Anthony Barnett
@anthonybarnett.bsky.social
‘Notes on Now’ every month in Byline Times, Co-founder openDemocracy Led Charter 88 from 1988-2005. Iron Britannia; The Lure of Greatness; Taking Control! Etc Online articles in Authory.
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
The budget tomorrow will reveal how little power MPs really have: open.substack.com/pub/abolishw... - by me
The budget shows how little power MPs have
It's sort of democratic. But only sort of.
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:42 PM
The budget tomorrow will reveal how little power MPs really have: open.substack.com/pub/abolishw... - by me
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Juries are not perfect.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
November 25, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Juries are not perfect.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
Many of the worst miscarriages of justice have followed jury trials.
But the merit of juries is not so much the power they have, but the power they prevent others from having.
They mean a judge cannot just nod-along with prosecution evidence and give a guilty verdict.
The motive! Chilling timeline on Farage's mate Gill and his taking bribes - thank you @thenerve.news! - it's also all about Ukraine and Putin's efforts to undermine support for Ukraine. Take a look: www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
Reform UK and Russian bribes: a Nathan Gill timeline
As Reform’s former leader in Wales is sentenced to ten and a half years for taking bribes from a pro-Russian actor, here's a chronology of his actions and the wider context of Putin, Ukraine and Brexi...
www.thenerve.news
November 25, 2025 at 2:53 PM
The motive! Chilling timeline on Farage's mate Gill and his taking bribes - thank you @thenerve.news! - it's also all about Ukraine and Putin's efforts to undermine support for Ukraine. Take a look: www.thenerve.news/p/nathan-gil...
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
My Facebook feed no longer has anything from people I know. Instead it's 99% AI slop videos of "trains floating on canal boats having accidents in which someone falls into the water". It's horrible, mainly because I can't stop watching them on repeat and the algorithm knows the darkness of my soul.
November 25, 2025 at 11:20 AM
My Facebook feed no longer has anything from people I know. Instead it's 99% AI slop videos of "trains floating on canal boats having accidents in which someone falls into the water". It's horrible, mainly because I can't stop watching them on repeat and the algorithm knows the darkness of my soul.
Great picture look at Murdoch’s face
Good @thenation.com piece by @benschwartz.bsky.social that lays bare Trump's agenda to transform our entire media system into a far right-wing echo chamber that never questions Trump.
Trump’s Quest for Total Media Control
Look beyond the petty celebrity feuds, and you'll see a plan to transform American media companies into outlets for MAGA agitprop.
www.thenation.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Great picture look at Murdoch’s face
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Europe needs a new approach to tackling national populism
buff.ly/vG2cdSM
buff.ly/vG2cdSM
November 24, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Europe needs a new approach to tackling national populism
buff.ly/vG2cdSM
buff.ly/vG2cdSM
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
"Have I ever tried to take it out on any individual on the basis of where they're from? No. I have never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody".
If the press is giving Farage such a platform it must, as ITV News has done, scrutinise. That this isn't being reported prominently is astonishing.
If the press is giving Farage such a platform it must, as ITV News has done, scrutinise. That this isn't being reported prominently is astonishing.
Nigel Farage responds to racism claims saying he never ‘tried to hurt anybody’
Reform leader denies racist or antisemitic behaviour ‘with intent’ at school, but says he can’t remember everything from 49 years ago
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 PM
"Have I ever tried to take it out on any individual on the basis of where they're from? No. I have never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody".
If the press is giving Farage such a platform it must, as ITV News has done, scrutinise. That this isn't being reported prominently is astonishing.
If the press is giving Farage such a platform it must, as ITV News has done, scrutinise. That this isn't being reported prominently is astonishing.
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
This Saturday, London's Metropolitan Police arrested more than 90 protestors at the Peace Garden in Tavistock Square for holding a sign reading, "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
November 23, 2025 at 9:56 PM
This Saturday, London's Metropolitan Police arrested more than 90 protestors at the Peace Garden in Tavistock Square for holding a sign reading, "I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action."
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
As expected, overnight, they dropped fossil fuels from the drafts AGAIN.
You can't make this discussion happen last minute during COP30 just to look good (or in hopes that it will lead to a map that lets developing country oil producers drill for longer).
You have to want to focus on it!
You can't make this discussion happen last minute during COP30 just to look good (or in hopes that it will lead to a map that lets developing country oil producers drill for longer).
You have to want to focus on it!
Let's be clear: there's not roadmap YET approved at COP30 for the end of fossil fuels.
What many countries are supporting is the INITIATIVE to set the roadmap. Because it was not originally part of the COP30 agenda - a big gap in the agenda that Brazil only last week decided should be addressed.
+
What many countries are supporting is the INITIATIVE to set the roadmap. Because it was not originally part of the COP30 agenda - a big gap in the agenda that Brazil only last week decided should be addressed.
+
November 21, 2025 at 12:06 PM
As expected, overnight, they dropped fossil fuels from the drafts AGAIN.
You can't make this discussion happen last minute during COP30 just to look good (or in hopes that it will lead to a map that lets developing country oil producers drill for longer).
You have to want to focus on it!
You can't make this discussion happen last minute during COP30 just to look good (or in hopes that it will lead to a map that lets developing country oil producers drill for longer).
You have to want to focus on it!
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Englishness is a contested identity: we must engage - or lose open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
November 23, 2025 at 5:06 PM
Englishness is a contested identity: we must engage - or lose open.substack.com/pub/nationst...
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Outstanding! www.opendemocracy.net/en/ukraine-r... by @amansethi.bsky.social
How to survive a war with Russia
As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grinds, philosophers, poets, anarchists and soldiers contemplate what they have lost, and what is still to emerge.
www.opendemocracy.net
November 22, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Outstanding! www.opendemocracy.net/en/ukraine-r... by @amansethi.bsky.social
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
A government that keeps talking about how bad its inheritance is but really hasn't, at any point, absorbed just how bad its inheritance is. (Which has partly led to it making its inheritance *harder* to fix in some places)
November 22, 2025 at 12:36 PM
A government that keeps talking about how bad its inheritance is but really hasn't, at any point, absorbed just how bad its inheritance is. (Which has partly led to it making its inheritance *harder* to fix in some places)
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
as Phillips O'Brien also points out, this plan has been in negotiation for a long time, probably since Trump took office.
open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
The Long Con Comes To An End
The Trump Administration Takes Off The Mask (Again)
open.substack.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:33 PM
as Phillips O'Brien also points out, this plan has been in negotiation for a long time, probably since Trump took office.
open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Senator Murphy sounds the alarm as Trump calls for the deaths of Dems who served the country to be killed for reminding the military their loyalty is to the constitution not to him 🇺🇸
November 20, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Senator Murphy sounds the alarm as Trump calls for the deaths of Dems who served the country to be killed for reminding the military their loyalty is to the constitution not to him 🇺🇸
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Yes, who would have thought. If you adopt a bash-liberals strategy, liberal voters will vote for someone else. And despite what they think in No.10, liberal voters do actually exist.
These are the voters that Labour strategists have made very clear over a long period of time that they don't want any more, and it's a message that has now been heard
I've been out canvassing quite a lot in London lately. Labour's vote has absolutely evaporated.... it is quite extraordinary to go to places where Labour were on 50-60% of the vote at the last locals and find nobody, or virtually nobody, supporting them.
The phrase 'I voted Labour last time, but...
The phrase 'I voted Labour last time, but...
November 18, 2025 at 12:17 PM
Yes, who would have thought. If you adopt a bash-liberals strategy, liberal voters will vote for someone else. And despite what they think in No.10, liberal voters do actually exist.
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Labour MP Nadia Whittome tells Shabana Mahmood that her plans "fly in the face of decency and compassion" and "will force children and spouses into the hands of the very people smugglers that the Home Secretary is seeking to smash"
November 17, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Labour MP Nadia Whittome tells Shabana Mahmood that her plans "fly in the face of decency and compassion" and "will force children and spouses into the hands of the very people smugglers that the Home Secretary is seeking to smash"
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
An alert from Laura Basu! Please spread the word.
November 17, 2025 at 1:03 PM
An alert from Laura Basu! Please spread the word.
Eight years! The injustice of Osman Kavala’s imprisonment. I have contributed to this www.osmankavala.org/en/statement...
On the Eighth Anniversary of His Imprisonment Messages of Support for Osman Kavala
Osman Kavala Web Sitesi
www.osmankavala.org
November 16, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Eight years! The injustice of Osman Kavala’s imprisonment. I have contributed to this www.osmankavala.org/en/statement...
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Wonderful interview with the incredible inspiration who is @anthonybarnett.bsky.social - who has taught me and so many others so much about national identity, meaning and belonging. His analysis is more timely & relevant than ever 👇
Anthony Barnett: “The Sixties were a catastrophic failure”
The writer and campaigner on nationalism, the rise of the new right and how a fractured left can organise in response
www.newstatesman.com
November 8, 2025 at 7:02 AM
Wonderful interview with the incredible inspiration who is @anthonybarnett.bsky.social - who has taught me and so many others so much about national identity, meaning and belonging. His analysis is more timely & relevant than ever 👇
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
@anthonybarnett.bsky.social Remembers Geoffrey Bindman and how he fought for everyone to have the rights they deserved.
"Geoffrey understood that without the practical existence of justice for all, there cannot be rights for all."
www.opendemocracy.net/en/geoffrey-...
"Geoffrey understood that without the practical existence of justice for all, there cannot be rights for all."
www.opendemocracy.net/en/geoffrey-...
Geoffrey Bindman and his pursuit of justice for all
From calling for Tony Blair to be tried, to defending Gaza, Geoffrey always fought for everyone to have the rights they deserved
www.opendemocracy.net
November 13, 2025 at 4:07 PM
@anthonybarnett.bsky.social Remembers Geoffrey Bindman and how he fought for everyone to have the rights they deserved.
"Geoffrey understood that without the practical existence of justice for all, there cannot be rights for all."
www.opendemocracy.net/en/geoffrey-...
"Geoffrey understood that without the practical existence of justice for all, there cannot be rights for all."
www.opendemocracy.net/en/geoffrey-...
Reposted by Anthony Barnett
Former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk was detained by 🇨🇦 customs agents and, for four hours, was asked a series of questions about his participation in the conference, his involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and his position on Israel. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Border officers detain well-known legal scholar travelling to conference on Palestine | CBC News
A prominent academic and former UN special rapporteur says he was detained by customs agents in Toronto while on his way to speak at a conference on human rights violations against Palestinians.
www.cbc.ca
November 15, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Former UN special rapporteur Richard Falk was detained by 🇨🇦 customs agents and, for four hours, was asked a series of questions about his participation in the conference, his involvement in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and his position on Israel. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...