Daniel Elstein
@danielelstein.bsky.social
Philosopher at the University of Leeds, centrist dad. Research: meta-ethics, normative ethics, political philosophy.
One more thought about the jewellery fiasco. Everyone knows that Starmer will not be Labour leader at the next election, so there will be a leadership contest. Voting for the jewellery proposal will likely scupper any candidate. So no cabinet member can be the next leader if it gets to a vote?
November 18, 2025 at 9:07 AM
One more thought about the jewellery fiasco. Everyone knows that Starmer will not be Labour leader at the next election, so there will be a leadership contest. Voting for the jewellery proposal will likely scupper any candidate. So no cabinet member can be the next leader if it gets to a vote?
The jewellery policy is obviously repulsive, and an example of vice signalling that I would not have expected from any manifestation of Labour. I don't keep up a running commentary on Labour's failings, but if the PLP lets that through I am done with them.
November 17, 2025 at 7:59 AM
The jewellery policy is obviously repulsive, and an example of vice signalling that I would not have expected from any manifestation of Labour. I don't keep up a running commentary on Labour's failings, but if the PLP lets that through I am done with them.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
In 2025, media often misuse the term ‘blood libel’ to describe e.g. accusing the IDF of war crimes, but it turns out the lecturer was literally teaching the Damascus Affair, when Syrian Jews were tortured into falsely confessing to murdering a priest to use his blood in matzah for Passover, as fact.
Academic accused of antisemitism over ‘blood libel’ lecture at UCL
Samar Maqusi has been banned from campus and the incident was reported to police after a recording of the talk was made public
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
Samar Maqusi has been banned from campus and the incident was reported to police after a recording of the talk was made public
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
Academic accused of antisemitism over ‘blood libel’ lecture at UCL
Samar Maqusi has been banned from campus and the incident was reported to police after a recording of the talk was made public
www.thetimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:52 PM
In 2025, media often misuse the term ‘blood libel’ to describe e.g. accusing the IDF of war crimes, but it turns out the lecturer was literally teaching the Damascus Affair, when Syrian Jews were tortured into falsely confessing to murdering a priest to use his blood in matzah for Passover, as fact.
Clearly they are the same size, the one on the right is just further away.
November 4, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Clearly they are the same size, the one on the right is just further away.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
My great grandparents fled Tsarist Russia as teenagers to build a better life for themselves in America. Almost every Jewish family in America, including Katie and Stephen Miller, share this background. I'm not sure how people like the Millers lost their way, but it breaks my heart to see. 1/x
“You better check your citizenship papers”
Wild - when she wasn’t throwing around unhinged antisemitism claims she was threatening to have her husband denaturalize & deport @cenkuygur
Stephen & Katie Miller are perfect for each other
Wild - when she wasn’t throwing around unhinged antisemitism claims she was threatening to have her husband denaturalize & deport @cenkuygur
Stephen & Katie Miller are perfect for each other
October 30, 2025 at 4:02 PM
My great grandparents fled Tsarist Russia as teenagers to build a better life for themselves in America. Almost every Jewish family in America, including Katie and Stephen Miller, share this background. I'm not sure how people like the Millers lost their way, but it breaks my heart to see. 1/x
Germans are like: mash up two wildly unrelated Italian specialities but give the misbegotten fusion a French name so they will get the blame.
October 29, 2025 at 8:42 PM
Germans are like: mash up two wildly unrelated Italian specialities but give the misbegotten fusion a French name so they will get the blame.
What a power move. A lot of people will be wondering how they can join the Assyrian Church of the East.
Mar Awa III, patriarch of the Assyrian Church of the East, also born in Chicago, gave Pope Leo a Cubs jersey.
October 28, 2025 at 7:33 AM
What a power move. A lot of people will be wondering how they can join the Assyrian Church of the East.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
We take no joy criticising a young left-wing UK political figure who has often spoken up for workers' rights and progressive causes. But these barely coherent comments from Zarah Sultana on Ukraine sum up much of what is wrong with her wing of the left www.instagram.com/reel/DQT62ys...
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October 27, 2025 at 4:20 PM
We take no joy criticising a young left-wing UK political figure who has often spoken up for workers' rights and progressive causes. But these barely coherent comments from Zarah Sultana on Ukraine sum up much of what is wrong with her wing of the left www.instagram.com/reel/DQT62ys...
Truly this has to be seen to be believed. Very disturbing but also revealing of how severe Trump's character flaws are. Hard to imagine how someone could be so petty and lacking in dignity to behave this way, but here we are.
Scroll down to the Major Events Timeline, and nothing will prepare you for what you'll see. I cannot believe it is real. www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-wh...
The White House Building
Every president since John Adams has occupied the White House, and the history of this building extends far beyond the construction of its walls. From the Ground Floor Corridor rooms, transformed from...
www.whitehouse.gov
October 24, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Truly this has to be seen to be believed. Very disturbing but also revealing of how severe Trump's character flaws are. Hard to imagine how someone could be so petty and lacking in dignity to behave this way, but here we are.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
Tory MP and "rising star" Katie Lam supports the mass deportation of families who came to the UK legally — a policy so unprecedented it has been compared with Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians.
But did you know Lam has drawn sartorial, as well as policy, inspiration from the brutal Ugandan dictator?
But did you know Lam has drawn sartorial, as well as policy, inspiration from the brutal Ugandan dictator?
October 23, 2025 at 1:18 PM
Tory MP and "rising star" Katie Lam supports the mass deportation of families who came to the UK legally — a policy so unprecedented it has been compared with Idi Amin's expulsion of Asians.
But did you know Lam has drawn sartorial, as well as policy, inspiration from the brutal Ugandan dictator?
But did you know Lam has drawn sartorial, as well as policy, inspiration from the brutal Ugandan dictator?
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
Alexis Petridis called it, I think it works www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmZX...
Taylor Swift vs. Pixies - Actually Romantic/Where Is My Mind Mashup!!!
YouTube video by MATTHEW DARKLY
www.youtube.com
October 9, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Alexis Petridis called it, I think it works www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmZX...
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
This is a lie.
There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years.
But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.
There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years.
But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.
October 7, 2025 at 8:03 AM
This is a lie.
There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years.
But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.
There are many criticisms you might sensibly and truthfully make of the Sentencing Council and the Sentencing Guidelines. I’ve been making them for years.
But this is an outright lie. Pure fabrication. A fraud on the public.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
The Board of Deputies’ response to the Israeli government inviting Tommy Robinson to visit
October 4, 2025 at 9:12 PM
The Board of Deputies’ response to the Israeli government inviting Tommy Robinson to visit
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
Harassing the mods into banning someone has never worked. And harassing people in general has never changed their mind.
October 3, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Harassing the mods into banning someone has never worked. And harassing people in general has never changed their mind.
There is something really puzzling about DonkeyGate as a political attack.
When the heart of the issue is that your political opponent bought a field so that his disabled mother could look after donkeys there, and then sold it after his parents died, this is not obviously a winning attack line.
When the heart of the issue is that your political opponent bought a field so that his disabled mother could look after donkeys there, and then sold it after his parents died, this is not obviously a winning attack line.
September 29, 2025 at 9:27 AM
There is something really puzzling about DonkeyGate as a political attack.
When the heart of the issue is that your political opponent bought a field so that his disabled mother could look after donkeys there, and then sold it after his parents died, this is not obviously a winning attack line.
When the heart of the issue is that your political opponent bought a field so that his disabled mother could look after donkeys there, and then sold it after his parents died, this is not obviously a winning attack line.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas
Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him” as a sign that he was…
Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him” as a sign that he was…
The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas
Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him” as a sign that he was engaging in good faith. Perhaps the perfect example of this is Ezra Klein’s silly eulogy claiming that Kirk was “
www.techdirt.com
September 17, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The “Debate Me Bro” Grift: How Trolls Weaponized The Marketplace Of Ideas
Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him” as a sign that he was…
Among the attempts to create hagiographic eulogies of Charlie Kirk, I’ve seen more than a few people suggest that Kirk should be respected for being willing to talk to “those who disagree with him” as a sign that he was…
This is of course correct, but I think the blind spot identified here is actually too specific. To say that the far right cause harm for pleasure risks focusing too much on the causing harm, and not enough on the pleasure. People get emotional payoffs from their ideological commitments themselves.
Liberals are unwilling to admit that there is a form of politics that exists in the world that centers around causing harm for pleasure, destroying things, and looting the rubble, and they're unwilling to admit that this politics has a stranglehold on the right
September 16, 2025 at 1:42 PM
This is of course correct, but I think the blind spot identified here is actually too specific. To say that the far right cause harm for pleasure risks focusing too much on the causing harm, and not enough on the pleasure. People get emotional payoffs from their ideological commitments themselves.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
HOPE not hate can reveal that Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK.
hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/e...
hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/e...
EXPOSED: Britain First’s “March for Remigration” led by convicted people smuggler
HOPE not hate can reveal that Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migran...
hopenothate.org.uk
August 20, 2025 at 9:29 AM
HOPE not hate can reveal that Lee Twamley, photographed at the front of Britain First’s “March for Remigration” in Manchester this month, has served prison time for trying to smuggle Vietnamese migrants into the UK.
hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/e...
hopenothate.org.uk/2025/08/19/e...
This vibe is indeed pervasive in the UK, but there is something odd about it. The worst piece of UK public policy in the last decade is Brexit, a policy driven explicitly over the heads of the governing class.
Having lived in both it seems to me that one thing that is genuinely different between the UK and the USA, as nebulous as this sounds, is that the UK just seems much more *hopeless* than the USA. There is just this pervasive sense that our governing class is entrenched yet totally out of ideas here.
this all almost feels like a parody.
July 15, 2025 at 1:16 PM
This vibe is indeed pervasive in the UK, but there is something odd about it. The worst piece of UK public policy in the last decade is Brexit, a policy driven explicitly over the heads of the governing class.
DUNE 3: JUST DESERTS
DUNE FAST, DUNE FURIOUS
DUNERAKER
July 9, 2025 at 10:12 PM
DUNE 3: JUST DESERTS
Somehow we allowed the meaning of "doxxing" to go from "exposing private information about people you disagree with in order to harm them" to "identifying the people doing crimes so they can be brought to justice". We should have called bs on this earlier.
July 9, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Somehow we allowed the meaning of "doxxing" to go from "exposing private information about people you disagree with in order to harm them" to "identifying the people doing crimes so they can be brought to justice". We should have called bs on this earlier.
Change my mind: some people need training to make them less assertive.
June 23, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Change my mind: some people need training to make them less assertive.
I haven't read Schuringa's book, so perhaps Setiya is unfair to him. But I do think it is worth expanding a bit on the discussion of the role of intuitions (since it seems to me that the true position is more nuanced than either acknowledge). So, a 🧵:
The Politics of Apoliticism | Los Angeles Review of Books
Kieran Setiya reviews Christoph Schuringa’s “A Social History of Analytic Philosophy.”
lareviewofbooks.org
June 13, 2025 at 1:36 PM
I haven't read Schuringa's book, so perhaps Setiya is unfair to him. But I do think it is worth expanding a bit on the discussion of the role of intuitions (since it seems to me that the true position is more nuanced than either acknowledge). So, a 🧵:
The thing with the whole "Joe Rogan, but on the left" discourse is that the problem with Joe Rogan is not fundamentally to do with his positioning on the right-left axis. The guy was a Bernie bro! Left-wing populists easily become right-wing populists because they have no intellectual standards.
May 25, 2025 at 6:24 PM
The thing with the whole "Joe Rogan, but on the left" discourse is that the problem with Joe Rogan is not fundamentally to do with his positioning on the right-left axis. The guy was a Bernie bro! Left-wing populists easily become right-wing populists because they have no intellectual standards.
Reposted by Daniel Elstein
"Katwala's paradox of racism"
In a demonstrably less prejudiced society (attitudes shifted, esp across generations), I am in receipt of much more racism
Minorities in 2020s have more equal opps than ever before - esp at very top - yet an increasingly unequal experience of more equal opportunities
In a demonstrably less prejudiced society (attitudes shifted, esp across generations), I am in receipt of much more racism
Minorities in 2020s have more equal opps than ever before - esp at very top - yet an increasingly unequal experience of more equal opportunities
May 24, 2025 at 9:14 AM
"Katwala's paradox of racism"
In a demonstrably less prejudiced society (attitudes shifted, esp across generations), I am in receipt of much more racism
Minorities in 2020s have more equal opps than ever before - esp at very top - yet an increasingly unequal experience of more equal opportunities
In a demonstrably less prejudiced society (attitudes shifted, esp across generations), I am in receipt of much more racism
Minorities in 2020s have more equal opps than ever before - esp at very top - yet an increasingly unequal experience of more equal opportunities