MasterFeeds

BREAKING: Diplomatic sources say a plan to gradually shut down UNRWA and transfer its work to the Board of Peace is expected soon. At a meeting in Amman, Ireland, Switzerland and Egypt expressed opposition. We will continue to do everything to dismantle terror-infested UNRWA.

This moved me to tears @BoyGeorge

Liberman has ruled out a government with Netanyahu (even in a rotation offer) and support for a minority government. After meeting key leaders, he confirmed Yisrael Beiteinu will endorse Gadi Eisenkot for prime minister and support Yair Lapid for Speaker of the Knesset. By backing Lapid over Eisenkot's preferred Speaker choice—a move that burns bridges to a unity government—and ruling out a minority coalition, Lieberman leaves only two real options: a full unity government or new elections. Lieberman has effectively chosen elections.

Slavery was an evil in which people from every continent and region participated. We should be honest about the whole history, not select the parts that are politically convenient today, especially given Britain's leading role in ending the transatlantic slave trade. If Caribbean countries are asking Britain for a formal apology for Britain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade, will they also be asking the same of the descendants of African kingdoms, rulers and merchants who captured, sold and profited from the trade? On demands for reparations, whether through cash or debt relief, we have been down this track before. Twenty-five years ago, Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt and Make Poverty History argued that cancelling the debts of poorer countries would give them a fresh start. More than $100 billion of debt was eventually written off, but many of those countries have since built up even bigger debts. Labour are already spending too much on Britain's welfare state, now is not the time for Andy Burnham to be providing global welfare. There is no reason British taxpayers today should be held financially responsible for things that happened generations before any of us were born. And I have even less patience for political elites in commonwealth countries who don’t know how to make their own citizens prosperous now looking for another opportunity to blame Britain. As Prime Minister, Andy Burnham should be Britain’s greatest defender. Instead, he is writing articles saying we need to confront our history (as if we haven't done enough of that) and considering another formal historical apology. Tony Blair already expressed Britain’s deep sorrow and regret for our role in the slave trade nearly twenty years ago. There is no need to do so again. This is all another navel-gazing distraction. The Commonwealth should be looking forward, not endlessly backwards. That means economic partnerships to make us all richer and deeper military and security cooperation against common threats. If every Commonwealth summit becomes an exercise in presenting Britain with demands for cash then we need to start asking if it is worth the effort.

Someone asked me yesterday why mainstream media so often descends into mindless groupthink when it’s supposed to be staffed by critically minded individuals. Fair question. Having given it some thought, I’ve decided the probable cause is that morning editorial conferences across the industry operate along the lines of the Traitors TV show. Specifically, the roundtable element. Every morning, editors and journalists attending these conferences have to second-guess where the group consensus will land on a particular angle to x or y story. Also, who or what the group will throw under the bus to make “the story bleed”. What they actually think often has little bearing on what they say in these meetings. The objective, too often, isn’t to tell the truth. It’s to ingratiate themselves with fellow editors and establish that they can be trusted to operate as responsible thought leaders or distillers of news in their own capacity throughout the day (thus keeping their jobs and/or getting promoted). The objective becomes sussing out what the consensus will be before you even enter the room, then signalling your alignment as early as possible. The earlier the better. Failing to do so, say by sticking to a neutral interpretation even when the consensus is heading the other way, risks getting you banished. You can plead your case, but there’s always the risk that your “counter angle” or “theory” will backfire on you. In many cases, it’s better to say nothing at all than to say something that falls too far outside the consensus (a strategy deployed by many participants, though there are also drawbacks to being too quiet). In the end, internal survival depends far more on alignment with the consensus than on getting the interpretation of the story right. This despite the fact that… just like in Traitors… the consensus often turns out to be dead wrong.

Delcy Rodríguez just appointed Oliver Blanco as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He is likely the youngest to hold the position in Venezuela's history, while he also comes from outside the ruling party, the PSUV. Félix Plasencia has been appointed to be Director of International Affairs for the Presidency. Delcy Rodríguez said that "His first task will be to move to the United Kingdom until we recover the gold", which remains frozen at the Bank of England. She also appointed Marynna Saatdjian as Deputy Foreign Minister for North America and Europe, Saúl Ameliach as Deputy Minister of International Trade, and Yuri Pimentel as First Deputy Foreign Minister.

I have just informed my colleagues that I will step down as @ECB President on 7 February 2027. It has been a source of great pride to serve this institution. I thank all of those who have supported me on this journey over the past seven years.

Iran now has less than a week to cause Trump maximum damage before the midterms. You have to imagine Iran is desperately trying to blow up an oil tanker, but it's not able to. Instead, oil is exiting the Gulf at pre-war levels. Game over for the regime... robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/…

Bank of Canada hikes interest rates.

Trump confirmed today he would approve granting visas for Bolsonaro and his family. “I think they’re fine people,” he said. “The election was very strange, and I thought it was ​terrible. It’s gotten bad reviews.” thetimes.com/article/277f567…

מדגמי אמש שידרו מסר אחד: נתניהו הפסיד, אבל לא ברור מי בצד השני ניצח. להלן עדכון עם זרימת תוצאות האמת: נתניהו טרם ניצח, אבל גוש השינוי הובס. אני מסקר פוליטיקה מאז תחילת המאה. מעולם לא ראיתי מחנה שהתארגן לבחירות באופן כל כך מופתי, כל כך מאורגן, כל כך אנרגטי כמו גוש השינוי. הסכמי עודפים למופת, מערך טיסות מחו״ל שלא היה כמותו. זה נגמר לפי ספירת תוצאות האמת פחות או יותר באותו מספר מנדטים כמו בבחירות הקודמות. הדמוגרפיה הביסה את האנרגיה, וגם המסר התברר בעייתי וכושל. הציבור לא השתכנע שהמלחמה הייתה ניצחון מוחלט אבל גם סירב לקנות את הטענה שהיא כישלון מוחלט. הוא סלד מההשתמטות החרדית מהשירות הצבאי, אבל לא סבר שהפתרון הוא ממשלת מיעוט שנשענת על סרבנים ואנטי ציונים. הוא נגעל משירת ״בשלטון הציונים אין אנו מאמינים״ אבל הזדעזע משירת ״בילאדי בילאדי״ במטה המשותפת אתמול. מצבו של נתניהו השתנה תכלית השינוי בין סגירת המדגמים ובין גילוי תוצאות האמת. אמש היה ברור שיו״ר הכנסת יודח, שבכל מקרה תוקם ממשלת מיעוט בראשות איזנקוט. כעת, על פי הקריטריונים שקבע איזנקוט עצמו, אבדה הלגיטימציה שלו להקים ממשלה כזו. הם יזדקקו לתמיכה אקטיבית של המשותפת כדי להקים אותה, וזה נראה חסר תוחלת וחסר טעם. אין שום סיכוי בישראל של אחרי שבעה באוקטובר שבקואליציה אחת יישבו לאורך זמן שישה בני משפחה מדרגה ראשונה של נרצחים בידי חמאס עם חברי כנסת שמסבירים שמדובר בכלל בארגון צדקה. ולכן, כמו משה דיין בשעתו עם הערבים, נתניהו למעשה אמר לפנות בוקר למחנה השינוי: זה הטלפון שלי, אתם מוזמנים להתקשר. ליברמן, בנט ואיזנקוט מועמדים עכשיו בדילמה מהגיהנום: ללכת לעוד בחירות שאליהן כבר לא ינהרו הישראלים מחו״ל, לנסות לחבור לגוש נתניהו בתנאים קשים ונגד התחייבויות בחירות, או להתחנן לרע״מ ולמשותפת שיכורות הניצחון. והערה אחרונה: במשך בחירות שלמות חיפשנו את הגוש השלישי, גוש האחדות. היו שם גנץ וארדן, וינטר וזליכה, טרופר ומי זוכר מי עוד. כולם קרסו, התאדו או נעלמו. והנה, מסתבר שאולי גוש האחדות היה בכלל המפלגות הערביות: ההצבעה ההיסטרית וההיסטורית שלהם בשיעורים שעוד ידרשו בדיקה מעמיקה ריסקה את חלומות שני הצדדים ל-61. היא הזכירה ליהודים משני הצדדים שאולי, בכל זאת, הם יצטרכו ללמוד אחרי שנים של פילוג לשבת ביחד.

Born on October 27, 1858, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, left a lasting mark on America’s public lands. During his presidency, he established five national parks, designated 18 national monuments, created 51 federal bird reservations, and protected approximately 230 million acres of public land for future generations. Today, you can celebrate his birthday by visiting a national park site for free!

Likud 27 Yashar 21 Yachad 12 Joint List 11 Democrats 9 Yisrael Beiteinu 8 Ra'am 7 Shas 7 United Torah Judaism 6 Otzma Yehudit 6 Religious Zionism 6 Netanyahu Bloc 52 Eisenkot Bloc 50 Arab Parties 18