Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 29/09/2026A fascinating new development in us federalism. Unclear whether it will survive constitutional challenges 0209
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Soccer is a crazy profession. Klopp had two days to train with a new team before his first match. And there seems to be some disappointment that in those two days he did not manage to raise the German game to Spanish levels. 4390
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026The way the US usually deals with unsafe products are punitive damages. At some point, unsafe AI products should be sued for hundreds of billions if they repeatedly do things like break into systems. 0274
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026All nationalities are, to some extent, invented. The idea of ethnic purity of a nation is an insane one based on historic ignorance, biological pseudo-science and usually resulting in catastrophy. 1689
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026The number of US politicians who simply say that they should get money from other countries is frightening. The reality is, of course, that other countries opposed Trump’s war, know we will never return to something as good as the JCPOA and already have to pay higher prices thanks to you… 1187
Reposted by Holger HestermeyerAsymmetrical Haircuts @asymmetricalh.bsky.social · 23/09/2026𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄! New Episode in our Universal Jurisdiction series out tomorrow! @astridcoracini.bsky.social sits down with Janet and Steph to discuss the details of a recent Austrian trial. 134
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The Greenland agreement www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-st...whitehouse.govAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK TOGETHER WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF GREENLANDAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK TOGETHER WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF 050
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026In theory that could be a legal-sounding argument, but then it was the House of Stuart cocreating, and the crown granting a monopoly to the premier slave trading outlet. So it is mostly just historical ignorance. 0224
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 21/09/2026It is time for US courts to question presidential determinations of national security. Otherwise you let Trump build ballrooms in violation of the law claiming they‘re military installations and triumphal arches claiming they‘re for drones. All of this is so stupid it is laughable. 815131
Reposted by Holger HestermeyerIva Vukušić @vukusiciva.bsky.social · 21/09/2026More reports announcing it: www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/...aljazeera.comTrump administration readies sweeping sanctions against ICC, reports sayMeasures targeting the court itself could disrupt payments, IT services and investigations. 0138
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 21/09/2026When the international financial system is used as a weapon to enable war crimes, it is not in good shape. 39136
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The President of Austria illustrating the difficulties Austria will have to deal with as a member of the UNSC. Challenging is an understatement. 022
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026The use of national security in the US is reminiscent of Notverordnungen under Art. 48 of the Weimar Constitution. As long as SCOTUS leaves the factual determination of whether there is a national security situation to Potus, there's little hope things will improve. 072
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Kenneth describes what associate membership might mean… 080
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 20/09/2026My guess: on the basics, no. A lot of these are dictated by how the eu works. Eg free movement of goods requires rule alignment and an institutional backbone. /1 4301
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026How is this news? billionaire oil person says uk needs to drill more and tax less, though, of course, he‘s actually in Monaco. And he would do more in the uk if the state subsidised him more. Dear BBC, that‘s like me saying the uk‘s problem is underpaid law profs. www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comBillionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UKIneos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea. 64892240
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026One of the most annoying things about populism is that pointing out contradictions doesn‘t do a thing to change anyone‘s mind on anything 4283
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Report of factfinding mission of ohchr on human rights in Iran, including US attacks www.ohchr.org/sites/defaul...ohchr.org 041
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026The DoJ now attacks Berkeley Law's admission practices as discriminatory against whites and Asians. www.justice.gov/crt/media/14...justice.gov 030
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Small very very incremental progress at the WTO: India seems to propose a safeguard process for plurilaterals, which, one would suppose, meant there won't be a categorical no. docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages...docs.wto.org 130
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026I confess I like the associate member label, I think it is time for daring initiatives. But have they thought about the content of this at all? If we do not get some meat for this particular bone, it was a counterproductive statement. 5282
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Speculating about Canada and the EU: - membership is currently not possible, the treaty limits membership to European countries - associate membership so far does not exist, so we don't know what it is - what comes to mind is an EFTA/Swiss status, but that would require Canada to follow EU rules /1 4184
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026I am confused now. Are we concerned non-white students do not integrate, or are we concerned they integrate too successfully and outcompete whites? 0344
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 16/09/2026The label associate member is nice and easily reportable. The tough question is: what does it mean? - free movement of goods, services, capital and people? - how is that enforced? CJEU? EFTA? - defence, foreign policy? 1111
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 15/09/2026The propublica Article disclosing that a Russian oligarch close to Putin financed the wedding of the son of Potus seems to sometimes feel the need to explain why that is wrong. Remarkable. www.propublica.org/article/dona...propublica.orgDonald Trump Jr.’s Wedding Bankrolled by Putin-Linked Russian OligarchThe oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large... 0153
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 14/09/2026To some extent the first part of the headline is actually spot-on. Middle powers, aware that they are not superpowers, have to band together and form alliances - or be dangerously exposed to the supowerpowers. 1223
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 14/09/2026The German political debate starts to fall into the same trap as the UK one: at every turn the question is asked: does the chancellor have to step down? The next federal election is in 2029. 3312
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 13/09/2026Potus threatens the Fed with shooting the US in the foot. 1100
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 12/09/2026We are very bad at dealing with large numbers of- and Harborne enforces this by stating that his multi-million pound donation to Reform has to do with him having enough money. So how much, do you think, would an ordinary Brit donate if he donated an equivalent percentage of his wealth? 180
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Reading the FT Europe newsletter, really the one thing where Europe is utterly unable to compete with the US is boundless optimism. The US and Musk are relentlessly hyping their capacities (think of the autopilot with the footnote that it's actually not) - whereas Europe doesn't even mention its own 1116
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026The Scotus order staying the TRO in the Missouri congressional map case, confirming the result of a previous Scotus order. In short: the old map will be used for the election, without the GOP redistricting www.supremecourt.gov/orders/court...supremecourt.gov 142
Reposted by Holger HestermeyerSteve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Proposed EU/US treaty on screening people for visa or travel authorisation purposes: ec.europa.eu/transparency...ec.europa.euRegister of Commission Documents 072
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Dear press. Seriously? Have you not learned a thing? Peace with Ukraine on day one, no new wars, lower prices etc. etc. And you still report the claims in the headlines with costing notes in the small print as though this is all normal? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...theguardian.comUS citizens will receive $5,000 if Republicans win midterms, Trump claims in lengthy convention speechPresident makes offer that would cost US over $1tn and asks voters to ‘pretend that I’m on the ballot’ despite being deeply unpopular among electorate 4276
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026This is a real problem. If you have to endorse Trump policy - or cannot ever talk about the mess he causes - to have an important office at the IMF, It'll be hard to find good candidates. www.ft.com/content/9832...ft.comIMF ditched top candidate for chief economist job over Trump tariff remarksLSE professor Ricardo Reis had said the US president’s trade war would hurt American consumers 25022
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026This is really hard to take. If I understand this correctly Scotus refused to issue a TRO -> old map applies District court issues TRO -> new map applies, 8th cir. denies block of TRO -> new map applies of course this is in conflict with Scotus, but who cares. Chaos. 040
Reposted by Holger HestermeyerMark Carney @mark-carney.bsky.social · 08/09/2026My joint statement with Prime Minister Andy Burnham and President Emmanuel Macron on the Two-State Solution: www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/stat...pm.gc.caJoint statement on the two-state solution“A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is critical for peace, stability and security in the Middle East and beyond. It is a fundamental national interest for Canada, France, and the... 71930288
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026In Missouri, after Kavanaugh refused to put the Missouri Supreme Court on hold, a federal district court judge did. This is... rather disastrous. 021
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026We are moving from "imagine a German government would say the things Trump says" to "a German state government WILL say the things Trump says". And maybe, just maybe, we can settle on "it is not ok to say these things" rather than "it is not ok to say these things in German". 0255
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Robert Alexy has died. zeitung.faz.net/data/948/rea...zeitung.faz.net Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung 010
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Here’s the thing: even if you do not believe that AI will become superhuman and sentient, scenarios for massive destruction are easy to imagine and entirely realistic. /1 23315
Reposted by Holger HestermeyerPaul F Scott @paulfscott.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Lord Briggs is next President of the UKSC: lnkd.in/p/e5ytH7ajlnkd.inHis Majesty The King has approved the appointment of Lord Briggs of Westbourne as the next President of the Supreme Court. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord… |...His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of Lord Briggs of Westbourne as the next President of the Supreme Court. The King made the appointment on the advice of the Prime Minister and Lord Ch... 11615
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Statement on Israel-Palestine by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband www.gov.uk/government/s...gov.ukForeign Secretary Oral Statement on Israel-PalestineForeign Secretary's oral statement to the House of Commons on Israel-Palestine as delivered. 160
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Imagine you are a professional diplomat and are called in to speak about this. www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...independent.co.ukIceland summons US envoy over Trump’s absurd map claiming the islandIceland summoned the U.S. ambassador on Monday after President Donald Trump posted an image on social media showing the island and other countries covered by the American flag 115919
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Another reminder that tech companies saying AI will solve all our problems if only we give them more money and don‘t submit them to any checks and controls is NOT the most reliable source for a story about how AI will solve all our problems. 1449
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026The race for Secretary-General of the UN. First straw poll (July 30, source what‘s in blue) 252
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Haaretz reports that Netanyahu received a warning before Oct 7 - and did not brief Israel‘s security chiefs. Again, you cannot be pro-Israel and support Netanyahu and his ministers. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...haaretz.comNetanyahu got an explicit warning before Oct. 7. He didn't brief security chiefsIn September '23, UAE President bin Zayed called Netanyahu to deliver a harsh warning. Netanyahu did nothing. An extensive investigation, conducted for a new book, reveals the PM's failures surroundin... 27034
Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 07/09/2026The claim that democracy demands everyone to work with the AfD is 1) hypocritical - then why was it ok for AfD people to not work constructively with the other parties and 2) wrong - part of the electoral mandate given to the other parties was to not work with the AfD www.bbc.com/news/article...bbc.comGermany's AfD calls for parties to work with it after Saxony-Anhalt winThe far-right party is trying to form a government in the state after falling three seats short of a majority. 0468