John E. Richardson

America’s Mad Emperor Jeffrey Frankel sees disturbing parallels between Donald Trump's unhinged behavior and that of ancient Rome's Caligula.

Trump as Caligula
www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/o...
"He built opulent villas and hosted lavish parties, thereby bankrupting Rome. He reversed all the actions of his predecessor Tiberius, while continuing to blame him for anything that went wrong. He declared war on the English Channel..."

I have told a few MPs this. I genuinely feel a lot of adults hate the existence and needs of young people. Then they act surprised/bewildered that these kids are anxious/depressed.

Hmm, I really like Ed, but this distinction looks perilously close to schaffendes Kapital vs raffendes Kapital

Hate-filled fake videos about London are everywhere. We've obtained a recording of a TikToker confessing to secretly filming Londoners in their homes for clicks.

He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger.

Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...

Please stop using substack

Starmer faces questions over visit to Palantir office alongside Mandelson Former ambassador was also shareholder in lobbying group that counted US tech firm as a client

New on FT website:

Downing Street has refused to say whether Sir Keir Starmer knew Palantir was a client of Peter Mandelson’s lobbying firm when they both visited the company in Washington last February — ahead of it winning a £240mn UK government contract.

www.ft.com/content/5bba...

Its not a new sentiment but: Fuck Matt Goodwin.

I have family members who'd dearly like to have kids, but can't due to medical stuff. Friends who have spent years trying but it hadnt happened. Multiple miscarriages.

Fuck Goodwin and everyone who supports him.

Devastatingly sad.
Every Labour MP should be forced to read this. In fact, every MP, who rushed back to Parliament to vote to save one steel mill, whilst hastening the collapse of dozens of universities - and harming the students, staff, communities and economies universities sustain and support

It is with deep sadness that I have to report the passing of Chip Berlet. He was one of the few people to consistently research and organize against the U.S. Far Right from the 1970s through the '00s. His co-authored 2000 book "Right-Wing Populism in America" unfortunately remains all-to-relevant.

Screenshot of a post from an account called “Goyim Bureau of Investigation,” labeled as a parody account. The post shows a two panel meme using a man standing at a whiteboard. In the first panel, text on the board reads “The world is run by Jewish pedophiles.” In the second panel, the text reads “We need to do more than just post edgy memes. It’s time for physical removal.” The figure’s face is replaced with a skull-like cartoon with glowing red eyes and a black helmet bearing a fascist-style symbol. The post includes engagement metrics showing over 100,000 views.

Screenshot of a tweet by David Miller stating that Jeffrey Epstein was a Mossad superspy and referring to a so-called “Jewish Empire.” The tweet claims that media institutions protect Jewish power and compares mainstream media unfavorably to online influencers. Below the tweet is an embedded post from “Sneako Updates” showing a paused video clip from Piers Morgan Uncensored, with multiple commentators on screen and Sneako appearing in a smaller window. Engagement metrics show tens of thousands of views.

THREAD 🧵:

The Epstein files are real. The antisemitism they're fueling is also real.

And right now, the second part is getting almost no attention.

A fiction author can do anything, we’re bound by the facts science communication, science and society, public understanding of science, science & the media, research

My research is featured on the Public Understanding of Science blog with a brief introduction to our paper published in their journal (here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...) and the toolkit which can be download here: livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3194747/

sagepus.blogspot.com/2026/02/a-fi...

Very sad news. RIP Chip

free speech latest

Nigel Farage wants to cut price of beer by reinstating two-child benefit cap Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged to reinstate the two-child limit on benefits to pay for a 5p cut off pints of beer to boost pubs.

How can the other parties not beat this? I mean, seriously? These people should be shouted down in roars of laughter the minute they say this. Just toxic. www.bigissue.com/news/politic...

Deaths in Boat Disaster in English Channel Were Avoidable, Inquiry Finds

More than 30 people trying to reach Britain in a small boat were left to drown over several harrowing hours because of failures by rescue authorities, an inquiry has found

The incident in November 2021 is the deadliest known small boat disaster in the English Channel
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/w...

Nigel Farage tells GB News that Keir Starmer's decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as US ambassador shows his judgement is "seriously wrong" and he should stand down as Prime Minister.

Here's what Farage said when Mandelson was appointed

Congratulations! Fantastic achievement 🎉

Really sorry to hear this @leloveluck.bsky.social I've followed your work for years. Just awful.

Here's who the Washington Post just laid off.

That’s not cricket: How ‘creeping Hindutva’ stumped sportsmanship ahead of the T20 World Cup The reality of the sport is that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in local Indian politics can cause a typhoon in another country’s cricketing fortunes.

www.dawn.com/news/1970764...

An 0-coast analogue synth that I got to work

New toy 💙

An interview with my lovely @uonenglish.bsky.social colleague, Kevin Harvey, about his fascinating and moving book about the power of literature as a form of medicine. You should read the interview, and then buy the book!

‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university? When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...

A good illustration of the wide-reaching impact of university campus closures on students, staff, and communities www.theguardian.com/environment/...

One of several scholarships for Palestinian students available at the University of Liverpool. This one is for the MRes in Irish Studies. Please share to relevant circles.

www.liverpool.ac.uk/study/fees-a...

lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · 49m I was just laid off by The Washington Post in the middle of a warzone. I have no words. I'm devastated. Quote lizzie johnson @lizziejohnsonnn · Jan 25 Waking up without power, heat, or running water. (Again.) But the work here in Kyiv continues. Warming up in the car, writing in pencil — pen ink freezes — by headlamp.

INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.

What about gay? Where’s the gay voice in all of this? It’s all been erased, forgotten, lost to AIDS or thrown out. I’ve literally been working on this for 16 years trying to amplify this underground gay music scene. - Josh Cheon interviewed by the Guardian www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

It's mad that Starmer, a lawyer, would think first of what is politically beneficial for his party, rather than potentially prejudicing an ongoing investigation.

Police and Crime Commissioner censured for supporting anti-migrant protests | Searchlight Censured - Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne, who has aligned herself with anti-migrant agita ...

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Katy Bourne, who has aligned herself with anti-migrant agitation in Crowborough, has been formally censured by the Sussex Police and Crime Panel, seriously undermining the impartiality expected of her office.

Read more here:

University's disastrous new campus could be sold for just £14m It was previously decided to sell the short-lived campus

The people responsible have either left for other high-power jobs or are still at the Uni. No consequences if you're high enough in the food chain.
www.nottinghampost.com/news/notting... University of Nottingham's disastrous 'vanity project' campus could be sold for just £14m

oil painting La mujer barbuda/Magdalena Ventura con su marido; a bearded woman nursing her baby while standing up. Queer in/visibility in pink, plus a QR code to the conference website

Call for Papers, please circulate!

Ethics of queer in/visibility
Heidelberg, September 30 - October 2, 2026
queer-in-visibility.de

Keynote speakers:
J Calder
(Linguistics, University of Colorado Boulder)
Anna Hájková @ankahajkova.bsky.social
(History, University of Warwick)