The Spectre Haunting Europe
@frightfulhobgoblin.bsky.social
Sometimes antisocial but always antifascist
🟥 Libertarian communist
🦋♾️ AuDHD
🚻 he/him
🏳️⚧️ Trans liberation
🇵🇸 Palestinian liberation
⚒️ Working-class liberation
🟥 Libertarian communist
🦋♾️ AuDHD
🚻 he/him
🏳️⚧️ Trans liberation
🇵🇸 Palestinian liberation
⚒️ Working-class liberation
Unfortunately, we tend to appoint them as Ambassador to the US.
Can we deport Ghislaine Maxwell back to the UK? They at least know what to do with child sex traffickers and abusers. They don't make them kings and they don't give them special treatment by sending them to a minimum security prison.
#USDemocracy
#USDemocracy
November 11, 2025 at 9:09 PM
Unfortunately, we tend to appoint them as Ambassador to the US.
Yet again: the very worst possible quality of a government is *inconsistency* - doing the right thing too late.
Thus, they get the worst of all worlds: all of the approbrium from the Left for making the wrong decision, and no credit from the Right for sticking to their guns.
Abysmal.
Thus, they get the worst of all worlds: all of the approbrium from the Left for making the wrong decision, and no credit from the Right for sticking to their guns.
Abysmal.
BREAKING: Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden announces the government will reconsider whether to award compensation to Waspi women
He said new evidence has emerged as part of the legal proceedings challenging the government's decision
He said new evidence has emerged as part of the legal proceedings challenging the government's decision
November 11, 2025 at 6:57 PM
Yet again: the very worst possible quality of a government is *inconsistency* - doing the right thing too late.
Thus, they get the worst of all worlds: all of the approbrium from the Left for making the wrong decision, and no credit from the Right for sticking to their guns.
Abysmal.
Thus, they get the worst of all worlds: all of the approbrium from the Left for making the wrong decision, and no credit from the Right for sticking to their guns.
Abysmal.
This is the power of a public counter-hegemon: a national political voice that can contest the establishment / fascist narratives spun by the right wing media. In reality, they are brittle, and can be smashed. This is the massive value of the Green Party's current trajectory.
BREAKING: The Labour Government will reconsider its block on compensation for Waspi women
Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has told the Commons the U-turn comes after 'evidence' which had not been considered in the initial decision
Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden has told the Commons the U-turn comes after 'evidence' which had not been considered in the initial decision
November 11, 2025 at 6:24 PM
This is the power of a public counter-hegemon: a national political voice that can contest the establishment / fascist narratives spun by the right wing media. In reality, they are brittle, and can be smashed. This is the massive value of the Green Party's current trajectory.
There's a seductive surface-level obsession with how minor events or the acts of a single individual can lead to world-historic shifts (the 'Great Man' theory; the Butterfly Effect etc).
November 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
There's a seductive surface-level obsession with how minor events or the acts of a single individual can lead to world-historic shifts (the 'Great Man' theory; the Butterfly Effect etc).
A group of powerful national journalists choosing to single out the healthcare of a vulnerable minority for a campaign of intense laser-like scrutiny would, in an humane society, be described as an insane radicalised pogrom.
But on Normal Island, that's a Wednesday.
But on Normal Island, that's a Wednesday.
Emily Maitlis admitting she worked at the bbc to try and get healthcare for trans people shut down
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 AM
A group of powerful national journalists choosing to single out the healthcare of a vulnerable minority for a campaign of intense laser-like scrutiny would, in an humane society, be described as an insane radicalised pogrom.
But on Normal Island, that's a Wednesday.
But on Normal Island, that's a Wednesday.
'Death By Lightning' is a staggeringly good historical drama. Shannon's performance as self-effacing and humble James A. Garfield is pitch perfect; Matthew Macfadyen's delusional and earnest Charles Guiteau is heartbreaking. Incredible evocation of Reconstruction US. Phenomenal - massive recommend.
November 10, 2025 at 10:46 PM
'Death By Lightning' is a staggeringly good historical drama. Shannon's performance as self-effacing and humble James A. Garfield is pitch perfect; Matthew Macfadyen's delusional and earnest Charles Guiteau is heartbreaking. Incredible evocation of Reconstruction US. Phenomenal - massive recommend.
Fascists: Look! This institution of state has a permanent left-wing bias! It's secretly run by communists!
Conservative pro-capitalist institution of state: Oh god we're so sorry our left-wing bias offended you, fascists. Please, accept the human sacrifice of our secret communist department head.
Conservative pro-capitalist institution of state: Oh god we're so sorry our left-wing bias offended you, fascists. Please, accept the human sacrifice of our secret communist department head.
November 10, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Fascists: Look! This institution of state has a permanent left-wing bias! It's secretly run by communists!
Conservative pro-capitalist institution of state: Oh god we're so sorry our left-wing bias offended you, fascists. Please, accept the human sacrifice of our secret communist department head.
Conservative pro-capitalist institution of state: Oh god we're so sorry our left-wing bias offended you, fascists. Please, accept the human sacrifice of our secret communist department head.
So the months of grinding expenditure of political capital, threatening, ridiculing, cajoling, suspending your own MPs - was not only morally gutless, but also wildly self-sabotaging?
Recite after me: we have always been at war with EastAsia. The two-child benefit cap has always been bad.
Recite after me: we have always been at war with EastAsia. The two-child benefit cap has always been bad.
NEW: Rachel Reeves signals she intends to remove the two-child cap *in full*
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
"I don't think a child should be penalised because they're in a bigger family through no fault of their own," she tells BBC.
November 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
So the months of grinding expenditure of political capital, threatening, ridiculing, cajoling, suspending your own MPs - was not only morally gutless, but also wildly self-sabotaging?
Recite after me: we have always been at war with EastAsia. The two-child benefit cap has always been bad.
Recite after me: we have always been at war with EastAsia. The two-child benefit cap has always been bad.
"We need to create such a hostile & unwelcoming environment for illegal migrants that the vast majority deport themselves" = make the country dysfunctional, dangerous and unlivable for everyone, because we cannot contemplate even one person liking it here. A quintessentially British sentiment.
Our entire political conversation - under a labour government - has taken a huge shift to the right.
We can't let this be normalised.
leftfootforward.org/2025/11/excl...
We can't let this be normalised.
leftfootforward.org/2025/11/excl...
EXCLUSIVE: Zack Polanski and Jeremy Corbyn slam Rupert Lowe’s ‘utterly repulsive’, and ‘deeply un-British’ social media comments
'Beyond disgusting'
leftfootforward.org
November 10, 2025 at 7:26 PM
"We need to create such a hostile & unwelcoming environment for illegal migrants that the vast majority deport themselves" = make the country dysfunctional, dangerous and unlivable for everyone, because we cannot contemplate even one person liking it here. A quintessentially British sentiment.
The BBC has a long record of doctoring footage. But consequences only seem to follow when the Right are maligned.
1984: BBC reverses order of footage of Battle of Orgreave, portraying miners as aggressors. No apology.
2017: Newsnight edits interviews with Corbyn. No apology; Kuenssberg promoted.
1984: BBC reverses order of footage of Battle of Orgreave, portraying miners as aggressors. No apology.
2017: Newsnight edits interviews with Corbyn. No apology; Kuenssberg promoted.
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
The BBC has a long record of doctoring footage. But consequences only seem to follow when the Right are maligned.
1984: BBC reverses order of footage of Battle of Orgreave, portraying miners as aggressors. No apology.
2017: Newsnight edits interviews with Corbyn. No apology; Kuenssberg promoted.
1984: BBC reverses order of footage of Battle of Orgreave, portraying miners as aggressors. No apology.
2017: Newsnight edits interviews with Corbyn. No apology; Kuenssberg promoted.
The problem with politics in a depoliticised neoliberal society (where there is only one 'choice', that of a maximally efficient market) - is that it becomes totally abstracted from issues, policies, people, etc - to mere 'message'.
And 'the message' can change at any moment, right?
... Right?
And 'the message' can change at any moment, right?
... Right?
It's a long time to the next election. I know quite a few Labour MPs and they are decent people. The message will change.
November 9, 2025 at 1:33 PM
The problem with politics in a depoliticised neoliberal society (where there is only one 'choice', that of a maximally efficient market) - is that it becomes totally abstracted from issues, policies, people, etc - to mere 'message'.
And 'the message' can change at any moment, right?
... Right?
And 'the message' can change at any moment, right?
... Right?
The First World War was so unforgivably pointless and horrifying that an entire generation of European workers very nearly overthrew capitalism for good.
War is a racket. And worse, it opens the door to social forces outside of the control of the ruling class. They forget this at their own peril.
War is a racket. And worse, it opens the door to social forces outside of the control of the ruling class. They forget this at their own peril.
November 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
The First World War was so unforgivably pointless and horrifying that an entire generation of European workers very nearly overthrew capitalism for good.
War is a racket. And worse, it opens the door to social forces outside of the control of the ruling class. They forget this at their own peril.
War is a racket. And worse, it opens the door to social forces outside of the control of the ruling class. They forget this at their own peril.
I'm sure it's a sign of a confident, secure government that it's having to tap up whatever access journalists it can to put out hit pieces on a party that currently has 4 MPs.
EXCL: The Green party is offering “simple solutions to complex problems” and making “undeliverable” promises to voters ahead of next election, PM's chief secretary Darren Jones tells me 👇
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Greens’ ‘undeliverable’ promises will let voters down, says Labour minister
Exclusive: Darren Jones says Labour has to convince young people it is ‘modern party of the future’
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 12:05 PM
I'm sure it's a sign of a confident, secure government that it's having to tap up whatever access journalists it can to put out hit pieces on a party that currently has 4 MPs.
Who is Labour for?
Older voters in 'Red Wall' ex-industrial areas have gone Reform.
Young people in London and other inner city areas have gone Green.
Looks like we're down to half a dozen polprofs who still think Starmer is playing 4D chess.
Masterful gambit sir.
Older voters in 'Red Wall' ex-industrial areas have gone Reform.
Young people in London and other inner city areas have gone Green.
Looks like we're down to half a dozen polprofs who still think Starmer is playing 4D chess.
Masterful gambit sir.
November 9, 2025 at 11:09 AM
Who is Labour for?
Older voters in 'Red Wall' ex-industrial areas have gone Reform.
Young people in London and other inner city areas have gone Green.
Looks like we're down to half a dozen polprofs who still think Starmer is playing 4D chess.
Masterful gambit sir.
Older voters in 'Red Wall' ex-industrial areas have gone Reform.
Young people in London and other inner city areas have gone Green.
Looks like we're down to half a dozen polprofs who still think Starmer is playing 4D chess.
Masterful gambit sir.
Huh I didn't know the guy who discovered the double helix in DNA was still alive
*cursory Google*
Oh NO
*cursory Google*
Oh NO
November 7, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Huh I didn't know the guy who discovered the double helix in DNA was still alive
*cursory Google*
Oh NO
*cursory Google*
Oh NO
My least radical opinion is that living well, beyond mere survival, is a fundamental human right that should not be tied to one's capacity to 'work full time'.
Poverty is an unnecessary evil in a world where we already produce more than enough for everyone. Its only use is to discipline labour.
Poverty is an unnecessary evil in a world where we already produce more than enough for everyone. Its only use is to discipline labour.
November 6, 2025 at 11:44 PM
My least radical opinion is that living well, beyond mere survival, is a fundamental human right that should not be tied to one's capacity to 'work full time'.
Poverty is an unnecessary evil in a world where we already produce more than enough for everyone. Its only use is to discipline labour.
Poverty is an unnecessary evil in a world where we already produce more than enough for everyone. Its only use is to discipline labour.
Cursory glance at the comments under the Telegraph's wall-to-wall frothing apoplexy at poppy-less David Lammy at PMQs (and, horror, being handed one halfway through which he pinned to the *wrong side of his jacket*) - 'aggressive', 'savage', 'should be in a cage' etc.
Qwhite on the nose.
Qwhite on the nose.
November 6, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Cursory glance at the comments under the Telegraph's wall-to-wall frothing apoplexy at poppy-less David Lammy at PMQs (and, horror, being handed one halfway through which he pinned to the *wrong side of his jacket*) - 'aggressive', 'savage', 'should be in a cage' etc.
Qwhite on the nose.
Qwhite on the nose.
Literal actual outright public neo-Nazism eliciting some mild tutting (masking tacit approval from equally antisemitic neoliberal elites), whilst anti-genocide activists are painted as Hitler 2.0.
www.thenational.scot/news/2559354...
www.thenational.scot/news/2559354...
'Beneath contempt': Reform UK blasted for 'antisemitic' attack on Zack Polanski
REFORM UK have been accused of "echoing Nazi propaganda" with an "antisemitic" AI-generated picture of Green Party leader Zack…
www.thenational.scot
November 6, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Literal actual outright public neo-Nazism eliciting some mild tutting (masking tacit approval from equally antisemitic neoliberal elites), whilst anti-genocide activists are painted as Hitler 2.0.
www.thenational.scot/news/2559354...
www.thenational.scot/news/2559354...
Just in case illusions have grown in the past 24 hours: the Democratic Party will learn nothing. They will continue to view Mamdani and the groundswell of grassroots activists who got him there, as childish communists who have nowhere else to go.
The next task is to prove them entirely wrong.
The next task is to prove them entirely wrong.
November 5, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Just in case illusions have grown in the past 24 hours: the Democratic Party will learn nothing. They will continue to view Mamdani and the groundswell of grassroots activists who got him there, as childish communists who have nowhere else to go.
The next task is to prove them entirely wrong.
The next task is to prove them entirely wrong.
In the closing years of the Ancien Regime in France, the King's finance ministers advised him of a strategy of confidence: using a combination of overtly lavish public consumption and secret loans to trick the public into confidence in the solvency of the Monarch.
Then, as now, it did not work.
Then, as now, it did not work.
November 5, 2025 at 3:34 PM
In the closing years of the Ancien Regime in France, the King's finance ministers advised him of a strategy of confidence: using a combination of overtly lavish public consumption and secret loans to trick the public into confidence in the solvency of the Monarch.
Then, as now, it did not work.
Then, as now, it did not work.
Whilst *another* senior partner has been caught out citing cases which have been hallucinated by AI, one of the UK's biggest law information platforms LexisNexis are pumping out cringeworthy AI slop adverts and rebranding as 'AI first'.
Feel like I'm going insaaaane
Feel like I'm going insaaaane
November 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Whilst *another* senior partner has been caught out citing cases which have been hallucinated by AI, one of the UK's biggest law information platforms LexisNexis are pumping out cringeworthy AI slop adverts and rebranding as 'AI first'.
Feel like I'm going insaaaane
Feel like I'm going insaaaane
Mamdani's victory is not only a victory over the fascist Right, it's also a fundamental repudiation of corporate Democratic strategy. The dynasty candidate literally tried to run as a wrecker against the legitimate primary candidate (with the tacit approval of Dem leadership), and *still* ate shit.
November 5, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Mamdani's victory is not only a victory over the fascist Right, it's also a fundamental repudiation of corporate Democratic strategy. The dynasty candidate literally tried to run as a wrecker against the legitimate primary candidate (with the tacit approval of Dem leadership), and *still* ate shit.
Again - Mamdani is not anyone exceptional or unique. He's just a guy who isn't a black-hearted glass-eyed corporate homunculus, who espouses policies based on basic kindness.
Every right-wing ex-social-democrat will lay claim to his victory, whilst stripping it of its threateningly humane content.
Every right-wing ex-social-democrat will lay claim to his victory, whilst stripping it of its threateningly humane content.
November 5, 2025 at 9:02 AM
Again - Mamdani is not anyone exceptional or unique. He's just a guy who isn't a black-hearted glass-eyed corporate homunculus, who espouses policies based on basic kindness.
Every right-wing ex-social-democrat will lay claim to his victory, whilst stripping it of its threateningly humane content.
Every right-wing ex-social-democrat will lay claim to his victory, whilst stripping it of its threateningly humane content.
Please god expose this weird little briefcase-clutching homunculus to even greater public scrutiny. Place his scrawny body upon the lectern, and let us see his revolting twisted form for what it truly is.
Release the sausages!
Release the sausages!
A former adviser to Keir Starmer and Tony Blair has urged the Prime Minister to reinvent himself as a 'social media star', warning that his cautious communication style is leaving voters cold
Keir Starmer told to ‘be a social media star’ in bid to win back voters
www.thenational.scot
November 4, 2025 at 10:39 PM
Please god expose this weird little briefcase-clutching homunculus to even greater public scrutiny. Place his scrawny body upon the lectern, and let us see his revolting twisted form for what it truly is.
Release the sausages!
Release the sausages!
Huh strange that 'vote blue no matter who' ceases to apply the moment the blue in question is mildly left-of-centre.
Almost as if this electoral 'coalition' was in reality merely a coercive guilt trip designed solely to prevent a third, pro-working-class party from emerging to the Democrats' Left.
Almost as if this electoral 'coalition' was in reality merely a coercive guilt trip designed solely to prevent a third, pro-working-class party from emerging to the Democrats' Left.
November 4, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Huh strange that 'vote blue no matter who' ceases to apply the moment the blue in question is mildly left-of-centre.
Almost as if this electoral 'coalition' was in reality merely a coercive guilt trip designed solely to prevent a third, pro-working-class party from emerging to the Democrats' Left.
Almost as if this electoral 'coalition' was in reality merely a coercive guilt trip designed solely to prevent a third, pro-working-class party from emerging to the Democrats' Left.