Why are the American president's claims about autism the first item on British news bulletins? He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions. So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?

I wonder who is going to be cast to play Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs in the inevitable ITV dramatisation of the whole Salt Path scandal.

Very proud of my daughter Cara, who’s about to graduate from @lipaliverpool.bsky.social. Here’s the short film that was part of her final year coursework: youtu.be/o5a8P52orxs?... I know I’m biased, but I think she’s brilliant in this!

I suspect it would be even higher (ie, way more than half) if we also promised to re-open the youth clubs & other youth facilities that got shut by David Cameron, just at the point the smartphone was invented.

Because they serve class power, and we don’t talk enough about that?

A lot of people are enamoured with the mystique of writing but they're not interested in developing the practice of writing or treating it like work. That used to be the difference between aspiring authors and published authors. Now it's the difference between tech bros and actual fucking writers.

It’s great being a professional artist. On one hand, you have to deal with companies who think you should be happy to work for exposure and have to constantly hassle them to pay, and on the other, you have people saying they have a right to pirate your work because you’re a rich, Western capitalist.

“There is this terrible misconception that disabled people just take, but actually by taking from us, you prevent us from being able to give – we want to be able to participate in life equally the same as anyone else, and that includes going to work.” Disability campaigner Tanni Gray-Thompson

There’s a great interview with Nick Park about Wallace And Gromit in last month’s Empire, and this bit in particular stood out. It sums up what artists have been trying to say about AI. The mistakes and the learning aren’t things to be bypassed, but a vital part of the process 🤟

Meanwhile Spain carries on with socialist policies & looking after people & redistributing, and whaddya know, it’s economy soars and no-one in the Brit political class talks about it because omg maybe some second homes & wealth would get taxed, no, it’s very sad but we must make difficult choices…🤮

“I’ve never PHYSICALLY hurt anyone” (My caps for emphasis) He knows full well the vast damage he’s doing to so many people’s lives. This is a man that holds disdain for the concept of “empathy”, but constantly seeks empathy for himself.

This is why we need a wealth tax No-one needs this kind of money. And the ability to hoard it, corrupts utterly.

The level of dishonesty on display in recent days about benefits, is alarming. Didn’t this lot get elected basically because the public were utterly sick of the dishonesty of the last lot?

This country is awash with money. The very rich are rich beyond imagination. So when Starmer wants to stay within his arbitrary fiscal rules, who does he decide to take money from? The very rich? No, from people with disabilities who depend on benefits for the bare minimum of a decent life.

It's always 'more people are pretending to have poor mental health'. Never, 'piss poor governments and predatory, unregulated capitalism is making more people ill'

Right I better go back to my Lenten social media fast, but if anyone wants to hire me to help them analyse, campaign on, and / or explain how we improve upon, this government’s NHS plans, I’ll be more available from mid May, drop me a line!

Want to know how to forge a Great Master and get away with it? Then read THE LAST LETTERS OF VILLA CLARA. She’s out today in paperback in all the usual places. @headlinebooks.bsky.social @sheilland.bsky.social #1960s #art #tuscany #london #vermeer #historicalfiction #publicationday

It's a cliché, but isn't it funny how "making tough decisions" in government always involves hurting people who are in no state to fight back, rather than those who would feel no pain through being taxed?

No, you can’t defend the PIP cuts and there’s a chunk raggedly dragged from your soul every time you try

I note with interest right-wing media's total absence of any concerns about prominent BBC presenter Armstrong expressing his highly political opinions. As was always perfectly clear to many of us, the problem was not that Lineker had views, but the fact they didn't approve of his views.

burst out laughing at this headline then burst out laughing again when I read the subhead

They say “just draw what makes you happy” and “who cares about numbers” to artists relying on their online presence for income. But do they also say “only take meetings that make you happy” and “who cares about steady paychecks” to their traditionally employed friends? Hmm?

you’re fired. wait you’re rehired. email us a list of things you’ve done today wait forget it you’re fired again. come back your job was important. you’re fired. or hired. come in to the office. wait the office has no computers go home. we are the department of government efficiency.

The Scottish have won the AI Wars.

Would I prefer to live in a world where we don‘t need to spend a penny on Defence? Yes. Do I think I live in such a world? No. There is a dictator in the Kremlin attacking the Post-war security order in all of Europe, and the US President just blew up the Western Alliance.

Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.

Just seen Farage and Truss (grifting over in the US) described as "the Slug and Lettuce".

Here they come. The Quisling fucking cowards, lining up to machine gun what's left of their reputation.

A school RfP policy in one post: * Time to read and be read to every day * Time to talk about books together * Freedom to read graphic novels, picturebooks, poetry, non-fiction, magazines, anything * New books are an investment, not an expense * Work with librarians, bookshops, authors, poets, etc

Nigel Farage & Liz Truss happy at an event too fascistic even for the political heir to the Le Pens… www.bbc.com/news/article...

Creativity is not a finite resource. Me making stuff does not stop you making stuff. My work becomes public property decades after I die. Physical property IS a limited resource. You own land no one else can. Ownership passes down generations. Don’t like copyright? OK, treat property the same way.

The Hare-Shaped Hole is a touching, beautiful story about love & grief #AAUKlove & we can't wait to see The Bear-Shaped Hole which comes out in May. You can find out more about @johndougherty.bsky.social & book him for a visit here: authorsalouduk.co.uk/speaker/john...

What you are seeing this morning over the refugee decision is Labour alienating and offending its remaining liberal supporters without bringing any new voters onside.

If any more MPs are going to be found out, could they please post their apologies on this platform rather than driving traffic to Twitter?

A cartoon by Kathryn Lamb Instagram (@lambkathryn)

Andrew Rawnsley spot on in today's column. The only way that public services are going to improve in short order is by giving them more money now, not by waiting for "growth".

Read it slowly and understand it. 😳🥺 Repost 👇🏾 👇🏾

attempting to describe the vibes of the moment. have yet to do better than: "imagine watching a documentary reenacting the burning of the Library of Alexandria set to the soundtrack of 'Yakety Sax'"

Writers on social media vs writers in actual life.

Saw this on Twitter and it made me (bitterly) laugh out loud. Too many people have this attitude towards politics and its only making things worse

Little reminder that we’re having the DEI backlash because a white police officer murdered a black man in cold blood live on TV and then the white people got cross when it was pointed out that this wasn’t really okay.

Probably simplistic but: the next time Farage demands anything, the govt needs to publicly say no. Just like Coutts should have said no when he kicked off about his banking arrangements, and the govt should have said no when he demanded an enquiry into <event he wanted to make political hay with>

We have all been trained to obstruct fascism. Just cast your mind back to when you sought help from the customer support line of a major tech company. Getting anything done is a nightmare. They have shown us the way. Start by saying that you’re getting ‘a higher than average number of requests’.

I enjoy reading children's books and choose to do so. Not all school staff have the time or inclination but they do need to know about them. Having a couple of staff meetings each year with time to explore picturebooks, poetry and graphic novels could make a world of difference in the classroom.

AIM High and @AuthorsAbroad_ are looking for schools in the Gillingham and Hastings areas that would like to be a host school for a trial day where enthusiastic young writers work with a professional author. 6 free places for hosts. Interested? Details: brian-moses.blogspot.com/2022/09/a.html

The most surreal and maddening feature of the campaign was that everyone agreed that high prices were the main issue but the guy explicitly, consistently running on a platform of raising everyone’s prices won voters most concerned about high prices. We hammered this time and time again and yet.

We’ve been watching Wolf Hall, a fascinating study of how the fragile male ego of a fickle, greedy despot creates a culture of deep cruelty and mistrust, where everyone lives in fear of saying the wrong thing. Thank goodness we’ve moved on from those times.