Seán Smith
@sean-smith84.bsky.social
Reposted by Seán Smith
On Tory-Reform pact chat, US meddling in European democracy and the difference between opposition and resistance www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
A braver Tory leader than Badenoch would dare to call out Farage's bogus patriotism | Rafael Behr
Across western democracies, established conservatives are yielding to radical nationalism. There’s no sign that Britain will be the exception, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
www.theguardian.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:30 AM
On Tory-Reform pact chat, US meddling in European democracy and the difference between opposition and resistance www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Seán Smith
Believe the testimonies included in this piece. An NGO worker specialised in mental health I interviewed today told me that 8 out of 10 refugees who left Mali for Mauritania since the Russian deployment suffer from serious mental health issues. This is a deliberate campaign of terror. This is Russia
As Russia's Africa Corps fights in Mali, witnesses describe atrocities from beheadings to rapes
The Associated Press has spoken to over 30 refugees from Mali who say they witnessed beheadings, rapes and other abuses committed by Africa Corps, a new military unit under Russia's direct command.
apnews.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Believe the testimonies included in this piece. An NGO worker specialised in mental health I interviewed today told me that 8 out of 10 refugees who left Mali for Mauritania since the Russian deployment suffer from serious mental health issues. This is a deliberate campaign of terror. This is Russia
Reposted by Seán Smith
In some ways this is a useful reminder that a lot of the talk of European security guarantees to Ukraine have the whole thing backwards. For more than three years Ukraine has been guaranteeing European security by fighting and degrading the Russian armed forces.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
How long Britain could really fight for if war broke out tomorrow
In the event of a war, one expert suggests the British Army could be incapable of fighting effectively on land within weeks, once committed - though 'much depends on the form of the conflict'.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 10, 2025 at 7:00 AM
In some ways this is a useful reminder that a lot of the talk of European security guarantees to Ukraine have the whole thing backwards. For more than three years Ukraine has been guaranteeing European security by fighting and degrading the Russian armed forces.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
When comparing military and civilian governments, political scientists "have generally found that military regimes underperform across a wide range of metrics including economic development, health and education outcomes, security, and human rights." www.worldpoliticsreview.com/guinea-bissa...
The Murky Aftermath of Guinea-Bissau’s Coup
Regional officials have accused Guinea-Bissau’s incumbent president of staging a coup to stay in power.
www.worldpoliticsreview.com
December 3, 2025 at 9:15 AM
When comparing military and civilian governments, political scientists "have generally found that military regimes underperform across a wide range of metrics including economic development, health and education outcomes, security, and human rights." www.worldpoliticsreview.com/guinea-bissa...
Traba explains that for Germans, the postwar reckoning was “all about Franco-German and German-Jewish reconciliation”.
“The space for Polish-German reconciliation, and sensitivity to this issue, hardly exists,” he says.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
“The space for Polish-German reconciliation, and sensitivity to this issue, hardly exists,” he says.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Old tensions simmer just below surface as Tusk and Merz to meet in Berlin
Ukraine will top agenda, but meeting comes as positive sentiment towards Germany in Poland hits near record lows
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM
Traba explains that for Germans, the postwar reckoning was “all about Franco-German and German-Jewish reconciliation”.
“The space for Polish-German reconciliation, and sensitivity to this issue, hardly exists,” he says.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
“The space for Polish-German reconciliation, and sensitivity to this issue, hardly exists,” he says.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
For Mansfield, though, there is another way to see it, as he explained on his news site: “It seems free speech only exists for people who agree with them.”
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reform’s ‘Trumpian’ legal threats hint at more aggressive approach to media
Ultimatums sent to publications appear to intensify as Nigel Farage’s party rises in polls
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 11:01 AM
For Mansfield, though, there is another way to see it, as he explained on his news site: “It seems free speech only exists for people who agree with them.”
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Seán Smith
“Never mind free speech, it is difficult to imagine a bigger waste of stretched police time than deploying thousands of officers to haul harmless old people off the streets,” writes @arusbridger.bsky.social.
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
Dubbing tame pensioners as ‘terrorists’ makes a farce out of the Terrorism Act
It’s a funny old world when Margaret Thatcher had a greater sense of individual liberty than Keir Starmer
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
August 12, 2025 at 9:32 AM
“Never mind free speech, it is difficult to imagine a bigger waste of stretched police time than deploying thousands of officers to haul harmless old people off the streets,” writes @arusbridger.bsky.social.
www.prospectmagazine...
www.prospectmagazine...
Reposted by Seán Smith
The stuff that, 15 years ago, would have been a screaming 72-point all-caps headline — and now appears in the sixth paragraph, almost as an aside
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
August 12, 2025 at 3:12 AM
The stuff that, 15 years ago, would have been a screaming 72-point all-caps headline — and now appears in the sixth paragraph, almost as an aside
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
www.wsj.com/world/russia...
Reposted by Seán Smith
Read this horrifying testimony from Israel's massacre of people just trying to get food:
June 1, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Read this horrifying testimony from Israel's massacre of people just trying to get food:
"Reviewing the entirety of Patel’s parliamentary interventions since she assumed her shadow role last November, there is not one expression of genuine sympathy for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. She never references their deaths, injuries or suffering."
www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-i...
www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-i...
Is there no Israeli crime horrific enough to shatter UK Tory support?
Badenoch and Patel seem willing to excuse all manner of atrocities by their war-mongering ally, while turning a blind eye to Palestinian suffering
www.middleeasteye.net
May 29, 2025 at 11:37 AM
"Reviewing the entirety of Patel’s parliamentary interventions since she assumed her shadow role last November, there is not one expression of genuine sympathy for Palestinian civilians in Gaza. She never references their deaths, injuries or suffering."
www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-i...
www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/uk-i...
"Bosnian officials and foreign diplomats in Sarajevo confirmed reporting in the Hungarian press that said Orbán’s paramilitaries had been in Banja Luka to extract Dodik if he found himself cornered and had to make a run for it."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
‘Most dangerous moment since 1995’: renegade Dodik leaves Bosnia in limbo
Republika Srpska’s president faces being banned from office for separatist actions, but may yet cling to power
www.theguardian.com
May 28, 2025 at 8:20 AM
"Bosnian officials and foreign diplomats in Sarajevo confirmed reporting in the Hungarian press that said Orbán’s paramilitaries had been in Banja Luka to extract Dodik if he found himself cornered and had to make a run for it."
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
