Colm O'Cinneide

Delighted to have been invited to give the Annual Lecture, and I enjoyed the evening very much!

Thanks @colmocinneide.bsky.social for your inspiring talk about the past, present, and future of equality law @unisouthampton.bsky.social. There has been positive feedback from the audience. Hopefully some will have gone away with renewed resolve to shape that future. #equality #law #annual #lecture

Not uncommon, @sundersays.bsky.social. See "Journal of Politics", Volume 85, Number 1, January 2023, doi.org/10.1086/722042

Annual Lecture: Taking Stock & Looking Forward: The Past, Present & Future Join us for a thought-provoking discussion of equality law, reflecting on the past, understanding the present, and envisioning the future.

Last chance to register! Annual Lecture Wed 25 Feb, 6-7 PM: “Taking Stock & Looking Forward: The Past, Present & Future of Equality Law” by @colmocinneide.bsky.social, Professor of Constitutional and Human Rights Law at UCL, www.eventbrite.com/e/annual-lec... (hybrid).
#equality #law #lecture

worst structural con law decision in the 20th century

It's really too bad the United States Congress no longer exists.

100% agree.

This is one of the funniest graphs of all time.

Good diplomatic reasons for Europeans to try to appeal for calm and work it out behind the scenes with the US.

But just this morning Trump posted pictures of him putting the flag on Greenland, and presenting his conquests of Greenland and Canada to European leaders.

Frodo: I wish so much unbelievably stupid shit had not happened in my time Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. This is all exceptionally stupid, though

Yes. My theory of the moment is Miller/Vance thought their view that immigrants threaten social solidarity would be widely shared. But ICE raids are driving native-born Americans to show solidarity with immigrants quite courageously. Now Miller is trying to disrupt that alliance with state violence.

A table with three headings at the top which read: Friend-Enemy Politics, Pluralist Politics, and Technocratic Politics. The first row is titled "social ontology of politics (what is the political world made of?), the second is titled "task of politics (what do we think we're doing in politics?), the third is titled "goal of politics (what does politics generate?):" The social ontology of politics in friend-enemy politics is a "world made up of friends and enemies. No neutrality or fairness. Identity overriding," in pluralist politics it is a "world made up of innumerable groups who must find ways to live together. Identity is central," in technocratic politics, the "world [is] composed of individuals who experience common problems. No groups, no identity." The task of politics in the friend-enemy mode is "for the virtuous 'Us' to defeat the evil 'Them,'" in pluralist politics it is "conciliation of different groups and their competing interests," in technocratic politics it is "solving social problems." The goal of politics in friend-enemy politics is "public tokens of 'our' domination or of enemy's defeat;" in pluralist politics it is "fair compromise;" in technocratic politics it is "effective policy." A green circle around the column heading "pluralist politics" is joined to a red circle around the column heading "friend-enemy politics" by a yellow arrow, denoting movement from the former to the latter mode of politics.

What's happened since the 2024 election is that US politics has moved from a version of the political game at the national level that was predominantly governed by the norms, rules, and expectations of the pluralist game of politics to the friend-enemy mode.

There you have it; the Trump admin allows ICE lawyer James Rodden to stay on the job. His personal social media account praised Hitler, supported white nationalism, and said that America started going downhill the day that Lincoln was elected.

Some left-wing commentary on Iran seems oblivious to the fate of the Tudeh leadership & the rest of the secular socialist left after Khomeini's 'anti-imperialist' takeover - not to mention other groups, such as the Baha'i, feminist activists etc.

See this 2024 UN Special Rapporteur report:

Really interesting thread.

If the figures we're getting out of Iran are in the right league, this weekend was, I think, one of the bloodiest state crackdowns of all time. People are talking 12,000-20,000 dead; for comparison Hungary in 1956 was about 2,500, Tiananmen - across country, in multiple cities - probably 1000+

Such a loss. Listening to Ó Riada sa Gaiety tonight - a milestone of Irish music & culture.

I do not trust a person in matters of moral clarity when their views of government murder of innocent people changes depending on the location of the government and the profile of the victims.

Sir James Munby Obituary Sir Nicholas Mostyn writes about the life of Sir James Munby, who died on 1 January 2026: "a great leader, a brilliant historian, a remarkable lawyer, and a superb writer".

Obituary of Sir James Munby by Sir Nicholas Mostyn, wonderful as much for the non-legal asides as for the cases - "he always described himself as a passionate ferro-equestrian" - and for this:

"a kind, witty, and deeply compassionate human being"

financialremediesjournal.com/sir-james-mu...

Tom Stevenson · Climbing the Ziggurat: Xi Jinping’s Inheritance China, which in the post-Cold War period was viewed as either lunch for American capital or an irredeemable dungeon, has...

Excellent LRB piece on Xi Jinping - fair & balanced. Well worth a read.

(For what it's worth, I think there is more substance to the 'New Development Concept' than this suggests.)

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

An Taisce urges public to object to ‘unlawful’ caps on judicial review fees Heritage and environmental charity says Government’s proposal is a ‘significant attack on civil society and public accountability’

Founded in 1948, @antaisce.bsky.social is Ireland’s oldest environmental charity, now says in all that time, it has never faced a threat to its ability to fulfill its legal functions regarding planning on a par with current government proposals.

www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/20...

My initial take on the criminal law governing the ICE shooting in MN:
609.066 of the MN Code controls a self-defense claim for a "peace officer" under state law. I'm not going to consider federal law given the capture of the DOJ by the Trump administration. 1/

I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance".

It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder".

The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.

ICE shot and killed a woman on camera today. We all saw the video.

The Trump administration is lying.

Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting “They killed my wife,” the distraught woman says, adding, “They shot her in the head.”

NEWS: In a heartbreaking video, after ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, a woman who was in the same SUV cries out: “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do."

“We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the distraught woman sobs.

www.advocate.com/news/minneso...

It's unfair to say that X is only a site for Nazis *or* porn - it's also a site for Nazi porn.

Professor Fired for Charlie Kirk Post Gets $500,000 From School, Is Reinstated Professor Darren Michael has reportedly been reinstated and given $50,000 after being fired over posts about assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The post Professor Fired for Charlie Kirk Post Gets $500,000 From School, Is Reinstated first appeared on Mediaite.

Professor Fired for Charlie Kirk Post Gets $500,000 From School, Is Reinstated

The Melian Dialogue really ended in the stone quarries of Syracuse.

(Niche tweet directed at certain Defenders of Western Civilisation.)

Useful primer here:
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69440c...

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, WTO members stood up in Council and committees to condemn the invasion as a breach of international law.

Will the same happen again for the US concerning the invasion and kidnapping in Venezuela?

What happens if the US uses force in Greenland? In Cuba?