@westerneuropean
@westerneuropean.bsky.social
Retired university administrator. Interests include: Climate change, Brexit, UK Economy, Politics, Education, History and Music.
Based in Devon, UK
Based in Devon, UK
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Last post - Denmark closes its postal service for letters bit.ly/3XHLEro ending a 400-year-old amenity
Denmark posts its last letters as hallowed national mail ends
Denmark’s 400-year-old postal service stops delivering letters as digital communication takes over, leaving other European institutions watching nervously
bit.ly
December 6, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Last post - Denmark closes its postal service for letters bit.ly/3XHLEro ending a 400-year-old amenity
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Aftermath of Russia’s attack on the outskirts of Dnipro.
One house was destroyed, around ten more were badly damaged, and three people were injured - Regional Military Administration reported.
One house was destroyed, around ten more were badly damaged, and three people were injured - Regional Military Administration reported.
December 6, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Aftermath of Russia’s attack on the outskirts of Dnipro.
One house was destroyed, around ten more were badly damaged, and three people were injured - Regional Military Administration reported.
One house was destroyed, around ten more were badly damaged, and three people were injured - Regional Military Administration reported.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Greetings from Kyiv.
Ukraine was under a massive russian attack last night.
The target was critical infrastructure.
No power at home (rolling outages).
So, warcoffee time
Ukraine was under a massive russian attack last night.
The target was critical infrastructure.
No power at home (rolling outages).
So, warcoffee time
December 6, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Greetings from Kyiv.
Ukraine was under a massive russian attack last night.
The target was critical infrastructure.
No power at home (rolling outages).
So, warcoffee time
Ukraine was under a massive russian attack last night.
The target was critical infrastructure.
No power at home (rolling outages).
So, warcoffee time
Reposted by @westerneuropean
“The whole system is near-criminal in its ability to harvest public money so that exploitative providers can provide inadequate housing & support to vulnerable people"
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
‘Even Dickens would be lost for words’: inside the supported housing scandal | The Observer
observer.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 11:24 AM
“The whole system is near-criminal in its ability to harvest public money so that exploitative providers can provide inadequate housing & support to vulnerable people"
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
For our last Naked Week-Observer investigation of the year, we delve into exempt accommodation
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
I am ratcheting down my social media, but let me just say that all European leaders except on the far Right should note that the U.S. now seeks regime change in their country; basically seeks to depose them. US strategy is to support the political forces that threaten liberal democracy in Europe.
Trump Administration Says Europe Faces ‘Civilizational Erasure’
www.nytimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:29 AM
I am ratcheting down my social media, but let me just say that all European leaders except on the far Right should note that the U.S. now seeks regime change in their country; basically seeks to depose them. US strategy is to support the political forces that threaten liberal democracy in Europe.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Kishwer Falkner in The Times talking about the rights of "biological people". As compared to trans people, who are, of course, non-biological.
December 6, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Kishwer Falkner in The Times talking about the rights of "biological people". As compared to trans people, who are, of course, non-biological.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Good. Now leave that platform.
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
December 6, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Good. Now leave that platform.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
'She got my brother drunk, then she sent him to die' - my Daily Mail article on Russia's black widows exploiting Putin's 'coffin money' who symbolise the degredation of their society www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 10:59 AM
'She got my brother drunk, then she sent him to die' - my Daily Mail article on Russia's black widows exploiting Putin's 'coffin money' who symbolise the degredation of their society www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
🇸🇪 Swedish Navy chief of operations Marko Petkovic has said that they have been encountering Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an "almost weekly" basis.
📸: GettyImages
📸: GettyImages
December 6, 2025 at 11:05 AM
🇸🇪 Swedish Navy chief of operations Marko Petkovic has said that they have been encountering Russian submarines in the Baltic Sea on an "almost weekly" basis.
📸: GettyImages
📸: GettyImages
Reposted by @westerneuropean
“Je suis Bernard Manning,” claims Nigel Farage. And so he is. But not quite in the way he meant. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/uki...
Farage’s attack on the BBC tells us who he really is
His response to allegations of racist behaviour reveals more than we could have guessed—and why the Beeb needs to protect itself
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 9:42 AM
“Je suis Bernard Manning,” claims Nigel Farage. And so he is. But not quite in the way he meant. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/uki...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
So telling the truth is to be punished now, is it. I thought this government was supposed to be pro growth
This is madness. Lammy has now been told off merely for admitting (very reluctantly) in an interview that the UK would be better off in a Customs Union with the EU, even though he was extra careful not to join the dots to any sort of suggestion that it was Labour policy.
archive.ph/2025.12.05-1...
archive.ph/2025.12.05-1...
December 6, 2025 at 10:32 AM
So telling the truth is to be punished now, is it. I thought this government was supposed to be pro growth
Reposted by @westerneuropean
This!
“Lot of folk saying UK proponents of an EU Customs Union are at least showing positive intent. I'd argue the precise opposite, that they are perpetuating the long-standing issue of UK demands on trade that seem like cakeism to the EU.”
“Lot of folk saying UK proponents of an EU Customs Union are at least showing positive intent. I'd argue the precise opposite, that they are perpetuating the long-standing issue of UK demands on trade that seem like cakeism to the EU.”
Ten years on the UK is still mostly talking to itself about EU relations (from NS Morning Call).
Let me know when any politicians start talking about far greater mobility / freedom of movement, because that will show them thinking about the other side.
Let me know when any politicians start talking about far greater mobility / freedom of movement, because that will show them thinking about the other side.
December 6, 2025 at 10:40 AM
This!
“Lot of folk saying UK proponents of an EU Customs Union are at least showing positive intent. I'd argue the precise opposite, that they are perpetuating the long-standing issue of UK demands on trade that seem like cakeism to the EU.”
“Lot of folk saying UK proponents of an EU Customs Union are at least showing positive intent. I'd argue the precise opposite, that they are perpetuating the long-standing issue of UK demands on trade that seem like cakeism to the EU.”
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Farage in Scotland: it should make our collective stomachs heave that this repulsive and dangerous extremist has come to spread his poison in our country. Anyone who supports this man is morally in the gutter
My column in the Herald today
My column in the Herald today
December 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Farage in Scotland: it should make our collective stomachs heave that this repulsive and dangerous extremist has come to spread his poison in our country. Anyone who supports this man is morally in the gutter
My column in the Herald today
My column in the Herald today
Reposted by @westerneuropean
I've been up at 5am every Monday for the last three weeks to try and book a driving test for May. There are often 20k people in the queue ahead of me. Really cannot overstate how bad it is.
Can the British state stop this obvious and easily solved scam? Let’s find out!
December 6, 2025 at 10:46 AM
I've been up at 5am every Monday for the last three weeks to try and book a driving test for May. There are often 20k people in the queue ahead of me. Really cannot overstate how bad it is.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
If you want a good laugh 👇
Liz Truss. The empty vessel who’s a gift that keeps on giving launches her podcast 🥴
Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show
Liz Truss. The empty vessel who’s a gift that keeps on giving launches her podcast 🥴
Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show
The Liz Truss Show review – hapless ravings from a cupboard
Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:25 AM
If you want a good laugh 👇
Liz Truss. The empty vessel who’s a gift that keeps on giving launches her podcast 🥴
Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show
Liz Truss. The empty vessel who’s a gift that keeps on giving launches her podcast 🥴
Britain’s briefest PM kept her fans waiting before launching her latest plea for Maga attention in the form of a ham-fisted YouTube talk show
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Bombed Chornobyl shelter no longer blocks radiation and needs major repair – IAEA
#nuclear
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
#nuclear
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Bombed Chornobyl shelter no longer blocks radiation and needs major repair – IAEA
Drone attack that Ukraine blamed on Russia blew hole in painstakingly erected €1.5bn shield meant to allow for final clean-up of 1986 meltdown site
www.theguardian.com
December 6, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Bombed Chornobyl shelter no longer blocks radiation and needs major repair – IAEA
#nuclear
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
#nuclear
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Americans will no longer get free entry to federal parks on Martin Luther King Day.
They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday.
Literally the sort of thing dictators do.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday.
Literally the sort of thing dictators do.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
National parks change prioritizes Trump birthday over days honoring Black people
Free entrance days at national parks no longer include MLK Day and Juneteenth.
www.sfgate.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:43 PM
Americans will no longer get free entry to federal parks on Martin Luther King Day.
They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday.
Literally the sort of thing dictators do.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday.
Literally the sort of thing dictators do.
www.sfgate.com/national-par...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
📢 Today we join over 200 community organisations to stand together and reject the Government’s cruel new asylum plans.
✍️ Write to your MP TODAY 👇
tinyurl.com/382ujcwn
#TogetherWithRefugees
✍️ Write to your MP TODAY 👇
tinyurl.com/382ujcwn
#TogetherWithRefugees
December 5, 2025 at 1:19 PM
📢 Today we join over 200 community organisations to stand together and reject the Government’s cruel new asylum plans.
✍️ Write to your MP TODAY 👇
tinyurl.com/382ujcwn
#TogetherWithRefugees
✍️ Write to your MP TODAY 👇
tinyurl.com/382ujcwn
#TogetherWithRefugees
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
December 5, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
We're holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers
link.europa.eu/bcmC87
Reposted by @westerneuropean
Regular reminder that the so-called CPS "policy expert' quoted here was the author of the "£234 billion cost" number quotes by Reform and Jenrick, and CPS which had to withdraw when they finally admitted it was based on two simple and obvious arithmetic errors.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Top UK scientist says research visa restrictions endanger economy
Prof Sir Paul Nurse says the UK is "shooting itself in the foot" with its visa system for researchers.
www.bbc.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Regular reminder that the so-called CPS "policy expert' quoted here was the author of the "£234 billion cost" number quotes by Reform and Jenrick, and CPS which had to withdraw when they finally admitted it was based on two simple and obvious arithmetic errors.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
The English neighbourhoods still grappling with the meaning of the flags
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...
‘A mini Battle of Cable Street’: the English neighbourhoods still grappling with the meaning of the flags
The controversy over flags has faded from the national agenda – but street by street, late at night and with ingenious new equipment, their raising and removal is the subject of a roiling dispute over...
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The English neighbourhoods still grappling with the meaning of the flags
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/ng-i...
Reposted by @westerneuropean
You have to stand back and just applaud the shamelessness of it all.
December 5, 2025 at 5:37 PM
You have to stand back and just applaud the shamelessness of it all.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
FIFA will give the next Fifa peace prize to MBS in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps they should make that one about press freedom.
December 5, 2025 at 5:38 PM
FIFA will give the next Fifa peace prize to MBS in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps they should make that one about press freedom.
Reposted by @westerneuropean
FIFA can fuck off.
December 5, 2025 at 5:40 PM
FIFA can fuck off.