Ossermania

'Leading you down the garden path'

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

Thanks to @MartinChilton for the dubious honour of naming me the @Independent's nichest book of the holiday season! I too wish it weren't so expensive, but that's academic publishing 😓. Stay tuned for the paperback!

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@Prolapsarian @Liberty_Egality Re: the stability in international student visas - this might be the case for the sector as a whole but AFAIK top unis are hoovering up students who would previously have gone to mid/lower-tier places

[London Renters Union @LDNRentersUnion]

The truth is that you owe our members over £250,000 and haven't paid up. When will you give us back the money we deserve?

[Novara Media @novaramedia]

A group of London renters has won a six-figure sum from a billionaire landlord who left them living in unsafe conditions.

After a three-year legal battle, the 46 former tenants of 15 flats in east London were awarded £263,000 by a tribunal – but some fear “rogue landlord” John Christodoulou could try to dodge the penalty.

This may be the largest rent repayment order in UK history, but it isn’t the first for residents of Somerford Grove in Hackney. The group has been winning in court against Christodoulou since lockdown, yet three former tenants awarded £24,000 in 2022 say they still haven’t been paid.

During the court case, Christodoulou – a Monaco-based property magnate who is 70th on The Sunday Times Rich List – shut down the two companies he used to collect rent.

"This appears to be a deliberate attempt to evade financial responsibility through corporate restructuring," said Marc Sutton, a member of Somerford Grove Renters.

Jordan Osserman, a 36-year-old lecturer and spokesperson for the campaign, added: "This case shows how the law is rigged against renters. Christodoulou makes millions off our rent while flouting the law and cutting corners on safety. But even when we win in court, landlords like Christodoulou can game the system to avoid paying up. The only way we can fight back is by organising and taking collective action."

The group has been supported by the London Renters Union, which described the ruling as a “huge victory” but added that “the fight continues” until Christodoulou pays up.

[Emanuele Midolo @ManuMidolo]

Exclusive: A group of tenants have been awarded a record six-figure sum in rent repayments from one of Britain’s richest men. John Christodoulou, who is based in Monaco, has an estimated wealth of £2.5bn, but has failed to pay rent repayment orders before. https://t.co/8fmCg3pbPQ

[London Renters Union - Hackney Branch @hackneyLRU]

After agreeing to fight alongside Hackney renters, we are once more asking: "WHERE ARE YOU, SEM?"

Labour speak a big game but again and again renters see no change. We are left living in unsafe and dangerous housing while landlords face zero accountability.

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@owenjonesjourno @AyoCaesar @JayDot90 @thetwerkinggirl @Comediandana So sorry you've been dealing with this Owen and have had to go public about it all.

[Owen Jones @owenjonesjourno]

"Israel Has Weaponized Trauma. Should We Talk About It?"

A searing piece full of humanity, moral grace, moral clarity, by my brilliant friend @Ossermania.

https://t.co/Vx7H4YrNYL

[Public Seminar @PublicSeminar]

As genocide rages on, @Ossermania asks: "Who do we identify with as we watch? And what do our identities have to do with that deceptively simple word, solidarity?"

https://t.co/3MF4c6XvVN

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

Since writing this thread nearly a year ago I've grappled a lot with how to understand my relationship with Israel in the face of its genocidal behaviour. I've recently published an essay reflecting on this question with @PublicSeminar: https://t.co/39WawgEnZC

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

Since writing this thread nearly a year ago I've grappled a lot with how to understand my relationship with Israel in the face of its genocidal behaviour. I've recently published an essay reflecting on this question with @PublicSeminar: https://t.co/39WawgEnZC

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

I returned from a trip to visit family in Israel two weeks ago. On Saturday, I learned that my niece barely managed to escape that infamous rave alive, by hiding as dead. Two of her friends were not as lucky - they are currently hostage in Gaza.

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

It was a foolish decision for me to stay at that London rave after I received the phone call, struggling to process the news surrounded by blaring techno. But I don't think I deserve to die for it. Neither did they.

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@ProfEdwardPeck Shame you've denied future generations similar opportunities at NTU...

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@drrhianelinor @ucu @eyukhnem @GertjanLucas @gbuttars @UoNUCU Many branches are also not currently in dispute but are heading in that direction or receiving dire signals about potential redundancies - so I think it'd make sense to broaden this out

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@jaissance @BarnabyRaine I'm saying this BC I've had to defend free speech at work for (white) activists who I think also used daft language, and it drained a lot of momentum / support for Palestine organising

[Nicola Pratt @ncpratt]

Universities are not corporations. They are legally obligated to uphold freedom of expression and academic freedom of their staff and students. Shame on @UniversityLeeds

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@tamars I was once told by the ticket woman at the Acropolis "you don't want to go on that tour, it's all loud Israelis". I told her my mom was Israeli. Her co-worker burst out laughing. I tried to reassure her with "it's OK, I know they're all really loud and obnoxious"

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

Some important analysis and questions here raised about @DrJoGrady previous election promises.

[James Brackley @BrackleyJ]

My piece for UCU Rank & File raising some serious questions about General Secretary Jo Grady's salary & claimed donations to the fighting fund. We have put these questions to Jo Grady and will publish any response we get. Please read #UCU #GSelections

https://t.co/ulTWOxoYao

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[Ossermania @Ossermania]

Happy to discover an article I wrote, on 'Psychoanalysis and Trans', is now out in the Palgrave Handbook of Psychosocial Studies. Thanks to all the authors, activists and thinkers I learned from and sometimes disagreed with! Download here: https://t.co/FplAxwKoi4

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@LuGuangMing @SamMorecroft @ucu @zenscara Thanks for sharing. I'm not sure if you're implying this proves Vicky was breaking BDS to work with ST - of course, PACBI only just made this call. Personally I'm disappointed they did, and agreed with this thread by a pal citizen of Israel: https://t.co/Es60SaFF9q

[zز 🍒🇵🇸🇱🇧 @z_00pIz]

Dear Twitter revolutionaries,
Please don't forget that individuals are at different stages of their political journey; some have just started, others are midway, and a few are yet to start.

You can criticise "standing together"-and I have some of these criticisms too

[Ossermania @Ossermania]

@MichaelAbberton @JamesBSumner @PaulCinnam0n That's missing the point as @JamesBSumner clearly stated. UCUL wrote "HAS announced". That means they (rightly or wrongly) thought she already announced it. The Commons post suggests she chose to announce her campaign via UCUL. It's misleading and lacks integrity.