Phil Tinline
Phil Tinline
@philtinline.bsky.social
Author, THE DEATH OF CONSENSUS (The Times Politics Book of 2022) GHOSTS OF IRON MOUNTAIN ("riveting" - New Yorker) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1035903857 POWER FAILURE (Future Governance Forum) Last on Radio 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0030m1n
3.1K followers1.1K following4.9K posts
Phil Tinline reposted
Big day today for ending centuries of secrecy about who owns our land! A new government consultation will propose revealing who owns the vast majority of England and Wales. To get this over the line, I’ll need your help to send in supportive evidence! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Business leaders have been making this tedious schoolboy category mistake on and off for over a century. This guy should read up on John Davies. Or if he can't be bothered, he could just take a glance across the Atlantic.
Politicians should look at the UK economy as a CEO would, says Lloyds Bank CEO From a bank that hasn't investigated HBOS frauds. No thank you. Companies enrich shareholders. Countries have entirely different purpose, governance, accountability. Must not be treated as corporations. archive.ph/lj45s
Phil Tinline reposted
In Brazil, Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes issues an order: Flávio Bolsonaro, who just lost the presidential election to the incumbent Lula, stands charged with money laundering. He must surrender his passports and may not leave the country as the case is prepared for trial.
Wasn't this the newspaper which spiked a cartoon of its owner genuflecting before King Donald? www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Phil Tinline reposted
Replying to @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social
The competence of the authoritarian side isn't usually analzyed because the paradigmatic cases feature talented political minds — Orban, Chavez, Modi, Netanyahu, and (early) Erdogan. The US case is exceptional. Trump is a savant at controlling the GOP but a total policy idiot.
Phil Tinline reposted
I agree with this in broad strokes, but the underlying connective tissue here is more of a character problem: this administration is simply bad at authoritarianism. Their policy judgment and execution has been ham-handed and incompetent because *they* are ham-handed and incompetent
Three moments broke Trump 2.0: 1) Kimmel and other attempted censorship after Charlie Kirk. Made public see the attack on speech. 2) Minnesota anti-ICE protests, Goode and Pretti killings. Made public see the attack on rights. 3) Iran war. Made public see bad foreign policy affects them directly.
Important to remember, when this nightmare is over and America is rebuilding a functioning democracy, exactly who had the power to resist, but chose narrow self-interest. And to prioritise their claims for preference accordingly.
From that moment on their strength was BROKEN. They had plowed through the courts, the corporations, the institutions, the law firms, the universities, until they met a thin line of teachers and nurses and social workers in a frozen street in January. And against all odds, found it was unbreakable.
Given Meta's alleged interference, it's quite cute they used WhatsApp.
“At a moment when many doubted Lula could reverse the result, a WhatsApp channel called Lula's Army emerged, and rapidly grew to 10.8 million followers. Led by Congressman André Janones, the operation encouraged supporters to share videos, promote hashtags and recruit new voters.” 1/
Or in some cases, order them *not* to do said little projects
stockpiling has convinced me that the government could solve the 'crisis of masculinity' and defeat populism forever by assigning men more little projects (perhaps related to climate resilience?) that it would describe as 'critical to national security'
Is he seriously relying on the claim that Ukraine hitting Russian botfarms caused a massive reduction in social media criticism of Flock? I thought that whole claim was discredited.
In comments at a private police conference, Flock CEO Garrett Langley said backlash to the company wasn't "real" and the work of "bots." Also he said his wife advised him to never apologize. Read now: www.404media.co/in-leaked-au...
Does he genuinely think that who is in government in the US has no effect on the rest of the world? Would be entertained to see this argument set out in detail, perhaps using interpretative dance
I just think Matt's wrong about this. We're at a point in our technological development where a ton of problems spill over national borders--if Flavio Bolsonaro burns down the Amazon, that will flood houses in Miami.
The Great Free Speech Absolutist
Elon Musk uses ties with other tech bro media monopolists and raw cash payments to successfully suppress distribution of Alex Gibney's explosive documentary "Musk." After TikTok Suspended Its Account for Two Days, the Elon Musk Documentary is Almost Gone From Theaters, and Musk
Wow. "Lula, 80, had said the election was a matter of "sovereignty" and people faced a choice between someone who kissed the Brazilian flag and someone who kissed the American flag." Zelenskyy---Carney---Lula www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...
Phil Tinline reposted
Very glad to hear that Elon Musk is a stickler for details on contractor – government relationships. Could come in handy later.
Musk said he restricted Starlink in Ukraine- causing fast moving drones to lose connectivity - and that he had every right to do so because of some terms of service or contract that he didn't show us. (He didn't address suddenly doing this with no warning to Kyiv.) www.cnbc.com/2026/10/24/u...
Next time any lobbyist for a tech company starts whining that regulating them is a violation of free speech:
The Writers Guild on Musk blocking releasee of the documentary "Musk": "A small handful of billionaires now own virtually every major media company, news outlet, and social media platform and are demonstrating how this unchecked concentration over our news and media threatens democratic discourse."
Phil Tinline reposted
FATHERLAND is an austere, compelling trip thru the ruined Germany of 1949. The real ruins are long gone. But in the late 40s, Hollywood directors like Billy Wilder went & shot major movies in them. Why? My latest @foreignpolicy.com h/t @beijingpalmer.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/23/f...
Surely she doesn't feel *that* guilty www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Phil Tinline reposted
some of the hysteria here seems to ignore the fact that this is *optional*? if it looks like it will damage local tourism, mayors can just... not do it! they can change their minds!
Legislation will be tabled in weeks to allow overnight visitor levies, despite fierce opposition from the hospitality sector and some local councils
Phil Tinline reposted
FFS, now I have a load more films to watch… Excellent article.
FATHERLAND is an austere, compelling trip thru the ruined Germany of 1949. The real ruins are long gone. But in the late 40s, Hollywood directors like Billy Wilder went & shot major movies in them. Why? My latest @foreignpolicy.com h/t @beijingpalmer.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/23/f...
Looking forward to the thoughts of these men on why the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a democracy.
One of the finest examples of Populism's fast-thinking simplism. 'I've seen an answer to this and it instantly hits an "instinctively right" button (as long as I don't think about it too hard). And it owns the libs. So I'm now going to use it myself.' Now multiply that. The echo chamber effect.
FATHERLAND is an austere, compelling trip thru the ruined Germany of 1949. The real ruins are long gone. But in the late 40s, Hollywood directors like Billy Wilder went & shot major movies in them. Why? My latest @foreignpolicy.com h/t @beijingpalmer.bsky.social foreignpolicy.com/2026/10/23/f...
The face, voice and coping strategies of abusers through the ages. This individual should never have been allowed anywhere near power of any kind. But, looking forward to British columnists explaining why they're too sophisticated to have a problem with this.
😳 WOMAN REPORTER: Do sexual abuse allegations mean nothing to you, sir? TRUMP: Wait. Wait! Wait wait wait. Slow down. Who are you with? REPORTER: NBC, sir. But they are very serious sex abuse allegations TRUMP: Quiet! Isn't she a fresh person? You're a horrible little reporter, aren't you?
'Performing' is the word. The SPE isn't exactly a byword in reliable research. But it told a story people wanted to hear. (Also not sure how newsworthy this is. The BBC did a TV spin on this years ago, albeit w. important differences: www.bbcprisonstudy.org) www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/1...
We regret to inform you we broke the world.
"Ordinarily, moving historical items within the building is a deliberate process overseen by curators. Hegseth’s staff dispatched its own team to relocate an Eisenhower globe. They dropped it...The resulting gash appears to be several inches wide." wapo.st/3WF2YQo
Phil Tinline reposted
The sitcom showcases creator Leo Reich's generational talent
"Why do the racists insist on joining our party?" weeps Reform UK, as Reform UK hosts a noted racist
Reform UK Oxford will host a talk in November criticising "DEI" by the Nathan Cofnas, who describes his belief in + commitment to biological racism as "race realism", writing "in a meritocracy, blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment”.
The moral sewage just keeps on coming
Russia invaded our home, stole my house, killed my friends, personally sentencing me to death. They abduct Ukrainian children, bomb UN convoys, destroy hospitals, schools and churches, and are now using civilians as human shields in Oleshky. “Humanitarian” wouldn’t be the word I would use.
Phil Tinline reposted
Phil Tinline reposted