Stanley Pignal
@spignal.bsky.social
Charlemagne columnist & Brussels bureau chief, The Economist.
Past stints in Paris, Mumbai, London. Français. Personal feed.
Bio 👇. https://medium.com/@spignal/stanley-pignal-bio-2acd9b705ceb
[email protected]
Past stints in Paris, Mumbai, London. Français. Personal feed.
Bio 👇. https://medium.com/@spignal/stanley-pignal-bio-2acd9b705ceb
[email protected]
Great map of European soil -- so many different things to pick up on.
November 25, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Great map of European soil -- so many different things to pick up on.
There would be nothing wrong with being the lesser Hitchens, given the circumstances. It's being lesser by such an outlandish margin that is the truly curious thing.
November 24, 2025 at 7:26 PM
There would be nothing wrong with being the lesser Hitchens, given the circumstances. It's being lesser by such an outlandish margin that is the truly curious thing.
Tired: I read vintage Playboy for the articles
Wired: I read vintage Playboy for the ads
Wired: I read vintage Playboy for the ads
I'm in a vintage store with a bunch of old Playboy magazines from the '80s.
A vision of the beauty of long-gone ages.
That is, the damn things are an inch thick, packed with full-page ads. Journalism was so lucrative
A vision of the beauty of long-gone ages.
That is, the damn things are an inch thick, packed with full-page ads. Journalism was so lucrative
November 23, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Tired: I read vintage Playboy for the articles
Wired: I read vintage Playboy for the ads
Wired: I read vintage Playboy for the ads
I agree and basically your only choice to represent Europe as a whole is Macron, I argued ahead of a (long-forgotten) set of talks in February. I don't think you can send a consensus pick a la Niinisto into that kind of situation.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
Which European should face off against Trump and Putin?
Macron, Tusk, Costa: the runners and riders for the job from hell
www.economist.com
November 23, 2025 at 5:12 PM
I agree and basically your only choice to represent Europe as a whole is Macron, I argued ahead of a (long-forgotten) set of talks in February. I don't think you can send a consensus pick a la Niinisto into that kind of situation.
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
www.economist.com/europe/2025/...
From iPhone "holiday boom" to "disappointing early sales" in three weeks.
November 23, 2025 at 7:47 AM
From iPhone "holiday boom" to "disappointing early sales" in three weeks.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is the American Prigozhin: a distasteful outgrowth of the establishment, whose brief insurrection offers hope to the regime's opponents until it becomes clear they've overplayed their hand.
November 22, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Marjorie Taylor Greene is the American Prigozhin: a distasteful outgrowth of the establishment, whose brief insurrection offers hope to the regime's opponents until it becomes clear they've overplayed their hand.
Would watch this sitcom. Including the story arc with Halliburton CEO Al Gore getting the VP nomination.
November 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Would watch this sitcom. Including the story arc with Halliburton CEO Al Gore getting the VP nomination.
Booking manager at Four Seasons (landscaping)
November 21, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Booking manager at Four Seasons (landscaping)
National heroes' written accounts of how prison changed them. Essential reading.
November 21, 2025 at 4:09 PM
National heroes' written accounts of how prison changed them. Essential reading.
If we start from the principle that "China could crash Europe's grid", could we not also say that "Europe could ground all 2000 Airbus planes in China?"
Is it that we assume that Europe wouldn't do that, but China would? Why should they trust *our* products if we inherently don't trust theirs?
Is it that we assume that Europe wouldn't do that, but China would? Why should they trust *our* products if we inherently don't trust theirs?
November 20, 2025 at 3:55 PM
If we start from the principle that "China could crash Europe's grid", could we not also say that "Europe could ground all 2000 Airbus planes in China?"
Is it that we assume that Europe wouldn't do that, but China would? Why should they trust *our* products if we inherently don't trust theirs?
Is it that we assume that Europe wouldn't do that, but China would? Why should they trust *our* products if we inherently don't trust theirs?
Reposted by Stanley Pignal
“The unprecedented step which I hastily took which triggered a minor geopolitical crisis was obviously the right thing to do, which is why I’m reversing it”
The Dutch have handed chipmaker Nexperia back to China following a state visit.
In a statement, economic affairs minister Vincent Karremans said the move was a "show of goodwill."
In a statement, economic affairs minister Vincent Karremans said the move was a "show of goodwill."
November 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM
“The unprecedented step which I hastily took which triggered a minor geopolitical crisis was obviously the right thing to do, which is why I’m reversing it”
Allez quand-même là...
November 19, 2025 at 6:17 AM
Allez quand-même là...
Reposted by Stanley Pignal
A reminder to journalists: just because you don't name someone in an article doesn't mean they can't sue you for libel. If you make it easy for the person to be identified - eg by linking to articles which, taken alongside yours, means they are easy to identify - you are very much in legal hot water
November 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
A reminder to journalists: just because you don't name someone in an article doesn't mean they can't sue you for libel. If you make it easy for the person to be identified - eg by linking to articles which, taken alongside yours, means they are easy to identify - you are very much in legal hot water
Two rival publications are currently making libelous (if they are untrue) claims against an unnamed individual. Neither has enough detail in their own article to identify the person. BUT take the articles together and the person is readily identifiable. And one publication is linking to the other...
November 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Two rival publications are currently making libelous (if they are untrue) claims against an unnamed individual. Neither has enough detail in their own article to identify the person. BUT take the articles together and the person is readily identifiable. And one publication is linking to the other...
A reminder to journalists: just because you don't name someone in an article doesn't mean they can't sue you for libel. If you make it easy for the person to be identified - eg by linking to articles which, taken alongside yours, means they are easy to identify - you are very much in legal hot water
November 17, 2025 at 8:16 PM
A reminder to journalists: just because you don't name someone in an article doesn't mean they can't sue you for libel. If you make it easy for the person to be identified - eg by linking to articles which, taken alongside yours, means they are easy to identify - you are very much in legal hot water
you end up as Schrodinger's refugee, as the Danes call it. On one hand as a migrant you have to integrate, learn the language, raise your kids as British, etc. On the other from one day to the next you may be sent "home" to a country your kids have never known.
November 15, 2025 at 12:56 PM
you end up as Schrodinger's refugee, as the Danes call it. On one hand as a migrant you have to integrate, learn the language, raise your kids as British, etc. On the other from one day to the next you may be sent "home" to a country your kids have never known.
My Saturday morning liberal humanist trifecta.
November 15, 2025 at 9:52 AM
My Saturday morning liberal humanist trifecta.
Best Tory beer content since William Hague claimed to have downed 14 pints a day in his youth.
November 14, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Best Tory beer content since William Hague claimed to have downed 14 pints a day in his youth.
NYT articles are just a jumbled mess. Rarely more than 100 words of text before an ad or picture. Constant skipping
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November 14, 2025 at 7:06 AM
NYT articles are just a jumbled mess. Rarely more than 100 words of text before an ad or picture. Constant skipping
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www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/w...
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www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/w...
no. but you can assume it is upper-middle class. Only a third of Russians have passports so clearly not the poor. The oligarchic class have EU/foreign passports and residency permits so need no visas - this does not apply to them
November 14, 2025 at 6:15 AM
no. but you can assume it is upper-middle class. Only a third of Russians have passports so clearly not the poor. The oligarchic class have EU/foreign passports and residency permits so need no visas - this does not apply to them
Reposted by Stanley Pignal
What a sentence.
November 13, 2025 at 9:22 PM
What a sentence.
The EU is cracking down on issuing visas to Russians. On one hand that's common sense, for security and moral reasons. But don't lose sight of the argument that there is something dangerous about blaming the crimes of a regime on a people themselves living in a dictatorship.
My Charlemagne:
My Charlemagne:
Europe is cracking down on Russian tourists
That is partly necessary—and partly alarming
www.economist.com
November 13, 2025 at 6:49 PM
The EU is cracking down on issuing visas to Russians. On one hand that's common sense, for security and moral reasons. But don't lose sight of the argument that there is something dangerous about blaming the crimes of a regime on a people themselves living in a dictatorship.
My Charlemagne:
My Charlemagne:
I can no longer send emails to my wife because Gmail (either on her end or mine, not clear) deems it "unsolicited mail".
Some great AI at work there, fellas.
Some great AI at work there, fellas.
November 13, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I can no longer send emails to my wife because Gmail (either on her end or mine, not clear) deems it "unsolicited mail".
Some great AI at work there, fellas.
Some great AI at work there, fellas.
If your cherry tree had one poisoned cherry, would you take a handful? WOULD YOU??
November 13, 2025 at 8:12 AM
If your cherry tree had one poisoned cherry, would you take a handful? WOULD YOU??
Reposted by Stanley Pignal
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round
November 11, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Love being reminded to do this every year. It's a win/win all round