Crispin Bates

A think piece on #migration past and present just published on @openDemocracy for those interested opendemocracy.net/beyondslavery/…

@NewStatesman ‘ only just over half of union members are in party-affiliated unions”. What does that have to do with Stamer’? This article is pure journalistic guff: half-baked opinions for a fee.

"The question is not whether Labour values have been usurped by Starmer’s faction. It is what kind of party could be built out of the corpse of Starmer’s party. One option is clearly a more Blairite party: pro-tech giants, the US, and privatisation. But are there any serious options to create a progressive party, one that dares speak out on the issues of the day, that actually communicates with a progressive electorate? It is hard to see at the moment whether the ambition or capacity exists within it. It is worth noting that Starmer’s Party is only barely the official party of the organised working class. Whereas Labour had affiliated to it nearly every major trade union, today only just over half of union members are in party-affiliated unions. And even then some may leave. This is hardly surprising: as it stands its policies, Starmer’s Party’s political instincts, are far closer to those of the Tories and Reform than to the progressive parties that are eating it up. And that is not accidental, or the result of a lack of vision. It was the whole point." Read @DEHEdgerton's obituary for Starmerism newstatesman.com/politics/labou…

The real story shouldn't be Starmer it’s this. Ben Habib casually dropping an allegation that Nigel Farage and Boris Johnson were each handed £1m by Christopher Harborne to fix an election. Truly astonishing claims but sure, let’s all pretend the headline issue is Starmer. The £5m bung is the tip of the iceberg, our press should be camped outside Farage's girlfriends house not 10 Downing Street waiting for the police to arrive #ReformUK #Farage

What Really Happened on October 7 @pularjs

@afzalmdogar @NewOrder_TV Sachs always tailors his comments to please his audience

@NewOrder_TV Jeffrey Sachs is usually spot on, but I’m afraid he may be mistaken about Narendra Modi—calling him a “grown-up” seems generous. In reality, Modi is just as delusional as Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: Only Putin🇷🇺, Modi🇮🇳, and Xi Jinping🇨🇳 can stop ‘PSYCHOPATH’ Trump’s and ‘DELUSIONAL’ Netanyahu’s war on Iran ‘Trump has a kind of mental instability called the dark triad personality. He is a narcissist. He is an extreme Machiavellian, which means don’t trust him for one moment. He is a psychopath, meaning, kill people. Not my business, not my concern. But people think that it is getting worse, that there’s an added frontotemporal dementia that could be part of this mix, losing control. And they give certain kinds of clinical evidence, the way he speaks, the way he makes up. I regard what Israel and the United States have done as a flagrant, reckless, utterly illegal, hugely dangerous war of aggression for no reason. It’s been called a war of choice. A better term that I heard a few days ago, a war of whim. And I think that this is correct. I would say, by the way, that Netanyahu has similar psychological qualities to Trump. And Netanyahu’s speech just before Trump’s speech is equally alarming, equally delusional. Netanyahu speaks about the 10 plagues that he has put on Iran. Now, mind you, the ten plagues were, in the Hebrew Bible, plagues that God put on. Now, Netanyahu is playing God, vis-à-vis Iran, and he lists the 10 plagues. This is a kind of madness. This is not political rhetoric. This is a kind of madness because it’s also associated with a real war of murder and destruction. And as Mr. Trump said, also a kind of madness to put Iran back into the Stone Ages. This is not normal. We have not heard this rhetoric. This has to be stopped, and it has to be stopped by grown-ups. And there are only three grown-ups in the world right now that are in a position to stop this, and they should stop it together, and that is Prime Minister Modi, President Xi Jinping, and President Vladimir Putin. They are the leaders of the other three superpowers of the world. They absolutely have a stake in the world not blowing up. It’s not a matter of not stopping Trump while he’s making a mistake, because the mistake in this case is not Trump’s mistake. It is the world’s disaster.’ -Prof. Jeffrey Sachs on the latest episode of New Order Watch the full interview in the quoted post, or watch it on Rumble, link below in the replies👇

@_Investinq Why does everything have to be done in ‘real time’ on the internet these days? Is there any other time?

The world's largest utility company just eliminated one of the most dangerous jobs on earth. China's State Grid which controls power for 1.1 billion people has deployed robotic electricians across 26 provinces and counting. These machines work on live, 10,000-volt wires while the power stays fully on. Before this, the workers who did this job wore full conductive armor and understood that one wrong move was fatal. Now the robot takes that risk instead. The machines strip insulation, tighten connections, and splice wires with millimeter precision, all while hanging at altitude on a live grid. They complete tasks 50 percent faster than a human crew and report a 98 percent success rate. This is already the operating standard in more than two dozen Chinese provinces. China is about to spend $554 billion upgrading its power grid between now and 2030. That is a war chest for building the most automated, AI-powered energy infrastructure in human history. Meanwhile, the United States has a shortage of 40,000 electricians and the gap is getting worse every year. China's answer to that problem is not a trade school, it is a fleet of machines that never sleeps or quits. Every other country still arguing about whether robots will replace workers is watching the answer get deployed in real time.

@cecild84 Nice. But hope they can hold elections soon and get over this Russian backed military coup

Burkina Faso has launched a computer recycling initiative to expand digital access and support vulnerable communities, as part of a broader push to accelerate the country’s digital transformation. The programme, introduced on 14 March 2026 in Ouagadougou under the ICT Programme in Faso (PROTAF), focuses on refurbishing outdated public-sector computer equipment and redistributing it to underserved groups. Officials say the initiative is designed to promote digital inclusion while advancing women’s economic participation. Initial collections from government offices yielded 30 computers, along with keyboards, printers, and other accessories. After repairs by technicians supported by students, a significant share of the equipment was restored to working order, including 22 central units and several functional screens and peripherals.

@TextorGla @PressTV His boss was the head negotiator. It is the deputy that was just shot.

@PressTV And the Russian head negotiator was shot in the back in Moscow -- Seems the MI6/SBU/EU/CIA/Mossad just can't behave like civilized people.

France, UK involved in assassination of Muammar Gaddafi's son: Reports presstv.ir/Detail/2026/02…

Greenlanders are trolling Trump by pretending to be fentanyl addicts - they don’t want US ‘culture’ in Greenland

@SkyNews So sad to see the end of The Press Review. A rare chance to hear the honest and informed views of journalists in manageable sound bites, free from editorial constraint. Podcasts are too rambling. For those with limited time Press Review was the best way to stay informed.

@SkyNews So sorry to see the end of The Press Review on Sky News. It is my favourite programme. The one programme that I watch every day. A rare opportunity to hear intelligent commentary from journalists free from editorial constraints.

@airks_johnathan @fasc1nate England, but not America. They hung onto their slaves for another 30 years and had to have a civil war first.

@fasc1nate Everyone has slaves. But England and America put a stop to it. Muslims have been selling African slaves for thousands of years. Today Muslim people still sell Africans. Google that.

The photo was taken on board a British ship. These children had just been rescued from being sold into slavery, 1868. More rare historical photos: bit.ly/44OpIzi

@RobertTolotta @rshereme And Britain did not hold elections in wartime until Hitler was defeated

@rshereme Appeasement never works. It was tried by Neville Chamberlain in 1938. Remember the result of that appeasement. Putin is no different than Hitler in his aims. He will follow Hitler' s example.

Russian officials are saying that Putin will not sign any agreement with President Zelenskyy because he is supposedly “illegitimate.” This didn’t come out of nowhere. It is the predictable outcome of months of appeasement — and I warned about this eight months ago. Back in February, reports emerged (including on Fox News) about a proposed three-step “peace plan”: 1.ceasefire, 2.elections in Ukraine, 3.a final agreement. From the very beginning, russia framed elections in Ukraine as a precondition for peace. That alone should have raised alarm bells. Why would the Kremlin push so hard for Ukrainian elections? It was never because russia expected to win them. There is zero chance Ukrainians would elect a pro-Kremlin president. The most likely outcomes would have been Zelenskyy or Zaluzhnyi — neither more “flexible,” neither acceptable to Moscow. The elections demand was always a Trojan Horse. Its purpose was twofold. First, to buy time. Elections during wartime are legally, logistically, and politically complex. Even initiating the process would slow everything down. Second — and more importantly — to create a built-in exit excuse. No matter how elections are conducted, russia could later declare them illegitimate and walk away from negotiations whenever it suited them. Ukrainian law explicitly bans elections under martial law. Lifting martial law without real security guarantees would be suicidal. Amending the law would take time and consensus. Either path creates vulnerability. And even if elections were forced through quickly, the problems would be obvious and unavoidable: •Millions of Ukrainians abroad would struggle to vote. •Soldiers at the front would face severe obstacles to participation. •Key political figures could be excluded due to sanctions or compressed timelines. •Any digital voting solution would immediately be attacked as “unverifiable.” •Organizational flaws would be inevitable under wartime conditions. Within weeks, both Moscow and certain voices in Washington would point to those flaws and declare the same verdict “Zelenskyy is illegitimate. The elections were flawed. Ukraine is a dictatorship.” And this time, unlike now, that accusation would partially stick. Today, Zelenskyy’s legitimacy is ironclad: •He was elected in free, democratic elections. •The constitution clearly prohibits elections during war. •Ukrainian society overwhelmingly understands and accepts this. Forcing elections would mean voluntarily stepping into a legitimacy trap — one designed in Moscow, and echoed by the US administration. Zelenskyy is not afraid of elections. But that personal courage is exactly what manipulators exploit — pushing him toward a politically suicidal move under the guise of “democracy.” Elections under fire are not democracy. They are a weapon — and right now, they are aimed directly at Ukraine’s legitimacy.

@maxschofield No! Too many clicks! as.ft.com/r/788a6597-8d7… The UK economy is not nearly as bad as you’ve been told

@Jonathan_K_Cook @DerbyChrisW Most people feeling unwell after a few drinks and sat down on a park bench do not ask passers-by for help. They quietly sit there hoping to feel better. It does not require them to be ill at exactly the same time. However alcohol does potentiate the effect of nerve agents.

Former UK ambassador Craig Murray runs through the many, many reasons why the official Skripals poisoning story cannot possibly be true.

@Jonathan_K_Cook @DerbyChrisW Very likely there was more than one perfume bottle and one was unused

@Jonathan_K_Cook @DerbyChrisW Why does Craig think Russian spies do not have plastic gloves??

@Jonathan_K_Cook @DerbyChrisW That Craig, who is not a spy and has no spycraft, cannot imagine how the poisoning was done is not a very convincing argument. He hasn’t even considered that it was likely at night under the cover of darkness.

@broseph_stalin I hope you understand that when India supposed had 27% of global GDP (sheer guesswork by Angus Maddison) it was actually producing less than it was 200 years later in the industrial age.

Hartley-Brewer: Why is colonialism bad? Me: “When Britain arrived in 1700s India had 27% of global GDP. After 200 years of theft and millions starved to death by 1947 India had 3% of global GDP, 90% living below the poverty line, a literacy rate of 17% and life expectancy of 27”

@RoyHistory1 What is your response to Utsa Patnaik’s claim that Britain stole nearly $45 trillion from India between 1765 and 1938? This from an essay in Agrarian and Other Histories: Essays for Binay Bhushan Chaudhuri (2019).

Next time you hear someone say Britain stole trillions of dollars from India, ask: How do you know? And then prescribe this book.

Can anyone measure colonial drain, the tribute the British Empire extracted from India? There is nothing wrong with the concept of drain (payment without return). But there is no credible measure. There are no numbers to show the drain was large, as some people claim.