Bob Garland
@starphysh.bsky.social
Waiting for the fully automated, post-capitalist future to get a move on
Reposted by Bob Garland
This is absolutely insane. The sort of Kafka-esque nightmare you would find in a Philip K Dick book set far in the dystopian future. A window on America tumbling into autocracy.
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September
Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record
www.irishtimes.com
February 9, 2026 at 7:59 AM
This is absolutely insane. The sort of Kafka-esque nightmare you would find in a Philip K Dick book set far in the dystopian future. A window on America tumbling into autocracy.
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Breaking news: man who could end world hunger and make serious roads into contesting climate change but instead chooses to make porn-AI accessible and cheerlead for fascists can’t work out why he’s not happy. 🧐
February 8, 2026 at 2:27 PM
Breaking news: man who could end world hunger and make serious roads into contesting climate change but instead chooses to make porn-AI accessible and cheerlead for fascists can’t work out why he’s not happy. 🧐
Reposted by Bob Garland
Democracy Docket is not on Substack. From the beginning, I made sure it had its own tech stack. It's more expensive, but it assures independence from corporate interests and that its content won't sit aside Nazis.
You can support it by joining truly independent media. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0
You can support it by joining truly independent media. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0
February 7, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Democracy Docket is not on Substack. From the beginning, I made sure it had its own tech stack. It's more expensive, but it assures independence from corporate interests and that its content won't sit aside Nazis.
You can support it by joining truly independent media. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0
You can support it by joining truly independent media. hubs.ly/Q03CbHTt0
Reposted by Bob Garland
Not sure ‘botched’ Brexit is the way to go. Particularly as Farage agrees, blames the Tories and threatens to make it even worse.
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
February 2, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Not sure ‘botched’ Brexit is the way to go. Particularly as Farage agrees, blames the Tories and threatens to make it even worse.
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
At some point you need to tell the truth. It’s not botched. It’s exactly what you get when you prioritise prejudice over pragmatism.
app.independent.co.uk/2026/02/01/2...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Unreal. He’s shutting down the Kennedy Center, after his flunkies caused mass defections of artists?
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."
February 1, 2026 at 11:30 PM
Unreal. He’s shutting down the Kennedy Center, after his flunkies caused mass defections of artists?
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Everything the man touches turns to ash. Our cultural heritage; destroyed. Our national treasures; plundered.
Reposted by Bob Garland
This is what’s known as dodgy as fuck…
Farage is in hock to murky foreign billionaires, taking their money to prioritise their interests if they buy him power. He’s exploiting people’s racism and anger to pretend he’s on their side. But he’s already sold them out.
www.thetimes.com/article/660a...
Farage is in hock to murky foreign billionaires, taking their money to prioritise their interests if they buy him power. He’s exploiting people’s racism and anger to pretend he’s on their side. But he’s already sold them out.
www.thetimes.com/article/660a...
Churchwarden linked to foreign-born billionaire is behind £200k Reform gift
The man whose firm made the donations will not discuss where the money came from, nor his ties to wealthy Farage allies who may not hold citizenship
www.thetimes.com
February 1, 2026 at 9:20 AM
This is what’s known as dodgy as fuck…
Farage is in hock to murky foreign billionaires, taking their money to prioritise their interests if they buy him power. He’s exploiting people’s racism and anger to pretend he’s on their side. But he’s already sold them out.
www.thetimes.com/article/660a...
Farage is in hock to murky foreign billionaires, taking their money to prioritise their interests if they buy him power. He’s exploiting people’s racism and anger to pretend he’s on their side. But he’s already sold them out.
www.thetimes.com/article/660a...
Reposted by Bob Garland
President Trump, your Melania movie has bombed
January 30, 2026 at 8:01 PM
President Trump, your Melania movie has bombed
Reposted by Bob Garland
This is good. "Perhaps Goodwin was always like this… Or perhaps he… was gradually radicalised by the thing he was studying. Who knows? Who cares? Life is short and we must not squander it wandering in the psychological wastelands of deeply average people."
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
Matt Goodwin and the end of England
How one man's career explains our public life.
iandunt.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 4:21 PM
This is good. "Perhaps Goodwin was always like this… Or perhaps he… was gradually radicalised by the thing he was studying. Who knows? Who cares? Life is short and we must not squander it wandering in the psychological wastelands of deeply average people."
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Regime continues siege of Northern Oblast controlled by opposition faction. Government forces have begun a roundup of journalists deemed hostile to The State. Questions swirl around Dear Leader's health as mid-level Apparatchiks engage in a behind the scenes succession battle.
the White House's official X account gloats over the arrest of Don Lemon with a chains emoji
January 30, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Regime continues siege of Northern Oblast controlled by opposition faction. Government forces have begun a roundup of journalists deemed hostile to The State. Questions swirl around Dear Leader's health as mid-level Apparatchiks engage in a behind the scenes succession battle.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Physicists long believed time was a basic feature of the universe. But it may just emerge from cosmic information.
Is time a fundamental part of reality? A quiet revolution in physics suggests not
Physicists long believed time was a basic feature of the universe. But it may just emerge from cosmic information.
tcnv.link
January 29, 2026 at 7:13 AM
Physicists long believed time was a basic feature of the universe. But it may just emerge from cosmic information.
Reposted by Bob Garland
From Viz, three years ago: The Brexit Opportunity Detector.
Still looking.
Still looking.
January 27, 2026 at 7:12 AM
From Viz, three years ago: The Brexit Opportunity Detector.
Still looking.
Still looking.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Okay, so this is an authoritarian playbook trick, once the evidence is overwhelming say everyone needs to wait for the official investigation then either fix it or attack it when its completed. Same shit Russian pulled with MH17 and chemical attacks in Syria, very predictable.
Reporter: Will Stephen Miller be apologizing to the family of Alex Pretti for calling him an assassin?
Leavitt: This incident remains under investigation.
Leavitt: This incident remains under investigation.
January 26, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Okay, so this is an authoritarian playbook trick, once the evidence is overwhelming say everyone needs to wait for the official investigation then either fix it or attack it when its completed. Same shit Russian pulled with MH17 and chemical attacks in Syria, very predictable.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Iran’s young population is educated and connected to the world: even state violence cannot deny their freedom in the long run.
Iran protests are not just about economics – they’re a full-blown ideological crisis
Iran’s young population is educated and connected to the world: even state violence cannot deny their freedom in the long run.
tcnv.link
January 24, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Iran’s young population is educated and connected to the world: even state violence cannot deny their freedom in the long run.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Out of the Trump shitstorm comes opportunity. To join forces with Europe and Canada, “ditch Brexit delusions… and leave Farage marooned on the wrong side of public opinion, fanboy to the man who insulted Britain’s war dead.”
Yes please. The only sane response.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Yes please. The only sane response.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As the world finally punches back, was this the week Donald Trump went too far? | Jonathan Freedland
The US president took his bullying doctrine to Davos and hit a wall of opposition. If this creates a new western alliance against him, all to the good, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:55 AM
Out of the Trump shitstorm comes opportunity. To join forces with Europe and Canada, “ditch Brexit delusions… and leave Farage marooned on the wrong side of public opinion, fanboy to the man who insulted Britain’s war dead.”
Yes please. The only sane response.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Yes please. The only sane response.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Trump's Davos speech was the act of a madman and that is the only sensible manner in which it should have been covered iandunt.substack.com/p/breaking-t...
January 23, 2026 at 12:42 PM
Trump's Davos speech was the act of a madman and that is the only sensible manner in which it should have been covered iandunt.substack.com/p/breaking-t...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Spot on @andyburnham.bsky.social
"Thatcher’s deregulation and privatisation created a race to the bottom
They left people and businesses paying way over the odds for the essentials and are the root cause of today’s cost-of-living crisis"
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"Thatcher’s deregulation and privatisation created a race to the bottom
They left people and businesses paying way over the odds for the essentials and are the root cause of today’s cost-of-living crisis"
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
'Manchesterism' is building a better politics and a strong economy. The whole country should be inspired | Andy Burnham
We are the fastest-growing city-region economy in the UK, proof that it is possible to use public funds effectively while reducing crisis spending, says Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester
www.theguardian.com
January 23, 2026 at 7:53 AM
Spot on @andyburnham.bsky.social
"Thatcher’s deregulation and privatisation created a race to the bottom
They left people and businesses paying way over the odds for the essentials and are the root cause of today’s cost-of-living crisis"
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
"Thatcher’s deregulation and privatisation created a race to the bottom
They left people and businesses paying way over the odds for the essentials and are the root cause of today’s cost-of-living crisis"
PUBLIC OWNERSHIP NOW
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Elon Musk is a white supremacist. Case closed.
January 22, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Elon Musk is a white supremacist. Case closed.
Reposted by Bob Garland
There you have it, the Board of Peace is nothing more than a corrupt real estate deal dressed up as diplomacy with the sole purpose of enriching Trump and his favoured cronies.
Trump makes concluding remarks. He says Gaza ceasefire push began because he is “a real estate person at heart, and it’s all about location, and I said, ‘look at this location, on the sea, look at this beautiful piece of property’”.
January 22, 2026 at 11:16 AM
There you have it, the Board of Peace is nothing more than a corrupt real estate deal dressed up as diplomacy with the sole purpose of enriching Trump and his favoured cronies.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Mark Carney has delivered one of the most important speeches of our era. There is a better future waiting for Britain if we dare to follow his example.
inews.co.uk/opinion/trum...
inews.co.uk/opinion/trum...
January 21, 2026 at 8:02 PM
Mark Carney has delivered one of the most important speeches of our era. There is a better future waiting for Britain if we dare to follow his example.
inews.co.uk/opinion/trum...
inews.co.uk/opinion/trum...
Reposted by Bob Garland
The problem when trying to rehabilitate Trump’s attachment to old European alliances is that his politics and character are aligned with the dark forces that had to be defeated for those alliances to exist. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Donald Trump is not forgetting America’s old alliances – his goal is to destroy them | Rafael Behr
European leaders who know their continent’s history must now see that the US president is siding with the forces of tyranny, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:23 AM
The problem when trying to rehabilitate Trump’s attachment to old European alliances is that his politics and character are aligned with the dark forces that had to be defeated for those alliances to exist. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Bob Garland
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
Reposted by Bob Garland
The message of Trump’s letter to the prime minister of Norway signals that the president “genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. theatln.tc/U0fviLiM
January 19, 2026 at 4:30 PM
The message of Trump’s letter to the prime minister of Norway signals that the president “genuinely lives in a different reality, one in which neither grammar nor history nor the normal rules of human interaction now affect him,” @anneapplebaum.bsky.social argues. theatln.tc/U0fviLiM
Reposted by Bob Garland
We now have a full-blown European-American crisis, and for no reason that the president is able to articulate
January 18, 2026 at 2:08 PM
We now have a full-blown European-American crisis, and for no reason that the president is able to articulate
Reposted by Bob Garland
A real shame if this photo went viral again today.
January 18, 2026 at 8:18 AM
A real shame if this photo went viral again today.
Reposted by Bob Garland
Europe should know by now that appeasement doesn't work. ICYMI @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/49UbwXT
Europe’s Only Hope Is to Stand Up to Trump
Time for some transatlantic hardball.
lnk.thebulwark.com
January 17, 2026 at 11:01 PM
Europe should know by now that appeasement doesn't work. ICYMI @daliborrohac.bsky.social: lnk.thebulwark.com/49UbwXT