Recent posts by Global News and Politics Professionals on Bluesky

Belgium obviously aren’t aware of the FIFA rule that says when you score four goals - it actually takes you into minus numbers and you lose. Everyone knows this guys, keep up!

nothing against the US team, but this is profoundly the right result, both in sporting terms and as a strong refutation of the corrupt and unfair behaviour of Trump and FIFA

This 4-1 defeat being easily swatted aside by Belgium a much much flatter end for the US hosts than the 1-0 loss to Brazil in 1994 www.latimes.com/archives/la-...

The USA suffer the biggest World Cup goalkeeping calamity for many years #WC2026

Belgium isn't even a real country.

Balogun must be thinking 'why did you make me play in this game?'

Shameless in Seattle

Honestly, the most irritating thing about these AI scam emails to authors isn't even that they're trying to rob us. At this point, it's that *if you're going to send an AI email why not have it at least pretend to have read the book?*

What people perceive as authenticity, I think, is actually for a politician to fit into an archetype.

There will be four former winners of the World Cup in the last eight, if Argentina beat Egypt. First-time winners are rare. The last 5 new winners are Spain (2010) France (1998) Argentina (1978) England (1966) Brazil (1958) !

From the archive - fantastic and, I think, heartbreakingly sad profile of a man who has wasted his time and his money trying not to die instead of living:

A lot of people say that Roberto Martinez is not an elite level coach, but he somehow managed not to lose the rest of the Portugal camp while substituting off Fernandes against Croatia, sacrificing midfield control, in order to entertain Ronaldo's Make-A-Wish years.

Do follow me over on Instagram if you want World Cup content, have a penchant for reels at the moment www.instagram.com/nadinebh_?ig...

Nunber of past World Cup semifinals of teams still in #WC2026 7 - France 5 - Argentina 3 - England 2 - Belgium 1 - Spain (!), Morocco, USA [1930] 0 - Norway, Colombia, Swiss, Egypt

On Graham Platner, and why the tattoo should always have been the end of it, and character more broadly in politics: www.ft.com/content/d8f1...

Times Radio was leading on this garbled nonsense. The media keeps finding ways (inc nonsense) to report "immigration still rising" yet serious outlets show little/no interest in the actual news. (Immigration has fallen fast & will fall further in 2026-27 than almost anybody realises or recognises)

Reminded of Patrick O’Flynn, then Ukip’s economy spokesperson, describing Farage as “snarling, thin-skinned and aggressive” back in 2015.

how did this get past my porn filter

This is nonsense. The (tiny) tuition fee rise seen so far is massively offset by over a decade of real terms cuts. Adjusting for inflation tuition fees are lower now than a decade ago - when the teaching grant was much larger.

Roberto Martinez is a generational coward

The kid was insisting we stay for overtime, penalties etc

After managing about 90 minutes of sleep last night, I was going to go to bed rather than watch extra time. Instead...

Nice goal from Spain, real quality of passing there. Very on brand.

Who knew that the beneath the chuckling hail fellow well met stuff there was a bar room bigot with a short temper? Oh yes, anyone who has ever subjected Farage’s spiv selling nylons in an alleyway act to any scrutiny whatsoever.

Wow- have just watched the highlights, and blimey, if it was always like that I’d watch football more often. It was stressful enough when I knew the result- can’t imagine how that felt live. ⚽️

The Times ought to correct this misleading claim that is an either deliberate or dumb misreading of the stats to promote an entirely false meme of "care worker sponsors 15 relatives"

I think would prob prefer to see a France v Spain semifinal, than to see Spain eliminated as a pro-England move. Though wins for Portugal here + Morocco v France would be an ideal combo!

Thinking of giving up on Spain vs Portugal, which is a sure sign that it is about to get very exciting. Thank me later.

NEW - on WTMG, the pod that takes you inside the football boardroom ⚽️ Should the #WorldCup be expanded to 48 teams? ⚽️ Bilston Town FC go viral ⚽️ Marseille & Lyon fall foul of French FA With me & Charlie Methven pod.fo/e/44219d

If you bought something called Bonk, you’re a cartoon-assed individual who’s getting what they deserved. That’s a Wiley Coyote-buying-stuff-from-ACME quality name.

Me: Hey let’s go watch the Spain Portugal game that should be great… Me: …

Old enough to remember when Jeffrey Archer threatened Michael Crick in a not dissimilar fashion. Wonder how the story went after that.

Some guy in the bar wearing a Ronaldo shirt who’s young enough to be his grandkid

I'm grateful to be on holiday from this ever more stupid culture war

Just incredible how many bright red flags Platner's defenders ignored, and belligerently too. What a failure of judgement.

I mean, I know George Cottrell calls Farage "daddy" but I'm not sure that strictly qualifies him as family

The "family" in this case being George Cottrell, who calls Farage "Daddy", so probably counts.

Motion for uk broadcasters to stop playing the Norway highlights until Sat

I mean, Trump’s done far worse things, with serious, actual harm to millions of people around world. But, the symbolism of this, and his boasting about it, is unmistakable. He’s willing to cheat and bully, even when it’s “just” a game, and one which means more to almost everyone else on the planet.

It's fascinating that people with massive skeletons in the closet choose to run for elected office...

Not beating the er, bribery allegations

I cannot think of a single action more designed to say F.U. to the world, and highlight Trump’s view that rules are for little people. Guaranteed to tarnish the World Cup, generate booing of the US team and undermine anything they might have achieved by themselves. www.reuters.com/sports/socce...

Not much subtext here!

Terrible photo but fascinating event about Vasily Grossman’s war reporting

And what is the plural of ‘spritz’?

Spain and Portugal are two of my least favourite World Cup teams and ideally I’d like both to lose but if I have to choose I want Portugal out #SPAPOR

A week tonight (and no football!!):

No you’re in a Brazilian bar somewhere in Paris watching Spain v Portugal with the beloved niece, surrounded by Iberian kids.* * It’s a good bar

A legend on and off the pitch, what a guy

I filed a fairly unhinged essay on the future of the news today. There is no chance generative AI would ever come up with some of the sentences my overheated brain produced.

Your reminder that every “news” piece about Tilly Norwood is a press release. The creator keeps saying stuff and the media keeps printing it with no other sourcing. None of it is real

Important reminder from @mijrahman.bsky.social that the EU isn't the EU the UK left. Where I'd gently take issue is the implication that UK interests & "instincts" are unchanged. It could, depressingly, be true - but a strategicially astute UK might recognize that its interests have, also, moved on.

Attention is now rightly being focussed on the process of Farage's gifts from crypto-magnates, but the even bigger questions are about what they mean. Even if the gifts have been declared 100% correctly, how come he and Reform are *so* beholden to crypto? 1/3 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Ultimately nobody knows where Andy is going to land on a lot of things (we can have a pretty good hunch on social care and devo, I think) but I just…really don’t think he is gonna keep Shabana at the Home Office, simply because their instincts on the other half of the brief are not close.

One of my favourite borders - the Belgium/ Netherlands border goes right through this house in Baarle-Nassau (NL) and Baarle-Hertog (BE).

See, it’s easy to do this…

What you’d call an own goal ?

Americans need to understand that feeling a burning sense of injustice is what being a football fan is all about. If every time you're furious at being robbed Daddy comes and sorts it out, you miss the whole point of following the game. The "what if" conversations in US bars won't be nearly so good.

I wasn't going to stay up for this match, but now I will out of utter loathing for this MF

"I want Andy Burnham to succeed. Any British person should want that. Yet I am sceptical of his ability to do so. So far as I can see, he is a decent man. But that is not enough to be a successful prime minister of the UK." - excellent column by Martin Wolf:

The Government's response to the Rycroft review into foreign interference in UK politics is now out. They've accepted all of Rycroft's proposals to toughen up the donations regime. (There's no overall cap on donations - except for overseas voters - but that wasn't in Rycroft's remit anyway)

Cracks are starting to emerge in the American AI ecosystem amid signs that Chinese open-weight models maybe winning and US business models are flawed. Could the Jenga tower come crashing down? My latest newsletter open.substack.com/pub/nixons/p...

In the week that America celebrated the 250th anniversary of the overthrow of a king, the Supreme Court handed the president more power than the Crown the founders rejected. My latest on why the Trump v Slaughter ruling may be the Court’s most worrying yet. open.substack.com/pub/nixons/p...

The closer Burnham gets to No 10, the more worried I get. Britain needs him to succeed. But he is in danger of sounding like yet another populist, posing as an outsider marching on Westminster to declare war on the “blob”. Let’s hope he has some policies up his sleeve. substack.com/@nixonsimon/...

Big Belgian men are crying already

One of the things I won't miss on here: Keir's dysfunctional No 10 does, or rather doesn't do, something that anyone who has observed Starmer goes 'seems odd', Starmer fans on here insist this silence is good, Starmer eventually ends up in the right place, his fans insist was actually about timing

The responses to this bit of football-related fun (and decent advice) showing up this site at its pious, pompous, joyless worst Jesus wept

I'm going to turn into @stephenkb.bsky.social having all afternoon had people telling me 'Starmer was right not to criticise Trump because politics should stay out of sports governance'...

Today's newsletter: some thoughts on the College of Policing's report on police leadership, and what I think the single most important thing about it is, and how to fix it:

Trying to think of something that could make him less popular in eyes of world than this. Punch Paddington?

Unbeatable AI book spam. I will never receive a better one than this.

Click bait racist bullshit from the Times/Chris Philp. 12 Cameroonians did not sponsor 15 dependants each. 12 new work visas were issued to Cameroonians. 180 visas were issued to dependants of the (many thousands of) Cameroonians *already here*. Etc. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Psephologist and Mancunian query (hello @cjterry.bsky.social @andrewteale.me.uk or possibly @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social ): does anyone have the GM Mayor elections from 2024 and 2021 by ward? Can’t find it on the GM Elects site…

Today I feel Belgian h/t Infantino www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlst...

If the USA can only protect one room against foreign action, then the federal government has essentially collapsed, has it not?

The mistake Infantino has made is in thinking that Trump would be ashamed enough of his own outrageous corruption to keep this grubby deal quiet - he’s not, he’s proud of it and he’s happy to about it in front of the world’s cameras

The BBC shouldn't have opinion blogs, because the nature of the BBC charter means that you just get 'well, who is to say what way water flows?' stuff that I think just erodes support for the BBC on all sides.

I'd be happy for Fifa to rescind the red card on the condition that Trump correctly spells Balogun's name

Important - but also funny - scoop by @rachel-rees.bsky.social and @annasophiegross.bsky.social:

Matt Forde and Tim Stanley doing their Angela Rayner impressions is extremely telling. They both claim to like her.

A particular highlight of this bit of clowning is that FIFA hasn't even said the red card was wrong. They've said it was right but they've suspended the sanction.

Reminds me of how angry and disgusted my dad used to get about the behaviour by American golfers at the Ryder Cup.

Minister criticised by MPs for not giving firm commitment to amend law to allow grooming gang leader to be deported - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...

Tuchel taking off Kane for Burn as his secret weapon in order to play pure haramball and protect the lead

Last summer, small charity City of Sanctuary became the target of a misinformation campaign by right-wing media, politicians, and far-right activists

UEFA: "We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision" FIFA and Infantino's brazen corruption has made a complete mockery of the best sporting competition in the world Absolutely shamelessly pathetic

Can the EU legally exclude most Ukrainian men from temporary protection? Analysis by Dr. Meltem İneli Ciğer, with 'devil's advocate' comments from me eulawanalysis.blogspot.com/2026/07/what...

Andy Burnham faces warnings that “access talks” btwn transition team and the civil service risk being undermined by his refusal to confirm his cabinet before entering office, in turn fuelling jitters about his readiness for power One Labour figure complained Burnham’s operation was “skeletal”

Starting to wonder whether Posh George is all that Posh

I think (actually from Olivia Bailey) is sound advice. In my wilder days I once went straight from an illegal rave in a warehouse to a 7am Sunday shift. Not ideal, and I didn’t do it every day — but at least I turned up!

1, 2 and 4 good priorities, but I am increasingly unconvinced by '3' - the nature of an effective government is that the Chancellor becomes the obvious successor and that will always add a note of friction.

🔴 ‘There’s No Money In Politics If You’re Straight’: How Farage’s Words Are Coming Back To Haunt Him The Reform UK leader once claimed that only the corrupt could make money in politics. Now questions about his own multi-million pound fortune threaten to bring him down

Throwing in a bit of defamation to top off the corruption.

A fantastic essay from @adamposen.bsky.social on the implications of Trump's corruption, and the failure of US political and judicial institutions, for the US, Europe and the world. Key excerpt below but read it all. www.piie.com/commentary/o...

I don't even like football, and I'm cross about what the Trump/FIFA combo has done to the World Cup with this Folarin Balogun thing. I can't imagine how actual fans are feeling.

*FIFA issues red cards to all non-American players*

I would just like to thank Trump and FIFA for making the World Cup suddenly interesting for all us nerds with no interest in football but an unhealthy obsession with political scandals. It's been a difficult time for us these past two weeks. You've really come through

OK, this is an unlikely ask: is anyone in S London willing/able to lend an MTB/gravel bike for next weekend, suitable for someone about 5ft 9in? Reasons/justification/location in next post. In return: a cleaned bike/eternal gratitude/nice bottle of wine/even some cold, hard ££ if preferred.

I think the issue Americans have with soccer rules is a total lack of understanding of how a sport they pay zero attention to most of the time actually works - it is very different to the very high scoring games they are used to.