The BBC's senior leadership resigning en masse over one dodgy edit in one programme, simply because the right wing press demands it, tells you everything you need to know about where the power really lies in that relationship

The Bear hears it everywhere: snip-snip-snip. ✂️ Every party’s reaching for the scissors again – even though there’s nothing left to cut. A furious, funny howl at Britain’s obsession with “efficiency”. @eastangliabylines.co.uk @bearlypolitics.co.uk

MEN! Are you over 50, a tech billionaire or media mogul, and worried about share loss? Experiencing spinal weakness or dysfunctional guts? Then you should CHECK YOUR PROSTRATE Remember, a supine position may seem safe and comfortable now, but it could rapidly become a serious handicap.

America - as far as I can tell, in any other country, a fascist dictator's reign has only been brought to an end via coup, civil war, international war or assassination. He has law enforcement, the military, the courts and the press in his pocket. How does the US get out of this?

Well worth 5 minutes of your Sunday morning

Shared: Now Zuckerberg, like Trump, doesn't like what you say? He can disappear you too. This is American writer and activist Rebecca Solnit on Bluesky today, sharing what you see when you're targeted and disappeared in the "land of the free" by an immoral dork/world class asshole on a power trip.

I hope someone in #uklabour reads this letter. Spot on! Starmer needs to read the room!

Simply this.

Cassocks are red Conclaves are dope Wake up babe we got a

An underreported aspect of the UK Supreme Court decision, often seen solely through the lens of the war on trans women, but which will also lead to a raft of (unintended?) consequences when it comes to trans men.

Slava Ukraini

The British PM "does not accept" that the USA is now an unreliable ally. Of course he can't say aloud what everybody knows, because... er... that's what diplomacy requires? Ironically Trump and his Krazy Kabinet have led the way by saying the unsayable, every day. Why can't sane people?

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, says outright what all British politicians should be saying: "Donald Trump has chosen his side. Not with Zelensky. Not with democracy. But with Putin, the mass-murdering tyrant...he has betrayed not just Ukraine but the UK and all of our European allies."

I had none of this on my 2025 bingo card. I now predict that in a moment of uncharacteristic generosity, Trump will offer displaced Greenlanders first pick of the Gaza Riviera beachfront properties.

What helps? Taking the long view, perhaps. Percy Shelley, whose heart snatched from the flames lies interred a few miles from where I now sit and watch the debasement of all the values I hold dear, had something to say about earthly powers.

So many pundits mentioning (admiringly, it seems) Trump's "unpredictability". Yet narcissism is the most predictable of mental disorders. The playbook does not extend beyond "What advantage is in it for me?"

My first thought was "Within 24 hours Netanyahu will claim Hamas is trying to wreck the deal, in a bid to save his own position". My second thought was "I shouldn't give in so easily to cynicism". Today I'm thinking I should trust my instincts.

I suppose I am not alone in hoping that at his inauguration Trump will emulate William Henry Harrison.

Former Labour MP Tom Harris, writing in the Daily Telegraph today, makes some reasonably debatable points. He does not suggest Starmer's tenure as PM is in jeopardy. But the headline, "Keir Starmer's speech may be the last gasp of a floundering Government", is wholly inaccurate, specious and WRONG.

Lord Woodley’s Bill to end the cruel & monumental injustice of the #IPPscandal has passed its 2nd Reading. The question now is will the Prime Minister do the right thing & give the Bill government time for a full & proper Committee Stage? Let’s not wait for the next ITV drama to do what’s right

Last time around, Trump's people were either (1) cynical grifters, (2) delusional hero-worshipers – looking at you, Kash Patel! – or (3) well-meaning public servants hoping to limit the damage. This time, category (3) seems to be missing. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

The meme I didn't know I needed

I'm feeling surprisingly warm and fuzzy about Britain's faux-democracy these days. We recently saw two megalomaniacs removed as Heads of Government and all it took was a brief outbreak of sanity among their parliamentary colleagues. No such luck in the United States of Amnesia, I'm sorry to say.

On the face of it, "business as usual" has been exceedingly kind (and profitable!) to Musk and his billionaire pals — yet they rail against it. Cognitive dissonance, or something more sinister?

Hello all! I have no idea how any of this works, as I've never been on Twitter/X. 1st question: how can I see replies and comments on other users' posts — in other words, the full thread? Do I have to follow the OP for that to happen? Thanks for any enlightenment (in short supply these days).