Anon until things chill
@josefka.bsky.social
Energy stuff in 🇮🇶 , currently watching in real time how US financial sanctions can wipeout $20bn of assets in 3 weeks
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” ~ Mencken
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong.” ~ Mencken
It’s one thing being an armchair pundit, it’s quite another when you’re in the hot seat - as Reform councillors seem to be finding out.
The silver lining is that these 2 issue policy bad faith charlatans are being exposed at council level rather than at No 10.
The silver lining is that these 2 issue policy bad faith charlatans are being exposed at council level rather than at No 10.
New post just out:
"The Reality Trap"
On Reform's struggles running councils.
What it tells us about how they'd fare if they won a general elections. And about how broken our system of local government is.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
"The Reality Trap"
On Reform's struggles running councils.
What it tells us about how they'd fare if they won a general elections. And about how broken our system of local government is.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...
The Reality Trap
Reform's struggles in local government
open.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:29 AM
It’s one thing being an armchair pundit, it’s quite another when you’re in the hot seat - as Reform councillors seem to be finding out.
The silver lining is that these 2 issue policy bad faith charlatans are being exposed at council level rather than at No 10.
The silver lining is that these 2 issue policy bad faith charlatans are being exposed at council level rather than at No 10.
Good spot by ChrisO.
Somebody put time, effort and thought into doing this.
Just a needlessly nasty thing to do.
Somebody put time, effort and thought into doing this.
Just a needlessly nasty thing to do.
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Good spot by ChrisO.
Somebody put time, effort and thought into doing this.
Just a needlessly nasty thing to do.
Somebody put time, effort and thought into doing this.
Just a needlessly nasty thing to do.
Dishonesty (or forgetting) about WW2, its causes, and what was put in place to prevent something similar happening again?
A thought-provoking piece, inviting us to consider the implications of changing our collective memory, & much else.
This is the kind of stuff from Sam I enjoy the most.
A thought-provoking piece, inviting us to consider the implications of changing our collective memory, & much else.
This is the kind of stuff from Sam I enjoy the most.
New post just out:
"Never again?"
On how the radical right are trying to change our collective memory about World War Two as part of their assault on the postwar order.
And why that memory remains a critical defence against nationalism.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/n...
"Never again?"
On how the radical right are trying to change our collective memory about World War Two as part of their assault on the postwar order.
And why that memory remains a critical defence against nationalism.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/n...
Never again?
Memory entrepreneurship and the radical right’s assault on the postwar order
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 11:49 AM
Dishonesty (or forgetting) about WW2, its causes, and what was put in place to prevent something similar happening again?
A thought-provoking piece, inviting us to consider the implications of changing our collective memory, & much else.
This is the kind of stuff from Sam I enjoy the most.
A thought-provoking piece, inviting us to consider the implications of changing our collective memory, & much else.
This is the kind of stuff from Sam I enjoy the most.
Reasons to be glad you left the cesspit of Twitter behind, No. 16,097,566
What an awful place, packed with awful people.
What an awful place, packed with awful people.
Used to stir up hatred, racism and threats of violence. The lawless zone that is X won't be removing those either until regulators compel it to have a functioning complaints system, involving human beings, so egregious unlawful content can get removed, so minorities/women do get an equal service
October 27, 2025 at 9:26 AM
Reasons to be glad you left the cesspit of Twitter behind, No. 16,097,566
What an awful place, packed with awful people.
What an awful place, packed with awful people.
Is anyone still taking that “legitimate concerns about immigration etc” thing seriously, or can we just say what we know these people are thinking, but usually know it’s politically inexpedient to say?
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin, “It drives me mad seeing adverts full of black people, full of Asian people, full of anything other than white"
Followed by that time Sarah Pochin said, "My kids say: mum, you're such a moron" 👀
Followed by that time Sarah Pochin said, "My kids say: mum, you're such a moron" 👀
October 25, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Is anyone still taking that “legitimate concerns about immigration etc” thing seriously, or can we just say what we know these people are thinking, but usually know it’s politically inexpedient to say?
Reposted by Anon until things chill
The US has sanctioned Lukoil and Rosneft. The first time the Trump administration has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion.
Sets the tone for the day as EU leaders meet in Brussels....
www.ft.com/content/7bcc...
Sets the tone for the day as EU leaders meet in Brussels....
www.ft.com/content/7bcc...
US puts sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil
Measures mark Donald Trump’s first effort to impose direct cost on Moscow over invasion of Ukraine
www.ft.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:10 AM
The US has sanctioned Lukoil and Rosneft. The first time the Trump administration has imposed direct costs on Moscow over its full-scale invasion.
Sets the tone for the day as EU leaders meet in Brussels....
www.ft.com/content/7bcc...
Sets the tone for the day as EU leaders meet in Brussels....
www.ft.com/content/7bcc...
Reposted by Anon until things chill
For the reasons why this is not at all surprising see my post ( £/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/deja-vu-al...
October 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
For the reasons why this is not at all surprising see my post ( £/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/deja-vu-al...
Always an interesting read to keep up to speed on events with lots of reminders wrt what led us here.
TL;DR- don’t expect much in Hungary (if it goes ahead). Both sides’ demands complex and incompatible & Trump wants simplicity, although, given the capricious nature of Trump, you can never be sure.
TL;DR- don’t expect much in Hungary (if it goes ahead). Both sides’ demands complex and incompatible & Trump wants simplicity, although, given the capricious nature of Trump, you can never be sure.
There is no evidence to support claims of a big shift in the US position after the Trump-Putin call. In this post I explain why I don’t think much has changed and my scepticism about the proposed Budapest summit (£/free trial), open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/d...?
Déjà Vu All over Again
Donald Trump’s two-and-a-half-hour telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin on 16 October, followed by a claim that he is on course once again to find an end to the Russo-Ukraine War, triggered a pr...
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Always an interesting read to keep up to speed on events with lots of reminders wrt what led us here.
TL;DR- don’t expect much in Hungary (if it goes ahead). Both sides’ demands complex and incompatible & Trump wants simplicity, although, given the capricious nature of Trump, you can never be sure.
TL;DR- don’t expect much in Hungary (if it goes ahead). Both sides’ demands complex and incompatible & Trump wants simplicity, although, given the capricious nature of Trump, you can never be sure.
Interesting read - and hits a sweet spot for me between geopolitics and domestic government.
On Russia manipulating European democracies.
It all seems clear when dots are joined together like this, so why do we appear so feeble in countering it?
On Russia manipulating European democracies.
It all seems clear when dots are joined together like this, so why do we appear so feeble in countering it?
New post just out:
The relationship between Russia and the European radical right goes well beyond Reform's Nathan Gill being bribed.
In this post I trace the history back to the 1990s and look at the threat it poses now.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/r...
The relationship between Russia and the European radical right goes well beyond Reform's Nathan Gill being bribed.
In this post I trace the history back to the 1990s and look at the threat it poses now.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/r...
Russia and the rise of the radical right
Marine Le Pen meets with Putin before the 2017 French Presidential election (Photo credit Mikhail Klimentyev/AFP via Getty Images)
open.substack.com
October 12, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Interesting read - and hits a sweet spot for me between geopolitics and domestic government.
On Russia manipulating European democracies.
It all seems clear when dots are joined together like this, so why do we appear so feeble in countering it?
On Russia manipulating European democracies.
It all seems clear when dots are joined together like this, so why do we appear so feeble in countering it?
Fascinating. On the problems Russian recruiters are having getting new recruits to sign contracts.
1/ 'HELL NO WE WON'T GO', part 4: what can be done to make going to war more attractive for increasingly sceptical Russians? ⬇️
October 8, 2025 at 10:41 PM
Fascinating. On the problems Russian recruiters are having getting new recruits to sign contracts.
Because nothing says “I think I’m doing the right thing” like wearing a balaclava
This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram.
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
Community action works.
Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...
October 6, 2025 at 2:15 PM
Because nothing says “I think I’m doing the right thing” like wearing a balaclava
Reposted by Anon until things chill
I think this is right:
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...
October 5, 2025 at 11:20 PM
I think this is right:
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...
"We've slid into some form of authoritarianism," says Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard. "It is relatively mild compared to some others. It is certainly reversible, but we are no longer living in a liberal democracy."
www.npr.org/2025/04/22/n...
Save for a few mainstream outlets we allow much of the information we’re exposed to to be dictated by foreign billionaires, more interested in garnering screen time (or actively disrupting our society) than in our countries’ pursuit of a better society.
President Macron: “Europeans, let's wake up!
We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.”
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
October 4, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Save for a few mainstream outlets we allow much of the information we’re exposed to to be dictated by foreign billionaires, more interested in garnering screen time (or actively disrupting our society) than in our countries’ pursuit of a better society.
“The real outrage, in other words, is not Farage’s racism, but the fact that anyone would dare to accurately label it as such.”
In British polite society it appears that calling a racist a racist is less acceptable than being a racist.
Being frank should not be the story.
In British polite society it appears that calling a racist a racist is less acceptable than being a racist.
Being frank should not be the story.
It tells you everything you need to know about British politics that the only people who have ever had to apologise for Nigel Farage's long history of racism are the people who dare to call it what it actually is
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Nigel Farage Is a Racist
The media is refusing to state the most bleedingly obvious facts about a man whose entire career has been devoted to pursuing a racist political agenda
www.adambienkov.co.uk
October 4, 2025 at 3:20 PM
“The real outrage, in other words, is not Farage’s racism, but the fact that anyone would dare to accurately label it as such.”
In British polite society it appears that calling a racist a racist is less acceptable than being a racist.
Being frank should not be the story.
In British polite society it appears that calling a racist a racist is less acceptable than being a racist.
Being frank should not be the story.
‘Knee-jerk Israel bashers’, ‘revolting demos’
The choice photos: Arab unreasonable, aggressive,
Bibi/Trump just want peace
Despicable framing of a genocide and objections to the murder of civilians in Gaza.
The choice photos: Arab unreasonable, aggressive,
Bibi/Trump just want peace
Despicable framing of a genocide and objections to the murder of civilians in Gaza.
October 3, 2025 at 11:10 PM
‘Knee-jerk Israel bashers’, ‘revolting demos’
The choice photos: Arab unreasonable, aggressive,
Bibi/Trump just want peace
Despicable framing of a genocide and objections to the murder of civilians in Gaza.
The choice photos: Arab unreasonable, aggressive,
Bibi/Trump just want peace
Despicable framing of a genocide and objections to the murder of civilians in Gaza.
It’s difficult to think of a more cynical way of taking advantage of the recent murders in Manchester.
Inviting a racist, rabid anti-Islamic agitator, criminal, and conspiracy theorist and grifter as a ‘courageous leader against radical Islam’
I sincerely hope it backfires for the Israeli gov.
Inviting a racist, rabid anti-Islamic agitator, criminal, and conspiracy theorist and grifter as a ‘courageous leader against radical Islam’
I sincerely hope it backfires for the Israeli gov.
This Israeli government decision to host Tommy Robinson will widen the growing gulf between the Netanyahu government and the British public, including the broad majority of Jews in Britain (3/4 of whom dsapproved of Netanyahu, before this new link to this anti-Muslim racist UK far right convict).
October 3, 2025 at 10:50 PM
It’s difficult to think of a more cynical way of taking advantage of the recent murders in Manchester.
Inviting a racist, rabid anti-Islamic agitator, criminal, and conspiracy theorist and grifter as a ‘courageous leader against radical Islam’
I sincerely hope it backfires for the Israeli gov.
Inviting a racist, rabid anti-Islamic agitator, criminal, and conspiracy theorist and grifter as a ‘courageous leader against radical Islam’
I sincerely hope it backfires for the Israeli gov.
As he becomes increasingly likely to challenge for the highest office in Britain the media should relentlessly remind voters about who this man is, including the promises he made during the Brexit campaign.
Nigel Farage has been a lifelong racist. He's been a racist since his school days. David Lammy was forced to apologise for saying Farage flirted with the Hitler Youth - but what do you call it when someone sings Hitler Youth songs? Read Chloe Deakin's letter on Farage's fascism and racism at school.
October 3, 2025 at 10:35 PM
As he becomes increasingly likely to challenge for the highest office in Britain the media should relentlessly remind voters about who this man is, including the promises he made during the Brexit campaign.
“An oil wave” - that oil’s got to go somewhere and US storage capacity isn’t far off full.
Are we heading for oil prices being in negative territory again?
Futures investors paying people to take oil off their hands?
Are we heading for oil prices being in negative territory again?
Futures investors paying people to take oil off their hands?
October 2, 2025 at 8:19 PM
“An oil wave” - that oil’s got to go somewhere and US storage capacity isn’t far off full.
Are we heading for oil prices being in negative territory again?
Futures investors paying people to take oil off their hands?
Are we heading for oil prices being in negative territory again?
Futures investors paying people to take oil off their hands?
While I think people who enjoy golf should be put on some sort of register, I think F1 is a sport in that you need to be physically fit, you’re competing against opponents, huge amounts of skill required, there’s an objective winner, it’s regulated.
Golf is a hobby, not a sport. F1 is neither. These are my takes.
September 27, 2025 at 2:19 PM
While I think people who enjoy golf should be put on some sort of register, I think F1 is a sport in that you need to be physically fit, you’re competing against opponents, huge amounts of skill required, there’s an objective winner, it’s regulated.
Never one to pass up the chance to mislead:
Giving Palestinians a state next to Israel after Oct 7 is madness. It’s like giving Al Qaeda its own state next to New York after 9/11 - paraphrasing.
Palestinians, not just Hamas, are apparently terrorists. Shameful speech
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Giving Palestinians a state next to Israel after Oct 7 is madness. It’s like giving Al Qaeda its own state next to New York after 9/11 - paraphrasing.
Palestinians, not just Hamas, are apparently terrorists. Shameful speech
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Netanyahu calls Palestinian recognition 'disgraceful', as dozens walk out of UN speech - live updates
Protesters demonstrate outside the UN General Assembly in New York as Israel's PM addresses delegates.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 26, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Never one to pass up the chance to mislead:
Giving Palestinians a state next to Israel after Oct 7 is madness. It’s like giving Al Qaeda its own state next to New York after 9/11 - paraphrasing.
Palestinians, not just Hamas, are apparently terrorists. Shameful speech
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Giving Palestinians a state next to Israel after Oct 7 is madness. It’s like giving Al Qaeda its own state next to New York after 9/11 - paraphrasing.
Palestinians, not just Hamas, are apparently terrorists. Shameful speech
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Reposted by Anon until things chill
There should be a high bar for politicians attacking the media, but maybe Ed Davey has half a point here?
For example, the first three paragraphs of this BBC story repeat Reform's £243bn figure without saying that the thinktank behind the estimate now disowns it. (This is mentioned in paragraph 35)
For example, the first three paragraphs of this BBC story repeat Reform's £243bn figure without saying that the thinktank behind the estimate now disowns it. (This is mentioned in paragraph 35)
September 22, 2025 at 4:46 PM
There should be a high bar for politicians attacking the media, but maybe Ed Davey has half a point here?
For example, the first three paragraphs of this BBC story repeat Reform's £243bn figure without saying that the thinktank behind the estimate now disowns it. (This is mentioned in paragraph 35)
For example, the first three paragraphs of this BBC story repeat Reform's £243bn figure without saying that the thinktank behind the estimate now disowns it. (This is mentioned in paragraph 35)
Autocorrect strikes again
unusually big armhole
September 22, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Autocorrect strikes again
Progressive, liberal democracies are not inevitable, not some natural order of things to which we’ll always revert to
Hitler legally rose to power in 1933, the Czech communists in 1946.
Once in power were very effective at weakening the mechanisms and institutions that could stop them maintaining it
Hitler legally rose to power in 1933, the Czech communists in 1946.
Once in power were very effective at weakening the mechanisms and institutions that could stop them maintaining it
There is also a tendency towards fatalism amplified by social media dynamics among Liberal and Left milieus that tends to exaggerate how much of the UK population will automatically back authoritarian agendas.
Succumbing to panic and paralysis is not going to defeat the Far Right.
Succumbing to panic and paralysis is not going to defeat the Far Right.
If Labour and other parties can't find a way to scrutinise, criticise and condemn a policy like this, they give Reform a free ride and make the future less safe & certain for those who come here, work hard and contribute.
September 22, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Progressive, liberal democracies are not inevitable, not some natural order of things to which we’ll always revert to
Hitler legally rose to power in 1933, the Czech communists in 1946.
Once in power were very effective at weakening the mechanisms and institutions that could stop them maintaining it
Hitler legally rose to power in 1933, the Czech communists in 1946.
Once in power were very effective at weakening the mechanisms and institutions that could stop them maintaining it
2 of the most important, harrowing and instructive books I’ve read recently.
@timothysnyder.bsky.social‘s On Tyranny is short enough to be serialised in a daily newspaper.
Let’s stop thinking progressive liberal democracies are somehow the natural order, inevitable. They need to be defended.
@timothysnyder.bsky.social‘s On Tyranny is short enough to be serialised in a daily newspaper.
Let’s stop thinking progressive liberal democracies are somehow the natural order, inevitable. They need to be defended.
September 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
2 of the most important, harrowing and instructive books I’ve read recently.
@timothysnyder.bsky.social‘s On Tyranny is short enough to be serialised in a daily newspaper.
Let’s stop thinking progressive liberal democracies are somehow the natural order, inevitable. They need to be defended.
@timothysnyder.bsky.social‘s On Tyranny is short enough to be serialised in a daily newspaper.
Let’s stop thinking progressive liberal democracies are somehow the natural order, inevitable. They need to be defended.
This isn’t just a handy slogan to be ditched after a campaign. It’s not ‘take back control’, it’s a statement of intent, a flagship policy.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves “It couldn’t happen here”. There is nothing inevitable about our continued way of life, which we appear to take for granted.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves “It couldn’t happen here”. There is nothing inevitable about our continued way of life, which we appear to take for granted.
Reform's plans to end indefinite leave to remain go to the post I wrote last week on their slide towards chaotic authoritarianism.
The British constitution would allow them to do it if they had a majority but at vast cost to our society and way of life.
samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...
The British constitution would allow them to do it if they had a majority but at vast cost to our society and way of life.
samf.substack.com/p/the-route-...
The route to chaotic authoritarianism
Why Reform’s deportation plan would have consequences well beyond asylum
samf.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 10:42 AM
This isn’t just a handy slogan to be ditched after a campaign. It’s not ‘take back control’, it’s a statement of intent, a flagship policy.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves “It couldn’t happen here”. There is nothing inevitable about our continued way of life, which we appear to take for granted.
Let’s stop kidding ourselves “It couldn’t happen here”. There is nothing inevitable about our continued way of life, which we appear to take for granted.