Reposted by Flakmagnet
POST-MUNICH ROUNDUP
This was an important conference.
Rubio, Walz tried their best to reassure Europe that they weren’t about to abandon the continent, while making it perfectly clear it was up to the continent to defend itself without America - the burden sharing argument. That’s something every
This was an important conference.
Rubio, Walz tried their best to reassure Europe that they weren’t about to abandon the continent, while making it perfectly clear it was up to the continent to defend itself without America - the burden sharing argument. That’s something every
February 16, 2026 at 7:11 AM
POST-MUNICH ROUNDUP
This was an important conference.
Rubio, Walz tried their best to reassure Europe that they weren’t about to abandon the continent, while making it perfectly clear it was up to the continent to defend itself without America - the burden sharing argument. That’s something every
This was an important conference.
Rubio, Walz tried their best to reassure Europe that they weren’t about to abandon the continent, while making it perfectly clear it was up to the continent to defend itself without America - the burden sharing argument. That’s something every
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Re: Navalny: one point of using a synthesized frog toxin, which the published literature shows THE EXACT SAME LAB that made the Novichok worked out a synthesis pathway, is the reverse of plausible deniability. It's "implausible deniability", a "hahahaha we did and you know we did it"
February 16, 2026 at 9:39 AM
Re: Navalny: one point of using a synthesized frog toxin, which the published literature shows THE EXACT SAME LAB that made the Novichok worked out a synthesis pathway, is the reverse of plausible deniability. It's "implausible deniability", a "hahahaha we did and you know we did it"
Reposted by Flakmagnet
The brilliant Cody Dahler talks "Sir" Jim Ratcliffe 👏👏 🐀 🐁
February 12, 2026 at 2:52 PM
The brilliant Cody Dahler talks "Sir" Jim Ratcliffe 👏👏 🐀 🐁
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Long after it lost the ability to turn up on your doorstep with a warship and stiffly worded letter suggesting you stop that shit *right now*, Britain retained a hell of a lot of soft power.
Remarkable to see this government pissing a key part of that down the drain.
Remarkable to see this government pissing a key part of that down the drain.
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Long after it lost the ability to turn up on your doorstep with a warship and stiffly worded letter suggesting you stop that shit *right now*, Britain retained a hell of a lot of soft power.
Remarkable to see this government pissing a key part of that down the drain.
Remarkable to see this government pissing a key part of that down the drain.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
FWIW, after 2+ decades in 🇬🇧 diplomacy my settled view is that BBCWS is *the* (not *a*) vital element of British soft power and the continued attacks on its funding are nothing short of barbaric and self defeating.
February 15, 2026 at 8:51 PM
FWIW, after 2+ decades in 🇬🇧 diplomacy my settled view is that BBCWS is *the* (not *a*) vital element of British soft power and the continued attacks on its funding are nothing short of barbaric and self defeating.
Me when neurotypicals have a surface-level whinge about their mental health without wishing to genuinely face their issues:
February 15, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Me when neurotypicals have a surface-level whinge about their mental health without wishing to genuinely face their issues:
Reposted by Flakmagnet
One can make the case for requiring either a UK passport or some further documentation for dual British nationals to enter the country (this is true for eg the US). But making this change rapidly and getting a certificate so expensive is yet another Home Office cockup. Why always so draconian?
Gabrielle was all set for a routine trip from Australia to the UK. Then the rules for dual citizens suddenly changed
From 25 February all dual citizens visiting the UK must use their British passport, leaving many scrambling to get their documents in order
www.theguardian.com
February 13, 2026 at 2:17 PM
One can make the case for requiring either a UK passport or some further documentation for dual British nationals to enter the country (this is true for eg the US). But making this change rapidly and getting a certificate so expensive is yet another Home Office cockup. Why always so draconian?
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Reut Yamen, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Paragon, the Israeli spyware company, posted on LinkedIn an image of what appears to be Graphite, the surveillance software which Paragon licensed to ICE. Shows the information it picks up from a phone.
(H/t @peterallison.net)
(H/t @peterallison.net)
February 13, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Reut Yamen, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Paragon, the Israeli spyware company, posted on LinkedIn an image of what appears to be Graphite, the surveillance software which Paragon licensed to ICE. Shows the information it picks up from a phone.
(H/t @peterallison.net)
(H/t @peterallison.net)
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Very good from @verybrexitproblems.bsky.social
February 12, 2026 at 8:52 PM
Very good from @verybrexitproblems.bsky.social
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Thread (read up)
I would LOVE to have a look at SpaceX's financials, I have to imagine that they're comedy gold
February 11, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Thread (read up)
Reposted by Flakmagnet
A senior MoD official helps shape defence strategy, then joins Palantir.
Months later, Palantir lands a £240m MoD contract without tender.
No laws broken – just the revolving door doing what it does best.
Months later, Palantir lands a £240m MoD contract without tender.
No laws broken – just the revolving door doing what it does best.
The great Ministry of Defence-to-Palantir pipeline
Senior defence officials are moving into Palantir roles as the company secures ever-deeper footholds across government
eastangliabylines.co.uk
February 9, 2026 at 8:09 AM
A senior MoD official helps shape defence strategy, then joins Palantir.
Months later, Palantir lands a £240m MoD contract without tender.
No laws broken – just the revolving door doing what it does best.
Months later, Palantir lands a £240m MoD contract without tender.
No laws broken – just the revolving door doing what it does best.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
I really do think this is an excellent metaphor for the moment.
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
VC, founder, dumbass
February 9, 2026 at 5:09 AM
I really do think this is an excellent metaphor for the moment.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Taxing billionaires out of existence may be the most critical domestic policy fight of our lifetimes.
Former Washington Post journalists have launched a GoFundMe to help repatriate fired staff members who are effectively stranded in foreign countries.
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
One of the richest men in the world fired them from the paper and didn’t even pay to ensure they got home.
Abolish the billionaire class:
Donate to Support for Washington Post international employees, organized by Michelle Lee
Among the hundreds of journalists laid off by The Washington Post on … Michelle Lee needs your support for Support for Washington Post international employees
www.gofundme.com
February 8, 2026 at 4:40 AM
Taxing billionaires out of existence may be the most critical domestic policy fight of our lifetimes.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
“In a shocking interview with LBC, Lady Victoria Hervey, who briefly dated the former prince Andrew in 1999, said if you’re not in the Epstein Files you”re “a loser”.”
Who Runs The World?
We now know —The Epstein Files told us
open.substack.com
February 8, 2026 at 10:39 AM
“In a shocking interview with LBC, Lady Victoria Hervey, who briefly dated the former prince Andrew in 1999, said if you’re not in the Epstein Files you”re “a loser”.”
Reposted by Flakmagnet
McSweeney is gone. Time for Starmer to try to salvage his government by launching long overdue proper action to address all the flaws in our political system - peerages, patronage, cronyism, party finances, MPs revolving door, appointments, ministerial code, business interests, Leveson, etc etc.
I wrote this yesterday - Starmer could still turn his premiership around, if he finally, FINALLY, finds the courage to address the grubby circs which allow people like Mandelson to rise so far. bylinetimes.com/2026/02/07/t...
'The Mandelson-Epstein Scandal Is an Opportunity for Starmer to Radically Reform Our Broken Politics'
The Prime Minister should use this moment to shine a light on the dark forces corrupting our democracy, argues former British diplomat Alexandra Hall Hall
bylinetimes.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:40 PM
McSweeney is gone. Time for Starmer to try to salvage his government by launching long overdue proper action to address all the flaws in our political system - peerages, patronage, cronyism, party finances, MPs revolving door, appointments, ministerial code, business interests, Leveson, etc etc.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Only in the UK can we have the son of a KGB officer in the House of Lords who owns the laughably titled Independent
A country where an unhinged foreign paedo dictator is given a totally free rape pass by the MSM who only ever attack their own Govt
Any investigations into any of this🧐
Oh wait
A country where an unhinged foreign paedo dictator is given a totally free rape pass by the MSM who only ever attack their own Govt
Any investigations into any of this🧐
Oh wait
February 3, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Only in the UK can we have the son of a KGB officer in the House of Lords who owns the laughably titled Independent
A country where an unhinged foreign paedo dictator is given a totally free rape pass by the MSM who only ever attack their own Govt
Any investigations into any of this🧐
Oh wait
A country where an unhinged foreign paedo dictator is given a totally free rape pass by the MSM who only ever attack their own Govt
Any investigations into any of this🧐
Oh wait
Reposted by Flakmagnet
If one woman accuses a man they’ll say she’s lying, because she’s only one person. If more than a dozen women accuse a man they’ll say they’re all lying, it must be a coordinated campaign
June 25, 2025 at 12:25 AM
If one woman accuses a man they’ll say she’s lying, because she’s only one person. If more than a dozen women accuse a man they’ll say they’re all lying, it must be a coordinated campaign
Reposted by Flakmagnet
‘U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is heading to Brussels to dissuade the European Commission from shutting Britain out of its proposed “Made in Europe” initiative.’
UK not in the room where it happens. Again. Left to begging for an audience.
www.politico.eu/article/uk-t...
UK not in the room where it happens. Again. Left to begging for an audience.
www.politico.eu/article/uk-t...
Britain’s trade chief races to Brussels to avoid ‘Made in Europe’ shutout
U.K. officials fear that planned industry act could lock British firms out of key European supply chains.
www.politico.eu
February 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM
‘U.K. Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle is heading to Brussels to dissuade the European Commission from shutting Britain out of its proposed “Made in Europe” initiative.’
UK not in the room where it happens. Again. Left to begging for an audience.
www.politico.eu/article/uk-t...
UK not in the room where it happens. Again. Left to begging for an audience.
www.politico.eu/article/uk-t...
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Why Nigel Farage’s reaction to the Epstein and Mandelson scandal has been deeply hypocritical, and how his own connections to the story are much closer than he now admits
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Nigel Farage’s Epstein Hypocrisy
The Reform leader's own connections to the Jeffrey Epstein story are far deeper than he now pretends
www.adambienkov.co.uk
February 7, 2026 at 10:12 AM
Why Nigel Farage’s reaction to the Epstein and Mandelson scandal has been deeply hypocritical, and how his own connections to the story are much closer than he now admits
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Ooof!
A lot in this piece by Marina Hyde rings very true
Hey world, what exactly are you focusing on?
Remember that it was Ed Davey who during PMQs asked, what about the victims?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A lot in this piece by Marina Hyde rings very true
Hey world, what exactly are you focusing on?
Remember that it was Ed Davey who during PMQs asked, what about the victims?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
So the Epstein scandal is about politics? Silly me for thinking it’s about the mass abuse of women and girls | Marina Hyde
Obsessing over individual players and political chaos leaves less time to focus on the misogyny. And that’s for the best, isn’t it guys, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2026 at 7:30 AM
Ooof!
A lot in this piece by Marina Hyde rings very true
Hey world, what exactly are you focusing on?
Remember that it was Ed Davey who during PMQs asked, what about the victims?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A lot in this piece by Marina Hyde rings very true
Hey world, what exactly are you focusing on?
Remember that it was Ed Davey who during PMQs asked, what about the victims?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Flakmagnet
So you had a dual stitch up — the Russian/American oligarchs around Farage and Johnson, and the Russian/American oligarchs around Mandelson. Leave or remain, they didn’t want their contacts investigated. So Brexit went ahead.
Lots of things are beginning to make sense now. Given Mandelson’s role in the People’s Vote, and his proximity to Epstein and his MAGA/Russian ties, no wonder they dismissed @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on Cambridge Analytica/Vote Leave and our joint investigation into Russian interference
February 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM
So you had a dual stitch up — the Russian/American oligarchs around Farage and Johnson, and the Russian/American oligarchs around Mandelson. Leave or remain, they didn’t want their contacts investigated. So Brexit went ahead.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
The Epstein files are turning into one of those accidental historical archives of preserved records like the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Manuscript (fragments from 32BC–640AD found in an Egyptian rubbish dump). But instead of shopping lists, bills and horoscopes it’s the elite manipulating the system.
This is bleak: Jes Staley, currently CEO of Barclays, reassuring Epstein that popular revolt against financial elites is unlikely because capitalism and pop culture have defanged social movements, leaving people more invested in consumption than justice.
February 7, 2026 at 7:53 AM
The Epstein files are turning into one of those accidental historical archives of preserved records like the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Manuscript (fragments from 32BC–640AD found in an Egyptian rubbish dump). But instead of shopping lists, bills and horoscopes it’s the elite manipulating the system.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
Lots of things are beginning to make sense now. Given Mandelson’s role in the People’s Vote, and his proximity to Epstein and his MAGA/Russian ties, no wonder they dismissed @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on Cambridge Analytica/Vote Leave and our joint investigation into Russian interference
February 6, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Lots of things are beginning to make sense now. Given Mandelson’s role in the People’s Vote, and his proximity to Epstein and his MAGA/Russian ties, no wonder they dismissed @carolecadwalla.bsky.social on Cambridge Analytica/Vote Leave and our joint investigation into Russian interference
Reposted by Flakmagnet
I get people’s caution but it’s interesting, given the blanket news coverage, how little the murder-y stuff in the Epstein files has been discussed.
In 2008, Martine Vik Magnusson was raped and killed and her body dumped in a Gt Portland Street basement. Billionaire's son Farouk Abdulhak, who did it, fled back to Yemen the next morning. Here's Jeffrey Epstein seeking legal advice (from an ex-DPP) on how he could be sheltered from justice.
February 6, 2026 at 1:31 PM
I get people’s caution but it’s interesting, given the blanket news coverage, how little the murder-y stuff in the Epstein files has been discussed.
Reposted by Flakmagnet
😳
Definitely seems like they destroyed the country on purpose.
February 2, 2026 at 6:46 PM
😳