit ca. 2.000 mehr als im Vorjahresmonat. www.n-tv.de/25937902

@jasonfurman.bsky.social Jason Furman sums it up www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...

This is awful. Reliable economic data is a key strength of the US economy. When Argentina and Greece faked economic data it contributed to major crises. I don't think Trump will be able to fake the data given the procedures. But there is now a risk plus an awful appearance.

Papier hat viele gute Ideen gerade zur Wirtschaftssicherheit & Resilienz. Auch gut das Bekenntnis zu Handelsabkommen. Aber: „starke Regeln für Klimaschutz und Menschenrechte“ als Kern des Abkommens und Offenheit für globalen Süden. Das paßt nicht zusammen. www.gruene-bundestag.de/fileadmin/da...

congratulations to Kosovo, which apparently is exempt from the new US tariffs, because they're not listed anywhere in the presidential action published this evening... www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Shimon Stein, erster Botschafter Israels in der Ära Merkel, im DLF: Verbündete sollen Israels Regierung mit Druck vom selbstzerstörerischen Pfad abbringen, auch mit Sanktionen. Wir dürfen nie vergessen: Auch dieses Israel gibt es, nicht nur das von Ron Prosor. www.deutschlandfunk.de/interview-sh...

"In narrow economic terms, the claim that the US has emerged the winner from both sets of negotiations is simply false. Tariffs are taxes. Before long, American consumers will pay most if not all of the increase in costs." www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Believe it or not, the EU-US trade deal just got messier. The White House has published a fact-sheet about the agreement with claims that directly contradict the European Commission's version of events. Let's take a closer look.

US confirming EU carve out on pharma and chips probes under 232. So EU tariffs stay at 15% as reported

Just so’s we’re all clear, almost 3/4 of everything we buy from Europe is now 15% more expensive.

From @espiers.bsky.social

1. Tulsi Gabbard and Kash Patel want everyone to think the so-called Steele Dossier was a major source for the 2017 intelligence assessment on Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. No, it wasn’t — an assessment of the “dossier” was included as an annex, which they haven’t released. Why?

Columbia’s leadership has managed to make the wrong decision at every single point here

The transaction will be the second largest defense deal in Israeli defense-industry history after the sale of the Arrow-3 to Germany for $3.5 billion.

Europeans lack of confidence in their ability to do industrial policy remains a sight to behold. Fret the bloc can’t build rare earths? The global market for them is €3.5 billion a year. Germany could buy the whole global market for 10 years for the money it used to bailout gas firm Uniper.

2/2 👉 Die ersten von #Deutschland finanzierten Langstrecken-#Angriffsdrohnen aus ukrainischer Produktion werden in den "nächsten Tagen" an die ukrainische Armee geliefert. www.bmvg.de/de/presse/er...

* EU TO RAMP UP RETALIATION PLANS AS US TARIFF DEAL PROSPECTS DIM @reuters.com www.reuters.com/business/aut...

State Dept breaking new ground - visa revocation/restrictions on a foreign judge, “his allies on the court” and immediate family members b/c they’re prosecuting a coup attempt in Brazil. Will it be used against other foreign officials — eg in France b/c of conviction of Le Pen?

Not really an overstatement to say that the test of a free society is whether or not comedians can make fun of the country's leader on TV without repurcussions.

One of the first things Vladimir Putin did on becoming president was take over NTV, the TV channel that hosted a satirical puppet show because he didn't like the Putin doll and how he was portrayed. He arrested NTV's owner and only released him when he signed the channel over. #Colbert

Is there a good write up of the new weapons/sec assistance Trump says he's providing to Ukraine? From what I've read so far I have many questions: -are donating via PDA or doing sales from stock? -are we providing Patriot launchers/radars - or just interceptors? -which offensive strike weapons?

Today in the indiscriminate and nihilistic destruction of American state capacity...

The extent to which Bluesky and Twitter are swamped by borderline deranged American culture war politics is deeply problematic in distorting the politics of other states with distinct constitutional orders. Germany, UK, Brazil or France might break down, but they'll do so in their own way

Trump’s 50% Brazil tariff: Because nothing says "America First" like taxing your own citizens to defend someone else's coup.

Donald Trump on May 13, 2025 in Riyadh: "In recent years, far too many American presidents have been afflicted with the notion that it’s our job to look into the souls of foreign leaders and use US policy to dispense justice for their sins. "

I’m going to say this again The president is taxing American consumers to try to do a favor for one of his political allies