Classy

WaPo editorial board when TX imposes a legislative gerrymander: don't freak out guys! Not a threat to democracy! When VA responds to TX with *referendum* on their own gerrymander: brass-knuckled hypocrisy, anti-democratic gamesmanship. There is hypocrisy here, all right, but not from VA.

Leading American companies — including Palantir, Deloitte, and private prison giant GEO Group — raked in over $22B from ICE and CBP contracts last year. Do not forget who is profiting from cruelty and human suffering. https://www.ft.com/content/c74170d3-237d-459c-8642-bfd71530897d

I mean it's probably marginally more bearable than watching Hegseth preening and squawking and waiting for non-existent applause.

This by @harrywallop.co.uk is rightly merciless. If we had a little more reporting like this, and fewer stories about how a government policy could be about to be set to be faced with possible unpopularity, we'd all be better off. (Well, all except the people who write corporate purpose blah.)

On a day with so much awfulness just taking a moment to note with admiration a dignified leader

Gordon Brown hits the nail on the head: "we owe it to the victims of abuse..that our every action is now determined by the effort to prevent the powerful acting with impunity against the powerless". Lots of ideas on how to do that in the piece. (1/3) www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

We've slowly absorbed the 1970s New Right idea that the state is inherently useless, and our enemy. It makes terrible mistakes, but this idea is a disaster. Latest for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social (based on my @futuregovforum.bsky.social report, Power Failure) www.thenewworld.co.uk/phil-tinline...

"Golden snake with gold eyes and a super super-duper long tail," welcome to The War on Cars.

This just in from the free-speech-crushing dystopia that is Eur-oh

It was great to chat to @philtinline.bsky.social for the writing of this excellent report, which gets to grips with why it is so hard for the state to actually do stuff, and features a cameo from my old team, the Open Innovation Team. Many insights in here apply to foreign policy too:

We've slowly absorbed the 1970s New Right idea that the state is inherently useless, and our enemy. It makes terrible mistakes, but this idea is a disaster. Latest for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social (based on my @futuregovforum.bsky.social report, Power Failure) www.thenewworld.co.uk/phil-tinline...

Excellent article on how to rebuild state capacity and use it to drive change.

A great and pioneering analyst of the US extreme right. RIP.

👀 www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...

The Fall of the House of Usha

“Working” is doing some heavy lifting. Client journalism at its most deranged.

Thread

um...

Turns out firing career diplomats and replacing them with Trump loyalists who learned international relations from Truth Social has consequences. Who knew. #holdfast

I'm fortunate to sit on the advisory board of @persuasionuk.bsky.social, the excellent public opinion outfit headed up by @steveakehurst.bsky.social. They're currently recruiting for a new communications lead - a great opportunity: careers.meliorefoundation.org/postings/a92...

Important point here about the role of British law firms.

How Epstein propelled investment career of UK power broker Ian Osborne, a onetime PR man and adviser to David Cameron Epstein guided him in setting up Hedosophia (now one of UK’s most important start-up backers) and even appointed him to one of his own investment vehicles www.ft.com/content/8b04...

I need more coverage of this press conference, and acres of detailed analysis

It should also put pressure on TikTok to *stop doing that in the first place*. I am so sick of stories that go 'this business did a terrible thing; why this is bad for the state'.

No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition. Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Ding ding ding If we can learn to do things without scope bloat, we can have more things

We need more of this - Epstein as a window into how power functions, well beyond his specific depravities: www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...

▶️ Jury finds Uber liable for driver's actions, awards $8.5 million to plaintiff ▶️ Uber faces over 3,000 similar lawsuits in federal court ▶️ Uber has argued drivers are independent contractors, company not liable for criminal conduct

If Reform-aligned 'think tanks' take money to promote 'American values', they should be honest about what those values are. The death penalty? Bullying universities? Opposition to abortion? Gleeful racism? Shooting protestors? Then they should explain why they don't want to promote British values.

Well now www.thetimes.com/us/news-toda...

How it started www.cityam.com/nigel-farage...

I mean yes, absolutely, but why would anyone have a Starbucks app on their phone in the first place?

“Trapped Tesla Driver’s 911 Call: ‘It’s on Fire. Help Please’” The “transcript of the 20-year-old’s…call was included in a lawsuit filed Wed, the latest to allege that a driver or passenger died after they were unable to open the electrically powered doors on their Tesla…after a crash.” 2/5/26

He read Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus in the 1990s and feels the call of home?

Compare and contrast

Given his success with the Kennedy Center, perhaps American churches should start adding 'Trump' to their names.

The “he’s lost his title and his house, what more can they do?” stuff totally misses the point. It’s about institutions and governance

If for example BEIS civil servants had arranged Mandelson’s travel to see Epstein, questions would correctly be asked of the department’s perm sec

Those denials didn’t issue themselves

The heckler asks a reasonable question, because the emails make plain that Andrew MW’s relationship with Epstein was facilitated by quite senior officials in the royal household. And what obligation courtiers have to not aid immoral behaviour by royals seems an important question.

Golf courses are declining, we’re in a housing crisis. Here’s a thought… More of us are picking up a club but fewer are paying to join one. It may be time to radically reimagine a sport that gobbles up green space, writes Martha Gill https://bit.ly/3OmMRmn

Could someone please design an app that removes the dad-puns-in-bold from the start of every paragraph of certain newsletters? Tvm.

Why haven’t business elites stood up for America's supposed core values? This suggests it's partly down to a mix of selfishness and risk aversion - failings that helped lay the ground for Trumpery in the first place.

If only this is was the headline and the focus. If only. Would add to this list of rights becoming law, bereavement leave entitlement for all workers who experience miscarriage and all forms of pregnancy loss.

For shame

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

This is right, and urgent.