Martin Wolf's unimprovable answer when asked to identify "The summer that changed me" www.ft.com/content/d529...
Any big-budget Wittgenstein film should be 75% Wittgenstein being an unremitting asshole to everyone he meets, with the director varying whether only we think the target deserves it, 23% him being terrible to himself, and then 2% this specific moment, which is unexpectedly the heart of the film.
Brett Karlan@oldjerryfodor.bsky.social · last wk.Bro if Christopher Nolan ever directs a big-budget retelling of the Wittgenstein-Popper poker incident, imma write a review in the LRB that is SO scathing
"Graf Mülleimergesicht" - thought and prayers for journalists who are now trying to find the best way of translating 'Count Binface' into German taz.de/Rechtspopuli...
Pumped for an all-WENA (West Europe and North Africa) quarter-finals
FIFA: this was an orderly process, conducted according to the rules, with no political interfere-- TRUMP: I told em to do it
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last mo.Trump on Balogun: "That wasn't even an infraction...this referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. He made a call nobody could believe...he's our best player, or one of our best players. And he gave him a red card. I didn't know what that meant...yes, I asked for a review by FIFA."
“President Infantino, we’ve got the King of Belgium on line 1, the Prime Minister of Belgium on line 2, the Minister-Presidents of Flanders, Wallonia, and the Brussels Capital Region on lines 3, 4, and 5 respectively, and the Minister-President of the German-Speaking Community of Belgium on line 6.”
In fact the record has already gone. 41.3 in Saarbrücken today, Germany's highest ever temperature. Berlin bracing for impact tomorrow.
Bajuwandres@bajuwandres.bsky.social · last mo.40.9 degrees measured in the Saarland today, breaking Germany's heat record for June. All-time high could go this weekend.
Just unalloyed delight at the sky-high pollen count in Berlin to accompany the sky-high temperatures. Go hard or go home 🤧
any answer to this that fails to account for the extreme anti-incumbency mood across large parts of Europe flops imo. Something is in the air, it's not just that Starmer was rubbish.
Stanley Pignal@spignal.bsky.social · last mo.Anyone can give a one-line answer as to why each PM from Thatcher to Sunak got kicked out of office -- sometimes just one word. I don't think that's the case with Starmer. Clearly he didn't shine as PM, hence he's out. But the diversity of views as to what he did wrong is what's unusual.
First meeting with a local official in a Bavarian town this morning. Before we've even sat down, "Man, what the hell is wrong with your little island?"
DER SPIEGEL@spiegel.de · last mo.Der britische Regierungschef Keir Starmer will nach monatelangem Druck sein Amt als Premierminister niederlegen. Er hat bereits mit dem König gesprochen.
Damn straight. This guy should go to Belfast and say this in person. I'm sure he'll get a lively reaction.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2mo agoKilmeade to an agreeing Markwayne Mullin: "In Belfast they're standing up because their leaders have let them down. They're trying to take their country back. They want to label them as racist. All they want to be is Irish. They want Ireland back. I see a lot of the same fights here."
"it is increasingly important that Europe, given Washington’s progressive disengagement from the continent, thinks hard about how it can win the fragile peace, should a cease-fire be reached." t.co/KQFBeHTNNF
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/ukraine-war-turns-tide
t.co
Not sure who needs to hear about this, but the new EP from The Field is fantastic. thefield.bandcamp.com/album/now-yo...
Now You Exist, by The Field
5 track album
thefield.bandcamp.com
En route to Prague for @globsec.org. Moderating two panels tomorrow: a debate on NATO's future, and a discussion with the foreign ministers of Germany, Poland and Hungary. I think both streamed live. Say hi if you're around.
Having established a coalition to monitor a ceasefire that doesn't exist, Europe is now discussing the identity of a "Putin-whisperer" to negotiate with a partner that has demonstrated no interest in negotiating. www.ft.com/content/1dc0...
EU mulls Angela Merkel or Mario Draghi as possible Vladimir Putin whisperer
Momentum gathers for Europe to appoint its own representative as US-led talks on Ukraine stall
ft.com
Unexpected highlight of a Saturday in Hamburg: the Verner Panton-designed canteen for Der Spiegel, preserved and lovingly reassembled in a nearby museum when the magazine moved. Imagine checking page proofs in here.
Every few years I am allowed to write pieces like this www.economist.com/europe/2026/...
The world’s best-sounding nightclub is in an unexpected place
Why DJs are flocking to an obscure town in west Germany
economist.com
It's quite something that it remains controversial (check out the comments) among some Germans for the country's paper of record to publish an interview with a man who has every chance of becoming French president in a year's time. Several German papers will not even do this with leaders of the AfD.
Michaela Wiegel@micfaz.bsky.social · 3mo agoSoll man Umfragefavorit Bardella interviewen? Ja, wenn man wissen will, was er in Europa vorhat und was es für die Beziehung zu 🇩🇪 bedeutet. www.faz.net/aktuell/poli...
Props to anyone maintaining the patience required to keep up with this
New polling from the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt puts the AfD within a couple of pp of an absolute majority. Election in early September.
Wahlrecht.de@wahlrecht.de · 3mo agoSonntagsfrage zur Landtagswahl in Sachsen-Anhalt • Infratest dimap für MDR, MZ, Volksstimme: AfD 41 % | CDU 26 % | DIE LINKE 12 % | SPD 7 % | GRÜNE 4 % | BSW 4 % | Sonstige 6 % ➤ Verlauf: wahlrecht.de/umfragen/lan... 🗓️ Landtagswahl: 6. September 2026 #ltwst #ltwlsa
