"Action, like a sacrament, is the visible form of an invisible spirit" (bell hooks) || journalist || campaigner || @amnesty || Easily distracte
stefan.simanowitz@amnesty.org
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205/. This was the protest outside #Palantir’s Soho HQ yesterday: one of 40+ demonstrations across the UK
@andyburnham must terminate their £330m NHS contract signed in 2023
If the goal is a population-wide genomic data grab, the UK will be Palantir’s Petri dish
#PalantirPlan
Still going strong in soho square - speaking to people, I think Tom Watson has really helped get people out tonight. Thanks Tom!
Kick Palantir out
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The five stages of #Trump election grief:
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Nuclear strike on Iran
(Image via @PrivateEyeNews)
#Midterms2026 #Midterms #Midterms26 #Elections2026 #ElectionDay #Elections2026 #Iran #DontNukeIran #DontAttackIran
46/. "The plan is INSANE! It would lead to a devastating escalation & the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law"
Senator @ChrisMurphyCT talking about plans to “restart the war” with Iran after being “briefed in detail”
This confirms what @mtgreenee said in Aug
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6/. Ex NATO supreme commander sets out possible #Iran attack plan
"Go after Iranian targets themselves" ("warships", "oil & gas platforms" & "Iranian military command-&-control sites")
"A significant cyberattack"
"Ramp up...our own proxies against Iran"
bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
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46/. "The plan is INSANE! It would lead to a devastating escalation & the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law"
Senator @ChrisMurphyCT talking about plans to “restart the war” with Iran after being “briefed in detail”
This confirms what @mtgreenee said in Aug
Trump is reportedly planning to restart war with Iran after the election.
Some of us have been briefed on the war plan. And while I cannot disclose any details, I can say this: the plan is insane. It will not achieve objectives and will set off a new cycle of escalation.
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47/. "We're afraid of a heavy American & Israeli attack against the Natanz region. We fear a semi-nuclear strike...I fear an American attack on the anniversary of the taking of American diplomats hostage on November 4, 1979, in Tehran"
Message relayed to @lemondefr journalist👇
Message d'inquiétude transmis depuis Téhéran par un contact régulier: "On a peur d'une attaque lourde américaine et israélienne contre la région de Natanz. On redoute une frappe seminucléaire, le risque est pris au sérieux par de nombreux Iraniens. L'Iran ripostera contre les bases américaines de la région, peut-être contre Diego Garcia et ailleurs. Pendant les récentes négociations au Qatar, l'Iran a demandé des garanties chinoises et russes pour éviter ce scénario. Mohsen Rezaï a parlé à Poutine, le vice-ministre des Affaires étrangères Bagheri-Kani est à Pékin. La diplomatie s'active. Le président de la République, Massoud Pezeskhian, a obtenu des pouvoirs supplémentaires du guide suprême. Je redoute une attaque américaine le jour de l'anniversaire de la prise d'otages des diplomates américains le 4 novembre 1979 à Téhéran".
#IranWar
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Stefan Simanowitz retweeted
BREAKING: Peaceful protestors are being arrested AGAIN.
The arrests of grandparents, teenagers and everyone in between for peacefully holding signs are a truly SHAMEFUL attack on our freedom of speech.
Peaceful protests are one of the best ways we have to make the government listen to us.
The Foreign Secretary has said that the government never meant to treat elderly people, vicars and grandmothers as criminals. Even the Home Secretary has said that some of these arrests make her uncomfortable.
IF YOU’RE OUTRAGED, MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD – add your name to the petition: amn.st/6013BHSZu3
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Stefan Simanowitz retweeted
👉🏿 I was born under a dictatorship and have spent a great deal of my adult life denouncing authoritarian regimes. I am deeply shocked to read the threatening statement issued by the @metpoliceuk . Threatening to arrest people for providing "logistical support" to peaceful demonstrators is the kind of threatening statement we are used to getting from the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship in Nicaragua. This is not what I expect from PM Andy Burnham’s Government. The UK is supposed to be a democracy, where freedom of speech is a pillar of society. Churchill’s words remind us that a true civilisation relies entirely on these liberties to maintain democratic accountability. Criminalising and proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation is a shameful authoritarian overreach.
Anyone planning to attend a demonstration in support of Palestine Action in the vicinity of the US Embassy on Saturday, 31 October will face arrest as part of a robust policing operation.
Expressing support for the group is an offence under the Terrorism Act following its proscription in June 2025, a decision upheld by the Court of Appeal in June 2026.
Read more: news.met.police.uk/news/met-…
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A decade ago, the scariest thing at #Halloween was the horror that Donald Trump might actually become president
Trick or #Trump. The scariest thing this #Halloween is the v real prospect that #DonaldTrump could win #USelection
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"The best way to honour Sir Patrick Stewart is to carry on the fight he believed in"
For many years he supported @Amnesty's campaign to stop violence against women
His honesty about the violence his mother suffered at home gave courage to many survivors
piped.video/watch?v=Xi_27bpI…
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Stefan Simanowitz retweeted
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund
alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources
alzfdn.org/donate/
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia
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#BREAKINGNEWS…literally!
This investigation into the fetid farter causing chaos in the European Council press room reminds me of the biggest story I ever broke about “the winds of change sweeping Malawi”👇
Well done to @politico’s @zoyashef for sniffing out this cracking story
1/. The biggest story I ever “broke” (coverage-wise) was a piece about Malawi’s plan to ban farting in public
I was researching an article about homophobia in Africa & stumbled on the story in the @NyasaTimess
I wrote it up for a tabloid & it went global
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Two great reviews in the Telegraph this week
“Even the dodgy dossier was better than this” - One-star review of Alaistair Campbell’s umpteenth book
“Without question, the most deranged book I’ve ever read” - Zero-star review of @trussliz’s new book
#IraqWarIn100Tweets👇
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"There should be no stage given to whitewash genocide"
@amnesty
Dutch withdrawal from Eurovision must spur European Broadcasting Union to suspend Israel
@charlottechurch @Hozier @macklemore @MassiveAttackUK @KNEECAPCEOL @fontainesdublin @ScreamOfficial
amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2…
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Stefan Simanowitz retweeted
The Netherlands pulls out of Eurovision 2027!
Dutch public broadcasting organization, NPO, has announced that they would not take part in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2027 due to the Israel’s continued participation.
Iceland, Spain, Ireland, and Slovenia have all pulled out, with the latter three refusing to broadcast the show at all.
The Dutch decision sends a clear message that there should be no stage provided to whitewash genocide, ethnic cleansing and apartheid against Palestinians. It also highlights the European Broadcasting Union’s cowardly refusal to suspend Israel from the competition due to its multiple and massive violations of international law.
Israel’s participation in Eurovision offers the country a platform to try to deflect attention from and normalize its ongoing genocide in the occupied Gaza strip and its accelerated annexation measures and ethnic cleansing in the occupied West Bank.
@amnesty calls on the European Broadcasting Union and its members and associates to suspend Israel from the Eurovision Song Contest. There should be no stage for whitewashing genocide.
aljazeera.com/news/2026/10/2…
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Are the populists becoming unpopular?
(Photo: Couple embrace against the backdrop of election victory celebrations in Nikola Pašić Square, Serbia, following the defeat of long-standing right-wing leader, Aleksandar Vučić. Credit to follow)
At a recent panel, the distinction btw "popularity" & "populism" was deliberately blurred
I asked if they knew they difference
Lee Cain & @DavidGauke side-stepped & @FT editor said it depended where you sat on the political fence
Wrong!
Populism isn’t a matter of perspective.
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“All copies of Gilbert & Sullivan’ operetta based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula had been believed to be destroyed after its single disastrous preview performance at the Savoy Theatre in 1898. However, a single surviving copy was recently found”
Coming to a fever dream near you⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Mitch Benn presents
Gilbert & Sullivan’s DRACULA
Lost for 120 years, restored, recreated and completely made up by MITCH BENN
STRICTLY LIMITED RUN - FOUR PERFORMANCES ONLY 24/25 October
tickettailor.com/events/circ…
#dracula #gilbertandsullivan #operetta #mitchbenn
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Always happy to oblige, Mango helped me recreate these famous polar bear photos
1. Polar bear taking a nap on an iceberg in Norway (by Nima Sarikhani)
2. Polar bear taking a nap in some crocuses (by Martin Gregus)
1/. My @X account was hacked in October & has just been restored
So what’s been happening in the interim
Sadly, in December Mango died
After a pericardial effusion the vet drained fluid from his heart
For 6 days he was almost back to his usual self (👇) but the fluid returned
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Stefan Simanowitz retweeted
No matter how you spin it, the #Iraq_war was criminal !
What is worse, no accountability whatsoever…
POSTSCRIPT;
“I still dream about it - deep down I wish it had never happened” Campbell tells @PiersUncensored
The families of a million Iraqis also dream about it & wish it happened, Alaistair
In 2011, Major Laurie said the dodgy dossier was drawn up "to make the case for war"
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1/. On 19 March, it’ll be 20 years since the start of the #IraqWar
50 days before war, #OTD in 2003, Bush said “the 16 words”
“The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa”
It was a lie, based on a forgery
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POSTSCRIPT:
“One of the people that wants to be on the board is Tony Blair. Good man. Very good man.”
(Donald Trump)
Blair has offered to lead the interim US-backed Gaza International Transitional Authority
#IraqWarIn100Tweets #Palestina #Israel #FGaza
James Melville 🚜
Tony Blair, the former British PM who helped lead the 2003 invasion of Iraq, has reportedly been tipped to govern Gaza as part of US President Donald Trump’s 21-point peace plan. Al Jazeera's @soraya_lennie has the details.
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POSTSCRIPT;
“I still dream about it - deep down I wish it had never happened” Campbell tells @PiersUncensored
The families of a million Iraqis also dream about it & wish it happened, Alaistair
In 2011, Major Laurie said the dodgy dossier was drawn up "to make the case for war"
To initiate a war of aggression is the supreme int’l crime
The Iraq war was neither in self-defense against an armed attack nor sanctioned by the UN
Over 1 million people died
Bush & Blair & their enablers should be in The Hague at a war crimes tribunal
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To initiate a war of aggression is the supreme int’l crime
The Iraq war was neither in self-defense against an armed attack nor sanctioned by the UN
Over 1 million people died
Bush & Blair & their enablers should be in The Hague at a war crimes tribunal
Piers Morgan Uncensored
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“In 2011 Major Laurie, a top military intelligence official has said the discredited dossier on Iraq's weapons programme was drawn up "to make the case for war", flatly contradicting claims to the contrary by the Blair government, and in particular by Alastair Campbell” @guardian
14/. In 2011, Maj Gen Laurie who was involved in producing the Sept Iraq dossier, admitted that “the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war, rather than setting out the available intelligence” & “to make the best out of sparse & inconclusive intelligence”
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