Peter Bach
@lyst.bsky.social
Kingdom: Animalia
Order: Primates
Tribe: Hominini
Order: Primates
Tribe: Hominini
Reposted by Peter Bach
"Greenland gives Denmark its major seabed claims in the Arctic Ocean, a legal and geological smørrebrød layered with what diplomats call “resource and sovereignty implications.” Don’t underestimate this. Further phrases like “continental shelf” hide very real power politics."
– Peter Bach
– Peter Bach
A Small Kingdom at the Top of the World
Nor is it helped by Trump’s habit of treating allies as optional accessories. We saw this last week with the favoritism shown to Hungary in the form of a one-year exemption from sanctions. Greenland d...
www.counterpunch.org
November 14, 2025 at 9:31 AM
"Greenland gives Denmark its major seabed claims in the Arctic Ocean, a legal and geological smørrebrød layered with what diplomats call “resource and sovereignty implications.” Don’t underestimate this. Further phrases like “continental shelf” hide very real power politics."
– Peter Bach
– Peter Bach
My great-great-grandfather, Jens Bach, sat for decades in the Danish parliament, travelling regularly from Thisted in northern Jutland to Copenhagen. This was two islands and a heroic commute away. In his day, too, Greenland came up often. www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/14/3...
A Small Kingdom at the Top of the World
Nor is it helped by Trump’s habit of treating allies as optional accessories. We saw this last week with the favoritism shown to Hungary in the form of a one-year exemption from sanctions. Greenland d...
www.counterpunch.org
November 14, 2025 at 8:05 AM
My great-great-grandfather, Jens Bach, sat for decades in the Danish parliament, travelling regularly from Thisted in northern Jutland to Copenhagen. This was two islands and a heroic commute away. In his day, too, Greenland came up often. www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/14/3...
Reposted by Peter Bach
...the most stiflingly straitlaced, Oxbridge-groomed professionals you’ll find—studiously unimaginative, obsessively proper, exuding all the charisma of a school prefect on downers. But when it comes to reporting facts, I’d take any one of them over the president of the United States.
– Peter Bach
– Peter Bach
Why I’d Still Trust a BBC Producer Over the President
Brits often wrestle with their annual BBC licence fee. At £174.50 a year, it is no small cost in the current economic climate. Every payment creates a
www.counterpunch.org
November 13, 2025 at 9:12 AM
...the most stiflingly straitlaced, Oxbridge-groomed professionals you’ll find—studiously unimaginative, obsessively proper, exuding all the charisma of a school prefect on downers. But when it comes to reporting facts, I’d take any one of them over the president of the United States.
– Peter Bach
– Peter Bach
Now that the long-anticipated attempt to dismantle the BBC is nearly complete, I will try not to overstate its importance—it aired two of my documentaries, albeit for a pittance. www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/13/w...
Why I’d Still Trust a BBC Producer Over the President
Brits often wrestle with their annual BBC licence fee. At £174.50 a year, it is no small cost in the current economic climate. Every payment creates a
www.counterpunch.org
November 13, 2025 at 7:48 AM
Now that the long-anticipated attempt to dismantle the BBC is nearly complete, I will try not to overstate its importance—it aired two of my documentaries, albeit for a pittance. www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/13/w...
“It’s the last big card he has to play,” says my friend. “My guess is he makes a referendum part of his next manifesto. But he can’t play it too early—or too late.” www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/06/s...
Starmerama: When Governance is Not Enough
‘When do you think Starmer goes?’ asked a friend last week, irate about the high arrest rate among non-UK nationals. In a Focaldata poll, at the same
www.counterpunch.org
November 6, 2025 at 7:26 AM
“It’s the last big card he has to play,” says my friend. “My guess is he makes a referendum part of his next manifesto. But he can’t play it too early—or too late.” www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/06/s...
No wonder “Das Crazy” was voted German Youth Word of the Year at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair. Counselling centres for conscientious objectors are reporting an increasing number of visits from worried parents. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/29/d...
Das Crazy
Joseph Beuys on his lecture "Jeder Mensch ist ein Künstler – Auf dem Weg zur Freiheitsgestalt des sozialen Organismus" photographed by Rainer Rappmann in
www.counterpunch.org
October 29, 2025 at 6:47 AM
No wonder “Das Crazy” was voted German Youth Word of the Year at the recent Frankfurt Book Fair. Counselling centres for conscientious objectors are reporting an increasing number of visits from worried parents. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/29/d...
Reposted by Peter Bach
"What makes people make art? It isn’t sales, that’s for sure, as the London art world is in pretty bad shape here. Anyway, I suspect it’s something more interesting and remote than that—some kind of small desert shack between Bravery and Self-Soothing."
– Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
– Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
The Artist and the Eye
I saw a man crouched by the side of the road close to the railway station last week. I thought he'd dropped something. Then I saw he was holding a piece
www.counterpunch.org
October 23, 2025 at 8:19 AM
"What makes people make art? It isn’t sales, that’s for sure, as the London art world is in pretty bad shape here. Anyway, I suspect it’s something more interesting and remote than that—some kind of small desert shack between Bravery and Self-Soothing."
– Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
– Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
I’ve studied the artist’s attention to detail for years. It has compelled me to look at things more closely than I suspect I would have done otherwise. To consider her eyesight in jeopardy was the mother of all distractions. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/23/t...
The Artist and the Eye
I saw a man crouched by the side of the road close to the railway station last week. I thought he'd dropped something. Then I saw he was holding a piece
www.counterpunch.org
October 23, 2025 at 6:54 AM
I’ve studied the artist’s attention to detail for years. It has compelled me to look at things more closely than I suspect I would have done otherwise. To consider her eyesight in jeopardy was the mother of all distractions. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/23/t...
Reposted by Peter Bach
Between Myth and Muzzle: Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social, on the erosion of traditional press freedom — and respect — in the US and UK.
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
October 13, 2025 at 8:35 AM
Between Myth and Muzzle: Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social, on the erosion of traditional press freedom — and respect — in the US and UK.
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
It’s easy enough to picture how a man in Kushner’s position might profit from peace. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/13/t...
The Price of Peace
When the first Trump years ended, Jared Kushner did what many former officials only dream of—he turned his address book into a balance sheet. In 2021 he founded Affinity Partners, a private-equity fir...
www.counterpunch.org
October 13, 2025 at 7:09 AM
It’s easy enough to picture how a man in Kushner’s position might profit from peace. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/13/t...
“You can’t handle the truth!” Jack Nicholson sneered in A Few Good Men. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
Between Myth and Muzzle: Press Freedom in the US and UK
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple,” wrote Oscar Wilde. That observation holds true for press freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. The US
www.counterpunch.org
October 7, 2025 at 12:15 PM
“You can’t handle the truth!” Jack Nicholson sneered in A Few Good Men. www.counterpunch.org/2025/10/07/b...
Evening, waxing gibbous.
October 4, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Evening, waxing gibbous.
Part 2 of a short on the unions in the UK: youtu.be/KjNRtHuof_g
Part 2: The Union Question
YouTube video by The Union Question
youtu.be
October 3, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Part 2 of a short on the unions in the UK: youtu.be/KjNRtHuof_g
Reposted by Peter Bach
“…algorithms flatten cinema into ‘content’. True cinema—eccentric, lilting, awkwardly human—seems to be gasping under this weight. But in that room, it felt immortal.”
- Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
- Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
Smoke and Light in Soho
Paul Donnellon, a BAFTA-nominated animator and director, invited me to two private feature film screenings in London’s Soho last week. He is the only man
www.counterpunch.org
October 1, 2025 at 8:11 AM
“…algorithms flatten cinema into ‘content’. True cinema—eccentric, lilting, awkwardly human—seems to be gasping under this weight. But in that room, it felt immortal.”
- Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
- Peter Bach, @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
Europe’s economy—mocked regularly by bullish Americans—is nine times larger than Russia’s.
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/26/t...
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/26/t...
Twelve Minutes Over Tallinn
The story goes like this—and it is true. At 9:14 on a cloudless morning last week, Estonian radar caught the faint pulse of three Russian MiG-31s slicing
www.counterpunch.org
September 26, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Europe’s economy—mocked regularly by bullish Americans—is nine times larger than Russia’s.
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/26/t...
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/26/t...
Reposted by Peter Bach
“Orwell’s paradox lingers: for those in power, war can masquerade as peace. For those who endure it, war is only war — and peace remains out of reach.”
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
The Long Road Beyond War
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength,” wrote George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Looking at just eight conflicts today, the words
www.counterpunch.org
September 24, 2025 at 12:28 PM
“Orwell’s paradox lingers: for those in power, war can masquerade as peace. For those who endure it, war is only war — and peace remains out of reach.”
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social
www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal,” raged John Steinbeck. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
The Long Road Beyond War
“War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength,” wrote George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Looking at just eight conflicts today, the words
www.counterpunch.org
September 24, 2025 at 6:37 AM
“All war is a symptom of man’s failure as a thinking animal,” raged John Steinbeck. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/24/t...
The masque, then, ran its course. Windsor for pageantry, Chequers for diplomacy, London for protest, the City for contracts. A still-fizzing circuit is complete. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/k...
King on King: A Masque in Fog
Most Londoners had half-forgotten about Trump’s state visit until Air Force One touched down. The capital was that distracted by the Mandelson scandal, Cabinet reshuffles, Tory defections, and brutish...
www.counterpunch.org
September 19, 2025 at 6:36 AM
The masque, then, ran its course. Windsor for pageantry, Chequers for diplomacy, London for protest, the City for contracts. A still-fizzing circuit is complete. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/19/k...
Reposted by Peter Bach
“The Ghanaian poet Awoonor once wrote, ‘What has been broken shall be woven, / the house shall stand, the feast shall be eaten.’…It is written for Ghanaians as if the words themselves a promise.”
- Peter Bach @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
- Peter Bach @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
Ghana: Echoes of Tomorrow
It’s been thirty-three years since I walked the streets of Takoradi—over three decades that feel less like time passed than the tide gone out. And now, out of nowhere, fresh footage arrives of low-bel...
www.counterpunch.org
September 10, 2025 at 9:59 AM
“The Ghanaian poet Awoonor once wrote, ‘What has been broken shall be woven, / the house shall stand, the feast shall be eaten.’…It is written for Ghanaians as if the words themselves a promise.”
- Peter Bach @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
- Peter Bach @lyst.bsky.social
[via @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social]
Ships queued patiently in 1992, their silhouettes more Conrad than Spearman, more Amma Darko than pulp fiction. One afternoon I saw Rawlings’ Lear jet against the blue sky. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/10/g...
Ghana: Echoes of Tomorrow
It’s been thirty-three years since I walked the streets of Takoradi—over three decades that feel less like time passed than the tide gone out. And now, out of nowhere, fresh footage arrives of low-bel...
www.counterpunch.org
September 10, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Ships queued patiently in 1992, their silhouettes more Conrad than Spearman, more Amma Darko than pulp fiction. One afternoon I saw Rawlings’ Lear jet against the blue sky. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/10/g...
Much to the relief of everyone, I am sure, I’ve been refraining of late from posting my articles here. This one, however, I will. It is something for the cineaste. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/01/a...
Autocracy, Apocalypse and the Blue Glow: The State of America in Film
An American friend visiting London last week asked me to recommend some “movies” to him. Only later did I realise how loaded a question it was. Cinema has
www.counterpunch.org
September 2, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Much to the relief of everyone, I am sure, I’ve been refraining of late from posting my articles here. This one, however, I will. It is something for the cineaste. www.counterpunch.org/2025/09/01/a...
“Industry killers and demon disguises
I see the hierarchies and I recognise it…”
www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/22/u...
I see the hierarchies and I recognise it…”
www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/22/u...
Undervalued Artists in the Streaming Age
The global music industry, while outwardly glamorous, is structurally imbalanced. The ones who suffer most are those who create its core product, namely
www.counterpunch.org
August 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
“Industry killers and demon disguises
I see the hierarchies and I recognise it…”
www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/22/u...
I see the hierarchies and I recognise it…”
www.counterpunch.org/2025/08/22/u...
Reposted by Peter Bach
“To understand who speaks for the working class now requires understanding who was once silenced — and how.”
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
Britain’s new working class
unherd.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:05 AM
“To understand who speaks for the working class now requires understanding who was once silenced — and how.”
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)
- Peter Bach (@lyst.bsky.social)