profmalmurfett.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

In the surreal Orwellian world we now find ourselves in with the detestable Trump & Musk & their minions at the helm in DC, those of us living outside the US must realise that the post-1945 world order is being smashed into the ground & do something about it. We can't rely upon the US any longer

submitted 9 hours ago • 0 comments

I know comparisons are often odious but some historical parallels aren't entirely absurd. I fear the appeasement of Putin by Trump reminds me of Munich in 1938 when Czechoslovakia was sold down the river by the British & French. Hitler played on the democracies fear of war & Putin will play Trump

submitted 1 day ago • 0 comments

I just hope that those who voted recklessly for Trump last November can now see what they have bequeathed to the whole world. He is an arrogant thug & sadly both stupid & vindictive. A narcissist who will stop at nothing to satisfy his fantasies. We will do well to survive his gruesome presidency

submitted 2 days ago • 0 comments

I'm so fed up with predictive software that assumes it knows what I am trying to write better than I do & fails so often to match the word I typed into my phone! It invariably comes up with either an abbreviated & ungrammatical alternative or something bizarrely different! Aggravation to the max!

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

I listened to a Strand Group lecture tonight given by Rachel Blake, the MP for Westminster, on delivering change in uncertain times. I thought she was superb. Eloquent & personable, she handled questions from the audience with charm & competence. She will go far in British politics & deservedly so

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, is an excellent politician & hopefully a future leader of Labour. He will announce today that Brexit was a mistake. At last a senior politician on the left has the courage to say what so many of us think. Our sluggish economy needs reviving & Europe is part of the answer

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

I've spent the afternoon listening to a number of my Masters students talking about their thesis topic & showing that enthusiasm & initiative which characterises so many of them. Instead of a fear of failure, they are imbued with a level of self confidence that suggests they will get the job done

submitted 4 days ago • 0 comments

Over the years I've heard a lot of negative things said about Ryanair, the Irish budget airline, & Stansted Airport from it operates many of its flights. Quite frankly, I think both have upped their game considerably in the last 5 years & deserve praise rather than brickbats for what they provide

submitted 5 days ago • 1 comment

Back teaching this week in the Department of War Studies @ King's College London. What a joy this remains for me! My students are very bright & motivated, my colleagues are outstanding & driven to succeed. It's a great combo & I try not to take it for granted.

submitted 6 days ago • 0 comments

Back to the dystopian US where Kennedy's confirmation by the Senate as Health Secretary is the latest bizarre twist of this extraordinary Trump 2.0 administration. Kennedy is even more unqualified & dangerous than Linda McMahon at Education. Just imagine another pandemic with him at the helm. Help!

submitted 7 days ago • 0 comments

It's Valentine's Day out there & I hope it will be a lovely experience for as many couples as possible. But when we can celebrate, there are others who can't for whatever reason. So please spare a thought for those who have no one to tell them that they are their soulmate. Loneliness is a curse

submitted 8 days ago • 0 comments

Austria is in an existential political crisis at the moment with the Far Right FPÖ seeking to become the dominant partner in a coalition government. One of the pressure groups against this move is the Omas gegen Rechts movement. It's wonderful to see grandmothers leading the way against the Right!

submitted 9 days ago • 1 comment

I've just read a superb but utterly depressing article on the RSIS website in Singapore from a former student of mine Prof Kumar Ramakrishna on Trump & Extreme Right, White Christian Nationalism. It deserves to be read by those of us who uphold the tenets of secularism, multiracialism & meritocracy

submitted 10 days ago • 0 comments

Even though I have kept fit by running, trekking & skiing over the years, I've never got into using weights to improve my upper body strength. But as I've got older I have come to appreciate using weights to offset muscle loss as age naturally catches up with me. 5 kg weights are a worthy investment

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

What is it about sports journalists that makes most of them a terrific pain in the neck? For one thing very few admit that they were wrong when it is clear that they were. Rumours abound & are often touted as facts & former heroes are rapidly consigned to zeroes in a couple of unforgiving sentences

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

I've just spent a day in a Benedictine monastery on the shores of Wolfgangsee.There was such peace & solace to be found there. I can't say I have ever been much into meditation, but sitting in this place seems to encourage silence. It was quite an experience & a marked contrast to the world outside

submitted 12 days ago • 1 comment

In my opinion, it's about time we woke up to the amount of injustice & unfairness in our world. It's easy to be complacent when one is white & decently wealthy. I'm an old progressive who has been very lucky in life. So many others don't have my privileges. That's why I shall always support DEI

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

One of the things I have seen & most admired is the degree of fervour & commitment of my younger colleagues on the question of Diversity, Equality & Inclusivity at my university in London. Over the years they have devoted a lot of their time to furthering these aims. DEI does matter & so it should!

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

These days a siesta after lunch is a delightful bonus. I wish I had discovered this years ago when I found the early afternoons akin to struggling against heavy surf in which I mostly lost. We didn't do siestas in North Berkshire more's the pity! No wonder I feel less British & more Mediterranean!

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

Although thrilled by Labour's victory last July, I hate to say that I've been underwhelmed by the Starmer government so far. Sadly, it appears to be tone deaf on some issues which it ought to have avoided & far too bland & boring on others. Where is the optimistic message? Hiding behind doom & gloom

submitted 16 days ago • 0 comments

In facing the chaos & unpredictability of our world in the age of Trump2.0, I cling tenaciously to the hope that we will survive the damage caused by the cowboys in DC. I also remember the classic German metaphor which asserts that "Soup isn't eaten as hot as it's cooked." There is some truth in it!

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

Back to DC & the news is once again extraordinary. But this is the kind of impact that both Trump & Musk enjoy. Unpredictable leadership is exactly how Khrushchev performed from 1955-64. He described it as like playing chess in the dark. He loved the chaos it created & unnerving his US opponents!

submitted 17 days ago • 0 comments

On a lighter note in these crazy days of Trump2.0, I have to admit that I love Paul Krugman's posts on Bluesky & his substack commentaries. I invariably laugh at some of the things he says, while nodding appreciatively at the same time! I know he's not everyone's favourite economist, but he's cool!!

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

I can't say that I've spent much time thinking about, let alone understanding, the Space-Cyber Nexus, but after just listening to a webinar from RSIS Singapore with Simon Cleobury & Laetitia Cesari it's ominously clear that this is yet another potentially horrendous global problem in the making!

submitted 18 days ago • 0 comments

Singapore is understandably nervous about the impact that tomorrow's tariffs on China & those on US allies may have on world trade & the squeezing effect that may be felt,not least by it, in SE Asia. Hoping for the best is not helped by Trump's threatening comments on the EU. Interesting times ahead

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

My Canadian friends, even those who heartily dislike Trudeau, are delighted that there will be a requisite push back on the tariff front against Trump's 'deep state' inclinations. A trade war is in nobody's interest & those MAGA enthusiasts had better realise it once gas & food prices start rising

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments

Ironically, Trump & his right wing cabal are actually the 'deep state' they have been talking about for several years! They are so devious that they can accuse the Democrats of the punitive actions they have now inflicted upon the rest of us. It's a classic trick & 77 million have been duped by them

submitted 20 days ago • 0 comments