Joost

Nor between them and BSW..

You'd think that this would make them more impervious to intimidation by the Trump regime... But that doesn't mean much if they really already agreed with most of the Trump regime's lines in the first place and only required a little bit of encouragement to fall in line

In terms of reporting, yes. In terms of reach, no

"Whistles are historically associated with police and military operations"

So what they're saying is... they're perfect for warning against ICE patrols

Sounds like maybe a call-back to the Douglas Adams quote? "In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and been widely regarded as a bad move."

Newly released files shed new light on Chomsky and Epstein relationship Latest communications undermine Chomsky’s earlier claims that he primarily had financial dealings with Epstein

“I’ve watched the horrible way you are being treated in the press and public," Chomsky wrote to Epstein in 2019 (!), citing “a hysteria that has developed about abuse of women” and "the current mood – which, I presume, will fade away, even if not in time to prevent much torture and distress.”

Does the average voter even know what is meant, exactly, by "hard power" and "soft power"?

Trump, in an Escalation, Calls for Republicans to ‘Nationalize’ Elections

I don't want to sound like a rube, but is it weird that this NY Times article relays Trump's comments about wanting the Republicans to "nationalize" the elections without ever commenting on whether they could?

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...

Ah I hadn't noticed the dates! Sorry, Nathan.

SMER's losses have almost all been eaten up by parties even further to the right, though (green line). The government as a whole (yellow line) is only losing ground because its most moderate member, Hlas, has collapsed

bsky.app/profile/medz...

Speaking of copy that's hard to parse... "If Starmer stops Burnham, only Greens can stop Reform"? I know what they meant, but that seems like it should have been workshopped a bit more

No, it looks like they've withdrawn from the race

"he delivered pizzas for Pizza Hut in Withington"

Maybe it says something about the journalistic milieu in England that having earned an extra bob with some temping work or a sideline when you were in uni is seen as some kind of bona fide working class credential. Everyone did that!

Ha, okay, fair enough, to each their own

Yeah that makes sense. That's probably another parallel to the Iraq war-era backlash, since that also took place at a moment of broader disillusionment with New Labour

(I think they're right, btw; but that's neither here nor there since we're not discussing actual Gaza events, we're discussing the likely electoral sentiments of British Muslims)

Yeah I think the target demographic we're discussing here very much sees Gaza in the same terms as Iraq.

The "working class + socially conservative" dimension didn't stop Muslim voters from turning to the famously middle class and socially liberal LibDems in massive numbers during the Iraq war. Why would it be different this time?

Okay but surviving on pizza slices and bagels sounds miserable when you can batch cook rice with beans & chicken*

*If you have a hot plate and a freezing compartment. I realize that's an issue for some! But it isn't for millions of working class New Yorkers for whom cooking isn't "a vanity project"

The entirety of the section on child-rearing in our town's library. Nothing but the most up to date insights for struggling parents!

Ukraine maps are back WarMapper control maps for Ukraine will make their return this week.

Map updates will be starting again this week for Ukraine.

There have been a couple of small changes to the way I make them, which are detailed here:

"Cultures East and West" was a similarly vintage and cheesy course name. And then there was "Being Black in the U.S."...

Seeing back the course name "Peoples of the Former Soviet Union" made me chuckle, because it sounds like the title of one of those brochures the USSR used to publish, with pictures of folkloric costumes and such.

Never mind the jobs you had, tell me five classes you took in college

1. Nationalism, Separatism, Terrorism
2. Comparative Literature: Caucasus, Central Asia
3. Peoples of the Former Soviet Union
4. Anthropology and Gender
5. Theatre and Drama by Minority Authors in the U.S.

She "proactively" reported on the major propaganda movie a tycoon put out to placate the president which half of America is happily gobbling up, yes, so we won't have to. And what? You think it would've been better for journalists to ignore Leni Riefenstahl's films too instead of reporting on them?

How viewers around the world responded to Melania Trump’s documentary | CNN Politics Marla Ailor attended President Donald Trump’s inauguration last year with her family, and remembered thinking it was a long day.

Sadly, in America at least, plenty of people are voluntarily and happily submitting themselves to this stuff. See the whole second half of this piece, for example: edition.cnn.com/2026/01/31/p...

That's a lot of aggro to say very little

bsky.app/profile/jacq...

Have they backed down though, really? Bovino has been replaced by Homan, but is there any concrete evidence, beyond vibes-focused, half-hearted rhetorical assurances (and we know we can't trust those) to suggest their actions or tactics are actually changing?

Bruce Springsteen has reliably come out swinging against right wing misrule, Trumpist and otherwise, for many years now.