Community will be the Revolution: Please watch this all the way to the end. The secret history of Neoliberalism | The Invisible Doctrine | Full Film youtu.be/gR4eSEetKP0?... via @YouTube

HAPPY CHRISTMAS! From us and @mrjamesob.bsky.social as we look back on the year t’was. A good one to listen to while you peel spuds/walk the dog/hide in your room 🎧👇 (Part 2 follows later in the week)

1/ We have now exceeded over 4 million reads of our Powerful Citizen journalism in 2025 and rising. Help us look forward to a brilliant 2026 by supporting citizen voices and becoming a friend of Bylines Network bylinesnetwork.co.uk/friends-of-b...

Al Jazeera’s journalists continue their coverage despite the destruction caused by the relentless Israeli bombing, mounting casualties and intolerable working conditions across Gaza. Watch the film, The Price of Truth EP 3: aje.me/thepriceoftr...

I tell you what, that Santa Claus has got real presence about him

Two raku fired lidded moon jars are to be added to the shop shortly. www.firedclay.uk #pottery #ceramics

Britain (and Labour, incredibly) cancelling #transport schemes outside the capital is a national obsession. Leading to our provincial cities being among least productive in #Europe. How does the #Chancellor sleep whilst « delaying » this in her own constituency? www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Siphoning tax £/$ into big corporations; its not just happening in the US but here in the UK and elsewhere nor is it restricted to big Agriculture; look at the subsidies handed out to big oil too youtu.be/cl02K72QFS0

Implementing mission-driven government requires more than adopting the language. It demands fundamental changes to how government operates: bold investment frameworks, institutions designed for delivery, and genuine cross-ministerial coordination. Latest piece on the UK Government’s missions ⬇️

Only Keir Starmer's Labour could arrest the world's most famous climate activist for holding a placard All I want for Christmas is a vote of no confidence in Keir Starmer for trashing the UK's humanitarian reputation Come on decent Labour MPs, where are you?

Michael Mansfield criticises ministers’ refusal to meet Palestine Action hunger strikers

As we look ahead to 2026, now is the time to ask - is the point of our economies to generate higher GDP figures or create conditions for human flourishing? Read our piece for Project Syndicate on how a mission for peace can unite domestic needs and global prosperity ➡️ buff.ly/Jv2ZeSc

The view from traffic-congested Boston:

How it started… How it’s going! A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to the rescue & helped support independent journalism in this darkest of years. We lost our news organisation…but we built a new one! @thenerve_news 🙏🙏🙏

Left: Greta Thunberg arrested for holding a placard in London Right: Labour's Baron Hain, "This gov is treating Palestine action as equivalent to ISIS or al-Qaeda, which is intellectually bankrupt, politically unprincipled and morally wrong. I'm deeply ashamed"

SERIOUSLY, WATCH THIS: If you really want to understand how huge SUVs and pick-up trucks have ended up being MOST of the vehicles out there in our cities, and the absolutely INSANE consequences of that, watch this easy-to-watch video by #NotJustBikes. Then please share it as much as you can.

Retro Christmas watching Smiley’s People on Disc not streaming (@bunkerpod.bsky.social ) just because I can. Such brilliant acting, storytelling and depth. No don’t give up the physical media.

One year since it announced it’s Plan for Change, the UK Government has seemingly shifted from missions to narrower priorities: cost of living, NHS waiting lists, debt reduction. 1/3

Im not much for conspiracies but Zhirinovsky's in 2020 "We will help Trump win in 2024. And then we will take Ukraine and US will take Venezuela"

Really feels like UK is about to find out why first past the post really is a terrible system

“Hasan is known as one of the most formidable interviewers in journalism; unabashedly direct, unrelenting in his line of questioning, and notorious for fact-checking and correcting response-avoidant guests in real time.” Thank you to GQ Middle East for this profile of me:

Très bien

After years of groups lobbying for it, the Erasmus+ scheme is expected to return to the UK. Here's a young NE4EU member on Brexit Day who wanted to work in travel and tourism Now the door is once again open for British youths...Erasmus+ is about working abroad not just studying there!

This is just hideous. We're speaking to specialist public and terrorism lawyers in about half an hour to see if there's anything we can do. www.thenational.scot/news/2570443...

Fujitsu boss to face grilling from MPs over the Post Office Horizon compensation. Public purse footing the bill. Fujitsu and its execs, PO execs, lawyers, accountants benefitted from false prosecutions, haven't paid anything. No one charged for the scam which destroyed lives of innocent people.

For clarity the urgent review ordered by the Prime Minister is into foreign “financial interference” in UK politics. That is of course good news but a full public inquiry into Russian interference in UK politics and democracy is still needed

Starmer’s Trump Tax is a disaster for our NHS and for patients. Billions of pounds will be plundered from hospitals and GPs to pay big American pharma, all to please the White House. What on earth is Labour playing at?

As usual, clear unambiguous reality check from one of the best of the NHS, Dr Rachel Clarke. Wes Streeting and Keir need to take notice of what we can all see or forever be labeled as the architects of the final stages of the demise of the NHS under a 'Labour' Government.

Can’t help but think that huge student cohorts, the loss of small group teaching, the shift online etc exacerbate this issue. Just another part of the crisis of higher education. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

It's the last narrative episode before our big wrap-up finale on Monday. Gorbachev, Yeltsin, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the "end of history", as the epoch that began in 1917 comes to a crashing halt. How did it all come about and was a reformed USSR ever really possible?

Another positive milestone for Sunderland. Thousands of jobs depend on making Electric Vehicles here. Labour is backing them. Why are Reform and the Tories putting jobs here at risk with their reckless opposition to green manufacturing?

Have also made available on my substack... christinapagel.substack.com/p/beyond-the...

Shouldn’t all government assistance be means tested or is it just PIP and other social welfare? Why should Ratcliffe get a bung? Oh did someone say political donations?

Being able to identify hoaxes, avoid scams & debunk propaganda is a civic skill required in today's information society. That's why curriculum for students in Finland includes media literacy lessons, aimed at safeguarding a precious resource: the truth. youtu.be/UZV9uw4usEE?...

Labour hates the poor. Labour hates the planet. Labour hates disabled people. Labour hates trans people. Labour LOVES the very rich, and will do anything to protect them. Like giving a billionaire £120 million of YOUR money. Labour is NOT on your side. Unless you're a billionaire.

But not the Brexit Referendum….Putin/ Farage’s project. Don’t mention that ‘cos that would make the current Gov’s Brexit policies look very silly indeed.

Cars are a lot slower than people think. This driver commutes at 4 MPH. That's barely faster than walking (avg walking pace is around 3.3 MPH) They could cut their commute to 15 minutes biking at 12 MPH, but they might not have a safe route to do so We are forcing people into terrible car commutes

I hate to sound like a stuck record, but single market, customs union and free movement as part of a renewed approach with Europe are RIGHT THERE. That's your economic miracle. And Starmer, Badenoch and Farage are absolutely identical in rejecting the only solutions available.

Most troubling of all: this is all very coordinated, backed (indeed often led) by the State, and these outcomes are exactly what is sought. 👇🏻

And in response to headlines like "there is no need for masks", here is the 1 minutes from my interview where I discuss basic preventative measures (including masks!). Also note that NHS stats like A&E and Ambulance waits are lower than same time 3 years ago, even with earlier flu wave.

I think she gets it.

People ask me why I'm publishing on Amazon, who are indisputably evil. They say I should publish via an ethical company. So here's why. I've published 3 Sunday Times Bestsellers through ethical publishers, and made - drum roll - absolutely zero. Literally not one penny. In fact ...

I love this. «Upload an architectural render. Get back what it'll actually look like on a random Tuesday in November. No sunshine. No happy families. No impossibly green trees. Just cold, honest, depressing reality.»

She might only have a Georgian surname through step-family, but you have to see the partly humorous pride in her on the Georgian Facebook.

This is a section from my interview where I basically say that I don't see this as a super bad flu season - or at least, that there is no evidence to say now that it will be. full interview is here youtu.be/_PZiU3R7jac

tell that to the scandinavians and their cargo bikes running all year round

Something like 90% of money spent on an automobile leaves the local community We spend an average of $700k over a lifetime on our cars Do that math Ride a bike Take the bus Walk

So, Laura Kuenssberg's introduction to her interview with Mary-Ann Stephenson is just hideous. Let me count the ways. 🧵

Politics vs IT literacy “This boils down to a requirement for AI companies to collect much more information on their users (to establish their age), which means that all the AI harms that stem from privacy violations (AI algorithms that steal wages, hike prices….., etc) are now even harder to stop.”