What is #Russia really voting on? (A: nothing really; even the USSR used to have elections.) ICYMI, "elections" is hardly a measure of #democracy - that assumes rule of law, independent press, freedom of speech, segregation betwn govt v party in power etc So no, this is a show. Not an election.

The idea of @vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu to invite @mark-carney.bsky.social to make Canada 🇨🇦 an associate member of the EU 🇪🇺 is a good one but.... What does it really mean? Will 🇨🇦 accept EU legislation? Free movement? Etc Barrier had this "stairway to hell" for Brexit - a big gap to bridge! #SOTEU

Serbia’s state funeral for convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić is a slap in the face of justice and #EUvalues. ICYMI: Mladic led a #genocide, killing thousands in #Srebrenica, #Sarajevo & elsewhere in Bosnia 🇧🇦 No place for genocide apologists in Europe. 🇷🇸❌ balkaninsight.com/2026/08/28/s...

Serbia to Organise Genocide Convict Ratko Mladic's Funeral with State Honours

The Serbian government will organise the transportation of the body of the convicted Bosnian Serb general from The Hague to Belgrade and arrange his funeral with state honours.

balkaninsight.com

Ukraine’s defense holds, but the cost is devastating -not only to Russia's meat grinder. Russians infiltrate Mykolaivka, the last stronghold before Slovyansk, backed by North Korean missiles. 🇺🇦✊ #StandWithUkraine #RussiaIsATerroristState euobserver.com/233160/russi...

Russians infiltrate last stronghold before Sloviansk, as North Korea supplies devastating new missiles (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,639)

As small Russian units slip into Mykolaivka street by street, exhausted Ukrainian defenders, foreign-trained deserters, and terrified civilians brace for a possible assault on Sloviansk, backed by new...

euobserver.com

Is Trump's America 🇺🇸 now a feudal kleptocracy? "Loyalty to Donald Trump's foreign policy" becomes the main demand the US administration expects from #NATO allies. America has moved from #democracy ➡️ feudalism, led by an elected dictator who expects prostration. open.substack.com/pub/ivodaald...

This is How NATO Dies

A new Pentagon questionnaire sent to America's 31 NATO allies puts fealty above common interests, divides the allies among themselves, weakens collective defense, and ultimately could destroy NATO.

open.substack.com

For centuries, Jews were victims of hate & violence. That is NO JUSTIFICATION for the aggression of orthodox Jews towards Palestinians in #WestBank, which is nothing else than striving for an #Endlösung #genocide (And I stand by every meaning of these 🔥 words) www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Israeli militants besiege two Palestinian families in their West Bank homes

Settlers and soldiers cut off water and electricity to homes, and block medical care in campaign of terror

theguardian.com

With traffic on the Azov Sea heavily restricted, passage through the straight almost 0, ferries btwn Krasnodar kraj & Kerch stopped, trains over the bridge blocked from traveling beyond Kerch, the land connection a kill zone, Russia's occupation of #Crimea has become a liability. #Ukraine 🇪🇺💙 🇺🇦

WarTranslated (Dmitri)@wartranslated.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Ship traffic in the Azov Sea dropped 90% in a month, from 134 vessels on July 6th to just 14 on August 6th, per Oko Gora analysts.

🇪🇺 27 to 29? Could we have a joint #Montenegro + #Iceland accession package, with member countries ratifying their bids together? 🇮🇸 wealth would make it a net contributor to the EU budget and effectively pay for the membership of 🇲🇪 , which would be among the poorest members of the bloc.

POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · 2mo ago

Iceland and Montenegro could join the EU together in 2028 if Icelanders vote to relaunch membership talks this month. And Brussels is open to the idea of a package, eight diplomats and officials told us. Brussels Playbook has more 👇

The "Christian values" of #Putin are a lie. The narrative only serves to position him - just as the czar - as the protector of 🇷🇺 traditions + 🇷🇺 power. He hates other values - Christian or other - that would offer Russians an alternative. Personal choice is unacceptable in Putin's #Russia.

EUvsDisinfo@euvsdisinfo.eu · 2mo ago

The Kremlin’s ‘defending Christian values’ narrative asks audiences to judge Russia by its slogans rather than its conduct.    Its conduct includes repeated strikes on Christian churches in Ukraine, as well as the destruction of the Holy Vvedenska Church.

A long & informative interview with W CEO @anna.wsocial.eu It will take you about 60 minutes, but it answers a lot of questions on the present & the future of @wsocial.eu . (Not sure I like ALL the answers, but interesting and transparent.) youtu.be/fyXi7IGGSUQ?...

Musk Threatened the EU, Europe Built Its X Rival in 6 Months!

YouTube video by The World of Risks in the AI Era

youtu.be

Dear @wsocial.eu , How come that, when I identify my location as "Belgium", the *Trends* page only gives me information in French ? (Which is not my system language or in any way identified as a preference) ICYMI, the majority language in Belgium is Dutch, but you set the default to "French only"?

ICYMI, Ceuta is not part op the #Schengen Area, the recent attack does not "open the flood gates of unlimited migration into EU" @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu is right that the extreme right incl MAGA is lying about events in Ceuta, targeting Spain's leftist govt www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta

We’ve seen this before.

theatlantic.com

No doubt Trump will soon call out the EU's #AIAct Act as pestering US companies or limiting freedom of expression .... but just like #DSA, the EU puts citizens rights above US robbery barons 2.0 capitalism. www.politico.eu/article/meet...

Meet the EU team leading the world’s first bona fide regulation of AI

A new European Commission unit is about to have the power to fine or even shut down top AI platforms if they don’t ensure safety.

politico.eu

Will Europeans 🇪🇺 fight for their country? The gap between Nordic/Baltic countries (we're ready) vs southern EU countries (no thanks) is huge. Can closer involvement increase resilience & preparedness to create a stronger deterrence? By @nathalietocci.bsky.social www.economist.com/by-invitatio...

Would Europeans fight, if it came to that?

Putting boots on the ground would not help Ukraine, but it might help Europe find the stomach for war, writes Nathalie Tocci

economist.com

This speech from Putin fits in his 🤡 view of Ukraine as a non-nation "Russia was the only guarantor of Ukraine's territorial integrity.[Now that is gone,] Poland, Hungary and Romania will claim back bits of 🇺🇦 ... history will ultimately put everything back in its place" tass.com/politics/216...

Ukraine to lose its Western territories sooner or later — Putin

It may not happen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, It may take one year, two years, 10 years or 15 years, Russian President said

tass.com

Péter Magyar delivers on his campaign promise to reverse the kleptocracy. According to Magyar's govt, €83 billion in public assets have been embezzled under Orbán’s rule. Now a powerful anti-corruption agency will look this. #Hungary #Magyarország 🇭🇺💙🇪🇺 eualive.net/hungary-crea...

Hungary creates powerful anti-corruption agency to recover assets from Orbán era

Hungary’s parliament has approved the creation of a powerful National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection ...

eualive.net

Unthinkable in China. Unthinkable in Russia. Unthinkable in India. And yes, unthinkable in America. This is Europe.

Eric Adamson@eadamson91.bsky.social · 2mo ago

It’s Stockholm Pride Week, and the Swedish Armed Forces will be proudly marching in uniform “to defend your right to be who you are.”

Time to face reality: the EU 🇪🇺 is about more than a single market - Europe must act as a geopolitical power, or be irrelevant. Kant and Machiavelli already knew: united, the continent will stand stronger together against external threats, able to defend our shared values

Brussels Institute for Geopolitics@bigeurope.bsky.social · 2mo ago

📚 From the BIG archive: Europe’s Intellectual Foundations Joshua Livestro revisits Europe’s geopolitical tradition and argues for a more resilient narrative of the Union - one rooted in strategic necessity, historical experience and the capacity to act independently. 🔗 shorturl.at/j8KCp

The 29 August referendum in Iceland 🇮🇸 is looking like a close call, with the govt supporting the YES to re-open accession talks. IMHO, Guðrún Hafsteinsdóttir is trying to create the impression of a non-existent EU interference to stir up nationalist feelings www.politico.eu/article/icel...

Change of heart? 🇳🇴💙🇪🇺 Former Norwegian PM Kjell Magne Bondevik successfully campaigned against Norway's entry in EU in the 1972 & 1994 referenda. Now he urges the 🇳🇴 government to start discussions with EU (especially should Iceland vote to re-open talks on 29 August.

Why @wsocial.eu? It's EU-funded, EU-built, and EU-based, aligned with EU legislation (GDPR/DSA). They commit to better control of my feed & allow to verify real persons vs bots. Still plenty of questions on the platform and its governance, but for now, I'll go with the European 💙🇪🇺 solution!

Dear followers, I’m putting my @paladino.eurosky.social handle on hold in favour of the verified @paladino.wsocial.eu (⚠️FOLLOW ME THERE⚠️) - managed via the @wsocial.eu app). Both use the AT Protocol, so you can still follow me on @bsky.app.

If you think like me and you want to make our European identity more visible through common passport, sign this European Citizens' Initiative 💙🇪🇺 eci.ec.europa.eu/060/public/#...

European Citizens' Initiative

Give your support !

eci.ec.europa.eu

Neither Olympic nor European values. While Russia is killing the citizens of Ukraine 🇺🇦 and failing to make progress on the battlefield, the IOC thinks there is no reason to maintain 🇷🇺 suspension. Nine EU countries 🇸🇪 🇪🇪 🇳🇱 🇱🇹 🇱🇻 🇵🇱 🇷🇴 🇫🇮 🇩🇰 rightly appeal to defund the IOC in protest.

Back to the USSR? We all know Putin's claim that "the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century." Never was his effort to reverse history clearer that when he addressed his generals as "tovarishchi", the Soviet "comrades" jargon. Link in comments