VAR is and always will be shit, regardless of your take on these decisions. Scrap it for ever

FIFA making the rules up as they go along. Whatever you think of the red card Balogun got, FIFA has upheld the red card but instead of a mandatory one match ban, he gets a probationary period. Following rule changes that allowed Ronaldo to swerve ban at the start of the tournament. Ridiculous.

Meanwhile, universities are closing humanities programs

Six hours early. Storms in the Azteca Stadium area.

There was a Harry Kane warning

Just received my reissue of the excellent People and Industry by @warringtonruncorn.com and @castlesinspace.bsky.social. Reminded me of this photo I took a few years ago before demolition started.

Furlongs by Gilroy Mere is out in September. Come and hear it first at the Bandcamp listening party this Wednesday 8th July. RSVP: claypipemusic.bandcamp.com/merch/furlon... youtu.be/oNjgi0BM8rw

The latest nugget from Kemi Badenoch. Said no football fan ever (and certainly not a #lofc supporter).

ORGAN PREVIEW: Peter Hammill announces a new album; "These songs have been a long time in the gestation and making. I’m pleased with the way they’ve worked out. They seem to hang together as a group..." wp.me/p2ScbB-y7E #PeterHammill #VanDerGraafGenerator #CherryRed

All That Glitters is a Mare's Nest Stunning live performance by Cardiacs recorded on this day in 1990. -Anyone got a time machine I can borrow? #Cardiacs youtu.be/tJ_I-c6QUOQ?...

Not only is the special edition of People & Industry out this Friday, you can join me this Wednesday at 19:00 BST for a @bandcamp.com listening party! warrington-runcorn-cis.bandcamp.com/album/people...

Just perfect

Weird how the right both believe Thatcher's council house sale is the best policy in history and that anyone who benefitted from it is bad and wrong.

Unless I'm mistaken, #lofc supporters may spot the ex-player in this video, who once scored in a win against international opposition. www.charltonafc.com/news/alan-cu...

And still, some 'comms specialists' refuse to use this platform as part of their media strategy. (Looking at you, #lofc)

Extraordinary credit to Sadiq Khan for pushing through this deeply controversial policy. This is what can happen when politicians are prepared to stick to their principles.

The story of social media’s problem with news, in two posts (these are from X)

Somewhat ironic that the number of Senedd members was increased to improve scrutiny.

Any UK politician choosing to speak at this far-right jamboree whilst cheering on these attacks on our country should be ashamed of themselves

This is one of the dumbest and saddest things I've ever seen. We should not think of universities in this way, and if we do that'll destroy everything that is both useful and good about them. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Of course unions look out for their members but it defies belief that they chose *this week* to lobby for more North Sea oil drilling. They should be lobbying for super-generous retraining terms.

Wonder who wrote this! Go buy the mag or subscribe! There's a good summer deal offer right now!

Who does, Seb?

This! why do people feel the need to drive these humongous contraptions? www.theguardian.com/environment/...

This article is illustrated by pictures of people 1) kayaking on a turquoise sea 2) sunbathing in a park 3) having fun at the lido, which may not be the best way of conveying the seriousness of the situation.

The weather isn't the only thing making Farage sweat today 🥵

Farage: I can spend my £5m on Ferraris if I want it's none of your business. Reform voters: He's one of us.

Voice Of The People latest

Nigel Farage on the £5mn: "It's an unconditional gift, I can spend it on cars if I want to, it's entirely up to me."

Rare red warning. Risk to life. Stay out of the sun. Avoid unnecessary exposure. Picture editor: "Counterpoint: Run the fun-on-the-beach shots?" We won't improve heat coverage until we stop illustrating public health emergencies with beach photos. www.independent.co.uk/weather/heat...

Thanks for helping push this up the charts - a modest achievement but we've done this with relatively little mainstream media coverage. That's something we expected, so we came up with a plan to circumvent, which is why all your recommendations, shares, feedback etc matter a huge amount.

You can always rely on Clay Pipe to put out lovely LPs. This one is no exception.

This is an embarrassing image for the UK. A self-respecting British fox should be dragging Binface's contents out over the stage

One of the Wigan cllrs who posed with the Jimmy Savile poster in Wigan (which @bylinetimes.bsky.social first reported) has admitted the picture was real after all. After ignoring our calls and emails, and Reform figures cast doubt on it. She admitted this after Makerfield's polls closed last night.

One out. all out.

Quick thoughts on the proposed UK social media ban - Enforcement will be a nightmare, teens are already more tech savvy than most parents - Taking an existing right away from teens for 'debatable' reasons will never end well 1/3

This feels stupid. Regulate the platforms, don’t ban kids. An upside of regulating the platforms is that it isn’t only kids who would benefit. www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Truth.

Starmer won't prevent far-right riots because he will not take on X. He won't ramp up defence in the face of Trump and Putin because he refuses to take hard financial decisions. He has failed to protect Britain against its enemies - foreign and domestic iandunt.substack.com/p/swirling-i...

Our #Cardiacs Sing To God Anniversary piece comes with an introductory playlist to the band's unique brand of pop psychedelia Become a Quietus Subscriber Plus tier member to access this plus many other wonderful perks: buff.ly/mwjBrAU

Well done to all of you who had VAR nonsense on your World Cup bingo card…

If that's a red card there will be plenty more in this tournament.

This is the last possible moment I can post this

Gianni Infantino hadn't held a proper press conference in three years He still hasn't This was a Trumpian ramble where he tried to reframe reality and avoid difficult truths www.independent.co.uk/sport/footba...

The government continuing to post on X gives the media all they need to justify continuing to use X posts in news broadcasts. X becomes agenda-setting in the way front pages did even when most people stopped reading newspapers.

Keir Starmer has condemned the riots in Belfast, encouraged and promoted on X by the platform's owner, by posting his statement on X.

I hope the MPs who use this platform use this moment to tell their colleagues they should quit the race riot and non-consensual pornography platform once and for all, and call them out when they refuse. Musk clearly has no intention of cleaning up his platform, quite the opposite in fact.

Well that's them told. Elmo will no doubt see the error of his ways and desist in his fascist agitating forthwith.

It seems obvious but needs saying that most of Labour's core vote is fundamentally opposed to the far right. Failing to fight back against it rioting on Britain's streets will leave many of those supporters wondering what the point of having a Labour government is.