According to new evidence, border patrol chief Gregory Bovino praised the immigration agent who shot a woman in her car in October 2025. Marimar Martinez, a US citizen, was shot five times by a border patrol agent while in her vehicle. She was charged with a felony after offic... TAT: [Nationalism]

Donald Kinsella, a seasoned litigator who was appointed by federal judges in Northern District of New York after the Trump administration’s nominee was found to be serving unlawfully, was fired by the White House within hours. The Trump administration had previously ... TAT: [Undermining Democracy]

House Republicans rushed to approve legislation that would impose strict new proof-of-citizenship requirements ahead of the midterm elections. The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act, would require Americans to prove their... TAT: [Weakening Civil Rights | Undermining Democracy]

This by @zoesqwilliams.bsky.social is really worth a read, in spite of the fact that it mentions me in passing. She's convinced me, anyway, that vice-signalling really is a thing - and a phenomenon/technique we need to take very seriously.

President Trump said that he raised tariffs on Switzerland after a phone call with the country’s former president, saying he did not approve of “the way she talked.” Trump told Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow that he once had an “emergency call from, I believe, the prime minist... TAT: [Foreign Policy]

The president of OpenAI has donated almost as much to Trump as the DNC has cash on hand www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

This is approximately as deliberately stupid as people arguing against CO2 sensors to assess poor ventilation / risk from COVID because "CO2 isn't harmful".

Trump is hosting Governors at the White House, but only Republicans. The president’s decision to exclude Democratic governors from an annual meeting later this month breaks a longstanding tradition. TAT: [Undermining Democracy]

Federal prosecutors in Washington sought and failed to secure an indictment against six Democratic lawmakers who posted a video this fall that enraged President Trump by reminding active-duty members of the military and intelligence community th... TAT: [Suppressing Dissent | Undermining Democracy]

NEW Could Peter Mandelson or Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor face charges of Misconduct in Public Office? Me at New Statesman on how the offence can be very difficult to prosecute in practice www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

I've written plenty about the problems of poltiical media - particularly when it comes to how policy is reported. But what are they supposed to do with today? Pretend Streeting and Rayner aren't doing anything? That no one resigned? That Sarwar didn't call for him to quit?

Getting really tired of "this is all a media concoction"... Starmer has the lowest approval rating of any PM in history bar Truss. Senior ministers are openly and unsubtly positioning. His Chief of Staff, Director of Comms and Cab Sec have all resigned on the same day. I mean come on...

It is so embarrassing that it has taken nearly a decade for a British minister to say this, a statement of the absolute bloody obvious

"Switzerland’s military has terminated its contract with Palantir… following a security audit… concluded that U.S. intelligence agencies could potentially access sensitive Swiss defense data… significant reputational warning for the data analytics firm" www.newscase.com/palantirs-sw... #R4Today

I have been a little surprised that this shoe hadn't dropped already. The more that businesses become seen as extensions of a particular government's interests, the less that many other governments will want to have any relationship to them. See also the CapGemini brouhaha.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declined to review Moderna's license application and evidence from its clinical trials for a new mRNA flu vaccine, although it had previously approved the project and its protocols. This decision could have implications for the l... TAT: [Attacking Science]

If Starmer changes tack or is replaced by someone to his “left”, the main shift will be tonal because the government has just been quite left wing. It put up taxes, spent more on public services and gave unions a load more powers

Our co‑lead Prof @chrischirp.bsky.social is about to address the Government Operational Research Service Annual Conference. She'll present on using Operational Research to improve services for children and young people with complex healthcare needs and for their carers. @theorsociety.bsky.social

President Donald Trump's administration ramped up its pressure on the U.S. judiciary, with the Justice Department saying it has asked federal prosecutors to supply it with the "most egregious examples" of judges impeding his agenda so Congress c... TAT: [Suppressing Dissent | Undermining Democracy]

1/ I know I'm biased because "waves book" but I think you should be able to make the case that the US is a critically important market for Canada without lying. The US takes 75-77% of Canadian exports, but experts only account for about a third of Canadian GDP. 75% of 35% is not 75%.

This week marks a year since 10% of the CDC work force was fired. We are more vulnerable to the next pandemic,outbreak monitoring is crumbling, measles is basically endemic again,vaccine guidelines are now RFK Jr fan fiction. All it took was one year.

The FBI’s rationale behind raiding the Fulton county election office in Georgia last month was based on debunked claims from election deniers and came after a referral from a White House lawyer who tried to overturn the 2020 election, a search warrant affidavit unsea... TAT: [Undermining Democracy]

The Trump administration has removed a large pride flag from the Stonewall national monument in New York City, marking the latest move by the federal government to end diversity initiatives and sanitize the history shared in national parks. TAT: [Weakening Civil Rights | Controlling Information]

Attorney General Pam Bondi trying to revive cases against James Comey and Letitia James despite indictments being tossed. The previous cases were tossed due to a U.S. attorney's unlawful appointment. TAT: [Suppressing Dissent]

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin is set to formalize the rescission of the 2009 Obama-era endangerment finding that climate change poses a threat to the public. TAT: [Attacking Science]

Trump administration plans to terminate $600 million in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grants to four Democrat-led states (California, Colorado, Illinois and Minnesota), alleging the grants are “inconsistent with agency priorities”. TAT: [Attacking Science]

Today in life under competitive authoritarianism

The late Queen seems to have known more about Andrew and Epstein than Starmer did about Mandelson and Epstein. She gave £2 million toward a payment to one of Andrew's victims to try to make his crimes go away. At what point does the country decide it's not right to build a massive statue to her?

I made a map of 3.4 million Bluesky users - see if you can find yourself! bluesky-map.theo.io I've seen some similar projects, but IMO this seems to better capture some of the fine-grained detail

A new Republican House bill proposes sweeping changes to US toxic chemical laws that would gut protections for consumers, workers and the environment, public health advocates mobilising against the legislation warn. TAT: [Attacking Science]

A small but still real strategic challenge for Labour MPs: gaining a clear consensus on where their vote is going! Is this level of variation between providers normal? Seems like polling error waiting to happen. Also means every factional tendency can cherry pick data to fit their view.

There's huge potential for further scandal and embarrasment here.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro asked a federal judge to dismiss a two-count indictment against Steve Bannon, a longterm Trump ally, for evading a subpoena from the House committee that investigated the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack TAT: [Corruption | Undermining Democracy]

US military’s Southern Command said that it carried out another deadly strike on an alleged drug-carrying boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing two suspected drug smugglers. The US Coast Guards was called out to search for a lone survivor. TAT: [Foreign Policy]

Trump issued a proclamation which opens up commercial fishing in Atlantic marine national monument. TAT: [Attacking Science]

Trump threatened to block the opening a new bridge between the US and Canada in a lengthy tirade against Canada on social media. He said the Gordie Howe International Bridge between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan and would only open when US wa... TAT: [Foreign Policy | Suppressing Dissent]

Very good and interesting read

Now that members of Congress are able to see what was redacted they are learning how Todd Blanche failed to comply with the law in countless instances, and it’s now about to get real because what DOJ was hiding is the most incriminating stuff.

This can be the site for breaking news, if journalists choose to break news on it. It is as simple as that. And that is not utopian. It is precisely what has happened the last week or so. If you weren't on BlueSky, you were late to each development.

This by @davidallengreen.bsky.social is SO good. Just recommended all my 2nd year BritPol students read it. First three weeks cover 'The constitution', 'Parliament', & 'The executive'. I confess they're hardly my top three topics but the events of the past week or so have seriously spiced them up!

The tragic fate of Jimmy Lai 🌎 @katiestallard.bsky.social

No-one seems to have noticed, but many of the core developments in the Mandelson/Epstein story these last few days have been broken on this website. @pickardje.bsky.social and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social are both posting each breaking development on BlueSky, not X.

Opinion: Physics cuts put livelihoods, investment and reputation at risk. Cutting the UK out of the Electron-Ion Collider project will damage science, says Daria Sokhan. Free to read (and well worth your time). www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

This is pretty menacing. Sarah Pochin wrote to Bangor's university student run debating society requesting that she attend to "answer questions from students." When they said "no" Reform rolled all it's tanks onto the lawns and said they'll cut funding to the entire university if they win.

Heads I win, tails you lose. "Utah voter roll review finds no evidence of noncitizens casting a ballot, Lt. Gov. says. A review of 2.1 million voter registrations turned up few anomalies, but Utah’s House speaker says ID law is needed so citizens trust elections." www.sltrib.com/news/politic...

"Our new analysis shows that it is far more dangerous to be pregnant than to have an abortion, and this gap in mortality risk is even larger than previously recognized.” - lead study author Maria Steenland. In fact, the mortality risk of pregnancy is 44 to 70 times higher than from abortion.

Meanwhile, here in the USA the Trump Administration is trampling free speech rights, arresting journalists, peaceful protestors, and foreign students who write articles Trump does not agree with. In the MAGA cult, "free speech" only applies to Trump-approved speech.

The Trump administration will fund efforts to promote 'free speech' within Western countries allied with Washington, a senior State Department official, Rogers, said during a visit to Europe. The US has forcefully opposed online rules like the EU's Digital Services Act and ... TAT: [Foreign Policy]

An Irishman living in the United States for more than 20 years has been held by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officials since being arrested last September. Seamus Culleton is married to a US citizen and owns a plastering business in the Boston area. He was arre... TAT: [Nationalism]