Harry Stopes
@harrystopes.bsky.social
Historian and journalist. Writing a book on the history of prison. Mancunian in Berlin. www.harrystopes.com for work, and www.harrystopes.substack.com for somewhat work-related musings.
Pinned
Harry Stopes | Police Violence in Berlin
In the last six months human rights officials at both the Council of Europe and the United Nations have written to the...
www.lrb.co.uk
For more than 2 years, police in Berlin - encouraged by city and national politicians - have systematically used excessive violence in an attempt to beat the Palestine solidarity movement into silence.
I wrote about this phenomenon for the @lrb.co.uk
I wrote about this phenomenon for the @lrb.co.uk
Reposted by Harry Stopes
This latest shitshow is another reminder why Starmer needs to go - not in May but now. He is not willing or capable of playing the role of PM. He is vindicating the far-right and demoralising the left. He should be removed for being bad for the country not merely losing Labour elections
December 29, 2025 at 11:27 AM
This latest shitshow is another reminder why Starmer needs to go - not in May but now. He is not willing or capable of playing the role of PM. He is vindicating the far-right and demoralising the left. He should be removed for being bad for the country not merely losing Labour elections
In this day and age it does my head in that there are news and opinion articles which consist entirely of 'this person's tweets are controversial / objectionable', where the content of all of the contested tweets is not shared in full.
December 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
In this day and age it does my head in that there are news and opinion articles which consist entirely of 'this person's tweets are controversial / objectionable', where the content of all of the contested tweets is not shared in full.
Reposted by Harry Stopes
There should be literally no circumstances, ever, where citizenship is can be revoked. If you literally sign up to fight for an opposing army in a war, then we should prosecute you for treason not revoke citizenship
Hell, I'm not convinced we should revoke citizenship at all.
But certainly not for being a twat online.
But certainly not for being a twat online.
December 29, 2025 at 10:40 AM
There should be literally no circumstances, ever, where citizenship is can be revoked. If you literally sign up to fight for an opposing army in a war, then we should prosecute you for treason not revoke citizenship
Reposted by Harry Stopes
You can tell this man's opinions have no value by how cheaply he sells them. I won't tell you guys what I think about anything for less than $100K
December 28, 2025 at 9:01 PM
You can tell this man's opinions have no value by how cheaply he sells them. I won't tell you guys what I think about anything for less than $100K
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Ah, what happened to the concerns about wasting police time over tweets?
It was all a long time ago and anyway, the BBC used to be racist too
December 29, 2025 at 9:46 AM
Ah, what happened to the concerns about wasting police time over tweets?
Reposted by Harry Stopes
“The main way the genocide has been actively supported by our democracies is less the flow of weapons and intelligence to Israel, than the organised repression and punishment of everyone who dared to call attention to events in Gaza or offer criticism of Israel’s conduct.”
— Bruno Maçães
— Bruno Maçães
December 26, 2025 at 9:10 AM
“The main way the genocide has been actively supported by our democracies is less the flow of weapons and intelligence to Israel, than the organised repression and punishment of everyone who dared to call attention to events in Gaza or offer criticism of Israel’s conduct.”
— Bruno Maçães
— Bruno Maçães
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Today, 1.25 million kids will spend the holiday without their parent because of mass incarceration.
December 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Today, 1.25 million kids will spend the holiday without their parent because of mass incarceration.
Reposted by Harry Stopes
“Since the announcement of their hunger strike on 20 October till 10 December 2025, the hunger strike by jailed Palestine Action activists was mentioned a total of 12 times in the British mainstream newspapers.”
That is so damning and grim.
That is so damning and grim.
The UK media’s silence on the Palestine Action activists’ hunger strikes is a deliberate editorial choice - Media@LSE
LSE's Professor Bart Cammaerts discusses the lack of coverage of the hunger strikes of imprisoned Palestine Action activists in the UK media.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
December 22, 2025 at 1:42 PM
“Since the announcement of their hunger strike on 20 October till 10 December 2025, the hunger strike by jailed Palestine Action activists was mentioned a total of 12 times in the British mainstream newspapers.”
That is so damning and grim.
That is so damning and grim.
Car drivers have unilaterally decided that pavements are for cars, then get annoyed with you when you walk on the road with a pram because they have left no space
December 22, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Car drivers have unilaterally decided that pavements are for cars, then get annoyed with you when you walk on the road with a pram because they have left no space
Reposted by Harry Stopes
when your "Innellekshuals! Learn from Amurka" text opens with 3 paragraphs citing the Great Mind Thomas Friedman whose 40+ yr career of mangled tech-metaphor belching is taken seriously only by the kind of crashing transatlanticist bore who knows nothing about contemporary American political thought
SZ mit fulminanter folgeberichterstattung zur Züricher Konferenz, nun war sogar Ulf Poschardt selbst da.
Much Journalizm
www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/polyz...
Much Journalizm
www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/polyz...
December 22, 2025 at 11:30 AM
when your "Innellekshuals! Learn from Amurka" text opens with 3 paragraphs citing the Great Mind Thomas Friedman whose 40+ yr career of mangled tech-metaphor belching is taken seriously only by the kind of crashing transatlanticist bore who knows nothing about contemporary American political thought
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Absolute *chef's kiss* to put these two things in the same editorial
"Death to Arabs" - welcome to England, friends
"Globalize the Intifada" - get in the van, scum
"Death to Arabs" - welcome to England, friends
"Globalize the Intifada" - get in the van, scum
Nobody behaves like this, who believes they will ever face more serious negative consequences for their relentlessly horrific behaviour than being scolded for it by the public on X, The Everything App
December 19, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Absolute *chef's kiss* to put these two things in the same editorial
"Death to Arabs" - welcome to England, friends
"Globalize the Intifada" - get in the van, scum
"Death to Arabs" - welcome to England, friends
"Globalize the Intifada" - get in the van, scum
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Don't steal pies this Christmas.
December 16, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Don't steal pies this Christmas.
Great example of half-arsed provision for parents. (Read closely)
December 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Great example of half-arsed provision for parents. (Read closely)
If you believe this list, Gyokeres is better than every one of his Arsenal teammates bar Declan Rice...
The 100 best male footballers in the world 2025 – Nos 100-11
Scott McTominay has come in at 19th in the world in our rankings and is joined by Declan Rice and Désiré Doué for places 40 to 11
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 8:25 PM
If you believe this list, Gyokeres is better than every one of his Arsenal teammates bar Declan Rice...
Reposted by Harry Stopes
I think that would be a worthwhile contribution to what should be a mutually respectful dialogue in which no one is talked over and in which everyones humanity & fears are acknowledged and understood. I'm sure no one appealing to those principles would want to exclude Palestinians from that dialogue
December 18, 2025 at 10:11 AM
I think that would be a worthwhile contribution to what should be a mutually respectful dialogue in which no one is talked over and in which everyones humanity & fears are acknowledged and understood. I'm sure no one appealing to those principles would want to exclude Palestinians from that dialogue
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Bearing in mind what Edward Said had to say about who has "permission to narrate", it would be good to hear from Arabic speakers in general and Palestinians in particular about their word and concept for "uprising", what it means to them, and what they make of the Western debate about that word.
December 18, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Bearing in mind what Edward Said had to say about who has "permission to narrate", it would be good to hear from Arabic speakers in general and Palestinians in particular about their word and concept for "uprising", what it means to them, and what they make of the Western debate about that word.
the only thing more ridiculous than a professional Yorkshireman is a professional Yorkshireman who’s actually from Watford www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
You be the judge: should my husband stop calling all sweet things ‘buns’?
Parveen doesn’t know if she’s getting a sponge cake or a burger bap, but Joe thinks she needs to embrace his northern-isms. You decide who is sweet and who is sour
www.theguardian.com
December 18, 2025 at 10:18 AM
the only thing more ridiculous than a professional Yorkshireman is a professional Yorkshireman who’s actually from Watford www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Includes me exposing the myth that Cambridge somehow earned its way into its leadership position in UK life sciences. It didn't. Leeds was in the lead, and then the Medical Research Council in London picked Cambridge and London as winners because it was their mates.
December 12, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Includes me exposing the myth that Cambridge somehow earned its way into its leadership position in UK life sciences. It didn't. Leeds was in the lead, and then the Medical Research Council in London picked Cambridge and London as winners because it was their mates.
Reposted by Harry Stopes
For those of you just waking up - Leeds mass transit has been cancelled.
Remember when HS2 to Leeds was cancelled by the NIC's shitty maths and fundamental lack of expertise, and Leeds was thrown the bone of "you'll get trams" and I said those would never be delivered?
Yeah, as I was saying...
Yeah, as I was saying...
December 18, 2025 at 7:47 AM
For those of you just waking up - Leeds mass transit has been cancelled.
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Interesting numbers, but how will this play with the imaginary voter Morgan has made up in his mind
YouGov snap poll found rejoining Erasmus UK-EU study exchange scheme is 65-12
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
Labour 81-4 (+77)
LibDem 85-4 (+81)
Cons 57-21 (+36)
Reform 40-33 (+7)
By 2026, specific "closer cooperation" proposals generate a positive "wedge" effect for Labour: unite centre-left, split elites from voters on right
December 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Interesting numbers, but how will this play with the imaginary voter Morgan has made up in his mind
unbelievably tinpot
"Russia Russia Russia" is a highlight for me
"Russia Russia Russia" is a highlight for me
Per @garretthaake.bsky.social, the extremely tacky "presidential wall of fame" that lines the colonnade to the West Wing now has obviously-Trump-penned plaques insulting or praising the presidents.
December 17, 2025 at 6:11 PM
unbelievably tinpot
"Russia Russia Russia" is a highlight for me
"Russia Russia Russia" is a highlight for me
Police (under extremely blatant political pressure) have announced that they will arrest people for an “offence” that the CPS has told them they can’t prosecute.
The situation potentially developing here sounds a lot like Berlin at the moment. 🧵
The situation potentially developing here sounds a lot like Berlin at the moment. 🧵
Context for this: the police acknowledge that they have been told this is not a crime. Barring legislation to make it a crime in the meantime: how happy are we with legislators saying they welcome police arresting people that they know have not committed a criminal offence?
December 17, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Police (under extremely blatant political pressure) have announced that they will arrest people for an “offence” that the CPS has told them they can’t prosecute.
The situation potentially developing here sounds a lot like Berlin at the moment. 🧵
The situation potentially developing here sounds a lot like Berlin at the moment. 🧵
my solidarity over a gap of 238 years to the men I just wrote about who escaped from the Philadelphia prison in 1787 via the city sewers, and were only recaptured after "a long and vigilant subterraneous pursuit."
December 17, 2025 at 3:24 PM
my solidarity over a gap of 238 years to the men I just wrote about who escaped from the Philadelphia prison in 1787 via the city sewers, and were only recaptured after "a long and vigilant subterraneous pursuit."
Reposted by Harry Stopes
At the risk of hugging the third rail, the truth of the academic job market, at least in history or classics, is neither DEI or anti-DEI.
It is that that 1) there are no jobs and 2) our hiring culture treats candidates like they 'spoil' after a few years.
No one knows who is mediocre or not.
It is that that 1) there are no jobs and 2) our hiring culture treats candidates like they 'spoil' after a few years.
No one knows who is mediocre or not.
December 17, 2025 at 6:43 AM
At the risk of hugging the third rail, the truth of the academic job market, at least in history or classics, is neither DEI or anti-DEI.
It is that that 1) there are no jobs and 2) our hiring culture treats candidates like they 'spoil' after a few years.
No one knows who is mediocre or not.
It is that that 1) there are no jobs and 2) our hiring culture treats candidates like they 'spoil' after a few years.
No one knows who is mediocre or not.
Reposted by Harry Stopes
Everyone who matters is now 100% committed to lying about what has happened until everyone implicated in it is retired or dead. And that’s going to be a long time, because every new escalation in lying and crackdowns is going to incriminate a whole new swathe of important people, for years to come.
December 17, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Everyone who matters is now 100% committed to lying about what has happened until everyone implicated in it is retired or dead. And that’s going to be a long time, because every new escalation in lying and crackdowns is going to incriminate a whole new swathe of important people, for years to come.