Holger Hestermeyer

Brilliant - and such amazing timing!!!

(There was also a line about ICE protecting Vance, but that just seems silly)

This could be an example of how otherwise routine cooperation suddenly becomes toxic

From what I‘ve seen in the Italian press it seem that this is HSI, which sits under ICE. I Would suggest to try and find out how/if HSI was involved in previous global mass events

More detailed information on France‘s move from zoom/teams to Visio is available here www.heise.de/news/Frankre...

That would have been a violation of Art. 31 of the VCCR. Ironically, Ecuador is currently sued by Mexico before the ICJ for violating the premises of Mexico‘s embassy.

Don’t say ‘Watch out for ice’: FEMA warned storm announcements could invite memes | CNN Politics Homeland Security officials have urged disaster response staff at FEMA to avoid using the word “ice” in public messaging about the massive winter storm barreling toward much of the United States. The ...

Today's comic relief - from now on it isn't ice, it's frozen rain.
edition.cnn.com/2026/01/23/p...

On ICE in Italy.

Quite curious. My theory so far is that it‘s a bit like the Facebook content moderators. They read all the lies - and end up radicalising, because that‘s the effect of being in that environment all day every day.

To the extent I followed the Italian debate: as part of the team protecting Vance but also (in the guise of HSI) as part of the habitual international cooperation against threats for such events.

Where we currently are: we want George Bush and Sepp Blatter back.

Fussball-WM in den USA: Schweizer Experte rät Fans von Reise ab – dann meldet sich plötzlich Blatter Die Frage nach einem Boykott der Fussball-WM wird kontrovers diskutiert. Der frühere Fifa-Boss Sepp Blatter gibt nun den Kritikern recht.

Sepp Blatter, the predecessor of Infantino as FIFA president, tells fans to not travel to the USA for the soccer (aka football) world cup.

www.tagesanzeiger.ch/sepp-blatter...

A remarkable court order - and my guess is that ICE will (only) comply when threatened with severe consequences. The problem is that they will make these individual cases go away - and the systemic mess they cause will not.

ICE agents to help with US security operations at Winter Olympics in Italy Agents from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) force will support US security operations at the Winter Olympics in Italy in February, the organisation said on Tuesday, sparking anger fro...

And then there's this... ICE is coming to Italy for the olympics to "help the host nation" regarding risks from transnational criminal organizations.
www.france24.com/en/europe/20...

Canada is already in the old NATO - I think the roles will change. Defence arrangements around the EU will harden with inclusions of Canada, the UK and Ukraine (and we'll see which format that will take), traditional NATO will lose in importance.

If the new Trumpian world order is what it is it might be a bit unclear how the EU and the US cope. But one thing is also clear: NATO will be either dead or largely irrelevant.

... whether his institutional setting - hearing NATO officials every day emphasize how interdependent we are - just has a natural impact on him.

Might I add one point: Rutte speaks as SG of NATO and I fear he is very institutional - in the sense that if the EU and the US can and do defend themselves, NATO is diminished. His job is defending NATO. I have not made up my mind whether he knows that's what he's doing or...

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EU-India agreement: Documents Round reports and EU proposals

EU-India has now been concluded, but the text is in legal scrubbing, but fortunately the EU is rather more transparent than most FTA negotiators - here are the documents relating to the FTA policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-rel...

EU-Mercosur: Text of the agreement Read the different sections of the agreement.

As the EU progresses on its FTA agenda here's the text of EU-Mercosur policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-rel...

Particularly as long as we do not know what that coming together is meant to imply. After all the eu has ftas with most members, so it‘s not about that.

I really feel quite uncomfortable that people keep emphasizing that the victims were US citizens. I know that is not what you want to say - but more and more it seems like the US is conceding that killing non-US citizens extrajudicially is OK.

I am not entirely sure whether the UK will really re-elect a cabinet that failed them and they ended up hating - only because now it is called "Reform UK"

Meaning the Atlantic article is by John Yoo. The bit you can see before the paywall is on brand.

John Yoo

That seems both necessary and slightly scary - any views from us colleagues on what this means in terms of state-federal confrontations?

Minnesota National Guard mobilizes around Minneapolis following fatal shooting Troops will be supporting local law enforcement “securing” the site where Alex Pretti was shot, as well as a federal building.

Parts of the Minnesota national guard has been mobilised to help local law enforcement and will wear reflective wears to avoid confusion with federal law enforcement taskandpurpose.com/news/minneso...

KARE 11: Minnesota DOC launches new website to 'address ongoing misinformation by DHS' The DOC names Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino directly in a statement.

Minnesota Department of Corrections Statement on Minneapolis Shooting and Federal Claims January 24, 2026 The Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) extends its condolences to the family and loved ones of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents this morning in Minneapolis. The loss of life is tragic, and Minnesotans deserve transparency, accountability, and facts. In the hours following the shooting, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino held a press conference asserting that the operation was targeting an individual named Jose Huerta-Chuma and characterized him as having a significant criminal history. Because federal statements have repeatedly included inaccurate information about Minnesota custody and criminal records, the DOC reviewed available records to determine whether the individual referenced had any connection to Minnesota state prison custody.

ased on DOC records and publicly available Minnesota court data: The individual identified by federal officials has never been in Minnesota DOC custody. DOC and court records show no felony commitments associated with this Public Minnesota court records reflect only misdemeanor-level traffic offenses from more than a decade ago. The individual is not currently under DOC supervision. DOC records further indicate that an individual by this name was previously held in federal immigration custody in a local Minnesota jail in 2018, during President Trump’s first administration. Any decisions regarding release from federal custody at that time would have been made by federal authorities. DOC has no information explaining why this individual was released.

Things are so bad that the Minnesota prison system has had to launch a website specifically to combat DHS lies. The first major release from DOC officials suggests Gregory Bovino outright lied about the target of the Border Patrol operation during which agents shot and killed Alex Pretti.

I apologize - I am not sure what this is in reference to, but it might be in reference to a tweet I just deleted because it was wrong. So my apologies.