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Brian J. Phillips

@brianjphillips.bsky.social

2.3K followers 730 following 340 posts

Terrorism, conflict, crime. @uniessexgov. Via Ohio, Camp Lejeune, PGH, CDMX. Co-authored book: "Insurgent Terrorism." https://sites.google.com/site/brianjphillips/home

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · May 6

Who creates terrorism research? Which countries produce the most? How have these things changed over time? Check out my recent article.

doi.org/10.1080/1057...

Who Are the Terrorism Researchers? A Study of Scholars in an Evolving Field, 1970–2019

Debates rage about diversity and representation. How diverse is terrorism studies? How has it changed over time? This article analyzes data on the nearly 2,000 terrorism scholars in the Web of Scie...

doi.org

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 7h

British Synagogue Attacker Pledged Allegiance to ISIS, Police Say

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/w...

British Synagogue Attacker Pledged Allegiance to ISIS, Police Say

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

Claire Adida @claireadida.bsky.social · 12h

"Many of the CEOs I spoke with didn’t care about democracy per se. For them, democracy wasn’t a moral good. It was a source of volatility. What they wanted was stability... "

But "The evidence is overwhelming: countries that weaken democracy do not gain more stability and security, they lose it."

The Illusion of Order:

Business leaders think a little autocracy might bring stability. History and data say the opposite.

barbarafwalter.substack.com

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Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

dag @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 19d

NEW

Has the government overreached in using terrorism law against Palestine Action?

A disclosed MI5 document indicates that the basis for proscription may be weak

By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

The New York Times has now published a document which sets out the government’s basis for the proscription. This is the “open” version of the MI5 assessment that has been placed before the courts in litigation challenging the proscription. The judges would also see a “closed” version with material not to be placed in the public domain.

One hopes the “closed” version is a far more impressive document than the one published, which is a flimsy and unconvincing piece of work. The assessment even admits—twice—that most of the activity of Palestine Action cannot be called terrorism.

The document overall reads as if it has been compiled backwards, intending to justify a conclusion that needed to be reached. If so, it will not be the first intelligence document to have been created in such a way.

The assessment relies on the group having caused “serious” property damage, which is the relevant statutory test. The problem here is that the spraying of paint and graffiti by the group does not meet the threshold of seriousness.

The document also relies on “open source” estimates of the cost of damage which, if one looks at the cited sources, trace back to a claim which the police themselves put to arrested protesters in interview. As such there is a certain circularity: the state is relying on the state claiming the damage is serious.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 20h

1. Wasn’t “British Ice” a Zima-like beverage in the 90s?
2. Kind of an oxymoron too #roomtemperature

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 22h

A reminder that this week the Conservatives announced they want a “British ICE”

John Pfaff @johnpfaff.bsky.social · 1d

Um, ICE just coldly shot an unarmed PRIEST in the head w a pepper ball when he (and everyone around him) clearly posed no threat.

For the crime of … complaining about government policy.

Core 1A speech.

With cameras rolling, they’re sniping priests for sport.

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 1d

Looks like Robocop but I haven't seen it in a long time!

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 1d

Interesting but perhaps not surprising - the vast majority of research (86%) on "covert action" focuses on Western states. Much of that, US and UK.

Similar to what I found regarding literature on armed conflict.

doi.org/10.1080/0268...

Overcoming Anglocentrism in covert action scholarship

This study argues that Anglocentrism in the study of covert action is driven by factors unique to the discipline, requiring novel mitigations which differ from those already recommended for wider i...

doi.org

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 1d

Essex in the news

Lyes Tagziria @lyestagziria.bsky.social · 1d

"The first organised criminal convicted of selling pink cocaine in the UK was also jailed last December. His main market was Essex, a consumer culture that seems almost ready-made for pink cocaine."

Great article by @maxdaly.bsky.social on the not-so-cocainey
cocaine increasingly common in the UK.

Why are kids snorting pink cocaine?

unherd.com

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 2d

This is helpful, even for a very slow runner like myself.

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 2d

Bluesky runners: maybe old news to some of yall but I've been consistently extremely confused by all the "zone 2" talk (what's too easy and what's too hard? based on lactate or heart rate or pace? etc) and this is by far the best thing I've read on it

pluttrell3.wixsite.com/train-of-tho...

Mistake #1: Running Too Fast On Easy Days

Recreational runners perform their easy runs at a much higher relative intensity than elites. A look at why this isn't a winning strategy.

pluttrell3.wixsite.com

Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

David Gilbert @davidgilbert.bsky.social · 2d

Over the weekend, Trump's deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller repeatedly attacked judges, calling them part of an "organized terrorist attack" on the US government....

On Saturday, the home of a judge who ruled against Trump, went up in flames

time.com/7323442/sout...

House of South Carolina Judge Criticized by Trump Administration Set Ablaze

Authorities are investigating a fire at the home of a South Carolina judge who had reportedly received death threats in what could be the latest incident of political violence across the country.

time.com

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Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

Ben Whitham @drbenwhitham.bsky.social · 3d

Men in balaclavas set fire to a mosque in East Sussex last night. It's only appearing on the BBC's local coverage, rather than its main national headlines, despite coming just a week after the (also under-reported) firebombing of an asylum hotel in London last week
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Peacehaven: Fire at East Sussex mosque probed as 'hate crime'

Video appears to show two people in balaclavas at the mosque before a large blaze spreads.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 5d

Jihad Al-Shamie: Who was the Manchester synagogue attacker?

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

Jihad Al-Shamie: Who was the Manchester synagogue attacker?

Jihad Al-Shamie was a weightlifting enthusiast who rarely spoke to his neighbours, one resident said.

www.bbc.co.uk

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 6d

This is wild but worth reading. “The group was passionately vegan, mostly transgender and highly educated. Seven of them are now in jail.”

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Ophelia Disappeared: A Wall Street Analyst and a Deadly Shootout

www.nytimes.com

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 6d

Criminals change course after public revulsion. Fascinating and pretty rare (but see article for comparable examples).

Hackers delete children's pictures and data after nursery attack backlash www.bbc.com/news/article...

Hackers delete data stolen in nursery cyber-attack after backlash

The hackers tell the BBC they are sorry for their actions - but experts question say it's a practical rather than moral move.

www.bbc.com

Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

Suparna Chaudhry @sch-ir.bsky.social · 10d

Today's collective action feat from war-ravaged Portland - all the golden retrievers dressed in a Halloween costume at the pumpkin patch managed to come together for a photo

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 11d

I first thought the headlines were “US troops to Poland.” That would make sense.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 11d

Trends in Terrorism Research and Publications (2010–2023): A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Authorship, Thematic and Methodological Shifts. by Nyadera, Odote, and Agwanda, and Nzau.

Looks super interesting! Geographic location of authors/institutions, gender, topics...

doi.org/10.1080/1057...

Trends in Terrorism Research and Publications (2010–2023): A Multi-Dimensional Analysis of Authorship, Thematic and Methodological Shifts

This study provides a multi-dimensional analysis of trends in terrorism research across four leading journals (Critical Studies on Terrorism, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Perspectives on Terror...

doi.org

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 13d

Now we're at 19. 19 new groups added to the US Foreign Terrorist Organization list this year.

13 of them are drug cartels or gangs.

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 20d

You probably missed it - the US govt just added FOUR new groups to the Foreign Terrorist Organizations list.

For decades, there have been about 2 new FTOs per year. This year, the Trump admin has added 18 (EIGHTEEN) new FTOs.

Can CT practitioners really pursue so many groups? Is this only talk?

Reposted by Brian J. Phillips

Christoph Harig @charig.bsky.social · 13d

Also, Barrio 18 was founded *in* the United States

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 13d

The US designated transnational gang Barrio 18 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.

This is big news because there's a large *US-based* component of the gang in Los Angeles. (All other FTOs are, uh, foreign.)

Prediction: this will be used to imprison and/or deport even more people in LA.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 13d

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 14d

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling like this is an interesting academic article

"Acoustic analysis of Taylor Swift's dialect changes across different eras of her career"
pubs.aip.org/asa/jasa/art...

#language #data #tunes

Acoustic analysis of Taylor Swift's dialect changes across different eras of her career

Across different stages of her career, Taylor Swift has moved in and out of communities that have distinct regional or socio-cultural dialects. Her extensive hi

pubs.aip.org

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 14d

Still a lot of misunderstanding in the press of what the "designation" of antifa as a terrorist org means.

This quote from an NPR article (via @jessmarindavis.bsky.social) is helpful. There is no legal framework to stop funding to a domestic "terror" org.

Article here: www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...

Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 15d

* in the second post, the "directly" should be "directing." Thanks, edit button.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 15d

Who knows what the future holds, and it's possible the govt just starts doin' stuff without legal justification.

But there is no US *domestic* terrorist list, basically due to free speech and other civil liberties.

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Brian J. Phillips @brianjphillips.bsky.social · 15d

Some news agencies seem to misunderstand this.

The designation does not cite any legal authority like Executive Order 13224 or the FTO status. There are no financial sanctions or membership bans. The latter would face substantial constitutional challenges.

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