Robert
@robertl95.bsky.social
Dutchman in Berlin📍| Слава Україні! 🇺🇦 | Data Analytics |
Reposted by Robert
A levy on foreign students is one of the closest things you're going to see to tariffs on services - except the UK will be putting it on its own exports...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Levy on international students’ tuition fees not in best interest of UK, says leader of top university
Duncan Ivison, president of Manchester University, says government’s 6% surcharge plan will ‘hurt the sector’
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:20 AM
A levy on foreign students is one of the closest things you're going to see to tariffs on services - except the UK will be putting it on its own exports...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Robert
The Ukrainian corruption scandal unfolding right now falsifies hopes that the existential war would root out corruption. The painstaking work of anticorruption institutions/civil society continues. It seems we now know why NABU/SAPO were attacked over the summer. But the fact they managed to...
November 13, 2025 at 4:52 PM
The Ukrainian corruption scandal unfolding right now falsifies hopes that the existential war would root out corruption. The painstaking work of anticorruption institutions/civil society continues. It seems we now know why NABU/SAPO were attacked over the summer. But the fact they managed to...
“We can buy a bit of time, but there is a sense that we are entering into a situation where we are going to be dealing with rolling crises from now on and that things have really crossed a threshold with China” said Andrew Small a former China adviser within the European Commission.
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
“We can buy a bit of time, but there is a sense that we are entering into a situation where we are going to be dealing with rolling crises from now on and that things have really crossed a threshold with China” said Andrew Small a former China adviser within the European Commission.
Reposted by Robert
If that case is winnable, and there is good reason to believe it is, the BBC should fight it.
With his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against BBC, Trump’s assault on the media goes global
With his threat of a $1bn lawsuit against BBC, Trump’s assault on the media goes global
US president’s latest media target comes from across the pond as he continues to scrutinize coverage he does not like
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:35 AM
If that case is winnable, and there is good reason to believe it is, the BBC should fight it.
Reposted by Robert
Met steeds betere glijbommen, een gigantisch aantal drones, rücksichtsloze offensieven en een door het terrein slim te gebruiken, maakt Rusland het voor Oekraïne steeds lastiger de verdedigingslinie stabiel te houden.
De 4 plagen voor 🇺🇦 met @robschoof.bsky.social
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
De 4 plagen voor 🇺🇦 met @robschoof.bsky.social
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Vier plagen voor het Oekraïense leger (en waarom dat niet alles zegt)
Oorlog in Oekraïne: Dankzij hun langdurige offensief komen de Russen steeds een stukje dichter bij hun eerste doel: controle over de hele Donbas. Hoe slagen de Russen er telkens in de frontlijn verder...
www.nrc.nl
November 2, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Met steeds betere glijbommen, een gigantisch aantal drones, rücksichtsloze offensieven en een door het terrein slim te gebruiken, maakt Rusland het voor Oekraïne steeds lastiger de verdedigingslinie stabiel te houden.
De 4 plagen voor 🇺🇦 met @robschoof.bsky.social
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
De 4 plagen voor 🇺🇦 met @robschoof.bsky.social
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
I somehow missed this article before, but it's a truly insightful and humble read!
True for Russia, Eastern Europe, and everywhere in the world, but 'we' the West, need to listen more to local experts, rather than Western experts. There is much we have to learn.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
True for Russia, Eastern Europe, and everywhere in the world, but 'we' the West, need to listen more to local experts, rather than Western experts. There is much we have to learn.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
That Time I Was a Russian Propagandist
The Kremlin’s information war in the West is reminiscent of the one it fought—and won—on the home front.
www.theatlantic.com
November 2, 2025 at 7:41 PM
I somehow missed this article before, but it's a truly insightful and humble read!
True for Russia, Eastern Europe, and everywhere in the world, but 'we' the West, need to listen more to local experts, rather than Western experts. There is much we have to learn.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
True for Russia, Eastern Europe, and everywhere in the world, but 'we' the West, need to listen more to local experts, rather than Western experts. There is much we have to learn.
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
How the West adopted the view that Putin is constantly winning.
Crazy to realise this: "Zelensky is now the public face of opposition to Russian imperialism, but even his election in 2019 was interpreted as a win for Putin. (abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Crazy to realise this: "Zelensky is now the public face of opposition to Russian imperialism, but even his election in 2019 was interpreted as a win for Putin. (abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Putin Is Not Winning
Underestimating the Russian leader is dangerous, but ascribing dark powers to him plays right into his hands.
www.theatlantic.com
November 2, 2025 at 6:38 PM
How the West adopted the view that Putin is constantly winning.
Crazy to realise this: "Zelensky is now the public face of opposition to Russian imperialism, but even his election in 2019 was interpreted as a win for Putin. (abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Crazy to realise this: "Zelensky is now the public face of opposition to Russian imperialism, but even his election in 2019 was interpreted as a win for Putin. (abcnews.go.com/Internationa...
www.theatlantic.com/internationa...
Interesting to read foreign takes on Dutch elections. Hard to take seriously when it frames the far right as losing, yet notes “Voters did not ditch the far right entirely.” The bloc in fact grew from 41 to 42 seats as votes shifted after PVV was sidelined from power.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/w...
‘Not So Bulletproof’: A Far-Right Party Faces Rebuke in the Netherlands
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Interesting to read foreign takes on Dutch elections. Hard to take seriously when it frames the far right as losing, yet notes “Voters did not ditch the far right entirely.” The bloc in fact grew from 41 to 42 seats as votes shifted after PVV was sidelined from power.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/w...
Learned Hand "Do we not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws, and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can do much to help.”
time.com/7321529/demo...
time.com/7321529/demo...
The Arc of History is Bending Backward
Democracy isn’t over, yet. Here how to counter the democratic recession.
time.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Learned Hand "Do we not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws, and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can do much to help.”
time.com/7321529/demo...
time.com/7321529/demo...
Much-needed background information by @frhoffmann.bsky.social on the current (or already past) discussion on Tomahawk Cruise Missiles for Ukraine.
It reveals the many considerations that go into what seems like a simple question.
missilematters.substack.com/p/how-badly-...
It reveals the many considerations that go into what seems like a simple question.
missilematters.substack.com/p/how-badly-...
How Badly Does Ukraine Need American Tomahawk Cruise Missiles?
Why investing in domestic production may serve Ukraine better than limited Western missile transfers
missilematters.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Much-needed background information by @frhoffmann.bsky.social on the current (or already past) discussion on Tomahawk Cruise Missiles for Ukraine.
It reveals the many considerations that go into what seems like a simple question.
missilematters.substack.com/p/how-badly-...
It reveals the many considerations that go into what seems like a simple question.
missilematters.substack.com/p/how-badly-...
"Mid-tier graduates fared much worse than those from the top and bottom schools. The authors suspect firms may keep top-tier recruits for their specialist skills and lower-tier ones for their lower cost."
This could have a significant impact on the HE industry!
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
This could have a significant impact on the HE industry!
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
October 22, 2025 at 8:04 AM
"Mid-tier graduates fared much worse than those from the top and bottom schools. The authors suspect firms may keep top-tier recruits for their specialist skills and lower-tier ones for their lower cost."
This could have a significant impact on the HE industry!
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
This could have a significant impact on the HE industry!
www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
An impressive study using data spanning two decades! Once again, it shows that the political center plays a decisive role in enabling or blocking far-right ideas from entering the mainstream. This holds true across the democratic world.
One is never going to outplay the far-right at their own game!
One is never going to outplay the far-right at their own game!
"Mainstream parties are increasingly allowing the far right to set the agenda" - for the @theguardian.com, @ashifakassam.bsky.social summed up our study.
@tevoelker.bsky.social and I answered some questions to put our results into context. Give it a read!
Study: bit.ly/4hhRFUN
@tevoelker.bsky.social and I answered some questions to put our results into context. Give it a read!
Study: bit.ly/4hhRFUN
German far right setting agenda as opponents amplify its ideas, study finds
October 20, 2025 at 8:35 AM
An impressive study using data spanning two decades! Once again, it shows that the political center plays a decisive role in enabling or blocking far-right ideas from entering the mainstream. This holds true across the democratic world.
One is never going to outplay the far-right at their own game!
One is never going to outplay the far-right at their own game!
Every time I notice myself getting hopeful on Trump's stance on Ukraine I remind myself of the many articles I've read by @phillipspobrien.bsky.social that often paint a less rosy picture and even more often are spot on.
Once again the FT confirms this.
www.ft.com/content/7960...
Once again the FT confirms this.
www.ft.com/content/7960...
October 19, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Every time I notice myself getting hopeful on Trump's stance on Ukraine I remind myself of the many articles I've read by @phillipspobrien.bsky.social that often paint a less rosy picture and even more often are spot on.
Once again the FT confirms this.
www.ft.com/content/7960...
Once again the FT confirms this.
www.ft.com/content/7960...
Reposted by Robert
Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...
Nederlandse diensten delen minder informatie met de VS: ‘Soms vertellen we dingen niet meer’
Het aantal dreigingen dat op Nederland afkomt is groot, zien de hoofden van de AIVD en de MIVD elke dag: niet alleen Russische agressie, maar ook de opmars van China als digitale macht en binnenlands ...
www.volkskrant.nl
October 19, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Dutch intelligence suspends sharing arrangements with the US after concluding that high level intel was routinely being shared by the White House with their friends in the Kremlin. www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/n...
Reposted by Robert
When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in Syria, many of the officials who enabled and enforced his brutal regime disappeared. Our reporting uncovers who they are, what they did and where they fled. nyti.ms/3J1W5Cs
The Vanishing Act: How Assad’s Top Henchmen Fled Syria, and Justice
www.nytimes.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:06 PM
When Bashar al-Assad’s regime collapsed in Syria, many of the officials who enabled and enforced his brutal regime disappeared. Our reporting uncovers who they are, what they did and where they fled. nyti.ms/3J1W5Cs
Super nice to see academic research on Bluesky! This study backs up what 'How Democracies Die' describes anecdotally: when mainstream parties adopt far-right issues in their messaging, they don’t just compete, they help spread and legitimise those ideas, boosting the far right’s electoral success.
New paper out with @dasalgon.bsky.social: “Far-Right Agenda Setting: How the Far Right influences the Political Mainstream” doi.org/10.1017/S1475676525100066 #openaccess in @ejprjournal.bsky.social🧵
October 16, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Super nice to see academic research on Bluesky! This study backs up what 'How Democracies Die' describes anecdotally: when mainstream parties adopt far-right issues in their messaging, they don’t just compete, they help spread and legitimise those ideas, boosting the far right’s electoral success.
Reposted by Robert
"Videos show Hamas fighters dragging men into a public square in broad daylight, forcing them to kneel and executing them in front of a crowd of onlookers."
Said one independent analyst: “'Hamas is re-establishing control. Hamas will be even more aggressive now."
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Said one independent analyst: “'Hamas is re-establishing control. Hamas will be even more aggressive now."
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...
October 15, 2025 at 12:58 PM
"Videos show Hamas fighters dragging men into a public square in broad daylight, forcing them to kneel and executing them in front of a crowd of onlookers."
Said one independent analyst: “'Hamas is re-establishing control. Hamas will be even more aggressive now."
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...
Said one independent analyst: “'Hamas is re-establishing control. Hamas will be even more aggressive now."
🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...
While we’ve read reports of Israeli conduct worse than this, it never becomes less shocking. If this can happen to a public figure, what happens to those without a name?
Just as troubling is how Western governments keep shielding Israel, apparently even when it involves their own citizens...
Just as troubling is how Western governments keep shielding Israel, apparently even when it involves their own citizens...
www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/25...
Ze blijft benadrukken dat ze het niet teveel over haar eigen ervaring in de gevangenis wil hebben, omdat het daar niet over gaat. Dat is niet eens trauma gerelateerd. Als Israël dit een publiek figuur aandoet, wat krijgen Palestijnen zonder gezicht te verduren?
Ze blijft benadrukken dat ze het niet teveel over haar eigen ervaring in de gevangenis wil hebben, omdat het daar niet over gaat. Dat is niet eens trauma gerelateerd. Als Israël dit een publiek figuur aandoet, wat krijgen Palestijnen zonder gezicht te verduren?
Greta Thunberg: “They kicked me every time the flag touched my face”
– Greta Thunberg on her days in Israeli captivity Beating, kicking, and threats of being gassed in cages. Greta Thunberg and several others from the flotilla ar
www.aftonbladet.se
October 15, 2025 at 12:32 PM
While we’ve read reports of Israeli conduct worse than this, it never becomes less shocking. If this can happen to a public figure, what happens to those without a name?
Just as troubling is how Western governments keep shielding Israel, apparently even when it involves their own citizens...
Just as troubling is how Western governments keep shielding Israel, apparently even when it involves their own citizens...
Truly beyond belief.
Mahmoud Abu Shahma, 14, also lives in a crowded tent near the beach. “No one has asked me to study,” he said. “If there was a school, I would go.” His parents cannot fill the void because they were both killed, leaving him among the many thousands of orphans created by the war.
Mahmoud Abu Shahma, 14, also lives in a crowded tent near the beach. “No one has asked me to study,” he said. “If there was a school, I would go.” His parents cannot fill the void because they were both killed, leaving him among the many thousands of orphans created by the war.
The horrific background to negotiations: an utterly devastated society, traumatized children, humanitarian catastrophe www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/w...
Ravaged by War: Trying to Survive Gaza’s Present, Hoping for a Future
www.nytimes.com
October 6, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Truly beyond belief.
Mahmoud Abu Shahma, 14, also lives in a crowded tent near the beach. “No one has asked me to study,” he said. “If there was a school, I would go.” His parents cannot fill the void because they were both killed, leaving him among the many thousands of orphans created by the war.
Mahmoud Abu Shahma, 14, also lives in a crowded tent near the beach. “No one has asked me to study,” he said. “If there was a school, I would go.” His parents cannot fill the void because they were both killed, leaving him among the many thousands of orphans created by the war.
What is Putin trying to achieve with the recent provocations?
Putin:
1: "aims to break the unity of NATO."
2: "wants to raise the cost to European countries that support Ukraine’s army."
3: "hates classical liberal democracies whose wealth and resilience show up his failures and his repression."
Putin:
1: "aims to break the unity of NATO."
2: "wants to raise the cost to European countries that support Ukraine’s army."
3: "hates classical liberal democracies whose wealth and resilience show up his failures and his repression."
"Drones over Poland;
MiG fighters traversing Estonian airspace;
telecom cables damaged deep beneath the Baltic Sea;
airports paralysed by cyber-attacks and quadcopters;
mysterious explosions and assassinations;
bot swarms pumping out propaganda to disrupt elections":
MiG fighters traversing Estonian airspace;
telecom cables damaged deep beneath the Baltic Sea;
airports paralysed by cyber-attacks and quadcopters;
mysterious explosions and assassinations;
bot swarms pumping out propaganda to disrupt elections":
Vladimir Putin is testing the West—and its unity
NATO must resist Russia’s efforts to corrode it from within
www.economist.com
October 6, 2025 at 8:27 AM
What is Putin trying to achieve with the recent provocations?
Putin:
1: "aims to break the unity of NATO."
2: "wants to raise the cost to European countries that support Ukraine’s army."
3: "hates classical liberal democracies whose wealth and resilience show up his failures and his repression."
Putin:
1: "aims to break the unity of NATO."
2: "wants to raise the cost to European countries that support Ukraine’s army."
3: "hates classical liberal democracies whose wealth and resilience show up his failures and his repression."
Seeing this being coined in different contexts. @schimmelpenninck.bsky.social did so in the Netherlands, and for obvious reasons, we see it in the US. No, they are not playing 4D chess; let's call it by its name.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc...
A critique of pure stupidity: understanding Trump 2.0
If the first term of Donald Trump provoked anxiety over the fate of objective knowledge, the second has led to claims we live in a world-historical age of stupid, accelerated by big tech. But might th...
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Seeing this being coined in different contexts. @schimmelpenninck.bsky.social did so in the Netherlands, and for obvious reasons, we see it in the US. No, they are not playing 4D chess; let's call it by its name.
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc...
www.theguardian.com/news/2025/oc...
We sometimes forget, but the US cannot do everything by itself, it needs NATO allies!
The US's "first ship, originally due in 2024, will not arrive before 2029 and will cost $1.9bn. Polaris, Finland’s newest icebreaker, was built in three years for €125m ($147m)."
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
The US's "first ship, originally due in 2024, will not arrive before 2029 and will cost $1.9bn. Polaris, Finland’s newest icebreaker, was built in three years for €125m ($147m)."
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
How bad is America’s icebreaker gap with Russia?
Finland has something special that America wants
www.economist.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
We sometimes forget, but the US cannot do everything by itself, it needs NATO allies!
The US's "first ship, originally due in 2024, will not arrive before 2029 and will cost $1.9bn. Polaris, Finland’s newest icebreaker, was built in three years for €125m ($147m)."
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
The US's "first ship, originally due in 2024, will not arrive before 2029 and will cost $1.9bn. Polaris, Finland’s newest icebreaker, was built in three years for €125m ($147m)."
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
In line with the book I am reading now, 'How Democracies Die':
"Every citizen has a role to play in helping democratic movements succeed. Opposition figures need courage to unify and lead. Judges, business executives, lawyers and journalists need courage to withstand intimidation."
"Every citizen has a role to play in helping democratic movements succeed. Opposition figures need courage to unify and lead. Judges, business executives, lawyers and journalists need courage to withstand intimidation."
This should be a book
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
Opinion | This Is What Autocrats Dread
www.nytimes.com
October 5, 2025 at 7:18 PM
In line with the book I am reading now, 'How Democracies Die':
"Every citizen has a role to play in helping democratic movements succeed. Opposition figures need courage to unify and lead. Judges, business executives, lawyers and journalists need courage to withstand intimidation."
"Every citizen has a role to play in helping democratic movements succeed. Opposition figures need courage to unify and lead. Judges, business executives, lawyers and journalists need courage to withstand intimidation."
I might’ve missed other articles, but this is the first article I’ve read from Stoltenberg since he left his role as NATO Secretary General. Very interesting to read his views on the early years.
Wild to think how far things have come, how surreal today’s world would look from a 2016 perspective.
Wild to think how far things have come, how surreal today’s world would look from a 2016 perspective.
Holy smoke. This is something else: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o.... If you read anything today, read this. Just ordered the book.
‘I’m leaving,’ Trump said. ‘There’s no reason to be here any more’: inside the meeting that brought Nato to the brink
Former secretary general Jens Stoltenberg recalls the rollercoaster ride of dealing with Donald Trump – and how close the US president brought the alliance to the point of collapse
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 6:29 PM
I might’ve missed other articles, but this is the first article I’ve read from Stoltenberg since he left his role as NATO Secretary General. Very interesting to read his views on the early years.
Wild to think how far things have come, how surreal today’s world would look from a 2016 perspective.
Wild to think how far things have come, how surreal today’s world would look from a 2016 perspective.
From dusty archives to modern AI algorithms, a historian (Jürgen Matthäus), with help from @bellingcat.com, identifies a Nazi in a notorious Holocaust photo.
"This is clearly not the silver bullet – this is one tool among many. The human factor remains key."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
"This is clearly not the silver bullet – this is one tool among many. The human factor remains key."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Historian uses AI to help identify Nazi in notorious Holocaust murder image
Jürgen Matthäus has for years been investigating the killer – and is confident he has finally solved the mystery
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2025 at 8:06 AM
From dusty archives to modern AI algorithms, a historian (Jürgen Matthäus), with help from @bellingcat.com, identifies a Nazi in a notorious Holocaust photo.
"This is clearly not the silver bullet – this is one tool among many. The human factor remains key."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
"This is clearly not the silver bullet – this is one tool among many. The human factor remains key."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...