K H Hardy retweeted
Marine Le Pen has rejected President Zelensky’s invitation to visit Ukraine, stating that her “presidential campaign schedule is preventing her from travelling”. In 2017, Marine Le Pen travelled to Moscow less than four weeks before the first round of the presidential election.
Again, the usual suspects…
UPDATE: At least 25 aircraft, and potentially as many as 27, may have been affected by bomb threats across Europe today.
Further reports include:
- 1 additional flight from Pescara to Charleroi
- 2 more flights to or from Spain (I sadly haven't managed to confirm these)
- 1 flight from Tel Aviv to Vienna (I sadly haven't managed to confirm this either)
Reuters has reportedly cited a figure of 27 flights, although the exact origin of that count remains unclear. 🤷♂️
The Guardian continues to report approximately 19 affected flights, with its figures not yet updated.
For now, the most cautious estimate is at least 25, with the total potentially reaching 27.
K H Hardy retweeted
"Certains indices laissent penser que les trolls de Moscou se concentrent déjà sur l’élection présidentielle française du printemps prochain, estimant qu’un soutien à la candidate d’extrême droite Marine Le Pen pourrait ébranler le soutien de l’OTAN à l’Ukraine. [...] D’après ce que j’observe actuellement, j’ai l’impression qu’ils se concentrent vraiment sur la France », a déclaré le général Paul M. Nakasone, ancien chef de la NSA et du Cyber Command américain." nytimes.com/2026/11/05/us/po…
French Senator Claude Malhuret on “Ukraine, in the aftermath of the US Midterms”
youtu.be/f2C4qM4Aves?is=Vhqs…
K H Hardy retweeted
1️⃣ Why does Europe struggle to fund its own startups? Look at where it keeps its retirement money.
Americans hold retirement savings worth 153% of GDP. The Dutch, 151%. The French, 13%. Germans, 6%.
Most of Europe pays pensions out of today's wages. So it never builds the big pools of long-term capital that fund VC in the US.
(I work at Vsquared Ventures, an early-stage deep tech VC firm investing across Europe. Views my own.)
(OECD)
If you don’t trust the opposition with power, don’t give it to your own party. The government that governs best, governs least.
🚨 I call on Gov. Abbott to IMMEDIATELY convene a special session to REIN IN EXECUTIVE EMERGENCY POWERS… before Gina Hinojosa is sworn in!
Republicans lost last night, but Democrats were not sworn in.
We still have total power in Texas, and we must act like it by using the remaining ten weeks to restore separation of powers and limit the emergency powers that Governor-Elect Hinojosa is set to inherit, which would allow her to destroy liberty in Texas by executive fiat.
I’ve warned since I was first elected that NO governor, Republican or Democrat, should have unchecked emergency powers!
Now that Texas has elected a Democrat Governor, the urgency is undeniable… and inaction is intolerable.
Without action, Governor Hinojosa will inherit the powers of a DICTATOR.
Due to the absurd (and almost certainly unconstitutional) Texas emergency powers laws, Gov. Hinojosa will literally have the power to modify laws, ignore laws, or create and enforce laws – including criminal laws – on a whim!
Today is a day for ACTION, and bold leadership.
The Texas Legislature must immediately pass, and Governor Abbott must sign, legislation like HB911, which I filed in 2022 and warned at the time, that “Never ending emergency powers are antithetical to representative government and render people powerless. Legislative bodies allowing a single executive branch official to both write and enforce laws is the biggest threat to our constitutional system of divided government and should be opposed irrespective of which political party runs the executive branch.”
My legislation would protect liberty from executive fiat by, among other things, taking the following actions:
1. Prohibit the Governor from suspending or modifying statutes
2. Sunset emergency orders in 30 days if the legislature does not ratify the order
3. Prohibit the governor from reissuing emergency orders that expired or the legislature rejected
4. Require emergency orders to be narrowly tailored
5. Subject emergency orders to expedited judicial review
We have TEN WEEKS LEFT to protect Texas from near total Democrat rule.
I encourage every elected Republican in Texas to join my demand for Gov. Abbott to call a special session.
The future of liberty in America is literally on the line in Texas, and Texans deserve leadership that acts accordingly.
@GregAbbott_TX
K H Hardy retweeted
UPDATE: The European refrigeration cyberattack has now reached Italy and Romania, bringing the total to at least 10 countries affected across Europe.
In Italy, several Coop stores in Sicily were hit, including at least three in Catania and one in Palermo. In Romania, at least six stores have reportedly been affected.
Some affected businesses have yet to publicly disclose the incidents, meaning the actual number of countries and locations impacted could be even higher.
The full scale of this cyberattack remains unknown.
Countries affected so far: 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇫🇮 Finland 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇮🇹 Italy 🇷🇴 Romania
UPDATE: Since our last update, two more countries have reported disruptions to supermarket refrigeration systems, bringing the total to seven countries affected across Europe.
🇸🇪 Sweden and 🇧🇪 Belgium appear to be among the hardest-hit countries, with multiple supermarket chains and stores experiencing significant disruptions and food losses.
🇱🇺 Luxembourg has also reported incidents affecting Delhaize stores.
🇮🇪 Ireland has seen refrigeration disruptions at 13 SuperValu stores, forcing chilled and frozen products to be removed.
🇳🇱 The Netherlands has reported incidents at at least 17 businesses, primarily smaller retailers, butcher shops and food-storage facilities.
🇪🇪 Estonia reported a cyberattack targeting refrigeration controls, with freezer temperatures reportedly reaching +50°C. The incident was detected and addressed within approximately 10 minutes, preventing major damage.
🇫🇮 Finland has reported only minor, limited-scale temperature irregularities in some K Group stores. The situation there appears significantly less severe than in other affected countries.
Let’s round up the usual suspects
The situation this morning in Europe:
A cyberattack is disrupting supermarket refrigeration systems across several European countries, including Sweden, Belgium, Luxembourg, Estonia and Ireland.
• What is happening: A vulnerability in specific refrigeration control software is allowing attackers to remotely manipulate freezer systems, causing temperatures to rise as high as +50°C.
• Supermarkets are facing massive food losses, with fresh, chilled and frozen products being discarded due to food safety risks. Some stores have experienced temporary closures and delayed openings.
The issue involves connected refrigeration systems whose software and security vulnerabilities are being exploited, allowing attackers to interfere with temperature controls remotely.
Retailers are responding, working with cybersecurity specialists and taking affected products off sale to protect consumers.
K H Hardy retweeted
Byli prezesi Trybunału Konstytucyjnego przerwali milczenie. Marek Safjan, Jerzy Stępień, Bohdan Zdziennicki i Andrzej Zoll wydali wspólne oświadczenie, w którym stają murem za nowo wybranymi sędziami TK. Ich przekaz jest jednoznaczny: sędziowie zostali legalnie wybrani przez Sejm i mają pełne prawo przywracać Trybunałowi jego rolę i rangę.
Autorzy nie owijają w bawełnę. Kryzys wokół TK trwa już ponad dekadę. Sprawy rozpatrywane są w składach z udziałem osób nieprawidłowo powołanych, na czele instytucji stoi osoba wyłoniona w wadliwej procedurze, a Zgromadzenie Ogólne nie jest zwoływane, co paraliżuje pracę sądu konstytucyjnego. Do tego dochodzi ignorowanie wyroków Europejskiego Trybunału Praw Człowieka i Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE.
Najmocniejsze słowa padają pod adresem prezydenta Karola Nawrockiego i Bogdana Święczkowskiego. Byli prezesi zarzucają im blokowanie objęcia urzędu przez nowo wybranych sędziów oraz próby ingerowania w autonomię Trybunału. Sytuację określają jako alarmującą.
Jest też recepta. Zdaniem sygnatariuszy należy zwołać Zgromadzenie Ogólne sędziów TK i podjąć uchwały w sprawie wniosków Prokuratora Generalnego o uchylenie immunitetów Bogdana Święczkowskiego i Bartłomieja Sochańskiego. Innej drogi wyjścia z kryzysu konstytucyjnego, jak podkreślają, po prostu nie ma.
Głos czterech osób, które przez lata kierowały Trybunałem, trudno zbagatelizować. To najpoważniejszy jak dotąd sygnał ze strony prawniczych autorytetów w sporze o przyszłość TK.
K H Hardy retweeted
Nie ma żadnego "zamachu stanu Tuska", tak jak nie było "pisowskiej dyktatury". W 2015 roku PiS i prezydent Andrzej Duda rozpoczęli demontaż praworządności, blokując objęcie stanowisk w Trybunale Konstytucyjnym przez trzech legalnie wybranych sędziów. W kolejnych latach, naruszając Konstytucję, podporządkowywali władzy politycznej kolejne instytucje wymiaru sprawiedliwości.
Zła i po prostu głupia decyzja PO-PSL o wyborze dwóch dodatkowych sędziów została słusznie zakwestionowana przez TK. Błąd naprawiono, ale dla Jarosława Kaczyńskiego było to zbyt mało. Główna odpowiedzialność za rozpoczęcie i eskalację kryzysu spoczywa na PiS.
Dziś prezydent Karol Nawrocki powtarza nielegalną praktykę blokowania legalnie wybranych sędziów TK. Rząd odpowiada na bezprawie prezydenta działaniami, które w mojej ocenie, opartej na argumentach ekspertów, których opinie cenię, również naruszają prawo. Rozumiem, że naprawienie wcześniejszego bezprawia w sposób zgodny z prawem może być niemożliwe. Nie oznacza to jednak, że każde działanie podejmowane pod hasłem "przywracania praworządności" jest uzasadnione.
Ta spirala zatruwa polską politykę, pogłębia polaryzację i osłabia państwo. Ma też konkretną cenę gospodarczą. Niepewność prawna może zniechęcać do inwestycji, osłabia zaufanie do instytucji i odsuwa na dalszy plan prawdziwe reformy sądownictwa, na które od lat czekają przedsiębiorcy i obywatele. Przypomnę, że w styczniu 2016 roku, po pierwszych działaniach PiS w sprawie TK, agencja S&P obniżyła rating Polski, wskazując m. in. na osłabienie niezależności instytucji państwowych.
Tracimy również na arenie międzynarodowej. Zamiast mówić silnym głosem w sprawach bezpieczeństwa, konkurencyjności UE czy otwartego na handel światowego ładu gospodarczego, marnujemy cenną energię na wewnętrzne wojny.
Możemy dalej licytować się, kto skuteczniej podporządkuje sobie kolejne instytucje. Nie mam złudzeń, że ewentualna koalicja PiS, Konfederacji i środowiska Grzegorza Brauna mogłaby jeszcze pogłębić ten kryzys, a kolejne konflikty z UE zwiększyć ryzyko katastrofalnego dla Polski Polexitu. Dlatego przestrzeganie podstawowych zasad demokratycznego państwa prawa nie może zależeć od tego, kto akurat rządzi.
Co dalej? Być może potrzebujemy resetu konstytucyjnego. Ale zanim do niego dojdzie, potrzebny jest okrągły stół. Potrzebujemy powrotu do rozmowy opartej na argumentach, a nie wyzwiskach, oraz gotowości do kompromisu. Będzie on niezadowalający dla wielu uczestników tego sporu i o to właśnie chodzi.
Chciałbym, aby historia polskiego sukcesu gospodarczego, zapoczątkowana udaną transformacją, do której kolejne rządy dokładały swoje mniejsze i większe cegiełki, trwała dalej. Lepiej się dogadać niż to sper*olić. Jeśli każda kolejna władza będzie naprawiać bezprawie poprzedników własnym bezprawiem, nigdy nie odbudujemy praworządności. Politycy mogą tak wygrywać swoje bitwy, ale Polska będzie przegrywać. A rachunek za tę wewnętrzną wojnę będziemy płacić wszyscy.
K H Hardy retweeted
Dmitrij Miedwiediew, były prezydent Rosji, stwierdził, że w Polsce doszło do zamachu stanu, a “liberałowie Tuska, protegowanego Brukseli, uciskają konserwatystów z PiS”. I wszystko jasne.
Rather than read distortions of what is happening in Poland, this post is a clear explanation of many of the factors leading up to what happened yesterday ⬇️
🇵🇱🇪🇺 What is really happening in Poland? The fight for democracy continues!
An explanation for those outside Poland.
This is not an ordinary dispute between the government and the opposition. It is the consequence of years of undermining judicial independence and subordinating state institutions to the interests of a single political party.
We have seen similar mechanisms of political control over state institutions in Russia, Belarus and Hungary. Poland is now trying to repair the damage done to its democracy.
To understand just how much damage the nationalists from PiS (Law and Justice) have done to Poland, just look at these figures:
🇵🇱 Poland in global rankings - under PiS and after the change of government!
📊Rule of Law (World Justice Project)
Under PiS: down 15 places (21st > 36th)
New coalition: up 4 places (36th > 32nd)
📊Press Freedom (Reporters Without Borders)
Under PiS: down 39 places (18th > 57th)
New coalition: up 30 places (57th > 27th)
📊Liberal Democracy (V-Dem, LDI)
Under PiS: down 43 places (27th > 70th)
New coalition: up 34 places (70th > 36th)
⚖️The takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal
Poland's Constitutional Tribunal is one of the country's most important institutions. Its role is to determine whether laws passed by politicians comply with the Constitution. It can remove unconstitutional provisions from the legal system.
In 2015, PiS unlawfully filled three seats on the Tribunal that had already been legally filled by judges elected by the previous parliament.
It then introduced unlawful changes to the Tribunal's operating rules and began appointing PiS politicians as judges.
In practice, the ruling party gained influence over the very institution responsible for checking whether its own laws complied with the Constitution.
In December 2025, the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) confirmed serious procedural violations and ruled that Poland's Constitutional Tribunal did not meet the standards of an independent and impartial court established by law.
The Tribunal began serving political interests
➡️ The Tribunal drastically restricted abortion rights.
➡️ It challenged the application of CJEU rulings concerning the independence of Polish courts.
➡️ It attempted to limit European oversight of the right to a fair trial in Poland.
➡️ It challenged the legal basis of parliamentary inquiry committees investigating the Pegasus scandal and the postal voting scandal.
🕵️What were these scandals about?
The Pegasus scandal involved Polish intelligence services illegally spying on opposition politicians, journalists, judges and civil society activists under PiS.
The postal voting scandal involved an attempt by the PiS government to organise presidential elections without an adequate legal basis.
⛓️Repression of independent judges
PiS did not stop at taking control of state institutions. It also created a disciplinary system used to put pressure on judges who defended judicial independence.
Disciplinary proceedings were launched against judges who refused to comply. Some were suspended from their duties, while others became targets of actions by prosecutors operating under the authority of Zbigniew Ziobro.
The disciplinary system introduced by PiS was challenged by the Court of Justice of the EU. For failing to comply with rulings concerning the Disciplinary Chamber, Poland was ordered to pay a penalty of €1 million per day.
📉The Constitutional Tribunal stopped functioning effectively
Before 2015, it issued an average of around 66 judgments per year. In 2022, it issued just 14.
Bogdan Święczkowski, a former close associate of Zbigniew Ziobro, became President of the Tribunal. Ziobro is the former justice minister who fled first to Orbán's Hungary and then to Trump's America to avoid facing the Polish justice system. He faces the prospect of a lengthy prison sentence.
Święczkowski himself stood for election on a PiS party list, served as deputy justice minister and later became National Prosecutor under the PiS government.
An institution that was supposed to protect citizens from abuses of political power became the centre of a rule-of-law crisis.
🚧 PiS loses power but retains the ability to block reforms
In 2023, after eight years of PiS rule, the parties that formed Donald Tusk's pro-European coalition won the parliamentary elections.
The new government began efforts to restore judicial independence and investigate wrongdoing committed under the previous administration.
However, in 2025, Karol Nawrocki, backed by PiS, became President of Poland. The Polish Constitution gives the president the power to veto legislation, and the current governing coalition does not have a sufficient parliamentary majority to override those vetoes.
As a result, despite losing control of parliament and government, PiS can still obstruct reforms through the president it supports.
Karol Nawrocki is blocking efforts to repair the state and putting Poland's security at risk.
By 15 October 2026, the president had exercised his veto power 48 times.
Among other things, he has blocked:
➡️ Reform of the National Council of the Judiciary, intended to reduce political influence over the appointment of judges.
➡️ Legislation concerning the European SAFE programme, through which Poland can receive €43.7 billion in defence financing.
➡️ The appointments and promotions of 46 judges.
➡️ Promotions of officers in the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and the Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW).
➡️ Promotions to general officer ranks in the Polish Armed Forces.
➡️ Appointments of Polish ambassadors.
➡️ The abolition and reorganisation of the Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA), an agency used by PiS to spy on the opposition.
➡️ Legislation concerning the implementation of judgments by the European Court of Human Rights.
The Venice Commission, an international body of constitutional law experts, stated in October 2026 that the president should not delay administering oaths to duly elected judges without justification or assume powers that belong to parliament.
👨⚖️Criminal accountability for members of the former government is also at stake
The scale of investigations into alleged wrongdoing under PiS is enormous.
According to figures presented by Prime Minister Donald Tusk, 314 cases were being investigated as part of efforts to hold the previous government accountable. Charges had been brought in 152 cases, with 678 people named as suspects and a total of 1,598 charges brought against them.
Those suspected include former politicians, officials and other individuals connected to the PiS administration.
❗Why does this matter so much?
Through vetoes, disputes over appointments and other political obstruction, PiS and Karol Nawrocki are hindering efforts to repair the Polish state. This conflict therefore also affects the possibility of holding members of the previous government accountable for alleged crimes.
📢 Why have protests erupted now?
Constitutional Tribunal judge Anna Korwin-Piotrowska decided to suspend the Tribunal's President, Bogdan Święczkowski, from his duties for one month, accusing its leadership of obstructing the institution's functioning.
PiS politicians and right-wing groups responded by declaring that a coup d'état was taking place in Poland. They have made similar accusations several times before, whenever they were losing their positions of influence.
Protesters gathered outside the Tribunal, while President Nawrocki cut short his trip abroad and returned to Poland.
🇵🇱 One side is trying to repair the state, while the other is trying to escape the consequences of its actions during a period when Poland was moving towards authoritarianism.
In a democracy, politicians must be subject to the law not the law to politicians!
K H Hardy retweeted
🇵🇱 Worth mentioning: On 10 October 2026, the Venice Commission adopted an opinion on the powers of the Polish President regarding the swearing-in of Constitutional Tribunal judges and other judicial appointments.
The Venice Commission (officially the European Commission for Democracy through Law) is an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in constitutional law. Established in 1990 following the fall of the Berlin Wall, it assists countries in strengthening democratic institutions, constitutional safeguards and the rule of law.
What did the Commission say about Poland?
In its opinion (CDL-AD(2026)031), the Commission concluded that the Polish Constitution grants the Sejm the authority to elect Constitutional Tribunal judges, while the President has no constitutional power to approve, reject or veto those elected judges.
The Commission emphasised several key points:
▪️ The President must receive the judges’ oaths without undue delay. The oath is primarily ceremonial and cannot be used to review the legality of the Sejm’s election or question the qualifications of judges.
▪️ The President cannot indefinitely block judges from taking office. The Commission acknowledged that postponement may be justified only in exceptional, objective and unambiguous circumstances, and only for the time strictly necessary. It cannot result in the paralysis of the Constitutional Tribunal.
▪️ An alternative oath-taking procedure is constitutionally justified. Where the President unjustifiably refuses to administer the oath, the Commission considers it permissible for judges to assume office without his physical participation, provided the oath is properly completed, verified, addressed and formally transmitted to the President.
▪️ Judges should be able to begin performing their duties. Once the oath has been validly completed through this alternative procedure, judges should be allowed to assume judicial functions and have cases assigned to them.
▪️ Disputes over elections must be resolved through proper legal procedures. The President cannot unilaterally decide the legality of the Sejm’s election or use such doubts to obstruct the process.
▪️ The Commission also addressed appointments to other courts. Unlike Constitutional Tribunal judges, ordinary judges are appointed by the President under Article 179 of the Constitution. However, the Commission called for safeguards against arbitrary refusals, including effective access to judicial review.
The Commission’s central conclusion: The President’s role in receiving the oath cannot be interpreted in a way that undermines the Sejm’s constitutional power to elect judges or obstructs the functioning of the Constitutional Tribunal.
K H Hardy retweeted
🇫🇷 #France | According to recent prediction market data from Kalshi and Polymarket, the outlook for the next French presidential election is experiencing notable shifts.
📈 Powered by strong positive momentum—including a widely noticed recent media interview, David Lisnard is riding a strong upward trend, climbing to 17%-19% in the markets. He has now overtaken Édouard Philippe, who has seen a gradual decline down to 12%-15% across both platforms.
📊 Marine Le Pen continues to lead the prediction markets by a wide margin, currently sitting at 41%-44%. Following a massive surge throughout the summer and early autumn, her odds have recently leveled off slightly from their late-September peak, entering a period of consolidation.
📊 Jean-Luc Mélenchon currently sits in fourth place but with Philippe on a downward trend, he is within striking distance of reclaiming the third spot.
xitter.gq/C_Barraud/status/21157…
🇫🇷 #France | Prediction markets point to a changing presidential race ⚠️
1️⃣ David Lisnard is gaining momentum. He has caught up with Édouard Philippe on Kalshi and is narrowing the gap on Polymarket. His rising social-media following and the surge in reported Nouvelle Énergie membership reinforce the sense of growing momentum.
2️⃣ Marine Le Pen remains the frontrunner, but has lost some ground recently.
3️⃣ Jean-Luc Mélenchon remains in fourth place, trailing the three leading contenders on both platforms.
➡️ The key question: can Lisnard turn his online momentum and growing party membership into broader electoral support?
xitter.gq/LoupePolitique/status/…
K H Hardy retweeted
🇫🇷 #France | Prediction markets point to a changing presidential race ⚠️
1️⃣ David Lisnard is gaining momentum. He has caught up with Édouard Philippe on Kalshi and is narrowing the gap on Polymarket. His rising social-media following and the surge in reported Nouvelle Énergie membership reinforce the sense of growing momentum.
2️⃣ Marine Le Pen remains the frontrunner, but has lost some ground recently.
3️⃣ Jean-Luc Mélenchon remains in fourth place, trailing the three leading contenders on both platforms.
➡️ The key question: can Lisnard turn his online momentum and growing party membership into broader electoral support?
xitter.gq/LoupePolitique/status/…
K H Hardy retweeted
Aujourd'hui, le mode opératoire russe Doppelgänger, affilié au Kremlin, a diffusé sur X un faux article du Parisien soutenant ouvertement la position de Marine Le Pen à propos de l'Ukraine. Mais les tâcherons de l'intox de la Social Design Agency (SDA) ont oublié de supprimer la trace du recours à l'IA pour générer l'article... Dommage, Igor !
What a terribly uninformed historical take.
The Terror, the Commune? The July and February Revolutions? The June rebellion? The winegrowers revolt? In France, there have been insurrections, barricades, riots and people taking to the streets for centuries. /1
In February 1920, there was a major national strike by railway workers for 29 days. And France’s own national archives report this as being ‘harshly repressed’. n.B. the strike was because the railway workers wanted access to sinks to wash their hands at the end of the day. /3
I could say more, but this is pure instrumentalisation of distorted perceptions of France being used to further American partisan political goals.
If you want to understand what is *really* happening in France, see here: /fin
khhardy.substack.com/p/what-…
