Claudia Watts
@violetbeetle1.bsky.social
Ecologist, entomologist, natural historian and wildlife data handler. Former language teacher in many countries, including Ukraine 🇺🇦 Views my own.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
'We have historically high welfare spending.' No we don't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
November 29, 2025 at 5:08 PM
'We have historically high welfare spending.' No we don't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
'We have a historically high proportion of working-age people not actually working.' No we don't.
'The number of Britons emigrating is skyrocketing.' No it isn't.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Populist Right: 'We're not racist, we just want immigrants to integrate & contribute.'
Immigrant gains BA, MA, works for charities, marries a 'Brit', becomes Brexit-supporting, lockdown-sceptic Tory MP, then Deputy Speaker of HoC.
Populist Right: 'People born abroad shouldn't be allowed to do this.'
Immigrant gains BA, MA, works for charities, marries a 'Brit', becomes Brexit-supporting, lockdown-sceptic Tory MP, then Deputy Speaker of HoC.
Populist Right: 'People born abroad shouldn't be allowed to do this.'
November 28, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Populist Right: 'We're not racist, we just want immigrants to integrate & contribute.'
Immigrant gains BA, MA, works for charities, marries a 'Brit', becomes Brexit-supporting, lockdown-sceptic Tory MP, then Deputy Speaker of HoC.
Populist Right: 'People born abroad shouldn't be allowed to do this.'
Immigrant gains BA, MA, works for charities, marries a 'Brit', becomes Brexit-supporting, lockdown-sceptic Tory MP, then Deputy Speaker of HoC.
Populist Right: 'People born abroad shouldn't be allowed to do this.'
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
November 21, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Former Finnish PM Sanna Marin put it bluntly: “To end the conflict, Russia must leave Ukrainian territory.”
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Just one point. Nothing more to discuss.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
The war will end when the Ukrainian army withdraws from Ukraine.
Putin told reporters that the fighting will end when Ukrainian forces withdraw from the territories they currently hold.
November 27, 2025 at 2:29 PM
The war will end when the Ukrainian army withdraws from Ukraine.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Good stuff from Rutte, and a reminder to the US and Russia that there are some things they cannot control
www.politico.eu/article/mark...
www.politico.eu/article/mark...
Rutte rules out Russian veto on Ukraine joining NATO
The alliance chief also warned that the threat Moscow poses to Europe will far outlast any peace deal reached with Kyiv.
www.politico.eu
November 27, 2025 at 7:39 AM
Good stuff from Rutte, and a reminder to the US and Russia that there are some things they cannot control
www.politico.eu/article/mark...
www.politico.eu/article/mark...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Mariupol residents are seeing their homes demolished and resold. Researcher Ilvija Bruge breaks down her investigation in our latest Bellingchat Premium episode on Patreon. www.patreon.com/posts/how-ma...
November 28, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Mariupol residents are seeing their homes demolished and resold. Researcher Ilvija Bruge breaks down her investigation in our latest Bellingchat Premium episode on Patreon. www.patreon.com/posts/how-ma...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
If telling the troops not to follow illegal orders is “sedition,” what do we call colluding with the Kremlin to manipulate the U.S. President into advancing Russian interests over America’s?
November 26, 2025 at 2:54 PM
If telling the troops not to follow illegal orders is “sedition,” what do we call colluding with the Kremlin to manipulate the U.S. President into advancing Russian interests over America’s?
Reposted by Claudia Watts
The Times’ reporting on employment tribunals is routinely awful. The headlines are clickbait claims which the body copy often contradicts. In this case the issue was not the use of the word “fireman” but failing to challenge a campaign of persistent offensive behaviour. And he wasn’t fired. He left
November 27, 2025 at 7:04 PM
The Times’ reporting on employment tribunals is routinely awful. The headlines are clickbait claims which the body copy often contradicts. In this case the issue was not the use of the word “fireman” but failing to challenge a campaign of persistent offensive behaviour. And he wasn’t fired. He left
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Never let it be said that the British press is out of touch
November 27, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Never let it be said that the British press is out of touch
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, described the scale and intensity of destruction, mass displacement of residents and deaths of civilians as “one of the most flagrant violations of international law”.
November 14, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Professor Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, described the scale and intensity of destruction, mass displacement of residents and deaths of civilians as “one of the most flagrant violations of international law”.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
How does war reshape ecosystems? What gets damaged, lost, or overlooked? Yesterday we went into a deep dive with the Conflict and Environment Observatory @ceobs.org . Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...
"Studying Conflict’s Impact on the Environment" with the Conflict and Environment Observatory | Podcast Episode on RSS.com
This week, we discussed a more hidden impact of war... the toll it takes on the environment. Can we estimate the scale of damage conflict can have on our natural spaces? Do we know how harmful polluti...
rss.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:53 PM
How does war reshape ecosystems? What gets damaged, lost, or overlooked? Yesterday we went into a deep dive with the Conflict and Environment Observatory @ceobs.org . Listen back by searching 'Stage Talks with Bellingcat': rss.com/podcasts/bel...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
War of aggression, mass killing of civilians, and settler colonialism
Nine out of 10 residential buildings in Mariupol were damaged or destroyed during Russia’s invasion. Now, the apartment blocks are being rebuilt – and offered for sale to Russians with low-interest mortgages. youtube.com/shorts/yxsIV...
From Ruins to Russian Residences
YouTube video by Bellingcat
youtube.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:18 PM
War of aggression, mass killing of civilians, and settler colonialism
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Putin's fear is not a Ukraine in NATO. It is having a thriving democracy on his border. Russians will want the same.
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Putin trying to negotiate an end to Ukraine war as he cannot win it on battlefield, says EU’s Kallas – Europe live
EU’s foreign policy chief says ‘there’s one aggressor and one victim’ in conflict amid US push to end the war
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Putin's fear is not a Ukraine in NATO. It is having a thriving democracy on his border. Russians will want the same.
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
The richest man on earth had two choices for deploying his unfathomable wealth: 1) help the world in a meaningful way or 2) build an AI for bullying people. And he wonders why he's globally loathed.
November 24, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The richest man on earth had two choices for deploying his unfathomable wealth: 1) help the world in a meaningful way or 2) build an AI for bullying people. And he wonders why he's globally loathed.
He sounds like an unpopular 10 year-old boy trying to be cool and failing miserably. Explains a lot, I suppose.
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM
He sounds like an unpopular 10 year-old boy trying to be cool and failing miserably. Explains a lot, I suppose.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
"We are freezing known Russian assets" says Rachel Reeves
"But let me be clear, I don't actually mean the member for Clacton"
"But let me be clear, I don't actually mean the member for Clacton"
November 26, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"We are freezing known Russian assets" says Rachel Reeves
"But let me be clear, I don't actually mean the member for Clacton"
"But let me be clear, I don't actually mean the member for Clacton"
Reposted by Claudia Watts
“I often racially abuse people, but never in a hurtful or insulting way”
November 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
“I often racially abuse people, but never in a hurtful or insulting way”
Reposted by Claudia Watts
One plan. Six pillars of international law demolished.
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
November 23, 2025 at 11:08 PM
One plan. Six pillars of international law demolished.
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Trump's Ukraine plan requires the US to violate 71 international commitments, @EerikNKross has calculated.
It systematically contradicts the legal order America built over 80 years—from the Geneva Conventions to NATO's founding treaty:
Reposted by Claudia Watts
As Labour proposes limiting the protection of the ECHR, we must remember what it was set up to do; protect us all from abuses of power by our govts.
Be v wary then of anyone calling to do that. You may not be the target now. But why shouldn’t you be next?
bestforbritain.substack.com/p/why-we-and...
Be v wary then of anyone calling to do that. You may not be the target now. But why shouldn’t you be next?
bestforbritain.substack.com/p/why-we-and...
Why we - and the Home Secretary - disapply the ECHR at our peril
By Jessica Frank-Keyes
bestforbritain.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:14 PM
As Labour proposes limiting the protection of the ECHR, we must remember what it was set up to do; protect us all from abuses of power by our govts.
Be v wary then of anyone calling to do that. You may not be the target now. But why shouldn’t you be next?
bestforbritain.substack.com/p/why-we-and...
Be v wary then of anyone calling to do that. You may not be the target now. But why shouldn’t you be next?
bestforbritain.substack.com/p/why-we-and...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
How ever since Labour came to power, the British media has started to notice a whole series of problems they spent the previous 14 years completely ignoring
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-great-...
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-great-...
The 'Great Noticing' Era
Ever since Labour came to power, the British media has started to notice a whole series of problems they spent the previous 14 years completely ignoring
www.adambienkov.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
How ever since Labour came to power, the British media has started to notice a whole series of problems they spent the previous 14 years completely ignoring
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-great-...
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-great-...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Reform MPs care so much about the Huntingdon attack that not one of them could be arsed to turn up for the Home Secretary’s statement about the incident yesterday.
November 4, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Reform MPs care so much about the Huntingdon attack that not one of them could be arsed to turn up for the Home Secretary’s statement about the incident yesterday.
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
More than 50 child asylum seekers still missing after disappearing from Kent care
Council data obtained by the Guardian shows 345 children have gone missing in recent years, many probably taken by traffickers
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Jesus Christ. We go mad about one bloke we wrongly released, yet hear next to nothing about this horror? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Claudia Watts
Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk:
"Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 160 successful strikes on [Russian] oil production&refining facilities.For September&October of this yr alone,there were 20 facilities targeted,including 6 refineries,2 oil terminals
"Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 160 successful strikes on [Russian] oil production&refining facilities.For September&October of this yr alone,there were 20 facilities targeted,including 6 refineries,2 oil terminals
October 31, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Vasyl Maliuk:
"Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 160 successful strikes on [Russian] oil production&refining facilities.For September&October of this yr alone,there were 20 facilities targeted,including 6 refineries,2 oil terminals
"Since the beginning of the year, there have been nearly 160 successful strikes on [Russian] oil production&refining facilities.For September&October of this yr alone,there were 20 facilities targeted,including 6 refineries,2 oil terminals
Reposted by Claudia Watts
🤬In just ONE day, russia carried out 744(!!) strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region.
• 8 missile strikes
• 481 UAVs
• 4 MLRS shellings
• 245 artillery strikes
Try, JUST TRY, to imagine a day of your life where someone literally try to kill you 744 times! ONE DAY‼️
• 8 missile strikes
• 481 UAVs
• 4 MLRS shellings
• 245 artillery strikes
Try, JUST TRY, to imagine a day of your life where someone literally try to kill you 744 times! ONE DAY‼️
October 30, 2025 at 5:22 AM
🤬In just ONE day, russia carried out 744(!!) strikes on the Zaporizhzhia region.
• 8 missile strikes
• 481 UAVs
• 4 MLRS shellings
• 245 artillery strikes
Try, JUST TRY, to imagine a day of your life where someone literally try to kill you 744 times! ONE DAY‼️
• 8 missile strikes
• 481 UAVs
• 4 MLRS shellings
• 245 artillery strikes
Try, JUST TRY, to imagine a day of your life where someone literally try to kill you 744 times! ONE DAY‼️
There are always the gullible 'Tankies' that, for reasons of historical ignorance, will support Russia in spite of all the evidence of Putin's imperialistic inclinations and aggression. Sultana appear to be one of them.
"To say 'Zelenskyy is no friend of the working class' is an insulting, facile distraction from the fact that Sultana refuses to support the Ukrainian people’s fight for existence."
Proper cold fury and moral clarity from @paulmason.bsky.social on Sultana.
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
Proper cold fury and moral clarity from @paulmason.bsky.social on Sultana.
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
Coventry South needs a by-election soon
Zarah Sultana has no mandate for disarming the people of Britain and betraying Ukraine
open.substack.com
October 28, 2025 at 7:28 PM
There are always the gullible 'Tankies' that, for reasons of historical ignorance, will support Russia in spite of all the evidence of Putin's imperialistic inclinations and aggression. Sultana appear to be one of them.