I view it similarly, however for me it's also a litmus test in that to be anti-trans requires abandoning of facts/science AND basic compassion/empathy, so basically inevitable they will harbour or at least be at greater risk of developing bigoted views and more sujbject to manipulation by propaganda

Political pundit class in the United Kingdom yearns for the days when every story could be a no-facts-only-vibes "what does <latest thing> mean for the political fortunes of Boris Johnson?" blag, and actively resents the way complicated events in the outside world keep pushing them to do real work.

This intro to David Frost's Telegraph column sums up so much that is wrong with British politics.

Really good to see mainstream coverage of how under this administration US government federal agencies are poasting on socials like they're 4chan obsessed TikTok interns farming retweets for the 3rd Reich.

It makes me so angry because these are not serious people and we are forced to pretend they are or get scolded for being elitists insufficiently open to new stalls in the marketplace of ideas when we point out a prerequisite for the debate stage should be understanding how literally anything works.

Explain to me how this would happen. The fucking mechanics of it. Explain them to me. Russia or China, storming the beaches of an EU and NATO member state terrotiry which includes a fucking US military base on it in a take and hold maneuver a bazillion miles from their nearest supply lines?

Starmer's Labour is now a grimly unpleasant anti-immigrant cult.

You’d think Labour might want to sit back and pretend to be reasonable while Jenrick and Badenoch knock lumps out of each other, but they decided to try and outflank them in the other direction by regurgitating a far right trope

The Social Democrats are no longer posting on X, you can follow them here @social-democrats.bsky.social

1938: One People, One Nation, One Leader 2026: One Homeland. One People. One Heritage. This isn't even between the lines, it's clear as day what the US is becoming.

Rowling hasn't said a word about grok producing nonconsentual porn photos of women or CSAM. She doesn't actually give a damn about women and children. She just hates trans people.

The guy in charge of producing endless AI CSAM cheerleading Rowling while she pretends to care about kids.

All Greenland party leaders have issued a united statement about not wanting to be annexed: siumut.gl/inuiattut-at...

The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee has been forced to make a statement, declaring that the prize cannot be transferred. It's hard even to comprehend how stupid this has become

I know the hypocrisy is a key part of the whole agenda but gods it's so frustrating living in today's absurd mirror world. The Yanks needed guns so they could rise up against tyrants, now they have a tyrant and the gun fans are not only not rising but actively supportive of the tyrant.

In case you’re wondering whether the pro-ICE reactions to Renee Nicole Good’s murder are natural, here’s a comment that was just left on my video. My video about anti-transgender bias at the BBC. I haven’t made a video about Good yet. youtu.be/pWm3dK8tPto

Have deleted a reply elsewhere with glinner approvingly sharing a call to revoke the 19th amendment (women’s right to vote btw) by a wee 4chan loser nazi on X, cos it was full of lies and ableist slurs. Here it is again with the irrelevant disgusting stuff removed and just the relevant info.

Because Fine Gael were very, very able to make glossy videos about protecting kids online before - and the Government it belongs to has spent the week flustered not able to say exactly why it's not doing anything about real world harms happening on a site with a European HQ here. (2/2)

The idea that journalists, politicians, groups or - you know, women, people of colour, LGBTQ+ people - should "stay on the pitch" doesn't really hold up. Foreign Minister's account has 60k followers - 40 likes, 13k views? Blue ticks straight to the top of the queue with misogyny, bile.

UK Gov, on X Corp's Grok software producing CSAM: "if another media company had billboards in town centres showing unlawful images, it would act immediately to take them down or face public backlash" No, they would be arrested. They would be arrested for doing that. What are you talking about.

You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today. This could be you.

Something Putin taught us is that the goal of effective propoganda isn't to convince people, it's to create a permission structure: a) for your existing hardcore supporters to back you; and b) for those not engaged to tune out because it's all too complicated or partisan politics as usual.

This is also a field test. If the press lets them muddy the waters on executing a woman in Minneapolis despite multiple witnesses and video recordings clearly depicting what happened, the message they'll take away is that there's nothing they can't get away with. Nothing.

"It's not necessarily the app that's making the images... it's people using the app that's making the images. Making images of that sort is reprehensible..." No, people are asking the app to make the images. IT'S A FEATURE. Not a bug.

People living in UK - especially GB - should not be thinking 'at least we're not as bad as America,' when Northern Ireland exists and civilians were being shot by state forces there for decades, and recent governments have given those forces amnesty. @grantsana.bsky.social leading bsky voice here.

"How Wales chooses to allocate that funding from the UK Government, rightly and reasonably, is a matter for the Welsh to decide. In contrast, in Scotland, we are taking a different view," [Douglas] Alexander told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast this morning

Kind of extraordinary that the new Local Growth Fund is to be distributed by the Welsh Government in Wales, but directly by the UK Government in Scotland, and that the rationale for the difference seems to be no more than "we don't trust the Scottish Government".

and this funding is being shamelessly bunged straight into 'traditionally' labour areas ahead of the scottish elections with nothing north of dundee where labour have been non-entities for a generation nen.press/uk-governmen...

Remember when Boris Johnson was trying to do blatant pork barrel spending to punish the constituencies of MPs who didn't toe the line and we all recognised that as a corrupt tactic? Well...

After a long holiday hiatus, our weekly #PF2 game is running again! Tonight we're reconvening to continue our ongoing #Kingmaker campaign. We have a full crew tonight and everyone is excited to catch up. Settle in for some adventuring shenanigans!

Discworld QOTD, from Snuff

Graham Linehan claims he detonated his career, his family, his entire life, to protect women. He often asks people to "apologise to their daughters" if they disagree with him on trans rights. And yet, when someone's daughter is executed by ICE, he shares Right-Wing propaganda that she deserved it.

Ms Regan said "There is no basis for this assertion. If you even think for one second, I cannot possibly be suspended from Holyrood. If I was suspended from Holyrood, using a complex system of guylines and pulleys, how would that be in line with workplace safety laws?" news.stv.tv/politics/msp...

now we find out if the rest of the world does anything to stop a rogue state, run by narcissists, rich kids, attorneys & podcasters, treating anything or anyone they want like a piñata - i imagine Starmer is in a meeting now checking with his advisors on best way to avoid upsetting the Daily Mail

Good morning from Canada, a country whose border Trump has called an “imaginary” “artificial line” established by an illegitimate treaty. I’d like to be spared your nuanced “Were Trump voter’s racist with fascist inclinations or just low information voters with fascist inclinations?” debate today.

The clear pattern here is: completely ignore the reason why you lost Scotland, the people must be insane; ignore the reason why you lost control of the party, the members must be insane; ignore the reason why the public hates you, everybody must have gone insane.

Right. As opposed to the anarchy-based immigration system we have now. No rules involved. Our immigration system is famously happy-go-lucky and care-free.

This does seem just a little bit bad! Idk the sort of thing you’d think politicians might distance themselves from or something!

If the British government, and indeed other governments, can’t muster a fast and strong response to Twitter adding a facility enabling users to create and share AI child sexual abuse material then not sure what Musk could ever do that would actually provoke a response.

it means that people insisting on politeness while supporting the 2 child benefit cap are more dangerous and cruel than people campaigning to end poverty while calling you a vampire bsky.app/profile/rent...

Well when one of the leading political journalists of the UK has predicted that we'll see Anas Sarwar will be Scottish First Minister and Lucy Powell will be Prime Minister we're going to have competition for wildest 2026 previews

A Hampton Inn in Asheville just canceled my family's reservation because our address (incorrectly) showed Asheville—and the hotel bars locals within 50 miles. When I asked why, they said, "because of our homeless population," adding that most hotels here have similar policies. This is outrageous.

In America, where irony is dead, a hotel chain uses a policy denying shelter to local people, for fear of accidentally housing homeless persons… To deny a reservation to the author of a much-lauded book on how American economic unfairness forces working people into homelessness.

Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh my GODS, OH MY GODS THEY'RE JUST DOING 2011 AGAIN, I'M NOT EVEN JOKING, THIS IS JUST A RE-RUN "We won Westminster, it's time to vote Labour, the SNP have had their shot, also if you don't vote for us knife crime is going to go through the roof" was their 2011 campaign!

important

Brooks should be driven out of public life. The fact that he knew there were photographs of himself with Epstein and he didn't disclose that while also telling people that they should move on is just straight up unethical.

David Brooks, who wrote in the NYT last month, "The Epstein Story? Count Me Out" is... in the latest Epstein photo dump published by @oversightdemocrats.house.gov. He should absolutely be fired by NYT for this. Major conflict of interest that he didn't disclose.

I think this the wrong way to look it and indeed, precisely why unionism in the Celtic nations looks so dicey

It may not feel like it now as marginalised people and their allies are edged out of institutions in the arts - but those institutions are unreliable, antiquated and at this point, bending the knee to fascism. It’s absolutely the best thing artistically and financially to be free of that.

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.