Matthias Fiechter

Communicator. Reluctant optimist. Food enthusiast. Fond of people and other creatures. He/him.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@PeterFreem1972 @KonstantinKisin While that is an unsubstantiated claim, let’s assume it to be true. If so, it would be fair to call that a moral failure too. But that does not make the way in which USAID and other programs were terminated - without any concern for the lives affected - any less of one.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@BestEzraOfAll @KonstantinKisin And fwiw: one of us is an anon account, BestEzraOfAll, and it's not me. but perhaps that's beside the point.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@BestEzraOfAll @KonstantinKisin The US built the system that created these dependencies, with Europe & others. If you want to change that, great. Perhaps it will even make the world a better place if you do. But if you smash it to pieces like Elon & co did, the immediate cost - as in people dying - will be huge

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@KonstantinKisin Even if you believe that the cuts were necessary or right: the speed & carelessness with which they were done is a colossal moral failure. If they had happened gradually, say over 2 years, other actors would have had the opportunity to step in & offer alternatives.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@KonstantinKisin This is a bad faith argument. There can absolutely be a debate on aid, if and how it should be done, etc. It's a sector that needs new ideas, including radical ones. But if you tear down an entire system that millions depend on overnight, people will die as a direct consequence.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

I know this place is a cesspool, but still... it's depressing and revealing that most responses to @NickKristof providing the evidence that Elon claims does not exist are either "you made these names up" or "fine, so what, why should US taxpayers pay for people to survive".

[Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof]

.@elonmusk says that no one can name a person who died from his aid cuts. In fact, I've met the kids who are dying, and I've talked to the families who lost children. In my columns, I've cited many, many names of people who have died because of Musk's aid cuts. A few examples:
*Yamah Freeman was a 23-year-old woman who died in childbirth because Musk cut funding for the diesel for ambulances in her part of Liberia. She couldn't get to a hospital and died as people were carrying her there. I talked to her parents and sister in their village.
*Gbessey Kiadu, age 1, died of malaria because of his cuts to malaria medication in Liberia. I talked to his mom in her village.
*Ibrahim Koroma, an infant, died of AIDS in Sierra Leone after he interrupted HIV supplies. I talked to health workers who cared for him.
*Achol Deng was an 8-year-old girl with HIV in South Sudan who died when Musk cut funding for the health care worker who provided her medicines. I talked to the healthcare workers.
I could go on and on. In almost every village you go to in South Sudan, Uganda, Liberia, Sierra Leone or other countries I reported in, you find people dying because of aid cuts. I challenge Musk: Come with me on a reporting trip, and we'll talk to these moms and dads, and you'll see the dying children themselves. I think if you see the kids whose lives are at stake, maybe you'll change your mind.

[O’Shea Jackson Jr @OsheaJacksonJr]

I saw it. Now you have to see it. His name is Samuel. And he…is a king.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

This is just too perfect. cc @dieworkwear

[Tracy Alloway @tracyalloway]

Allbirds, the shoe brand, now says it's an AI compute company.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@the_rosenrot Thank you. That would be amazing. I’ll definitely be in touch!

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@jackdeedigital @xPeaceLandBread I take it that you have not been to Chengdu?

[Kasper B.R.Bjørkskov @KBRH87]

The science on wealth taxes is settled.

People opposing it are either protecting their own wealth or letting ideology override evidence.

Here is what the research actually says. 🧵👇

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@SLBenfica This has to be one of the most embarrassing official statements ever issued by a club. Utterly ridiculous and shameful.

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@erinluckyone The Balkans = (Mostly) Slavic Latinos (with nothing but <3 for both)

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@dieworkwear Nothing has ever said "alpha male" more loudly than this photo!

[Julian Gerson @julian__gerson]

For those who would like to read Mayor-elect Mamdani's victory speech last night.
https://t.co/jZKHnbzrvY

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

A fantastic, evocative read, beautifully illustrated!

[Claire Schnatterbeck @claire_e_beck]

I'm really excited about this piece published today in @ForeignPolicy that I edited. Journalist Ben Buckland retraces the ruins of the Berlin-Baghdad railway. It includes stories from people he met along the way and beautiful photos. Give it a read!
https://t.co/O2ja0jGqTt

[AFP News Agency @AFP]

VIDEO: A helicopter successfully herded 16 critically endangered banteng onto a truck in Cambodia for the first time, conservationists said, marking a "significant achievement" in a country with high rates of deforestation.
➡️https://t.co/pWRPPYyi39

[Matthias Fiechter @MatthiasFi]

@jacktgraham I mean, it’s for two… almost a steal at 110k per head🤷🏼‍♂️