Trump, Xi and Putin are giving rise to interesting new groupings of countries www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/newsroom/...

Gorgeous. If I wasn’t banned from Russia, I’d be on the next flight to Novosibirsk

This lot make Chelsea look dignified

And the US isn't helping. Gift link: on.ft.com/3K8y5Oj

Poland's statement to Russia at the UN. "If another missile or aircraft enters our space without permission, deliberately or 'by mistake', and gets shot down, please don't come here to whine about it. You have been warned." ~AA

According to @gideonrachman.bsky.social, Russia's goal of dividing the US from its allies seems to be having some success. "The suspicion between the Balts and the US is mutual," he writes, sharing how Trump admin officials complain of the "Estonianisation" of European policy.

@gideonrachman.bsky.social confirming our fears about the way Trump officials see NATO allies. on.ft.com/4niOyhx

Good morning. Nothing to worry about here. Nothing at all.

Really smart, thought-provoking piece by @gideonrachman.bsky.social in @financialtimes.com, featuring this emphatic conclusion: "The brutality of Netanyahu’s tactics cannot even be justified [...]. For me, at least, Ukraine and Israel are now on different sides of the moral ledger."

Putin providing the ideal (worrying) backdrop to @glandsbergis.bsky.social discussion with @gideonrachman.bsky.social on all things NATO, Ukraine and European security. Listen here: open.spotify.com/episode/25uJ...

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON This is in suburban Chicago. That woman is a congressional candidate. @katmabu.bsky.social And those weapons? COME ON. WHAT THE F*CK

"Even if Britain were to concede now, US demands would not stop." - Great piece from my @ecfr.eu colleague Nacho Torreblanca in the @financialtimes.com today on why the UK (and the EU) must resist US pressure on tech (de)regulation www.ft.com/content/f4f1...

Yeah, that's not a mistake, its deliberate. NATO air defences are being tested.

Sounds a lot like extortion to me.

this cursèd timeline is making me agree with some quite unusual people

For all it's difficulties, there is no alternative to NATO: podcasts.apple.com/at/podcast/t... Hey Austria: Let's get real. Let's do and think reality for a change! @gideonrachman.bsky.social @glandsbergis.bsky.social

reminder: Jimmy Kimmel is enough of a mensch that he devised a segment on which actors who are just short of having enough work to qualify for union healthcare come on his show and deliver a single line of dialogue deadline.com/2024/07/jimm...

Narendra Modi has sent troops to take part in the Zapad exercises rehearsing conflict with neighbouring Nato countries as relations with the US unravel

Interesting piece by @gideonrachman.bsky.social on.ft.com/4maynRP on why his views on Israel v. Palestine have shifted: How Ukraine and Gaza scrambled the ideological map

Brilliant piece by @gideonrachman.bsky.social, both in spotting the phenomenon and parsing it so insightfully.

I have to say this is utterly shocking. She just quoted the man.

"Racism in the UK remains the preserve of an extreme minority — but one that is emboldened and growing louder." - quote from this really excellent column from @stephenkb.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/fbbd...

Weird coincidence (I assume) that Tommy Robinson has adopted the same name as Tom Robinson - of TRB fame - who was a leading light in “Rock against racism” in the 1970s and singer-songwriter of “Sing if you’re glad to be gay”

Absolutely !!!insane!!! to me that the UK government, lobby and newspapers litigate at length every minor infraction by the BBC, rival newspapers, or what some random columnist has posted. But all of them just carry on not even commenting about this media owner. He’s not hiding, he’s telling you!

sat on a train near some drunk white bloke who, one assumes, was out on the march today and he spent ages physically threatening a black guy but also, for some reason, telling him he was going to rape him? but anyway everything feels great in Britain right now

Loath though he is to alienate floating racists, perhaps Starmer could rouse himself to condemn a violent fascist rally teeming with people who want him overthrown and/or killed

Dear hotels: No. Regards, —everyone

My Weekend FT big read. www.ft.com/content/f5df...

⚡️ Finnish President Stubb arrives in Kyiv to discuss Ukraine security, sanctions. "We will also discuss increasing pressure on Russia, sanctions, and the importance of lasting peace," Ukraine's Presidential Office Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak said.

Extraordinary report by Leo Lewis @urbandirt.bsky.social in FT, who has seen the Japan-US MOU on investment. It’s extortion basically. Japan commits to invest hundreds of billions in the US. Trump decides the investments. US keeps 90% of the profits.

“I know a little bit about this”

Really excellent explanation by Ryan Goodman of the legal justifications (or rather the lack thereof) of Trump’s boat strike, and of some the (chilling) further implications. An important conversation, I thought, if not a cheering one. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T1V...

Andy Burnham is not gonna become Labour's next leader, come off it, I mean how would that work, needs a winnable by-election in frankly, a handful of seats, to be able to quit as mayor, this is 'Ruth Davidson to save the Tories' all over again.

Oh dear. He was the greatest internet cat

And I recommend listening to @gideonrachman.bsky.social ‘s interview with Lea here: podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/t...

Elegant

Lea Ypi also talks very eloquently in this podcast with @gideonrachman.bsky.social on the left, philosophy and the parallels between the 1930s and today www.ft.com/content/b952...

@gideonrachman.bsky.social hits the truth, that India's closer ties to China and the dissipation of US global leadership is "for reasons that seem to be largely trivial and to do with [Trump's] own wounded ego" It all is a massive act of geopolitical self-harm indeed. www.ft.com/content/2620...

I think he means the people who compile the figures. But who knows?

Absolutely fantastic conversation between @gideonrachman.bsky.social & @leaypi.bsky.social. www.ft.com/content/b952...

I hate to be the grump at the party. But this is all about Starmer/Macron trying to show relevance to Trump. This force is never gonna happen because 1. Russia will never say yes and if they did 2. US ain't going to go to war with Russia if it fires some missiles at some Euro troops in Ukraine. 🤷‍♂️

Novel form of dissidence in China, where protest is dangerous - man sets up projector in hotel room to beam anti-regime messages onto another building, triggers it only once he's out of the country with family to claim asylum.

Leah Ypi is an interesting academic, and I reckon it'd be worth finding time for this podcast. @gideonrachman.bsky.social ~ https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lea-ypi-on-parallels-between-the-1930s-and-today/id1504048545?i=1000724923083

Nigel Farage looks uncomfortable as Jamie Raskin uses his opening statement to absolutely demolish him

Oh look, Labour has spent months targeting the wrong voters.

“Vengeful, vain, headstrong — and surrounded by ambitious mediocrities… Narcissistic strongman leaders have inflicted terrible damage on other countries. There is no reason to think America will be any different” @gideonrachman.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/4052...

Let’s see a class breakdown of the Telegraph’s recent journalistic hires.

This @gideonrachman.bsky.social podcast with @jamescrabtree.bsky.social is a remarkable indictment of Trump & his wrecking years and years of US Indo-Pacific diplomacy. Astounding how he is allowed to shoot his own country in the foot.

Lori Chavez-DeRemer: "Mr President, I invite you see your big beautiful face on a banner in front of the Department of Labor because you are really the transformational president of the American worker, along with the American flag and President Roosevelt."