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Lisa Cumming

@lisacumin.bsky.social
1.5K followers 866 following 1.1K posts

Works in & around conflict grappling. (Local peacebuilding • Nonviolence • Peace practice & thinking.) Worries in the valley, dreams on the moors. Personal account.

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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 10h
What people fail to understand is also that Zionism was not just a plan/ideology for Jews in Palestine, it was also a vision for Jewish *diasporic* identity. Much of Zionist activity has always taken place outside Palestine/Israel and was about communal identity and politics. Hence the attachment.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings. w/ @regret.bsky.social
wired.com
ICE Has Been Dumping Protester Photos Into a Palantir Database
DHS agents not only tracked and intimidated people observing ICE activity in Maine, but stored information about them in a Palantir-built database, newly unsealed court filings say.
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The ability to pour hundreds of millions of pounds into a loss-making TV channel, bent on wrenching British politics sharply to the right, is yet another of the ways in which extreme wealth is trying to remake UK democracy. It needs to be part of any serious conversation about political funding.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"Inspired by the Australian National Socialist Network (NSN), the NSC marks a shift into an increasingly confrontational style of activism on the British extreme right." hopenothate.org.uk/2026/10/02/n...
hopenothate.org.uk
National Socialist Collective exposed: Nazi militants set to target anti-racists on Cable Street anniversary – HOPE not hate
HOPE not hate blows the lid on a new outfit uniting some of the most active and extreme neo-Nazis in the country. The National Socialist...
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
None of my (known) parents or grandparents were English but that doesn't matter to those policing heritage on these isles of movement & migration because I'm white.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
“We were [excavating] in this really unfavourable, boggy area. To be digging out the best small crucibles ever found in Scotland – it’s extraordinary,” www.theguardian.com/science/2026...
theguardian.com
‘Hugely exciting’ finds on tiny Scottish island shed light on spread of Christianity
Community-funded archaeological excavations of ‘really important’ sixth-century monastery also rewrite story of Lismore
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Ryan CrawCour @ryan.crawcour.social · 01/10/2026
BREAKING NEWS: Tensions between Thor and the Care Bears have escalated rapidly overnight.
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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The decline of Reform — and the fragmentation of the far right — should be a major news story too. But most media barely care… More evidence that media are not “just reporting the news” but are actively shaping it. With significant political consequences.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"How the war in Sudan is teaching society to govern without the state" by Eglal Hamid Abdulgadir. wagingnonviolence.org/2026/09/suda...
"They learned from those they trusted. They learned how to distribute scarce resources. They learned how to negotiate with armed actors without becoming armed themselves. They learned how to make collective decisions without formal authority. They learned how to teach someone else before they disappeared."
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"One man was punched in the throat after he held up a “Love Thy Neighbour” sign..." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
It was the most welcoming town in Britain. Why has Crowborough become so divided?
In 2022, they opened their arms to Ukrainian refugees. But this year, the arrival of more than 300 asylum seekers has split the community. Can the rift be healed?
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
"With every cell of my being and with every fiber of my memory I oppose the death penalty in all forms." Elie Wiesel www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survives execution attempt after two injections
Killer Christa Pike's lawyer says she is being given "life-saving measures" in hospital after two syringes of pentobarbital.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
"Thirteen British universities have discussed how to handle pro-Palestine campus protests with the United Kingdom’s largest weapons manufacturer, including ramping up security at events and coordinating responses to criticism." www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/9/...
aljazeera.com
How UK universities briefed BAE Systems on pro-Palestine campus protests
Several universities discussed protests with the weapons maker, raising concerns about influence and academic freedom.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
(Noting times are UK BST.)
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I've had a sneak preview of listening to Betsy and found her humble, full to the brim with practical insights, and utterly inspiring.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Interested in hopeful, useful stories of people protecting people from federal violence? Betsy Raasch-Gilman, a Quaker activist in Minnesota will sharing her story. Thursday 1 October 7-8.30pm (online). More info & link to register below. www.quaker.org.uk/blog/whistle...
quaker.org.uk
Whistles, not guns: learning from civilian-based defence in Minnesota
Rebecca Bellamy reflects on what we can learn from civil resistance and community solidarity movements in Minnesota and elsewhere
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A Rwandan man living in London has become the first person in the UK to face charges after being accused of taking part in the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
news.sky.com
UK brings first charges over 1994 Rwandan genocide
Dr Vincent Brown allegedly directed and incited acts of murder and genocide carried out by others, prosecutors said on Monday.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Really recommend this paper from Petter Törnberg, "It’s Not Polarization; It’s the Radicalization of the Political Right" (July 26). www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
It’s Not Polarization; It’s the Radicalization of the Political Right | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
It’s Not Polarization; It’s the Radicalization of the Political Right
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is not okay. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Lifeboat station in Portsmouth forced to temporarily shut after far-right action
RNLI facility had been targeted by activists trying to stop asylum seekers landing in boats from the Channel
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Rethinking Security @rethinkingsecurity.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Our next webinar: Increasingly, attempts to expose UK complicity in conflicts & to challenge security, foreign & climate policy have been suppressed by new laws & police powers. Why is this happening & who or what is being sidelined in result? Register: rethinkingsecurity.org.uk/webinar-seri...
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"Peace Works sets out a vision for why and how the UK Government with civil society partners should prioritise conflict prevention as part of an effective and credible foreign policy..." rc-services-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/...
rc-services-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
These short films were not meant to be prophetic. The idea was that we should act to protect our democracy before it is too late:
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Match laundering. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Reform receives second £36m donation in two days as crypto investor matches record
Christopher Harborne says he has equalled a donation from Ben Delo - the single largest gift to a UK political party.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Reform has received a pledge of a million pounds of month - up to £36 million if sustained - from Ben Delo, a party donor. Delo had his 2022 conviction for breaching money laundering laws in the USA overturned by President Trump www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...
telegraph.co.uk
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Leah McElrath @leahmcelrath.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
“You do my dad's legacy and the legacy of all these victims no honor by using this tragedy to spread hate. I've had to grow up and spend the past 25 years seeing people use it to hate on our Muslim brothers and sisters, to hate on people who don't look like them.”
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"AfD support is highest where foreign nationals are fewest." www.ft.com/content/ef6d...
ft.com
Who is voting for the far-right Alternative for Germany?
AfD’s victory in Saxony-Anhalt reflects national trends — ‘but on steroids’
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
This is also worth a read from Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg, another great rabbi Glad to see so many Masorti rabbi’s countering the unrepresentative narrative we’ve seen from seen quarters - the community is not a monolith jonathanwittenberg.substack.com/p/be-on-the-...
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I'm heartbroken to share that my colleague and incredible Burundian peacebuilder, Reverend Aloys Ningabira died unexpectedly on Saturday. Any contribution to help with burial costs would be much appreciated: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
justgiving.com
Help raise £1500 to fund a funeral/memorial and support the family – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to fund a funeral/memorial and support the family. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · 08/09/2026
We welcome today’s announcement of a “new approach” in UK policy towards Israel in response to its violations against the Palestinian people. This marks a fundamental shift. We welcome this change as a long-awaited and positive step towards a broader reset. www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
quaker.org.uk
Quakers welcome UK’s “new approach” to Israeli occupation of Palestine
Quakers in Britain has welcomed a raft of measures announced by the UK government today as it seeks to reset British policy towards Israel.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Alex Sobel MP @alexsobel.co.uk · 09/09/2026
Yesterday’s announcement banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements is a significant & welcome step forward, and one I have long advocated for. Yet there is much more to do. We must continue to champion the rights of the Palestinian people and work towards a lasting resolution to this conflict.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
This should not be described by the police as "lawful protest" when it is not lawful & not protest
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Yair Wallach @yairwallach.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A reminder: Rabbi Mirvis studied in an illegal West Bank settlement between 1976 and 1978. It is not surprising that for him, today is a dark day. For many many other Jews in the UK, today's statement is long overdue.
Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis on X

Today our Government has chosen to ignore the deep concerns expressed by so many of us. 

The measures announced amount to little more than political flag bearing for mendacious anti-Israel rhetoric and those who harbour a dangerous obsession with the Jewish State. These measures will succeed only in bolstering the very extremism they seek to target. 

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah and at a time when our community is more vulnerable than ever to the wave of extremism that has been building over recent years, these sanctions do nothing to advance the cause of peace. Nor do they make anyone safer – quite the contrary. 

Gesture politics of this kind feeds into an increasingly hostile discourse about Israel, and the cumulative effect of such punitive policies is to further embolden those, at home and abroad, who use hatred as a weapon against Jews.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I'm heartbroken to share that my colleague and incredible Burundian peacebuilder, Reverend Aloys Ningabira died unexpectedly on Saturday. Any contribution to help with burial costs would be much appreciated: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
justgiving.com
Help raise £1500 to fund a funeral/memorial and support the family – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to fund a funeral/memorial and support the family. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Concerns are fine to voice, that doesn't mean they are or have to be described as legitimate. Especially, if "legitimate" is only applied to a particular group of concerns about particular groups of people.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
A particularly good week to donate to the RNLI & support their mission of saving lives at sea. rnli.org/support-us/g...
rnli.org
Give Money To Charity – Donate And Support the RNLI In Saving Lives At Sea
Donate money to the RNLI and help us save lives at sea. Your donation provides volunteers with the kit, equipment and lifeboats they need to save lives.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
"Kent police have serious questions to answer. When they had been given clear information from multiple sources that hundreds of far-right activists were planning to descend on Dover on the following day, why did they fail to act?" hopenothate.org.uk/2026/09/07/e...
hopenothate.org.uk
EXCLUSIVE: Did Kent Police ignore Dover blockade 999 call? – HOPE not hate
HOPE not hate can exclusively reveal that Kent Police were tipped off about the Patriot Platform mobilisation – and seemingly did not act.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Quakers in Britain @quaker.org.uk · 07/09/2026
"We call on political leaders of every party to condemn this intimidation and violence without qualification, and on the public to reject the politics of blame." Quakers in Britain statement following intimidation and violence in Dover and Portsmouth: www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...
quaker.org.uk
Quakers in Britain statement following intimidation and violence in Dover and Portsmouth
Quakers are calling on political leaders of every party to condemn the intimidation and violence seen in Dover and Portsmouth this weekend.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
2) and 3) are intimately linked, in that the BBC (the organisation that really matters in the modern environment) treats 'claims by rival parties' as the operating frame for how it covers everything. The failure from Labour and the Conservatives to say 'this stuff is bad' is really, really bad.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
HOPE not hate @hopenothate.org.uk · 05/09/2026
🚨 BREAKING: Patriot Platform, a new far right group launched by Tommy Robinson’s right hand man Daniel Thomas (AKA Danny Tommo) has blockaded the port and several roads in Dover. The masked men are from subgroups of PP, including Sussex, Essex, and South East Patriots Here’s all you need to know.
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Reposted by Lisa Cumming
Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Content warning: Multiple men violently assault a female protester at Reform's conference at the Birmingham NEC, to the visible delight of Nigel Farage.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
So horrible & thanks for sharing the LBC interview.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Absolutely horrifying violence at Reform's conference. Note the man hitting a young woman over the head & grabbing her face, I really hope she's okay.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Interesting that BBC choose to refer to masked men blockading Dover as "protesters" and "demonstrators" engaging in "protest". Words and framing matter. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Disruption at Port of Dover as masked men hold protest
Images appear to show hundreds of protesters, all dressed in black and wearing face coverings.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
'An “ongoing public order incident” is affecting “all routes” into and out of Dover in Kent, the port has said in a statement.' www.kentlive.news/news/kent-ne...
kentlive.news
Dover traffic at standstill as 'masked men' gather in 'protest'
An “ongoing public order incident” is affecting “all routes” into and out of Dover in Kent, the port has said in a statement.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
"...activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, reposted a video of the blockade, highlighting a livestream of the protest..." www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Black-clad protesters in balaclavas block road at port of Dover in Kent
Traffic on A20 in and out of port grinds to halt as Kent police say they are in attendance and engaging with group
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Alasdair Mackenzie @alasdairmackenzie.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Farage promising to end democracy with a state of emergency, presumably after a convenient fire
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Informative (keep tapping to stay on the thread).
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Thinking of the hospitality, cleaning staff & others having to work at the NEC in Birmingham this weekend. Particularly those at the sharp end of policies proposed over beer & loathing.
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Indicted. edition.cnn.com/2026/09/04/e...
edition.cnn.com
Romanian prosecutors indict Andrew Tate for trafficking minors, money laundering | CNN
Romanian prosecutors officially indicted social media influencer Andrew Tate on Friday for trafficking minors, money laundering, sex with a minor and witness tampering and his brother Tristan for comp...
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
I have more ponderings than answers. The purpose & value of sharing awful things. Caring about the wellbeing impacts. Balancing both imagining the best & worst in what lies ahead...
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Lisa Cumming @lisacumin.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Really important question & one I think about lots.
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