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lrrogers.bsky.social
@lrrogers.bsky.social
15 followers 280 following 1 posts
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jonhenley.bsky.social
Powerful because right
tanjabueltmann.net Tanja Bueltmann @tanjabueltmann.net · May 12
My letter to the Prime Minister. #immigration
Slightly amended so I can fit this here: I am writing to you as an immigrant who chose to make the UK my home. As someone who is now also a British citizen. And as a German-born historian who understands where the complete normalisation of the far right can end. I write to say: For shame! I first came to the UK in the 1990s for a visit with my grandmother. Objectively, much was backwards here. No mixer taps in the bathroom; awful ‘bread’; and strings had to be pulled to switch on lights. But however I felt about this, my own string had been pulled: I loved this Cool Britannia. It was quite possibly then that I decided that the UK was to be my home. When I arrived to settle here permanently, I made a choice: to contribute my skills, my knowledge—all I have to offer—to this country rather than another one. I am deeply disgusted by your comment today that immigration has done ‘incalculable damage’ to the country. This is the language of the far right. It is insulting, hateful & will fuel xenophobia. And it is just wrong. Migration is a normal part of the human existence. None of us would be where we are without it. Open your fridge and you will see migration. Immigrants help make the UK tick every single day, whether we clean toilets in our hospitals or provide care for the elderly; whether we empty our bins or carry out cancer research. We are mothers, sons-in-law, aunts and uncles, friends, neighbours and colleagues. I ask you not tell me that you do not mean me. I know that you do not—at least not primarily—mean a white woman from Europe who has a PhD. But who do you mean? And, much more importantly, who do you think those racists who were engaged in riots on our streets last summer think you mean? Anti-immigration narratives have defined UK policymaking for the best part of two decades. And fundamentally so. They were the key driver in delivering Brexit, for example, and, as such, have directly limited the rights and opportunities of British citizens. This obsessive focus on immigration as the ‘problem’—that is the real problem. And it is consistently delivering poor outcomes for the UK. Instead of tackling this, you are choosing to consolidate it, sowing divisions along the way. You may point me to polling and tell me that this is what voters want. Do they? I am not surprised at all that over 50% of voters might say they want to see immigration reduced if that is the question they are being asked. What we need to know is what they would answer to the question: “Would you like to see immigration reduced? What this would mean for you and your local community is XYZ.” That is not how surveys can ask questions, but governments absolutely can choose to make policy using such a more informed position. Prime Minister, you continue to talk a lot about making the tough choices. But let’s be clear: setting immigrants up as the ‘other’, as a scapegoat—describing us as a threat ‘pulling the country apart’, a ‘squalid chapter’, a risk that might make the UK an ‘island of strangers’—these are not tough choices at all. These are the easy choices. They are the choices that populists make who have no solutions to the real problems a country faces. What I would like to know, Prime Minister, is what you will do when your policies lead to the implosion of the UK’s Higher Education sector. What you will tell communities when they can no longer provide any care for the elderly. The policies you announced today will not solve anything at all. They will have exclusively negative impacts. For those immediately affected; for our communities; and for our economy. Being pro-immigration—it is progressive, yes, but the much more crucial point is that it is also the most pro-UK policy approach that any politician in the country can pursue. And you are choosing to do the opposite. This, Prime Minister, is the real damage—and it will be very calculable indeed. Tanja Bueltmann
May 12, 2025 at 7:42 PM
lrrogers.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Note to party leaders: let Nigel Farage get in your heads and you are doomed
Reform’s leader thrives on fear and imitation. To beat him, the main parties need conviction, not copycat politics
observer.co.uk
May 4, 2025 at 11:40 AM
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stephenfrogers.bsky.social
What if we all join and post pictures of lettuce every day, then see how long before we get banned?
April 16, 2025 at 9:03 AM
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gbpoliceadvisor.bsky.social
Authors, your work is being used to train AI without permission or payment. Meta's Zuckerberg personally approved downloading MILLIONS of pirated books (including mine!). The UK government might make this legal. Read my latest in the @brightonargus.bsky.social to see how authors are fighting back👇
AI development which threatens writers' copyright - By Graham Bartlett
The US current affairs magazine, The Atlantic, has had quite a week. You’ll have heard that their editor in chief was erroneously added to a group…
www.theargus.co.uk
March 31, 2025 at 8:37 AM
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johnspringford.bsky.social
International social democracy is in systemic competition with oligarchic nationalism.
helenebismarck.bsky.social Helene von Bismarck @helenebismarck.bsky.social · Mar 25
Serious question: Can somebody explain to me why the Signal boys loathe Europe so much? Exasperation with longstanding European refusal to spend more on defence really is not enough to explain this degree of hostility. What’s so bad about Europe? Too snobby? An obstacle to their libertarian dreams?
March 26, 2025 at 7:11 AM
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channel4news.bsky.social
"This is a military strategy aiming to ethnically cleanse what remains of Palestine."

UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese speaks to @krishgm.bsky.social after Israel's latest attacks on the Gaza Strip.

Read and watch here:
‘We have failed to prevent genocide’ – Francesca Albanese
We spoke to the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, for the Fourcast podcast.
www.channel4.com
March 19, 2025 at 10:35 AM
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theguardian.com
Gareth Southgate rails against ‘callous toxic influencers’ in Dimbleby Lecture
Gareth Southgate rails against ‘callous toxic influencers’ in Dimbleby Lecture
* Ex-England manager worried by impact on young men * Southgate: ‘We need leaders to set the right tone’ Sir Gareth Southgate has expressed his concern that “callous, manipulative and toxic influencers” are taking the place of traditional father…
www.theguardian.com
March 19, 2025 at 6:10 AM
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carolecadwalla.bsky.social
NEW: My piece for the Observer on how I was so deep into my investigation into Cambridge Analytica that I failed to realise that Hannah - my ex's daughter - was facing a human version of it: a stalker who was harvesting her data and weaponising it against her.
1/

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...
Stalked: how a relentless campaign of online abuse came to derail one woman’s life
A new BBC podcast recounts the ordeal endured by Hannah Mossman Moore, whose phone was bombarded by fake accounts and her personal data weaponised against her
www.theguardian.com
March 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
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alastaircampbell2.bsky.social
New @therestpolitics.bsky.social - if you missed yesterday LIVE re Vance v UK/French military, Trump speech, latest move v Canada and German economic changes here it is. Q and A will now be out tomorrow alastaircampbell.org
Home
Home page of Alastair Campbell's blog containing his podcasts, books, blog posts and social media posts. A great way of seeing everything in one place.
alastaircampbell.org
March 6, 2025 at 8:05 AM
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thomasig.bsky.social
Good news that the SC have actually upheld what was blatantly an illegal Executive Order, bad news that four Justices ignored how obviously illegal it was.
March 5, 2025 at 2:21 PM
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dorianlynskey.bsky.social
As I've been grumbling about certain BBC presenters, it's important to say that correspondents like Jeremy Bowen, Lyse Doucet and Steve Rosenberg continue to not just deliver the finest reporting and analysis but push back against daft questions. It's such a relief to hear them instead of [redacted]
March 4, 2025 at 1:44 PM
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iandunt.bsky.social
I don't really get why anyone listens to the Today programme anymore, for precisely this reason. It's not biased really, it's just hopelessly glib and superficial. You learn very little.
petergeoghegan.bsky.social Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · Mar 4
Find Justin Webb on Today on Radio 4 completely unlistenable when it comes to the US: glib, ill-informed and opinionated is the worst possible combination in this moment
March 4, 2025 at 8:30 AM
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alanlester.bsky.social
1/3 Strange how someone like Matthew Syed can appreciate the resonance of Hannah Arendt’s warning about fascist propaganda and yet still believe the fiction that a ‘woke’ takeover of institutions needed correction.

www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
March 2, 2025 at 7:42 AM
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padamson.bsky.social
First rate, as always, by @andrewrawnsley.bsky.social : www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
In this dangerous age, Britain needs to exert soft power as well as the hard stuff | Andrew Rawnsley
Defence spending has to go up, but siphoning money from international aid is a self-defeating folly
www.theguardian.com
March 2, 2025 at 7:52 AM
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supertanskiiii.bsky.social
70k signatures to rejoin the EU. Big petition, timely too - polling shows the public is in favour. Let’s get it to 100k and push Labour to debate rejoining. It’s the glaringly obvious solution our economic problems and the rise of the far right.

Please repost.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Petition: Apply for the UK to join the European Union as a full member as soon as possible
I believe joining the EU would boost the economy, increase global influence, improve collaboration and provide stability & freedom. I believe that Brexit hasn't brought any tangible benefit and there ...
petition.parliament.uk
January 31, 2025 at 12:33 PM
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bylinetimes.bsky.social
🔴The Sheer Scale of the Conservative Local Government Auditing Scandal Is Only Now Becoming Clear

Billions of pounds in spending remains unaccounted for, with the National Audit Office unable to sign off the nation’s accounts, reports @davidhencke.bsky.social

bylinetimes.com/2024/11/27/t...
The Sheer Scale of the Conservative Local Government Auditing Scandal Is Only Now Becoming Clear
Billions of pounds in spending remains unaccounted for, with the National Audit Office unable to sign off the nation's accounts
bylinetimes.com
November 27, 2024 at 8:58 AM
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theguardian.com
Faced with many foes, Labour needs to get out of its defensive crouch and on to the front foot | Andrew Rawnsley
Faced with many foes, Labour needs to get out of its defensive crouch and on to the front foot | Andrew Rawnsley
The pervasive mood of negativity masks that many do have reason to be grateful for the election of this government As slogans go, it is a tongue-twister. You wouldn’t want to try organising a chant of “Starmer Farmer Harmer” with a group who had been…
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2024 at 7:49 AM
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jburnmurdoch.ft.com
This is really getting quite remarkable

• BlueSky user numbers have doubled in the past week and now total 3.5 million across US & UK 🚀

• Number of people deleting their X/Twitter account remains way up

And the next chart is particularly notable...
November 19, 2024 at 9:39 PM
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alltheblergs.bsky.social
Clarkson: Your claim that I bought a farm to avoid taxes is false and irresponsible.

BBC: It’s your own claim.

Clarkson: What’s that got to do with anything?
mikegalsworthy.bsky.social Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy.bsky.social · Nov 19
And THAT is exactly how people with a huge sense of entitlement regularly behave when they get caught out.

#JeremyClarkson
November 19, 2024 at 9:12 PM
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bsky.app
15M people on Bluesky!!! 💫

The Verge beat us to our own announcement — that's the beauty of an open network with public stats!
November 13, 2024 at 3:43 PM
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mrjohncrace.bsky.social
Hello everyone. I am now on this platform for social media. Do please repost this message so that more people can find me!
November 13, 2024 at 11:26 AM
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rafaelbehr.bsky.social
One for citizens of Sussex who might enjoy a lively evening of live political chat, featuring witty and clever panelists. Also, me. 9th October, Old Market Theatre. theoldmarket.ticketsolve.com/ticketbooth/...
Ticketbooth
theoldmarket.ticketsolve.com
September 9, 2024 at 11:48 AM
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alastaircampbell2.bsky.social
New Rest Is Politics LEADING interview with Audrey Tang, child prodigy who became Taiwan’s youngest ever minister, the world’s first digital minister who used tech to transform trust in govt, and the world’s first non binary transgender minister. alastaircampbell.org/2024/09/97-h...
97. How to fight fake news and strengthen democracy (Audrey Tang)
Is technology destroying democracy, or can it be used to strengthen it? How did Taiwan improve public trust in politicians by 60%? Could the NHS be transformed by digital consultaions for the better? ...
alastaircampbell.org
September 9, 2024 at 5:23 AM
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ec.europa.eu
Ever wonder what happens to your old clothes?

Not many get a second life — less than 20% of textiles are collected, and only 30% of that is recycled.

The EU's Textile Strategy is tackling this with durability standards, limits on waste exports, and actions against greenwashing.

europa.eu/!HXRV6y
An infographic titled "What happens to the collected textile waste in the EU?" The image shows a row of folded clothes in various colors at the bottom. Above the clothes, four statistics are presented: 50% of collected textile waste is exported to third countries. 30% is sent for recycling. 10% is directly sent to landfill or incineration. 10% is re-used locally. In the top right corner, there is an EU Commission logo.
September 6, 2024 at 1:24 PM
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lewisgoodall.com
Huge demonstration underway in Tel Aviv demanding a hostage return/ceasefire deal and Netanyahu’s resignation.
September 1, 2024 at 6:05 PM