James Attlee

Words: 'Under the Rainbow', 'Isolarion', 'Nocturne', ‘Guernica' etc. Agent Catherine Clarke @FelicityBryan

[Nostos @NostosLit]

― Fyodor Dostoevsky

[James Attlee @JamesAttlee]

Israel has just passed a law to introduce the death penalty exclusively against Palestinians, whether they are Israeli citizens, from Gaza or the occupied West Bank. Demand the British government takes action by calling for sanctions now! https://t.co/yZqapPSsvG

[Peter Girnus 🦅 @gothburz]

I am a diplomatic aide in the Sultanate of Oman's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

My job is logistics. When two countries that cannot speak to each other need to speak to each other, I book the rooms. I prepare the briefing materials. I make sure the water glasses are the right distance apart. You would be surprised how much of diplomacy is water glasses. Too close and it feels informal. Too far and it feels like a tribunal. I have a chart.

We had a very good month.

Since January, Oman has been mediating indirect talks between the United States and Iran on Iran's nuclear program. The talks were held in Muscat and in Geneva. The Americans would sit in one room. The Iranians would sit in another room. I would walk between them. My Fitbit says I averaged fourteen thousand steps on negotiation days. The hallway between the two rooms at the Royal Opera House conference center is forty-seven meters. I walked it two hundred and twelve times in February. This is good for my cardiovascular health. It was less good for my knees. Both are in the service of peace.

By mid-February, we had something.

Iran agreed to zero stockpiling of enriched uranium. Not reduced stockpiling. Zero. They agreed to down-blend existing stockpiles to the lowest possible level. They agreed to convert them into irreversible fuel. They agreed to full IAEA verification with potential US inspector access. They agreed, in the Foreign Minister's phrase, to "never, ever" possess nuclear material for a bomb. I have worked in diplomacy for seven years. I have never seen a country agree to this many things this quickly. I made a spreadsheet of the concessions. It had fourteen rows. I color-coded it. Green for confirmed. Yellow for pending. By February 21 the spreadsheet was entirely green. I printed it. It is on my desk in Muscat. It is still green.

That phrase took eleven days. "Never, ever." The Iranians initially offered "not seek to." The Americans wanted "will not under any circumstances." We landed on "never, ever" at 2:14 AM on a Tuesday in Muscat. I typed the final version myself. I used Times New Roman because Geneva prefers it. The document was fourteen pages. I was proud of every comma.

Here is what they said, in the order they said it.

February 24: "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity." — The Foreign Minister, private briefing to Gulf Cooperation Council ambassadors. I prepared the slide deck. Slide 14 was the implementation timeline. Slide 15 was the signing ceremony logistics. I had reserved the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Room XX. It seats four hundred. We discussed pen brands for the signing. The Iranians preferred Montblanc. The Americans had no preference. I ordered twelve Montblanc Meisterstucks at six hundred and thirty dollars each. They arrive on Tuesday.

February 27, 8:30 AM EST: "The deal is within our reach." — The Foreign Minister, CBS Face the Nation. He sat across from Margaret Brennan. He said broad political terms could be agreed "tomorrow" with ninety days for technical implementation in Vienna. He said, and I wrote this line for the briefing card he carried in his breast pocket: "If we just allow diplomacy the space it needs." He praised the American envoys by name. Steve Witkoff. Jared Kushner. He said both had been constructive.

I watched from the Four Seasons Georgetown. The minibar had cashews. I ate the cashews. They were nineteen dollars. The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten. But it was a good morning and we were within our reach.

February 27, 2:00 PM EST: Meeting with Vice President Vance, Washington. The Foreign Minister presented our progress. Zero stockpiling. Full verification. Irreversible conversion. "Never, ever." The Vice President used the word "encouraging." His aide took notes on an iPad. The aide did not make eye contact for the last nine minutes of the meeting. I noticed this. Noticing things is the only part of my job that is not water glasses.

February 27, 4:00 PM EST: "Not happy with the pace." — President Trump, to reporters.

Not happy with the pace.

We had achieved zero stockpiling. Full IAEA verification. Irreversible fuel conversion. Inspector access. And the phrase "never, ever," which took eleven days and cost me two hundred and twelve trips down a forty-seven-meter hallway.

Every American president since Carter has failed to get Iran to agree to this. Forty-five years.

Not happy with the pace.

February 27, 9:47 PM EST: The Foreign Minister's flight departs Dulles for Muscat. I am in the seat behind him. He is reviewing Slide 14 on his laptop. The implementation timeline. Vienna technical sessions. The signing ceremony. The pens.

I fall asleep over the Atlantic. I dream about water glasses.

February 28, 6:00 AM GST: I wake up to push notifications.

February 28: "The United States has begun major combat operations in Iran." — President Trump.

Operation Epic Fury. Coordinated airstrikes. The United States and Israel. Tehran. Isfahan. Qom. Karaj. Kermanshah. Nuclear facilities. IRGC bases. Sites near the Supreme Leader's office. Israel called their half Operation Roaring Lion. Someone in both governments spent time choosing these names. Epic Fury. Roaring Lion. I spent eleven days on "never, ever." They spent it on branding. The President said Iran had "rejected American calls to halt its nuclear weapons production."

Rejected.

Iran had agreed to zero stockpiling. Iran had agreed to full verification. Iran had agreed to "never, ever." Iran had agreed to everything in a fourteen-page document that I typed in Times New Roman.

The President said they rejected it.

I do not know which document the President was reading. I know which one I typed.

February 28, 18:45 UTC: Iran internet connectivity: four percent. — NetBlocks, confirmed by Cloudflare. Ninety-six percent of a country went dark. You cannot negotiate with a country at four percent connectivity. You cannot negotiate with a country that is being struck. You cannot negotiate. This is not a political opinion. This is a logistics assessment.

February 28: The governor of Minab reported forty girls killed at an elementary school.

I do not have logistics for that. There is no slide for that. The water glass chart does not cover that.

February 28: Lockheed Martin: up. Northrop Grumman: up. RTX: up. Dow futures: down six hundred and twenty-two points. Gold: five thousand two hundred and ninety-six dollars. An analyst at AInvest published a note titled "Iran Strikes: Tactical Plays." The note recommended positions in oil, defense stocks, and gold.

The most expensive cashew I have ever eaten was nineteen dollars. The most expensive pen I have ever ordered was six hundred and thirty dollars. The math suggests I have been working in the wrong industry. Defense stocks do not require water glasses. Defense stocks do not require eleven days. Defense stocks require one morning.

February 28: Israel closed its airspace and its schools. Iran launched retaliatory missiles toward US bases in the Gulf. The Supreme Leader promised a "crushing response." Israel's defense minister declared a permanent state of emergency. Everyone is using words I recognize in an order I do not. I recognize "permanent." I recognize "emergency." I do not recognize them next to each other. In diplomacy, nothing is permanent and everything is an emergency. In war it is the reverse.

February 28: The Foreign Minister has not made a public statement.

The briefing card is still in his breast pocket. It still says "within our reach."

[. @jdpoc]

#Reform Councillor David Taylor JAILED.

"nasty and violent".
"told his wife he would hunt her like prey and kill her, and that he would "put her in the boot and set fire to the car".

And STILL he was 'vetted' & 'approved' by #Reform as a candidate while this was all going on.

[Declassified UK @declassifiedUK]

A petition calling for a public inquiry into Israel's influence in Britain has reached over 64,000 signatures.

At 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for a debate in parliament.
👉https://t.co/7IOfkLKHqj

[Hugh Grant @HackedOffHugh]

I think that if you’re going to write a piece in the Times urging the government to use and boost more AI, the fact that you are paid by a major AI company should be in the first sentence, or at least first paragraph.
I also think that the best scenario for AI is that it destroys millions of jobs with the prosperity, dignity and community that goes with them.
The worst scenario is the destruction of the human race - a fear openly expressed by an increasing number of senior and experienced AI engineers who are leaving the industry.
And somewhere in between a myriad of horrors such as yet more screen learning and screen addiction for our children.
But I do see that it will make rich men even richer. And that’s the most important thing of course.

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

Ridiculous of the British Museum to remove the word 'Palestine" from its displays, when it has a greater antiquity than the word "British". The first reference to Palestine is on the Egyptian monument of Medinet Habu in 1186BCE. The first reference to Britain is the 4th century BC when it appears in the work of the Greek traveler Pytheas of Massalia.

[Zarah Sultana MP @zarahsultana]

A billionaire worth £17,000,000,000 who moved to Monaco to dodge £4,000,000,000 in tax is now blaming immigrants for Britain’s problems.

If parasitic billionaires like Jim Ratcliffe paid what they owe — and politicians weren’t in their pockets — our NHS, schools and public services wouldn’t be on their knees.

It is textbook divide and rule. The real enemy of the working class travels by private jet, not migrant dinghy.

[James Attlee @JamesAttlee]

Write to Keir Starmer using @PSCupdates online action to demand that he acts to cancel all government contracts with Palantir, which provides AI technology used in Israel's genocide in Gaza, and wider regime of military occupation and apartheid: https://t.co/MYBfQ2Ba0F

[Harry Eccles @Heccles94]

I seem to have upset the @Nigel_Farage fan club - so let me be clear.

This man sows hate, lies and division.

He is a grifter and a conman.

He does not represent the vast majority of Britons.

RT if you agree

P.s. multiculturalism is great.

[Richard Sefton @richardosefton]

Can we try and get #InvestigateFarage trending please,
because the powers that be don’t seem to be capable of doing such an investigation. They will investigate everyone but, it seems.

#InvestigateFarage

[Zack Polanski @ZackPolanski]

Pleased to see the jury make this decision.

We need to have eyes wide open this is exactly why the Government wants to abolish juries.

People protesting against a genocide are not the criminals here - it's the politicians who continue to provide cover.

https://t.co/sWWF12V0qq

[BladeoftheSun @BladeoftheS]

Peter Thiel celebrated Brexit with Jeffrey Epstein.

It was never about 'freeing' the UK.

It was about making it the USA's slave.

[Richard Sefton @richardosefton]

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

#FARAGE IS IN THE #EPSTEINFILES

Share it, because our media won’t.

[Narinder Kaur @narindertweets]

The media are gunning for Mandelson (rightfully) but Today's question is -
Why are MSM protecting Nigel Farage who is mentioned FORTY 43 times and counting

£895,000 house paid for cash.
Nathan Gill
Russian bribes
32 former pupils say he's a racist bully
Epstein Files 43 mentions
Uk Church warden via khazakstan donor of £200k

Farage remains untouchable. Why?

[James Attlee @JamesAttlee]

Great to see artists of this stature stand up and use their voice to call evil out. A ray of light in gloomy times. Play it loud, like the man said!

[Brian Krassenstein @krassenstein]

BREAKING: Music legend Bruce Springsteen just released this incredible song that will be sure to piss Trump off beyond belief.

“Streets of Minneapolis”.

He wrote this song about Alex Pretti and Renée Good Saturday and recorded it yesterday.

Share it far and wide and play it as loud as you can

[James Attlee @JamesAttlee]

In our blood. In our water. In our babies. 🩸☠️💧Ask @EmmaReynolds to stop the poisoning of Britain, and ban #ForeverChemicals immediately! 🚫 Join the @38_degrees consultation submission to #BanPFAs👇 https://t.co/uV039VWS8G via @38degrees

[Middle East Eye @MiddleEastEye]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s characterisation of a man seen in widely shared video footage of the Bondi Beach shooting as embodying “Jewish heroism” came under scrutiny after he was identified by local media as Ahmed al Ahmed, a 43-year-old Syrian Muslim

[Mukhtar @I_amMukhtar]

The West Midlands Police explained to the Homes Affairs Committee why they decided to ban Maccabi Tel Aviv fans.

Keir Starmer, Lisa Nandy, and every single person who tried to undermine the police and gaslight us should be ashamed of themselves.