We need to be honest about what we are seeing here. The Iranian government is still the same theocratic dictatorship and the Iranian people are in desperate straits after the US promised them liberation. The Iranians still control the Strait of Hormuz, still maintain their right to collect tolls...

It's not just that Orbán losing inspires hope in other competitive-autocratic countries ruled by right-wing nationalist authoritarians. It's that his loss materially changes things in those other countries, because he's been operating as a headquarters and funding source...

Orban owns the media. He controls the information environment. He rigged the electoral system to make defeat next-to impossible. The govt of the most powerful country on earth tried to bribe Hungarian voters in his favour. It didn't work.

It’s somehow all the more enjoyable that JD Vance contributed to Orban’s defeat

Orbán's electoral crushing is a far greater achievement than most people outside Hungary realise. He systemically consolidated power for 16 years, fixed the electoral map, abused govt power for political purposes & censored media. The hurdles that Hungarians overcame for this moment were immense.

It's a total shower of a government, led by a man without any capacity to control himself, and with nobody around willing to intervene and - if necessary - unseat him via the 25th amendment. There is no longer any other rational, objective way of looking at the crisis in Washington.

Impossible to disagree with a single word that Ben Rhodes (Obama era NSC official) is saying here:

Now the WORLD needs to have a plan to address the USA’s lack of foresight!

Very interesting and considered article.

We've crunched the numbers. We hold ourselves to account. Against the odds, our irrepressible humanitarian community reached 7m people with life-saving help in January. I hope this stat gives you as much hope and energy as it gives me. bit.ly/4skxytH

As a Marine platoon leader in Vietnam, Mueller was shot and later returned to lead his platoon after his recovery. He received a Bronze Star for valor, a Purple Heart, 2 Navy/Marine Commendation medals, Republican of Vietnam Cross of Valor, and numerous other medals.

Mueller was a decorated combat Marine who leaves behind a wife and two children. There is no defending this. Trump is scum.

Thank God Starmer is in charge, really. If it had been any of his immediate predecessors, we'd currently be at war with Iran, playing lapdog to a deranged US administration, unable to say what we were doing or why.

This is superlative. theconversation.com/how-lessons-...

NEW ANALYSIS: China's CO2 has now been 'flat or falling' for 21 months * Down in 2025 * Still below Mar 2024 * Clean energy wave a key factor If this is China's peak (TBC) it's the climate story of the century so far… www.carbonbrief.org/...

We all live in Jeffrey Epstein's world now. That's what we can't face. It's our world. Where sexual desire for children is protected, victims receive no justice & the President of what used to be called the free world is Jeff's friend. This is Jeff's World now. 1/ open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

You can also watch this via @lbc.co.uk on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x91K...

We’ve placed the available videos of the shooting of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis today into the same synchronised timeline and are continuing to analyse further.

If you want to understand why the Ministry of Defence’s ‘strategic partnership’ with Palantir is so profoundly dangerous, please read my latest piece open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

The utterly shameless & widely covered "report" out today, claiming net zero will "cost" £9tn is based on: * Assuming free fossil-fuel energy, free petrol cars, free gas boilers, free gas power plants etc AND * Including climate damages in the "cost" of net zero I kid you not, it is that stupid

BREAKING on MS NOW: Jack Smith, in his opening statement to House Judiciary, says: "Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power."

Also who cares why they did it? What matters is it's done. (In any case reducing poverty is one reason people vote for Labour MPs so mollifying is kind of the point of elected them).

It’s not that complicated, people.

"Europe’s problem is not that it lacks options. It is that it refuses to use them". Jade McGlynn skewers both the Dmitriev/Witkoff plan for Ukraine's destruction, & Europe's refusal to act decisively enough to prevent disaster. open.substack.com/pub/smalldee...

To be clear, lest anyone is in any doubt: this purported $1 billion lawsuit against Auntie does not stand a snowball's chance of success. And should be treated as entirely frivolous action, in the unlikely case it's ever laid down in court...in Florida!

Not resiling from this one iota in spite of the feeding frenzy, the resignations, and the talk of a billion dollar law suit of the last few days. If those on the right in this country seriously think that lining up with Donald Trump against the BBC is a good call, then I say good luck with that.

SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

A big win for people more outraged by a silly edit at the BBC than by a man impeached by Congress for literally inciting an insurrection being back in the White House. Pathetic.

I had my disagreements with the BBC under Tim Davie but he was a decent man doing a difficult job. To see Trump's White House claiming credit for his downfall and attacking the BBC should worry us all.

Glad that someone has finally taken responsibility for the appalling assault on democracy that was the Jan. 6 insurrection. Slightly confused that it's the Director-General of the BBC, but what do I know?

A magnificent piece of work. Comprehesive, revelatory & shocking. Journalism this good is always rare & precious but never moreso than at times like this. Latter day Lord Haw Haws being plumped, preened & delivered to your doorstep in plain sight by a Nazi-saluting goon news.sky.com/story/the-x-...

Ongoing attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property across the West Bank continue. Impunity cannot prevail. Latest update: bit.ly/3JIro5u

As anti-Labour media will always put words in her mouth, why not beat them to it: "Yes it's true, Daily Mail readers, we are coming for you and your money because a) everyone else had to pay under the Tories b) Brexit screwed the poor c) you voted for both. Cheers, Rachel."

The videos pertaining to this incident in Illinois today are off the scale appalling. Even by shameful, existing ICE local standards. Gestapo stuff.

Never in the history of the US has any president openly and repeatedly called for the investigation, arrest & prosecution of his political opponents. While many continue to shrug these things off and normalize them, I will never stop pointing out that this is what autocrats do.

Colour me Janan. (www.ft.com/content/00e9...)

“The government is leaving no stone unturned to investigate and recover public funds lost to fraud and error during the pandemic… Recovery action has resulted in some PPE suppliers being referred to the National Crime Agency for suspected fraud” www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=20...

🔴The Sheer Scale of Conservative Mismanagement of the Asylum System Revealed Billions of pounds were wasted by successive Conservative Home Secretaries on a chaotic and costly system that left vulnerable people at risk, according to a new Parliamentary report bylinetimes.com/2025/10/27/t...

And then allowed two completely unaffordable tax cuts as a desperate election ploy, screwing up the public finances while leaving the overall tax burden still at a high.

Will ANY Republican in Congress who isn’t retiring say ANYTHING about Trump destroying our White House? Are they just going to this madman do whatever he wants like a king? This desecration should be used by every Dem candidate against every Repub for every office everywhere.

Lots of US companies have done lots of dreadful things to Americans. But the symbolism of paying to destroy the White House is hard to top.

Chris Murphy: "There's a lot of history that has taken place in the East Wing & it was just destroyed without any conversation in the public, without any consent of Congress. It's absolutely illegal. That visual is powerful b/c you're watching destruction of the rule of law as those walls come down"

There is no difference between Trump destroying the East Wing and using a wrecking ball on the Washington Monument or Smithsonian. Just because he (temporarily) lives there doesn't give him the right to demolish the White House without Congressional approval.

My full statement on the Gaza Famine :

Krishnan Guru-Murthy, "Israel has rejected the condemnation of 25 countries, including Britain, as disconnected from reality" "The total number of people killed since the start of the war is now 59,000 with at least another 27 more killed today and another 19 having starved to death"

Open all of the crossings. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift restrictions on what & how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials. Release the hostages. Implement the ceasefire. Let us work.

Here I react to the shameful encounter between American leaders and media and the Ukrainian president. No doubt there were more, but I saw five failures on our side: of hospitality, decency, democracy, strategy, and independence. Please watch and share. snyder.substack.com/p/five-failu...

Read this twice. The world we know is shifting beneath our feet.