Chris Kendall
@ottocr.at
Anglo-Schwäbisch eurocrat | maker of EU foreign policy & spätzle | guerrilla knitter | cross-Channel commuter | was once @ottocrat
Pinned
Chris Kendall
@ottocr.at
· Nov 18
In case any recent arrivals are wondering what happened to my long-standing Twitter avatar, here’s why I changed it.
Bluesky roll out the least bluesky feature ever?? The feature nobody asked for, the feature nobody will use. 1 April come early?
January 16, 2026 at 12:04 AM
Bluesky roll out the least bluesky feature ever?? The feature nobody asked for, the feature nobody will use. 1 April come early?
This from Tim Garton Ash @fromtga.bsky.social is a tough read for an EU diplomat of my generation. Perhaps he’s right. But at this point in my career it’s hard to adjust, hard to find room for optimism. I feel ready to pass the baton, frankly. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
January 15, 2026 at 6:30 PM
This from Tim Garton Ash @fromtga.bsky.social is a tough read for an EU diplomat of my generation. Perhaps he’s right. But at this point in my career it’s hard to adjust, hard to find room for optimism. I feel ready to pass the baton, frankly. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Heard a lad earlier talking about ‘Belgian whistles’
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
January 15, 2026 at 4:33 PM
Heard a lad earlier talking about ‘Belgian whistles’
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
“A basic website costs 10k or 25k upwards if you want all the Belgian whistles”
BELGIAN WHISTLES
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Just farted so hard I defected to Reform.
January 15, 2026 at 5:51 PM
Just farted so hard I defected to Reform.
Very good point. I can imagine that many countries around the world will be quietly muttering: how you like THEM apples?
‘Europe does not often have to face the fact of US imperialism without some consoling dishonesty about alliances and partnerships. Now its leaders are scrambling.’
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Trump’s Greenland fixation, new on the blog.
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
@tomstevenson.bsky.social on Trump’s Greenland fixation, new on the blog.
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/ja...
Tom Stevenson | Don’t crack your teeth
‘The US needs Greenland for the purpose of national security,’ Donald Trump has said. ‘Anything less’ than ‘...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 5:54 PM
Very good point. I can imagine that many countries around the world will be quietly muttering: how you like THEM apples?
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Reposted by Chris Kendall
January 15, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Politico continuing its "undermine Europe from within by boosting stupid ideas" schtick.
January 15, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Politico continuing its "undermine Europe from within by boosting stupid ideas" schtick.
Whoever set the Guardian quick crossword today, please invest in a dictionary
two men are talking and one of them says " i do not think it means what you think it means .. "
ALT: two men are talking and one of them says " i do not think it means what you think it means .. "
media.tenor.com
January 15, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Whoever set the Guardian quick crossword today, please invest in a dictionary
Reposted by Chris Kendall
A reminder that bringing shitty posts over from That Fascist Site to be performatively angry about them here is a choice you don't have to make! You can just leave them there! There is so much else to be legitimately angry about! You will not lack for content!
January 14, 2026 at 11:44 PM
A reminder that bringing shitty posts over from That Fascist Site to be performatively angry about them here is a choice you don't have to make! You can just leave them there! There is so much else to be legitimately angry about! You will not lack for content!
Following fountain pen feeds on socials can be quite depressing as they’re full of first-time users talking about them enthusiastically as if they’re rediscovering magical talismans from a bygone age whereas I’ve just never stopped using them as my default pen since my first year of middle school.
January 15, 2026 at 7:17 AM
Following fountain pen feeds on socials can be quite depressing as they’re full of first-time users talking about them enthusiastically as if they’re rediscovering magical talismans from a bygone age whereas I’ve just never stopped using them as my default pen since my first year of middle school.
Reposted by Chris Kendall
BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.
January 15, 2026 at 6:44 AM
BBC report at a headline level that Grok will now not make sexually exploitative images any more. An actual reporter comes on and explains that it will do no such thing, and will just make the images invisible in the UK. These are two very, very different things.
Join a union 💪
January 15, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Join a union 💪
Reposted by Chris Kendall
But I’d like to be shown something to make me confident that decision makers in Brussels and EU MS capitals have fully grasped that they absolutely have to work on the assumption that he will do it, however awful and previously unthinkable that it is.
January 14, 2026 at 6:33 PM
But I’d like to be shown something to make me confident that decision makers in Brussels and EU MS capitals have fully grasped that they absolutely have to work on the assumption that he will do it, however awful and previously unthinkable that it is.
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Sorry, I can't get past "the EU (Napoleon)"
January 14, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Sorry, I can't get past "the EU (Napoleon)"
Heated Rivalry:
ep1 - oh this is not for me
ep2 - noooo no no
ep3 - wait
ep4 - go on
ep5 - omg
ep6 - 😍
ep1 - oh this is not for me
ep2 - noooo no no
ep3 - wait
ep4 - go on
ep5 - omg
ep6 - 😍
January 14, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Heated Rivalry:
ep1 - oh this is not for me
ep2 - noooo no no
ep3 - wait
ep4 - go on
ep5 - omg
ep6 - 😍
ep1 - oh this is not for me
ep2 - noooo no no
ep3 - wait
ep4 - go on
ep5 - omg
ep6 - 😍
This isn’t as funny as it was in 1983
January 13, 2026 at 10:00 PM
This isn’t as funny as it was in 1983
Reposted by Chris Kendall
This is a very important video to watch. Thank you Ashley the Barroness. One comment from IG was America isn’t becoming Germany. America is becoming America. That really hit home for me. Watch this! Be uncomfortable.
January 13, 2026 at 11:42 AM
This is a very important video to watch. Thank you Ashley the Barroness. One comment from IG was America isn’t becoming Germany. America is becoming America. That really hit home for me. Watch this! Be uncomfortable.
The American right’s co-option of Thucydides is almost as annoying to me as their co-option of Tolkien.
Texas wants to make Thucydides compulsory in schools. This is not good.
thesphinxblog.com/2026/01/13/g...
thesphinxblog.com/2026/01/13/g...
Grave Wisdom
Despite any scurrilous rumours you may have heard, I do not in fact advocate for everyone to be compelled to read Thucydides. On the contrary, I’d be more easily persuaded of the need to introduce …
thesphinxblog.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:32 AM
The American right’s co-option of Thucydides is almost as annoying to me as their co-option of Tolkien.
Reposted by Chris Kendall
@stephencollins.bsky.social made the point best
January 13, 2026 at 8:11 AM
@stephencollins.bsky.social made the point best
Reposted by Chris Kendall
Maybe i should buy myself some Lego to support the Danish defence 🤔
January 13, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Maybe i should buy myself some Lego to support the Danish defence 🤔