Anna Wright

Reform's "patriotism" boils down to doing the great national leader's bidding à la mode de Putin or Trump, such that apparent contradictions and inconvenient truths can easily be glossed over...
Good piece from @rafaelbehr.bsky.social

Kyiv residents share photos and videos on social media showing their freezing apartments and how they are trying to keep warm.

Danke schön

Trump's cold-blooded belittling of British and other non-US Nato sacrifices in Afghanistan apparently leading all British broadcast bulletins. Trump lied to avoid military service. Hopefully his diatribe will boomerang onto Nigel Farage.

US-Präsident Trump fordert "sofortige Verhandlungen" zur Übernahme Grönlands Donald Trump lobt beim Weltwirtschaftsforum seine angeblichen Erfolge und wirft Europa erneut vor, "nicht in die richtige Richtung" zu steuern

(Kann Trump bitte jemand von der Bühne tragen)

Eine Stunde ist um und @riedmann.net fasst es zusammen:
"Nichts zeigt mehr den Verfall der westlichen Welt, als dass dies die Rede eines US-Präsidenten ist."
www.derstandard.at/jetzt/livebe...

And again

#festivesongbook

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

Now playing: open.spotify.com/track/1Dod14...

A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages:

www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late...

Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here:

www.change.org/p/save-moder...

www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...

#languages #mfl

The statement in full:

"We are writing on behalf of the AGS, W+IGS and the German Language Association to express our shock at the proposed closure of Modern Languages degrees at the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester....

savenottinghamlanguages

Save Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham www.savemlcatnotts.org.uk

Sign the Petition Stop the removal of Modern Languages courses at the University of Nottingham!

"Cutting funding for modern languages courses serves only to paralyse our growth as a country."

www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...

University of Nottingham students fight 'insane' cull of courses Traitors composer Sam Watts is among those against plans to cut University of Nottingham courses.

"So much of our European engineering is based in Germany," he [UoN student Max Hegarty] said.

"While a lot of people are willing to learn English, not returning that effort to them is not great for that collaboration, for that international co-operation that we need."

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

PIEROGI'S!

This week's episode on BBC Food Programme I make them with Zuza Zak as my guide.

We got all our ingredients from our local Polski Sklep, aka Polish Shop.

We explore the Polski Sklep, it's a story of migration, community & superb food.

Friday 11am BBC Radio 4 or BBC Sounds

TUNE IN

Lovely programme -- very good on the evolution of the Polski Sklep in the UK over time -- ref. transformative events like EU accession and Brexit -- and the shops' continued popularity as both community hubs and purveyors of fine produce

Sharp analysis from @rafaelbehr.bsky.social.
Putin's illegal war on Ukraine is being fought on a number of fronts, including the economic one of primary interest to the White House's own "prickly potentate".

An outstanding concert, drawing on a rich repertoire and range of styles, from the spine-chillingly John Lee Hookeresque (I Shiver) to the soulful, funkier and danceable (Phone Booth), via so many more.

I love that the German ambassador to the UK just told Matt Frei on #LBC that introducing a youth mobility scheme between both countries is a 'no-brainer'

President Trump said his tariffs on other countries are reciprocal. But @nytopinion writer Binyamin Appelbaum says the formula behind this policy is about trade imbalances — not tariffs — and argues t... TikTok video by New York Times Opinion

How do you do fellow kids? Check out my TikTok debut:

www.tiktok.com/@nytopinion/...

#Tariffs

Planet Telex Radiohead · The Bends · Song · 1995

#nowplaying
30 years of #radiohead's phenomenal album #thebends

open.spotify.com/track/37JISl...

Trump and the end of American soft power [FREE TO READ] Joseph Nye coined the term for the influence countries exert through attraction. Here he sets out why exclusive nationalism is likely to prove a losing strategy

Good morning and welcome to your FT Weekend highlights thread. As ever, all gift links are free 300x and that's your lot, editor's choice is final. First up is this essay from Joseph Nye, who coined the term Soft Power, on how Trump doesn't understand it and why that's a problem on.ft.com/4hlZTcB

The Observer view on the Trump-Zelenskyy clash: a moment of dark reckoning | Observer editorial With or without the US, Europe must learn to defend itself, and Ukraine, against Russian aggression

"[...] ending aid to Ukraine would be a step too far for the UK, even for this highly abnormal regime in Washington."
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Verrat im Oval Office. #Print

'“That was a train wreck by design,” said Sam Greene, a professor of Russian politics at King’s College London. “The quiet conversation since Munich has been about setting Ukraine up for a fall..."'

Kinzinger-Sykes: Today's Oval Office Disgrace Adam Kinzinger and I react to an ugly meltdown.

Kinzinger-Sykes: Today's Oval Office Disgrace
open.substack.com/pub/charlies...

Traurig. Sehr traurig. Der Niedergang der „Washington Post“ unter Trump-Großspender Jeff Bezos.

Going for Gold was a wonderful quiz show and was doing more for peace and cooperation in Europe than all the MEPs put together....maybe.
RIP Henry Kelly

‘I am war. We Ukrainians all became a war. Nothing else about us matters now’. Victoria Amelina wrote these words in February 2022. They appear in a book published in February 2025—posthumously—because Victoria was killed in one of Russia’s numerous war crimes. 1/3

Fantastically lucid piece by Tim Bouverie in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social