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Matthew Brooker

@mbrooker.bsky.social

Columnist for Bloomberg Opinion in London. CFA holder, from Slough, 25 years in Hong Kong, 5 in Shanghai. Opinions are my own.

1,504 Followers  |  1,553 Following  |  1,247 Posts  |  Joined: 22.07.2023
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Posts by Matthew Brooker (@mbrooker.bsky.social)

It’s called Monday

09.03.2026 07:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Celebrating the existence of Hong Kong heroine(s) Gwyneth Ho (and Chow Hang-tung) on International Women's Day.

What a sad indictment of Hong Kong that they are political prisoners. At the same time, it is a tribute to (pre-NSL) Hong Kong that it produced women like them.

08.03.2026 13:23 β€” πŸ‘ 13    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 1

War with everyone everywhere all the time. But always the most embarrassing, pusillanimous, toadying response imaginable to the Kremlin. Russia, Russia, Russia.

08.03.2026 16:02 β€” πŸ‘ 12    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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A sunset in Hong Kong, 2021

08.03.2026 19:45 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Water firms sent bailiffs to tens of thousands of homes for debts under Β£1,000 Most recorded visits are for smaller debts, data from England and Wales suggests, though method of recovery is a postcode lottery

β€œOnly five directors of water companies have been prosecuted in the last 30 years… The system is more interested in prosecuting families that are struggling to pay their water bills than the company directors responsible for polluting our rivers and seas”

www.theguardian.com/business/202...

06.03.2026 10:34 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Jimmy Lai will not appeal conviction, paving way for political negotiations over release Decision marks end of years-long legal saga for 78-year-old critic of Chinese Communist party

Is a deal in the offing?

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

06.03.2026 09:47 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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China prepares landmark law curtailing minority language rights Bill to β€˜promote ethnic unity’ by mandating Mandarin use would hasten decline of other cultures, critics say

China prepares landmark law curtailing minority language rights

www.ft.com/content/94be...

03.03.2026 06:57 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1

Russia needs higher oil prices

01.03.2026 08:45 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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You see what happens, Larry, when a man doesn’t get the Nobel Peace Prize he deserves?

28.02.2026 18:47 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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You can just say things.

28.02.2026 08:21 β€” πŸ‘ 4671    πŸ” 1317    πŸ’¬ 90    πŸ“Œ 98

Will’s live-blogging skills were an underrated element of his art

28.02.2026 15:39 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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THIS.

28.02.2026 12:21 β€” πŸ‘ 27765    πŸ” 11361    πŸ’¬ 1002    πŸ“Œ 604
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Trump has ordered government agencies to stop using Anthropic AI tools The move announced on social media comes after a standoff between Anthropic's boss and the US Department of Defense.

Was the timing of this an accident? Were they getting ready to play with their AI war toys?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

28.02.2026 15:35 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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"Assemble the Board of Peace - I'm starting a war".

28.02.2026 08:28 β€” πŸ‘ 14608    πŸ” 3310    πŸ’¬ 416    πŸ“Œ 124
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Hello darkness my old friend...

27.02.2026 08:33 β€” πŸ‘ 1539    πŸ” 215    πŸ’¬ 51    πŸ“Œ 82
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Farage makes 'cheating' claim as 'family voting' concerns raised in Gorton and Denton Concerns were raised about people forcing family members to vote in a certain way during the contest in Manchester

The election was stolen! What should we say next, Mr Trump?

www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

27.02.2026 18:24 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Greens win key UK by-election in blow to Labour Loss a severe setback to Prime Minister Keir Starmer after divisive campaign

Charming man

Reform’s Matthew Goodwin: β€œI think the progressives were told how to vote and I think what you saw was a coalition of Islamists and woke progressives that came together to dominate the constituency.”

www.ft.com/content/c7fe...

27.02.2026 07:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œThat’s what McMurphy does, and inevitably he can’t sweep the road clean. But his example is ultimately seen to be the stuff of life-sustaining hope for the rest of us.”

26.02.2026 06:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Writing about tank man. In 1976

β€œThe film is also about the nature of heroism, and indeed the necessity for it. What do we think, as the director has himself asked, about the man who fights a tank with a broomstick?”

26.02.2026 06:03 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

β€œHis chief lesson is not that the nurse and her cohorts are Gorgons but that the evil they do is compounded by the undeniable fact that they think they are doing right. As much like those who control eastern Europe, in fact as capitalism’s grislier lackeys.”

26.02.2026 06:02 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest reviewed – archive, 1976 26 February 1976: An example of how a subject possibly destined for the art circuit can be hoist by its bootstraps into the commercial field and festooned with Oscar nominations

Reading this right after reading about Jimmy Lai

β€œIt is not so much about mental institutions as about what happens when institutions of any kind take up an attitude towards those over who they have power that is fundamentally insufferable.”

www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...

26.02.2026 06:01 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Ah, BT. Sign a contract in September, watch the price rise in March. Beats me why this is remotely legal. Law of contract?

24.02.2026 13:03 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 0
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I found a pangram word but the NYT says it doesn’t exist πŸ˜₯

21.02.2026 13:26 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0

This story is 🀯

20.02.2026 14:34 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Banning Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation was a classic case of state overreach. Reaching for the sledgehammer when other tools are available is a slippery slope toward erosion of free speech and illiberalism

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

18.02.2026 11:01 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Epstein sympathized with Kavanaugh during supreme court confirmation, emails show Files show convicted sex abuser messaged with Ken Starr and others about Kavanaugh accuser Christine Blasey Ford

Of course he did

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

16.02.2026 20:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now and Godfather star, dies aged 95 From the classic To Kill a Mockingbird to blockbuster Gone in 60 Seconds, the Oscar-winning actor’s films spanned a remarkable range

A giant of cinema. RIP

www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...

16.02.2026 19:10 β€” πŸ‘ 3    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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That’s it then, right? Landslide defeat coming up

16.02.2026 15:07 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Eden Hazard: β€˜I’m more of a taxi driver than a football player now, but it’s OK’ The former Chelsea and Real Madrid idol wants nothing more than to be remembered as β€˜a good player and a funny guy’ after a vintage career of league titles, European triumphs and spats with JosΓ© Mouri...

What a wonderful player he was. I’m sorry he didn’t get his second act at Madrid

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

15.02.2026 14:39 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Live Updates: In Munich, Rubio Calls Europe a Friend but Says It Must Change

The US needs to change

In Munich, Rubio Calls Europe a Friend but Says It Must Change www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02...

14.02.2026 15:12 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0