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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1h

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

Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

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 · 1d

I see what you did there

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

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 · 1d

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

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 1d

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 · 2d

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

Reuters Breakingviews @breakingviews.reuters.com · 2d

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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Reposted by Stanley Pignal

Christian Odendahl @codendahl.bsky.social · 2d

I am not a #Merkel fan (as many of you know), but the headlines following her interview with Partizan are complete nonsense.

She does not blame Poland or the Baltics at all.

Mira of Kyiv 🇺🇦 @reshetz.bsky.social · 2d

We do not hate merkel enough

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Reposted by Stanley Pignal

Defakator (Officiel) 🧆 @defakator.bsky.social · 2d

Haddock : Quelle semaine, hein ?
Tintin : Capitaine, on est lundi, il est 10h

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Reposted by Stanley Pignal

Ben Stanley @benstanley.eu · 2d

And yet somehow Macron will still bounce from summit to summit doing his Stars In Their Eyes de Gaulle routine rather than looking like a blindfolded man in a room full of rakes

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

If Liz Truss was a lettuce, Sebastien Lecornu was, what, a gently simmering pint of unpasteurised milk?

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Bloody hell. Lecornu out.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Why did the NYT not run this as a news story, with the usual sourcing and right-to-comment criteria? Here you end up with lines like "it’s not hard to wonder who might have been behind [a kidnapping]". You can't just... say that in a reported news article.

I honestly find this very confusing.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Beyond the facts of this NYT piece on a Georgian crypto saga, I find it odd it is being run as an "Opinion" piece (ie outside the newsroom). Completely confusing for readers to read what is essentially a reported article but with a few opinion assertions thrown in

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/05/o...

Opinion | Someone Tipped Me Off About a Crypto Story. What I Found Was Crazy.

www.nytimes.com

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

no, I don't think one follows the other. If the top 1% of European PhDs are chasing American universities and gaining places that would otherwise go to middling American academics (say in the top 25% but no better), I don't see how you can infer a European degree is better.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

We've all read the rather anecdotal stories of academics, the most left-leaning profession, wanting to leave America under Trump.

My point is that if you look at dynamism, America has attracted thousands of the best European academics, while basically zero top American academics are in Europe.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Are European professors leaving for other countries, you ask? It's an interesting question. Might be worth looking at, say, the number of Europeans in top US academia. Could surprise you.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Decent chance the new French government implodes within 24 hours of its major ministers named, amid coalition bickering. Even the Italians never managed this.

FRANCE 24 @france24.com · 2d

Gouvernement de Sébastien Lecornu, en direct : à peine nommé, déjà fragilisé

Le Premier ministre français, Sébastien Lecornu, a dévoilé dimanche soir une première salve d'une quinzaine de ministres. Critiqué de toutes parts et fragilisé de l'intérieur par la fronde des Républicains de Bruno Retailleau, ce nouveau gouvernement paraît déjà proche de l'implosion. Suivez notre direct.

f24.my

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 2d

Scandinavia is mentioned specifically in the article as a place which has (pretty close to) hire and fire! And indeed it is among the most dynamic in Europe business-wise.
It's a good reminder you can have a vigorous welfare state without stultifying your labour markets.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 3d

The question is whether the farm keeps the rooster or if the farmer's wife decides to pack it in and become a nurse.

(Am I doing this right?)

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