Picking up @donmoyn.bsky.social re: Germany and avoiding lapses in budgetary authority. GER Basic Law (constitution) stipulates that in absence of approved budget at the start of year, there is "provisional budgeting" (vorläufige Haushaltsführung) so the govt can meet all legal obligations 1/

Germany spends €490 million on developing and fielding the DefendAir (formerly SADM) "anti drone" missile. Serial production for the 5 km range class missile envisioned for 2029. Will very likely be integrated on Skyranger. www.hartpunkt.de/rund-500-mil...

This FT account of pure thuggishness of Trump representatives posing as diplomats has not appeared in US media anywhere, but is being widely circulated and reported in media in Europe, the UK and the Asia Pacific area. Be sure to read it all.

🚨 JOB ALERT 🚨 The Hannah-Arendt Institute in Dresden is looking for an Assistant Director. (In German)

A real treat to be third in line for grand opening of the Princeton Art Museum and greeted by the Director!

AGI is pleased to announce that Georg F. W. Schaeffler, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Schaeffler AG and shareholder of the Schaeffler Group, has assumed the Chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the American-German Institute. Learn more: americangerman.institute/2025/10/geor...

A Polish mass-produced ALCM is only a matter of time. We'll see if it ends up being this one or another design. defence24.pl/przemysl/pow... 1/3

A pardon "following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company." Unprecedented corruption.

Putin kann militärisch nicht gewinnen, deswegen versucht er politisch zu gewinnen. Er hält den Krieg aufrecht, um möglichst Trump dafür zu nutzen, seine Ziele durchzusetzen. Ukraine und Europäer bleiben von tragbaren Lösungen weit entfernt, wenn sie nur auf Trump setzen.

Because he can: Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German department will lose all PhD seats - Sociology from six PhD students to zero

Nach Alaska sagte Trump: Putin hat einem Treffen mit Selenskyj zugestimmt. Kreml dann: Das braucht viel Vorbereitung. Jetzt sagt Trump: Ich treffe Putin in Budapest. Kreml: Das braucht viel Vorbereitung. „Viel Vorbereitung“ = Erfüllen aller russischen Forderungen.

Die Trump-Serie aus aufgeregten Gipfeln, Sondergipfeln, Gipfelankündigungen bringt uns dem Frieden in Europa bisher nicht näher. Wir drehen uns im Kreis. Die Europäer sollten endlich ihre Stärke nutzen und selbst Putin zu Waffenstillstand und Frieden drängen.

Kawasaki in talks to develop #Taurus missile engines, sources say. So far it’s an US engine. www.reuters.com/business/aer...

This piece by @abenewman.bsky.social on international order and personalist rule is extremely thought-provoking and timely

@aaronstein1.bsky.social and I wrote for @fpri.bsky.social about everyone's favorite once-and-future GLCM, the Tomahawk, and its potential redeployment to Europe: open.substack.com/pub/behindth...

US-China tariffs: where do they currently stand? - US average tariff on imports from China: 57.6% - China average tariff on imports from US: 32.6% Note: We have been updating this chart since September 2019

Die 10 wichtigsten Punkte aus der öffentlichen Anhörung der Nachrichtendienste BND, BfV und MAD: 🧵

Have a look and apply!

🚨We’re hiring at ECFR! * Policy Fellow (for our Washington Office) * Shared Services Accountant (for one of our offices in Berlin, Madrid or Sofia) Join a truly European think tank working on today’s biggest global challenges. More info 👉 https://ecfr.eu/jobs/

MIT rejects "the Compact" orgchart.mit.edu/letters/rega...

it's giving Germania

Germany has been building its military capabilities and coordinating closely with European partners. In our latest podcast, @annakatrein.bsky.social discusses what Germany still needs to do to prepare for strategic independence:

Here's what you should know today: The EU will restrict travel for Russian diplomats within the bloc, citing increasing incidents of spies using diplomatic cover. Russian diplomats must now notify local authorities when traveling between member states.

1/Striking speech by Macron: The future of European democracy depends on taking back its digital information space. A remarkable turn from Silicon Valley as source of enlightenment to being a purveyor of slop. And the stakes aren't just ad revenue but the nation. defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...

Chris Rufo's disastrous takeover of New College in Florida shows what universities would become if they sign the Trump regime's extortionary "compact." New College was supposed to model the anti-woke conservative higher-ed Americans crave. Instead, it showed the opposite, and serves as a warning.

JUST IN: President Trump has told top U.S. commanders that the military would be used against "enemy within."

'Everything that protects Poland also protests us' - important sentence here by German foreign minister that should be communicated more clearly in Germany.

The Trump administration is escalating its surveillance of tens of millions of *legal* immigrants, forcing them to refrain from expressing opinions that someone might deem “anti-American.” It’s a clear attack on free speech and the First Amendment. bit.ly/4823Brc

Troops. In an American city. Using full force. Your now-regular reminder that Republican members of Congress are letting this happen.

Since it's the president saying it, I guess that makes it an Executive Order of Attainder instead of a Bill?

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