iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

For tariffs and export taxes on goods used in US located production? Who would have more impact than China? It’s not a call for blind opening of the EU market to China’s dumping of goods, but for economic retaliation against the US’s carbon direction? Absolutely.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Je ne pourrais être plus fier que de publier mon premier essai en français dans les pages de l’inimitable Revue21

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

My column today in The Guardian about why American oligarchs complicit in the Trump admin’s ecocide should face the same types of sanctions as Russian oligarchs complicit in Putin’s war and crimes www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

Trump and his oil-and-coal oligarchy should face sanctions for their war on the environment | Alexander Hurst

Europe punished Russian billionaires over the war in Ukraine. It should do the same to those abetting an ecocidal regime, says Guardian Europe columnist Alexander Hurst

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Not just to boycott but to organize an alternative World Cup and invite everyone else but the US to participate

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Lucas Guttenberg @lucasguttenberg.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

It might sound silly, but I mean it: The easiest and most potent way for Europe to hurt Trump this year is to once again use its cultural soft power and to threaten a boycott of the World Cup. It would become a completely meaningless event and would hurt him where he is most vulnerable - his vanity.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I get it, Brexit was a big mistake. But there’s a difference here because the US is imposing the rupture - clinging in spit of that is an act of self harm (dual US/FR here so won’t see you on the streets unless it’s Paris streets I’m afraid!)

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Turns out it was written by an American who is simply quite lucid about what has happened in the Us, and where things are headed

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Will Europe finally choose between Europe and the US? The only thing that can protect us is federalism and a rupture — a real one — with Trump. With the side bonus that just maybe, it will rally Europeans against the far right and shock Americans into action www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

Europe must now tell Trump that enough is enough – and cut all ties with the US | Alexander Hurst

How do you retain a space of democracy in a world that is reverting to violent conquest? By building a protective moat of federalism around it, says Paris-based Guardian writer Alexander Hurst

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Hey @longreads.com, can I flag you on this narrative longform I did about French Guiana at the intersection of ecological collapse, climate change, European space autonomy, and the French Foreign Legion?

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I love the chance to write long things about places that we should be talking more about. A lot of work went into to this — 7 weeks in Guyane, 2 dozen interviews (many thanks to everyone who gave me their time!), and a month and a half spent drafting and editing www.theguardian.com/world/ng-int...

theguardian.com

Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon? | Alexander Hurst

It borders Brazil, but French Guiana is now a remote outpost of the EU. It is home to Europe’s only spaceport, some of the most biodiverse forest on the planet and a military mission that is testing t...

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

theguardian.com

Rockets, gold and the Foreign Legion: can Europe defend its frontier in the Amazon? | Alexander Hurst

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Sam Greene @samagreene.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

European leaders, however, would be wise not to wait. While the White House and the Kremlin are preparing their summit, Europe can calmly set the terms of the debate, outlining what a sustainable peace does and doesn’t look like. And they can prepare a worse-case response. /8

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

The brexiteers were delusional not for going for an emotional hook. That was deeply effective. They were delusional because of the simple mismatch between their dreams and the UK’s logistical capacity to be ‘big’ There’s no equivalent pro-EU delusion because there’s no equivalent mismatch

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

The UK’s constraints were in capacity, not willingness to act. Harnessing emotion fueled its willingness to act, but couldn’t change the lack of underlying capacity For the EU, the constraint is not capacity — it’s big. The constraint is political willingness. Harnessing emotion can change that.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Genuinely confused at how so many people (not Margaret!) read this as an EU bashing column, or ‘hard Brexit’ equivalent, when it’s the opposite Brexit was delusional bc it involved a small power attempting to act like a big one; the EU is actually. Large power but acts like a small one. 1/

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Richard Bates @discript.com · 20/06/2025

“It’s not just me. There is an entire internet subgenre of content extolling the virtues of French butter, or involving Americans who come to France and realise that this is what peaches, or strawberries, really taste like,” writes @iamhurst.bsky.social. Touché. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

I grew up on American food. Trust me, it’s the last thing Europe needs | Alexander Hurst

The EU is under pressure to strike a trade deal with Trump, but an influx of mass-produced, low-quality food must be off the table, says Guardian Europe columnist Alexander Hurst

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

"Electricity supply from new wind, solar and nuclear capacity was enough to cut coal-power output even as demand surged, whereas previous falls were due to weak growth."

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Can’t wait to see how Netflix, Max, Peacock, Apple TV, Disney, Prime react to being hit with a response tariff on their streaming subscriptions (the revenues from which should be earmarked for European public broadcasters) and same for Fox, Warner, Disney, Paramount, Universal (to fund local film)

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Larry Glickman @larryglickman.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

I don't understand how the Times can never determine whether Trump is lying but can say with certainty when he is joking.

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onion person @junlper.beer · 30/04/2025

this would be so funny if this guy wasn’t president

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

I love stumbling onto the original influence for an artists sound Like - with alll due respect to LP - I thought their voice was quite unique, and then I listened to Pavlov’s Dog from the 70s…

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Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 29/04/2025

This is the message. You may like Pritzker, you may not, but whomever the new leaders of a reformed democratic party are, they will carry this message. This is the way to win. My two cents.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I’ve made several actual, real friends by talking to strangers

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Nick Kristof @nickkristof.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

From an American doctor friend volunteering in Gaza: "So many dead little kids. This man showed up to the hospital today carrying this burlap bag asking for help. He said it held the remains of his daughter after his home was bombed yesterday. All he found was her head, her leg, and her hand."

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

It’s a white supremacist fascist oligarchy enriching itself

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Steven Fielding @polprofsteve2024.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

I’m pretty sure I know who is targets are here … www.nytimes.com/2025/04/21/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Larry David: My Dinner With Adolf (Gift Article)

When a private meeting goes unexpectedly.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

I mean, that's fine -- a German character and a French character speaking to each other in English is totally believable What comes across as absolutely ridiculous is 3 French soldiers - played by French actors - speaking to each other in English!

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

Ce qui le fait vraiment inexcusable, c'est que cette série est une coprod européenne, notamment française... Et vous l'avez rendu tellement ennuyeux à vissionner en faisant ça 👇 que franchement, j'ai pas envie de continuer @cineteve.bsky.social

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

There's something that really annoys me, which is when shows/movies are filmed in English for scenes where the characters obviously wouldn't be speaking English to each other I.e., "Kaboul" -- 0% chance the French ambassador would be speaking English to his French head of security.

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Richard Delevan @richard.wickedproblems.earth · 21/04/2025

Pope Francis' final Easter message vs POTUS Easter message. A lot to be sad about today, but also some clarity. If you ever doubt it matters who your leaders are, re-read these two.

Pope Francis' last public homily -
What a great thirst for death, for killing, we witness each day in the many conflicts raging in different parts of our world! How much violence we see, often even within families, directed at women and children! How much contempt is stirred up at times towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants!
On this day, I would like all of us to hope anew and to revive our trust in others, including those who are different than ourselves, or who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas! For all of us are children of God

A bleet from Donald Trump. I'm not going to type it all. Let's just say he's made his Easter message into a screed against migrants.

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Alexander Hurst @iamhurst.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Sad to see Pope Francis pass -- may the next one also be committed to social justice, compassion, the environment, and the poor

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Nathan Kalman-Lamb @nkalamb.bsky.social · 20/04/2025

18/19 yo Euro backpackers were detained in Honolulu. “It was a real jail. Metal doors, locked cells, cold air. And they made us do a full strip search. It was really cold. We had to undress completely, including bra and underwear, and even had to squat and spread… it was humiliating and scary.“

Please be careful - we were deported from the U.S. for just wanting to backpack
Travel
I want to share what happened to me and my best friend last month when we tried to begin our backpacking trip in the U.S. Maybe it helps someone avoid the same nightmare.

We are 19 and 18 years old, from Europe, and we arrived in Honolulu from New Zealand, with the plan to explore the islands first, and then fly to the mainland after to explore California. We had booked only the first 2 nights in an Airbnb, just to be flexible with our plans - like we did in New Zealand, and like many backpackers do. We had the onward ticket to the next destination in Asia but didn't book domestic flights in the U.S. for the same reason.

At passport control they took us aside for “additional questions.” At first we didn’t think it was such a big thing, but then it became very intense. They were asking us why we didn’t book more nights or domestic flights, what our plans were, how we can afford to travel, and especially about work. We do sometimes small freelance jobs online (like translating or design stuff, for customers back in Germany and sometimes also Asia, not the U.S.), and we mentioned that - which was maybe the biggest mistake. It was also in the e-mails that they accessed.

After a while they told us we are not allowed to enter the U.S., that we are “inadmissible.” They said we were trying to work illegally, which we didn’t. We had onwards tickets and just wanted to travel.

But they didn’t care. They took our phones, our passports, and put us in handcuffs - that moment was surreal. Like, you’re a tourist and now you’re treated like criminal. They wanted to send us back to Auckland on the next flight, but we asked to rebook our onwards tickets for the day after, so we could continue with our travels. They agreed but said that we will be detained for the night. We agreed, having no idea what to expect, thinking that we would maybe wait in the same room that they interviewed us. But no.

They drove us to the detention center in Honolulu. I think it was called FDC prison, close to the airport. It was a real jail. Metal doors, locked cells, cold air. And they made us do a full strip search. It was really cold. We had to undress completely, including bra and underwear, and even had to squat and spread… I don’t want to describe it in too much detail, but it was humiliating and scary. We were alone with a female officer, but still… you don’t expect that as a tourist.

After that they gave us green prison clothes and put us in a cell overnight with two other women - who were actually bragging to us about their cartel connections and implying that they were serious criminals. It felt like a movie, but not a nice one. Of course we didn't not sleep even for a minute. I'm not picky, but the food was another horror story.

The next day they stripped us down again, we changed back into our clothes, and they took us straight to our plane - two officers returned our passports and escorted us to our seats as the door was about to close. Just like that. They also told us that if we want to come to the U.S. again, we cannot use a visa free system anymore.

So yeah… please be very careful if you plan to backpack in the U.S. Book all your accommodation in advance (even if you plan to change later). There are many fully refundable options - and we thought about it, but decided that it wouldn't be necessary. And don’t mention any remote work or freelancing and make sure to log out of any e-mails that could be used as evidence of it. And know that if something goes wrong, it’s not just “denied entry” - it’s jail, strip search, and total loss of control.

We are still totally shaken from it and feel like we did something wrong, even if we didn’t mean to. Just wanted to share, because I would have never imagined this could happen. My feeling is that backpacking culture isn’t understood or accepted at U.S. borders right now. Be careful!

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