Colin Wrafter
@wraftercolin.bsky.social
Retired Irish diplomat, occasional lecturer and seminar chair. Interests include foreign policy, Northern Ireland , human rights, philosophy, history. I enjoy golf but rarely win!
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Timeline cleanser
Today is the 56th anniversary of the first performance of Mahna Mahna on Sesame Street. You’re familiar with it by now, of course, but... well, it never hurts to be reminded, does it?
Sesame Street - Mahna Mahna (1969)
YouTube video by Tiny Dancer
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Timeline cleanser
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Guinée-Bissau : l'armée annonce avoir pris le "contrôle total" du pays
Guinée-Bissau : l'armée annonce avoir pris le "contrôle total" du pays
Ce mercredi, trois jours après le second tour de l'élection présidentielle et à la veille de la publication des résultats, le président sortant a été arrêté par des militaires, qui ont annoncé avoir pris le contrôle du pays.
fr.euronews.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Guinée-Bissau : l'armée annonce avoir pris le "contrôle total" du pays
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Le Parlement européen en faveur d’un âge minimal de 16 ans pour les réseaux sociaux et les outils d’IA
Le Parlement européen en faveur d’un âge minimal de 16 ans pour les réseaux sociaux et les outils d’IA
www.lemonde.fr
November 27, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Le Parlement européen en faveur d’un âge minimal de 16 ans pour les réseaux sociaux et les outils d’IA
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Writing for @juristnews.bsky.social, Dr Alexus McNally warns that the UN's new Gang Suppression Force risks replicating the failures of the Multinational Security Support Mission unless Haiti's governance crisis & the influx of US firearms are addressed.
Read the full article here ⬇️
bit.ly/4pxMlzp
Read the full article here ⬇️
bit.ly/4pxMlzp
Haiti Needs Governance, Not Guns: New UN Haiti Force Risks Repeating Old Failures
It has been almost two years now since my father and his wife fled from Haiti. Men and boys, armed with assault rifles, descended upon their home in the middle of the night and riddled it with bullets...
www.jurist.org
November 27, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Writing for @juristnews.bsky.social, Dr Alexus McNally warns that the UN's new Gang Suppression Force risks replicating the failures of the Multinational Security Support Mission unless Haiti's governance crisis & the influx of US firearms are addressed.
Read the full article here ⬇️
bit.ly/4pxMlzp
Read the full article here ⬇️
bit.ly/4pxMlzp
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Children being exploited on gaming platforms at ‘an alarming scale’, senior garda tells RTÉ in Roblox investigation
Senior garda warns of 'alarming' scale of child grooming in games
Amid growing concerns over child safety on Roblox, one of the most popular gaming platforms among primary school pupils, Prime Time set up test accounts and spent roughly 12 hours playing on the platf...
www.rte.ie
November 27, 2025 at 7:06 AM
Children being exploited on gaming platforms at ‘an alarming scale’, senior garda tells RTÉ in Roblox investigation
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
No less than €180 billion in frozen Russian assets are dispersed across the European Union.
The EU plan would be to deploy €140 billion (£122bn) of these assets as a zero-interest “reparations loan” to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with urgently needed resources.
The EU plan would be to deploy €140 billion (£122bn) of these assets as a zero-interest “reparations loan” to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with urgently needed resources.
Making Russia pay: the EU’s plan to rebuild Ukraine
A proposal to loan Ukraine billions in frozen Russian assets has split members of the EU on the right course of action
kentandsurreybylines.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 7:08 AM
No less than €180 billion in frozen Russian assets are dispersed across the European Union.
The EU plan would be to deploy €140 billion (£122bn) of these assets as a zero-interest “reparations loan” to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with urgently needed resources.
The EU plan would be to deploy €140 billion (£122bn) of these assets as a zero-interest “reparations loan” to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with urgently needed resources.
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
November 26, 2025
November 26, 2025
Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday…but not for the reasons we generally remember.
heathercoxrichardson.substack.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:04 AM
November 26, 2025
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Volume I of the Journal for New Narratives in the History of Philosophy is now published.
#philsky
journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/nn...
#philsky
journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/nn...
Journal for New Narratives in the History of Philosophy
journal.lib.uoguelph.ca
November 26, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Volume I of the Journal for New Narratives in the History of Philosophy is now published.
#philsky
journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/nn...
#philsky
journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/nn...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Very interesting piece by Michael McNair.
medium.com/@mcnai002/gl...
medium.com/@mcnai002/gl...
Global Public Goods and the Miran Doctrine
Global Public Goods and the Miran Doctrine In his Hudson Institute speech this spring, Stephen Miran, then chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and now a Federal Reserve Governor …
medium.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:10 AM
Very interesting piece by Michael McNair.
medium.com/@mcnai002/gl...
medium.com/@mcnai002/gl...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
In many repressive countries, simply using a VPN is considered suspicious or even illegal, which can draw unwanted attention from authorities or hostile groups.
X's new “About this account is less accurate because it uses aggregated IP addresses, at least [that's] what they’re saying they’re doing, to share with the public where your account is based,” says @philipmai.com www.cbc.ca/news/politic...
New location feature on X sheds light on accounts — but also has errors | CBC News
Canadian researchers who track online misinformation and foreign interference are welcoming a new feature that reveals the location of an X account but warn that it still has glitches and its results ...
www.cbc.ca
November 26, 2025 at 4:39 PM
In many repressive countries, simply using a VPN is considered suspicious or even illegal, which can draw unwanted attention from authorities or hostile groups.
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor
The PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rule that large data centers can only come online if the grid operator can still meet reliability metrics.
www.utilitydive.com
November 27, 2025 at 1:17 AM
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Foreign interference or opportunistic grifting: why are so many pro-Trump X accounts based in Asia?
Foreign interference or opportunistic grifting: why are so many pro-Trump X accounts based in Asia?
A new feature on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter allows users to see the location of other accounts. It has resulted in a firestorm of recriminations
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Foreign interference or opportunistic grifting: why are so many pro-Trump X accounts based in Asia?
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
It's not just that the United States has stopped trying to promote liberal democratic ideas internationally. It's that the United States is actively trying to promote the contrary. It's trying to turn more countries into Hungary.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
U.S. to Press Europe and Other Allies on ‘Mass Migration,’ Document Says
www.nytimes.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:06 AM
It's not just that the United States has stopped trying to promote liberal democratic ideas internationally. It's that the United States is actively trying to promote the contrary. It's trying to turn more countries into Hungary.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Don’t forget that *Trump’s own lawyer’s argument* to the Supreme Court in the immunity case was that the check on the President using his immunity to order criminal acts was that those under him would not follow illegal orders. Now it’s a crime for lawmakers to remind servicemembers of that?
The President doesn't want you standing up and speaking out against him, so he's coming after me to intimidate all of us.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
But I won't back down — and neither should you.
November 26, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Don’t forget that *Trump’s own lawyer’s argument* to the Supreme Court in the immunity case was that the check on the President using his immunity to order criminal acts was that those under him would not follow illegal orders. Now it’s a crime for lawmakers to remind servicemembers of that?
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Donald Trump had reasonable concerns about how Joe Biden’s relatives enriched themselves through his service. Yet his own family is making the “Biden crime family” look small-time
How Donald Trump is turning into Joe Biden
It’s about more than denying inflation
econ.st
November 27, 2025 at 3:20 AM
Donald Trump had reasonable concerns about how Joe Biden’s relatives enriched themselves through his service. Yet his own family is making the “Biden crime family” look small-time
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
"Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day. The State Department warned employees not to use government funds for the occasion and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels." #overtonwindow www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:42 PM
"Trump Administration Will No Longer Commemorate World AIDS Day. The State Department warned employees not to use government funds for the occasion and to “refrain from publicly promoting World AIDS Day through any communication channels." #overtonwindow www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/h...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
November 27, 2025 at 1:49 AM
The war will end when Russia stops fighting. Therefore, pressure has to be put on Russia, so that they stop believing that they will win. Why is that so hard to understand?
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Yes.
And then also fired a ton of senior agents with a ton of counterterrorism experience, including the Acting Director.
And then also fired a ton of senior agents with a ton of counterterrorism experience, including the Acting Director.
Didn’t the FBi pull a lot of personnel from anti terrorism to put them on deportations?
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
Actually the whole security establishment pivoted
November 27, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Yes.
And then also fired a ton of senior agents with a ton of counterterrorism experience, including the Acting Director.
And then also fired a ton of senior agents with a ton of counterterrorism experience, including the Acting Director.
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
Steve Witkoff isn’t promoting peace. His interventions are helping Vladimir Putin and prolonging the war
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
What Is Steve Witkoff Trying to Do?
Trump’s envoy isn’t promoting peace. His interventions are helping Vladimir Putin and prolonging the war.
www.theatlantic.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Steve Witkoff isn’t promoting peace. His interventions are helping Vladimir Putin and prolonging the war
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
We found more than two dozen cases of immigration agents using "less lethal" weapons in ways that appear to flout the government's own rules, including by aiming at someone’s head, spine or groin or deploying chemical agents near children.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
Trump’s Immigration Forces Deploy “Less Lethal” Weapons in Dangerous Ways, Skirting Rules and Maiming Protesters
Civil rights and weapons experts cite the consequences of federal agents’ use of crowd control weapons: religious leaders shot with pepper balls and noxious chemicals. A nurse nearly blinded by tear g...
www.propublica.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM
We found more than two dozen cases of immigration agents using "less lethal" weapons in ways that appear to flout the government's own rules, including by aiming at someone’s head, spine or groin or deploying chemical agents near children.
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
With @frontlinepbs.bsky.social
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
“He isn’t worried about Trump’s political wrath; he doesn’t plan to run for reelection.
His fear of speaking out is much more personal: ‘I’d rather my house not get firebombed’”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
His fear of speaking out is much more personal: ‘I’d rather my house not get firebombed’”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
The Fear Taking Hold Among Indiana Republicans
“I’d rather my house not get firebombed.”
www.theatlantic.com
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 AM
“He isn’t worried about Trump’s political wrath; he doesn’t plan to run for reelection.
His fear of speaking out is much more personal: ‘I’d rather my house not get firebombed’”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
His fear of speaking out is much more personal: ‘I’d rather my house not get firebombed’”
www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
It seems that the brazen nature of Witkoff's shilling for the Kremlin is too much for even Republican politicians to ignore.
But they should be demanding more than for a flunky to be fired, they should be demanding the impeachment of their autocratic President.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
But they should be demanding more than for a flunky to be fired, they should be demanding the impeachment of their autocratic President.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
‘Traitor’: US representatives call for Trump envoy Witkoff to be fired after leaked Kremlin call
Republicans and Democrats warn Witkoff ‘cannot be trusted’ after reportedly advising officials on peace plan
www.theguardian.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
It seems that the brazen nature of Witkoff's shilling for the Kremlin is too much for even Republican politicians to ignore.
But they should be demanding more than for a flunky to be fired, they should be demanding the impeachment of their autocratic President.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
But they should be demanding more than for a flunky to be fired, they should be demanding the impeachment of their autocratic President.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
“The end of the current world order is looming. The West should now look for new partners and allies, and Germany become the mediator between the Global South and the Transatlantic West,” writes GMF’s Claudia Major in her guest article with Carlo Masala for Spiegel.
🔗
🔗
(S+) Meinung: Ein neuer pragmatischer Westen muss her – und Deutschland ihn gezielt aufbauen – Kommentar Masala Major
Das Ende der aktuellen Weltordnung zeichnet sich ab. Der Westen sollte sich jetzt neue Partner und Verbündete suchen. Und Deutschland zum Vermittler zwischen Globalem Süden und transatlantischem…
www.spiegel.de
November 26, 2025 at 8:30 PM
“The end of the current world order is looming. The West should now look for new partners and allies, and Germany become the mediator between the Global South and the Transatlantic West,” writes GMF’s Claudia Major in her guest article with Carlo Masala for Spiegel.
🔗
🔗
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
In his second term, President Trump has turned a campaign pledge to punish his opponents into a guiding principle of governance. At least 470 people, organizations and institutions have been targeted for retribution since Trump took office.
Subscribe: reut.rs/4iQvdSd
Subscribe: reut.rs/4iQvdSd
November 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
In his second term, President Trump has turned a campaign pledge to punish his opponents into a guiding principle of governance. At least 470 people, organizations and institutions have been targeted for retribution since Trump took office.
Subscribe: reut.rs/4iQvdSd
Subscribe: reut.rs/4iQvdSd
Reposted by Colin Wrafter
The U.S. flouts the UN and international accountability--
This week, the U.S. government was to be reviewed at the United Nations as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, a peer-to-peer assessment of every country’s human rights record...the U.S. is first country to avoid review.
This week, the U.S. government was to be reviewed at the United Nations as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, a peer-to-peer assessment of every country’s human rights record...the U.S. is first country to avoid review.
November 5, 2025 at 10:40 PM
The U.S. flouts the UN and international accountability--
This week, the U.S. government was to be reviewed at the United Nations as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, a peer-to-peer assessment of every country’s human rights record...the U.S. is first country to avoid review.
This week, the U.S. government was to be reviewed at the United Nations as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, a peer-to-peer assessment of every country’s human rights record...the U.S. is first country to avoid review.