Andreas Busch
@abusch.bsky.social
Prof. of political science @ Uni Goettingen, fellow of @NAWGoe.bsky.social, advisory council @WiltonPark.bsky.social. Works on regulation; privacy; pol. economy; religion; UK & German political systems. Interested in many things. Recovering bibliomaniac.
A big ‚Thank you’ to the lovely ppl from @BBCRadio4 for inviting me to talk about my new book ‚Dear Britain’ which has become quite a bestseller in Germany. So we also talked about why the Germans do love this strange little island still so much. Including me ;). 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
The World Tonight - Migrants rescued as boat catches fire in Channel - BBC Sounds
The boat was attempting to cross to the UK when its engine caught fire
bbc.co.uk
Wales become first nation to drop support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino
Wales become first nation to drop support for Fifa president Gianni Infantino
* FAW says under-fire president has lost its confidence * ‘This is a failure we cannot accept’ The Football Association of Wales has withdrawn its support for the Fifa president Gianni Infantino’s re-election bid over his bungled effort to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Infantino announced last week he was shelving the widely denounced plan that was rejected by three confederations but his decade-long reign at the head of Fifa remains under intense scrutiny. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
Impressive! Andy Burnham to give regional mayors share of income tax - BBC News www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Andy Burnham to give regional mayors share of income tax
The prime minister says the move will give power to "every postcode" but critics say the plans lack detail.
bbc.co.uk
This has always been a potential compromise on EU student fees, of a new rate between existing domestic and international. Youth mobility talks were always likely to be a challenge not least as this is a new dossier for the EU negotiators.
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · last wk.Britain’s new PM Andy Burnham is yet to turn his attention to the EU. When he does, Brussels is ready to offer a compromise on tuition fees. 🔗 www.politico.eu/article/eu-p...
We knew HO was major obstacle on Youth Mobility, re capping numbers, and yesterday's reshuffle will presumably strengthen Mahmood's hand relative to No.10 5/
As a reminder, some thoughts on the new personnel line-up on the UK side bsky.app/profile/simo...
Simon Usherwood@simonusherwood.bsky.social · 2w agoRight, let's have a look at the new UK line-up for EU relations tl;dr complete clear-out of senior politicians and reduced weight in Cabinet 1/
The guillotine T-shirt should absolutely be stigmatised. Parties should be v strong against execution "jokes" and calls. Polanski's stupid mistake is well short of incitement in law [as is much more direct socialising of violence] but should apologise & learn from it www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reform UK reporting Green leader Zack Polanski to police over Instagram post
The post included a photo of a man wearing a top featuring the name "Nigel" alongside an image of a guillotine.
bbc.co.uk
The Burnham findings are obvs at a specific moment Farage's ratings have deteriorated remarkably trails 24% to Badenoch trails 11% to Ed Davey (Marginally trails Polanski)
YouGov@yougov.co.uk · last wk.Who would make the better PM? Burnham 48% vs Farage 22% Burnham 45% vs Polanski 9% Burnham 41% vs Davey 8% Burnham 38% vs Badenoch 26% Badenoch 41% vs Farage 17% Badenoch 36% vs Polanski 20% Badenoch 32% vs Davey 23% Davey 35% vs Farage 24% Davey 27% vs Polanski 13% Polanski 29% vs Farage 27%
Fires in France have now burned over 91,000 acres, by far the most of any year since the satellite record started in 2006. Current area burned is about 34x larger than this date in a typical (median) year:
There are about 125 government ministers (95 MPs, 30 peers) and now approx 60 MPs in these PPS roles - giving a total frontbench in the region of 185 people, including about 155 of Labour's 403 MPs.
Sein Tod ist ein schwerer Verlust für den öffentlichen Diskurs über unsere real existierende Demokratie in der Bundesrepublik. Er hatte immer etwas Interessantes zu sagen. RIP Günter Bannas gestorben: Der Inbegriff der journalistischen Seriösität | FAZ www.faz.net/aktuell/poli...
Günter Bannas gestorben: Der Inbegriff der journalistischen Seriösität
Präzise, nüchtern, unparteiisch, fair: So berichtete Günter Bannas in der F.A.Z. über die deutsche Politik. Nun ist er in Berlin gestorben.
faz.net
Elon Musk, owner of X, has called the editor of the Economist "a traitor to the West, plain and simple" after her recent interview with him. He now argues that "anyone who opposes remigration is a traitor" Musk has been socialising violence since Aug25: "fight or die, that's what it comes down to"
Musk was humiliated in his interview with The Economist editor Zanny Minton Beddoes. She called him out on his bullshit, pointed out his lies and ignorance and extreme prejudice. We need more interviews like that. This is the response of the world’s thinnest-skinned man.
The US has been a huge funder of policy-relevant research worldwide and for better or worse whatever happens in the November elections will affect the global scientific community — so it is important to put these clear and loud statements out www.science.org/content/blog...
The Assault On Science Funding Continues
science.org
If you want genuine Hollywood classicism I’d recommend Kubrick’s Spartacus over the rather lame and overlong Odysseus …
🚩 My 2010 PhD thesis is ‘70% AI’ I ran my 2010 PhD thesis through an AI detector. It flagged 70% as AI, then tried to sell me a ‘humanise’ fix. Either I am a time traveller, or these tools do not work. Link to my thesis in the comments to try yourself. #AIDetection #HigherEd 🧪 #AI
19th century Birmingham is a better model than 21st century Manchester. Some thoughts in the FT about Burnham's devolution plans www.ft.com/content/aba1...
The Victorians have some lessons for Burnham on radical devolution
Britain needs the social and economic glue of local power
ft.com
Healey's fiscal buffer down to £7 bn from £25 bn (FT) due to Iran. He is also going to lose £12-13 billion when revising future immigration estimates down. (I don't think is already part of this drop to £7bn)
The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila
Petition to save King Edward's Swimming Pool. Background: www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/sink-or-swim... democracy.sheffield.gov.uk/mgEPetitionD...
democracy.sheffield.gov.uk
Entscheidung im Machtkampf in der PiS. Kaczyński wirft den früheren Premier Morawiecki sowie rund 30 Abgeordnete aus der Partei, nachdem diese sich geweigert hatten, eine Loyalitäterklärung zu unterschreiben.
Gazeta Wyborcza @wyborcza.pl · 2w agoJarosław Kaczyński wyszedł do dziennikarzy w samo południe, z oświadczeniem, bez możliwości zadawania pytań. 🟥 Czytaj więcej: wybr.cz/4fxAYEa
This is revealing but *not* because @zannymb.economist.com shows Musk up as a raving psychopath. Fine, but hardly news. It's because *she* describes Alice Weidel - the openly racist leader of a far-right party infested with neo-Nazis -as a "perfectly thoughtful person."
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 2w agoAt one point she notes that AfD, the German political party that Musk supports, has "real neo-Nazis." Musk literally just shrugs.
There's a reason Elon Musk rarely does interviews with real news outlets.
Elon Musk Melts Down Over Perfectly Normal Questions in Wild New Interview
"Maybe some people do loathe me. And that's probably true. I don't care," said Musk.
gizmodo.com
A genuine information problem, for once: Journalists are trained to talk to people in more depth and report what seems important. Survey folk are trained to talk to more people in less depth and report all of it. Both land in the news cycle, but the unresolved epistemic tension is going to break it.
Alex Andreou@sturdyalex.bsky.social · 4w agoThe danger of using voxpops in place of real analysis. Cameras are a magnet for motivated activists. These two made it into four different reels + a dozen print pieces. The illusion is that we're getting an insight into "Clacton voters". In truth, we just know what Farage Megastans Jim & June think.
Here is my take on what Andy Burnham's premiership means for EU-UK relations (in German) for @swp-europe.bsky.social :
Neuer britischer Premierminister: Pragmatismus statt Aufbruch
Der neue britische Premierminister Andy Burnham setzt seine politischen Schwerpunkte vor allem in der Innenpolitik. Für die Beziehungen zur EU...
swp-berlin.org
This is an extremely bad sign. Firstly, on principle. Secondly, on economics. Thirdly, (and most importantly) on judgement. Silly headline grabbing initiatives backfilled via taking from anywhere (even structurally important funding) you don’t think people will immediately notice.
Bloomberg News@bloomberg.com · 2w agoNew UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham will use money allocated to helping poor countries deal with the worst impacts of climate change to fund a new cap on bus fares across England.
Can democracy survive while this cabal of oligarchs controls news media and social media?
Patrick Dunleavy@patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 8mo agoJason Bassler Anyone else find it strange that 7 of the richest men on Earth aren't just billionaires, but also media barons? Musk, Ellison, Bezos, Arnault, Brin, Page, Zuckerberg. They own the feeds, papers, platforms and narratives that shape our reality and no one says a word.🚩
