No you shouldn't be at all worried that a crazy authoritarian president is desperate to build a tall building full of sniper nests in the middle of the capital city.

Timing is everything!

The UK being 2nd in the Climate Change Performance Index should be seen one of this government's long term legacies. One of these things that nobody has shouted much about, but a sign that things have actually got better on one of the most important issues of our day.

This kind of crap from the BoD really undermines those of us who are trying to push against antisemitism across the political spectrum. Infuriating.

Please sir, my first past the post electoral system, it is very sick.

Teaching kids AI literacy - what it is, how it actually works, what the tradeoffs are in using it - would be a good thing. But that's not what's being proposed, they're trying to get it into grade schools to create AI dependency

A major milestone for the Dispatch! Thanks to everyone who has joined us on this journey...

Good morning! Here is a three-day old sea-otter pup, snoozing on their Mama. The image is by one my favourite wildlife photographers, Suzi Eszterhas, who runs girlswhoclick.org - an organisation that mentors girls and young women interested in nature photography. Feel free to share.

Was great to meet with @oliverdouble.bsky.social and talk about Linda Smith.

In our latest interview, we spoke to @oliverdouble.bsky.social, Reader in Comic and Popular Performance at the University of Kent, about the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive, Kent's relationship with comedy, and why stand-up should be taken seriously.

we all know I have no life, so:

"We accidentally made an animated graphic for Reform and then did a party political broadcast for them by mistake."

Thoughtful piece. 3 things I think would help: 1. More opportunities for young people to express themselves through sport and culture 2. Not focusing on GDP, but wellbeing 3. Proactive policing that builds trustful relationships within communities www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

How to fix Would I Lie To You: replace Lee Mack and David Mitchell with facial recognition software designed to track microexpressions

You can’t expect Keir Starmer to have known Mandelson was dodgy as fuck. Nobody told him. Probably nobody told him Israel was committing war crimes either. Or that the two-child benefit cap was starving kids. Or that trans people are human beings. Or that immigrants are a net benefit.

Not once in the 80s, 90s or 00s do I recall a politician urging the public to embrace email, mobile phones, texting, two factor authentication, online banking, air fryers, or to replace all their cassette collection with a CD collection. So forgive me if I smell a rat.

I have three court hearings to attend in three months. Two subjects of our reporting are suing us. Journalism is threatened by abusive legal threats aimed at silencing reporting. The Government needs to #StopSLAPPs. Please share and write to your MP. manchestermill.co.uk/three-courts...

HOME STRETCH! We're doing another live podcast later this week, with surprises, prizes, and me reading aloud the new TYRANT® story already scripted & thumbnailed (for future publication, not for this); if you're 'in' for the Kickstarter, we hope you'll join us! www.kickstarter.com/projects/com...

first in my bloodline to see someone get excommunicated by a community note

Sad to belatedly hear of the death of Mark Templeton. When starting out as a ‘citizen journalist’ in 2014, Mark kindly granted me access to the press desk at Medway Council and give the same access as the ‘proper’ news orgs. Not exaggerating to say part of where we are now is due to his support.

No prizes for guessing which local media giant owns Edinburgh Live www.edinburghminute.com/edinburgh-li...

London Centric's investigation into tax-evading gift shops hosted by Asif Aziz's Criterion Capital kept finding Edinburgh connections. Hard to justify spending subscribers' cash on that so I texted Michael at the @edinburghminute.com and he covered the cost of reporting the Scottish angle. Now 🎺.

you know the way "why did the Roman Empire fall" and "what are the causes of the First World War" are big questions that sort of function like Rorsharch tests, allowing people to debate ultimately inexplicable moments in history? "Why did no one stop Trump" a decent future shout for the third.

Jordan is great and has done so much to support LGBT+ representation Sheppey, in Sittingbourne, across Swale and more widely. Great to see him get recognition here from @kentcurrent.news

the problem with "impartial" reporting in a nutshell. being a journalist ISN'T ABOUT JUST REPEATING WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING - GO AND FIND OUT THE TRUTH AND REPORT THAT

The story of 'woke' FOr years. mainstream conservatives and even centrists rounded on progressive culture as though it were a threat to society. Now they see where the real threat lay Writer and critic @dorianlynskey.bsky.social examines the meaning of one of the defining terms of our age.

VICTORY! Government to open up the Land Registry - bringing to an end a thousand years of secrecy shrouding who owns England. I’ve been campaigning for this for ten years: the new Land Use Framework, published later today, makes it government policy. 1/ www.theguardian.com/environment/...

The world is basically a big circle. Just go round the other way.

Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers.

Two major housing approvals this week showed there is no painless way for Medway to grow. High Halstow got a huge village expansion, while Gillingham got up to 500 homes on a difficult brownfield site. We look at what both decisions say about the trade-offs now shaping Medway.

Editing our upcoming @kentcurrent.news interview, which will come out over the weekend, with Kent Restore leader Paul Thomas. Expecting some flak for it, given the discourse on here a little while ago that argued media outlets shouldn't engage with Restore or similar political groups.

In the first of a two-part special report, we reveal results of our survey of rail passengers about the state of services from Folkestone...

From the UK Watching #StripLaw with my partner. Loved episode 1 “Kibblesmith?” She says over the end credits. Yeah. @kibblesmith.com writes those comics you liked, for example Lockjaw and “It’s not that, how do you smith kibble?”

Protecting the environment and pursuing green policies is so baked into how the public views the Greens that they don't need to make a huge effort to convince people that they are strongest in this field. That gives them the freedom to pursue other issues

A Green win must mean that "left behind" voters forgotten by Westminster want open borders and legalised class A drugs. That's how it works right?

Our February Culture Review is out. Live music across Medway, theatre that enjoys messing with your head, and the return of our food reviews.

Having a clear out of first lines for poems I shall never write. Please help yourself to any of these.

No cheating; your last saved picture of a celebrity is your therapist. And the quote bodes well…

This is stenography, not news reporting. The BBC ought to provide some context, such as putting the scale of the changes which Reform claim are possible into context. This omits the major policy of revoking ILR and deporting legal migrants at unprecedented scale. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Reading Shelf #Shelfie @medwaylibraries.bsky.social #BookVirtueSignalling #BookSky

Hard mode, eh?) 10 Authors I've read 10 books or more from: Stephen King Terry Pratchett Lee Child Colin Dexter Agatha Christie Charles Dickens Ben Aaronovitch Bill Bryson Neil Gaiman George RR Martin

5 authors I’ve read at least 5 books by, not the usual suspects edition: David Mitchell Iain Banks Agatha Christie Richard Osman Bill Bryson

The Reading Shelf #Shelfie #BookVirtueSignal #BookSky

The Reading Shelf #Shelfie #BookVirtueSignal

🔧📚 I’ve written an article for this week’s New Statesman about the challenges and opportunities of reforming our skills sector. Skills are at the heart of so many of the ambitious changes we need to rebuild our economy and country. Read the full article here:

Was a please to meet @sundersays.bsky.social and talk about @britishfuture.bsky.social

We met @sundersays.bsky.social in a Dartford café for a thoughtful, wide-ranging conversation where we talked about identity, immigration, free speech and the 'anxious middle'...

Can the Greens finally win in Medway? We met Grace Duffy, the party’s new local chair, to talk about unity after AGM tensions, defence policy differences, and why she believes next year could be the breakthrough.

Help @melissaschuh.bsky.social have a better day and help yourself to a great free book because her recommendations are 👨‍🍳😘

NEW: Dear Washington Post journalists, I’ve written this for you. Last year @theguardian.com gave away our news title & binned 100+ journalists. It sucked! But we fought back & you can too. First a strike, then a new masthead @thenerve.news Fuck Bezos. There is another way 👊👊👊 1/