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mc00.bsky.social
Max Colbert
@mc00.bsky.social
26K followers 4.7K following 1.7K posts
Freelance journo/researcher.

Bylines: Guardian, Mirror, Good Law Project, DeSmog, Byline Times, Democracy for Sale, Index on Censorship, People Vs Big Tech, etc.
Cited: BBC, LBC, The Times, Searchlight, etc.

mcfoiareturns@proton.me
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mc00.bsky.social
Reminder that, of the identified UK funding to Tufton St. think tanks, around 46% of the money going to these "impartial" organisations comes from foundations run by, or with a Tory peer sitting on the board of trustees.

They don't declare their donors, and almost all hold dire transparency ratings
November 6, 2025 at 6:15 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Is *this* worth a $1 trillion reward?
November 6, 2025 at 4:03 PM
mc00.bsky.social
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
November 4, 2025 at 11:25 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Walter White "Jesse, what the fuck are you talking about" meme
November 1, 2025 at 4:07 PM
mc00.bsky.social
I've been in a good groove of finding really decent new music lately.

Among them 'Zookeeper', the 2025 release by Victor Jones, a sort of surrealist dancepunk group, was really interesting and is definitely worth checking out.
October 23, 2025 at 6:25 AM
mc00.bsky.social
Both Gill and former WSI member Elizabeth Heverin (I've been told she's left) have both appeared at Scyldings 'Witan' events. In the case of Heverin listed as a speaker alongside people like Carl Benjamin and once again, Ed Dutton, who you can read more about here:
hopenothate.org.uk/case-files-e...
October 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM
mc00.bsky.social
October 18, 2025 at 1:23 PM
mc00.bsky.social
'As the A.D.F.’s influence in Britain has grown since Mr. Trump’s re-election, Mr. Farage has suddenly started speaking out against abortion.'
October 13, 2025 at 11:29 AM
mc00.bsky.social
October 6, 2025 at 4:59 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Have to agree and say I'm not super thrilled about living in interesting times.
October 3, 2025 at 1:24 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Don't agree with digital ID per se, but what's interesting is that Palantir are allowed to make statements like this in The Times, clearly meant to influence the political conversation, while simultaneously being awarded hundreds of millions in gov contracts.
October 3, 2025 at 1:05 PM
mc00.bsky.social
September 26, 2025 at 6:49 AM
mc00.bsky.social
Unrepentant.
September 19, 2025 at 4:23 AM
mc00.bsky.social
Larry Tesler, inventor of the cut, copy and paste commands, dies at 74
September 16, 2025 at 6:41 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Cato, Sept 2025: 'Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States'
www.cato.org/blog/politic...
September 15, 2025 at 11:29 PM
mc00.bsky.social
CCJLS, Aug 2021: 'Far-left versus Far-right Fatal Violence: An Empirical Assessment of the Prevalence of Ideologically Motivated Homicides in the United States'
ccjls.scholasticahq.com/article/2697...
September 15, 2025 at 11:21 PM
mc00.bsky.social
ADL report, 'Murder and Extremism in the United States in 2023', Feb 2024:

(Apologies, the first post was, of course, supposed to read ADL, not the ADF)
www.adl.org/resources/re...
September 15, 2025 at 10:37 PM
mc00.bsky.social
CSIS, June 2020, 'The Escalating Terrorism Problem in the United States', covering terrorist plots and attacks in the US between 1994 and 2020:
September 15, 2025 at 10:14 PM
mc00.bsky.social
'A comparison of political violence by left-wing, right-wing, and Islamist extremists in the United States and the world', July 2022 - study using data on 'Individuals Radicalised in the United States' and the global terrorism database:
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
September 15, 2025 at 9:47 PM
mc00.bsky.social
This is also a very good explainer article, probably the best I've read so far, on the lack of clear motive and meanings of the bullet casings:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
As an academic who studies how online culture is translated into real-world politics, the information presented Friday morning hardly surprised me, but it made me worry - the words "hey fascist, catch this!" followed by a series of arrows "speaks for itself" - he could not be more wrong. The shell casings are not in and of themselves evidence of any mainstream political ideology The inscription most likely to confuse the average person is the one on the bullet that was fired. "Notices, bulges, owo, what's this?" To the very online, however, the phrase is immediately recognisable. Fully explaining the reference, which goes back to the mid 2010s, would require a whole article in itself. But in brief, it was essentially a way to mock "furry" role-playing, where people pretend to be anthropomorphic animals. There is absolutely no indication that Robinson himself was a furry or was involved in that subculture in anyway. Rather, its inclusion shows how memes and references online often evolve the more they are iterated upon. "It suggests a view of the world and morality warped by total immersion within a culture of deep irony and antisocial behavior" But covers of the song "Bella Ciao" often appear in World War II-era video games. In 2022, for example, the popular grand strategy game Hearts of Iron 4 released downloadable content that focuses on Italy, with a version of "Bella Ciao" included for users who pre-ordered. Hearts of Iron users have created mods for the game (some of which imagine Germany winning the war) that include Bella Ciao in their music packs. The song has also appeared in Far Cry 6 and the Netflix show "Money Heist". Assuming its inclusion is inherently ideological, and not just another reference to a piece of culture that the culprit enjoyed, would be a mistake. There is even evidence the groypers, online fans of the far-right political pundit Nick Fuentes, have co-opted the song, with a single remix appearing on a Spotify playlist, but this is simply one of many possible ways Robinson might have learned of the song. Until other evidence about Robinson's mindset emerges, what is public does not prove any political ideology. Instead, it suggests a view of the world and morality warped by total immersion within a culture of deep irony and antisocial behavior. Cox was wrong in saying that any of these references "speak for themselves", but he was right about one thing. All of us need to "log off, turn off, and touch grass"
September 15, 2025 at 8:44 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Elon Musk, 2025: "I really think that there’s got to be a change of government in Britain... Violence is coming, You either fight back or you die"

Musk, 2024: "civil war is inevitable" and Britain is "a tyrannical police state"

Our entire political class, still posting on X:
"I pretend I do not see it" meme
September 15, 2025 at 8:53 AM
mc00.bsky.social
abcnews.go.com/US/tyler-rob...
Text: 'Of the three unfired casings, one read: "Hey fascist! CATCH!" with an arrow symbol pointing up, then to the right, and then three arrows pointing down. Another unfired casing read: "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!" Seemingly in reference to the Italian anti-fascist song popularised following World War II and another unfired casing read "If you read this, you are GAY lmao." The meanings of the writings on the casings are unclear. It is also unclear if the writings are meant to be a misdirection or distraction for investigators. The motives of the suspect remain unclear.
September 12, 2025 at 9:37 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Yeah, I'm not sure the "it's not his signature" line is going to work.

people.com/politics/a-b...

www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/u...
Signed copy of Trump's autobiography from 2000 Comparisons of Trump's signature between 1995 and 2003 Trump letter to Epstein, featuring drawing of what looks like an underage girl and his signature.
September 9, 2025 at 11:23 AM
mc00.bsky.social
Great to be back in the print edition of @bylinetimes.bsky.social:
Print edition of Byline Times, article about Reform's "dolge" initiative in Kent county council.
September 6, 2025 at 12:01 PM
mc00.bsky.social
Farage is still sticking with 'Family, Community, Country' as his three-word slogan of choice, I see, which he seems to be implying is original, but is actually just recycled from David Cameron in 2009.
www.theguardian.com/politics/200...
August 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM