Brian J. Phillips

Very to the point and timely article, and actuslly a great mini-introduction to the phenomenon of the Muslim Brotherhood

With this and New Zealand listing two white supremacist networks Monday (O9A and Terrorgram), it's a big week for terrorist designation/proscription.

And it's more evidence of a divergence between the US and its traditional/former allies regarding who is a "terrorist."

As near as I can tell, several years ago the US cancelled the Beyond the Horizon and New Horizons training missions that did a lot of this stuff—vaccinating livestock, providing dental care, building clinics, etc.— throughout a number of Latin American countries. These were low cost wins.

Brutalism under a clear blue sky

New terrorism designations just dropped. This time, New Zealand designates Order of Nine Angles
and The Terrorgram Collective.

Complete list is here: www.police.govt.nz/advice/perso...

Congrats! Interesting findings, too.

Another subnational government - now Florida, following Texas - getting into terrorist proscription.

Beyond symbolism, it claims to prevent affiliates (or those that materially support group) from getting state jobs, contracts, or benefits.

Seems unlikely to stand up in court, but still.

$28 million of cocaine seized off Miami Beach. Three men charged Coast Guard and CBP seized about 3,715 pounds of cocaine worth $28 million from a 65-foot vessel near Government Cut off Miami Beach; three men were arrested.

Whoa … this is really strange.

Federal law enforcement managed to confiscate almost two tons of cocaine, and arrest 3 suspects, without blowing the boat out of the water or killing anyone.

🎁 link ⤵️

www.miamiherald.com/news/local/c...

And more cross-national sub-national studies!

Anyway this paper seems fascinating because 1. it looks at 6 countries (BRA, ELS, GTM, HND, MEX, VEN), 2. it sorts decapitations by the govt and decap by other crime groups!, 3. it looks at killing vs. arrests, and 4. it looks at different types of deaths as the outcomes.

So give it a read.

I should clarify: there are cross-national studies of targeting terrorist/insurgent leaders (Jordan, Milton and Price, Price, Tominaga...) but I'm not aware of a similar study of *criminal* group leaders.

Most previous work (like mine) only looked at one country, usually Mexico.

Anyway...

Organized criminal violence and leadership decapitation in Latin America’s drug wars This study examines the effects of arresting or killing leaders of organized criminal groups (OCGs) on drug market violence in six Latin American coun…

Check this out, "Organized criminal violence and leadership decapitation in Latin America’s drug wars" by Burke.

I think it's the first cross-national study of leadership removal, studying 6 countries. Finding: leadership targeting triggers more violence. 🧵

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Use of mental health medications in the population of Swedish PhD students is 40% higher than a matched sample by the fifth PhD year.

Be kind to PhD students. Don't take up PhD students you can't invest in. Alert prospective students of the reality of a PhD.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Pleased to speak with Fredricka Whitfield on @cnn.com today.

Explained that the legal problems with the killing spree at sea far go beyond the September 2nd incident.

Premeditated killing outside of armed conflict is called murder.

And there is no armed conflict.

A screenshot from "Arrested Development" showing Buster in an army uniform holding several stuffed animals. It is captioned in added text to read: "These are my awards, Mother, from FIFA."

This is precisely what Trump looks like

my great-grandparents arrived in the UK in the 1890s with nothing.
they sold pickles from the front room window, took in laundry, worked as tailors.
their children were nurses, teachers, salesmen.
their grandchildren were professors, designers, opticians, doctors, magistrates, entrepreneurs.

Tower of London reopens after apple crumble thrown at crown jewels display Four people arrested after civil-resistance group Take Back Power protest against inequality in the UK

Anti-monarchy group throws *custard and apple crumble* at crown jewels in Tower of London.

Will they be designated as terrorists?

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

There is no point along the chain of command—from then-VADM Bradley down to the crew member triggering the missile—where anyone has any excuse whatsoever for giving or following that order.

Canada announces measures related to Syria The Honourable Anita Anand, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, today announced measures taken by the Government of Canada in relation to Sy...

This is something, for sure. Canada rarely removes terrorists from its list of entities (as far as I recall, we've only previously removed MEK...):

(Other listed entities still include the LTTE and Sendero Luminoso, for context).

www.canada.ca/en/global-af...

NBC NEWS: Jack Smith’s final report “said that Trump ‘inspired his supporters to commit acts of physical violence’ by spreading ‘demonstrably and, in many cases, obviously false’ claims about the 2020 election.”

@ryanjreilly.com
www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...

I hadn't see that - thanks! Going to read.

Terrorist designation as a signal of international relationships/priorities! Someone should write this paper. Maybe one day I will.

Public smoking bans just got in under the wire, too. Younger folks might not realize how rare they used to be and how hard they were to enact.

For First Time in Decades, Child Deaths Will Rise This Year Almost a quarter of a million more children around the world are projected to die in 2025 than in 2024.

"About 243,000 more children under 5 years have died or will die this year than in 2024" due mostly to DOGE's illegal dismantling of USAID

Writing is thought-organizing. I’m usually better in interviews when talking about something I’ve recently written, with relevant facts at my fingertips and a logical progression in which to present them.

Having a machine write for you is cheating yourself. And brain scans evidently confirm it.

Venezuela’s Cartel de los Soles: what are the implications of its US ‘terrorist’ designation? The Trump administration deems the Venezuela-based Cartel de los Soles a terrorist organisation, but there are doubts over whether it actually exists.

ICYMI: I did an explainer for @theconversation.com on the Venezuelan “drug cartel” that is now a “terrorist organization” according to the US. Scare quotes needed! And a bit about implications of the terrorist designation.

theconversation.com/venezuelas-c...

The arts contribute to the sciences. Or: the importance of being a well-rounded person

They keep talking about designation as an FTO to imply it's legally relevant, and it isn't because that law has absolutely nothing to do with authorizing the use of force.

There’s no law saying it’s ok to kill someone for being a member of a US-designated terrorist organization. It’s not even a crime to be a member! (The UK criminalizes terrorist group membership, but the US, no.)

Material support of an FTO is punishable up to 20 years in prison. No death sentence.

Wivenhoe sunset