Matt Potter
@mattpotteruk.bsky.social
2.1K followers 460 following 1.1K posts
Journalist, author, magpie, scriptwriter, nerd. Washington Post, BBC, Literary Review, Independent. Nonfic books WE ARE ALL TARGETS & OUTLAWS INC. Science, languages, virology, art, illicit networks, cyber, psychology, weird, prehistory, subculture. He/Him
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Reposted by Matt Potter
chadbourn.bsky.social
A drone swarm over Schleswig-Holstein surveyed critical infrastructure, German authorities claim.

The drones were sighted at Thyssenkrupp's naval shipyard, the university hospital, the coastal power plant and Kiel Canal, and the Heide refinery which supplies Hamburg Airport with kerosene.
Reposted by Matt Potter
ithacanexile.bsky.social
I come from a long line of military service.

The rules of engagement are all that separate us from being barbarians and savages. This effectively turns our military into a pseudo-Christian version of Islamic State, Khmer Rouge or the Tonton Macoute.

This is utter evil.

#DemVoice1 #DV1
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement."
Reposted by Matt Potter
louiestowell.bsky.social
Any sales track for an author should factor in what the publisher did/didn't do to market the book and what luck factors were involved eg awards/book of the month. Historical sales aren't useful info without context of other factors.
tajjaisen.bsky.social
I spent the summer reporting this essay on why it seems harder than ever to sell a book right now—especially if it isn't a debut and comes with the dreaded "sales track." I'm grateful to the writers, agents, editors, publishers & experts who spoke to me for this piece: thewalrus.ca/the-publishi...
The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem | The Walrus
Companies keep betting on the next bestseller. Literature is poorer for it
thewalrus.ca
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
This displays a fundamental misunderstanding of engagement. The rules of war are not perfect, and are often disregarded.

But they are there to protect you as much as your foe. And when you are a force/country with a lot to lose & large asymmetric presence, abandoning them is self-harm writ large.
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
2. Announcing that US soldiers are now encouraged to commit atrocities & abandon the rules of war means so will its foes.

3. The US public’s appetite for continued engagement is dampened by news of casualties. Can you imagine the blowback when it is news/foorage of US soldiers being tortured?
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
Idiot. Aside from the obvious issues, anyone who has studied history knows Hegseth is sowing the sees of the next US defeat here.

1. The US public is EXTREMELY reluctant to see its own soldiers in bodybags. (Hence US reliance on high-altitude bombing/shock & awe in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, etc.)
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "We unleash overwhelming and punishing violence on the enemy. We also don't fight with stupid rules of engagement. We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country. No more politically correct and overbearing rules of engagement."
Reposted by Matt Potter
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
I’d love for just one US leader somewhere to be authentic & say, ‘You know what? I’m gutted. Not about Canadians staying away - I would too - but that we have pissed you off, taken too many liberties, and become nightmare neighbours. We need to work on this side to rebuild any semblance of trust.’
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
But surely that can’t be possible, because yet again some business leader from Vermont has said he misses Canadians’ money and why aren’t they there. :/
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
This is a sentence that only feels shocking in the way that accepting the long-obvious truth after being gaslit out of acknowledging it for years by an abusive partner feels shocking.
kyivindependent.com
⚡️Europe 'no longer at peace' with Russia, Germany's Merz says.

"Let me put it in a sentence that may be a little shocking at first glance ... we are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sept. 29.
Europe 'no longer at peace' with Russia, Germany's Merz says
"Let me put it in a sentence that may be a little shocking at first glance ... we are not at war, but we are no longer at peace either," German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sept. 29.
kyivindependent.com
Reposted by Matt Potter
alannamode.bsky.social
Give folks their flowers

No, I mean right now. Go tell someone you loved their work right now. They're on social media just say it, it has never been easier

"They know how much people love--" no they don't go say it right now to a composer or artist or game dev or writer or anyone AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
Reposted by Matt Potter
columnist.bsky.social
Absolutely this. It’s a very weird phenomenon that you also sometimes see in corporate world especially after a CEO change - ‘we’ don’t like the people who work for us.
benansell.bsky.social
On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n
British Politics' Midlife Crisis
Why British Parties Can't Make Peace with Their Actual Voters
benansell.substack.com
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
I mean… maybe? Could potentially be, if you like. Or not. Who’s to say?
Screenshot of an email from Academia.edu that asks “Are you the Matt Potter who wrote "Hedging - Use of Cautious Language TASKS”?
Reposted by Matt Potter
sturdyalex.bsky.social
How weird that this should have disappeared from the Telegraph archive...
Reposted by Matt Potter
loreandordure.com
Yikes.
fionaswriting.bsky.social
The Aberdeen Hotel-Shouting Team has managed to combine the 14 Words (global Nazi slogan) with a poppy banner celebrating infamous antifascists. Incredible work.
photo of pre-protest barriers draped with far right banners including one saying 'BeCause HUMza Thinks SCOTLAND IS TOO WHITE WE MUST SECURE THE EXISTANCE OF OUR PEOPle FOR AND A Future for WHITE CHILDREN!' and one with a picture of a remembrance poppy and silhouettes of soldiers. there are also ones saying 'anti racism just means anti white' and 'immigration referendum now'
Reposted by Matt Potter
chowleen.bsky.social
The South Korean Ministry of Defense has awarded medals of merit to 11 officers for disobeying direct orders of superiors during the martial law fiasco, orders that they deemed to be contrary to the constitution and endangerment to democracy.
www.chosun.com/english/nati...
National Defense Ministry Honors 11 Soldiers for Refusing Illegal Orders
National Defense Ministry Honors 11 Soldiers for Refusing Illegal Orders Honored for rejecting illegal orders during martial law, Marine death probe
www.chosun.com
Reposted by Matt Potter
tomnuttall.bsky.social
The AfD qualified for three mayoral run-offs in cities in North Rhine-Westphalia today, and lost all by big margins. The lesson is not that we have overdone the AfD's rise, but that we do perhaps sometimes underestimate the counter-mobilisation effects - including in east Germany, incidentally.
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
“New paradigm” just dropped 😬
edzitron.com
Ah man we’re screwed
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Jim Cramer: Why the crazy spending of this Al boom isn't like the dot-com bubble
PUBLISHED SUN, SEP 28 2025•5:31 PM EDT
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
Today's orange dawn sky over the silhouetted spires, chimneys and rooftops of Edinburgh's old town. No filter needed.
Orange dawn sky over the silhouetted spires, chimneys and rooftops of Edinburgh's old town
Reposted by Matt Potter
coastalpaleo.bsky.social
NEW blog post! The evolution and fossil record of narwhals and belugas - the white whales! Emphasis on the surprising fossil record of belugas and the evolution of the bizarre tusk in the weirdest modern cetacean. 🐬🧪🦖 #whaleontology Read it here: coastalpaleo.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-...
The paltry fossil record of narwhals (Monodon) and the evolutionary history of white whales
Narwhals are certainly among the strangest and most immediately recognizable of all marine mammals, owing to their fantastic tusk. Narwhals ...
coastalpaleo.blogspot.com
Reposted by Matt Potter
chadbourn.bsky.social
Danish police are now labeling the drone incident at Copenhagen Airport as “an attack.”

The UAVs were guided by a “capable operator” showcasing specific capabilities, approached from multiple directions, lights intermittently switching on and off before ultimately vanishing after several hours.
Reposted by Matt Potter
adamserwer.bsky.social
Nothing says “land of the free” like armed agents of the state saying “show me your papers if you want your daughter back” bsky.app/profile/nbcb...
mattpotteruk.bsky.social
If one day my lifeless body is found slumped over an eBay basket containing some very flamboyant Converse, I will have my answer.