Three years ago University of Austin was an idea Niall Ferguson, Joe Lonsdale, Pano Kanelos and I discussed. Today in Austin it becomes a reality. Welcome to the class of 2028. The first class of UATX. You aren’t just students, you are founders.

And every matriculating student received a copy of Homer's Odyssey.

"I come from the third world. I grew up in Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia. These were dictatorships. They were autocratic. So it's weird to see Americans flirt with this type of authoritarianism and tribalism" Ayaan Hirsi Ali on our podcast, out now: munkdebates.com/podcasts/munk-…

🧵1/ It is not true that the removal of Israel arms licenses was a legal decision. Keir Starmer should not hide behind this fig leaf. It was *very* much a political decision. #PMQs I know this, because as Trade Secretary, responsible for arms licenses, I saw the legal advice.

2/ People will remember in February when a vote in parliament was compromised by Labour MPs who were intimidated by the anti-Israel lobby. theguardian.com/politics/2024/… We are now governed by a party that is not brave enough to face down intimidation and lobbying.

3/ This year, I made a considered decision to maintain all existing licences for arms exports to Israel. Union-backed civil servants threatened to stop work and go on strike. My response was not to make concessions but to make it clear that they were there to deliver the

4/ We had numerous protests outside my department. middleeasteye.net/news/uk-hundre… On one occasion, the building was stormed. The security guards and some of my staff were pushed and shoved around. It was threatening and scary for all of us but despite that, (and unlike Labour MPs) I

5/ The UK has one of the most robust export control systems in the world. What many don’t realise is that imported Israeli arms have protected UK service personnel in conflicts like Afghanistan and Iraq. Along with intelligence, our defence trade with Israel is of mutual

6/ This is why I am very concerned about the Prime Minister’s pretence today that this was a legal decision. It isn’t. It is VERY political. The Labour government has once again prioritised the mob over UK interests, making politically charged foreign policy decisions that

7/ In it’s final paragraph, the FCDO says "it has not been possible to reach a determinative judgment on allegations regarding Israel’s conduct of hostilities" If it hasn't been possible to reach a judgement why are licenses suspended? gov.uk/government/pub…

8/ And if ministers suspend licenses, without "a determinative judgment" even being reached, why would anyone buy arms from the UK? Our defence industry is critical to national security and our economy. Playing around with it like this is dangerous.

9/ In summary, Keir Starmer is using and politicising the law for political ends. In doing so he has upset key allies like the USA and been unbelievably insensitive by making the announcement on the day we learned of the cold-blooded murder of six Israeli hostages by Hamas.

What is driving the much discussed political youth gender gap? It is complicated, but five causes stand out: the feminization of left-wing politics since #MeToo, the sex gap in higher education, female hypergamy in the dating market, the rise of social media echo chambers, and

In this post I address two questions about the ideological and partisan polarization in Gen Z: What is the magnitude of the gap, and what is causing it? restorationbulletin.com/p/political-ge…

eventbrite.co.uk/e/ayaan-hirsi-…

It is hard to overstate what a tendentious piece of writing this is. This not history. It is anti-history. For a recent account of the origins of World War II, as opposed to an attempt to resuscitate Nazi propaganda, try penguinrandomhouse.com/books/292991/t…

“Hitler, remember, had betrayed and humiliated Neville Chamberlain by unapologetically reneging on the agreements he made in Munich, and he had erased an autonomous Czechoslovakia. Yet, Hitler strangely saw his Munich Agreement victory as a sort of temporary setback, despised the

open.substack.com/pub/bariweiss/…