excog
excog.bsky.social
excog
@excog.bsky.social

"I do not think therefore I am a moustache"

Sartre, La Nausée, 1938


Interests:

art, art history, culture, film/photography, history, music, science, sociology, comparative religion, technology, current affairs.

* adferoafferro.wordpress.com
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#moneylaundering
#Oliver_Bullough

From author of Moneyland & Butler to the World, new anatomy of global money laundering, Everybody Loves Our Dollars. On Audible read by author Oliver Bullough.

Bicester, Oxon., enters the story. And in a, What? Shakes head amazing way.
February 1, 2026 at 11:18 AM
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#Gaza

Petraeus, ex-Iraq surge, ex-CIA, is getting
carried away saying the lessons he learned from defeating Falluja insurgency, a Sunni uprising against US occupation of Iraq, has lessons for Gaza.

Iraq was a state, Gaza a territory settler colonial Israel has hemmed in.

tinyurl.com/zdd5b5ja
Ex-CIA Chief David Petraeus Briefs Officials in Israel Overseeing "New Gaza"
Petraeus, who was a major proponent of biometric gated communities in counterinsurgency, now works for KKR whose portfolio includes companies that have technology and defense interests in Gaza.
www.dropsitenews.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:56 PM
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#CH4
#TheChelseaDetective

Part 1 Series 1

www.channel4.com/programmes/t...

⚪ Might well be a cut above the normal detective series.

Was attracted to it with its Chelsea specific policing. Just read William Boyd's, Ordinary Thunderstorms, which centres on Chelsea, where also Boyd lives.
The Chelsea Detective - Series 1 Episode 1
Stonemason Andrew Knightley is pushed under a London Underground train during rush hour.
www.channel4.com
January 31, 2026 at 8:41 PM
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#NeilKinnock

2 hours. 82 yrs old. Still sharp as a button. Memory of an elephant. Feel free to suggest other superlatives.

No mention of, "The best PM we never had". Though it probably wouldn't have been an easy ride.

Riveting for those who lived through it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNQn...
Neil Kinnock | A Labour Rebel's Path To Power.
YouTube video by The Rest Is Politics: Leading
www.youtube.com
January 31, 2026 at 5:49 PM
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#collapse_of_compassion

LLMS are good at neologism German compounds.

So: awareness of terrible things in the world while telling a joke.

Katastrophenkomikschuld (Katastrophe – catastrophe
- Komik – comedy - Schuld – guilt )

⚪ There is a psychological phenomenon termed collapse of compassion:
January 31, 2026 at 12:48 PM
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#ICE

Antifa used to unmask neo-Nazis, now it’s exposing ICE: ‘Predators don’t get anonymity’

Christopher Mathias, Guardian, 30 Jan 2026

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

⚪ Perhaps that's where Homan got the idea to post up pics of members of the public protesting ICE
Antifa used to unmask neo-Nazis, now it’s exposing ICE: ‘Predators don’t get anonymity’
Following in a long American tradition of identifying fascists, a network of leftists has set out to name and shame Trump’s immigration agents
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 11:16 AM
Reposted by excog
And Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Here’s Ben Horowitz’s father talking about his protégé, Stephen Miller

Folks. it’s time to delete your data, delete your TikTok accounts, and delete the TikTok app.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4OC...
Zero Tolerance: David Horowitz Interview | FRONTLINE
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Reposted by excog
Confirming our story:

👉 bylinetimes.com/2026/01/29/d...

"Agents are tapping into a database, built by the data analytics company Palantir, that combines government and commercial data to identify real-time locations for individuals they are pursuing"

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/t...
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:01 PM
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#ICE

The Vast, Terrifying Scale of Trump’s Detention State
With $75 billion and thousands of masked agents, ICE is just getting started.

Ian Gordon, Mother Jones, Nov-Dec 2025

www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The vast, terrifying scale of Trump’s detention state
With $75 billion and thousands of masked agents, ICE is just getting started.
www.motherjones.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:05 PM
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#AI

After AI

Cédric Durand, Sidecar, NLR, 15 Jan 2026

newleftreview.org/sidecar/post...

⚪ Ey up AI
Cédric Durand, After AI — Sidecar
Legacies of the bubble.
newleftreview.org
January 30, 2026 at 12:32 PM
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#ICE
#ErnstFraenkel
#DualState

The Nazi Political Theory That Explains ICE’s Impunity

Trump’s Immigration & Customs Enforcement has become the violent face of the country’s transformation into a new 21st c. dual state.

Bill Blum, Truthdig, 23 Jan, 2026

www.commondreams.org/opinion/ice-...
The Nazi Political Theory That Explains ICE's Impunity | Common Dreams
​Trump's Immigration and Customs Enforcement has become the violent face of the country’s transformation into a new 21st-century dual state.
www.commondreams.org
January 28, 2026 at 11:19 PM
Reposted by excog
We hope the good people of #SanFrancisco will forgive us for adapting a song about their city in 1967 to address the shocking and tragic events in #Minnesota in recent weeks. This is dedicated to Renée Good and Alex Pretti, and in solidarity. Our version is called "Minnesota" ❤️

youtu.be/BRHxXHZmVAM
"Minnesota" - Marsh Family adaptation of "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)"
YouTube video by Marsh Family
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 12:21 AM
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#Palantir
#PalantirUK

Revealed: Palantir deals with UK government amount to at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency

The Nerve, 27 Jan 2026

www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-t...

⚪ How *would* a govt. divest itself Palantir with such a toe-hold in many areas of govt.?
Revealed: Palantir deals with UK government amount to at least £670m – including £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency
Exclusive: Nerve investigation finds Trump ally Peter Thiel's surveillance firm has won at least 34 contracts, including management services for Britain's nuclear deterrent, with MPs warning of 'gapin...
www.thenerve.news
January 28, 2026 at 12:57 PM
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#Reform
#MatthewGoodwin

Perhaps do a 6 degrees of separation between Goodwin and Hitler by way of James Orr [National Conservatism, Ed. Burke Foundation] and J D Vance [says Orr is his British Sherpa] .

Recall Orr attended Vance's shindig in Cotswolds Aug 2025. ↙️

↘️ Cotswolds symbolism?
January 28, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Reposted by excog
The question isn't how we save ourselves from Reform.
It's how we save ourselves from Labour.
Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot
It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:58 AM
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“This is a Marxist—this is the red-green alliance coming together to try to take down the American republic.... It’s a domestic terrorist mob.”

Steve Bannon

⚪ Coming from a man who was convicted and served a 4 month sentence for not turning up to the House January 6 Committee
January 27, 2026 at 4:14 PM
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#Trump

Last week editor-in-chief of Economist Zanny Minton Beddoes making argument for interviewing Steve Bannon, conjures up image of journo after heavy lunchtime drink session, falling asleep on newsdesk for 20 years, suddenly finding Steve Bannon.

And now?

www.rawstory.com/steve-bannon...
'You cannot de-escalate': Trump urged to increase violence against Minnesota 'insurgents'
MAGA influencer Steve Bannon called on the Trump administration to double down after officers from the Department of Homeland Security killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, over the weekend."In Min...
www.rawstory.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by excog
“.. A White House official, granted anonymity to share internal thinking said, “Homan going is not a vote of confidence for” Noem.

@politico.com
www.politico.com/news/2026/01...
January 26, 2026 at 11:09 PM
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Holocaust victim’s rescued artwork captures life in a Jewish ghetto

Works of Peter Kien, a Jewish painter & writer who died in Auschwitz, have been reunited after more than 80 years thanks to a love passed down generations

Jack Blackburn, The Times, 26 Jan 2026

www.thetimes.com/article/517f...
Holocaust victim’s rescued artwork captures life in a Jewish ghetto
The works of Peter Kien, a Jewish painter and writer who died in Auschwitz, have been reunited after more than 80 years thanks to a love passed down generations
www.thetimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by excog
For Holocaust Memorial Day, the extraordinary story of Peter Kien, the Jewish artist who depicted life in the Theresienstadt Ghetto and the 55 year-long battle to retrieve them.

His artworks will now be held by the @wienerlibrary.bsky.social

www.thetimes.com/article/517f...
Holocaust victim’s rescued artwork captures life in a Jewish ghetto
The works of Peter Kien, a Jewish painter and writer who died in Auschwitz, have been reunited after more than 80 years thanks to a love passed down generations
www.thetimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Reposted by excog
🎧: With Nigel Farage pledging to abolish the BBC licence fee, can we future-proof the broadcaster? Alan Rusbridger and @lionelbarber.bsky.social speak to two experts.
How to protect the BBC from its enemies
With Farage pledging to abolish the licence fee, can we future-proof the broadcaster?
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 5:46 PM
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"The Movement was founded in Belgium with the aim to unite “populist and conservative movements in Europe”, defending “national sovereignty”, “effective national borders”, the “fight against radical Islam”, and “the defence of Israel as a sovereign state on its historic land”. "
January 26, 2026 at 5:55 PM
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#Gaza
#BoardofPeace

Trump’s 'Board of Peace' is the nail in Gaza’s coffin

Jonathan Cook, 25 Jan, 2026

jonathancook.substack.com/p/listen-tru...

⚪ 19 min audio podcast with original article and timeline sim. transcript
Listen: Trump’s 'Board of Peace' is the nail in Gaza’s coffin
Read by Matthew Alford
jonathancook.substack.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:47 PM
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#ICE

The murder of Renée Good and Alex Pretti has resonated round the world, fully confirming to those not yet convinced the malevolent nature of Trump's presidency.
January 26, 2026 at 2:31 PM