Iain King
@iainbking.com
Author, former Director of NATO Mission Iraq, diplomat and academic. Fascinated by philosophy and thrillers. CBE, likes tea.
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Iain King
@iainbking.com
· Nov 15
All - Bluesky Directory
A curated collection of all things relating to the Blue Sky social media platform.
blueskydirectory.com
The easiest way to start on BlueSky:
1: think of the topics you want to follow
2: type them in as search terms and click 'follow all' on the 'starter pack' - here: blueskydirectory.com/starter-pack...
1: think of the topics you want to follow
2: type them in as search terms and click 'follow all' on the 'starter pack' - here: blueskydirectory.com/starter-pack...
Vaccines do not cause autism - in fact, there’s a greater correlation between autism and people who haven’t been vaccinated :
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...
Measles, Mumps, Rubella Vaccination and Autism: A Nationwide Cohort Study: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 170, No 8
Background: The hypothesized link between the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism continues to cause concern and challenge vaccine uptake. Objective: To evaluate whether the MMR vaccine i...
www.acpjournals.org
January 5, 2026 at 9:00 PM
Vaccines do not cause autism - in fact, there’s a greater correlation between autism and people who haven’t been vaccinated :
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...
www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/...
If he’s found Not Guilty, will they let him go?
Okay, again, let's assume this is true. How can the United States prove this violates AMERICAN law? These are acts that occurred pursuant to Venezuelan government policy *in Venezuela*
January 4, 2026 at 5:11 AM
If he’s found Not Guilty, will they let him go?
Excellent article : Singapore (perhaps the UK’s greatest defeat in WWII) offers important lessons for today: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nat...
NATO’s 1937 moment
In 1937, British officers tried – and failed – to challenge orthodox assumptions about the defence of Singapore. Their experience offers a warning for how NATO should think about Russia today.
engelsbergideas.com
December 21, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Excellent article : Singapore (perhaps the UK’s greatest defeat in WWII) offers important lessons for today: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/nat...
Chris Rea is stuck in traffic, apparently
December 19, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Chris Rea is stuck in traffic, apparently
Brilliant analysis by Peter Kellner, which explains the long term decline in productivity (in the UK and elsewhere ) and says where to point the finger (not where you think - read to the end): kellnerp.substack.com/p/rachel-ree...
Rachel Reeves’s biggest crisis isn’t over
Productivity remains a headache. Blame big tech, not just the Tories
kellnerp.substack.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Brilliant analysis by Peter Kellner, which explains the long term decline in productivity (in the UK and elsewhere ) and says where to point the finger (not where you think - read to the end): kellnerp.substack.com/p/rachel-ree...
Sobering talk on how the human rights movement can be corrupted, but also on how it can be saved. By the ever-excellent Gerald Knaus youtu.be/nSxXjp6_54g
Why The Human Rights Movement Needs To Be Reinvented | Gerald Knaus | TEDxGraz
YouTube video by TEDx Talks
youtu.be
December 9, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Sobering talk on how the human rights movement can be corrupted, but also on how it can be saved. By the ever-excellent Gerald Knaus youtu.be/nSxXjp6_54g
Great article: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Do you feel lucky? Why acknowledging our own good fortune would make the world a better place | Julian Richer
I have been fortunate, and I know it. Now I’d like more successful people to admit that meritocracy is a myth, says Julian Richer, founder of Richer Sounds
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 7:42 AM
Great article: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Iain King
So the line is that he wasn't getting paid for any of this
November 22, 2025 at 5:33 PM
So the line is that he wasn't getting paid for any of this
A doomed attempt to establish peace in Europe, initiated by a once-defeated superpower keen to restore its credentials, and sponsored by the aloof world hyperpower, focussed on its own economy. 100 years since the Locarno Treaty. Prescient. engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
The Locarno Pact's enduring legacy
The Locarno Pact of 1925 provided the foundations for a more just, durable and peaceful European order. Although its early promise was snuffed out by the global crisis of the 1930s, the pact's guiding...
engelsbergideas.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:33 AM
A doomed attempt to establish peace in Europe, initiated by a once-defeated superpower keen to restore its credentials, and sponsored by the aloof world hyperpower, focussed on its own economy. 100 years since the Locarno Treaty. Prescient. engelsbergideas.com/essays/the-l...
Grok labels GB News impartial and suggests the BBC is propaganda:
November 15, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Grok labels GB News impartial and suggests the BBC is propaganda:
There’s a solution to this. It’s called fiction.
James Bond’s death in No Time to Die is causing a nightmare for the next film. Writers are stuck because Bond “was blown to pieces.”
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
Anthony Horowitz, author of three 007 novels, says:
“You can't have him wake up in shower and saying it was all a dream."
radaronline.com/p/james-bond...
November 11, 2025 at 3:23 PM
There’s a solution to this. It’s called fiction.
Reposted by Iain King
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
Detailed expose into how X secretly promotes pro far-right bias in the UK: news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Detailed expose into how X secretly promotes pro far-right bias in the UK: news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
This shocking image shows a settlement in Sudan where widespread killing of unarmed civilians is believed to have taken place this week. The brown-red is blood. (Full story by Kaamil Ahmed in The Guardian)
October 31, 2025 at 8:00 AM
This shocking image shows a settlement in Sudan where widespread killing of unarmed civilians is believed to have taken place this week. The brown-red is blood. (Full story by Kaamil Ahmed in The Guardian)
Is it just me, or has Threads going the way of Xitter? Many more bots spouting thoughtless material, political ragebait, and less humanity?
October 29, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Is it just me, or has Threads going the way of Xitter? Many more bots spouting thoughtless material, political ragebait, and less humanity?
Excellent journalism from Carole Cadwalladr - well worth a read
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
The glamorous TV host, the web of influence and a mysterious trip to Moscow – inside the downfall of Reform’s disgraced MEP
Ahead of a critical Welsh byelection for Reform next week, part two of our investigation into Nathan Gill uncovers the web of Russian influence that encircled him – and asks why it took so long to cha...
www.thenerve.news
October 19, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Excellent journalism from Carole Cadwalladr - well worth a read
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
Paul McCartney is probably the greatest composer of the 20th century. (If he isn’t, who is?)
I just watched Paul McCartney play 2.5 hours of time capsule-worthy classics. My verdict is that he’s the greatest songwriter in the history of rock n roll.
October 18, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Paul McCartney is probably the greatest composer of the 20th century. (If he isn’t, who is?)
Is there any way to assess - ideally, to get rigorous data on - the algorithm on X? (I’m sure it’s changed again, with politically-dubious posts promoted even more than before).
October 18, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Is there any way to assess - ideally, to get rigorous data on - the algorithm on X? (I’m sure it’s changed again, with politically-dubious posts promoted even more than before).
If large, official accounts have opened on Bluesky, then X may collapse sooner.
October 18, 2025 at 3:05 AM
If large, official accounts have opened on Bluesky, then X may collapse sooner.
Lowest ever murder rate in London:
October 15, 2025 at 9:18 AM
Lowest ever murder rate in London:
I’ve not watched BBC news for a week. It’s far too obsessed with immigration. I haven’t missed it.
October 5, 2025 at 1:13 PM
I’ve not watched BBC news for a week. It’s far too obsessed with immigration. I haven’t missed it.
Quoted from my 2006 book on Kosovo, but named as 'Liane King'
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Trump's Gaza peace plan sounds promising in theory, but clashes with reality on the ground
In Exchange for the Immediate Release of Hostages, Trump's Plan Excludes Israel's Primary Objective of the War: Destroying Hamas. Although Hamas Will Not Serve in Gaza's Interim Civil Administration, ...
www.haaretz.com
October 1, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Quoted from my 2006 book on Kosovo, but named as 'Liane King'
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Excellent article on how smart phones are creating a post-literate society, with all the grim consequences that entails (by James Marriot):
substack.com/@nickcohen/n...
substack.com/@nickcohen/n...
Nick Cohen (@nickcohen)
Brilliant piece. Every word rings true
“Politics in the age of short form video favours heightened emotion, ignorance and unevidenced assertions.”
substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Excellent article on how smart phones are creating a post-literate society, with all the grim consequences that entails (by James Marriot):
substack.com/@nickcohen/n...
substack.com/@nickcohen/n...