Tony Gallagher

On 9 November 1938 the German diplomat Ernst vom Rath was assassinated by Herschel Grynszpan, a 17-year-old German-born Polish Jew living in Paris. The Nazis used this as an excuse for launching Kristallnacht, an assault on Jews in Germany.

Pause to consider what this means: The Trump administration will audit admissions data by race, color, and test score.

RACE AND COLOR. COLOR. That’s exactly what Columbia agreed to do.

When’s the last time that someone asked you what color you are? Are you sure the Trump admin agrees with you?

YouTube video by Montclair Immigration Network The last speech of Ronald Reagan as president was on immigration

In Trump’s America I assume Reagan’s last speech as President would be banned for its ‘woke’ sentiment youtu.be/2R8QxCD6ir8?...

YouTube video by Teachers Talk Radio The Estonian Education System - with Kristina Kallas

Fascinating conversation with Kristina Kallas on Education in Estonia on Teachers Talk Radio. Key to the system's success: set high standards for entry to teacher education, but then trust teachers with high levels of autonomy. Listen at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=McVQ...

Brooke Nichols, a Boston University health economist, is calculating the consequences of Trump’s cuts to humanitarian aid across the world. Currently the level of additional deaths is 340,000 and rising.

'I embrace you with all my heart.' When Albert Camus was awarded the Nobel Prize he wrote a letter to his first teacher. Worth remembering on #thankateacher day.

Bosnia in Deadlock as Serbs Strain for Exit | International Crisis Group Once again, leaders of the majority-Serb entity Republika Srpska are threatening to break away from Bosnia. While tensions between the entity and Sarajevo are longstanding, national collapse may be cl...

www.crisisgroup.org/europe-centr...

Trump Jumps at the Chance for a Confrontation in California Over Immigration

Inflammatory language by Trump and his acolytes as he directly challenges the elected leader of California. Is this the start of an assault on Democrat-controlled States? www.nytimes.com/2025/06/08/u... via NYTimes

Ed Smylie knew this stick-fast wonder could fix anything The NASA engineer who saved the crew of Apollo 13 died on April 21st, aged 95

NASA engineer Ed Smylie died last month. He was most famous for using bits and pieces of materials, all held together by duct tape, to save the lives of the Apollo 13 crew. He firmly believed this stick-fast wonder could fix anything (from The Economist) economist.com/obituary/202...

Three FT articles today - 1) international students speak anonymously out of fear of Trump’s ban, (2) questioning the defunding of public radio and (3) criticism of crypto-currency. Trump’s response: ‘Apparently the Financial Times has dumb writers listening to even dumber sources.’

Children in #Gaza are enduring unimaginable suffering.
According to @unicef.org, over 950 have reportedly been killed in just two months.

They are starving, displaced, and exposed to indiscriminate attacks.

This must stop.
Children must be protected.

Semicolons bring the drama; that’s why I love them Neither full stop nor comma, they symbolise a nuance that is disappearing in a polarised world

Wonderful article suggesting we set aside Kurt Vonnegut’s advice and celebrate the semicolon. ‘A comma brings a pause; a semicolon brings the drama.’ www.ft.com/content/80c3...

On May 22, 1998, the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement was endorsed by referendums in both parts of Ireland

Fintan O'Toole: If you want to see how democracies cede to autocracies, watch as US universities bend to Trump If a rich and famous institution such as Columbia doesn’t stand up for itself, what chance have millions of ordinary people?

‘Democracies don’t turn into autocracies overnight. There has to be a critical mass of true believers [and] of appeasers.’ @fotoole examines how some US universities are bending to Trump and thereby threatening democracy. www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2025...

A pretty significant concession from the EU that likely helped the breakthrough. The UK has granted the EU full access to British waters until 30 June 2038 - a 12-year extension. But UK gets the SPS deal indefinitely, so not tied to fishing.

In Upset, Centrist Wins Romania’s Presidential Election

Good news ftom Romania! www.nytimes.com/2025/05/18/w...

Great to see the Fighting Words supplement in today’s Irish News, showcasing the power and joy of creative writing by young people across the island of Ireland.

How a Quiet American Cardinal Became Pope

Interesting article claiming to provide insight on the voting patterns in the Papal Conclave, with three main candidates emerging early on. One thing it doesn’t explain is why Cardinal Tagle’s candidacy appears not to have taken off. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/11/w... via @NYTimes

Opinion | There Is a Way Forward: How to Defeat Trump’s Power Grab

The state of things in the USA. Hard to believe it has come to this so quickly. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/o...

📍To attract top researchers to the EU, the European Commission launched a €500 million package.

We’re also preparing the first-ever EU Innovation Act and a Startup & Scaleup Strategy to fast-track ideas from lab to market.

#ChooseEurope for the future of science! (3/3)

“We are breaking the bodies and minds of the children of Gaza. We are starving the children of Gaza.

“If we do nothing about it, we will be complicit in what is happening before our eyes.”

— Michael Ryan, WHO

Trump Says He’s ‘Taking Away’ Harvard’s Tax Exempt Status President Trump on Friday said he would be “taking away” the university’s status, renewing a threat he made last month. It was not immediately clear if the I.R.S. was moving forward with a change.

www.nytimes.com/2025/05/02/u...

First report from a Salzburg Global project looking at polarisation and violent threats against democracy. www.salzburgglobal.org/fileadmin/us...

Trump Ends $1 Billion in Mental Health Grants for Schools The Education Department told grantees that their awards reflected the Biden administration's priorities.

Trump Ends $1 Billion in Mental Health Grants for Schools. The funds were authorized by Congress in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed after 19 students and two teachers lost their lives in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

Just because you went to school doesn't make you an expert on teaching Reinstate trust in the teaching profession. That might just be the perfect place to start in fixing the teacher shortage.

Love when @nicolemockler.bsky.social drops truth bombs. “Respect matters. Valuing what teachers actually know and do, and recognising that it’s complex…would be a pathway to reinstating trust in the teaching profession.”
blog.aare.edu.au/just-because...

Today’s Irish Times

BBC is reporting that Pope Francis has died

The EU makes clear it won’t compromise food standards in any trade deal with the USA. Will the UK also hold to that line?

If you pay attention: everything they say they don’t like for Black people: affirmative action, diversity hires, quotas, identity politics, ideological litmus tests, they are trying to mandate and enforce for white people.

It was a great honour to be asked to write the General Rapporteur’s Report for the Council of Europe Third Forum on History Education and very pleased to see the report now published. Available here: rm.coe.int/prems-015725...