Alexander Clarkson
@aphclarkson.bsky.social
Lecturer for European Politics and History at King's College London. Opinions my own. RT not always endorsement.
Also to be found at @APHClarkson
https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-macht-der-diaspora/hardcover/978354910
Also to be found at @APHClarkson
https://www.ullstein.de/werke/die-macht-der-diaspora/hardcover/978354910
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Killing the CIA World Factbook might seem like small potatoes, but it was a touchstone of curated facts in a sea of disinformation.
February 5, 2026 at 5:58 AM
Killing the CIA World Factbook might seem like small potatoes, but it was a touchstone of curated facts in a sea of disinformation.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Doesn't seem like the best day for Starmer to reheat "you lefties [on the backbenches/in the Labour membership/in the Labour electorate] just don't get it" Blue Labour type arguments?
Keir Starmer attacks the racism of Reform and Matt Goodwin but then adds that "Britain has also been let down by a mindset on the left of politics that is too slow to defend core British values"
February 5, 2026 at 11:49 AM
Doesn't seem like the best day for Starmer to reheat "you lefties [on the backbenches/in the Labour membership/in the Labour electorate] just don't get it" Blue Labour type arguments?
It's not a proper European elite scandal until it involves a multi-billion euro arms deal
February 5, 2026 at 11:59 AM
It's not a proper European elite scandal until it involves a multi-billion euro arms deal
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Are MPs really still trying the "good tsar, bad boyars" shit? When is that ever true or work out well?
Labour MP Simon Opher: "Once again the poor decision making of those around the Prime Minister is dominating the news agenda.... We promised to put trust back into politics after years of Tory sleaze – not perpetuate it".
February 5, 2026 at 11:46 AM
Are MPs really still trying the "good tsar, bad boyars" shit? When is that ever true or work out well?
I'm here for the Geoff Hoon revival
Think there should be a sort of hipstery rush for the more forgotten New Labour figures. "Bring back Ruth Kelly" "What's Mike O'Brien up to these days?"
The thing is Mandelson is by far the worst example but it is astonishing to see the return of Dougie Alexander and Jacqui Smith, two utter wastes of space from the New Labour administration, and the looming presence of Yvette Cooper presented as "reassuring" and not "intellectually bankrupt."
February 5, 2026 at 11:53 AM
I'm here for the Geoff Hoon revival
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Not convinced on the basis of this Q+A that Starmer's line of essentially saying "I'm sorry I was lied to" is going to hold
February 5, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Not convinced on the basis of this Q+A that Starmer's line of essentially saying "I'm sorry I was lied to" is going to hold
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
That‘s the spirit.
February 5, 2026 at 10:46 AM
That‘s the spirit.
Starmer finding that place in a Venn Diagram where he manages to annoy allies without defeating enemies
Keir Starmer attacks the racism of Reform and Matt Goodwin but then adds that "Britain has also been let down by a mindset on the left of politics that is too slow to defend core British values"
February 5, 2026 at 11:29 AM
Starmer finding that place in a Venn Diagram where he manages to annoy allies without defeating enemies
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Reform have announced a new Welsh leader.
You will be shocked to hear that it is a former Conservative...
You will be shocked to hear that it is a former Conservative...
February 5, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Reform have announced a new Welsh leader.
You will be shocked to hear that it is a former Conservative...
You will be shocked to hear that it is a former Conservative...
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Wall Street has gone from thinking AI is a bubble to thinking AI is an iceberg and the software industry is the Titanic.
There’s now a belief that vibe coding and chatbots will replace the need for a lot of the software businesses use today.
There’s now a belief that vibe coding and chatbots will replace the need for a lot of the software businesses use today.
AI Won’t Kill the Software Business, Just Its Growth Story
Fears that software companies are facing an extinction event are exaggerated, but other dangers are real.
www.wsj.com
February 5, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Wall Street has gone from thinking AI is a bubble to thinking AI is an iceberg and the software industry is the Titanic.
There’s now a belief that vibe coding and chatbots will replace the need for a lot of the software businesses use today.
There’s now a belief that vibe coding and chatbots will replace the need for a lot of the software businesses use today.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
So often the story told of China's industrial success is one of state directed overthrow of the west.
There's a completely different one of entrepreneurs trying to find their spaces in crowded but growing markets.
This latter story is largely being ignored. www.ft.com/content/15e2...
There's a completely different one of entrepreneurs trying to find their spaces in crowded but growing markets.
This latter story is largely being ignored. www.ft.com/content/15e2...
Leapmotor: China’s no-frills EV maker aiming to become the next BYD
Low-cost carmaker harbours ambitions to go global and rank among world’s top 10 auto groups
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:00 AM
So often the story told of China's industrial success is one of state directed overthrow of the west.
There's a completely different one of entrepreneurs trying to find their spaces in crowded but growing markets.
This latter story is largely being ignored. www.ft.com/content/15e2...
There's a completely different one of entrepreneurs trying to find their spaces in crowded but growing markets.
This latter story is largely being ignored. www.ft.com/content/15e2...
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
“I look at the performative hand-wringing, all the ‘OMG can’t believe Starmer appointed him despite all this!’ and I feel I’m in a parallel universe. Starmer appointed him BECAUSE of, not despite it. To be our interface with a corrupt WH that operates in precisely the same way. Everyone understood.”
🔥 NEW: Binfire of the Vanities
👿 Mandelson: Beyond the schadenfreude
🎒 Education: What next for SEND policy?
🏺 Plus a very Homeric Wokey Dokey
@sturdyalex.bsky.social, @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social & guest @samfr.bsky.social
🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/61di...
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...
👿 Mandelson: Beyond the schadenfreude
🎒 Education: What next for SEND policy?
🏺 Plus a very Homeric Wokey Dokey
@sturdyalex.bsky.social, @mrkennycampbell.bsky.social & guest @samfr.bsky.social
🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/61di...
🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/q...
Binfire of the Vanities
Podcast Episode · Quiet Riot · 05/02/2026 · 1h 12m
podcasts.apple.com
February 5, 2026 at 9:01 AM
“I look at the performative hand-wringing, all the ‘OMG can’t believe Starmer appointed him despite all this!’ and I feel I’m in a parallel universe. Starmer appointed him BECAUSE of, not despite it. To be our interface with a corrupt WH that operates in precisely the same way. Everyone understood.”
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The Mandelson saga is doubly bad for Starmer & co. First because it goes against their supposed brand of probity. Second because it fits their actual brand of not listening to concerns from their colleagues and majoring on ideas that only make sense in transactional terms or getting through the week
What is the point of Keir Starmer staying as prime minister?
February 5, 2026 at 8:28 AM
The Mandelson saga is doubly bad for Starmer & co. First because it goes against their supposed brand of probity. Second because it fits their actual brand of not listening to concerns from their colleagues and majoring on ideas that only make sense in transactional terms or getting through the week
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Yes, and a big chunk of the flashy stuff relies on tech and equipment developed and built decades ago that today’s USA is unable to replicate. A country that is no longer able to build a tanker or a frigate has a serious problem, that is not offset by fancy IA-enabled kinetic effectors or whatever.
One of the most annoying aspects of much geopolitical debate is how far it obsesses over supposedly superninja style US special forces or hyperflashy precision weaponry rather than the real foundations of American power that were once in logistics, naval strength, maintenance and mass production
February 4, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Yes, and a big chunk of the flashy stuff relies on tech and equipment developed and built decades ago that today’s USA is unable to replicate. A country that is no longer able to build a tanker or a frigate has a serious problem, that is not offset by fancy IA-enabled kinetic effectors or whatever.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
I understand folks are scared but I want you to think about the mechanics of this.
There are more polling places (>100k) than ICE and CBP agents combined, so they can only pick a few districts to try to intimidate.
Now what happens when cell phone footage of that goes online in the early morning?
There are more polling places (>100k) than ICE and CBP agents combined, so they can only pick a few districts to try to intimidate.
Now what happens when cell phone footage of that goes online in the early morning?
i think people should consider the extent to which bannon, a known bullshit artist, knows that you will see this and panic. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 5, 2026 at 4:04 AM
I understand folks are scared but I want you to think about the mechanics of this.
There are more polling places (>100k) than ICE and CBP agents combined, so they can only pick a few districts to try to intimidate.
Now what happens when cell phone footage of that goes online in the early morning?
There are more polling places (>100k) than ICE and CBP agents combined, so they can only pick a few districts to try to intimidate.
Now what happens when cell phone footage of that goes online in the early morning?
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
It appears that unregistered Starlink terminals in Ukraine, which are only used by Russian invaders, are going offline. Russian military bloggers are furious, cursing Elon Musk.
February 5, 2026 at 8:30 AM
It appears that unregistered Starlink terminals in Ukraine, which are only used by Russian invaders, are going offline. Russian military bloggers are furious, cursing Elon Musk.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
JUSTIFIED “FUCK ICE” CHANTS #AEWDynamite
February 5, 2026 at 3:04 AM
JUSTIFIED “FUCK ICE” CHANTS #AEWDynamite
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
This is how Sen. Ron Wyden clues the public into activity that he finds extremely alarming. He does a press release about a letter he sent to the director of the CIA that basically says, 'I want to make sure you saw the classified letter I sent early today.' www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
February 4, 2026 at 9:53 PM
This is how Sen. Ron Wyden clues the public into activity that he finds extremely alarming. He does a press release about a letter he sent to the director of the CIA that basically says, 'I want to make sure you saw the classified letter I sent early today.' www.wyden.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
Bonne nouvelle : les coupures suivent à nouveau un planning.
Mauvaise nouvelle : j’aurai 2h30 d’électricité aujourd’hui.
Mauvaise nouvelle : j’aurai 2h30 d’électricité aujourd’hui.
February 5, 2026 at 6:37 AM
Bonne nouvelle : les coupures suivent à nouveau un planning.
Mauvaise nouvelle : j’aurai 2h30 d’électricité aujourd’hui.
Mauvaise nouvelle : j’aurai 2h30 d’électricité aujourd’hui.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
5/
Moritz Döpfner arbeitete lange für Thiel und verwaltet heute rund 50 Millionen € seines Vermögens. Sein Vater Mathias Döpfner ließ öffentlich für Trumps Wiederwahl beten und ist seit Jahren eng mit Thiel verbunden, hat ihm den Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis verliehen.
Moritz Döpfner arbeitete lange für Thiel und verwaltet heute rund 50 Millionen € seines Vermögens. Sein Vater Mathias Döpfner ließ öffentlich für Trumps Wiederwahl beten und ist seit Jahren eng mit Thiel verbunden, hat ihm den Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis verliehen.
February 5, 2026 at 6:45 AM
5/
Moritz Döpfner arbeitete lange für Thiel und verwaltet heute rund 50 Millionen € seines Vermögens. Sein Vater Mathias Döpfner ließ öffentlich für Trumps Wiederwahl beten und ist seit Jahren eng mit Thiel verbunden, hat ihm den Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis verliehen.
Moritz Döpfner arbeitete lange für Thiel und verwaltet heute rund 50 Millionen € seines Vermögens. Sein Vater Mathias Döpfner ließ öffentlich für Trumps Wiederwahl beten und ist seit Jahren eng mit Thiel verbunden, hat ihm den Frank-Schirrmacher-Preis verliehen.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
3/
STARK sagt: Thiel habe keinen Einfluss. Doch das Gegenteil ist offensichtlich. Thiel hat mehrfach investiert – auch über Dritte – und agiert gemeinsam mit Döpfners und weiteren MAGA-nahen Investoren.
STARK sagt: Thiel habe keinen Einfluss. Doch das Gegenteil ist offensichtlich. Thiel hat mehrfach investiert – auch über Dritte – und agiert gemeinsam mit Döpfners und weiteren MAGA-nahen Investoren.
February 5, 2026 at 6:45 AM
3/
STARK sagt: Thiel habe keinen Einfluss. Doch das Gegenteil ist offensichtlich. Thiel hat mehrfach investiert – auch über Dritte – und agiert gemeinsam mit Döpfners und weiteren MAGA-nahen Investoren.
STARK sagt: Thiel habe keinen Einfluss. Doch das Gegenteil ist offensichtlich. Thiel hat mehrfach investiert – auch über Dritte – und agiert gemeinsam mit Döpfners und weiteren MAGA-nahen Investoren.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
The chanting is interesting - people should note this stuff can be a leading indicator. The darts crowd chanting at Ally Pally came 7 months before Boris Johnson came under serious pressure to resign.
February 5, 2026 at 7:30 AM
The chanting is interesting - people should note this stuff can be a leading indicator. The darts crowd chanting at Ally Pally came 7 months before Boris Johnson came under serious pressure to resign.
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
You can see a through-line from routinisation of Centcom GWOT counter-terror strikes under a loosely interpreted legal framework to clumsy attempts by Southcom to morally legitimise supposed counter-cartel strikes in the Carribean to potential normalisation of death squads in US domestic operations
October 15, 2025 at 12:43 AM
You can see a through-line from routinisation of Centcom GWOT counter-terror strikes under a loosely interpreted legal framework to clumsy attempts by Southcom to morally legitimise supposed counter-cartel strikes in the Carribean to potential normalisation of death squads in US domestic operations
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
These strikes on boats in the Carribean are normalising the claim from the US Right that it is acceptable for a President to deploy American military units as extrajudicial death squads
There is no conceivable argument that these ships, even if we assume they were carrying narcotics, could not be dealt with in some other way. I think we can just drop the caveats and say: This is mass murder.
Unless and until some kind of compelling legal and moral argument is presented as to why this is a legitimate use of deadly force, this is just…mass murder.
October 15, 2025 at 12:37 AM
These strikes on boats in the Carribean are normalising the claim from the US Right that it is acceptable for a President to deploy American military units as extrajudicial death squads
Reposted by Alexander Clarkson
He cannot be clearer. There is no difference to him between bombing random fishermen on boats and shooting Americans protesters in the face
I swear this clip is not edited. Trump pivots from downplaying the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti ("two people out of tens of thousands and you get bad publicity") to in the very next breath claiming "we've been very tough on the waters," leaving Tom Llamas baffled ("the waters?")
February 5, 2026 at 4:30 AM
He cannot be clearer. There is no difference to him between bombing random fishermen on boats and shooting Americans protesters in the face