John de Waal KC
@johndewaalkc.bsky.social
Barrister at Gatehouse Chambers and Mediator at The Property Mediators. Proud Austrian citizen. Lives in London and Buckinghamshire, happiest in the mountains.
I visited this cemetery some years ago whilst working in Gaza. It was a place of peace in a troubled area. Sorry to read of this.
February 4, 2026 at 3:05 PM
I visited this cemetery some years ago whilst working in Gaza. It was a place of peace in a troubled area. Sorry to read of this.
View from where I am mediating today.
February 3, 2026 at 9:16 AM
View from where I am mediating today.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
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I think the Epstein affair is turning into the defining political scandal of our time. It is bringing into plain sight how informal networks of powerful, entitled, abusive and often sexually violent men operate outside any form of institutional scrutiny or restraint.
I really can’t keep up with this. It’s like every vague suspicion of oligarch, finance and tech power come together - with Russian influence.
Yes, you’re not imagining. Only Mandelson, Lebedev, Milner and Epstein and L’Affaire Russe
Yes, you’re not imagining. Only Mandelson, Lebedev, Milner and Epstein and L’Affaire Russe
February 2, 2026 at 6:32 PM
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Reposted by John de Waal KC
Have come across a Wulfric recently.
January 30, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Have come across a Wulfric recently.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
At this point if I was abducted by aliens 👽🛸I would consider it a rescue mission.
January 28, 2026 at 12:57 AM
At this point if I was abducted by aliens 👽🛸I would consider it a rescue mission.
Found a breakdown truck thanks
January 25, 2026 at 10:45 PM
Found a breakdown truck thanks
Greetings from the hard shoulder of the M40 where I have hit debris in the carriageway, the car is undriveable and the RAC won’t help me because ‘it’s not a mechanical failure’.
January 25, 2026 at 10:01 PM
Greetings from the hard shoulder of the M40 where I have hit debris in the carriageway, the car is undriveable and the RAC won’t help me because ‘it’s not a mechanical failure’.
View from where I am mediating today.
January 23, 2026 at 9:06 AM
View from where I am mediating today.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
As I get older and analyse politics in more psychological terms, I see the far right for what it is: the preserve of older men who mourn and resent their loss of useful knowledge and status. They hate the people who've 'replaced' them - the young, women, people of colour - and seek revenge on them.
January 21, 2026 at 6:46 PM
As I get older and analyse politics in more psychological terms, I see the far right for what it is: the preserve of older men who mourn and resent their loss of useful knowledge and status. They hate the people who've 'replaced' them - the young, women, people of colour - and seek revenge on them.
(Huddersfield) possibly not…
January 21, 2026 at 1:59 PM
(Huddersfield) possibly not…
Not bad - though not as good as the IDRC which are the best. I’m in Yorkshire btw sure you will approve!
January 21, 2026 at 1:57 PM
Not bad - though not as good as the IDRC which are the best. I’m in Yorkshire btw sure you will approve!
View from where I am mediating today.
January 21, 2026 at 10:12 AM
View from where I am mediating today.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
It's not the Monroe Doctrine 2.0, it's the “Gone-Rogue Doctrine.”
My column today for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social on Trump's Greenland gambit as performative imperialism, why “sphere of influence” politics doesn’t work any more and Europe's choices. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
My column today for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social on Trump's Greenland gambit as performative imperialism, why “sphere of influence” politics doesn’t work any more and Europe's choices. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
Europe Faces the Gone-Rogue Doctrine
The hyper-personalized new version of global sphere-of-influence politics that Donald Trump wants will fail, as it did for Russia. But, whether it fails or not, Europe must still deal with a disruptiv...
carnegieendowment.org
January 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM
It's not the Monroe Doctrine 2.0, it's the “Gone-Rogue Doctrine.”
My column today for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social on Trump's Greenland gambit as performative imperialism, why “sphere of influence” politics doesn’t work any more and Europe's choices. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
My column today for @carnegieeurope.bsky.social on Trump's Greenland gambit as performative imperialism, why “sphere of influence” politics doesn’t work any more and Europe's choices. carnegieendowment.org/europe/strat...
Quentin on a Teams call this afternoon.
January 16, 2026 at 3:23 PM
Quentin on a Teams call this afternoon.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
"Congratulations, we are cutting migration. But we have persistently high NHS waiting lists, a shortage of social care, collapsing universities, missed housebuilding targets, lower economic growth and higher taxes."
My new column for @theipaper.com
inews.co.uk/opinion/fall...
My new column for @theipaper.com
inews.co.uk/opinion/fall...
Falling migration could be about to drive your taxes up
Our reliance on migration for economic stability and adequate care for our ageing population is obvious and undeniable
inews.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 1:02 PM
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
View from where I am mediating today.
January 14, 2026 at 10:07 AM
View from where I am mediating today.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
Reposted by John de Waal KC
Smugglers often force people to pilot boats, using threats against them or their families. Prosecuting an Afghan 18 year old seeking asylum for this is twisted and shows how Labour is more interested in playing to Reform than ensuring people are provided with safety.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
First person charged under new small boat Channel crossing law - BBC News
Aman Naseri, 18, denies endangering 46 people during a boat crossing to the UK on 5 January.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 7, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Smugglers often force people to pilot boats, using threats against them or their families. Prosecuting an Afghan 18 year old seeking asylum for this is twisted and shows how Labour is more interested in playing to Reform than ensuring people are provided with safety.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reading Johan Norberg’s ‘Peak Human’ and came across this timely quote from Abraham Lincoln about the self destruction of America.
January 4, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Reading Johan Norberg’s ‘Peak Human’ and came across this timely quote from Abraham Lincoln about the self destruction of America.
Evening in Tirol.
January 3, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Evening in Tirol.
Reposted by John de Waal KC
The story of Europe’s economic decline while US is 'soaring' is everywhere.
But it is wrong. It is a myth.
Europe delivers more leisure, longer life expectancy, less inequality than the US.
Gabriel Zucman dismantles the myths.
But it is wrong. It is a myth.
Europe delivers more leisure, longer life expectancy, less inequality than the US.
Gabriel Zucman dismantles the myths.
Decline, what decline? The myth of dying Europe
There is a widespread view that, by comparison with the USA, Europe is in economic and social decline. But, Zucman argues, it's not true
eastangliabylines.co.uk
January 2, 2026 at 7:44 AM
The story of Europe’s economic decline while US is 'soaring' is everywhere.
But it is wrong. It is a myth.
Europe delivers more leisure, longer life expectancy, less inequality than the US.
Gabriel Zucman dismantles the myths.
But it is wrong. It is a myth.
Europe delivers more leisure, longer life expectancy, less inequality than the US.
Gabriel Zucman dismantles the myths.
He’s getting odder and odder.
January 2, 2026 at 7:39 PM
He’s getting odder and odder.
January 2, 2026 at 7:38 PM
