Gill Bennett

Subsurface Defence Technology – A Smörgåsbord of Choice The wide variety of emerging subsurface technologies is both an opportunity for the Royal Navy and presents a challenge in terms of prioritisation of limited resources

'One of the main challenges the Royal Navy faces is fielding systems rapidly to enhance capability in the near term whilst maintaining flexibility to embrace improvements and future technology' writes Commander Edward Black.

On the second anniversary of the October 7 attacks, revisit yesterday's RUSI webinar that assesses how the subsequent war in Gaza and Israel’s regional operations have fundamentally challenged the political and security balance of power in the Middle East: https://bit.ly/48Qyhf6

🎙️How can societies accustomed to a peace dividend adapt to new global threats? Dr Fiona Hill, who served the first Trump administration as a Russia expert, shares her expertise on Russian, American, and British defence strategies in the latest Talking Strategy episode: https://bit.ly/3KZd2Og

“Mysteriously.”

Staying alive vs taking control Labour's budget choices

New post just out:

"Staying alive vs taking control"

Labour's big choice at the budget is whether they just want to try and survive it or whether they're willing to take some bigger risks that would have future payoffs.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...

Rising antisemitism reflects wider social ills, says Britain’s former counter-terrorism co-ordinator Sir David Omand on why social cohesion in the face of extremism is a security imperative

Sir David Omand on why social cohesion in the face of extremism is a security imperative

Will there finally be peace in Gaza? One never goes too far wrong by being pessimistic about events in the Middle East.

New post from @ldfreedman.bsky.social

"Will there finally be peace in Gaza?"

A must read if you want to understand how we ended up with the proposed peace deal and what might happen next.

(£/free trial)

samf.substack.com/p/will-there...

Agree, a lovely film—set just where I live.

Soviet-Bloc and US Intelligence Operations During the Cold War Join Douglas Selvage, expert on East German State Security files, historian Gary Keeley, and Mark Kramer for a discussion of Cold War archives that offer valuable resources for students and scholars a...

Should be a great event for those interested in researching Cold War intelligence. Speakers are @deselv.bsky.social of the Institute for Historical Scholarship at Humboldt University in Berlin; Gary Keeley former historian at CIA; and Mark Kramer, director of the Cold War Studies Project at Harvard.

A whopping 38% of Russia’s refining capacity is now offline, according to The Economist.

Gasoline output fell by 1 million tons in September which has created a 20% domestic shortfall.

Repairs may take months because of sanctions limiting access to parts and tech.

Area | RGS Geography Journal | Wiley Online Library This paper develops a historical and political geographical analysis of the UK Foreign Office's Information Research Department (IRD). To date, there has been no geographical study of IRD and through...

“The geographies of the information research department”

Enjoyed this “critical geographical analysis” of British covert operations

And there’s me thinking that geography was just oxbow lakes and erosion!

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1...

To put events today in long term context, in the mid-90s during the height of Oslo my mother was in a Jewish care home in N. London. When it held a fundraising jumble sale it had to be patrolled by the police.

What Kori said

Hegseth’s Unusual, Partisan, and Dangerous Convening of Military Leaders If the defense secretary’s event allayed concerns of DEI in the military for some, it aggravated concerns of a politicized military for all.

@kschake.bsky.social reflects on yesterday's address by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Trump at a gathering of the country's top military officials. www.lawfaremedia.org/article/hegs...

Identity Crisis How Labour can rebuild their voter coalition

New post:

"Identity Crisis"

Labour keeps trying to appeal to a lost white working class vote + alienating middle-class grads / ethnic minority voters that are a much bigger part of their coalition.

Why? And how can they rebuild their coalition more effectively?

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/i...

What will all the serving female officers think of that?

FRUS klaxon: another new volume is out today on START I!

history.state.gov/historicaldo...

If mil leaders don’t buy the message, they can keep quiet or self-select out. Those who don’t want to be part of politicized military (or agree w/ the ideology) leave. This aims to weed out committed professionals who strongly adhere to norms of nonpartisanship. 6/

To the generals & admirals in attendance, it signals that overt ideological conformity with the administration is not just appropriate, but key to their career advancement and to protecting their units and commands. 3/

Disgraceful and dangerous incitement by the President and Secretary; reassuring to see the disciplined professionalism of our military leaders amidst it.

I’m a US citizen and a veteran. ICE arrested me for no reason. Jailed for three days without an explanation or ability to notify anyone, George Retes argues the only path to healing starts with the government taking accountability for its actions.

Veteran assaulted by ICE: 'three days in federal custody with no charges, no phone call to my family, no access to a judge or an attorney, no shower, and no explanation for their actions. It is deeply troubling..'
newsletter.ofthebrave.org/p/im-a-us-ci...

I'm getting really really fed up at constant reassertion that welfare spending is "out of control" when it is the same as the average for the past few decades.

One reason disability benefit costs have risen is because core support has fallen.

Author Barbara Pym may have worked for MI5, research suggests New work says novelist, who was a censor during second world war, may been employed to look for coded messages

Must admit my prior ignorance of Barbara Pym's work

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/m...

The Economist Insider launches soon A new premium video experience from The Economist, coming on October 9th

📺 This week The Economist announced a new video series: The Economist Insider, comprising five new shows. From October I will host Inside Defence, a monthly show featuring in-depth interviews w/ senior figures in defence & nat'l security.
www.economist.com/comingsoon
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cshx...

“As Long As It Takes”: What does it mean to commit to Ukraine's security?

We are thrilled to welcome Sir @ldfreedman.bsky.social to @qmul.bsky.social to deliver the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social’s fourth distinguished “Hennessy Lecture” on 8 October.

You can book your free ticket below!

Russian provocations How should NATO and the EU react?

New post looks at what Russia is trying to achieve with its airspace provocations; the NATO and EU response; Trump’s apparent change of heart; and the latest ideas on helping Ukraine manage the financial burden of the war. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/russian-pr...

Plus what to make of Trump's latest apparent change of mind on Ukraine.

Russian provocations How should NATO and the EU react?

New post from @ldfreedman.bsky.social

On Russia's provocations in Poland, Romania, Denmark and elsewhere.

And what NATO and the EU can do to respond.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/r...

Ghosts of Iron Mountain: How a 1960s Hoax Shaped Conspiracy Culture - The Conduit Thurs 9 Oct, 6pm - 7:30pm Journalist Phil Tinline uncovers how a political satire became a tool for extremists – and what it reveals about America today.

The Trump administration says real things are hoaxes and hoaxes are real? That might not be the first time that happened...

Join me and @jamesrball.com at 6pm on Thu 9 Oct to talk about the most spectacular hoax in modern America, and what it tells us about now:

www.theconduit.com/upcoming-eve...

75% of care workers *today* were born in the UK, is such a fun stat imho