Comment: Farcical mass arrests expose Labour’s failings over Palestine
Yvette Cooper has overseen a brittle form of authoritarianism which, far from preserving the status quo, is fracturing it.
The Home Secretary is now reduced to suggesting that there are things the public doesn’t know about the organisation, which only she does, in defence of the draconian policy.
"The fact is economics should serve #society and not the other way round. #People and not #markets should come first. Fairness, #sustainability and #democracy are the things that we should be prioritizing and we should be describing these as #economic#goals too and the consequences are very different economic model."
Moreover, if we look at the techniques of totalitarian government, it is obvious that the argument of “the lesser evil” — far from being raised only from the outside by those who do not belong to the ruling elite — is one of the mechanisms built into the machinery of terror and criminality. Acceptance of lesser evils is consciously used in conditioning the government officials as well
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) German-American philosopher, political theorist Essay (1964-08), “Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,” The Listener Magazine
Labour’s justification for arresting over 500 Palestine Action supporters is sparking accusations of authoritarian overreach. MPs, human rights advocates, and legal experts warn this crackdown risks undermining free speech and the right to protest in the UK.
With a judicial review ongoing, questions mount over whether the government’s use of terrorism laws has gone too far.
Read on to explore the growing controversy and what it means for democracy.
"A new psychological study has found that people who report favorable views of Donald Trump also tend to score higher on measures of callousness, manipulation, and other malevolent traits—and lower on empathy and compassion. The findings, based on two large surveys of U.S. adults, shed light on how personality traits relate to political beliefs, including support for Trump and conservative ideology."
"... As #authoritarianism intensifies in the U.S., we often hear calls to “save #democracy.” But one of the problems with that framing is that many people don’t feel they have a meaningful relationship with democracy.
"When asked by a reporter, 'Going forward, why should anyone trust the numbers?' Trump responded, 'You're right. Why should anyone trust numbers?' This highlights the danger that is posed when the President of the United States tells the American public not to trust numbers coming out of his own government. How can we trust this White House for any accurate information?"
Why is Trump not even more unpopular than he is, per polling, Noah Berlatsky asks? Part of the answer: a lot of Americans just don't pay attention and inform ourselves. And partisanship trumps everything else for many of us.
"The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all social media accounts to “public” for government review. The State Department also indicated that if applicants refuse to unlock their accounts or otherwise don’t maintain a social media presence, the government may interpret it as an attempt to evade the requirement or deliberately hide online activity.
The administration is penalizing prospective students and visitors for shielding their social media accounts from the general public or for choosing to not be active on social media. This is an outrageous violation of privacy, one that completely disregards the legitimate and often critical reasons why millions of people choose to lock down their social media profiles, share only limited information about themselves online, or not engage in …
"The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all social media accounts to “public” for government review. The State Department also indicated that if applicants refuse to unlock their accounts or otherwise don’t maintain a social media presence, the government may interpret it as an attempt to evade the requirement or deliberately hide online activity.
The administration is penalizing prospective students and visitors for shielding their social media accounts from the general public or for choosing to not be active on social media. This is an outrageous violation of privacy, one that completely disregards the legitimate and often critical reasons why millions of people choose to lock down their social media profiles, share only limited information about themselves online, or not engage in social media at all. By making students abandon basic privacy hygiene as the price of admission to American universities, the administration is forcing applicants to expose a wealth of personal information to not only the U.S. government, but to anyone with an internet connection."
New White House executive order: AI must agree on the administrations views on sex, race, can't mention what they deem to be critical race theory, unconscious bias, intersectionality, systemic racism or "transgenderism".
New laws in the Lone Star State will silence dissent and undermine #faculty authority.
By Laura Benitez and Jonathan Friedman July 14, 2025
"As thousands of students return to college campuses this fall, they will find themselves stepping into an environment reshaped by political and ideological mandates. Across the country, state legislators have been racing to exert new influence over free expression in higher education. Now, Texas has surged to the forefront, closing its 2025 legislative session by passing two alarming laws that take effect Sept. 1.
"Signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in June, the new laws amount to a stunningly aggressive legislative crackdown on campus protest (#SB2972) and academic shared governance (#SB37) at public colleges and universities. The laws will not just silence dissent and …
New laws in the Lone Star State will silence dissent and undermine #faculty authority.
By Laura Benitez and Jonathan Friedman July 14, 2025
"As thousands of students return to college campuses this fall, they will find themselves stepping into an environment reshaped by political and ideological mandates. Across the country, state legislators have been racing to exert new influence over free expression in higher education. Now, Texas has surged to the forefront, closing its 2025 legislative session by passing two alarming laws that take effect Sept. 1.
"Signed by Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in June, the new laws amount to a stunningly aggressive legislative crackdown on campus protest (#SB2972) and academic shared governance (#SB37) at public colleges and universities. The laws will not just silence dissent and undermine faculty authority in Texas; they provide a blueprint for how to dismantle academic freedom and chill speech on campus state by state.
"Only a few years ago, conservative lawmakers railed against college 'free-speech zones,' arguing that liberal administrators were muzzling students on the rest of campus. In 2019, Texas legislators joined other states in taking action by declaring all outdoor spaces on public campuses open for protest and speech by students, employees and the general public.
"Now, some of the same legislators have done an about-face. The campus protest law actually directs public colleges and universities to implement a version of free-speech zones and adopt sweeping limitations on protests. #Encampments? Banned. #Megaphones or #speakers during 'class hours'? Forbidden — if anyone claims your 'expressive activity' is one that 'intimidates others' or 'interferes' with an employee’s duties. Even wearing a mask during a protest — something many do for safety — could land a student or employee a disciplinary hearing resulting in 'sanctions.' And any expressive activity between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. is off-limits altogether."
