FAOFO retweeted
An unpopular foreign leader embracing an unpopular president and telling Americans to stop whining about gas prices is a great closing message for Republicans two weeks out from the midterms
President Trump, my friend Donald - thank you for your extraordinary endorsement. Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House. Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons. Thank you for your clarity, courage and unwavering support.
@realDonaldTrump
FAOFO retweeted
Before this election even happens, the EU/UK and Canada need to prepare for scenarios where America is so paralysed with infighting that it is functionally useless to allies as well as adversaries
WSJ editorial: “When the election is over there needs to be a bipartisan reckoning for Mr. Trump’s budding alliance with the Kremlin against Ukraine, Europe and American interests.”
wsj.com/opinion/to-russia-wi…
FAOFO retweeted
delusional and evil.
Trump: "My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations! Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want! Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way. Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World. Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP"
FAOFO retweeted
Macron should just ram through every reform he can in his last few months. He has nothing to lose politically at this point. The country is on fire, his movement is in ruins, and his approval rating is like 5%. Might as well go down swinging.
FAOFO retweeted
And here is that brutal neoliberal austerity which wrecked a generation.
A nice old building burns, and so the pearl-clutching begins. Where were these pearl clutchers when austerity was wrecking a generation? Why does one town hall grab their attention but millions of schools, hospitals, and homes dilapidated by neoliberalism are of no importance?
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
France's level of public social spending was third highest in the world at 30.6% of GDP in 2024. Excluding the pandemic, it is slightly down from its 31.9% high in 2014. Total public spending is 57.2%, second highest among large countries not at war and near all-time highs.
ourworldindata.org/grapher/social…
ourworldindata.org/grapher/histor…
FAOFO retweeted
Send in some international peacekeepers to protect the Louvre
xitter.cf/finansaljoker/status/2…
FAOFO retweeted
If Trump is able to block and delay Lockheed Martin Air defence products that Europe has paid for then the problem goes way beyond just Musk and Starlink. This has serious implications for European Defence.
Zelensky tells Bloomberg steps have been taken to pressure Ukraine into capitulating to Russia, though he stops short of blaming US partners directly, saying "that's just how it looks."
He again offers to halt strikes on Russian refineries in exchange for more Patriot missiles, and says US-Russia relations may ease after the midterms, calling the current moment "agony."
He also says the US is delaying Patriot interceptor deliveries, with Ukraine getting just 12 now versus four times that under Biden, despite paying for them through the PURL program.
On Trump and Putin, he says Trump has genuinely good relations with Putin but "can't make him end the war."
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
FAOFO retweeted
France has the highest social spending of any country in the world
A nice old building burns, and so the pearl-clutching begins. Where were these pearl clutchers when austerity was wrecking a generation? Why does one town hall grab their attention but millions of schools, hospitals, and homes dilapidated by neoliberalism are of no importance?
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
France's level of public social spending was third highest in the world at 30.6% of GDP in 2024. Excluding the pandemic, it is slightly down from its 31.9% high in 2014. Total public spending is 57.2%, second highest among large countries not at war and near all-time highs.
ourworldindata.org/grapher/social…
ourworldindata.org/grapher/histor…
FAOFO retweeted
congratulations, French rioters 🙃
📊🚨 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞 𝐥’𝐞́𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞́𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 :
🔵 Marine Le Pen : 68 % ☑️
🔴 Jean-Luc Mélenchon : 32 %
🔵 Marine Le Pen : 55 % ☑️
🟣 Raphaël Glucksmann : 45 %
🟡 Édouard Philippe : 66 % ☑️
🔴 Jean-Luc Mélenchon : 34 %
🔵 Marine Le Pen : 55 % ☑️
🟣 François Hollande : 45 %
🔵 Marine Le Pen : 52 % ☑️
🟡 Édouard Philippe : 48 %
(Yougov/Le HuffPost)
FAOFO retweeted
America is set to completely obliterate the Republican Party in the midterms while the French anarkiddies are about to sweep Le Pen into office
FAOFO retweeted
Withholding force pro intel again? Is the US now even more complicit in Ukrainian deaths? R we putting US embassy personnel and American citizens at risk? WTF r we doing? This is madness. Need answers.
FAOFO retweeted
Oh no I only get 5 weeks of vacation a year from the job where it's illegal to fire me, and all it leads to is a retirement where I'll make even more money somehow. I must loot this Gamestop for le liberté.
FAOFO retweeted
Anti-austerity was the correct viewpoint for the specific situation of 2009-2011, but the political movements that sprung up around that are idea are mostly people who don’t believe in any kind of budget constraint or tradeoffs not people with a nuanced macroeconomic view.
FAOFO retweeted
Because the protests always start over something the government tries to do to keep their insolvent welfare state afloat.
FAOFO retweeted
YOU'RE NOT PAYING TAXES FOR THE PROPERTY, YOU'RE PAYING YOUR TOWN FOR THE SERVICES IT PROVIDES. THE ROADS, POLICE, SCHOOLS, FIRE DEPARTMENT, LIBRARY, SNOW PLOWS, EMERGENCY SERVICES AND SO MUCH MORE.
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?”
Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century.
politico.com/news/magazine/2…
FAOFO retweeted
"The students are always on the right side of history."
FAOFO retweeted
I’m sure this is all completely spontaneous and Russia has nothing to do with this either in France or Italy
FAOFO retweeted
I’d be wary of saying the horrific scenes in Paris “clinch it” for Le Pen. The worst of what’s happening is the work of ultra-leftists ma g of whom are being reported as linked with Melenchon’s party.
This perception in France, that he is unable to disavow the chaos, has created an opening for Raphael Glucksmann who is polling level with in him in some polls to capture some left wing votes disgusted by his party fanning the flames.
Glucksmann, who I think is an impressive candidate enjoying a bounce, polls around 47% against Le Pen in the second round unlike Melenchon virtually guarantees Le Pen winning every region including Paris. Moreover, unlike Philippe the center right candidate he was not a Macron Prime Minister so a chance to lean into change and alternative change narrative to Le Pen if he does make it.
Yes that’s my preferred outcome — but my biases aside, I’d say Glucksmann has a small but real chance.
Raphaël Glucksmann demande à Jean-Luc Mélenchon de "désavouer" la violence de "ses supporters"
l.bfmtv.com/9mwO
