Lothar

1/2 Die Strategie der AfD kann man nachlesen: durch Kulturkampf die Gesellschaft spalten in Rechts - Links, die Distanz zwischen SPD, Grünen einerseits und CDU andererseits immer weiter vergrößern - 2/2.

... mutually exclsusive? There is a name for being genuinely worried that foreign, dark-skinned people are dangerous. In fact, all phobias are genuinely felt. It's part of the challenge. But "genuine" does not equal "legitimate". And it just does not seem a great strategy for a state broadcaster...

Solidarity with this Piddington resident ♥️✊ #Newsnight

"Faschismus ist ein Wettbewerbsvorteil im demokratischen Wettstreit. Das verstehen wir heute nicht, weil der Faschismus nach Kriegsende 1945 als etwas Widerliches geächtet wurde. Wir zahlen einen hohen Preis für die Vergesslichkeit: Die NSDAP hat in einer Demokratie abgeräumt!"

The Guardian’s data centre reporting is needlessly hysterical (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/the-guardi...

Wisst ihr noch bei diesem Netflix Film "Don't Look Up". Wo der Wissenschaftler im Fernsehen einen kompletten Breakdown hatte? Wir sind jetzt genau an dieser Stelle in der Story. Don't look up.

From Stephan Zweig's The World of Yesterday.

I get the reflex ... but the notion that all *a politically powerfuly group want* is to be listened to is patronising. Did MAGA Republicans "just want to be listened to" - or did they want to overturn Roe v Wade?

Offside xkcd.com/3268/

It's just fascinating, isn't it? The first hint of real scrutiny and he just fell apart.

i fear this is largely true & answers a question the left has long had—what even is the point of liberalism? after all isn't 'center-left' or 'establishment-left' kinda a contradiction in terms? & i get the sentiment, by my god you feel it when it's gone

Sind Menschen mit Migrationshintergrund "nicht neutral", weil sie Opfer der AfD werden würden? Ich glaube, wenn wir schon so fragen müssen, hat sich die Frage, ob die AfD verfassungswidrig ist, schon selbst beantwortet, oder?

Der @spiegel.de hat mich in seinem Interview zu unserem Gutachten u.a. gefragt, ob der Migrationshintergrund von vier Teammitgliedern unsere Arbeit beeinflusst habe. Auch wenn mich die Frage empört hat, bin ich froh, dass sie gestellt wurde. Denn dadurch konnte ich auf eine Frage antworten, 1/2

I did not ask for this gift of prophecy 🤣 www.nytimes.com/2026/07/05/u...

83 years ago, on the 1st of July 1943, Willem Arondéus was executed by the Nazi regime after taking part in the successful bombing of a registration office, destroying 800.000 identity cards. His last words were: "Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards." #otd #history 🗃️

It also seems pretty unserious for someone on the left to say 'no money for that department, it procures wastefully', as if that logic wouldn't mean no cash for health, welfare and every department in government. Yes, we need more state capacity across the board.

Auf den Sonnenuntergang hinfiebern.

1) It's not clear leadership contests actually do the things claimed for them. Johnson, Truss & Starmer all won leadership elections, & Sunak fought one. This did not expose their weaknesses, bolster their authority or test their ideas. But it did see them making big promises they later dropped.

Both Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio seem to be describing Netanyahu using the same tactic 14 years apart. The difference is, it seems, the same tactic worked this time.

Guter Thread zu Trumps modus operandi

My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings. If you've looked upon my works and despaired please consider leaving a review on one of the major online retail sites.

There are, in my view, 25 things everyone needs to understand in light of recent events: 1) Those out in our communities last night were not protestors, but organised far right extremists. 2) Their actions align with fascist ideologies. 3) So yes: these are fascist practices on our streets. 🧵

I suspect many of us would like to donate to a reliable charity or community group, that's helping the victims of the race-riots in Belfast last night. Any suggestions? (Organisations, please, not individual GoFundMe pages, which can be faked).

My statement on the EHRC Code of Practice and why I have chosen to sign the Motion of Regret.

Listening to a @theresthistory.bsky.social episode where the presenters suggest that Belgium and (checks notes) Italy are “made up countries” as opposed to England and (checks notes again) the United States. So it’s time for this:

a friend is doing all Edinburgh pubs

They rise arse up, arse up, arse up.

Most importantly: as a cis woman; a feminist; a historian - this will *never* be in my name. Then: an equalities body that chooses to exclude a specific group; chooses to limit human rights of one community - it is an equalities body that has already dismantled itself and any legitimacy with it.

This in my view is the crux of why Starmer has generated so much public anger in the last 18 months. His basic promise to the public was a well-managed government that would enable people to worry less about politics and just get on with life. Yet everything and everyone is still as stuck as ever.

Thought this was a model response from @celiarichardson.bsky.social to a pretty harsh article in the Spectator about the National Trust

Octavia E. Butler, 1998:

I like this because it articulates the conservative concept of freedom in a nutshell. You have the freedom to do x, except you don't, because I don't want you to. bsky.app/profile/atru...

The Fellow of the Ring

This is a great list of techniques for getting real information out of a Google search and avoiding AI slop and paid results. (One thing not included is that if you add "-ai" to a search, you block the AI summary) cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

They're trying to play 3D chess against a pigeon

If we are to extrapolate from Putin and Trump, the single biggest risk the world faces is of ageing / demented leaders given too much power going mad and bombing other countries indiscriminately in the name of some long forgotten history.

Was mich so stört an der Reaktion auf die Ulmen-Sache ist, dass es so viele prominente Männer gibt, die sonst zu jedem Mist was sagen und die sich jetzt raushalten. Intellektuelle, Wissenschaftler, CR, Pundits, Kommentatoren. Die finden das sicher schlimm, aber sie belasten sich nicht damit.

my first piece for the Inquirer was a welcome respite from The Dark Times. read about the iconic Barb and then come to the Bearded Ladies’ Bling-Along tonight to take home some of her jewelry

Here are 10 consequences of the US-Israel attack on Iran - a thread. US soft power is damaged. To launch an attack without clear aims or an exit strategy has upset allies - in Europe, Gulf & Asia - who must bear the economic, political and military consequences. /1

"Hegseth dismissed Iran’s week of strikes across the Gulf as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “flailing recklessly.” It is a reassuring framing. It is also wrong — and dangerously so. Understanding what Tehran is actually doing matters enormously for what comes next":

'we should all be able to celebrate...the flags that represent the nations of our union'. Is it too much to expect the Education Secretary to add 'we abhor racism and will do all we can to make sure all children, whatever their colour or creed, feel safe'? www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Die AfD spaltet Deutschland mit ihrer ‚Volk vs. Elite‘-Rhetorik und viele glauben immer noch, man könne ihre Wähler mit vermeintlichem ‚Verständnis‘ zurückgewinnen.