The_Pranke

Tbilisi, Georgia, 2012. Photo: Igor Stomakhin

@Micha_R32 @DrLuetke die nummernschildbefestigung?

@DrLuetke getönte Frontscheiben? 😃

Dieses Foto stammt aus einem längst vergangenen Land. Ein Land in dem sich Leistung und Fleiß lohnten. Ein Land in dem Deutsche und Ausländer, Männer und Frauen gemeinsam Erfolg hatten, ganz ohne Quoten, Gleichstellung und CO2-Steuer. Dieses Land ist Vergangenheit.

Georgian memorials go unfathomably hard

🇯🇵 I often see endless third world resentment toward the West and feel only pity. Hiroshima & Nagasaki were destroyed by atomic bombs. We lost everything. We didn't scream about trauma or demand endless reparations. We rebuilt. Today these cities are beautiful. So, drop the victimhood. Stop blaming history. Change and build something or otherwise get used to being disliked.

BROWDER: Putin is losing 1,000 to 1,500 men a day in Ukraine. Ukrainians have figured it out — they now have a drone wall. Anyone who tries to penetrate it dies. Simple as that. Russians are making zero progress. In fact, in some parts of the front, Ukraine is pushing them back.

ZELENSKYY to BBC: We went through difficult relations with Iran. We did nothing to them. They shot down our plane, killed our passengers and crew, didn’t admit it, and didn’t let experts in. Then the full-scale war started. They handed Shahed drones to Russians to kill our civilians. I asked them to stop. They promised there would be only one batch. They lied and kept supplying weapons. That’s why I consider them accomplices of Russia.

Europe isn’t a monolith - there is Western, Eastern, Northern, and Southern Europe. But beyond them all lies what I call the “Forgotten Europe”: Armenia and Georgia. The massive Chronicles of Georgia statue stands as a powerful example of it.

Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach Sergej Barbarez broke down in tears at today’s press conference as he said: “Trust me, I am just waiting for June 12 at 9 PM, when our anthem will be played at the World Cup. That is my life dream." We're waiting for that, too. 🇧🇦

It's very easy to focus on another Italian humiliation made possible by years of under investment, some crazy managerial appointments and in the case of last night... An incredibly rash and foolish decision by Alessandro Bastoni. As an experienced 26 year old defender... he HAS TO know better than to make that challenge, there. But can we have a moment for Edin Džeko please? 🇧🇦40 years old, playing his 23rd season of professional football 🇧🇦Scored 20+ goals in a season 7 times 🇧🇦Scored 30+ goals in a season twice 🇧🇦6 goals in 8 games in 25/26 for a Schalke side DESPERATE to get back to the Bundesliga For his country? 73 goals in 148 games for Bosnia, a team which is almost always the underdog. The only active players to score more for a UEFA nation are Ronaldo, Lukaku, Lewandowski and Kane. He scored 10 goals in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, and once there scored against Iran to hand his nation their first ever World Cup win. Last week, he scored against Wales in their play-off semi-final, making 2026 the 20th year he's scored for his national team. Now this summer, he'll play at his 2nd World Cup. The title "most underrated player in the world," is thrown around way too much. But I don't think there are many with a better claim than The Bosnian Diamond. 💎

Forza Bosnia. I really need to tell you what has just happened. Breakfast at cafe with colleague before going to airport. It’s quiet around, day after partying. We are done and one moment before standing up to go paying, a 60-years old man suddenly pops up from nowhere, quickly grabs our check and goes to counter. At first I don’t understand, I think he wants to tease us. Then he starts chatting with waitress and pulls out a roll of notes while she smiles. I ask him “What? What are you doing?”. He smiles nodding and keeps paying, saying something in Bosnian and then “No no no”. I tell him “Why? But why?”. He winks “Ok ok” while all waitresses now smiles. Again I say “You don’t. You don’t have to”. And then I lean to him and I hug him and we pat on shoulders. As he leaves I ask him “But tell me your name”. And he goes “Italia Italia, it’s ok” and walks away. 60 years old, a face that looked toughened by life and hard work. Who knows what he saw when he was 30 in Bosnia. Who knows what Italy was for him, when the Italian soldiers came to Bosnia to help, when Italy came to play in Bosnia on September 1996. How long it takes for us to witness every day a pure act of kindness? How better life can be with kindness? Hvala Bosnia. Have a joyous World Cup

Argentinian’s are wonderful, and great friends of the Jewish people. Recently Javier Milei said, “I am proud to be the most Zionist president in the world.” Witness the beautiful send-off Argentina gave their favorite son, Lionel Messi, at his last game.

🚨Francesco Totti on Italy’s national football team missing THREE World Cups in a row ❌🇮🇹: 🗣️Totti: “The last Italy team I remember at the World Cup… they were warriors. Men of determination, focus, and sacrifice. There were no distractions, no obsession with image, no need to live on social media. Just football, just pride, just responsibility to the badge.” “That 2014 team were like the Romans in history; disciplined, feared, and respected. That was when Italy was truly Italy.” “Today, it pains me to say, we have lost that identity. Too many players are comfortable, too distracted by fame, by tattoos, by the celebrity lifestyle. The focus is gone, the hunger is fading.” “And now we face the ultimate embarrassment—missing the World Cup THREE times in a row. For a nation like Italy, this is not just failure… it is humiliation. Because talent alone is never enough. Without mentality, without discipline, without pride… you have nothing”

🚨 Mario Balotelli on Italy failing to qualify for their third consecutive World Cup after losing to Bosnia:   “They crucified me when we got knocked out in the group stages in 2014. They told the media I was the problem with Italian football. Well, what is the excuse now? I scored our last World Cup goal almost twelve years ago, and I've been watching them fail from my sofa ever since. FIFA expanded the tournament to 48 teams — half the planet is going to North America this summer, and we still managed to lose to Bosnia. They want to cry about the system being unfair, but the truth is there is no personality left in that squad. When the penalty shootout started last night, I just saw boys shaking with fear. In 2014 it was my fault. Today, it’s just embarrassing.”

Italy has no one to blame. There is enough talent to win WC qualifiers. That said, European qualifiers are entirely broken. 48 teams. Haiti, Curaçao, Uzbekistan, Qatar And even Sweden with 2 points qualify. but there is no space for Italy (18 pts) & Poland (17 pts). Nonsense.

Novak Djokovic getting applauded by the Bosnia fans before their match against Italy. Not since before the war has an athlete from Serbia got this reception in Zenica.

Novak Djokovic on the Balkans: “What’s negative is how divided we are. We’re all neighbors. We shouldn’t be fighting. We should be helping each other so we all live better lives.”

Novak Djokovic’s reaction the moment Bosnia advanced to the World Cup. 🔥 This man is a uniter.

French president Emmanuel Macron continues to casually Aura Farm. This time he is doing the „Kamehameha“ pose from famous Japanese series Dragon Ball Z together with Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi. Coolest president on planet earth and it‘s not even close.

European tech founder success story: 25 - Graduate from Karlsruhe University 26 - Unpaid internship at Deutsche Telekom 27 - First job as Junior IT Coordinator (€1,200/month) 31 - Quit to "start a business" 32 - Attend five EU startup workshops in Brussels 33 - Set up company, apply for permits 34 - Apply for funding from EU Innovation Fund 35 - Receive €25K grant 36 - Receive GDPR compliance violation, €15K fine 37 - Close company, owe €8K in taxes on zero revenue 38 - Start online certificate in AI Regulatory Ethics 40 - Get a €1,800/month government job, can never be fired 50 - Update LinkedIn to "Ex-Founder | Sustainability Leader | AI Leader | Systems Thinker" Americans would never understand this journey

Celebrating 40 years in the 🇩🇪 diplomatic service today 🎉 Two jobs in Bonn, 3 in Berlin, and 7 foreign postings: 🇸🇬🇨🇳🇬🇧🇮🇱🇺🇲🇦🇪🇬🇪. Enriching experiences, transformative learning, made a difference & met a fantastic diversity of people - mostly kind & inspiring - along the way 🙏🏼❤️