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Raj Thamotheram

@rajtham.bsky.social
3.7K followers 11K following 3.2K posts

Formerly a sustainable finance guy who's also not fond of pandemics or genocides or fascists. On here for as long as it helps us organise a centre left response to the polycrisis. If we have something in common, feel free to send me a DM.

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Reposted by Raj Thamotheram
Arthur Snell @snellarthur.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
One of the most interesting debates in current international security is the degree to which we’re reliant on undersea cables and the degree to which these aren’t at all protected! I spoke to @katjabego.bsky.social about her excellent new book on the subject. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/b...
podcasts.apple.com
Deep Connections: Kaja Bego on the undersea cables that underpin the global economy.
Podcast Episode · Behind The Lines with Arthur Snell · 5 October · 53min
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Interfaith Power & Light New Mexico & El Paso @nm-ipl.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, an evangelical Christian and leading climate scientist, says the biggest barrier to climate action is silence, not denial. A chat over coffee or across the fence isn't political—it's care. Who could you talk to this week?
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Dave Stevens @noviceanarchist.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I am less than 10 minutes into this interview and the analysis from @timnitgebru.blacksky.app is absolutely razor sharp. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
There Is No ‘Existential Threat’ From AI Says Timnit Gebru
Podcast Episode · Uncanny Valley | WIRED · September 29 · 32m
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Michael @therightarticle.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Author Arundhati Roy’s fight against injustice | Talk to Al Jazeera www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l9g4OeiVVc
youtube.com
Author Arundhati Roy’s fight against injustice | Talk to Al Jazeera
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
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KB @bkeithb.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
By @bennorton.com youtu.be/fsFHQ81nMHk
youtu.be
Big Tech CEOs fear AI bubble could pop soon: US govt is protecting them
YouTube video by Geopolitical Economy Report
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
My Novara Media interview just reached half a million views In case you are at a loose end, you can still watch here www.youtube.com/watch?v=ee9f...
youtube.com
Natural Disaster Expert: Elites Have NO PLAN for Climate Collapse | Aaron Bastani meets Bill McGuire
YouTube video by Novara Media
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Working Class History @workingclasshistory.com · 04/10/2026
#OtD 4 Oct 1936 the Battle of Cable St took place when Oswald Mosley's British Union of Fascists tried to march through East London. They were met by over 100k local workers who fought the blackshirts and the police protecting them, stopping the march workingclasshistory.com/2020/02/17/e...
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Clive Lewis MP @labourlewis.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
1/ Burnham’s Conference Speech: Positive signs for progressive politics, but the work isn’t done. 🧵 It’s been a tumultuous summer with a new PM. Continuing themes set out over the summer, Andy Burnham told Labour conference the country has been on the wrong path for 40 years.
A screenshot of a news headline from The Guardian. The top category text in red reads "Andy Burnham". The headline reads, "‘He feels more relatable’: Burnham’s conference speech wins praise from drifting Labour voters". Subheading: "The UK prime minister has earned his party a rehearing but the battle of public opinion is not yet won". Byline: Luke Tryl, published Saturday, 3 October 2026.
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Andrew Downie @adowniebrazil.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Tremendously depressing night in Brazil, where the Bolsonaro family and his far-right party are the big winners. Whatever way you look at it, Brazilians have willingly chosen dictators, corruption, reduced social aid, and the destruction of Amazônia.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
As long as the Tories are threatening to leave the ECHR, they aren’t a serious party. Consider it the ultimate red flag. Any party who’d take this entirely unnecessary and ruinous risk with our rights and our country’s security and wellbeing should never get its hands on power. (Letter, Times)
Value of the
ECHR
Sir, In dangerous times, serious countries do not retreat into splendid isolation. They build alliances, multiply their influence and strengthen institutions. Key among those is the 46-member Council of Europe, at its heart the European Convention on Human Rights.As former independent reviewers of terrorism legislation we have seen at close quarters that the ECHR is not just a human rights instrument. It is a national security asset. Terrorist networks, hostile states, organised crime gangs and people smugglers do not respect borders. Tackling them requires arrangements for the closest possible co-operation with our neighbours, including through joint investigations and police access to European passenger, fingerprint, DNA and vehicle data.These arrangements expressly depend on internationally agreed human rights standards, applied by a supranational court. We detect no political willingness to excuse the UK from compliance with standards to which the rest of Europe already subscribes. As authoritarian powers grow more aggressive and democratic institutions face mounting pressure, Britain should not be abandoning one of its greatest postwar achievements.
The question is not whether we can afford to remain within the ECHR. It is whether, in an increasingly perilous world, we can afford not to.
Lord Carlile of Berriew, Lord Anderson of Ipswich, Sir Max Hill
Independent reviewers of terrorism legislation, 2001-18
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Zia Weise @ziaweise.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A climate nightmare lurks in the Atlantic. Europe is starting to pay attention. Just out — my long read on European governments waking up to the threat of a possible collapse of the AMOC, the ocean currents that keep our continent's climate mild: www.politico.eu/article/clim...
politico.eu
A climate nightmare lurks in the Atlantic. Europe is starting to pay attention.
A slowdown of ocean currents that would disrupt life on the continent on an unthinkable scale.
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Jared Yates Sexton @jysexton.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
So, just to review. In roughly seven months the US has had to abandon all bases in the Middle East, flee from a British base, the petrodollar system that is the foundation for hegemony has collapsed, and we’re facing historical energy and food crises. Great work. www.cnn.com/2026/10/04/p...
cnn.com
US removes all Air Force bombers from UK base following new threat | CNN Politics
The United States has moved long-range bombers back to their American home stations after an unspecified new threat, according to a person familiar, days after the British government arrested a number...
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EyesOnCongo @eyesoncongo1.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#FreeCongo Modern day slavery fuels our tech. In Congo, children and workers risk their lives mining coltan for as little as $1/day as tech companies earn millions. Demand ethical sourcing, fair wages & corporate accountability. Tech shouldn't come at the cost of lives!!
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bylinepodcast.bsky.social @bylinepodcast.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This is brilliant - disinfo expert @peterpomerantsev.bsky.social on how propaganda has been used to instigate war crimes from Nazi Germany to Rwanda to Ukraine. @trpforjustice.bsky.social @bylinetimes.bsky.social @goldbergradio.bsky.social Pod: pod.fo/e/67ba67 YouTube: youtu.be/1VUvTOlzigE?...
pod.fo
BYLINE TIMES PODCAST: Propaganda As A War Crime: The Reckoning Project Pt 2
Janine di Giovanni explores the pursuit of justice for victims of war crimes in a special mini-series created by The Reckoning Project, with Byline Times. This time - Propaganda as a War Crime with...
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Lula-“The world is spending trillions of dollars manufacturing weapons. Europe is back spending money on arms. Japan is arming itself...And almost nothing for education,to fight hunger, to help the poor...&instead of preaching peace, there’s a lot of people preaching war" ht @vanjackson.bsky.social
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Andrew Fisher @fisherandrew79.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This is a really interesting listen. @yanisvaroufakis.bsky.social has some genuine insights on the interplay between neoliberalism and democracy. Should be required listening for Burnham's team Looking forward to the rest of this series with Aditya Chakrabortty www.theguardian.com/politics/vid...
theguardian.com
'There’s no such thing as democracy' – Yanis Varoufakis | Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty
In the first episode of Radical Thinking, a new series from the Guardian, senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty speaks to the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. What does he ma...
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Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The Cable Street battle, Jewish London East End #OnThisDay 4 Oct 1936 with their banner explicitly adapting the antifascist slogan of the defence of Madrid "NO PASARÁN." They shall not pass. Many that day who fought against police who allowed the fascist march then came to Spain
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The wealth of the richest 0.1 percent of Americans has more than doubled since 2019. If that doesn't convince you we need a wealth tax, renowned economist Gabriel Zucman will. Watch.
youtu.be
How to Actually Tax Extreme Wealth (ft. Gabriel Zucman)
Billionaires want you to believe taxing their extreme wealth is too radical and that it can’t be done.Baloney.Economist
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Labour just don't get it. They don't get how scared people are with extreme weather becoming our new normal. We need voices in parliament that will force them to take wildfires seriously, not quietly shirk responsibility.
Revealed: government quietly dropped plan to orepare England for wildfires
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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
"Conservative Cuban Americans have long made S. Florida GOP-friendly. But Trump has deported a record number of Cubans. Older Cubans who lived in the US for decades were deported to Mexico, where they've struggled to get by. Some have been deported to Africa..." www.nytimes.com/2026/10/03/u...
nytimes.com
How Trump’s Deportation Policies Have Rocked a South Florida House Race
Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Republican, ran an ad criticizing the Trump administration. It may have jolted other Republicans — and drawn attention to her Democratic opponent.
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Pissedoffpundit @pissedoffpundant.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Im Not usually a folk music kinda guy but this young brother is some of the best political music out right now, that's why steven colbert booked him on his last season. Tons of good shit on YouTube.🫡🇺🇸. Just sayin🤔...
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 04/10/2026
Wow! Just to put these remarkable numbers into perspective: 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS: 📌Kansas: Trump +16 📌Texas: Trump +14 📌Ohio: Trump +11 📌Alaska: Trump +13 These aren’t blue states. Trump won every one of them by DOUBLE DIGITS just two years ago.
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ban-cbw.bsky.social @ban-cbw.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
#ChemicalWeapons #Sudan #Chlorine #HumanRights #Investigation Geneva rights advocates: Allegations of chemical weapons use in Sudan warrant an international investigation www.eureporter.co/world/sudan/... The conference which was held on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights ...
eureporter.co
Geneva rights advocates: Allegations of chemical weapons use in Sudan warrant an international investigation
Allegations that the Sudanese army is using chemical weapons in its ongoing war against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF( continue to spark significant reactions; most recently, speakers at a human right...
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Shooti @bambooshooti.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
#ResistanceEarth In Florida, you supposedly get lots of "freedom," except the freedom to learn real science. Florida has proposed new K-12 science standards that omit evolution and climate change. Yeah, that's going to prepare the state's kids for the future. www.wusf.org/education/20...
wusf.org
Evolution and climate change are missing from Florida's proposed K-12 science standards
The Florida Department of Education held its first listening session at Armwood High School. Some teachers brought up their concerns about missing topics, such as evolution.
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Mind-boggling - just mind-boggling Now expected to peak at an extraordinary 4.2C in December
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Owen Jones @owenjones.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
We were right about all the big calls.  The West’s elites were wrong. My new book The Fall of the West: How They Really Lost It is out today! Get a copy here: www.penguin.co.uk/books/468587
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euobserver — EU news that matters @euobserver.com · 02/10/2026
We went to Ceuta to see how Europe treats people who arrive at its borders. We came back asking how Europe can still call itself a continent governed by law. What we saw there was the often abstract failure of migration policy made brutally concrete: the daily humiliation of human beings.
euobserver.com
Ceuta has become a laboratory for the degradation and dehumanisation of migrants
We went to Ceuta to see how Europe treats people who arrive at its borders. We came back asking how Europe can still call itself a continent governed by law. What we saw there was the often abstract failure of migration policy made brutally concrete: the daily humiliation of human beings.
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Saul Staniforth @saulstaniforth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
"Take this one motion, zionism is racism. Is it antisemitic & racist if critics say it is?" No, its not antisemitic to say that zionism is racism, and yes, zionism is racism.
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Paul Marvin @paulmarvin.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
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Pam Keith @pamkeithdc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
If the behavior of 51 Chi Phi brothers on the group chat in ignoring someone being raped bothers you, consider that 75 million Americans voted for a rapist to become POTUS. Same same
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
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Charles Keener @charleskeener.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
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Grace Blakeley @graceblakeley.substack.com · 22/09/2026
This story is about so much more than one man and one company. It’s about the corruption of our British democracy through the subtle intermingling of the financial and political interests of our political class and the world’s most powerful corporations. open.substack.com/pub/zeteouk/...
open.substack.com
Why Is a Labour Lord Now Paid by Palantir – and What Does it Mean For Our Democracy?
Ex-Labour deputy leader Tom Watson just got hired by a controversial US tech company seeking taxpayer-funded state contracts. The intermingling of politicians and corporations corrupts our democracy.
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Owen Jones @owenjones.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This is the biggest lie you’ve been told. You’re told the West is falling apart because of migrants and minorities. But who closed the factories? Crashed the banks? Launched the wars? Here’s what really happened 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hdp...
youtube.com
The Biggest Lie You've Been Told
YouTube video by Owen Jones
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Five corporations control 90% of the US media. Airlines have merged from 12 major carriers in 1980 to 4 today. A handful of companies control the pharmaceutical industry. Four giants control 80% of meat processing. The evidence of corporate concentration is everywhere.
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Shibley Telhami @stelhami.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Can Democrats Reclaim the Christian Moral High Ground? "It seems, an opening for a different Christian moral argument has arrived. Millions of Americans, including many Christians, look at Trump’s second term and see a litany of moral outrages" www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/m...
nytimes.com
Can Democrats Reclaim the Christian Moral High Ground?
A surprising number of pastors are running as Democrats this year, challenging Americans’ assumptions about politics and faith.
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euobserver — EU news that matters @euobserver.com · 22/09/2026
Loophole in new EU labelling will let fossil-fuelled data-centres pass as ‘green’
euobserver.com
Loophole in new EU labelling will let fossil-fuelled data-centres pass as ‘green’
The European Commission's new rating system grades data centres on efficiency, but does not show their emissions or how much power and water they use. It also lets sites partly powered by fossil fuels present themselves as renewable by buying green certificates over a whole year.
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Even more important than the current figure is the TREND - the numbers wanting Britain to rejoin the EU have been rising slowly but steadily. It’s relentless.
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Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Climate change isn’t just making droughts and floods more common on their own. It’s making the shifts between them happen faster, sending regions from bone-dry to flooded, or from flooded to dry, with less breathing room in between.
earth.com
Climate change is causing droughts and floods to strike back-to-back
Climate change is increasing rapid switches between drought and flooding in China, with low-income populations facing the steepest rise in exposure.
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 22/04/2026
The Shadow Contract is a 4-part deep dive into how a US spy-tech firm landed a £330m deal for our NHS data. It’s a story about power, privacy, and you. 🔍 Listen now 👇 goodlaw.social/1e69ba
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Oliver @oliver48.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"NOT JUST WATER! We should also bring energy, Royal Mail, buses, our NHS and every public service we rely on to live into public ownership Andy Burnham, inaction now will only cost us more down the road" via @weownit.org.uk
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Christopher Webb @cwebbonline.com · 16/09/2026
This is why Trump can’t stand Black women. They don’t take his shit. Let’s appreciate Rep. Joyce Beatty for being the fighter we need. Trump: “I think you’re incompetent.” Beatty: “I know you’re incompetent.” Then she reminded him: “You had more bankruptcies than anybody in the room.” 🔥
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 16/09/2026
Singapore pays people to pick up a book in battle against doomscrolling
theguardian.com
Singapore pays people to pick up a book in battle against doomscrolling
Affluent city-state hopes plan will improve critical thinking and imagination ‘in a world of extraordinary abundance of stimulation’ Singapore is paying its citizens to pick up a book for at least 15 minutes a day in an effort to fight the rise of doomscrolling. The affluent city-state hopes its gamification strategy, which launched this month, will improve concentration, critical thinking and the imagination of Singaporeans. Continue reading...
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Pop Base @popbase.tv · 15/09/2026
All of Ed Sheeran’s opening acts and his touring band have dropped out of the remaining dates of his ‘Loop’ tour in solidarity with Palestine and Macklemore.
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Raj Thamotheram @rajtham.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Sweden’s surrender to the SD didn’t happen overnight. The same parties that once defined Europe’s moral high ground imposed brutal austerity on Greece in 2010, sacrificed the elderly in COVID, abandoned Palestinian refugees by defunding UNRWA, and erased the word 'Islamophobia' to placate the right.
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patfromthestix @patfromthestix.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
A sign in Dublin today. The turnout there was huge.
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Paul Brand @paulbrand.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
If you’re wondering why there was such a drastic turn of events for the Assisted Dying Bill - from big majority to narrow defeat - there is a chapter in my book on what went wrong for supporters & right for opponents. Why did AD stumble in the UK when around the world it’s being rapidly legalised?
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The National @scotnational.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
EXCLUSIVE: It scares Catalan director Judith Colell that many people now appear to believe that Spanish dictator Francisco Franco and even the Nazis were 'not so bad'
thenational.scot
Director warns social media is rewriting fascism's history ahead of film screening
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Raimo Kangasniemi @rk70534.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
'Kyrgyzstan's 10 000 glaciers, known as central Asia's "water tower," are retreating rapidly, with some losing up to 16 metres annually. The country has recorded nearly 1000 flood & mudflow emergencies since 2015, while 368 glacial lakes are now considered at risk...' www.youtube.com/watch?v=oObO...
youtube.com
Kyrgyzstan's melting glaciers threaten water supplies across Central Asia
YouTube video by Al Jazeera English
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