F Bret retweeted
Charles Kushner, a New Jersey real-estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law Jared, became the U.S. Ambassador to France in 2025. Introducing himself to the French public in a social-media video, he said that he knew “a limited amount about France.” He does not speak French; he has never lived abroad. He served time in federal prison for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering. The last crime, a blackmail scheme that involved hiring a prostitute to seduce his sister’s husband, suggests a dubious approach to conflict management. Yet Trump saw fit to hand him one of the most coveted posts in American diplomacy, the seat once held by Thomas Jefferson and by Benjamin Franklin, stewarding the relationship with America’s oldest ally.
Since taking up his post, Kushner has earned a reputation for meddling in domestic French politics at sensitive moments. “I don’t see how he can possibly affect the opinions of the French government by regularly irritating them,” the president of the American Academy of Diplomacy said. Lauren Collins reports on Charles Kushner’s Ambassadorship and a new cohort of MAGA diplomats who are underqualified for their posts and overeager to impress the boss back in Washington: newyorker.com/magazine/2026/…
F Bret retweeted
¿Sabías dónde termina el agua de cada río de España y Portugal? 🌊🗺️
Este increíble mapa animado nos muestra el viaje a la inversa de nuestros ríos, desde su desembocadura en el mar hasta sus nacimientos en las montañas.
Créditos: u/depredador93
F Bret retweeted
Kushner gave up Khashoggi’s location and MBS listened to his cries as he was dismembered while still alive. Jared received $2 billion from MBS
F Bret retweeted
You can learn a surprising amount about a European country by asking one question:
When does the café close?
Europe shares coffee.
Not café culture.
F Bret retweeted
Around 1500, Hieronymus Bosch painted sheet music on a sinner's bare butt in hell. 500 years later, someone transcribed and performed it. Now you can hear the original butt song from hell.
F Bret retweeted
Israeli government TV admits that its operation in Hebron, which has involved the ethnic cleansing of entire neighborhoods, has unearthed no arms. Despite lies that Hebron was full of terrorists, only one rifle and one pistol were found in a search of hundreds of homes. The people of Hebron are peaceful, and even the IDF admits this operation is pointless and needs to end.
More than 1mn antiquities returned to countries of origin ft.com/content/82f2922f-8c73… via @ft
F Bret retweeted
A massive Beatles archive is coming to Discogs. Nearly 1,300 records from one fan’s private collection, from 1963 UK radio promos to editions pressed across Europe, drop Friday, October 30 at 9 a.m. ET via Black Plastic Records.
Preview the collection: disc.gs/4zTY94f
F Bret retweeted
Poland 🇵🇱 and South Korea 🇰🇷: two global growth champions with two different growth models and social outcomes.
Over three decades both grew fast (4.2% vs 3.7% a year per capita) and reached the same productivity (~$52/hour), but with very different R&D spending: 1.4% vs 5.1% of GDP.
On social outcomes, Poland ranks #24 in world happiness vs Korea's #67, with half the suicide rate and a third of the old-age poverty (13% vs 40%) 👇
The shared challenge: among the lowest fertility rates in the world, 1.07 and 0.80.
@Noahpinion @KoreaEconInst
Do immigrants from some countries commit more sex crimes?
economist.com/britain/2026/1…
F Bret retweeted
Nuevo podcast de comerysaber.com de 🌹 Tovar. Los dulces de yema, una historia muy interesante.
The reclusive quant billionaire coming into the light - ft.com/content/bc6bba42-0b33… via @FT
O encontro entre Cunqueiro e Lorca farodevigo.es/estela/2026/10… a través de @Farodevigo
Portrait of a Paris Art Week on Fire
On protest, business as usual, and the surreal experience of attending an art fair while smelling burning plastic
hyperallergic.com/portrait-o…
One affordable champagne to try from every Grand Cru Village
A 17-stop tasting tour of accessible wines
sixatmospheres.substack.com/…