If we have to ban under-16s from social media so they don't have to see all the awful shit over-16s are doing, I'm thinking maybe under-16s aren't the problem.

One of the obvious problems with a under-16 social media ban is that it won't work. (60%+ of Australian under-16s are still using these platforms). But it will make people feel like something has been done so they won't tackle the content, which is the real issue.

Pope Leo is a real gem.

The Albanian government has suspended Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s luxury resort project after mass Flamingo Revolution protests, Politico reports. The protesters aren’t backing down. They want the development cancelled and a caretaker government installed.

Keir Starmer’s speech on nudity apps encapsulates much of Labour’s MPs frustration with him. “Ultimatums” rather than action. Talk big, act small. Perhaps you then eventually do act big but not without losing an awful lot of goodwill in the process.

A UK poll shows that a new Brexit referendum would reverse the vote that led to Britain’s departure from the European Union a decade ago www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Welcome to FIFA World Cup Iraq's World Cup striker, Aymen Hussein, was held and questioned for nearly seven ​hours at Chicago's O'Hare airport after arriving with the squad ‌early on Saturday, an Iraqi sporting official said.

Farage is happy to be given money by American anti-abortion groups and christofascists. And it won’t be for nothing in return. It never is. Reform is making deals with authoritarian misogynists behind our backs. Farage’s greed will trump our rights every time. liveapp.inews.co.uk/category/444...

letter to the Times today

Is there a notable effect associated with the Carol Vordeman letter to all women in Makerfield? Knew nothing of her letter before today curtesy of philmoorhouse.bsky.social a Different Bias. Only paper covering is Manchester Evening News www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

One thing worth adding, which wasn’t the subject of the piece (quick 🧵) Since the start I’ve been getting word of a fairly stark gender divide. Sometimes in one household woman voting Labour, man voting Reform

Makerfield byelection: odds shift Labour from 64% to 80-85% prospect Reform 35-40% dip to about 15% - Burnham local presence/record + change pitch landing - Reform candidate controversy (trail heavily with women, competitive among men) - Restore look like taking 1/6 Reform votes (prob not 1/4)

FT editorial board argues in favour of reducing dependencies from US suppliers. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Britain’s questionable reliance on Palantir

🇦🇲 Dear Nikol Pashynian, congratulations on your electoral victory. The spirit of the Velvet Revolution you led in 2018 is alive and well. We deeply value our partnership with a democratic Armenia that is drawing ever closer to Europe. Armenia can count on us.

Since the UK left the EU’s internal electricity market (IEM) I n 2021, households and businesses have faced rising energy bills with between £120 million and £370 million a year added to UK electricity costs.

🔴 Drone strike hits Russia’s Novorossiysk oil facility. A drone attack early on June 8 ignited a fire at the Grushova industrial site, part of the Sheskharis transshipment complex in Russia's Krasnodar region, which serves as a key terminal for storing and exporting oil.

Russia lost the election in Armenia, which is good news for the whole world

Humiliation for Trump. As expected, Netanyahu ignored his pleas not to attack Iran. Israel struck Iran several times overnight. Iranian missiles are now en route to Israel.

"If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it." - Roald Dahl

BREAKING: DDHQ has called it: Karen Bass and Nithya Raman will advance to the general election for LA Mayor in November. Spencer Pratt is OUT.

WATCH: “Where’s the evidence? You’ve never presented any evidence.” Unhinged, lying Trump has a MELTDOWN and WALKS OFF when Welker refuses to let him get away with lying about rigged elections. Finally some pushback.

This is a tremendous rebuke of Trump by Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump claimed Netanyahu had promised him he would not launch new attacks or escalate the conflict, only for Netanyahu to proceed with a new round of full-scale military strikes in the region. The war is now as active as it has ever been.

Brexit ‘sabotage’ has cost Britain up to £30bn every year. Brexit was secured by lies. None of the promised economic benefits delivered. Gave us higher business costs. Farage still peddling the same lies. UK's future is with Europe. Must rejoin the EU.

Trump’s plan to dismantle an ocean observation system vital to understanding the climate crisis and marine ecosystems would “severely degrade” the accuracy of weather predictions and El Niño forecasts, with economic consequences for the US, European and American scientists have warned

Majority of voters want Brexit to be reversed, says Britain’s leading pollster There has been a ‘decisive and consistent shift away from Brexit’ since the referendum 10 years ago, says Sir John Curtice www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

You have to admire the chutzpah of the BBC’s response to the Trump lawsuit www.ft.com/content/d2a0...

Excellent point. 👌

It is overwhelmingly clear that non-white Brits are much more likely to be stopped, detained, disbelieved and mistreated by the police than whites, yet the BBC has spent the entire week giving oxygen to the far-right fantasy that the complete opposite is the case. Here’s what I think is going on

Just catching up on the BBC news about why Reform losing would actually be Reform winning

This is probably true but ignores the elephant in the room - the role of big money from politics. The foreign donation cap is a start but there is no reason why the richest people here should be able to donate unlimited millions to parties to shift debates and buy influence.

There’s been a concerted effort among several members of the Trump administration to stir up race hatred over the Henry Nowak killing. One might almost think they were in cahoots with Reform and Restore. The Far Right is a global threat.

The Lib Dems Roger Harmer has become leader of Birmingham City Council despite the LDs being the smallest group - thanks to the support of the Greens and some independents. Reform were the largest group but no other party would work with them.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026... The country which has appointed a man who admitted taking part in the violent coup attempt on January 6 to a sensitive defence job has no business lecturing the UK about law and order

The World Cup host country usually sees a huge boost in its tourism – but in America, hotel rooms remain empty, and stadium seats un-booked. Greed? The war in Iran? Or, is the Donald Trump effect putting people off America? www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/is-t...

Number 10 hits out at people stoking ‘division’ after JD Vance’s claims about Nowak case ft.trib.al/DL2WGv2

Zelenskyy has written an open letter to Putin: “Whatever you say about NATO, geopolitics, and the Russian language — this war is your personal choice. “A war without a real reason. That is how history will remember it. 1/

your regular reminder that Reform published a draft bill in May last year which promised to deregulate the crypto industry and cut stamp duty on transactions from 24% to 10%

The arrogance of these American privileged brats thinking land there for the taking - modern day colonialists.

Pssst: We bumped the video upload limit from 100MB to 300MB to make posting bigger videos easier.

How many more incredibly winnable by-elections is Nigel Farage going to have to lose before we start talking about the leadership crisis in Reform?

Makerfield By-Election Voting Intention: LAB: 49% (+6) RFM: 39% (-1) RES: 8% (+1) GRN: 2% (-1) LDM: 1% (-3) CON: 1% (-1) Via @survation.bsky.social, 26 May - 1 Jun. Changes w/ 18-22 May.

Reform’s Robert Kenyon already getting a pasting on Question Time Well done to the woman from audience who said ‘I’d rather be represented by a career politician than a sexist plumber’

The US has sanctioned Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and his family. Getting preparations in place for Trump’s next illegal project should he ever manage to extricate himself from Iran.

Reform has raised more than £9m in the first quarter - £3m from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, delivered just before the government capped foreign donations, and £4m from crypto entrepreneur Ben Delo.

Journalist, "Why did you pardon a billionaire who the gov said is a threat to US national security?" Trump, "I don't know who he is"

Reform UK’s Candidate in #Makerfield Rob Kenyon misses his first full council. He’s not signed his paperwork to be a councillor and he’s missed every meeting so far.

HOUSE TO DONALD TODAY: "We're taking away your useless war." SENATE TO DONALD TODAY: "And we're taking away your tacky ballroom."

The Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital in Knoxville has unveiled a new lounge that features a kitchenette, showers, sleep pods, workspaces and washer and drier facilities for waiting families of children in intensive care: www.wate.com/news/knox-co...