All Protocol Observed Welcome to Issue 219 of The Continent Protests, an internet blackout, and deadly force marked Tanzania’s Election Day. Once online again, 37 readers shared what they witnessed. Read their stories: bit.ly/219_TC

An incredibly and, based on everything I've heard, unjustifiably confident man is sitting next to me at a café and all I want to do is tell him to SHUT THE FUCK UP.

The scale of the education cuts being put on the table by one council in Scotland. Brutal, brutal stuff. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2560...

I've been banging on about the state of the college sector for YEARS. Hell, I'm only a journalist (rather than a lecturer) because of the incredible scale of the decline. Now the work needed to put things right is enormous, as is the bill! www.heraldscotland.com/news/2559326...

And it remains the case that anybody putting children in isolation because of their hair shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a school.

A Scottish Council is facing a bill of around £15m due to major defects in a school that cost around £10m to build. The school won't reopen for nearly 2 years. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2558502...

Nursery inspection rates have fallen sharply at the same time as the government has been pushing to expand childcare provision. So how safe are children in Scotland's nurseries? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2557021...

This is one of those stories where it's a privilege to be trusted to tell it.

If you want to know what's wrong with UK media, just look at the way Fraser Nelson is treated.

Scottish education is underpinned by a system of presumed mainstream inclusion, and almost all children with additional needs are educated entirely in mainstream classes. But does the reality for pupils and teachers match the lofty rhetoric? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2555492...

Education Specialist James McEnaney looks at the presumption of mainstream education www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social

Has the presumption of mainstream education really worked for Scotland's children, or is the reality too far from the aspirations and rhetoric? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2555492...

The question of school violence has been a regular headline in recent weeks. The complexity of the issue is leaving teachers, students, parents and politicians in a tight spot. Are violent pupils trouble, troubled, or both? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2557437...

Quite an unfortunate place to drift off into an ellipsis.

Because white men in suits famously never harass anyone!

Glasgow's education director has resigned with immediate effect after discovering that text messages from a year ago may become public. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2556211... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Glasgow is looking for a new Director of Education after Douglas Hutchison abruptly resigned today. The reason? As yet unreleased text messages that could have "undermined" the counci's budget process. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2556211...

My review of the Mull school saga is today's Big Read in @heraldscotland.bsky.social . www.heraldscotland.com/news/2554168...

We need to get past the idea of these people being "radicalised" on X. The British ruling class has been racist for centuries. For a while that was suppressed by hard won anti-racist social norms. But after years of chipping away with e.g. talk of "legitimate concerns" those norms are now collapsing

'Generations of islanders will have to live with decisions made by people headquartered hours away on the mainland' || Education Specialist @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/opin...

‘I had never supported Universal Free School Meals. Then I looked at the evidence.’ barryblack.substack.com/p/i-had-neve...

Big, big, big fan of councils flagging their massive FOI fuck ups by going radio silent in the (entirely misguided) hope you'll forget all about it.

This coming down is good. It was transphobic nonsense which put trans people into a liminal third category which is a breach of international law… …as the new statutory guidance almost certainly does too. So we fight that too. This is a stepping stone towards a more equal future:

Yesterday a council argued in court that islanders have no right to be consulted on the location of a new school, despite that decision having generational consequences. No matter who loses this case, nobody wins. A political solution is needed. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2554168...

Increasingly convinced that the best tactic for dealing with ICE would be for everyone to point out, loudly and repeatedly, that its members are cowards.

Remember when Republicans got mad that the federal government might be CENSORING political content on social media? Remember when they spent three years holding hearings trying to prove it happened? And threatened to jail anyone involved? How times change!

seems like a non-insignificant percentage of rage against the machine's fanbase are young republican men driving SUVs bopping their head to anti-oil, pro-immigrant songs thinking the lyrics are about how they wish their suburban parents would get off their back

www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2553... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social

'It seems to stand to reason that we need teachers to be spending as much time in the classroom as possible. 'In reality, that assumption is entirely, unequivocally wrong, and it’s not actually all that difficult to understand why' || Education Specialist @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social 👇

I hope and believe that most of my fellow Jews will join me in saying that it is sickening that anyone should justify this outpouring of execrable racist bile by claiming that it's for our sake.

Milngavie. If you're not from here, I dare you to try.

No sudden rupture is now required for the far right to take power in this country. For what we're seeing is a steady normalisation of extremists by the Conservative and Labour Parties, BBC, Telegraph, Mail and others. A shift once considered unthinkable beings to look acceptable, even inevitable.🧵

R4 reporter suggesting the (unlikely) possibility Macron may accept Lecornu's resignation as PM but then immediately reappoint him which does at least on the face of it seem like the most French thing that could happen

This is the lobbying group dressed up as a think tank that refuses to reveal who funds it. What if the money is coming from someone with an interest in nuclear power plants? That would be relevant, right?

Kemi Badenoch 🤝 Russell Martin "My approach will pay off eventually."

Yer Da' throwing about the word 'woke' as an all-purpose insult was pathetic and embarrassing years ago, but his conference speech shows that it's still the best that Russell Findlay has to offer.

The alarming fact is we have so many grifters because it's a demand-led business and loads of people/orgs pay no real scrutiny to what is actually said by the "big" names they hire.

This is obviously a very dangerous line of thinking. It's also anti-Semitic.

Badenoch is the most compelling of the current party leaders because of the gulf between who she believes herself to be (she visibly thinks she is a bold thinker) and the reality (incredibly lazy and partisan).

Repeatedly gather outside hotels for racist demos and you've got legitimate concerns. Repeatedly protest against a genocide and Starmer will find new ways to let the police come after you.

Falkirk Council wants to take its current funding for 13 'Enhanced Provision' ASN units and "redistribute" it across all 47 schools in the area. But can parents trust assurances from officials who can't or won't answer basic questions? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2551611...

Important point - announcements about "crackdowns" and "bans" are a way to try and convince people the state has power when it increasingly fails at basic tasks.

This is what Reform does: it identifies a wedge issue, it spreads disinformation until people are no longer able to distinguish between what’s real and what isn’t, it polarises communities, politicians get scared and potentially positive schemes are jettisoned. It’s 100% its MO.

Big credit to @andrewlearmonth.bsky.social and the @heraldscotland.bsky.social for choosing to do their own version of this thread (this time regarding the Autumn Budget Revision) as the splash in today’s paper. Imagine a world where budget papers made it clear how taxpayers’ money is being spent.

In her lunch with the FT the OnlyFans CEO says her company pays more tax than the entire British fishing industry. Quite a stat.

🇮🇪🇸🇪🇩🇰 Foreign state-owned firms own 12% of total ScotWind capacity – including the governments of Ireland, Sweden and Denmark ScotWind profits will support public spending abroad, but not in Scotland

🌍 78% of ScotWind capacity is owned by parent companies headquartered outside the UK This means the majority of profits extracted will flow overseas rather than be reinvested in Scotland

Want to see how the government has sold off Scotland's natural resources? Here you go 👇

"The difference between reality and the fable, however, is that the wolf is and has always been real, and some of the sheep are already missing legs and bleeding out." www.heraldscotland.com/news/2551663...

The Scottish Government has issued new advice on supporting trans pupils, with updates around toilets and changing rooms. You've probably already seen the headlines and some awful reactions, so I wrote about it for @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2551...