Alexander Fanta

Nicht immer so dyspeptisch, Herr Kollege.

This is myopic. Obviously the situation in Iran is dire, but that does not mean any change is for the better. After Saddam was toppled, Iraq descended into sectarian civil war. All I am saying is - think of the consequences. Trump has no game plan.

That is not my claim, not even implicitly. I just think what happened is a reckless gamble that has killed civilians and risked peace for a completely unpredictable outcome.

I think you can well imagine how this war will turn into a total disaster, too. I haven't heard any convincing theory how removing Khamenei, however call there might be, would lead to a more stable or democratic Iran. Have you?

Stadt Wien schwärzt Dokumente zum ESC, die ungeschwärzt im Internet zu finden sind Wo steht die Organisation des Eurovision Song Contest 2026 aktuell? Dokumente der Stadt Wien, die DER STANDARD einsehen konnte, geben einen Einblick. Aber nur einen eingeschränkten

Die Stadthalle hat laut ihrer Umwelterklärung "diverse Radabstellplätze in unmittelbarer Umgebung".
Aus Sicht der Stadt Wien handelt es sich dabei aber um eine geheime Info. Denn während das Dokument ungeschwärzt im Internet steht, wurde die Passage in einer Antwort auf meine IFG-Anfrage geschwärzt.

Es war kurz nach 6 Uhr früh am Ende eines langen Nachtdienstes, war etwas schlafdepriviert und habe aus dem Bauch entschieden. 😁

Eine Richtlinie gab es zumindest damals nicht.

Der Castro-Blitz war ich

International law is perhaps not the point. Saddam was toppled, but what came after was a steep price to pay.

Nice scoop!

I'd be interested in hearing more about that. Find me at alexander.fanta@ftm.nl

Trump allies target European NGOs in battle over Big Tech rules Trump allies have waged an aggressive campaign against civil society and academics in the United States. Now, they're setting their sights across the Atlantic, threatening Europe's efforts to rein in ...

Can MAGA stop Europe’s Big Tech crackdown? Trump allies are ramping up pressure on the EU’s tech laws. The U.S. imposed visa bans on NGO leaders and a former EU commissioner. Congress wants NGOs to hand over documents. If watchdogs are silenced, Europe’s ability to hold Big Tech accountable weakens.

Trump allies target European NGOs in battle over Big Tech rules Trump allies have waged an aggressive campaign against civil society and academics in the United States. Now, they're setting their sights across the Atlantic, threatening Europe's efforts to rein in ...

MAGA's war on European civil society is escalating. Visa bans for NGO leaders and former EU officials, plus congressional demands for documents - it's all about undermining the Digital Services Act to protect Big Tech.

If Europe doesn't push back hard, "the law is dead."

www.ftm.eu/articles/tru...

Trump allies target European NGOs in battle over Big Tech rules Trump allies have waged an aggressive campaign against civil society and academics in the United States. Now, they're setting their sights across the Atlantic, threatening Europe's efforts to rein in ...

Who cares if Trump & his allies attack a few European NGOs?, you might ask.

You're wrong. We are seeing a campaign that doesn't just hurt a few NGOs. It strikes at the heart of the EU's tech laws, and European sovereignty.

Inside MAGAs quiet campaign to undermine the EU:
www.ftm.eu/articles/tru...

Puzzling as I would have assumed that moderating illegal content under the DSA is more time-consuming and potentially troublesome to a platform than TOS moderation. It must have another reason, such as an ideological one as you mentioned.

Newsletter | The EU attended Trump’s Gaza initiative. A match made in Munich? Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘂 𝗕𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘀: the EU attends Trump’s Gaza initiative after our reporting on the Tony Blair Institute’s lobbying, four years after Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, the conflict endures – as does our scrutiny – and a Dutch government-backed report challenges EU migration plans.

Also, a big shoutout to @lucasamin.bsky.social at Democracy for Sale and @lighthousereports.com with whom we cooperated on this story.

A lobby success for Blair, one can surmise. But who funds the bill?

Support @ftm.eu while we dig deeper into this story.

Lo and behold, Blair's institute did indeed meet with Commission officials in Munich days before the inaugural Board of Peace meeting, a spokesperson told Follow the Money. And indeed, the day our story published, the Commission announced Suica would attend Trump's shindig.

Last week, we scooped that Tony Blair's institute had lobbied the EU Commission to take a role in post-war reconstruction of Gaza under the mantle of Trump's Board of Peace. Blair's people pushed for a meeting with the EU's commissioner for the Mediterranean, Croatian Dubrovka Suica.

Tony Blair walking into the Munich Security Conference, shot by Reuters

This is Reuters footage of Tony Blair arriving at this year's Munich Security Conference.

All eyes are on Orbán’s main challenger for Hungary’s premiership, Péter Magyar. What does he stand for? Our research shows his party Tisza maintains an ambiguous voting record on Russia and rule-of-law — the two issues driving disputes between Orbán and the EU.

Am Aschermittwoch!!!

It’s now official: the EU will attend Trump’s Board of Peace. But what about the lobbying behind it?

Yesterday, we revealed via an internal Commission document obtained through FOI that representatives of the Tony Blair Institute urged the EU to join, saying it “should not be shy.”

News update: The EU announced that Commissioner Suica, who Tony Blair wanted to meet according to the document we obtained, has agreed to join the first meeting of the "Board of Peace". No sh*t. Their lobbying actually worked!

Revealed: Tony Blair’s Institute lobbied EU to work with Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza TBI pushed bloc on US plan for Palestine but internal disquiet on “taboo topic” Gaza grows

Our publication partner Democracy for Sale has a longer story including some background from within TBI about their lobbying on Gaza and the Board of Peace (HT
@lucasamin.bsky.social ) - find their excellent reporting here:
democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-t...

Documents reveal Tony Blair lobbied EU to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’

🔗Full story: www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

Newsletter | Documents reveal Tony Blair lobbied EU to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism

Find the juice details in our writeup:
www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

Shilling for Trump in Brussels: A document we obtained shows how Tony Blair and his institute lobbied behind closed doors for the EU to join Trump's "Board of Peace" and put €€€ behind US- and Israeli-led Gaza reconstruction efforts.

Published with Democracy for Sale, ht @lighthousereports.com

Newsletter | Transparency battles shaping the EU in 2026 Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism

🔍 Inside the EU's plan to classify (almost) everything
🪟 Court fights to make the EU Commission transparent
📱 Ombudsman probes VDL texts (again)

Our Secrecy Tracker newsletter gives you 2026's top transparency stories:

www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...

🙌 @ftm.eu @euobserver.com @investigate-europe.eu

The same tendency to move counter-clockewise both on ice and in the store. Apparently somehow linked to most people being right-handed.