Claire Kumar
@clairekumar.bsky.social
Working with ODI Europe and ODI Global on migration policies
Reposted by Claire Kumar
After seven and a half years of weekly parenting columns for the Observer, today's will be my last.
I started writing the column a few weeks before becoming a dad, so I've never parented without it.
I'll miss it more than I express in words, but I had a go anyway.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
I started writing the column a few weeks before becoming a dad, so I've never parented without it.
I'll miss it more than I express in words, but I had a go anyway.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
A fond fatherly farewell | The Observer
What a privilege it has been to trace each wobbling step along the parental path. I’m going to miss it
observer.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 10:57 AM
After seven and a half years of weekly parenting columns for the Observer, today's will be my last.
I started writing the column a few weeks before becoming a dad, so I've never parented without it.
I'll miss it more than I express in words, but I had a go anyway.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
I started writing the column a few weeks before becoming a dad, so I've never parented without it.
I'll miss it more than I express in words, but I had a go anyway.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
I find myself nostalgic for the days when evil people had to pretend not to be evil, because being evil was considered socially unacceptable.
January 31, 2026 at 1:51 PM
I find myself nostalgic for the days when evil people had to pretend not to be evil, because being evil was considered socially unacceptable.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
That some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men were writing crime e-mails to crime man Epstein on gmail suggests two non-exclusive things:
a) Our meritocracy isn't all it's cracked up to be;
b) Our overlords operate at levels of arrogance & impunity that make consequences unimaginable.
a) Our meritocracy isn't all it's cracked up to be;
b) Our overlords operate at levels of arrogance & impunity that make consequences unimaginable.
January 31, 2026 at 3:42 PM
That some of the world's wealthiest and most powerful men were writing crime e-mails to crime man Epstein on gmail suggests two non-exclusive things:
a) Our meritocracy isn't all it's cracked up to be;
b) Our overlords operate at levels of arrogance & impunity that make consequences unimaginable.
a) Our meritocracy isn't all it's cracked up to be;
b) Our overlords operate at levels of arrogance & impunity that make consequences unimaginable.
Lots of good detail and context in this article. Well done to all the researchers and activists who fought for this eminently sensible and truly transformative policy reform @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social @porcausa.org
‘It’s like a gift from God’: undocumented foreign workers welcome Spanish amnesty
‘It’s like a gift from God’: undocumented foreign workers welcome Spanish amnesty
Half a million migrants will be ‘regularised’ under plans to boost economic growth that have angered rightwing parties
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2026 at 10:00 AM
Lots of good detail and context in this article. Well done to all the researchers and activists who fought for this eminently sensible and truly transformative policy reform @gonzalofanjul.bsky.social @porcausa.org
Reposted by Claire Kumar
There are 3,800 kids in ICE custody.
January 30, 2026 at 3:44 AM
There are 3,800 kids in ICE custody.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
A good piece because instead of handwringing over Goodwin's radicalization it correctly focuses on the deliberately constructed media ecosystem that inexplicably elevated someone like him into the public eye and keeps rewarding him for ever more repugnant views.
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
Matt Goodwin and the end of England
How one man's career explains our public life.
iandunt.substack.com
January 30, 2026 at 6:09 PM
A good piece because instead of handwringing over Goodwin's radicalization it correctly focuses on the deliberately constructed media ecosystem that inexplicably elevated someone like him into the public eye and keeps rewarding him for ever more repugnant views.
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Given his appalling remarks about Sunak its absolutely shocking that Konstantin Kisin is anywhere near the mainstream let alone on #bbcqt
Konstantin Kisin straight up lying on #bbcqt
Douglas Alexander: “When Fraser Nelson put it to you that Rishi Sunak is absolutely english… you said “he’s a brown Hindu, how is he english?”
Kisin: “No, that’s not what I said...”
Douglas Alexander: “When Fraser Nelson put it to you that Rishi Sunak is absolutely english… you said “he’s a brown Hindu, how is he english?”
Kisin: “No, that’s not what I said...”
January 30, 2026 at 7:27 AM
Given his appalling remarks about Sunak its absolutely shocking that Konstantin Kisin is anywhere near the mainstream let alone on #bbcqt
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Holy moly this chart: Cumulative US measles cases
January 28, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Holy moly this chart: Cumulative US measles cases
Reposted by Claire Kumar
fear.
they need to demonstrate that resistance is worse than useless, that it will be broken, and that their agents have impunity regardless of their actions.
they need to demonstrate that resistance is worse than useless, that it will be broken, and that their agents have impunity regardless of their actions.
So… what’s the strategic goal for the administration in Minnesota, exactly?
I’m not being cute, I don’t understand the theory of victory here and want someone to explain it to me.
I’m not being cute, I don’t understand the theory of victory here and want someone to explain it to me.
January 24, 2026 at 1:18 AM
fear.
they need to demonstrate that resistance is worse than useless, that it will be broken, and that their agents have impunity regardless of their actions.
they need to demonstrate that resistance is worse than useless, that it will be broken, and that their agents have impunity regardless of their actions.
I love that he actually runs through this. No doubt that this message will resonate with ALOT of people.
Help us make hope normal again.
Join the Green Party now.
Join the Green Party now.
January 24, 2026 at 9:26 AM
I love that he actually runs through this. No doubt that this message will resonate with ALOT of people.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Israel’s deprivation strategy: “A 27-day-old baby died in Gaza on Saturday from severe cold, bringing the number of children in the region who have died of hypothermia since the start of the current winter season to eight."
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Newborn baby becomes eighth to die of hypothermia in Gaza this winter
Despite the ceasefire, more than 100 children have died in the territory since October
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 5:52 AM
Israel’s deprivation strategy: “A 27-day-old baby died in Gaza on Saturday from severe cold, bringing the number of children in the region who have died of hypothermia since the start of the current winter season to eight."
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Just the Telegraph casually referring to an Irish woman as a ‘washer woman’
You hit the jackpot there, lads: xenophobia, misogyny and unbridled class snobbery
You hit the jackpot there, lads: xenophobia, misogyny and unbridled class snobbery
January 15, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Just the Telegraph casually referring to an Irish woman as a ‘washer woman’
You hit the jackpot there, lads: xenophobia, misogyny and unbridled class snobbery
You hit the jackpot there, lads: xenophobia, misogyny and unbridled class snobbery
Reposted by Claire Kumar
France serves order to leave and entry ban to ten far-right anti-migrant British activists for actions against small boats and propaganda activities in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais coastline. www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/c...
Dix interdictions administratives de territoire prononcées à l'encontre de militants britanniques du mouvement "Raise the colours"
L'attention des services du ministère de l'Intérieur a été appelée à plusieurs reprises, et par différents acteurs, sur la présence d'activistes d'extrême-droite appartenant au mouvement "Raise the…
www.interieur.gouv.fr
January 14, 2026 at 9:20 AM
France serves order to leave and entry ban to ten far-right anti-migrant British activists for actions against small boats and propaganda activities in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais coastline. www.interieur.gouv.fr/actualites/c...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
in other news apparently you can now get shot for being smug
Fox News' Will Cain: “There's a weird kind of smugness... in the way that some of these liberal white women interact with authority”
January 14, 2026 at 9:42 AM
in other news apparently you can now get shot for being smug
Reposted by Claire Kumar
I’m seeing lots of people on here misunderstand the purpose of ICE watch.
It’s de-escalation. And it’s grounded in the social science of violence. 🧵
It’s de-escalation. And it’s grounded in the social science of violence. 🧵
January 13, 2026 at 5:37 PM
I’m seeing lots of people on here misunderstand the purpose of ICE watch.
It’s de-escalation. And it’s grounded in the social science of violence. 🧵
It’s de-escalation. And it’s grounded in the social science of violence. 🧵
Completely agree. Most fervent wish. Desperately sad we are so far from this basic, normal, inoffensive proposition
What I want is a government by sincere, intelligent people relying carefully on evidence to form positions that benefit everyone.
I think most people want some version of that.
And yet.
I think most people want some version of that.
And yet.
January 10, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Completely agree. Most fervent wish. Desperately sad we are so far from this basic, normal, inoffensive proposition
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Ah here. The 10 o’clock news on BBV Radio 4 is leading with ‘JD Vance has described a woman shot dead by an ICE officer in Minnesota as a deranged leftist carrying out a terrorist attack’
This is not public service broadcasting
This is not public service broadcasting
So far the BBC’s coverage of the Minnesota killing seems really, really off
Get Verify to verify what happened - NYT, Bellingcat etc already have - and report that
Get Verify to verify what happened - NYT, Bellingcat etc already have - and report that
Evan Davis faux scratching his head on PM as to how there can be such different interpretations of clearly documented incidents (the shooting in Minnesota), right after platforming someone from the Heritage Foundation giving a deliberately false interpretation of events, barely challenged.
January 8, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Ah here. The 10 o’clock news on BBV Radio 4 is leading with ‘JD Vance has described a woman shot dead by an ICE officer in Minnesota as a deranged leftist carrying out a terrorist attack’
This is not public service broadcasting
This is not public service broadcasting
Reposted by Claire Kumar
The government is saying that violence rules. That snatching foreign leaders and territories, and shooting US citizens in their cars at point blank range, is justified. That resistance is not only futile, it is dangerous. They can say these things. But they cannot force us to believe them.
January 8, 2026 at 4:16 AM
The government is saying that violence rules. That snatching foreign leaders and territories, and shooting US citizens in their cars at point blank range, is justified. That resistance is not only futile, it is dangerous. They can say these things. But they cannot force us to believe them.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Today once again proved that everyday citizens protesting their government are braver than the titans who own the largest media corporations, run the biggest law firms and lead the most powerful technology companies.
January 7, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Today once again proved that everyday citizens protesting their government are braver than the titans who own the largest media corporations, run the biggest law firms and lead the most powerful technology companies.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
If the Palestine Action hunger strikers die - which they could do at any moment, as they are now very close to the end - it will be the government that killed them. Today’s column explains why. Please share, and write urgently to your MP.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot
The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:07 AM
If the Palestine Action hunger strikers die - which they could do at any moment, as they are now very close to the end - it will be the government that killed them. Today’s column explains why. Please share, and write urgently to your MP.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
January 5, 2026 at 3:39 PM
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
We are dealing with simply unfathomable levels of derangement.
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 9:59 AM
We are dealing with simply unfathomable levels of derangement.
Reposted by Claire Kumar
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Alaa Abd el-Fattah’s tweets were wrong, but he is no ‘anti-white Islamist’. Why does the British right want you to believe he is? | Naomi Klein
I have no interest in defending his social media posts, but calls to strip the newly freed activist of British citizenship pile torment on top of torture, says Naomi Klein, Guardian US columnist and c...
www.theguardian.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Calls to strip pro-democracy activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah of his British citizenship pile torment on top of torture.
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
New piece by me on a dangerous and manufactured storm:
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Claire Kumar
The US media outlet with the most employees and resources only knows 4 people.
December 30, 2025 at 8:24 PM
The US media outlet with the most employees and resources only knows 4 people.