Rick Ball
@rickball.bsky.social
IP, Competition & EU Law, Derby County, LA Rams & wonderful Weymouth are my passions
Reposted by Rick Ball
Fantastic #BrexitDay thoughts from Ulf in Germany 🇩🇪 on @lbc.co.uk
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
January 31, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Fantastic #BrexitDay thoughts from Ulf in Germany 🇩🇪 on @lbc.co.uk
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
“Let’s put this way: All countries have an upper class, but the British upper class has a country.”
“You take your time to learn a lesson. I mean, Nigel Farage might be your next next Prime Minister …. 🧵 👇
Reposted by Rick Ball
JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”
January 31, 2026 at 4:54 AM
JANE FONDA: “I know Don Lemon. My husband created CNN. And I will fight for their right to speak… they arrested the wrong Don. This is how autocrats act. We can’t fall for it.”
So I’d just like to say, Bristol Rovers (sorry City) 0, Derby County 5. Who put the ball in the Bristol net…you know the rest 🤘
January 31, 2026 at 9:05 AM
So I’d just like to say, Bristol Rovers (sorry City) 0, Derby County 5. Who put the ball in the Bristol net…you know the rest 🤘
Reposted by Rick Ball
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen
youtu.be
January 28, 2026 at 5:02 PM
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
Stay free
Reposted by Rick Ball
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
The boundless mystery of Assimilated EU Law? - UK in a changing Europe
Simon Usherwood explores the issues that the UK faces in managing the legislation it adopted as a member state of the EU following Brexit.
ukandeu.ac.uk
January 27, 2026 at 11:46 AM
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
Niche, you say niche, this is so primetime IMHO. But then I'm allegedly sad anyway...according to my students & daughter :-)
My niche concerns, shared with you
"It is apparent that there is still no final and definitive list of that legislation, nor clarity about what should be done with it all."
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
✍️ @simonusherwood.bsky.social on the challenges the UK faces in dealing with the legislation it adopted while part of the EU
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/the-boundles...
January 27, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Niche, you say niche, this is so primetime IMHO. But then I'm allegedly sad anyway...according to my students & daughter :-)
Reposted by Rick Ball
My three @prospectmagazine.co.uk posts on the Minnesota killings and government thuggery
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Death in Minnesota
The significance of the reaction to the killing of Renee Nicole Good
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
January 26, 2026 at 8:41 PM
My three @prospectmagazine.co.uk posts on the Minnesota killings and government thuggery
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
A death in Minnesota (Good)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The new ICE Age
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Another death in Minnesota (Pretti)
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
Reposted by Rick Ball
I decided to begin my book about Britain with a quote from Scotland‘s greatest poet.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
”My heart's in the highlands, my heart is not here...”
Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, born #OTD 1759.
‘Lost portrait’ by Sir Henry Raeburn, 1803, unveiled at National Galleries of Scotland #BurnsNight #AuldLangSyne
Blackie House Museum & Library | Dr Bendor Grosvenor
Robert Burns, national poet of Scotland, born #OTD 1759.
‘Lost portrait’ by Sir Henry Raeburn, 1803, unveiled at National Galleries of Scotland #BurnsNight #AuldLangSyne
Blackie House Museum & Library | Dr Bendor Grosvenor
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 AM
I decided to begin my book about Britain with a quote from Scotland‘s greatest poet.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
'If only we could see ourselves as others see us.'
Applies to everyone. Not just people. Countries, too.
Reposted by Rick Ball
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
January 17, 2026 at 5:36 PM
More than 200,000 Danish citizens have signed a petition to buy California as a response to Trump’s attempt to take Greenland.
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
They say they will provide Californians with “rule of law, universal health care, fact-based politics, and a lifetime supply of Danish pastries.”
Reposted by Rick Ball
I’m old enough to remember when many of the voices saying very little tonight told us very loudly that Obama and Biden were anti-British.
January 18, 2026 at 12:27 AM
I’m old enough to remember when many of the voices saying very little tonight told us very loudly that Obama and Biden were anti-British.
Reposted by Rick Ball
ICE raids are not the first time this was made explicit. I think people downplay how much Jim Crow was not just about controlling Black people but it was also about controlling white people. If you thought racism was dumb and acted that way you could end up with a bomb in your home
Just keep coming back to the fact that keeping people in a constant state of terror is a form of mass disablement and essential to the eugenic project that is the United States.
January 17, 2026 at 6:08 AM
ICE raids are not the first time this was made explicit. I think people downplay how much Jim Crow was not just about controlling Black people but it was also about controlling white people. If you thought racism was dumb and acted that way you could end up with a bomb in your home
Reposted by Rick Ball
Reposted by Rick Ball
Then: constitutional law should be boring, not exciting.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
January 15, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Then: constitutional law should be boring, not exciting.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Now: constitutional law should be boring, not terrifying.
Reposted by Rick Ball
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
January 13, 2026 at 6:20 PM
The letter from Bill and Hillary Clinton to James Comer explaining their refusal to testify in his Epstein investigation is really remarkable, not like any letter of this genre I've seen. It's signed by them, not a lawyer, and the arguments are not legal ones. Reprinted from their X account:
Reposted by Rick Ball
Farage still defends a decision that decimated our economy, tore our country apart and damaged our ability to determine our nations future. Join LME standing up to him and fighting to reset our relationship with the EU for sake of trade, security and our sanity. www.labourmovementforeurope.uk/join
January 9, 2026 at 11:00 PM
Farage still defends a decision that decimated our economy, tore our country apart and damaged our ability to determine our nations future. Join LME standing up to him and fighting to reset our relationship with the EU for sake of trade, security and our sanity. www.labourmovementforeurope.uk/join
Reposted by Rick Ball
Erasmus: UK government has just updated its page on Erasmus advising students what they need to do if they wish to participate, now that a deal has been done to return to the EU programme.
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
Study in the European Union
What you need to do if you're planning to start higher education in the EU.
www.gov.uk
January 9, 2026 at 10:02 AM
Erasmus: UK government has just updated its page on Erasmus advising students what they need to do if they wish to participate, now that a deal has been done to return to the EU programme.
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
www.gov.uk/guidance/stu...
Reposted by Rick Ball
Enemies within and without. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog includes a look at Erasmus, the Mail's anti-emigrant campaign, the great hate at home and the threat from Trump abroad, and the government's response: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/enem...
January 9, 2026 at 8:07 AM
Enemies within and without. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog includes a look at Erasmus, the Mail's anti-emigrant campaign, the great hate at home and the threat from Trump abroad, and the government's response: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/01/enem...
Reposted by Rick Ball
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” —George Orwell (1984)
January 8, 2026 at 3:32 PM
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” —George Orwell (1984)
Reposted by Rick Ball
We are Christopher Isherwood, watching the scenes in the Berlin street below from our apartment window above
Watching from afar further shifts in a worsening polity
By me
Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/we-are-chr...
Personal Blog: davidallengreen.com/2026/01/we-a...
Watching from afar further shifts in a worsening polity
By me
Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/we-are-chr...
Personal Blog: davidallengreen.com/2026/01/we-a...
We are Christopher Isherwood, watching the scenes in the Berlin street below from our apartment window above.
Watching from afar further shift in a worsening polity
emptycity.substack.com
January 8, 2026 at 11:50 AM
We are Christopher Isherwood, watching the scenes in the Berlin street below from our apartment window above
Watching from afar further shifts in a worsening polity
By me
Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/we-are-chr...
Personal Blog: davidallengreen.com/2026/01/we-a...
Watching from afar further shifts in a worsening polity
By me
Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/we-are-chr...
Personal Blog: davidallengreen.com/2026/01/we-a...
Reposted by Rick Ball
Looks like this is topical again!
My piece on why the single market and customs union matter so much:
labourlist.org/2025/07/uk-r...
My piece on why the single market and customs union matter so much:
labourlist.org/2025/07/uk-r...
'The growth strategy no one will say out loud: rejoin the European Union' - LabourList
By the time the next election manifestoes are written, it might be an idea whose time has come.
labourlist.org
January 4, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Looks like this is topical again!
My piece on why the single market and customs union matter so much:
labourlist.org/2025/07/uk-r...
My piece on why the single market and customs union matter so much:
labourlist.org/2025/07/uk-r...
Reposted by Rick Ball
Exam quote of the day: "fair use is like asking your parents for money: they’ll give it to you as long as they agree with how you’ll use it."
January 4, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Exam quote of the day: "fair use is like asking your parents for money: they’ll give it to you as long as they agree with how you’ll use it."
What a clusterf*** of a world. Here’s something to make you feel wonderful
January 3, 2026 at 7:18 PM
What a clusterf*** of a world. Here’s something to make you feel wonderful
Reposted by Rick Ball
Days like this are a stark reminder that the UK undertook Brexit at historically the worst possible moment. Bloc politics is here to stay and fiddlearsing about with 2mm advances towards smoother customs arrangements with the EU is not the leadership Britain needs.
January 3, 2026 at 10:04 AM
Days like this are a stark reminder that the UK undertook Brexit at historically the worst possible moment. Bloc politics is here to stay and fiddlearsing about with 2mm advances towards smoother customs arrangements with the EU is not the leadership Britain needs.