Harry Smart
@munross.bsky.social
Montrose, Scotland. Munross was the Viking name for the town of Montrose.
Poetry (Faber, Drunk Muse) Fiction (Dedalus). Social theory (Routledge)
Photos. Drums. Greens, Kirk, #LUFC. Aspiring #Istanbul çocuğu.
Poetry (Faber, Drunk Muse) Fiction (Dedalus). Social theory (Routledge)
Photos. Drums. Greens, Kirk, #LUFC. Aspiring #Istanbul çocuğu.
Pinned
Harry Smart
@munross.bsky.social
· Nov 7
Yeniçeriler Caddesi, #Istanbul, late summer evening.
Walking through quiet crowded streets to the #medrese to smoke a nargile and talk with friends.
#streetphotography
Walking through quiet crowded streets to the #medrese to smoke a nargile and talk with friends.
#streetphotography
You can't understand modern Britain, including its default on the intergenerational contract, without understanding this graph and coming to terms with the historic impact of the general election of 1979.
That woman. Words fail. The graph tells the story.
That woman. Words fail. The graph tells the story.
📢 INEQUALITY GRAPHIC OF THE WEEK (No.3) 🔽
The surge in inequality in the 1980s ripped the UK apart. No govt since has reversed it (or even tried). It is entrenched.
Source: Prof. Danny Dorling
Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State
www.dannydorling.org/books/shatte...
The surge in inequality in the 1980s ripped the UK apart. No govt since has reversed it (or even tried). It is entrenched.
Source: Prof. Danny Dorling
Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of a Failing State
www.dannydorling.org/books/shatte...
February 15, 2026 at 10:14 AM
You can't understand modern Britain, including its default on the intergenerational contract, without understanding this graph and coming to terms with the historic impact of the general election of 1979.
That woman. Words fail. The graph tells the story.
That woman. Words fail. The graph tells the story.
This should be getting more engagement. It feels like one of those immutable laws of the internet. Stanley's Law.
James, this is Friday, there’s even less scope for nuance than usual
February 13, 2026 at 7:49 PM
This should be getting more engagement. It feels like one of those immutable laws of the internet. Stanley's Law.
Are there other people out there who've had their email trashed since #Plusnet passed email handling over to #Greenby.
I've lost all the subfolders for my email inbox, including the emails that were in them. Greenby's support staff claim they've been reinstated.
Anything from Plusnet on this?
I've lost all the subfolders for my email inbox, including the emails that were in them. Greenby's support staff claim they've been reinstated.
Anything from Plusnet on this?
February 7, 2026 at 12:35 AM
This feels a bit like Andrew M-W telling Maitlis he was perhaps too honourable in sticking with his pal Epstein.
'I'm sorry I was more loyal to my friend, who'd already been repeatedly shown to be a sleazeball, than to Epstein's victims'
'I'm sorry I was more loyal to my friend, who'd already been repeatedly shown to be a sleazeball, than to Epstein's victims'
February 5, 2026 at 2:02 PM
This feels a bit like Andrew M-W telling Maitlis he was perhaps too honourable in sticking with his pal Epstein.
'I'm sorry I was more loyal to my friend, who'd already been repeatedly shown to be a sleazeball, than to Epstein's victims'
'I'm sorry I was more loyal to my friend, who'd already been repeatedly shown to be a sleazeball, than to Epstein's victims'
Thank you, Barry Gardner, for your anger at those trying to make this about the left v the right of the Labour party.
#Newsnight
#Newsnight
February 4, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Thank you, Barry Gardner, for your anger at those trying to make this about the left v the right of the Labour party.
#Newsnight
#Newsnight
Childhood sexual abuse is not rare. There are tens of thousands of victims across the UK.
Starmer appointing Mandelson to any political post, knowing the continuing friendship with Epstein, is a complete failure of moral judgment. It legitimates the rape of children.
He has to go. #Newsnight.
Starmer appointing Mandelson to any political post, knowing the continuing friendship with Epstein, is a complete failure of moral judgment. It legitimates the rape of children.
He has to go. #Newsnight.
February 4, 2026 at 10:33 PM
Childhood sexual abuse is not rare. There are tens of thousands of victims across the UK.
Starmer appointing Mandelson to any political post, knowing the continuing friendship with Epstein, is a complete failure of moral judgment. It legitimates the rape of children.
He has to go. #Newsnight.
Starmer appointing Mandelson to any political post, knowing the continuing friendship with Epstein, is a complete failure of moral judgment. It legitimates the rape of children.
He has to go. #Newsnight.
So many comparisons, ICE and the Gestapo, the Trump admin and classic fascism.
How about a change: let's look at members of the German Widerstand, the resistance, the people who kept the best of Germany alive.
Occasional posts of heroes, some well known, some less.
1. Helmuth James von Moltke ..
How about a change: let's look at members of the German Widerstand, the resistance, the people who kept the best of Germany alive.
Occasional posts of heroes, some well known, some less.
1. Helmuth James von Moltke ..
February 2, 2026 at 8:44 PM
So many comparisons, ICE and the Gestapo, the Trump admin and classic fascism.
How about a change: let's look at members of the German Widerstand, the resistance, the people who kept the best of Germany alive.
Occasional posts of heroes, some well known, some less.
1. Helmuth James von Moltke ..
How about a change: let's look at members of the German Widerstand, the resistance, the people who kept the best of Germany alive.
Occasional posts of heroes, some well known, some less.
1. Helmuth James von Moltke ..
you keep wondering, can this man go any lower, and yes, he keeps saying, I can.
#Starmer #flagshagging
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
#Starmer #flagshagging
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Starmer says Gorton and Denton byelection a vote on ‘true patriotism’ as Labour picks local candidate
Party picks ward councillor Angeliki Stogia to defend seat as PM and colleagues argue only Labour can beat Reform
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:06 PM
you keep wondering, can this man go any lower, and yes, he keeps saying, I can.
#Starmer #flagshagging
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
#Starmer #flagshagging
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
For a long time I resisted the fourth proposition below on corrupt tables (tables Jesus would overthrow). Reluctantly I now agree. Evanglicalism is now about NOT overthrowing tables.
That's a change over my lifetime. On my watch. On ours.
(do read the whole of @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social's thread)
That's a change over my lifetime. On my watch. On ours.
(do read the whole of @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social's thread)
There have always been days for people of faith, morality, and conscience, when manifesting the latter meant overstepping the former.
ICE is a corrupt table.
The Trump Administration is a corrupt table.
White Christian Nationalism is a corrupt table.
Conservative Evangelicalism is a corrupt table.
ICE is a corrupt table.
The Trump Administration is a corrupt table.
White Christian Nationalism is a corrupt table.
Conservative Evangelicalism is a corrupt table.
January 30, 2026 at 3:17 PM
For a long time I resisted the fourth proposition below on corrupt tables (tables Jesus would overthrow). Reluctantly I now agree. Evanglicalism is now about NOT overthrowing tables.
That's a change over my lifetime. On my watch. On ours.
(do read the whole of @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social's thread)
That's a change over my lifetime. On my watch. On ours.
(do read the whole of @johnpavlovitz.bsky.social's thread)
#Newsnight
Thangam Debonair is having a car crash.
dismissive of Gaza as a moral issue
refusing to address the student loan issue: divert, divert ..
It's something when you come out looking less coherent than Claire Fox.
Thangam Debonair is having a car crash.
dismissive of Gaza as a moral issue
refusing to address the student loan issue: divert, divert ..
It's something when you come out looking less coherent than Claire Fox.
January 29, 2026 at 10:58 PM
#Newsnight
Thangam Debonair is having a car crash.
dismissive of Gaza as a moral issue
refusing to address the student loan issue: divert, divert ..
It's something when you come out looking less coherent than Claire Fox.
Thangam Debonair is having a car crash.
dismissive of Gaza as a moral issue
refusing to address the student loan issue: divert, divert ..
It's something when you come out looking less coherent than Claire Fox.
January 26, 2026 at 9:02 PM
Local provocation to national suspension of democracy.
🧵on Altona Blutsonntag (Bloody Sunday) in July 1932; how it led to loss of democracy nationwide. The model Trump is following in Minnesota.
🧵on Altona Blutsonntag (Bloody Sunday) in July 1932; how it led to loss of democracy nationwide. The model Trump is following in Minnesota.
January 25, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Local provocation to national suspension of democracy.
🧵on Altona Blutsonntag (Bloody Sunday) in July 1932; how it led to loss of democracy nationwide. The model Trump is following in Minnesota.
🧵on Altona Blutsonntag (Bloody Sunday) in July 1932; how it led to loss of democracy nationwide. The model Trump is following in Minnesota.
Reposted by Harry Smart
If truth is important to you than take 17 minutes out of your day to watch the interview below between @carolecadwalla.bsky.social and Robert Kagan. The world has changed and there is no going back
@carolecadwalla.bsky.social interviews historian Robert Kagan about the end of American hegemony, the EU's need to individuate from the US immediately, and the prospects for MAGA's and America's future. Our crisis is well advanced. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0goG...
Europe needs a dramatic strategic revolution - now: historian Robert Kagan
YouTube video by The Nerve
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 9:57 PM
If truth is important to you than take 17 minutes out of your day to watch the interview below between @carolecadwalla.bsky.social and Robert Kagan. The world has changed and there is no going back
Reposted by Harry Smart
This is a change in generational demographics -- lotta people died over 10 years and a lotta people came of age--
and the more extremist fundamentalism becomes a chokehold and takes over the conversation, the more regular folks of values & conscience assume there's nothing in there for them.
Duh?
and the more extremist fundamentalism becomes a chokehold and takes over the conversation, the more regular folks of values & conscience assume there's nothing in there for them.
Duh?
Gallup reports a 17-point drop in the percentage of US adults who consider religion an important part of their daily lives — from 66% in 2015 to 49% today. This is among the largest drops in any country over any 10-year period since 2007.
It's NOT a revival.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
It's NOT a revival.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
A louder Christian right, not a revival: What Trump is changing in religion
Religion experts weigh in as The White House claims President Donald Trump is the most "pro-faith and pro-religious liberty President in American history."
www.houstonchronicle.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:04 AM
This is a change in generational demographics -- lotta people died over 10 years and a lotta people came of age--
and the more extremist fundamentalism becomes a chokehold and takes over the conversation, the more regular folks of values & conscience assume there's nothing in there for them.
Duh?
and the more extremist fundamentalism becomes a chokehold and takes over the conversation, the more regular folks of values & conscience assume there's nothing in there for them.
Duh?
this piece isn't offered as a prayer, or a religious or theological reflection .. but ..
it moves between lament and petition ('we need') with a depth of feeling and clarity of thought that .. if only our prayers were more like this.
Do listen (just 6 mins) for the voice. (and read)
it moves between lament and petition ('we need') with a depth of feeling and clarity of thought that .. if only our prayers were more like this.
Do listen (just 6 mins) for the voice. (and read)
By the end of this presidential term, we will have spent 2,920 days of 340 million people’s collective lives with this cruelty and ignorance and vitriol representing and defining us...
johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/the-terrib...
johnpavlovitz.substack.com/p/the-terrib...
The Terrible Waste of Trump's America
If he finishes his second term, Donald Trump will have been president for 2,920 days.
johnpavlovitz.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 2:45 AM
this piece isn't offered as a prayer, or a religious or theological reflection .. but ..
it moves between lament and petition ('we need') with a depth of feeling and clarity of thought that .. if only our prayers were more like this.
Do listen (just 6 mins) for the voice. (and read)
it moves between lament and petition ('we need') with a depth of feeling and clarity of thought that .. if only our prayers were more like this.
Do listen (just 6 mins) for the voice. (and read)
Danya Ruttenberg on how to face the horrors now - may all be protected from harm www.lifeisasacredtext.com/p/496b0dbd-a...
how to face the horrors of now
feel, then do
www.lifeisasacredtext.com
January 16, 2026 at 12:17 AM
Danya Ruttenberg on how to face the horrors now - may all be protected from harm www.lifeisasacredtext.com/p/496b0dbd-a...
January 15, 2026 at 4:56 PM
How is it difficult for anyone to understand this?
Thank you, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thank you, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
To anybody still using X: sexual abuse content is the final straw, it’s time to leave | Marie Le Conte
It was hard for me to quit Elon Musk’s poisoned platform, but I urge others to do the same, especially in light of Grok’s imagery of women and children, says journalist Marie Le Conte
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 2:10 AM
How is it difficult for anyone to understand this?
Thank you, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Thank you, @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Mandelson, in the Kuenssberg interview "suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier’s sex life."
I've listened to audio of testimony by a *male* victim of abuse at Epstein events. Sexuality and gender are irrelevant here.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I've listened to audio of testimony by a *male* victim of abuse at Epstein events. Sexuality and gender are irrelevant here.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Peter Mandelson apologises for Epstein association in sudden U-turn
Former ambassador to US had earlier declined to give apology for keeping in touch with sex offender after his conviction
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 1:58 AM
Mandelson, in the Kuenssberg interview "suggested that as a gay man he knew nothing of the disgraced financier’s sex life."
I've listened to audio of testimony by a *male* victim of abuse at Epstein events. Sexuality and gender are irrelevant here.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I've listened to audio of testimony by a *male* victim of abuse at Epstein events. Sexuality and gender are irrelevant here.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Playing a game with a pal: if you imagine the current US administration as a star-field, each star a blaze of corruption, which would shine brightest. And if Noem is on your short list, is there any other sense in which she's bright?
Friend and I converging on Vance as the brightest of the worst.
Friend and I converging on Vance as the brightest of the worst.
January 12, 2026 at 1:54 PM
Playing a game with a pal: if you imagine the current US administration as a star-field, each star a blaze of corruption, which would shine brightest. And if Noem is on your short list, is there any other sense in which she's bright?
Friend and I converging on Vance as the brightest of the worst.
Friend and I converging on Vance as the brightest of the worst.
Reposted by Harry Smart
Please read this. The UK political & media establishment is asleep at the wheel.
We have made ourselves wholly dependent on a Trump ally for our national security at the exact moment Trump is threatening to invade a NATO ally
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
We have made ourselves wholly dependent on a Trump ally for our national security at the exact moment Trump is threatening to invade a NATO ally
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
January 11, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Please read this. The UK political & media establishment is asleep at the wheel.
We have made ourselves wholly dependent on a Trump ally for our national security at the exact moment Trump is threatening to invade a NATO ally
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...
We have made ourselves wholly dependent on a Trump ally for our national security at the exact moment Trump is threatening to invade a NATO ally
open.substack.com/pub/broligar...