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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 12m

Considering the political situation in France, and just for this week, I will allow for exceptional use of the most clichéd introduction in op-ed history: "It was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1h

my 10-year old child is 3 inches tall.

soz, I meant "grew 3 inches last year".

whoopsie!

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 3h

The Chinese have been saying the quiet bit ("we want to use rare earths as an economic weapon", basically) out loud for many, many years. It just took us all a long time to actually think they were serious.

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · 3h

In the same vein, from the same book.

May 2019 as Xi Jinping touted a rare earths processing plant in Jiangxi following Huawei’s addition to the entity list.

People's Daily: "Don't say you were not warned"

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

I've been a bit sceptical of the "exodus of US-based academics to Europe" thing, but this is a notable move.

Florian Scheuer @florianscheuer.bsky.social · 1d

I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.

🧵 1/7

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

in all seriousness, while Trump will be fuming he lost
a) Nobel committee can point out that nominations closed in January, 10 days after he came to office. Maybe next year?
b) Machado is, roughly, on the same side as Trump.
c) come on, Trump was never getting it be serious

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

to be fair I don't think anyone thinks industrial policy can "never work" in the sense of getting a boost in production of X. But there are plenty of sceptics on eg whether it can be done sensibly/efficiently/sustainably at an acceptable cost.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

we don't know who is nominated for the Nobel peace prize. It is secret for 50 years. The only thing we do know is the claims by some people who have the ability to nominate (of which there are 100,000+) to have nominated someone.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

make Trump and Thunberg hug on stage or there's no medal for either.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

If the Norwegians had a sense of humour, they'd give Obama a second peace prize today.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

"Brussels-bashing" is becoming fashionable again.

With Friedrich Merz sounding like a revenant Boris Johnson, fights over the long-term budget and unhappiness at EU-US trade, it's open season on Brussels.

My Charlemagne on the return of an old European scourge

www.economist.com/europe/2025/...

“Brussels” is the phantom menace Europe loves to blame

Why bashing the EU is likely to become ever more popular

www.economist.com

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

Your forever reminder that there are hundreds of thousands of people who can nominate anyone they choose for the Nobel Peace prize. Assistant history professors! Any MP anywhere in the world! Even Hitler got the nod once (albeit as a sort of practical joke gone wrong)

Reuters @reuters.com · 1d

Malta foreign minister nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize reut.rs/435IiRV

Malta foreign minister nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize

The foreign minister of European Union member state Malta said on Thursday that he had nominated U.S. President Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize.

reut.rs

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

the most laughable take on prediction markets was the "ah but some people knew Trump would win in 2024 because they looked at prediction markets!". As if a) these markets were some kind of secret thing and, b) they didn't get this kind of stuff wrong all the time and it was just a coincidence.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

There are two types of people: people who've never heard of László Krasznahorkai and people who pretend to have heard of László Krasznahorkai.

FT Weekend @ftweekend.com · 2d

The Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai, known for his postmodern, dystopian novels, is the winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize for literature: on.ft.com/43dn191

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 3d

He was romantically involved with Macron, who is his own father. or something.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Can someone translate "force your insurer to pay for livesaving care" into European please? Why does one need to know industry secrets for this?

Duaa Eldeib @deldeib.bsky.social · 4d

They are one of the industry’s best-kept secrets, and only a tiny fraction of those eligible actually use them.

How a little-known appeal could force your insurer to pay for lifesaving care

www.propublica.org/article/heal...

This Little-Known Appeal Could Force Your Insurer to Pay for Lifesaving Care. Here’s How to File It.

When a health insurer refuses to pay for your treatment, you may have the right to have the denial reviewed — and potentially overturned — by an independent provider. Here are six steps experts sugges...

www.propublica.org

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

I think the real test is if you remain modest *after* winning the Nobel

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Ah yes multi-speed integration. Around the corner just like the 28th regime, capital markets union, common consolidated corporate tax base and building a European Google. Can't wait

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Reposted by Stanley Pignal

Ulrike Franke @rikefranke.bsky.social · 4d

And here we go. I never wrote this article, and yet it is cited here.

www.liberalbriefs.com/geopolitics/...

And of course, it sounds so plausible, I seriously checked whether I had forgotten it, or the footnote was slightly wrong.

#AIisnotresearch

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Betting markets see a 57% chance of Macron calling new legislative elections within a couple of weeks, and 73% chance by the end of the year.

They also have a 1/5 chance of Macron resigning this month, and 20% by next summer.

polymarket.com/event/french...
polymarket.com/event/macron...

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Reposted by Stanley Pignal

Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 4d

Henceforth the red robes will only be worn as an away kit when the Canadian Supreme Court is playing the US one.

Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 4d

Tragic news from Canada where the Canadian Supreme Court has gone from the official dress on the left to the one on the right

Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in bright red wooly gowns, with a beige trim. It looks sort of like a Santa robe

The Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in black gowns with a bright white kravat, and two thin red vertical lines on the side of the robe

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

I see what you did there

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Lecornu made a big song and dance about cutting benefits paid to politicians after they leave office.

But according to Le Monde, that only applies from 2026. So the ministers who were in office 14 hours are entitled to €28,000 after they leave office.

Not bad for a day's work.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Bruno Le Maire's LinkedIn profile is being updated more frequently than some newspaper websites

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Centrists didn't need Le Pen to sabotage any deficit-cutting plans, if the roughly €1 trillion in extra debt incurred between 2017 and 2024 is anything to go by.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 4d

Tell you who else is being put in a tight spot by Macronism implosion

Reuters Breakingviews @breakingviews.reuters.com · 5d

Macronism implosion puts Le Pen in a tight spot - www.breakingviews.com/columns/brea... @pierrebri.bsky.social

Macronism implosion puts Le Pen in a tight spot

French PM Sébastien Lecornu has resigned after only a month. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen is calling for new elections. If they leave her more responsible for tackling France’s 3.5 trln euro debt, it may hurt her chances of replacing embattled President Emmanuel Macron.

www.breakingviews.com

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