Oliver Rivers
@maxrothbarth.bsky.social
COO at OCCRP. Usual disclaimers about whose these opinions are (mine) apply in the usual (obvious) way. Aspiring cat owner. Corruption, investigative journalism, art, classical music, not necessarily in that order.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
November 26, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
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
That (Trevor) Phillips “to stop the country from becoming a xenophobic hellhole, we must make it a xenophobic hellhole” article is exactly as bad as you’d expect it to be, but I think that paragraph that’s going around should be quoted in full. It lands slightly differently with the last sentence.
November 24, 2025 at 10:15 PM
That (Trevor) Phillips “to stop the country from becoming a xenophobic hellhole, we must make it a xenophobic hellhole” article is exactly as bad as you’d expect it to be, but I think that paragraph that’s going around should be quoted in full. It lands slightly differently with the last sentence.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Still can't quite believe that "I only said 'gas the Jews' in a non-hurtful way" was the strategy Nigel Farage opted to go for
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
Still can't quite believe that "I only said 'gas the Jews' in a non-hurtful way" was the strategy Nigel Farage opted to go for
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is.
The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Nicolas Guillou, French ICC judge sanctioned by the US: 'You are effectively blacklisted by much of the world's banking system'
Six judges and three prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the Trump administration. In an interview with Le Monde, Guillou discusses the impact of these measures on ...
www.lemonde.fr
November 24, 2025 at 8:13 PM
This story should be covered waaaaayy more than it is.
The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
The US has sanctioned six judges if the international criminal court ICC, because Trump didn’t like them issuing arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Toby Young, self-appointed king of free speech, is speaking in Hungary tomorrow about UK “censorship”.
He’ll be addressing a group funded by Viktor Orbán’s autocratic regime, which has seized control of the country’s media, judiciary, and routinely harasses its critics
He’ll be addressing a group funded by Viktor Orbán’s autocratic regime, which has seized control of the country’s media, judiciary, and routinely harasses its critics
Toby Young to Address Orbán-Backed Group on UK ‘Censorship’
Conservative peer and right-wing commentator Toby Young is due to deliver a talk tomorrow (25 November) at the in-house think tank of Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán. Young is being interviewed by Mat...
www.desmog.com
November 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Toby Young, self-appointed king of free speech, is speaking in Hungary tomorrow about UK “censorship”.
He’ll be addressing a group funded by Viktor Orbán’s autocratic regime, which has seized control of the country’s media, judiciary, and routinely harasses its critics
He’ll be addressing a group funded by Viktor Orbán’s autocratic regime, which has seized control of the country’s media, judiciary, and routinely harasses its critics
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
After the Gaddafi regime fell in Libya, the country’s $68 billion sovereign wealth fund fell into a period of chaos — during which time fraud went “through the roof,” experts say.
One alleged case involves 2021 presidential candidate Abdelhakim Baayo:
One alleged case involves 2021 presidential candidate Abdelhakim Baayo:
November 24, 2025 at 7:01 PM
After the Gaddafi regime fell in Libya, the country’s $68 billion sovereign wealth fund fell into a period of chaos — during which time fraud went “through the roof,” experts say.
One alleged case involves 2021 presidential candidate Abdelhakim Baayo:
One alleged case involves 2021 presidential candidate Abdelhakim Baayo:
Someone’s not having the best start to their Thanksgiving week.
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 24, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Someone’s not having the best start to their Thanksgiving week.
Picture editor must’ve had fun with this one.
November 24, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Picture editor must’ve had fun with this one.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
DOGE was not a failure. Its purpose was to use the completely fabricated claim of “efficiency” to irreparably annihilate vast amounts of federal government infrastructure, which it did instantly, violently, and in ways we will not see the full repair of in our lifetimes.
Difficult to overstate how profound a failure DOGE was. Spending in FY2025 was not only than in FY2024 – but higher than it was projected to be when Trump first took office.*
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
The little bit of spending DOGE cut has already killed hundreds of thousands and will eventually lead to millions of deaths.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 2:43 PM
DOGE was not a failure. Its purpose was to use the completely fabricated claim of “efficiency” to irreparably annihilate vast amounts of federal government infrastructure, which it did instantly, violently, and in ways we will not see the full repair of in our lifetimes.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
It's infuriating to see so much of the media give Kruger the same kid gloves treatment that Rees-Mogg used to get because he is posh and polite and able to wrap his bigotry in enough intellectual tissue paper to make it seem like a political philosophy rather than an expression of white supremacy.
Reform are so dangerous and this headline doesn’t do it justice. I also think a piece like this should start with the politician‘s core views just to emphasise the urgency.
November 22, 2025 at 6:40 PM
It's infuriating to see so much of the media give Kruger the same kid gloves treatment that Rees-Mogg used to get because he is posh and polite and able to wrap his bigotry in enough intellectual tissue paper to make it seem like a political philosophy rather than an expression of white supremacy.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
After you help your boss convert a doc to PDF
November 22, 2025 at 4:55 PM
After you help your boss convert a doc to PDF
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
This is pretty striking and makes me wonder exactly what Labour have been up to in making policy seemingly in response to / fear of the former rather than the middle group.
Why do people think England flags have been raised on lampposts?
White adults
National pride: 26%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 49%
Both: 19%
Ethnic minority adults
National pride: 15%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 55%
Both: 20%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
White adults
National pride: 26%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 49%
Both: 19%
Ethnic minority adults
National pride: 15%
Anti-migrant/minority sentiment: 55%
Both: 20%
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
November 22, 2025 at 8:01 PM
This is pretty striking and makes me wonder exactly what Labour have been up to in making policy seemingly in response to / fear of the former rather than the middle group.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
The judge who authorised the ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is now shut out from modern life as a result of US sanctions.
He has been blacklisted by financial systems and technologies (Visa, Apple, Google, etc)
Paywall bypass: archive.ph/d8NmT
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
He has been blacklisted by financial systems and technologies (Visa, Apple, Google, etc)
Paywall bypass: archive.ph/d8NmT
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Nicolas Guillou, French ICC judge sanctioned by the US: 'You are effectively blacklisted by much of the world's banking system'
Six judges and three prosecutors at the International Criminal Court have been sanctioned by the Trump administration. In an interview with Le Monde, Guillou discusses the impact of these measures on ...
www.lemonde.fr
November 22, 2025 at 11:04 AM
The judge who authorised the ICC's arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant is now shut out from modern life as a result of US sanctions.
He has been blacklisted by financial systems and technologies (Visa, Apple, Google, etc)
Paywall bypass: archive.ph/d8NmT
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
He has been blacklisted by financial systems and technologies (Visa, Apple, Google, etc)
Paywall bypass: archive.ph/d8NmT
www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
don't really care how this makes me sound at this point, but the free open internet was a mistake and a lot of people out there were clearly never going to be able to handle it
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 10:47 AM
don't really care how this makes me sound at this point, but the free open internet was a mistake and a lot of people out there were clearly never going to be able to handle it
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
This stuff really boils my piss.
It's a long time since I had my kids but the range of things that can go wrong in childbirth is very very large. Why you'd go down this route is a total mystery to me
It's a long time since I had my kids but the range of things that can go wrong in childbirth is very very large. Why you'd go down this route is a total mystery to me
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
Influencers made millions pushing ‘wild’ births – now the Free Birth Society is linked to baby deaths around the world
A year-long investigation reveals how mothers lost children after being radicalised by uplifting podcast tales of births without midwives or doctors
As Esau Lopez was asphyxiated for the first 17 minutes of his life on Earth, the atmosphere in the room remained serene, even ecstatic. Acoustic music crooned from a speaker in a modest two-bedroom apartment in a suburb of Pennsylvania. “You are a queen,” murmured one of three friends in the room.
Only Esau’s mother, Gabrielle Lopez, felt something was wrong. She was pushing hard, but her son would not be born. “Can you help [him] out?” she asked, as Esau crowned. “Baby is coming,” the friend replied. Four minutes later, Lopez asked again, “Can you grab [him]?” Another friend murmured, “Baby is safe.” Six minutes passed. Again, Lopez asked, “Can you grab [him]?” Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:13 AM
This stuff really boils my piss.
It's a long time since I had my kids but the range of things that can go wrong in childbirth is very very large. Why you'd go down this route is a total mystery to me
It's a long time since I had my kids but the range of things that can go wrong in childbirth is very very large. Why you'd go down this route is a total mystery to me
“An IPO of his investment firm would culminate a more than decade-long pursuit by Ackman to turn Pershing Square from a volatile hedge fund partnership into a broader financial institution he [but absolutely no-one else] has compared to Berkshire Hathaway.”
Good luck with that.
Good luck with that.
November 21, 2025 at 10:57 PM
“An IPO of his investment firm would culminate a more than decade-long pursuit by Ackman to turn Pershing Square from a volatile hedge fund partnership into a broader financial institution he [but absolutely no-one else] has compared to Berkshire Hathaway.”
Good luck with that.
Good luck with that.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
This seems like a crazy important story that is getting very little coverage here - especially if it destabilizes the regime
'Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has made Tehran impossible to sustain'
#Iran 🇮🇷
#Iran 🇮🇷
Iran president says capital move now a necessity as water crisis deepens
Iran’s capital must be moved because the country “no longer has a choice,” President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Thursday in remarks carried by state media, warning that severe ecological strain has mad...
www.iranintl.com
November 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
This seems like a crazy important story that is getting very little coverage here - especially if it destabilizes the regime
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Labour is desperately trying to appeal to Reform supporters. In October, we asked people in the UK if they perceive a party as a "party for someone like them". Only very few people say this for both Labour and Reform. The correlation is negative. Labour is chasing an electorate that does not exist.
November 21, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Labour is desperately trying to appeal to Reform supporters. In October, we asked people in the UK if they perceive a party as a "party for someone like them". Only very few people say this for both Labour and Reform. The correlation is negative. Labour is chasing an electorate that does not exist.
I know the story about Krushchev reacting to all the swimming pools in LA is apocryphal, but looking at the quality of Chinese low budget EVs feels like a bit of a Krushchev reacting to all the swimming pools in LA moment.
The way to counter Chinese imports in technologically sophisticated areas is not to impose tariffs. It is to deploy modern industrial policies, @drodrik.bsky.social explains. bit.ly/485ckHf
How to Respond to Chinese Imports
Dani Rodrik explains what governments should be doing to address the risks to national security, innovation, and jobs.
bit.ly
November 21, 2025 at 7:08 PM
I know the story about Krushchev reacting to all the swimming pools in LA is apocryphal, but looking at the quality of Chinese low budget EVs feels like a bit of a Krushchev reacting to all the swimming pools in LA moment.
A somewhat niche instance of the general rule that the only way to get the privileged to care about state provision is to make sure they have a vested interest in the quality of state provision.
Other, more serious countries don't do this. Senior politicians who commit crimes go to jail <all the time>. We could be like those countries, too. But since we've never been that sort of country, it's going to require wholesale reform of our deeply broken societal & political institutions.
Jailhouse shock: Brazil coup monger Bolsonaro finally faces life behind bars
The former president’s far-right supporters have discovered a new interest in prison conditions as incarceration looms
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:03 PM
A somewhat niche instance of the general rule that the only way to get the privileged to care about state provision is to make sure they have a vested interest in the quality of state provision.
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Ex-Wirecard boss Jan Marsalek linked to multibillion-dollar laundering network on.ft.com/4abx6aK
Ex-Wirecard boss Jan Marsalek linked to multibillion-dollar laundering network
Link is latest revelation in a years-long probe into Smart and TGR, which move money for criminals and sanctioned individuals
on.ft.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Ex-Wirecard boss Jan Marsalek linked to multibillion-dollar laundering network on.ft.com/4abx6aK
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
Russia allegedly shipped more than a million sanctions-busting barrels of oil products to North Korea over nine months last year, according to @osc_london.
Now leaked financial records reveal new details about the companies and supply chains involved.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/lea...
Now leaked financial records reveal new details about the companies and supply chains involved.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/lea...
Leaked Russian Records Reveal Obscure Firms Helping Bust Oil Sanctions on North Korea
Companies in Russia and the United Arab Emirates are involved in secretive exports of oil products to North Korea — in violation of U.N. sanctions that Moscow itself supported.
www.occrp.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Russia allegedly shipped more than a million sanctions-busting barrels of oil products to North Korea over nine months last year, according to @osc_london.
Now leaked financial records reveal new details about the companies and supply chains involved.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/lea...
Now leaked financial records reveal new details about the companies and supply chains involved.
www.occrp.org/en/scoop/lea...
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
November 21, 2025 at 7:38 AM
This (from: www.ft.com/content/75ce...) is something you can *feel* if you are in the UK, especially if you've experienced living abroad. But infuriatingly successive governments and our entire media are somehow absolutely committed to suggesting anyone who wants to change this is the devil...
Reposted by Oliver Rivers
reality show called 'We Can Always Tell' where you drop terfs on an island and tell them that one of them is secretly trans. every episode they have to vote on who it is and obsessively transvestigate one another - her height! her forehead! she's suspiciously perfect, it's surgery! they are all cis
November 21, 2025 at 8:33 AM
reality show called 'We Can Always Tell' where you drop terfs on an island and tell them that one of them is secretly trans. every episode they have to vote on who it is and obsessively transvestigate one another - her height! her forehead! she's suspiciously perfect, it's surgery! they are all cis