Matt Steinglass
@mattsteinglass.bsky.social
Europe correspondent for The Economist. Please don’t kill me
Pinned
Thomas Pynchon, the greatest Californian novelist, wrote in his first novel “V.” of a mad society that built its city at the lip of a volcano which annihilated it every hundred years, but always rebuilt immediately in the same place
Interesting bit I hadn’t seen from that Deezer/Ipsos study on human inability to detect AI music: the British did better than anyone else. (Still only 5%)
November 16, 2025 at 10:33 AM
Interesting bit I hadn’t seen from that Deezer/Ipsos study on human inability to detect AI music: the British did better than anyone else. (Still only 5%)
This seems incidentally like a rather withering comment on the US on.ft.com/47Zci3w
November 16, 2025 at 8:13 AM
This seems incidentally like a rather withering comment on the US on.ft.com/47Zci3w
When your engine quits right in the path of the Amsterdam harbor ferry
November 15, 2025 at 10:23 AM
When your engine quits right in the path of the Amsterdam harbor ferry
Lovely story about the Dutch shift from 65% support of blackface Zwarte Piet to 62% support for nonracial Piet makeup. Took 15 years of protest and dialog. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Na vijftien jaar pietenprotesten: zo veranderde de samenleving van mening
Sinterklaas: Zaterdag komt Sinterklaas aan in Zaandam. Al 24 jaar organiseert René de Reus het feest. Dacht hij vijf jaar geleden nog dat Zwarte Piet onmisbaar was, nu is hij tot inkeer gekomen. „Als ...
www.nrc.nl
November 15, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Lovely story about the Dutch shift from 65% support of blackface Zwarte Piet to 62% support for nonracial Piet makeup. Took 15 years of protest and dialog. www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
If your series is in its second season and you’re already doing the “she doesn’t like his Valentine’s Day gift but is afraid to say so” plot, I’m afraid it’s dead
November 15, 2025 at 7:58 AM
If your series is in its second season and you’re already doing the “she doesn’t like his Valentine’s Day gift but is afraid to say so” plot, I’m afraid it’s dead
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
Russia struck an apartment building in Kyiv just now.
As Ukraine strikes russian oil industry-a working engine of russian war machine, russia strikes apartment buildings in out of cities.
As Ukraine strikes russian oil industry-a working engine of russian war machine, russia strikes apartment buildings in out of cities.
November 13, 2025 at 11:56 PM
Russia struck an apartment building in Kyiv just now.
As Ukraine strikes russian oil industry-a working engine of russian war machine, russia strikes apartment buildings in out of cities.
As Ukraine strikes russian oil industry-a working engine of russian war machine, russia strikes apartment buildings in out of cities.
Just recalling this interview I did with Wijers when he left Akzo in 2012. All the things he points to—NL govt’s halfhearted efforts to ramp up tech education, need for faster EU integration—remain correct and unaddressed. on.ft.com/48jTdtp
Wijers leaves Akzo Nobel on sound footing
on.ft.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Just recalling this interview I did with Wijers when he left Akzo in 2012. All the things he points to—NL govt’s halfhearted efforts to ramp up tech education, need for faster EU integration—remain correct and unaddressed. on.ft.com/48jTdtp
Feels like the value of having the pee tape is declining rapidly
November 13, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Feels like the value of having the pee tape is declining rapidly
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
populism and the #RadicalRight D. Leiter and B. Vonnahme. “Are Some Parties Immune From Scandal? Party Family, Scandal Exposure, and Party Evaluation”. In: Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties online first (2025), pp. 1-25. dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2025.2474423.
November 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
populism and the #RadicalRight D. Leiter and B. Vonnahme. “Are Some Parties Immune From Scandal? Party Family, Scandal Exposure, and Party Evaluation”. In: Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties online first (2025), pp. 1-25. dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2025.2474423.
‘China is “increasingly beating Germany at its own game”, says Spyros Andreopoulos, founder of Frankfurt-based consulting firm Thin Ice Macroeconomics. On average, Chinese capital goods are 30% cheaper than Europeans’. Crucially, manufacturers have also closed the quality gap.’
Can anything halt the decline of German industry?
Europe’s manufacturing champion is in free fall. Economists are suggesting radical steps to save what is left
on.ft.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:39 AM
‘China is “increasingly beating Germany at its own game”, says Spyros Andreopoulos, founder of Frankfurt-based consulting firm Thin Ice Macroeconomics. On average, Chinese capital goods are 30% cheaper than Europeans’. Crucially, manufacturers have also closed the quality gap.’
This is fun to watch
November 12, 2025 at 9:34 AM
This is fun to watch
The IMF demanding that China build a welfare state to redress global trade imbalances would certainly be a puzzler for the anti-globalization crowd
...oversupply. Cleaning up the real estate sector could return a semblance of consumer confidence for Chinese households. But it's not enough.
The key lever to boost demand and consumption is fiscal policy and buidling a social welfare state in an environment where households anxiously save.
7/7
The key lever to boost demand and consumption is fiscal policy and buidling a social welfare state in an environment where households anxiously save.
7/7
November 12, 2025 at 8:11 AM
The IMF demanding that China build a welfare state to redress global trade imbalances would certainly be a puzzler for the anti-globalization crowd
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China’s CO2 emissions have been flat or falling for past 18 months, analysis finds
World’s biggest polluter on track to hit peak emissions target early but miss goal for cutting carbon intensity
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 9:20 AM
This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months"
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.
So apparently being in a boat in an area where drugs are frequently trafficked is now grounds for a US airstrike, he said nervously in central Amsterdam
November 11, 2025 at 3:12 PM
So apparently being in a boat in an area where drugs are frequently trafficked is now grounds for a US airstrike, he said nervously in central Amsterdam
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Exclusive: UK suspends some intelligence sharing with US over boat strike concerns in major break | CNN Politics
The United Kingdom is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes ...
edition.cnn.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:06 PM
NEWS: The UK is no longer sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because it does not want to be complicit in US military strikes and believes the attacks are illegal, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. edition.cnn.com/2025/11/11/p...
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
PVV-Kamerlid voor eerst naar Tweede Kamer om afscheid te nemen
PVV-Kamerlid voor eerst naar Tweede Kamer om afscheid te nemen
Vandaag nemen zeventig Kamerleden afscheid van de Tweede Kamer.
speld.nl
November 11, 2025 at 2:02 PM
PVV-Kamerlid voor eerst naar Tweede Kamer om afscheid te nemen
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
A little piece of good news. There will have to be more like this: institutions of civil society, academia, and expertise separating from the state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Dismantled by DOGE, a Foreign Policy Center Finds New Life
www.nytimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:58 AM
A little piece of good news. There will have to be more like this: institutions of civil society, academia, and expertise separating from the state.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/10/u...
Dutch coalition formation still stalled by the refusal of Dilan Yesilgoz (not pictured), head of the #3 Liberals, to join a govt with #4 GreenLeft-Labor. The “scout”, Wouter Koolmees, is starting with a “motorblock” of #1 D66 and #5 Christian Dems and will work out from there.
Verkenner Koolmees lijkt te neigen naar het ‘motorblok’, met of zonder VVD
Verkenner Koolmees proefde de nieren van de partijen en gaat voorstellen doen voor een vervolg van de formatie. Wordt het doorpraten met een 'motorblok' van D66-CDA?
www.nrc.nl
November 11, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Dutch coalition formation still stalled by the refusal of Dilan Yesilgoz (not pictured), head of the #3 Liberals, to join a govt with #4 GreenLeft-Labor. The “scout”, Wouter Koolmees, is starting with a “motorblock” of #1 D66 and #5 Christian Dems and will work out from there.
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
for God’s sake
Buried inside the deal to reopen government is a provision that would give Senators private right of action to sue for millions in damages over their phone records being analyzed by Jack Smith's team.
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Shutdown Deal Would Let Senators Sue Over Jack Smith Searches
Senators whose phone records were sought by Special Counsel Jack Smith would gain authority to sue for millions in damages under a provision buried in the Senate-advanced deal to reopen the government...
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:27 PM
for God’s sake
To fight communism, America bombed Laos more heavily than any country ever in history. It lost. It took in the refugees who managed to make it out. Now it has changed its mind and is shipping them back. What kind of government does this
A longtime Tucson physical therapist has been deported to Laos, the country he fled with family at age 6 in the 1970s. Vone Phrommany, 53, said he's arrived at a distant relative's home following five days of exhausting travel, while shackled at the wrists and ankles. tucson.com/news/local/s...
Tucson physical therapist deported to Laos after multiple, 'chaotic' flights
For Star subscribers: A longtime Tucson physical therapist has been deported to Laos after spending three months at the Eloy Detention Center.
tucson.com
November 10, 2025 at 7:42 AM
To fight communism, America bombed Laos more heavily than any country ever in history. It lost. It took in the refugees who managed to make it out. Now it has changed its mind and is shipping them back. What kind of government does this
Bad news from Georgia where Georgian Dream is banning the opposition and charging its main leaders with plotting a coup.
Georgia is dousing the last embers of democracy
An oligarchic party outlaws the opposition and turns towards Russia
economist.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Bad news from Georgia where Georgian Dream is banning the opposition and charging its main leaders with plotting a coup.
Blatant anti-Turkish prejudice
November 9, 2025 at 7:28 PM
Blatant anti-Turkish prejudice
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
Eleven of the parties in the provincial parliament of Limburg have now requested the Limburg government to look into the possibility of creating a (temporary) memorial for our Black American liberators in cooperation with Eijsden-Margraten (where the cemetery is located).
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Limburgse Statenleden willen tijdelijke herdenkingsplek voor zwarte bevrijders
Statenleden willen een gedenkteken voor zwarte Amerikaanse bevrijders nu hun informatiepanelen in Margraten zijn verwijderd
www.nrc.nl
November 8, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Eleven of the parties in the provincial parliament of Limburg have now requested the Limburg government to look into the possibility of creating a (temporary) memorial for our Black American liberators in cooperation with Eijsden-Margraten (where the cemetery is located).
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/...
Reposted by Matt Steinglass
Trump has pardoned Troy Lake, according to Senator Lummis.
Lake, who owned a diesel servicing company, had pleaded guilty to disabling emissions controls on hundreds of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
A study showed that it caused increases in carbon monoxide & pollutants known to cause lung cancer.
Lake, who owned a diesel servicing company, had pleaded guilty to disabling emissions controls on hundreds of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
A study showed that it caused increases in carbon monoxide & pollutants known to cause lung cancer.
November 9, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Trump has pardoned Troy Lake, according to Senator Lummis.
Lake, who owned a diesel servicing company, had pleaded guilty to disabling emissions controls on hundreds of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
A study showed that it caused increases in carbon monoxide & pollutants known to cause lung cancer.
Lake, who owned a diesel servicing company, had pleaded guilty to disabling emissions controls on hundreds of heavy-duty commercial trucks.
A study showed that it caused increases in carbon monoxide & pollutants known to cause lung cancer.
Guess which other minority US soldiers are prominently featured at the cemetery in Margraten? I wonder how long till they come for them
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Guess which other minority US soldiers are prominently featured at the cemetery in Margraten? I wonder how long till they come for them