The US designated transnational gang Barrio 18 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. This is big news because there's a large *US-based* component of the gang in Los Angeles. (All other FTOs are, uh, foreign.) Prediction: this will be used to imprison and/or deport even more people in LA.

So it’s not just about the small boats and asylum seekers in hotels? Who’d have thought it?!

We have amazing international students, many of whom already feel targeted by the Home Office’s hostile environment. Further damage to the higher education sector to placate the far-right. Pathetic.

@anandmenon.bsky.social is spot on. Farage can write stuff like this in the Telegraph with no pushback: “Is Starmer on the side of the British people, national security and protecting women and girls?” The mainstreaming of far-right narratives is disturbing. observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

Ella Barron in the Guardian today.

Enjoying the Nazi Cartel on Sky? Then pre-order my book Narco-Democratization: tinyurl.com/y62a6jyf The book explains how drug bosses like Suarez helped shaped Bolivian politics. Maybe not quite as salacious as the doc, but a good read nevertheless!

Ironman Vitoria-Gasteiz ✅ Finished in 10:59. Snapped chain on the bike and stomach cramps on the run cost me a big chunk of time, but happy to come in under 11hrs. Crowds were amazing!

Says a lot about the UK media and political class that there’s more outrage and dissection of a provocative anti-IDF chant at Glastonbury than reported murder of civilians by the IDF www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

Saw Springsteen at Liverpool at the weekend. Music was great, topped off by the appearance of Paul McCartney for the encore. The politics of the evening left me angry, though.

Southport Olympic Tri ✅ Puncture during the second lap of the cycle done for me, but still finished and ran a PB in the 10k (41:30) out of anger 😂

From Colombia's Atrato River to the River Clyde, communities are sharing how we can protect our rivers from harm to help them thrive. The UofG & @sciaf.bsky.social talk on the topic included the Atrato River Guardians @mohume.bsky.social @louisewelsh00.bsky.social & @allangillies.bsky.social.

FYI, Saudi Arabia is reported as a major funder of the Tony Blair Institute

An important portrait of a toxic ideology: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

Netanyahu now openly announcing a new Nakba on national TV. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

I love this Desert Island Disc. George Foreman was a great man. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p...

This is staggering. Labour say they’re concerned with low growth and productivity, the high number of economically inactive people, yet haven’t made the connection to all that with austerity. Nevermind that they promised they wouldn’t return to austerity www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Enjoying walking in the footsteps of Steinbeck and Kerouac from Cannery Row to Big Sur

Rough end to the game, but after years of ignominious failure, I can make peace with glorious failure. Great performance from Celtic

Cycle through Cuyamaca-Anza Borrego. Not the route I’d planned. Dumb and Dumber moment when I missed a turn off and ended up in the desert.

First day at the Center for US-Mexican Studies @ucsandiego.bsky.social, working on socio-environmental conflicts in contexts of criminal governance

Mission Beach, San Diego. Nice place for a run

Trump is clearly a fan of the drug war greatest hits. The term ‘narco-terrorists’ has been thrown around often in the past as a way of mobilising resources and justifying militarisation. Bad policy then, bad policy now. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Nice to see my book review of When Forests Run Amok by Ruiz-Serna published in this issue of BLAR. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

The UK's 1st drugs consumption room opens in Glasgow next week after many hurdles & amidst fierce scrutiny. Here's my R4 documentary on Peter Krykant's unsanctioned van, which focused minds and without which the new site would never have come into being. mfl www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Lovely being back in Choco to see friends and continue our collaborations with local communities. Now, back to the Glasgow winter!

At the Casa de la Paz in Bogotá yesterday

Trump’s brand of drug war diplomacy is nothing new. “Decertification” of Latin American governments for supposed failures in meeting drug control obligations was frequently wielded politically by the US from the 1980s-on to advance economic goals and punish opponents in the region.

Biggest criticism of Bluesky so far - ticked sport as an interest and now my stream is full of American nonsense. Hoping Scottish Fitba Twitter makes the move over here asap

Stumbled upon Michael Portillo’s visit to Cumbernauld the other day. It was quite something to see him totally disavow the role of the Tories in the town’s decline www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...