Producer @BBCWorldService radio's Newshour. Background / interest in science, politics & law esp. international / human rights. I prefer Bluesky!
Tunbridge Wells, England, UK
Joined May 2008
- Tweets32.6K
- Following6.4K
- Followers1.9K
- Likes44.1K
Lucy Bailey retweeted
France, Education, Thomas Piketty ecrit:
“des centaines de milliers de jeunes ont travaillé dur pour obtenir leur baccalauréat, mais que rien n’a été prévu pour les accueillir dans le supérieur. En particulier, le nombre de bacheliers technologiques et professionnels a fortement progressé, mais les places en IUT et BTS n’ont pas suivi, si bien que beaucoup se retrouvent affectés dans des filières universitaires surpeuplées et moins coûteuses, et souvent totalement inadaptées à leurs besoins et aspirations. Le gâchis humain et économique est gigantesque,…”
Pas d’argent pour l’Education?
“le pouvoir en place et ses soutiens expliquent que la France n’a pas les moyens d’investir davantage. Ils commettent une double erreur de raisonnement. La dette publique est certes passée de 20 % du PIB en 1970 à 120 % aujourd’hui. Mais dans le même temps, les patrimoines privés ont augmenté beaucoup plus fortement : ils sont passés de 300 % à 600 % du PIB, avec une concentration extrême au sein des plus grandes fortunes financières. Autrement dit, le patrimoine national de la France – somme du patrimoine privé et public, après déduction des dettes privées et publiques – n’a jamais été aussi élevé, non seulement en montant absolu, mais aussi en pourcentage du PIB (qui lui-même n’a jamais été aussi élevé).”
“Autrement dit, la France n’a jamais été aussi riche : le problème que nous avons à régler est uniquement une question de répartition…”
C’est pourquoi @Amnesty considere que les impots equitables constituent un enjeu de protection des droits humains. C’est pourquoi nous plaidons pour l’adoption d’une Convention sur la coopération internationale en matière fiscale.
lemonde.fr/la-chronique-de-t…
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Our dispatch from the biggest city you've never heard of w/ @jacob_judah
Africa’s explosive growth in cities ft.com/content/5203e527-ebdd… via @ft
Lucy Bailey retweeted
I’m sorry to say the BBC is committing multiple acts of self-harm. Current senior management do not seem to understand that in the changing media landscape the BBC should still be providing content the commercial sector is unwilling or unable to invest in.
Sorry to inform you that @BBCFreeThinking (and Thinking Allowed) have been cancelled as part of cost-saving measures. Last show will go out in April. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmly…
Lucy Bailey retweeted
“There's enough blame to go around, but nobody can sustainably win this war. And it's time to have a deep discussion about what a path forward might look like. All wars end in negotiations.”
@CrisisGroup @mutigam w/@atwoodr on #Ethiopia's war of choice.
crisisgroup.org/pod/africa/e…
Lucy Bailey retweeted
War has returned to northern Ethiopia, thanks to elites who did not have the courage to give peace a chance.
My analysis here in this new @CrisisGroup podcast. crisisgroup.org/pod/africa/e…
Lucy Bailey retweeted
🚨Breaking. There's been a pneumonic plague outbreak at a BSL-3 lab in Siberia, Russia.🚨
"Nearly 200 People Under Observation After Irkutsk Lab Worker Dies From Plague" - Moscow Times
This is fact, and also the inciting incident in my book BIOLOGICAL WAR: A SCENARIO, which is unnerving.
Will post more as I learn more, including from Russian speaking sources🧵
shorturl.at/De4kW
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
Lucy Bailey retweeted
DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel yesterday issued an opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act unconstitutional. It deserves careful study. But an opinion that calls on-point #SCOTUS precedent about a predecessor statute "wrong" is bound to raise eyebrows. 1/2
🔥HOT off the presses: @TheJusticeDept OLC opinion assesses the constitutionality of the Presidential Records Act. OLC finds Congress exceeded its Constitutional authority & violated Separation of Powers by enacting that law. Nixon v. Administrator does not save it either. Wow!
Dear @elonmusk do you have any comment on Quinn Slobodian and Ben Tarnoff's new book all about you, 'Muskism; A Guide for the Perplexed'? We have just recorded an interview with Slobodian and would welcome your opinion! I am [email protected]
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Breaking: Nurul Shah Alam — a Rohingya refugee abandoned by Border Patrol last week — has been confirmed dead by Buffalo police.
Nearly blind, he'd been left at a coffee shop Thurs. evening by agents agents 5 miles from his home. He'd been missing since.
investigativepost.org/2026/0…
Lucy Bailey retweeted
The U.S. military buildup has doubled in less than 8 hours since I published my last update.
• 12× F-22 Raptor stealth fighter jets are now en route for deployment. Six have already arrived at RAF Lakenheath, and the remaining six are expected to arrive there shortly before continuing on to the Middle East—likely Al Udeid Air Base, which has hosted F-22 deployments in the past.
• 36× F-16 fighter jets are also on the move and are expected to deploy to the Middle East in the coming hours.
• Two more E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft are preparing to depart for Ramstein Air Base, where they will join two others that arrived earlier today at RAF Mildenhall (SHUCK84, SHUCK85, SHUCK86, SHUCK87).
• 1× E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft with the tail numbers 22-9046 is scheduled to arrive at Ramstein Air Base in Germany before heading to the Middle East. There are already 3× BACNs deployed at Prince Sultan AB.
• Finally, a U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft departed RAF Fairford in the U.K. and was reportedly heading toward the Middle East. It may be deployed to Cyprus or Prince Sultan Air Base.
It’s worth noting that the U-2 plays a key role as a communications bridge between the F-22 and F-35.
Latest Update: U.S. Military Buildup in the Middle East — Military Action Appears Imminent if Talks Fail
U.S. Air Force
• At least 30 F-35A Lightning II fighter jets are now stationed at Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan.
• The number of F-15E Strike Eagles at the same base has decreased to 24, as several have been replaced by F-35As.
• 6× EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft have also been deployed to Muwaffaq al-Salti.
• Between 8 and 12 A-10 Thunderbolt II attack aircraft are currently operating from Muwaffaq al-Salti AB.
• 2× USAF E-3C/B Sentry AWACS aircraft have been deployed to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom. They are likely preparing for redeployment to the Middle East, possibly to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia or Chania.
• 3× USAF E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft are currently deployed at Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.
• At least a dozen USAF F-16 fighter jets are also operating from Prince Sultan Air Base and possibly Dhafra AB in the UAE.
• Up to 22 aerial refueling aircraft (KC-135 Stratotankers and KC-46 Pegasus tankers) are now deployed in or near the theater, primarily from Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar), Chania, and Diego Garcia.
• 1× RC-135 Rivet Joint signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft has repositioned from Al Udeid Air Base to Chania after conducting several days of intelligence-gathering operations near Iran with its transponder turned off.
• 1× WC-135R Constant Phoenix, known as the “nuke sniffer,” remains deployed to RAF Mildenhall in the UK. The aircraft is designed to detect radioactive particles and atmospheric debris to monitor nuclear activity.
• +160 C-17 Globemaster III transport flights, 18 C-5M Super Galaxy heavy-lift flights, and numerous C-130J/H Hercules flights have delivered troops and equipment into the region.
Air Defense Deployments
• According to @TheIntelFrog assessments, roughly 99 of the C-17 and C-5M airlift flights are confirmed to have transported U.S. air defense systems to the Middle East.
• These deployments are likely focused on protecting key U.S. installations in the region, including:
• Al Udeid Air Base (Qatar)
• Prince Sultan Air Base (Saudi Arabia)
• Ali Al Salem Air Base (Kuwait)
• Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base (Jordan)
U.S. Navy
• The U.S. is deploying a second carrier strike group to the region. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group, which includes the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and three Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, has left the Caribbean and is en route to the Middle East. It is expected to arrive within ~10 days.
• The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group, including the aircraft carrier and three Arleigh Burke–class destroyers, continues to operate in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman.
• 2× Arleigh Burke–class destroyers are positioned in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf.
• Another Arleigh Burke–class destroyer is operating in either the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aqaba, while an additional destroyer remains in the Mediterranean to support Israel and provide air and missile defense coverage.
• USS Georgia, an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine capable of carrying more than 150 Tomahawk cruise missiles, is believed to be operating somewhere in the region, possibly in the Mediterranean Sea.
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Notable message from President Zelensky. The USA is clearly putting pressure on Ukraine to hand over more of its land to dictatorial Russia.
Good to see the Ukrainian pushback--but the USA should hang its head in shame.
This is a big mistake to allow the aggressor to take something. It was a big mistake at the very beginning, starting with 2014. And even before that, during the attack and occupation of parts of Georgia. And even before that, when Chechnya was occupied, with total destruction and one million casualties – both killed and wounded.
Many mistakes were made. That's why now I don't want to be the President who will repeat the mistakes made by my predecessors or other people. I'm not just speaking about Ukraine. I'm speaking about the leaders of different countries that allowed an aggressive country like Russia to come onto their territory.
Because you can't stop Putin with your kisses or flowers. I never did it and that's why I don’t feel that it's the right way. My advice to everybody – don’t do that with Putin.
Otherwise, there will be a first step, then in five years, he will rebuild his military, increase the number of soldiers, his army will be well trained. Because he has lost a lot of well-trained people. He is losing 30–35 thousand people per month now.
Can you imagine this in the 21st century? Can you imagine – he’s losing 35,000 each month? I'm not sure that he knows about it.
Lucy Bailey retweeted
I spoke the the BBC about #Gambia’s case against #Myanmar at the ICJ for the #Rohingya #genocide . At a time when the US & Russia flount intl law @Gambia_MOJ invokes it to protect a persecuted group faraway.
Lucy Bailey retweeted
There is a common assessment, especially in Israel, that the #GULF states would welcome the fall of the Iranian regime.
This may indeed reflect their desired vision, but in practice the picture is far more complex.
These states - #KSA #OMAN #QATAR and #UAE fear that any broad campaign against Iran would exact a heavy price from them, whether through a direct Iranian response or via its regional proxies.
Moreover, the collapse of the regime in Tehran could create a power vacuum into which far more extreme and dangerous actors might enter.
Therefore, it is likely that the Gulf states would prefer to see a weakened and constrained Iranian regime, but when weighing costs against benefits, it is obvious that a complete collapse of the regime is not viewed by them as a positive scenario.
This is why some of them are working very hard behind the scenes to prevent escalation while making sure that the regime in Iranknows that they won't participate in any attack on Iran.
Saudis, Qatar and Oman are pressing Trump to avoid strike in Iran, warning that attempt to topple Iranian regime will disrupt oil prices.
via @WSJ
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Roman society showed a surprisingly deep emotional bond between people and their dogs. Beyond their practical roles as guards, hunters, or herders, dogs were often treated as companions within the household. Roman writers mention them by name, praise their loyalty, and describe daily life shared with them, revealing affection that went well beyond utility.
Archaeological evidence supports this sentiment. Dogs were sometimes buried carefully, even individually, and a number of surviving epitaphs express genuine grief. The language used in these inscriptions mirrors that found on human graves, emphasizing years spent together, faithfulness, and sorrow at separation. Such texts reflect Roman values of pietas and emotional attachment extending beyond human relationships.
These practices show that care for animals was woven into Roman cultural and domestic life. Honoring dogs in death was a way of acknowledging companionship, loyalty, and shared memory. It reminds us that the emotional lives of Romans were complex and intimate, and that their love for animals was not so different from our own.
#archaeohistories
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Ed Davey, Leader of the Lib Dems, comes to Tunbridge Wells to see for himself the scale of the problem before raising it with the Prime Minister
Lucy Bailey retweeted
NEW: Downing Street has said @sewateruk should be "straining every sinew" to restore water to the residents of Tunbridge Wells as the outage continues into its fourth day. Cc @ThreshedThought
Here's what PM's Official Spokesman said today:
Lucy Bailey retweeted
Lib Dem leader @EdwardJDavey says that the four day water outage in Tunbridge Wells "has become an emergency", and that if necessary the Government should send in the army to help on the ground.
Lucy Bailey retweeted
I am calling on David Hinton, the CEO of South East Water, to resign.
24,000 properties have endured three days of South East Water’s chaotic emergency response and woeful communication. It’s an utter disgrace and a total failure of leadership by David Hinton.
Every announcement by the company over the last few days telling customers when water supplies would be restored has been wrong. We’ve had endless announcements each giving a different time for water supplies returning.
Initially residents in Tunbridge Wells were told to collect bottled water from another town. Then bottled water stations were only set up in central Tunbridge Wells on my instigation.
This incident has caused chaos, anger and anxiety for people. Primary and secondary schools are closed. GP surgeries and civil buildings are closed. Businesses have been unable to trade on one of the busiest trading days of the year.
Restaurants and hotels have lost thousands of pounds. Care homes and vulnerable people have been left without water for hours, with many contacting me personally to get bottled water delivered to them because South East Water’s phone lines were too busy. Roads have been gridlocked for hours as people queued to access water distribution sites.
When I was elected last year, David Hinton gave personal and public assurances that the lessons of previous water outages in Tunbridge Wells had been learnt. In 2022, water was cut off for 6 days over Christmas; we’ve been here before and he vowed to fix things so it couldn’t happen again. We now know that is not true. From the failure to provide sufficient resilience in the local network, to the terrible communications with the community, to putting in place any emergency response plan – the CEO hasn’t kept his promises to the people of Tunbridge Wells.
David Hinton must resign, and if he had any integrity he would do so immediately.