#fiction - light, dark, funny, sad - a mixed bag just like life. 'DUST' (English, German & Chinese): ETERNAL CITY

United Kingdom
Joined September 2013
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
Charles Kushner, a New Jersey real-estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, became the U.S. Ambassador to France in 2025. Introducing himself to the French public in a social-media video, he said that he knew “a limited amount about France.” He does not speak French; he has never lived abroad. He served time in federal prison for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. The last crime, a blackmail scheme that involved hiring a prostitute to seduce his sister’s husband, suggests a dubious approach to conflict management. Yet Trump saw fit to hand him one of the most coveted posts in American diplomacy, the seat once held by Thomas Jefferson and by Benjamin Franklin, stewarding the relationship with America’s oldest ally. Since taking up his post, Kushner has earned a reputation for meddling in domestic French politics at sensitive moments. “I don’t see how he can possibly affect the opinions of the French government by regularly irritating them,” the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy said. Lauren Collins reports on Charles Kushner’s Ambassadorship and a new cohort of MAGA diplomats who are underqualified for their posts and overeager to impress the boss back in Washington: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
91
1,348
70
3,523
212,182
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
This Iranian woman is going viral for setting the record straight on Iranians: “Iranians are not Muslim. We all hate Islam after 47 years of Islamic regime. Under Sharia… I would be killed for dressing like this. We’re peaceful people.”
627
12,226
247
40,765
463,180
This is the abhorrent mentality of Stoneage men - disgusting vile misogynistic thinking fuelled by religious dogma…
She was born in Iran and built her life in Afghanistan a woman's rights activist with a voice that frightened the men around her. So her ex-husband threw acid on her face. In the hospital, after the surgeries, she sat with her head shaved doctors had taken skin from her scalp to rebuild her face. She was still bandaged, still bleeding, still healing. But her son was not by her side. He was living with his father. And his father set the condition: if you want to talk to your son, you will do it on a video call so I can see what you've become. She accepted. She needed to hear her child's voice. On that call, her ex-husband looked at her destroyed face and smiled. He said: "Look at you. You've become like a monster. You'll never dare go out in public again people will be terrified when they see you. I dare you. I dare you to go out and talk about women's rights." He thought he had broken her. He thought that face was the end of her. He was wrong. Every scar on her face became a sentence in her speech. They took her beauty so she took his fear and turned it into courage. Today she walks in public with her head high, and she speaks about women's rights louder than ever. He wanted to bury her in shame. Instead, he gave the world a witness. That is why I invited her to our Freedom gala in Poland to dedicate to her the Medal of Freedom I received. Because she is the symbol of resilience itself: the symbol of every woman whose face was burned but whose voice could not be silenced. Thank you, Poland for opening your doors, for giving visas to my delegation of women from Iran, Afghanistan, and Cameroon. We are about to start a global women's rights movement and we will go together, all of us, to the German Parliament very soon. This time, I invited 10 women. In Berlin, we will invite more dissidents. @FahimaSarfaraz
1
13
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
Replying to @UkraineEvidence
Russia executed Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Hulyaipole direction, spokesman for the "South" group of forces said. They received an order to "finish off" the wounded man and "immediately eliminate" the prisoners. The crime is likely to involve soldiers from the 38th motorized rifle brigade.
3
112
6
272
9,227
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
BREAKING: In a stunning moment, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just went on TV and made clear that Donald Trump is abandoning Ukraine. Just weeks after Don Jr's wedding paid for by a Russian oligarch, this happens. The corruption is astounding.
1,459
8,236
163
26,704
1,348,412
If this is true - why is it not investigated by U.S. Press? @nytimes @washingtonpost @thetimes
7
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
BREAKING: Donald Trump is reportedly pissed after asking his staff why his Truth Social feed is suddenly full of complaints about gas prices, inflation, and the Iran War, and one staffer explained that, without millions of Russian bots, he was finally seeing real people's posts.
370
2,795
104
14,395
477,422
Stop the world… I want to get off… Incompetent governance… incompetent governments…
12
Today, Russia expressed its thanks for the lifting of sanctions on diesel exports by dropping five glide bombs on residential buildings in Zaporizhzhia. As of now, sadly, twelve people have been confirmed killed, including three children. My condolences to all their families and loved ones. Another fourteen people have been injured, and two of them are in critical condition – the doctors are fighting to save their lives. The status of twelve more people who may have been there is still being verified. All emergency services are at the scene, and search-and-rescue operations are underway. Overnight, thirteen of our regions came under attack. Residential buildings, infrastructure, and railway facilities have been damaged. Last night confirmed once again that in Russia, they take any easing of pressure to mean they can keep fighting, to mean they can keep dropping bombs on cities. Different signals are needed. Russia must understand that it needs to stop the war, and for that to happen, Russia must feel its losses. Right now, it is our long-range capabilities that are ensuring this. And we will respond to Russian strikes. I thank everyone who is helping.
4,148
17,343
1,035
61,879
1,894,485
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
Replying to @RonFilipkowski
2
25
176
20,609
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
America now actively sides with Russia by funding their atrocities in Ukraine. Where are you American people.?Fucking do something!
36
44
566
36,119
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
Putin is a war criminal. SLAVA UKRAINE 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 Another embarrassing day for Americans
30
68
3
2,059
80,636
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
Replying to @RonFilipkowski
39
2
169
4,918
Replying to @RonFilipkowski
Canada stands with Ukraine!🇨🇦🇺🇦
24
60
1
883
15,386
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
51
171
5
1,100
24,574
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
This is incredible. 81-year-old Eric Clapton played the original electric version of “Layla” a few days ago after years of not performing it. What a treat!
128
968
103
6,647
258,769
Mark Thompson - Author retweeted
In a remarkable act of self-sabotage, Green party members have passed a motion declaring that ‘Zionism is racism’ by 1022 to 813 votes. This motion, grotesquely passed on Simchat Torah – the Jewish holiday on which Hamas carried out the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust – makes the Greens the first party of electoral significance in the UK, and possibly in Europe, to adopt extremist, racist views as policy. This could end their ambition to enter mainstream British politics. The motion goes well beyond criticising Israeli policy – it adopts a radical view that denies Jewish right to self-determination and reinvents Zionism as a ‘European settler-colonial’ project. ✍️ Limor Simhony Philpott Article | spectator.com/article/polans…
111
177
27
660
17,725
So what do I call my wonderful mother and father now Zak? FFS… 🙇 @UKLabour @greenytwit @LibDems @thetimes @nytimes
1
21