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Vongole

@grahampeake.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1.2K following 633 posts

British citizen. Europe is my natural home & Europeans my natural partners. 🇬🇧🇩🇰🇪🇺

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Reposted by Vongole
Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 4h
I've been blocked from attending Conservative Party conference. Just a few weeks after Badenoch blasted Reform for doing the same thing... bylinetimes.com/2026/09/30/k...
bylinetimes.com
Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives Block Byline Times From Conference After Condemning Reform for Journalist Ban
The ban comes just weeks after the Conservative leader called Reform's barring of critical journalists from their conference an "authoritarian" attack on the free press
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 6h
The inexorable logic for the UK since 1945 is to need to engage with European integration even while the romantic / little Englanders insist this is intolerable because of history / aesthetics/ whatever. And so it continues to be.
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Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 12h
🚨🚨 @coe.int of Europe said yesterday that the #US formally notified it that it would leave the Group of States against Corruption, or #GRECO. Only two other countries have left GRECO before — #Russia and #Belarus. The fall of the #US on the world scene is striking. apnews.com/article/trum...
apnews.com
US withdraws from European anti-corruption panel in latest shift away from global groups
The Trump administration has withdrawn the United States from a top European anti-corruption watchdog.
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Laurie Dunkin Wedd @ldw1.bsky.social · 13h
Some twerp from the Adam Smith Institute - a secretly-funded right wing pressure group masquerading as a “think tank” - is on BBC 5Live defending FPTP. Idiot.
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Sir Michael Take CBE @sirmichaeltake.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Surely it is time for the authorities to take this Fairford terrorism case out of the hands of the police & pass it over to Nigel Farage, Richard Tice & Isabel Oakeshott etc. These people have the expertise & skills to have this all solved & explained to the public by tonight.👍
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UNITED24 Media @united24media.com · 17/06/2026
Ireland’s Aughinish Alumina refinery knowingly continues to export alumina to Russia. This aluminum is used in missiles, drones, and military aircraft. 🧵 1/7 ⬇️
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This will also be the case next week when the Conservatives revive no-deal Brexit under the guise of leaving the ECHR, and will ignore the consequences which forced climbdown in the past (industry leaving, no data adequacy, US pressure on Northern Ireland)
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Alice Roberts @profaliceroberts.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reform want to indoctrinate our children. Freedom of (and from) belief is a human right. humanists.uk/2026/09/10/s...
humanists.uk
Reform UK Braverman promises 'consequences' if pupils don't sing hymns
Reform UK has said schools will face ‘consequences’ if they fail to make pupils regularly sing hymns and the national anthem under a Reform government. The party’s education spokesperson, Suella Brave...
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Theresa Marie @tree-05.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
JFC. And magats believe him
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This keeps happening. Public debate on tax is increasingly driven by reports from consultancies commissioned by lobbyists. These reports rarely disclose their methodology. They never disclose the terms under which they were written.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 27/09/2026
Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian foreign minister: "In 2015, we had a deal, we remained committed to that deal, it was the US that withdrew with zero justification"
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Change the fucking record, Tories. We know you believe in austerity. That’s all you do. Ruin our public services, fail to invest and threaten to remove our rights. It doesn’t work. You failed for 16 years. You’ve learned nothing. Why the hell would we ever vote for you to do that again?
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So no amount of polling showing freedom of movement or rejoin is popular is going to be believed by the cautious of the Labour Party, which is many of them at high levels. Added to which few of them know or care much about the EU, they just took it for granted.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 26/09/2026
Amazing detail in this @wsj article about Kimberly Guilfoyle, US ambassador to Greece: she told a Greek minister, in a conversation about the collapse of the Romanian government,“We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here." www.wsj.com/articles/kim...
wsj.com
The Mystery Man Shadowing Kimberly Guilfoyle as She Pushes Deals Across Europe
Christos Marafatsos works as an energy lobbyist while also closely advising the U.S. ambassador to Greece.
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Oregon 🕎🎲 @oregonthedm.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
That's a headline for you cmarmitage.substack.com/p/big-balls-...
cmarmitage.substack.com
Big Balls Now Exposed to Serious Criminal Charges in at Least Six States
Fired at 17 for leaking secrets. Served a cybercrime ring. Named by the Social Security whistleblower. Now the government's model employee.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 26/09/2026
🚨Broadcasters are required to present news impartially, without political bias. Add your name to demand that Ofcom takes immediate action. ⬇️ bestforbritain.org/petition/farage-…
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Ash Oro @ashoro.co.uk · 26/09/2026
I think what I find most galling about #Trump and #TheHormuzCrisis is the way he is so casual about wanting to kill people. Iran has a brutal government and dangerous regime. But this sociopath is willing to destroy lives to satisfy nothing but his own ego.
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Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
For much of 2024, 2025 and 2026, British politics has appeared to revolve solely around two things: immigration and party politics. What if, and bear with me here, a real problem arises?
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Natasha Walter @natashawalter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
It’s much much harder now to be an anti racist than it is to be a racist. That’s one of the things I learned from talking to Rachel Marsh, who has been doxxed and abused for standing up to the far right. www.thenerve.news/p/rachel-mar...
thenerve.news
‘I see what’s happening to Rachel; it scares me’: the woman who dared to face down Piddington’s anti-migrant storm
Natasha Walter talks to Rachel Marsh, the resident of the newly ‘independent’ Oxfordshire village whose anti-racist BBC interview led to abuse, doxxing and death threats
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“Between 2019 and 2025, export volumes slumped 31 per cent as Brexit added border checks and trade complexity, pushing up costs for businesses” … and threatening our food security. Why TF would *anyone* want this for our businesses and our country? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Brexit and Donald Trump’s tariffs push UK’s food and drink trade deficit to £21bn
In the first half of 2026, the sector’s export volumes fell 11.7% to hit their third-lowest level on record
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
‘What is emerging is not simply a relationship between [Reform and Farage] and a wealthy Gulf state, but a channel through which an authoritarian government can cultivate political influence here, and abroad.’ Would really recommend a read of this democracyforsale.substack.com/p/reform-and...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Reform and the UAE – a threat to British politics
Nigel Farage's embrace of the UAE is part of a wider effort by the Gulf petrostate to build alliances with the far right across the West, says Alex Carlen.
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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
You know who else was obsessed with dancing around on the pinheads of imagined classifications based on where great grandparents were born and what they believed? The Nazis.
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Vongole @grahampeake.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
“The clubs now exist to make rich people richer” www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Chelsea have entered the realm of late-stage American sports capitalism | Leander Schaerlaeckens
The Blues’ lack of success was no impediment to Todd Boehly and Mark Walter recouping profits from the club’s sale. That’s how things work in the US
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Marco Rubio: “Iranians are radical religious lunatics.” Also: Have you met Paula White, the White House faith advisor?
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 23/09/2026
I think once black clad men are interfering with rescues at sea, we are past "legitimate concerns". Once they're attacking boats, and risking the lives of everyone on board, it's just thuggery. The Home Secretary's statement is on the side of criminals. There's no other way to read it.
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Jeff Stringer @blooms-ghost.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"And so son that's how the 47th president of the United States died, starving to death whilst standing at a podium at the UN in New York waiting for someone, anyone, to applaud his reprehensible speech."
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Rodger Dodger 🏴‍☠️(aka: ⚠Invalid Handle) @rodg3rdodg3r.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Just for the added info, here's a list of Trump 'pardonees' who have REoffended www.newsweek.com/list-of-felo...
newsweek.com
List of felons who have reoffended after Donald Trump pardons
At least 20 people granted clemency by President Donald Trump have been charged with new crimes, including the founder of a Las Vegas-based prisoner reentry program.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 03/09/2026
Carney on what he'd say to Putin at the G20: "Get out of Ukraine. Give back all of Ukraine to Ukraine. End this war."
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Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 23/09/2026
4 years ago today: Kwasi Kwarteng unveils the “mini-budget” The market meltdown that followed sent Liz Truss' government into a tailspin and ultimately precipitated its collapse after just 49 days Explore the @politics.co.uk History Hub: www.politics.co.uk/history/
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MeidasTouch @meidastouch.com · 22/09/2026
NEWS: Retired four-star Admiral William McRaven, who oversaw the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, is sounding the alarm about Trump’s treatment of America’s allies.
meidasnews.com
Admiral Who Took Down Bin Laden Sounds Alarm on Trump’s NATO Damage
As NATO pours billions into collective defense and Ukraine’s survival, William H. McRaven warns that Trump is burning through the personal trust an alliance needs when a crisis arrives.
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 21/09/2026
Liz Truss has received £319,925 in ‘public duty allowance’ since her exit from Downing Street, figures from the Cabinet Office annual reports show.
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Just a Dad 📎 @dadmakingcans.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Hitler and other top Nazis inspect a scale model of a planned triumphal arch in Berlin, circa 1939.
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Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
📚 CULTURE & IDEAS (Edition 90) The reinstatement by Ghent University of a key figure in the Jason Arday affair followed pressure from Trump’s State Department. Read the full piece below.
subscribe.bylinetimes.com
The reinstatement by Ghent University of a key figure in the Jason Arday affair followed pressure from Trump’s State Department. It reveals a wider ideology of ‘injustice as illusion’. Karam Bales reports
The reinstatement by Ghent University of a key figure in the Jason Arday affair followed pressure from Trump’s State Department. It reveals a wider ideology of ‘injustice as illusion’. Karam Bales reports
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Alex Strachan @alexstrachan.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
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Brexit Bin 🇪🇺 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 @brexitbin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
So true !!! 💻 Check out this great Norwegian video about how shitty the internet has become 😅
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Business Ukraine magazine @businessukraine.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Putin in 2022: We have no plans to invade Ukraine Putin in 2026: We have no aggressive intentions toward Europe
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20/09/2026
Trump claims triumphal arch will serve as a ‘top grade military complex’ to store weapons
theguardian.com
Trump claims triumphal arch will serve as a ‘top grade military complex’ to store weapons
US president on Truth Social claims his new plan for the 250ft arch comes at the ‘strong request’ of the US military Donald Trump is proferring a new argument for building his triumphal arch in Washington DC: it will be converted into a “top grade military complex” replete with drone and ammunition storage space and customised sniper facilities on the roof and plaza. In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday morning, Trump claimed that his new plan came at the “strong request” of the US military. He said the 250ft structure would be able to “house, store, and have the rapid ability to use large quantities of sniper ammunition in storage”. Continue reading...
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 20/09/2026
I don't think we disdain the center-right enough. First, they rode nativist populist tigers to power to get their tax cuts and deregulation; Then, they lost control of their own parties to those tigers; Now, they sit in lucrative jobs as columnists writing about how it's all the left's fault.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
The AfD literally support Putin! JFC how does this man put on his shoes without falling over.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 19/09/2026
The Kennedy Center was financially stable until Trump took over: "In the fiscal year ending in 2024, when the center was led by President Deborah Rutter and a bipartisan board of trustees, it brought in about $40 million more than it spent" www.theatlantic.com/culture/2026...
theatlantic.com
What the Kennedy Center’s Tax Return Reveals
A previously unseen filing captures the state of the institution seven months after Donald Trump’s takeover.
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The Ken Harbaugh Show @thekenharbaughshow.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Kushner pitched a win win in a Kyiv bombed the day before and bombed again the moment he left. But Russia is not negotiating for win win. It sees any American win as its own defeat. @sostrovsky.bsky.social Watch full video here: thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/p/blaming-uk...
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Fixed that story about Sir Jim Ratcliffe on the BBC.
Picture of man smiling with tea-mug. Headline reads: "Non-Billionaire who actually lives in the UK and pays its taxes says he has lost confidence in the super-rich", with sub-header: 'One of Britain's taxpayers says he has lost confidence in billionaires, describing them as "on the take"".
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...
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Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
How is this news? billionaire oil person says uk needs to drill more and tax less, though, of course, he‘s actually in Monaco. And he would do more in the uk if the state subsidised him more. Dear BBC, that‘s like me saying the uk‘s problem is underpaid law profs. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Billionaire Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe says he has lost confidence in UK
Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe tells the BBC he thinks the country is "on the slide" and calls for more investment in the North Sea.
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Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
A really key point. Where EU-Can is going to land is very unclear, but what's *driving* the discussion is entirely clear. Meanwhile, in the UK, there seems no sense of urgency & to the extent there is any discussion it's stuck in 2016 - which in geo-pol/econ terms is a different era.
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msesq.bsky.social @msesq.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
WWIII: Poland warns Russia is preparing disguised drone or rocket strikes on NATO territory: Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament that Russia is planning hybrid attacks on countries supporting Ukraine, including Poland, and will falsely frame them as “accidental” to discourage a NATO response
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
👇👇👇👇
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
“If Palantir’s contract were to be terminated, NHS staff would lose access to everything there. ‘All the work we do is on the platform,’ one data analyst told us. ‘It’s not stored in files that can be exported elsewhere, and everything is done using their proprietary software.’
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Do take time to read the whole article….even if time is short sometimes these longer reads matter. I’m struggling to understand how the Gov/ NHSE can have got into a position where the NHS produces the data but cannot export the data files in the event of contract failure …assuming this is right:
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