John Nicolay
@johnnicolay.bsky.social
Sydney lawyer and poster. Mostly interested in politics, economics, law and sport. Results-oriented progressive. Pseudonym in order to express non-professional (and occasionally unprofessional) thoughts. LFC/SFC/NYY
Is Foxtel down everywhere?
November 23, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Is Foxtel down everywhere?
OTOH, I would be very happy to play poker with England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
I would not want to play poker with Zohran Mamdani.
November 22, 2025 at 6:22 AM
OTOH, I would be very happy to play poker with England wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
It doesn’t sound all bad…
November 22, 2025 at 3:27 AM
It doesn’t sound all bad…
Mamdani does a great job of resisting the natural urge to respond agreeably to everything Trump is saying, without seeming rude or disagreeable.
I would not want to play poker against him.
I would not want to play poker against him.
Trump on Mamdani: "I think he's gonna surprise some conservative people, actually. And some very liberal people he won't surprise because they already like him."
November 21, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Mamdani does a great job of resisting the natural urge to respond agreeably to everything Trump is saying, without seeming rude or disagreeable.
I would not want to play poker against him.
I would not want to play poker against him.
Normalize being normal (if you’re a DC journalist).
If a man points in a woman's face and says "Quiet piggy" you say something about it... You stand up and you say "What the fuck did you just say?" www.welcometohellworld.com/the-love-we-...
November 21, 2025 at 12:10 AM
Normalize being normal (if you’re a DC journalist).
Not sure we’ve had a situation before where a state Premier and the leader of the opposition are of opposite genders and both - let’s face it - kinda spunks …
November 20, 2025 at 10:51 PM
Not sure we’ve had a situation before where a state Premier and the leader of the opposition are of opposite genders and both - let’s face it - kinda spunks …
Normally, I believe Australia should respect the sovereignty of other nations and look for non-violent solutions to international disputes.
But if we have to invade southern France to defend Mary Fowler, we should.
www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...
But if we have to invade southern France to defend Mary Fowler, we should.
www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...
French football club denies Fowler’s racism claims, threatens legal action
Montpellier has denied racism claims made by Mary Fowler in her book Bloom, where she wrote that her and another black teammate were given bananas instead of flowers at a farewell presentation.
www.smh.com.au
November 20, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Normally, I believe Australia should respect the sovereignty of other nations and look for non-violent solutions to international disputes.
But if we have to invade southern France to defend Mary Fowler, we should.
www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...
But if we have to invade southern France to defend Mary Fowler, we should.
www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer...
This will end badly …
SEC weighs looser independence rules for Big Four auditors on.ft.com/43FPpku
SEC weighs looser independence rules for Big Four auditors
US regulator says current interpretation limits choice for technology companies
on.ft.com
November 20, 2025 at 9:41 PM
This will end badly …
The nice thing about watching the German football team win big at home is that you get to hear the chorus of Peter Schilling’s banger Major Tom over and over again:
open.spotify.com/track/709ffF...
open.spotify.com/track/709ffF...
Major Tom (Coming Home)
open.spotify.com
November 17, 2025 at 9:39 PM
The nice thing about watching the German football team win big at home is that you get to hear the chorus of Peter Schilling’s banger Major Tom over and over again:
open.spotify.com/track/709ffF...
open.spotify.com/track/709ffF...
Reposted by John Nicolay
women are always saying “lord grant me the confidence of a mediocre man.” ok well he did. now what. is the world a better place? look at what you’ve wrought.
Olivia Nuzzi's 'American Canto': Read the Exclusive Excerpt
She flamed out and she faded away. 'Vanity Fair'’s West Coast Editor returns to the written word to survey scorched earth.
www.vanityfair.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM
women are always saying “lord grant me the confidence of a mediocre man.” ok well he did. now what. is the world a better place? look at what you’ve wrought.
*Of course* the journalist I admire most is constantly re-evaluating his conclusions and is prepared to publicly change his mind about a view he expressed strongly at the time …
And of course this is worth reading and reflecting on.
And of course this is worth reading and reflecting on.
Why I changed my mind about the shutdown.
fallows.substack.com/p/why-i-chan...
(Paywall near the end.)
fallows.substack.com/p/why-i-chan...
(Paywall near the end.)
Why I Changed My Mind About the Shutdown ‘Surrender.’
Seven days ago, I thought we were seeing another episode of ‘DACO’: Dems Always Chicken Out. Now I think a deal I opposed is giving anti-Trump forces a stronger hand.
fallows.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:08 AM
*Of course* the journalist I admire most is constantly re-evaluating his conclusions and is prepared to publicly change his mind about a view he expressed strongly at the time …
And of course this is worth reading and reflecting on.
And of course this is worth reading and reflecting on.
To state the obvious: the reason Trump is doing this is because he knows he would lose the House vote, so the only thing left to salvage is stopping people from seeing the extent of Republican defiance.
Trump: "House Republicans should vote to release the Epstein files, because we have nothing to hide."
November 17, 2025 at 3:29 AM
To state the obvious: the reason Trump is doing this is because he knows he would lose the House vote, so the only thing left to salvage is stopping people from seeing the extent of Republican defiance.
Reposted by John Nicolay
I’m not a big supporter of violence but if the next ten or so strangers to meet Larry Summers just straight-up sucker-punch him in the face I am not going to lose any sleep.
gosh I wonder why they called her peril www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 3:09 AM
I’m not a big supporter of violence but if the next ten or so strangers to meet Larry Summers just straight-up sucker-punch him in the face I am not going to lose any sleep.
Reposted by John Nicolay
Stop me if you've heard this before:
If the NYT still had a public editor, that person would have official standing to ask, WTF???
They axed the public editor. So it's up to the rest of us to ask, unofficially, WTF???
If the NYT still had a public editor, that person would have official standing to ask, WTF???
They axed the public editor. So it's up to the rest of us to ask, unofficially, WTF???
To recap: Jeffrey Epstein offered a NY Times reporter photos taken in Epstein's kitchen of Donald Trump and girls in bikinis *and* implored the NYT reporter to put this information in the public discourse in 2015
What did the NY Times editors know about this offer?
What did the NY Times editors know about this offer?
“would you like photos of donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen?” -Jeffrey Epstein
November 12, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Stop me if you've heard this before:
If the NYT still had a public editor, that person would have official standing to ask, WTF???
They axed the public editor. So it's up to the rest of us to ask, unofficially, WTF???
If the NYT still had a public editor, that person would have official standing to ask, WTF???
They axed the public editor. So it's up to the rest of us to ask, unofficially, WTF???
Different countries mourn their public figures in different ways. In Australia, we observe the solemn ritual of dumping all the information we had on them but couldn’t publish due to defamation laws.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Long lunches, Swiss bank accounts and a kangaroo scrotum: My decades pursuing Graham Richardson
For a reporter whose career has been spent uncovering crime and corruption, the Labor senator was the one who got away.
www.smh.com.au
November 10, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Different countries mourn their public figures in different ways. In Australia, we observe the solemn ritual of dumping all the information we had on them but couldn’t publish due to defamation laws.
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...
Reposted by John Nicolay
Are we invading Poland?
November 7, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Are we invading Poland?
What is this? An aircraft carrier for ANTS??
November 7, 2025 at 10:31 PM
What is this? An aircraft carrier for ANTS??
I endorse this message.
If I didn't live in California I'd move to Illinois.
November 5, 2025 at 11:55 PM
I endorse this message.
Vinicius jr weeps as Conor Bradley pantses him for the 58th time in this morning’s 1-0 Champions’ League victory over Real Madrid.
November 5, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Vinicius jr weeps as Conor Bradley pantses him for the 58th time in this morning’s 1-0 Champions’ League victory over Real Madrid.
💯
If you watch the movie Vice this will also be your conclusion: the idea that Trumpism came out of nowhere and is a great exception is comforting but completely wrong. It has been a long time coming on the right and will take a lot to reverse. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/o...
Opinion | The Tragedy of Dick Cheney
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:21 AM
💯
Reposted by John Nicolay
Mira Nair: ‘I am the producer of the candidate.’
Watch @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @premthakker.bsky.social swoon over their favorite filmmaker, Mira Nair, who also happens to be Zohran Mamdani’s mother at the Mamdani HQ in New York City, shortly before the race was called in his favor.
Watch @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @premthakker.bsky.social swoon over their favorite filmmaker, Mira Nair, who also happens to be Zohran Mamdani’s mother at the Mamdani HQ in New York City, shortly before the race was called in his favor.
November 5, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Mira Nair: ‘I am the producer of the candidate.’
Watch @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @premthakker.bsky.social swoon over their favorite filmmaker, Mira Nair, who also happens to be Zohran Mamdani’s mother at the Mamdani HQ in New York City, shortly before the race was called in his favor.
Watch @mehdirhasan.bsky.social and @premthakker.bsky.social swoon over their favorite filmmaker, Mira Nair, who also happens to be Zohran Mamdani’s mother at the Mamdani HQ in New York City, shortly before the race was called in his favor.
Reposted by John Nicolay
No no no, what I said was, when YOU hear the news on the internet, you’re being influenced by your information environment.
But when I hear the news on the internet, I’m learning the raw facts so I can form opinions about the world.
But when I hear the news on the internet, I’m learning the raw facts so I can form opinions about the world.
November 4, 2025 at 10:37 PM
No no no, what I said was, when YOU hear the news on the internet, you’re being influenced by your information environment.
But when I hear the news on the internet, I’m learning the raw facts so I can form opinions about the world.
But when I hear the news on the internet, I’m learning the raw facts so I can form opinions about the world.
How did I only just find out who Zohran Mamdani’s mother is??
Come on people, please do a better job of keeping me informed!
Come on people, please do a better job of keeping me informed!
November 4, 2025 at 3:56 AM
How did I only just find out who Zohran Mamdani’s mother is??
Come on people, please do a better job of keeping me informed!
Come on people, please do a better job of keeping me informed!