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Reposted by Marina

Nadine Batchelor-Hunt @nadinebh.bsky.social · 8h

There’ll be multiple reasons that the reason WM police have banned Maccabi Tel Aviv fans: some will be political, some will have to do with the bad conduct of fans in the past

What’s also true is claims antisemitism plays no part in the safety threat is for the birds

Many things can be true

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 4h

The thing about antisemitism is not that it's wrong or immoral (it is). The problem is that unlike other bigotries, it's essentially a conspiracy theory. And if you have a lot of people believing a conspiracy theory, your country is in trouble, because conspiracy theories make people *stupid*.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 5h

I can't make my mind up about the ban, but the *need* for a ban really is a national disgrace. If Jews aren't safe in your country, it's getting into a very dark place.

George Mann @sgfmann.bsky.social · 7h

Daily Express: Ban on Israeli fans is ‘a national disgrace’ #TomorrowsPapersToday

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 5h

100%. That's why all the milk & sugar - Brits drink the darkest, most bitter & least aromatic varieties of tea, & stew it to boot.

Anon Opin @anonopin.bsky.social · 6h

As a British person living in Asia I have come to the realisation that whilst British people love tea and drink loads of it we basically know nothing about it and drink the worse stuff. We are like a person who only smokes soapbar thinking they are a guru on cannabis

Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 12h

I can almost feel sorry for Reform cllrs with no experience of local government getting into power & being absolutely certain they can easily find huge cuts to make - for nearly a decade, central government had been making those very cuts without taking responsibility for or even acknowledging them.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 12h

What "shrinking the state" really looks like:

Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 13h

Let's take this in: "Funding cuts from 2010 to 2019 were so severe that they left gaps that could not be filled even by five years of above-inflation increases, leaving local authorities increasingly reliant on emergency funding+capable of providing only legally mandated services, the report shows.”

English councils to remain poorer than in 2010 despite funding rise, says report

Exclusive: Impact of austerity cannot be undone by end of parliament despite above-inflation funding, analysis finds

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Marina

Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 13h

Let's take this in: "Funding cuts from 2010 to 2019 were so severe that they left gaps that could not be filled even by five years of above-inflation increases, leaving local authorities increasingly reliant on emergency funding+capable of providing only legally mandated services, the report shows.”

English councils to remain poorer than in 2010 despite funding rise, says report

Exclusive: Impact of austerity cannot be undone by end of parliament despite above-inflation funding, analysis finds

www.theguardian.com

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 13h

I tend to assume the worst of all men on principle, but then I am a lifelong & committed hag, so!

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 15h

Yes, that's what we call the squeeze: if someone says they're not sure about Labour, or just DK, we ask them if there is a party they definitely *wouldn't* want to get in. It used to be Lab or Con - the LDs & Gs never made people care enough - but now we also get "Reform", which is interesting.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 15h

We so need this in Swindon. Victorian street layouts & 2+ enormous cars per household simply do not mix.

Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 21h

Cardiff will be the first UK city to introduce a surcharge for oversized SUVs and trucks, "while very large vehicles – those over 3,500kg – will be excluded from residential permits entirely."

Cardiff set to tackle SUV 'carspreading' in UK first

Cardiff Council is set to become the first local authority in the UK to introduce higher parking charges for SUVs and other heavy vehicles, in a move campaigners say will make city streets safer and f...

nation.cymru

Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 15h

I think everyone is far too obsessed with Labour, & too focused on teh collapse of the Tories (the latter somewhat jutifiably, it's insane), so nobody is paying enough attention to the fact that teh ~30% protest vote that's *always existed* in the UK is what's fragmenting more than anything.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 15h

We're not feeling Reform at 22% on the doors, and we do have an election in 2026 (albeit a local) so it's a bit more real to people. There's about 25% DKs, which is again not unusual, but how many of those are shy Reform there's no telling. We're a bellwether seat, so this should be representative.

Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 15h

That's entirely what one would expect this far out from an election. Why on earth would normal people know who they want to vote for without the clarifying reality of needing to choose? It's bonkers that polling isn't a part-time job anymore. They need to go do something else until 2028.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 16h

That's a very tactful way of putting it 😆

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 16h

That's kind of you, thank you - but I think this was never really going to get off th ground.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 16h

Then go away and stop replying to me? Or do you just need to have the last word?

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 17h

If you really want to engage with people you should be able to do more than give them homework in the form of Haaretz links though. That's like trying to explain to someone why the UK vote to exit the EU by sending them links to Guardian Comment if Free columns.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 17h

Nope. As James said, one thing about people who are committed to UBI is that they are not, in fact, open to dialogue - only persuasion. That is why you are still talking to me after I rebuffed your opening gambit, & why I see no obligation on my part to offer you a platform for that persuasion.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 19h

Is that a demonstration of the thing I was talking about?

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 19h

The use of the Nazi self-justifying term 'liquidation' is telling, but what really strikes me is that if the analogy were to be taken seriously rather than tendentiously, then Israel's war in Gaza would be akin to *Allied* powers destroying the Warsaw ghetto.

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 19h

Same as UBI obsessives.

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Reposted by Marina

Frida Ghitis @fridaghitis.bsky.social · 1d

Hamas is refusing to disarm. Here’s what happened a next.

open.substack.com/pub/fridains...

Israel and Gaza: After the Euphoria, Reality Strikes

Is it possible to achieve genuine, lasting peace?

open.substack.com

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 19h

Tell me when you spot it.

"[A]dministrative detention, introduced by British authorities in the 1940s as an emergency regulation to punish Palestinian resistance fighters and Jewish paramilitary organizations."

Voice4Justice @voices4justice.bsky.social · 1d

'The Israel-Gaza War Always Had an Unacknowledged Third Front’
Gift 🎁 article 🔗
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/o...

Opinion | The Israel-Gaza War Always Had an Unacknowledged Third Front

www.nytimes.com

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Marina @marstrina.bsky.social · 19h

It's funny how many historically influential women were accused of being frivolous airheads¹ *and* power-hungry manipulators at the same time.

¹ MA never said 'let them eat cake' - it was probably said by Athenaïs de Montespan, & was definitely a witticism, not a clanger.

Inviting History @invitinghistory.bsky.social · 1d

At her trial, Marie Antoinette was accused of becoming "master over [Louis XVI’s] feeble character," forcing him to "do anything bad," and that he followed her destructive advice to the letter.

Her response: "I never knew him to have that character you are speaking of."

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Reposted by Marina

Voice4Justice @voices4justice.bsky.social · 1d

Netanyahu's war in Gaza is over, but his war against Israel's judiciary continues
www.haaretz.com/opinion/2025... 🧵👇
By Uri Misgav 🎯

Netanyahu's war in Gaza is over, but his war against Israel's judiciary continues | Opinion

***

www.haaretz.com

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