iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 21h

I'll be moderating this event at the Avots language festival in Riga tomorrow - people from around the world who have learnt Latvian sharing their stories. Nāciet līdzi! www.facebook.com/share/1JrvzZ...

facebook.com

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Alexander Wells @ajbwells.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

After last year's Nobel went to László Krasznahorkai, I wrote this fun little piece on what I think is his best work—WAR & WAR—for the beloved colleagues at The Diasporist. Also in German translation >> thediasporist.de/life-sentence/

thediasporist.de

Life Sentence – the Diasporist

The Hungarian author's László Krasznahorkai's Nobel Prize win and his love of holy fools and stinky incoherent visionaries.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

One thing I find endlessly funny about the rise of AI is that it has revealed that there is a large number of people who believe that the reason they wrote essays at school or university is their teachers were desperately waiting for them to provide a definite answer to “Lear: what’s up with him?”

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

An interesting account of holidaying in the so-called Suwałki Gap, where as we are endlessly told World War III could break out

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Sanita Jemberga @jemberga.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

For my English-speaking followers, here's me and @holgerroonemaa.bsky.social (of "Delfi" and "Baltic Flank) talking about Latvian election results a bit more deeper that "pro-Western, pro-Ukraine" camp winning: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gvz...

youtube.com

Latvia’s Election Results: The Biggest Surprises and What Comes Next

YouTube video by Re:Baltica

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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Hmm, seems like the kind of thing Head of Money would say

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Jacob Rees-Mogg is emerging as a serial defender of foundational boundaries against a radicalised right, with Carlson combining a defence of Putin with a 'who cares' view of WW2 www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Tucker Carlson of ‘verging on defending Hitler’

Former Tory minister defends UK decision to enter war in podcast with US rightwinger and Putin sympathiser

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

As a Jew I think what the Greens have done is appalling. As a political commentator I think Andy Burnham is a lucky man.

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James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 05/10/2026

Given Labour's very specific history with antisemitism, I wonder what the Green motion does to potential coalition negotiations? Previously you'd just give the Greens DEFRA and DESNZ (which would be bad for other reasons) and count them in, but does this put them beyond the pale for Labour?

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Sorry but implying Kulbergs is *not* populist is bonkers

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 04/10/2026

Oh my god, they did the meme.

The "this fucking sucks actually vs literal coolest thing ever meme".

A guy sneering, wearing a Vote Conservative hat is saying "This fucking sucks actually" while pointing to the AI generated version of Rayner from the Tory Party Conference tapestry, vaping and drinking a beer. She has the words "literal coolest thing ever" above her.

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I don’t write about Israel/ Palestine in my book Borderlines. But the European history there - of what happened when nation states were born or moved, and what happened to the people who didn’t fit or were weaker - is relevant context. I think all nationalisms, including Zionism, contain multitudes.

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Una Bergmane @unabergmane.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Tā JV ideja par savas valdības gāšanu bija tiešām izcila. Viss tik labi sanāca.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

New PM Kulbergs' party wins every council in Latvia in parliamentary elections, bar a few mostly russophone ones in the east So the coalition will be United List and, most likely, the National Alliance. Good luck to all those people asking for an explanation of United List's ideology!

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

One of two Labour gains from Reform in Northumberland by-elections yesterday. Too early to know for sure we've passed peak Reform, but another encouraging sign.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The English version of my piece for Satori – what does the behaviour and popularity of new British PM Andy Burnham and new Latvian PM Andris Kulbergs say about where politics may be going for all of us, despite the huge differences between our countries? willmawhood.substack.com/p/the-northe...

willmawhood.substack.com

The Northerner and the Landlord

Parallels and Contrasts in Recent Latvian and British Politics

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Iveta Kažoka @ivetakazoka.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Šī ir tendence NE TIKAI Latvijā: "Ārpus valdības aparāta uznirst populāra, enerģiska personība, kura svētīta ar spēju runāt cilvēku valodā, acīmredzami ir uz tu ar jaunākajiem saziņas līdzekļiem un vēlas aizstāt bezpalīdzīgo miegainās valdības vadītāju." satori.lv/article/ziem...

satori.lv

Vils Mohuds | Ziemeļnieks un saimnieks. Vēlēšanu troksnis

Laikā, kad cilvēki ar aizdomām skatās uz politiķiem un politiskajām partijām, palīdz arī tas, ja vari sevi pozicionēt kā cilvēku no malas.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Bija prieks man tikt uzaicināt kaut ko rakstīt izcilajam žurnālam Satori - tā nu mans raksts par dažām dīvainām līdzībām (un dziļākām atšķirībām) Latvijas un manas pašas dzimtenes nesenajā politikā

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Every private conversation in Westminster: "Well the triple lock obviously has to go at some point". Every commentator on Burnham: "completely mad to propose getting rid of triple lock - political suicide".

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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

🧵Ahead of Burnham’s speech our latest research looks at the state of Labour and the 3 tests by which public will judge this gov’t. Burnham’s earned his party a rehearing, but has yet to detoxify Labour brand. Only ½ of those who think Burnham is doing a good job would vote Lab

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Targeting the British youth subculture of “Wilsonheads” who consider the late prime minister a style icon and role model. You can barely move for pipes in the clubs some Saturday nights.

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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

"The Bank of England was set up by Tony Blair" It's easy to forget that Tony Blair had been in power since 1694 when the Bank of England was founded. Good job Brain of Britain Liz Truss is here to remind us.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A rather strange choice of example from French president François Mitterand in 1990, talking about his fears of what the future would bring to Margaret Thatcher - I assume he didn't literally think German crusaders would re-invade Poland and the Baltic states, but maybe I'm wrong

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LRB Bookshop @londonreviewbookshop.co.uk · 23/09/2026

this is daft. driving passengers away is the whole point of a bus

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It's one of the absolute pinnacles of the art form, both this final series and the whole great tapestry of it. It is both a fantastic bit of social history and also in of itself an item of social history, and it happened in a lot of ways by accident and serendipity.

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Keir Giles @keirgiles.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I missed this last week. A helpful demolition of scenarios assuming Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are (a) undefended (b) unprepared (c) passive victims of Russian nonsense with no ability to resist and fight back. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrain...

atlanticcouncil.org

Putin is escalating against NATO but a Baltic incursion remains unlikely

The recent escalation in Russian gray zone aggression across Europe has sparked a lively debate over how far the Kremlin may be prepared to go, but a Russian attack on the Baltic states remains unlike...

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Kristian Kiehling @kristiankiehling.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

“Before 2022, we constantly warned our western European partners about the threat from Russia, but most of the time our voices were not listened to. In 2022, the approach of our partners changed. They said it turns out the Balts and the Poles had been right,” [Normunds Mežviets,VDD] said."

theguardian.com

European spy chiefs warn Moscow is planning more decisive action against Nato

Exclusive: Intelligence officers say Russian campaign could intensify ‘in months, not years’ – but that panic risks playing into Kremlin psy-ops

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Labour lead up to 4 points in the latest Ipsos poll. (And congrats to them for using error bars - all pollsters should do this).

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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 16/09/2026

me: hey so I was thinking of maybe watching a documenta- streaming platform: about MURDER? me: no I mean I was maybe thinking like a history show, or like sp: MURDER? YOU WANNA WATCH WOMEN BEING KILLED? BY SERIAL KILLERS? me: no honestly something on the Ottomans maybe or sp: DEATH! DEATH!

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granttharward.bsky.social @granttharward.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A Romanian political cartoon about the Second Balkan War of 1913. Romania beats Bulgaria with a branch, held down by Greece & Serbia with Montenegro bringing more branches, while the Ottoman Empire looks on laughing.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Interesting (though not surprising) - AI gives v different answers when asked identical questions about voting options in the upcoming Latvian election depending on whether the question is in Latvian or Russian (around 30% have RU as their first lang) www.lsm.lv/raksts/zinas...

lsm.lv

Mākslīgā intelekta atbildes par Saeimas vēlēšanām latviešu un krievu valodā atšķiras

Saeimas vēlēšanas jau pavisam drīz – 3. oktobrī. Tiem, kas nav izlēmuši par ko balsot, iespēju atrast sev piemērotāko izvēli ir daudz – gan kandidātu debates dažādās platformās, gan "Partiju šķirotava...

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Satu Mare is quite the destination for brutalism fans

Satu Mare civic centre. It looks a bit like a concrete rocket on a launch pad

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Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Cool pics from my dad - the Riga Central Market, which occupies a series of 1920s German military zeppelin sheds.

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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The PM talks about the politics of hope. Dwindling hope was one of the things that hit the Starmer Government. In July 2024 a slim majority expected Labour to improve their lives. By spring 2025 3/4 said the opposite. Since Burnham came in people are more hopeful, but not yet back at 2024 levels

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The ability to make wild generalisations about other countries while simultaneously so baffled by ‘abroad’ that you can’t follow the purple signs to change planes at Heathrow is such an American ‘foreign policy expert’ pair of qualifications.

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Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Looking at Holborn and St Pancras, Greens had a good result in the locals, but Labour came out on top and held 25/30 seats. Labour's drop 2024-2026 lower than in others, though 2024 result wasn't a high point. Given Green dip in polls since then. Labour start out as favourites, but lots can shift.

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I wrote this in 2015 - any time the Baltics become the centre of attention, it's worth remembering that perhaps only 1% of people commenting (outside the region) have any idea what they're talking about, and this is for structural reasons that have only got tougher since then

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Sven-Erik Volberg @volberg.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

FM of Estonia and yes, Tsahkna is the smalles of the signals to watch but still. On russia, Estonian intelligence has not been wrong, ever

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Interesting discussion on Britain's enduring support for Ukraine, something I've not been surprised by exactly but have thought about a lot - mentions a number of good reasons, but not to me, the obvious one, which is that it's (partially, subconsciously) about Britain's experience of World War II

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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I know there’s a lot of cool stuff at the Eden Project but this reconstruction of an Eastern European allotment caught my eye

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Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Find a guy who looks at you like Jolyon Maugham looks at an opportunity to insert himself into the news cycle.

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

This by Jo Maugham seems to me v conflicted + confused on who should/should not commentate on controversy over Prof Arday at Cambridge. Argues Guardian reporting by Bakare was fair, commentaries by "people of colour" was thoughtful, yet objects to black ^ brown journalists "doing the heavy lifting"

The comment pieces – by Afua Hirsch, Nesrine Malik, Jason Okundaye and Joseph Harper, all people of colour – were careful and thoughtful about the issues raised. However, the same cannot be said about the ‘news’ coverage. Its tenor was often to assume Professor Arday’s guilt – in circumstances where the only independent investigation had concluded he had not plagiarised and where (as I explained here) some of the factual claims against him had collapsed under scrutiny.

There are also questions for her to answer about the decision to place Lanre Bakare at the heart of its news coverage. That having been said, as I said above, “I think he wrestled conscientiously in the piece with the points we discussed. And after the piece I wrote to him saying ‘I think that’s pretty fair, in all the circumstances… (Just in case you care.)’”

Why were Black and Brown journalists at the Guardian asked to do so the heavy lifting? Isn’t it the responsibility, too, indeed especially, of white people to help clear up a mess that white people have made?

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Will Mawhood @viljamsmauhuds.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Going to see this in Riga - dramatising President Valdis Zatlers' decision to call for a referendum on new elections in 2011, claiming that Latvia was being manipulated by oligarchs Hard to imagine tickets for a politics-themed play in the UK being sold out for months to come

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Minna Ålander 🌻 @alanderminna.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

There’s a tendency in northeastern Europe to complain about southern Europe, and especially about Italy and Spain - that they ”don’t get it” re: the Russian threat etc. But in Latvia it was Italians and in Romania Spaniards who shot down drones.

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

It is true that Arday’s various lies should have been a niche story and not the subject of an intense media mobbing. But also he shut down attempts at investigation by *reporting them to the police for racism* and employing one of the UK’s most infamous and aggressive lawyers.

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depths of wikipedia @depthsofwikipedia.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

not to be confused with quesadilla

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Has anyone read anything good on why the east coast is such fertile ground for the extreme right? (Lincolnshire, East Anglia, the Essex and Kent coasts) Demographics aren't wildly different to other areas where it's much less pronounced.

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Dr Francis Young @drfrancisyoung.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

“I never thought leopards would remove my access to ebooks,” say libraries that focussed almost solely on acquiring ebooks from leopards

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