I can do whatever I want, waaah waaah waaah 👶👶👶. Spoilt brat throws toys out of the pram.

Devastating record. Says it all. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Bolsonaro in prison, Yeon sentenced to prison, Andrew arrested on his birthday...and America still holding on to a 34 count felon as President.

It is notable that Andrew has been arrested for "misconduct in public office", which is precisely what the US Supreme Court decided no American president can ever be charged with.

So many countries reminding the USA of all the things the USA is supposed to be…

This, so much this!!!!⬇️

What bothers me most is not whether Starmer was right or wrong to sign the original Chagos Deal, on which views may vary, in good faith; but, that he’s such a puppet to Trump that he vacillates this way and that, in a desperate and ultimately vain attempt to appease the orange monster.

Luckily, it’s a good day to bury this news.

"can you arrange something that'll knock the Chagos Islands clusterfuck off the front pages" "I certainly can my ever beleaguered master" "back in the game"

Well, if it goes badly, despite all the red flags, Starmer will only have himself to blame.

A good-sized portion of the British right has lobbied/ conspired with a foreign power to achieve this outcome.

🇺🇸 US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order aimed at supporting US production of glyphosate, arguing that the herbicide, which the WHO says is a probable carcinogen, is essential to the country's food security. ➡️ u.afp.com/S6e4

They’re so clearly going to try to fix the elections Every US outlet should be reporting on this every single day between now and mid terms

The wheels of justice may turn slowly, but in Britain: sleaze, malfeasance and/or incompetence in office - Johnson, Truss lose jobs Britain: Epstein dealings: Mandelson fired; Andrew arrested US: crickets. Nothing to see here. The rich and powerful do as they please.

L: Private Eye front cover, yesterday. R: News headline, today. Stay ahead of the news; buy the Eye.

Editorial from March's Byline Times; no words needed.

I’m dying…..

Actions speak louder than words. For all Rubio’s claims of US-Europe friendship, the US admin is actively promoting far right ideology across Europe, pushing an unjust peace deal on Ukraine, pursuing corrupt deals with kleptocrats, and undermining core elements of western democracy. Not our friend.

Rubio probably wants to be hailed as a statesman, speaking in Europe, like Kennedy and Reagan before. But his Munich speech was antithesis of all they stood for, propagating a narrow white Christian worldview, glorification of imperialism, and denigration of values which once underpinned alliance.

🔴‘Build That Wall’: Why Secretary Rubio Is No Jack Kennedy The Secretary of State’s address to European leaders showed how far American leadership has fallen under Donald Trump, argues @alexhh.bsky.social bylinetimes.com/2026/02/17/b...

This is a nice move in an interview www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...

Been a very busy few days …⛷️🎿🚠🥈🥈🥈

So…just like Fox News.

Report says that while Cab Office dismissed the claims against Romeo, the Foreign Office did not. Echoes of my experience in 2019, when Cabinet Office refused to address my ethical concerns about Brexit, but FCO took them seriously. Cab Office has become politicized. www.channel4.com/news/sources...

The Epstein Files tell a horrific and heavy story of abuse and corruption. But power protects itself through the expectation that we will feel paralysed by the sense of powerlessness. Their release is a seminal moment. That's why our new Byline Times print edition delves into the deeper story 👇

Go for it! Print beats screen

A govt which was serious would not rush to make any such significant appointment, without thorough due diligence.

Great questioning. I simply don’t understand how this racist bigot can be nominated, of all places, for a State dept position!!!

I honestly have no idea how they find such dreadful people…but they walk amongst us. Heck, his kid may have played baseball with mine😬

Reminiscent of the type of caller occasionally haunting @mrjamesob.bsky.social's phone-in that when pressed, are unable to articulate the practical benefits of brexit, or their fears of people who look different to themselves.

Report says that while Cab Office dismissed the claims against Romeo, the Foreign Office did not. Echoes of my experience in 2019, when Cabinet Office refused to address my ethical concerns about Brexit, but FCO took them seriously. Cab Office has become politicized. www.channel4.com/news/sources...

Just heard Adam Boulton on Times radio expostulating and pontificating like a pub bore about the current hoo hah over Cabinet Secretary, quoting unnamed Whitehall officials and lambasting PM, and Simon McDonald, w/o knowing any of the details. So easy to take cheap shots. Is he always like this?

Day after Alex Pretti killing I complained to BBC about presentation of White House statements and evidence as equivalent. Duty of balance doesn’t extend to complicity with clear lies, I said. BBC could and should report WH making false statements as a *fact of the story*. Today I got response …

A diplomat has to be on two sides at once - that of their home govt and that of the country they are posted in. The idea of 'going native' sounds old-fashioned, but it's also real. In an environment as toxic as Trump 2.0 that's a real risk, without any judgement on the character of the Ambassador.

Well there were plenty of good replacements on offer but the govt thought a high profile politician would flatter Trump (I doubt he cared). But there is a principle about not letting diplomats have indefinite postings and I think it makes sense for reasons beyond tradition and buggin's turn.

I don't usually talk politics, but I am just going to put out there that Impeachment Convictions need 67 votes in the US Senate to go through (Unless I'm misremembering). Can we please energize the youth and get them to use the 6-7 funny hands meme as a rallying cry to go vote and flip seats?

1000% this.

Perhaps Starmer should appoint himself Cabinet Secretary, because he has all the cautious, uncharismatic, yet essentially decent, honest and professional instincts to do that job well, while letting the Labour Party focus on finding someone with better political skills to replace him as PM!!!

That being said, I came across plenty of bullying, self-promoting men in the civil service whose careers did not seem to be held back by their overweening self-regard and ambition. Not an excuse for Romeo, if there are similar concerns about her, but still, some double standards at play, here?

NEGUSE: AG Bondi, that man works for you now, right? The man in that video from J6 yelling 'kill them!' at cops. His name is Jared Wise. BONDI: He does work for us, yes. I believe he was pardoned NEGUSE: And you expect hard-working police officers to believe you take law enforcement seriously?

I suggest PM would be wise not to rush to appoint a new Cabinet Secretary, let alone one with a reputation for self-promotion and flamboyance. The job requires someone willing to work hard, quietly, professionally, behind the scenes, with experience and good relationships across Whitehall.

One of the difficulties here is that, unless she denies it, the assumption has to be that the “government source” was Antonia Romeo herself. And that if she denies it, one still must assume it might have been her. As for being brilliant, there’s no doubt she thinks she is. As you say, she may be.

Simon McDonald may have had his faults, but I never remember him as sexist. This is same man who brought down Boris Johnson, by revealing Johnson knew about MP Pincher’s misconduct. It’s legit to ask if he’s right to speak out again now - but it suggests his concerns are genuine and substantive.

While I have been fixated on figure skating at the Olympics the last few days, it turns out there are sharper blades being flourished in Whitehall. Who’d want to work in this ice cold, backstabbing environment?

The French judge (“quel surprise”) in massive statistical outlier, scored US pair EIGHT points below French pair, giving latter the gold. 5 of other 9 judges ranked US pair first! Both were excellent, but the French duo had an error, while US were flawless. Fixed www.sportingnews.com/us/olympics/...

Ecosystem of anti‑EU nationalism, dark‑money, data‑driven voter manipulation Files show Brexit was the outcome & instrument of a transnational network of oligarchs, data‑operation firms & authoritarian‑leaning actors. All stood to profit from destabilisation, low regulation, weak democratic checks

It's the citizens on this grand jury & the people blowing whistles in Minneapolis & across America that are standing up to Trump's lawless, authoritarian takeover.   We, the People are protecting our democracy as spineless Republicans in Congress roll over for Trump every time.

My namesake is killing it! x.com/nbcolympics/...

Why didn’t the Biden admin release the Epstein files? Why are we still getting this drip, drip, drip of revelations when presumably dozens of people in DoJ under both admins know what’s in them. It can’t be about “protecting” the victims because they are being hurt most by the continuing cover-up.

Dishonesty and cronyism have become embedded in our system. Brexit further corroded our institutions, weakened economy, destroyed trust. It’s time for a proper, honest, cross-party, nationwide debate about the state of our democracy. Starmer could still be a transformative PM if he launched this.