Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

US lawmakers: Andrew! Mandelson! Get the fuck over here and tell us what you know about Epstein, pronto!
Also US lawmakers: Trump? Musk? Chomsky? Nah, you're good.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Democrats ask Mandelson to cooperate with Jeffrey Epstein probe

Lord Mandelson has previously expressed his regret for his continued association with Jeffrey Epstein.

www.bbc.co.uk

February 13, 2026 at 10:04 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

"proven track record of delivering phenomenal results"... is this LinkedIn for fascists?

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 3d

Trump endorses Orban

Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America. Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER! Relations between Hungary and the United States have reached new heights of cooperation and spectacular achievement under my Administration, thanks largely to Prime Minister Orbán. I look forward to continuing working closely with him so that both of our Countries can further advance this tremendous path to SUCCESS and cooperation. I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again. Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — HE WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT P

February 13, 2026 at 7:13 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

The lack of self-awareness at the end when he says "that can't be right". So close.

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 3d

Nadhim Zahawi thinks London is now unsafe, because the other day a tired-looking man walked past him during the morning rush hour.

February 13, 2026 at 7:12 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

Being able to recite anything for minutes shows impressive dedication. When it's a speech by an actual fascist, it's terrifying. When that person is the CEO of a company worming its way into the British state... I don't know where we go from here.

Anarchy Goose @anarchygoose.bsky.social · 3d

Wait until you hear how he got the job.

Two pages from The Philosopher in the Valley: Alex Karp, Palantir, and the Rise of the Surveillance State by Michael Steinberger.

The highlighted section reads:
"But what was perhaps Karp’s most notorious interview was with someone who got the job. Louis Mosley was an Oxford graduate who had hoped to pursue a political career in Britain. But his family history made that an impossibility: his grandfather was Oswald Mosley, the British fascist leader during World War II, and his grandmother was Diana Mitford, one of the famous Mitford sisters and who is best remembered for her close friendship with Hitler. A group of historians once named Oswald Mosley the worst Briton of the twentieth century, and while Louis had rejected his grandparents’ views, his surname proved to be an insurmountable liability—Conservative Party insiders
ultimately made clear that they would never be able to put him up for office because he was tainted by association.

Through a friend, he was introduced to Palantir, and after several rounds of interviews, he flew to Palo Alto to meet with Karp. As soon as Mosley took a seat, Karp began reciting a fiery speech that Oswald Mosley gave in 1939 demanding that Britain seek peace with Nazi Germany. (“Our generation shall not die like rats in Polish holes. They shall not die but shall live to see above their heads the English sky, to feel beneath their feet the English soil, and to enjoy the fair English countryside….”) Karp didn’t just repeat a few sentences; he went on
for minutes, reproducing the speech from memory. Mosley sat in stunned silence. When Karp finished, he executed a few tai chi moves and walked out of the room without saying goodbye. A shaken Mosley figured that his family’s dark past had torpedoed him again. But it hadn’t: he was hired and ended up running Palantir’s UK business."

February 13, 2026 at 10:10 AM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

I think Forest are taking “Manager of the Month” too literally.

February 12, 2026 at 8:38 AM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

This is disgusting language heaped upon falsehoods.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

UK being ‘colonised by immigrants’, says Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Britain’s seventh-richest man, who vocally backed Brexit then moved to tax-free Monaco, also hits out at people on benefits

www.theguardian.com

February 11, 2026 at 6:23 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

This is so weird.
1) David Lammy is the actual Deputy PM
2) Lucy Powell is the actual Deputy Labour leader.
3) The 3 biggest cabinet jobs (Home Sec, Foreign Sec and Chancellor) are ALL women.
But we need a female 'de facto' deputy?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Furious female Labour MPs urge Starmer to make a woman his de facto deputy

Harriet Harman leads calls for an appointment that would ‘turbocharge’ a ‘complete culture change’ at No 10

www.theguardian.com

February 11, 2026 at 2:57 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

I don’t want to live on the fucking moon! It looks dry and dull and sad and there’s nowhere to swim. Invest in this planet instead.

Jim Henley Music @jimhenleymusic.bsky.social · 7d

BREAKING: “in my 24th year of my quest to settle the planet Mars, I have just been informed of a basic fact of celestial mechanics.”

Screenshot of Elon Musk post on Ex: “Elon Musk y
X
@elonmusk
For those unaware, Space has already shifted focus to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as we can potentially achieve that in less than 10 years, whereas Mars would take 20+ years.
The mission of SpaceX remains the same: extend consciousness and life as we know it to the stars.
It is only possible to travel to Mars when the planets align every 26 months (six month trip time), whereas we can launch to the Moon every 10 days (2 day trip time). This means we can iterate much faster to complete a Moon city than a Mars city.
That said, SpaceX will also strive to build a Mars city and begin doing so in about 5 to 7 years, but the overriding priority is securing the future of civilization and the Moon is faster.”

February 9, 2026 at 5:50 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

I'm beginning to think it's CRUNCH time for Starmer.

February 9, 2026 at 9:09 AM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

Really worth a read.

Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 7d

By popular demand, we are removing the paywall from this informative and prescient article by @adambienkov.bsky.social from last July's print edition

The Myth of Morgan McSweeney subscribe.bylinetimes.com/edition/75/t...

The Myth of Morgan McSweeney – Byline Times Digital / Print Edition

The established press’ focus on supposedly ‘all powerful’ individual advisors often obscures the more important structural issues that come to define politics, writes Adam Bienkov

subscribe.bylinetimes.com

February 9, 2026 at 8:52 AM

Reposted by Rob Minto

Byline Times

@bylinetimes.bsky.social

By popular demand, we are removing the paywall from this informative and prescient article by @adambienkov.bsky.social from last July's print edition

The Myth of Morgan McSweeney subscribe.bylinetimes.com/edition/75/t...

The Myth of Morgan McSweeney – Byline Times Digital / Print Edition

The established press’ focus on supposedly ‘all powerful’ individual advisors often obscures the more important structural issues that come to define politics, writes Adam Bienkov

subscribe.bylinetimes.com

February 9, 2026 at 8:24 AM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

A follow up on Pep speaking out on global issues and still the BBC fails to mention he is paid £20mn per year by someone credibly accused of supporting a genocide in Sudan. The hypocrisy is off the charts, and the BBC is complicit in helping Pep wash his conscience.

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Pep Guardiola: Man City boss asks 'why should I not express how I feel?'

Pep Guardiola defended his stance of speaking up about global conflicts by asking,

www.bbc.co.uk

February 7, 2026 at 11:59 AM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

Well that’s a profoundly depressing thought. “Real life could be like a computer thing”. Ugh.

It’s like living inside a beautiful screensaver

February 6, 2026 at 5:14 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

While it's obviously "conscience" not "conscious", the second is objectively MUCH FUNNIER.

Pippa Crerar @pippacrerar.bsky.social · 10d

Labour MPs & party insiders tell me they’ve never seen Keir Starmer so angry as over Mandelson’s lies about Epstein links.

But those who know him well say that anger has now turned inwards. That Starmer is, above all else, a man of public service, and will be grappling with his conscious this w/e.

February 6, 2026 at 2:26 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

£40 BILLION?? Even Tottenham's amazing new stadium cost under £2bn. How is this even possible?

Also, make decision by mid-2030s? Huh?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Parliament revamp could cost £40bn and take 61 years

MPs and peers are presented with two renovation options and told to make a decision by the mid-2030s.

www.bbc.co.uk

February 5, 2026 at 3:33 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

I wish I was the target market for this

February 4, 2026 at 6:49 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

Bezos maybe bought it with good intentions but now happy to let democracy die in darkness

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 12d

Breaking News: The Washington Post began sweeping layoffs that were slated to shrink the scope of the publication.

Washington Post Begins Sweeping Layoffs

The layoffs are slated to shrink the newsroom by hundreds of journalists, cutting into The Post’s local, international and sports coverage.

nyti.ms

February 4, 2026 at 3:49 PM

Rob Minto

@robminto.bsky.social

The BBC reporting on this story is either utterly naive or complicit in the wash.
Pep Guardiola speaks out on conflicts - OK, fine. But NO mention of the fact that he's paid £20m per year by someone - Sheikh Mansour - who is accused of supporting genocide in Sudan.
www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...