Michael Toomey🇮🇪🇺🇦🇵🇸
@michaeltoomey.bsky.social
Lecturer in International Relations at Glasgow University. Rugby/ex-MMA/Beer Enthusiast. BJJ 🟪⬛🟪. ADD. Opinions own, rt =/= endorsement.
Love O'Toole's writing: "The SpaceX IPO marked the definitive launch of a new form of capitalism, based entirely on storytelling. Capitalism has always relied on belief...But this new form is based, not on belief, but on the suspension of disbelief." tinyurl.com/yhksdjnn
Fintan O'Toole: Elon Musk conjures up a fantasy for Wall Street and a nightmare for Belfast
Dazzled SpaceX investors and frenzied brick-throwing boys in Belfast are all swallowing his dark fantasies
irishtimes.com
I love this piece. Marina Hyde is my spirit animal. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Masked thugs, sneering elites and terrified citizens: a picture of the US today. We used to have a name for this | Marina Hyde
Truly, I am the country’s biggest fan. But in the spirit of free speech its leaders apparently love, here’s a few things the rest of the world needs them to know, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde
theguardian.com
Reading this, my mind is brought back to a scholar I met at ISA 2025 who ruefully explained his vote for Trump in 2024 because the US "...just HAD to get rid of Biden" To which I should have asked, how did you think the #January6th guy would be an improvement? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Donald Trump links threats to seize Greenland to Nobel prize snub in letter
US president says he no longer feels the need to think ‘purely of peace’ in letter to Norwegian prime minister
theguardian.com
Very smart government we have, very credible and serious. Burn political capital at European level for a meaningless gesture and potentially a short-lived polling bump. www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
Ireland will vote against Mercosur trade deal, Taoiseach and Tánaiste confirm
Simon Harris said the government’s position stands: ‘We will vote against the agreement’
irishtimes.com
"What the world is witnessing is not a "rules-based" order, but colonial pillaging. Upholding sovereignty, equality and noninterference is not optional. It is the foundation of global stability — and it must be defended." tinyurl.com/4r6tjah7
US invasion act of imperialist aggression: China Daily editorial
chinadaily.com.cn
This is literally being done just so Muskrat can claim to be the world’s first trillionaire. No financial or business sense, just pure ego. Disgusting. www.irishtimes.com/business/202...
Tesla deal to make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire
World’s richest person could receive the largest corporate payout in history if he meets required goals
irishtimes.com
Same thing goes for the nameless US elites, shit or get off the pot you absolute cowards. 7 million people are marching in the street and risking being murdered by ICE in the streets to prevent deportations. You are worried about your stock portfolio. Grow a pair.
James Meek@jamesmeek.bsky.social · 10mo agoEd Luce watching democracy die in the United States of America
Shit or get off the pot time, Tories. Either disavow her plan for ethnic cleansing publicly and vote to kick her out of the party, or resign your position. You gutless cowards. Conservatives complain to whips about fellow MP’s comments on legally settled people www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Conservatives complain to whips about fellow MP’s comments on legally settled people
Exclusive: Criticism of Katie Lam comes amid widespread confusion in the party over its policy on indefinite leave to remain
theguardian.com
I remain convinced that the Conservative Party is more akin to an ant infected with cordyceps than a functioning political party. Its legs are moving and it’s capable of travelling from point a to point b, but its mind has been eaten by Farage and it’s a slowly dying husk.
Rob Ford@robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10mo agoA policy this expansive would certainly mean mass stripping of permanent residence status from people with ILR (including pensioners and parents of British children) on a scale far beyond anything any democracy has ever done before. There is no public support for such an extreme policy.
there is a new scandal as bad or worse than what got trump impeached the first time about every 48 hours
A good piece summarising Starmer’s continued hypocrisy and absurdity regarding the genocide in Gaza
Metaphor Man@metaphorman.bsky.social · 10mo agoWhy would Starmer overturn a decision to avert real danger of violence from foreign fans directed at UK citizens? Why's the right of Israeli fans to attend a football match placed above safety of the UK public? Why are the sensitivities of a group of hooligans trumping good race relations in UK?
Lammy and Labour disgracing themselves again (as per usual). But there needs to be more noise from @uofglasgow.bsky.social as well- use your institutional power to demand Manar and her family be allowed come to Glasgow www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Gaza PhD student ‘heartbroken’ as family blocked from entering the UK
Manar al-Houbi’s husband and children refused entry despite her winning a scholarship to cover tuition fees, living costs and housing for them all
theguardian.com
Now out in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. In our new article, @denis-cohen.bsky.social @thmskrr.bsky.social and I show that where local rent prices increase more, residents with lower incomes become more likely to support the radical right AfD. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Horrific: Doctors Without Borders is suspending medical work in Gaza City due to Israel's violence, including airstrikes & tanks less than 1KM from their facilities. Comes same day Netanyahu used his UN speech to scold dozens of nations for accusing him of committing war crimes.
My one question about this ludicrous nonsense is, who is the supposed shooter, and what *ACTUALLY* happened to him. Very convenient that he "took his own life".
Max P III@blackballer.bsky.social · 11mo agoNot "Fuck ICE" or "Death to ICE", you know something that makes sense, but "Anti ICE" lol. The FBI is really bad at this, but maybe it doesn't even matter anymore.
Yes. This. 1000x this. The best thing the UK (and Ireland) could do to improve its politics would be to start tuning out this American culture war nonsense which has absolutely no relevance to or bearing on our society whatsoever.
Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · 11mo agoWhy are the American president's claims about autism the first item on British news bulletins? He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions. So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?
