Simon Frankel Pratt
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simonpratt.bsky.social
Simon Frankel Pratt
@simonpratt.bsky.social
2.7K followers 150 following 1.1K posts
Political scientist at the University of Melbourne. Formerly of other places. Research: war, intelligence, innovation, and normative change in international politics. Cat paparazzo. He/Him 🇨🇦🏳️‍🌈✡️
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simonpratt.bsky.social
Simon Frankel Pratt @simonpratt.bsky.social · Sep 3
Well, I was in Istanbul recently and I photographed many cats. By popular demand, here are some of them.
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
This is good for no one.

European academic boycotts of Israel have intensified despite the Gaza cease-fire, with a new report warning they risk sending Israeli academia into "dangerous isolation

www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
Academic boycott of Israel persists despite Gaza cease-fire, report finds
A Report by Israel's Association of University Heads Found That European Academic Institutions That Cut Ties With Israel After October 7, 2023, Have Yet to Restore Them, With a Quarter of the Boycotts...
www.haaretz.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
chathamhouse.org
'There is no peace process. This is not negotiations over peace: it is the transmission of surrender demands from Russia with the active facilitation of the United States.'

Read @keirgiles.bsky.social analysis on the Trump administration's proposed 28-point peace plan for Ukraine⤵️
Trump pressures Ukraine to accept peace deal: Early analysis from Chatham House experts
Chatham House analysts give their initial analysis after Zelenskyy was pressured by Trump to accept a White House plan to end the war with Russia.
www.chathamhouse.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
eliothiggins.bsky.social
‘Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day’: the female pilots on Ukraine’s frontline
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Drone operators are hunted. You feel it from your first day’: the female pilots on Ukraine’s frontline
As casualties mount, recruitment is expanding. Three women talk about life in a male-dominated combat environment
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
jesus christ, is this the style standard at the BBC now? That's fucking vile, and the entire organization should be ashamed down to its bones.
variousvarieties.bsky.social Nick @variousvarieties.bsky.social · 1d
It looks like that BBC page has been updated in the last few minutes, so that's no longer the last sentence. I think part of it has been moved to this paragraph in the middle of the article, and the age is no longer mentioned:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Screenshot from BBC News article "Linehan cleared of harassing trans activist but guilty of damaging phone": She also did not find that the complainant, a biological male who identifies as a woman, "was as 'alarmed and distressed' as they portrayed themself to be by these messages and this course of conduct".
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
davekeating.substack.com
BREAKING: This is huge news, the EU's equivalent of the 🇺🇸Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges ruling.

🇪🇺Court of Justice just ruled all 🇪🇺countries must recognise same-sex marriages granted in other member states.

This effectively legalises gay marriage across 🇪🇺
www.reuters.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
benjaminjriley.bsky.social
Grateful to The Verge for publishing my essay on why large-language models are not going to achieve general intelligence nor push the scientific frontier.

www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Is language the same as intelligence? The AI industry desperately needs it to be
The AI boom is based on a fundamental mistake.
www.theverge.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
sbmitche.bsky.social
“These revelations appear to confirm what researchers and close observers have long known: that foreign actors (whether bots or humans) are posing as Americans and piping political-engagement bait, mis- and disinformation, and spam into people’s timeline.”
November 25, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
karenho.bsky.social
A new kind of rapid Chotining. Please appreciate the alt-text.
Isaac Chotiner: "You would have to be brain-dead to read this piece and not immediately wonder who is funding Semafor Gulf." Quote post of Ben Smith saying: "Fascinating @msergie piece on covering a monarchy" about a Semafor article on Saudi Arabia's crown prince Smith responds to Chotiner: "That's a hell of an allegation/implication, Isaac. To figure out the literal answer to your question, you'd either have to look and see who the sponsors are in the email (I haven't checked today!) or read our publicly disclosed list of investors. I believe you're trying to imply that it's the Saudi government? Have you read more of our coverage, or just this tweet? My impression — correct me if I'm wrong — is that you're working on zero information and smearing us in general, and an experienced journalist @msergie whose work I suspect you're totally unfamiliar with in particular." Chotiner responds:"I’m not making any allegation. I’m making a simple point about how an average reader—myself included—might respond after reading this ridiculous piece" Ben Smith: "Just asking questions! Come on. You genuinely know better. Or read Mohammed's long career of work covering the Gulf and the Syrian war before you imply he's some kind of stooge." Noah Kulwin: "The point is not about who funds your reporting/if your colleague is a “stooge”. Isaac’s comment is that the reporting is so bad so as to make a reader wonder who is funding it" Smith: A reader, sure. A journalist who can do very basic homework, kind of lame. Chotiner: "You are right, I’ll do some homework now by perusing Jay Solomon Semafor pieces, and reading Jason Greenblatt Semafor columns. In the meantime, I will formally say that I am making no accusation and was just astonished at how inane the piece was" Chotiner quote-posts with "I see Semafor loves running column after column by this guy (https://semafor.com/author/faisal-j-abbas), who also publishes pro-Saudi conspiracies about the murder of Jamal Khashoggi https://arabnews.com/node/1386291" Ben Smith's post says "I hope I'm not overreacting, but it makes me crazy when people I think of as reporters do this "just asking questions" stuff. Feel free to report it out by googling/asking me/reading our various scoops and reports about the region — these two just now" and links to two Semafor articles Chotiner quote posts Ben Smith: "You might have heard that the UAE is helping destroy Sudan, but at the next Semafor event, all is well." Screenshot says "Held at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, Semafor will spotlight insights from the Global Findex 2025 report and the Global Digital Connectivity Tracker, translating global research into actionable, locally relevant conversations. As the third stop on The Next 3 Billion Tour, this edition explores how the Gulf's growing investments in Africa can accelerate digital connectivity and financial inclusion. With Abu Dhabi's focus on sustainable finance, digital transformation, and cross-border collaboration, it offers a strong platform to examine how technology and capital can work together to expand access and opportunity." Ben Smith's post says "Just asking questions! Come on. You genuinely know better. Or read Mohammed's long career of work covering the Gulf and the Syrian war before you imply he's some kind of stooge."
November 25, 2025 at 1:09 AM
simonpratt.bsky.social
anthropology as a field is really good at inculcating a strong mistrust of militarism and imperialism amongst its members, so it's little surprise that the human terrain systems program was mainly filled with well-meaning but poorly trained 'experts' from other fields
beijingpalmer.bsky.social BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 1d
in theory, this is what the "human terrain" project was. In practice, it sent people *without experience or knowledge of Afghan kinship structures* into Afghanistan.
brasidas.bsky.social brasidas @brasidas.bsky.social · 2d
My infantry Bn had a really hard time parsing the gender and sexuality issues of Southern Helmand.

When people say, "you wouldn't want a 'purple haired gender studies major' in the Marines" I reply "YES we desperately needed them!" We had teams of anthropologists who published studies for us.
November 24, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
deviantollam.bsky.social
My friends and I were featured in Wired magazine today! (cc @tacticoolgf.bsky.social @picatinnyrailed.bsky.social @inrange.tv etc etc)

www.wired.com/story/the-ha...
Screenshot of Wired magazine with an article entitled "The Hard-Left Shooters Leading a Gun Culture Revolution" and showing a photograph of my friend, Tacticool Girlfriend, holding a rifle and wearing full battle rattle kit while seated on a hotel bed.
November 24, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
katrafiy.bsky.social
One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.
November 24, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
matthewfacciani.bsky.social
A new paper shows how social media accelerates extremism by flooding users with emotionally charged, divisive content that algorithms naturally amplify, making extremist narratives far more visible, engaging, and persuasive than they would be otherwise.
November 24, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
heissenstat.bsky.social
Political Scientist Vahid Abedini detained boarding flight as he traveled to the annual MESA conference
November 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
ngellwitzki.bsky.social
🚨 New Publication in International Organization! 🚨

Happy to share our latest paper with @jeremymoulton.bsky.social:“The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order”, part of SI #IOFoGG on the Future of Global Governance. doi.org/10.1017/S002...
@iojournal.bsky.social
The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order | International Organization | Cambridge Core
The New Age of Myth: Political Narratives and the Reconstitution of World Order - Volume 79 Issue S1
doi.org
November 20, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
mkirschenbaum.bsky.social
This. To say nothing of the destroyed careers and livelihoods, the abandoned research, and the probably irreparable trust defect for anyone who *might* have been contemplating a career in public service. Please, stop with the DOGE failure narratives.
dustinheron.bsky.social Gravy Boat Sailor on the Seas of Fate 🦃 @dustinheron.bsky.social · 2d
DOGE did everything they were supposed to do and have already killed almost 700,000 people including 430,000 children, as intended. DOGE is one of the most successful anti-democracy, mass-murder campaigns we've ever seen, and we will be dealing with the consequences of their success for generations.
bbkogan.bsky.social Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 3d
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.
November 23, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
mikeyearworth.bsky.social
“Insurers increasingly view AI models’ outputs as too unpredictable and opaque to insure, said Dennis Bertram, head of cyber insurance for Europe at Mosaic. “It’s too much of a black box.”

www.ft.com/content/abfe...
Insurers retreat from AI cover as risk of multibillion-dollar claims mounts
AIG, Great American and WR Berkley seek permission to limit liability from AI agents and chatbots
www.ft.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
eliothiggins.bsky.social
Although the scale of this is still to be assessed, this is the inevitable outcome of the monetization of the algorithm. Rage-bait becomes a personal revenue model. Nothing about this should be a surprise.
aaronparnas.bsky.social Aaron Parnas @aaronparnas.bsky.social · 2d
NEWS: I spent the past 24 hours going through major MAGA accounts on Twitter, and a bombshell development has become clear: most of the right-wing ecosphere is being fed propaganda from foreign actors.

This impacts elections. This impacts discourse. This is major. Subscribe to support my work:
NEWS: Major MAGA Accounts on Twitter Exposed as Foreign Actors
A stunning development over the past 24 hours.
open.substack.com
November 23, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
ibishblog.bsky.social
I was very glad to write this article and I hope people pay attention to it. It’s very important.
theatlantic.com The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · Oct 8
“Uttering, promoting, and in some cases even tolerating anti-Israel rhetoric that crosses the line into anti-Semitism does double damage,” @ibishblog.bsky.social argues: both fueling violent attacks and tarring the pro-Palestinian movement.
Anti-Semitism Is Poison for the Palestinian Cause
No good will come to the pro-Palestinian movement from any association with violent attacks.
bit.ly
October 10, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
In newly unsealed court doc, plaintiffs allege Meta lied to Congress and the public about its internal research as it dragged its feet on child safety:
@charlottealter.bsky.social

time.com/7336204/meta...
7 Explosive Allegations Against Meta in Newly Unsealed Filings
Court filings allege Meta tolerated sex trafficking, hid harms to teens, and prioritized growth over user safety for years.
time.com
November 22, 2025 at 9:55 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
newlinesmag.bsky.social
“A year ago, it would have been inconceivable to imagine where this country is today.”

Syria is holding its first public trial since Assad’s fall, for those accused of violence during the March uprising, Anagha Nair reports for @newlinesmag.bsky.social
Syria Begins Its Coastal Massacre Trial
In a moment long demanded by victims’ families, a live-broadcast reckoning has brought alleged perpetrators of violence on both sides of the uprising in March before the same judge
newlinesmag.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:00 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
bellingcat.com
How does war reshape ecosystems? What gets damaged, lost, or overlooked? Yesterday we went into a deep dive with the Conflict and Environment Observatory @ceobs.org . Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...
"Studying Conflict’s Impact on the Environment" with the Conflict and Environment Observatory | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
This week, we discussed a more hidden impact of war... the toll it takes on the environment. Can we estimate the scale of damage conflict can have on our natural spaces? Do we know how harmful polluti...
rss.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
erikvoeten.bsky.social
The new neo-royalist world order. Stacie Goddard and
@abenewman.bsky.social explain how cliques are ruling the world. A new @goodauth.bsky.social podcast interview with yours truly based on the new @iojournal.bsky.social open access article that came out today!

goodauthority.org/news/the-new...
The new neo-royalist world order
Stacie Goddard and Abe Newman explain how cliques are ruling the world.
goodauthority.org
November 20, 2025 at 9:24 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
darthbluesky.bsky.social
those billions of dollars data center build outs are really paying out dividends
November 20, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
propublica.org
Interviews and records show the White House intervened on behalf of accused sex trafficker Andrew Tate during a federal investigation.

The incident is the latest in a string of matters where the Trump administration has inserted itself to help friends and target foes.
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
www.propublica.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Simon Frankel Pratt
elizabethjacobs.bsky.social
The U.S. government is now inarguably spreading medical disinformation that is going to kill babies preferentially.

Period.

This is an INTOLERABLE. UNPRECEDENTED. DANGEROUS. ATTACK. ON ALL OF US.
Vaccine Safety MENU V For Everyone NOV. 19, 2025 KEY POINTS • The claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism. • Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities. • HHS has launched a comprehensive assessment of the causes of autism, including investigations on plausible biologic mechanisms and potential causal links.
November 20, 2025 at 3:29 AM