Lee Howgate
@jlh1919.bsky.social
Teacher. Formerly FCO Russia, EU. LibDem Parliamentary candidate and councillor 2019-23.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
It's been 131 days since Trump threatened Putin with a 50-day deadline. Instead, he wants Ukraine to sign a deal that hands over, currently controlled, territory to Russia.
November 22, 2025 at 2:20 PM
It's been 131 days since Trump threatened Putin with a 50-day deadline. Instead, he wants Ukraine to sign a deal that hands over, currently controlled, territory to Russia.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
I spent a quarter century being lectured by libertarians and republicans about how minimal government oversight of large companies was radical socialism
and if you mentioned nationalizing stuff like telecom for the public good they'd have a six week embolism
and if you mentioned nationalizing stuff like telecom for the public good they'd have a six week embolism
CNBC: So we should expect the US government to be taking more equity stakes in businesses around the country?
KEVIN HASSETT: It's possible, yeah. That's absolutely right.
KEVIN HASSETT: It's possible, yeah. That's absolutely right.
August 25, 2025 at 5:25 PM
I spent a quarter century being lectured by libertarians and republicans about how minimal government oversight of large companies was radical socialism
and if you mentioned nationalizing stuff like telecom for the public good they'd have a six week embolism
and if you mentioned nationalizing stuff like telecom for the public good they'd have a six week embolism
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Don't think for a moment Zelenskyy wd accept this deal (it wd be political suicide), but if he did, it wd be catastrophic both for Ukraine & for Europe. Far from "laying the groundwork" for a final peace settlement, it wd prepare the ground for Putin to renew fighting from a much better position.
⚡️US, Russia discuss deal to cement Moscow's hold on occupied Ukrainian territories, Bloomberg reports.
The proposed deal is aimed at freezing the conflict and laying the groundwork for a ceasefire and technical negotiations toward a final peace settlement, the news agency reported.
The proposed deal is aimed at freezing the conflict and laying the groundwork for a ceasefire and technical negotiations toward a final peace settlement, the news agency reported.
US, Russia discuss deal to cement Moscow's hold on occupied Ukrainian territories, Bloomberg reports
The proposed deal is aimed at freezing the conflict and laying the groundwork for a ceasefire and technical negotiations toward a final peace settlement, the news agency reported.
kyivindependent.com
August 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Don't think for a moment Zelenskyy wd accept this deal (it wd be political suicide), but if he did, it wd be catastrophic both for Ukraine & for Europe. Far from "laying the groundwork" for a final peace settlement, it wd prepare the ground for Putin to renew fighting from a much better position.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Think about how insane this is. I know we normalize every abnormal thing Trump does, & he floods the zone & numbs us, but a leading media organizing rolling over & agreeing to pay $16m to the president because he didn’t like how they edited an interview?? What country is this?
BREAKING
Paramount has settled the lawsuit President Trump filed against it for the 60 Minutes interview of Kamala Harris.
Paramount will pay $16 million in total including fees and expenses.
The money, minus fees and expenses, will go to President Trump’s future presidential library.
Paramount has settled the lawsuit President Trump filed against it for the 60 Minutes interview of Kamala Harris.
Paramount will pay $16 million in total including fees and expenses.
The money, minus fees and expenses, will go to President Trump’s future presidential library.
July 2, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Think about how insane this is. I know we normalize every abnormal thing Trump does, & he floods the zone & numbs us, but a leading media organizing rolling over & agreeing to pay $16m to the president because he didn’t like how they edited an interview?? What country is this?
Fine. What are his views on cricket?
Amit Shah claims the language is a legacy of colonial rule and should be be stamped out, but critics accuse him of wanting to disenfranchise the poor
Indians should be ashamed to speak English, says Modi’s minister
Amit Shah claims the language is a legacy of colonial rule and should be be stamped out, but critics accuse him of wanting to disenfranchise the poor
www.thetimes.com
June 23, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Fine. What are his views on cricket?
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Rubio on CBS: "This wasn't a regime change move."
Vance on ABC: "Well, first of all, we don't want to achieve regime change."
Vance on NBC: "our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change."
Trump, not waiting even 24 hours to undercut and humiliate them:
Vance on ABC: "Well, first of all, we don't want to achieve regime change."
Vance on NBC: "our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change."
Trump, not waiting even 24 hours to undercut and humiliate them:
June 22, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Rubio on CBS: "This wasn't a regime change move."
Vance on ABC: "Well, first of all, we don't want to achieve regime change."
Vance on NBC: "our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change."
Trump, not waiting even 24 hours to undercut and humiliate them:
Vance on ABC: "Well, first of all, we don't want to achieve regime change."
Vance on NBC: "our view has been very clear that we don't want a regime change."
Trump, not waiting even 24 hours to undercut and humiliate them:
Reposted by Lee Howgate
I feel like Musk could really blow MAGA's collective minds just by continuing to tweet out facts the rest of us have known for years but never penetrated their media bubble.
June 5, 2025 at 8:13 PM
I feel like Musk could really blow MAGA's collective minds just by continuing to tweet out facts the rest of us have known for years but never penetrated their media bubble.
Spot on- remember the signal, not the noise. Love for authoritarians like Putin is Trump's default, and it will soon resume.
Don't be fooled by any of Trump's performative BS. Unless he actually pushes for sanctions, this is the crocodile tears of a narcissistic sociopath. Also, note that he blames Zelensky as much as Putin for the war--those bad Ukrainians, asking to be invaded!
May 26, 2025 at 7:31 AM
Spot on- remember the signal, not the noise. Love for authoritarians like Putin is Trump's default, and it will soon resume.
Wonderful stuff.
STAR WARS was released 47 years ago today. Hollywood’s biggest movie phenomenon, and the film that launched the career of star Harrison Ford, the behind the scenes story is as spectacular as blowing up the Death Star…
1/37
1/37
May 25, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Wonderful stuff.
Beyond parody.
‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t afford to go on five holidays’
This is a GENUINE article published just now in The Telegraph.
This is a GENUINE article published just now in The Telegraph.
‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’
Labour’s VAT raid forces six-figure families to make lifestyle sacrifices
www.telegraph.co.uk
May 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Beyond parody.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Give this meme the Pulitzer
May 24, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Give this meme the Pulitzer
Reposted by Lee Howgate
14 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones were aimed at Kyiv last night. This is Putin's follow up to his two hour chat with Trump
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Ukraine war briefing: Multiple injuries as Russia attacks Kyiv with drones and missiles
Explosions heard across capital and fires ignited while Russia and Ukraine begin largest prisoner swap of war. What we know on day 1,186
www.theguardian.com
May 24, 2025 at 10:09 AM
14 ballistic missiles and dozens of drones were aimed at Kyiv last night. This is Putin's follow up to his two hour chat with Trump
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Reposted by Lee Howgate
The U.S. House panel in charge of overhauling Medicaid by cutting hundreds of billions in spending wrapped up debate on its bill Wednesday. If passed, about 10.3 million people would lose access to Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. buff.ly/VJpEeZE
U.S. House panel passes GOP plan that cuts Medicaid by $625B, adds work requirement • Ohio Capital Journal
The U.S. House panel in charge of overhauling Medicaid by cutting hundreds of billions in federal spending wrapped up debate on its bill Wednesday. If passed, about 10.3 million people would lose…
buff.ly
May 14, 2025 at 10:00 PM
The U.S. House panel in charge of overhauling Medicaid by cutting hundreds of billions in spending wrapped up debate on its bill Wednesday. If passed, about 10.3 million people would lose access to Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. buff.ly/VJpEeZE
Reposted by Lee Howgate
1. This is Piles Copse, the largest remaining fragment of high-ground temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. It’s a tiny speck of green in a dismal, human-made desert. Prepare yourselves for a story of breathtaking perversity, told in this thread. (There’s a one-page version at the bottom). 🧵
May 11, 2025 at 8:55 AM
1. This is Piles Copse, the largest remaining fragment of high-ground temperate rainforest on Dartmoor. It’s a tiny speck of green in a dismal, human-made desert. Prepare yourselves for a story of breathtaking perversity, told in this thread. (There’s a one-page version at the bottom). 🧵
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Are we really surprised that he’s selling Trump 2028 hats?
April 24, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Are we really surprised that he’s selling Trump 2028 hats?
I seem to remember some in the US back then describing the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys"...
if you lived through the lead up to the iraq war then you know that this is the most delusional thing anyone has ever said
VP lecturing "the Europeans" again:
"...if the Europeans had been a little more independent, and a little more willing to stand up, then maybe we could have saved the entire world from the strategic disaster that was the American-led invasion of Iraq."
Yes, pity Paris and Berlin were so pro-war...
"...if the Europeans had been a little more independent, and a little more willing to stand up, then maybe we could have saved the entire world from the strategic disaster that was the American-led invasion of Iraq."
Yes, pity Paris and Berlin were so pro-war...
April 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
I seem to remember some in the US back then describing the French as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys"...
Reposted by Lee Howgate
This is quite fun.
“America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing.”
• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree
“I would be better off if I worked in a factory.”
• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory
t.co/ycnHVZ1gT1
“America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing.”
• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree
“I would be better off if I worked in a factory.”
• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory
t.co/ycnHVZ1gT1
April 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
This is quite fun.
“America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing.”
• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree
“I would be better off if I worked in a factory.”
• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory
t.co/ycnHVZ1gT1
“America would be better off if more people worked in manufacturing.”
• 80% of Americans agree
• 20% disagree
“I would be better off if I worked in a factory.”
• 25% of Americans agree
• 73% disagree
• 2% currently work in a factory
t.co/ycnHVZ1gT1
Reposted by Lee Howgate
We spent three years with the entire national media obsessing about how Real Folkz were Suffering From Inflation™️ while a Democrat was president. Now, Trump is back & a $2500 annual hit to households is being treated as nothing at all. Hard not to see a double standard.
bsky.app/profile/chri...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
This is driving me crazy too. Not long ago 10% universal tariffs were considered the worst-case scenario, something even Trump wasn’t crazy enough to impose. Now have those PLUS 125% tariffs on China. Together, these raise raise inflation by about as much as original “Liberation Day” tariffs did!
why is *every* newspaper/programme running with the headline "tariffs are paused" when they haven't been.
What's happened is that every country (except China) gets a flat rate of 10% for 90 days.
What's happened is that every country (except China) gets a flat rate of 10% for 90 days.
April 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
We spent three years with the entire national media obsessing about how Real Folkz were Suffering From Inflation™️ while a Democrat was president. Now, Trump is back & a $2500 annual hit to households is being treated as nothing at all. Hard not to see a double standard.
bsky.app/profile/chri...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Fun fact: the entire cost of America's war effort in World War II (all the weapons, ammunition, equipment, deployments, Manhattan Project, etc) was about $5.95 trn in 2025 prices.
The total US stock market losses from the Trump tariffs in only 2 days have already passed $6.6 trn.
The total US stock market losses from the Trump tariffs in only 2 days have already passed $6.6 trn.
April 5, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Fun fact: the entire cost of America's war effort in World War II (all the weapons, ammunition, equipment, deployments, Manhattan Project, etc) was about $5.95 trn in 2025 prices.
The total US stock market losses from the Trump tariffs in only 2 days have already passed $6.6 trn.
The total US stock market losses from the Trump tariffs in only 2 days have already passed $6.6 trn.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
This is what we now really look like versus the rest of our trading partners.
April 3, 2025 at 5:41 PM
This is what we now really look like versus the rest of our trading partners.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
The standout madness in the general madness are the enormous tariffs on South East Asia which, if these stick, is going to magnify China's sphere of influence. Geopolitical lunacy.
April 2, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The standout madness in the general madness are the enormous tariffs on South East Asia which, if these stick, is going to magnify China's sphere of influence. Geopolitical lunacy.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
EU supposedly charges the EU 39%, US will charge them 20%.
(The EU weighted average tariff is actually 2.7%).
(The EU weighted average tariff is actually 2.7%).
April 2, 2025 at 8:28 PM
EU supposedly charges the EU 39%, US will charge them 20%.
(The EU weighted average tariff is actually 2.7%).
(The EU weighted average tariff is actually 2.7%).
Reposted by Lee Howgate
Trump seems to think that he got rid of Nafta in his first term rather than making some moderate alterations and changing its name to USMCA.
April 2, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Trump seems to think that he got rid of Nafta in his first term rather than making some moderate alterations and changing its name to USMCA.
Reposted by Lee Howgate
1/ The Trump Administration's apparent intention to destroy Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty leads to a bleak conclusion: the United States is no longer interested in promoting democracy, because it's no longer interested in democracy.
March 16, 2025 at 10:13 AM
1/ The Trump Administration's apparent intention to destroy Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty leads to a bleak conclusion: the United States is no longer interested in promoting democracy, because it's no longer interested in democracy.
It is hard to think of a more fitting metaphor than Trump shutting down the Voice of America and Radio Liberty.
March 16, 2025 at 10:26 AM
It is hard to think of a more fitting metaphor than Trump shutting down the Voice of America and Radio Liberty.