Mel Farrell

Terrifying that such powerful people have mad and dangerous religious extremist views.

Sorry, that link is dead (what is up with Core HR???). This one works: universityvacancies.com/maynooth-uni...

JD Vance loudly booed at the Winter Olympics today.

Throwback to 29 January 2025 with my brother: Aston Villa 4-2 Celtic, in the Champions League. The atmosphere was electric

Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup * Ex-Fifa boss shows support for boycott calls * Security concerns over tournament have risen Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter on Monday suggested he supports fans boycotting World Cup matches in the United States this year due to security concerns. Blatter gave his support to comments from Swiss anti-corruption lawyer Mark Pieth, who worked with Fifa on potential reforms when Blatter was president, saying fans should stay away from the US for the tournament. Continue reading...

Sepp Blatter suggests fans should not travel to US for World Cup

Friendly reminder: "If one side says it's raining and the other says it is dry, it is NOT your job to quote them both. Your job is to look out of the window and see which is the truth." – 101 Journalism

See through the lies. You're the watchdog. Bark. Bark as loud as you can.

The Vice-President of Germany's Football Association calls for a debate about boycotting this year's World Cup because of Trump

It is profoundly ironic that the whole stated purpose of mass gun ownership in the US - which carries it with the associated cost of frequent mass shootings, including in schools - is to protect against oppressive tyrannical government and yet...

17,000 fans cancel World Cup tickets overnight: FIFA plan emergency meeting Around 16,800 supporters have reportedly “cancelled World Cup tickets overnight”, prompting FIFA to schedule an emergency meeting later this week.

FIFA on alert after 17,000 fans cancel World Cup tickets in one night

I don't think even American liberals and anti-Trump conservatives really understand how much work Trump's successors in Washington will need to do to restore European trust in the United States

I'm old enough to remember when columnists claimed that Scott Bessent is the adult in the room
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

🇳🇴❗️🇺🇦 Norway has refused to join Trump's Peace Council, as such an initiative does not comply with UN principles.

"It is quite clear that we cannot be part of a structure that challenges the role of the UN and existing international law."

I'm delighted to say we have set up a Research Centre for Legal History @maynoothlaw.bsky.social It promises to be interesting and a lot of fun.
www.maynoothuniversity.ie/law/research...

the international far right’s embrace of trump, and trump’s attempts to force the rest of the world to adopt miller’s international segregationism, is a reminder that even the “globalist” attack was projection. They want to use american power to remake the whole world into fash ethnostates

De Gaulle would be absolutely insufferable if he could see what was happening today.

I want to be clear about what I’m saying here. The only way to restore credibility as a reliable and safe ally is to totally and utterly repudiate this administration. That cannot happen at the ballot box. It has to be done by the Republican Party. That is the only way to regain any level of trust.

Macron now refers to "intimidation or threat", explicitly comparing US behaviour in Greenland to Russia's approach to Ukraine. Sweden's PM says: "We will not allow ourselves to be blackmailed". Much, tougher language from Europeans than we have seen before, responding to the US escalation.

Bookmark this page: european-alternatives.eu

(My stack: Proton Jottacloud Vivaldi and Bitwarden with EU server)

No. This is a de-escalation in that he is no longer threatening violence. The lesson is that when the EU shows a bit of resolve and muscle bullies back off.

ONCE upon a time (a few months ago) a group of over-excited British commentators argued that one Brexit benefit was that the UK would not be involved in a trade war between Trump and the EU.

Well.

Trump says eight European countries face 10% tariff for opposing US control of Greenland – Europe live Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Finland will face tariffs from 1 February

Trump launches a trade war with former European allies over Greenland.

Copenhagen town hall square, Denmark right now.

Massive solidarity with Greenland demonstrations.

Source: dr.dk

86% of registered voters, 68% of Republicans, 95% of Democrats and 94% of independents oppose the U.S. trying to take Greenland by military force

Nearly 9 in 10 US voters oppose taking Greenland by military force -- including over two-thirds of Republicans

abcnews.go.com/Politics/us-...

Hello historians - there is a specific purpose role now advertised in UL’s history department - Title of Post: Assistant Professor in Irish History (specialism History of the Family) - all details are over on UL vacancies! Do share! #jobsky #skystorians #speirgorm #speirghorm

Iceland is preparing a referendum to join the EU!
The referendum should take place early 2027, with polls suggesting a positive view.
The EU is slowly but surely advancing towards Canada and USA

Page of information outlining the aims of the Locating Loss research project which explores the histories of infertility in landscapes and spaces. This project aims to bring scholars from a wide range of disciplines together in 2026. Please DM me if more info is needed and this alt text is not enough!

Hello! I am sharing information about my @researchireland.ie project Locating Loss: histories of infertility in landscapes and spaces. I would love to connect with researchers/ practitioners from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines, so please share widely! @nursingclio.bsky.social

JUST IN: The heads of the central banks in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, the Eurozone, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom have issued a rare statement of support for the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell!

The Telegraph: British officials have met with counterparts from countries including Germany and France to begin preparations for a military deployment to protect Greenland. The European Union is also drawing up plans for sanctions on U.S. companies, should the need arise.

Thinking of writing a fun post about when a major power last annexed a North Atlantic island.

Rockall.