unfuckwithable?
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (Conseil canadien des normes de la radiotélévision) and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes) have both said that it’s fine for me to use obscene language in both English and French. Tabarnak.
In all seriousness, I’m a political advisor/expert and a lawyer and these are my biased thoughts.
What do you write about?
Politics, polls, policy, law (constitutional and international), culture, music, art, skateboarding, cooking – whatever I deem to be relevant. Although my experience is in Canadian federal politics, I also write about international politics in other countries I work within (Switzerland, the UK, the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, the EU) and in the areas of geopolitics and national security. Sometimes.
I might even just post photos or other art from time to time.
Experience?
Over twenty years in politics and government; over fifteen years in constitutional, transnational, European, and international law. Senior Advisor to several prime ministers, presidents, and cabinet members in governments on multiple continents; an experienced campaign manager and strategist, for whatever that’s worth. Generally speaking, I work with centre-left/progressive/social democratic parties and movements.
Senior Barrister/Avocat international.
Avocat à la Cour Pénale Internationale, Bureau du Procureur (International Criminal Court, Office of the Prosecutor).
Avocat à la Cour internationale de Justice (International Court of Justice).
Avocat auprès du Mécanisme international appelé à exercer les fonctions résiduelles des Tribunaux pénaux des Nations Unies (International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals of the United Nations).
Avocat à la Cour européenne des droits de l'homme (European Court of Human Rights).
Research Areas
International Law (Public, Private, Humanitarian) and Constitutional Law
Geopolitics/International Relations/National Security/Security Policy
Economics (Post-Capitalism and Behaviourial Economics)
International Finance (Sustainable Investing)
Artificial Intelligence and Democracy (Polling, voter behaviour, analytics)
Hobbies/Sports/Misc
Skiing, snowboarding, skateboarding, swimming, mountaineering, photography, painting, visual arts, filmmaking, music production/DJing, travel, sleeping.
Fan of the Montreal Canadiens/Canadiens de Montréal and Genève-Servette ice hockey teams; Servette FC (football/soccer).
Nationalities
Switzerland, Canada, United States, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Netherlands.
Languages
English, French, Swiss German, Standard German, Italian, Dutch, Ukrainian, Russian, Arabic.
Location(s)?
Montréal, Canada
Genève, Suisse
New York City, USA
Paris, France
The Hague, Netherlands
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Is this a paid substack?
No. I’m keeping it free for now. But if you’d like to pledge on a monthly/yearly basis or as a “founder”, you can. In the future, I might convert some posts to paid-only. We’ll see.
Why are comments/notes/feedback turned off?
Because I’m a delicate creature and I’m not very good at feedback in general. Kidding. Actually, it’s because discourse in politics and law has become so toxic in recent years that I’d prefer not to deal with it, or have to spend time moderating anything. If you know how to get in touch with me IRL or privately, then I’m willing to hear constructive criticism.
How can I get in touch?
I have links to my social media accounts (BE NICE), and I have an email address for inquiries (ALSO BE NICE). I’m unfortunately a very busy person, so it may take a while to get back to you, so please don’t take it personally. If someone pays for a “founder” subscription, I’ll give you a private number you can personally harass me on via SMS.
Twitter (DMs usually open, but I have strict filters)
Instagram (private/personal)
Email (encrypted via ProtonMail)
Mastodon (@mauditanglais@swiss.social)
Bluesky - don’t have an invite code yet, feel free to message me with one!!!
Will you be setting up a podcast or something similar at some point?
Maybe. If there’s sufficient interest. Let me know.
How old are you?
Forty years old. J’ai 40 ans. Basically dead already.
Closing thought?
”Let us go to people: that is our only salvation. But let us not go to them with the smug arrogance of people who claim to hold the infallible truth and, from their alleged infallibility, look down their noses at those who do not subscribe to their ideas. Let us go out and become brothers with the workers, struggle with them, and sacrifice ourselves alongside them. If we are to earn the right and opportunity to demand of the people the sort of commitment and spirit of sacrifice required in the great days of decisive battle ahead, we need to have proved ourselves in the people’s eyes, and shown that we are second to none when it comes to courage and self-sacrifice in its small, day-to-day struggles. Let us enter all the workers’ associations, establish as many as we can, weave ever larger federations, support and organize strikes, and spread everywhere and by every means the spirit of cooperation and solidarity between workers, the spirit of resistance and struggle.
And let us beware of becoming disgusted just because the workers often do not understand or embrace all of our ideals and retain an attachment to the old ways and old prejudices.”
– Errico Malatesta, Let Us Go To The People (Andiamo fra il popolo), 1894
