Nikos

'BBC Bias' Memo Was Authored by Lobbyist Tied to Pro-Trump Tech Giants The leaked memo that fuelled Trump’s attack on the BBC was written by a lobbyist at a firm paid by US tech giants tied to the President

🧵On our revelations today about the BBC Coup and the Prescott Dossier.

The leaked ‘BBC Bias’ memo Trump used to attack the BBC was authored by Michael Prescott — a Hanover lobbyist paid by US tech/media giants tied to Trump. Full story: bylinetimes.com/2025/11/11/b... 1/12

A picture of sir Robbie Gibb’s network of influence

This was a diagram illustrating a piece I wrote in @prospectmagazine.co.uk in January 2024. Some faces have since changed but you get the general gist …

Days since an Australian university admitted to wage theft: 0

What happens when you step on the scale of an AIs algorithm and require it to take conspiracy theories as being more authoritative than reported events.

They’ve laid off so many people that the government is now getting its economic data from DoorDash.

My goodness me

How very convenient to, ah, miss that Nazi protest application Your Honour, meaning when it went ahead, it made us suddenly aware we need more laws and it was the perfect bit of outrage to do so and of course we didn't let it happen on purpose

What Machiavellis do you take us for?

Gendered Corruption: How Gender Norms Underpin Experiences of Corruption in Asian and Pacific Countries There is a growing recognition that corruption not only exacerbates gender inequality, but that gender inequality undermines anticorruption efforts. As such, anticorruption policy actors are increasi...

Govt, Police - Academic research & evidence show a robust link between patriarchal systems, male-dominated networks & higher levels of corruption - Patriarchy fosters corruption by perpetuating power imbalances - creates environments where self-serving male networks operate with impunity
#nzpol

News flash: Phonetics is bullshit.

Who knew? 🤷‍♂️

(Spoiler: Almost every single pedagogic sociologist has known this since the 1960s).

Then it's not a fucking ceasefire, is it.

A graph showing UK billionaire wealth rising from £200bn to £650bn from 2010 to 2024. Over the same period, foodbank use increases from almost nothing in 2010 to a spike around 2015 of over 1mn, then continues to rocket up to over 3mn by 2024

Homelessness, foodbank use, and child poverty have all been growing alongside the wealth of the super rich. These things are two sides of the same coin: inequality is undermining our ability to provide for everyone.

Infographic explaining how taxing the rich can raise billions through closing tax loopholes and wealth taxes. Key points include £24bn from a wealth tax, £15bn from bank windfall taxes, £14bn a year from equalising capital gains taxes, and other loopholes and subsidies for polluters.

Taxing the rich could raise billions in the next budget – but that's far from the only reason to do it. Taxing the richest is popular, fair, and necessary to start making society more equal and our economy work better for everyone. Here's why:

Some astonishing details in here. It’s like reading a recipe for pure corruption.

The Second Dismissal In an extract from The Double Dismissal, Emeritus Professor Jenny Hocking, distinguished fellow of the Whitlam Institute within Western Sydney University, and Dr Matt Harvey, senior lecturer at Victor...

‘Conventions were torn up like confetti, Fraser refused to resign as PM despite the no-confidence motion against him & Kerr refused to acknowledge the motion or receive the Speaker. The critical role played by Justice Anthony Mason re-emerges at this point’ #auspol johnmenadue.com/post/2025/11...

BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders Sources say Robbie Gibb amplified criticisms of Trump, Gaza and trans rights coverage, and had ‘a lot of oxygen in the room’ * ‘Make no mistake – this was a coup’: the extraordinary downfall of the BBC’s top bosses A BBC board member with links to the Conservative party “led the charge” in pressuring the corporation’s leadership over claims of systemic bias in coverage of Donald Trump, Gaza and transgender rights, the Guardian has been told. Sources said Robbie Gibb, Theresa May’s former communications chief who was appointed to the BBC’s board during Boris Johnson’s time as prime minister, amplified the criticisms in key board meetings that preceded the shock resignation of the director general, Tim Davie, and the head of BBC News, Deborah Turness. Continue reading...

BBC board member with Tory links ‘led charge’ in systemic bias claims, say insiders

Chuck Schumer faces mounting calls from Democrats to resign as Senate leader A half dozen House Democrats called for the Senate leader to step aside this week.

A growing list of House Democrats and liberal grassroots groups is calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down from leadership after failing to stop a group of his senators from voting to reopen the government.

All the U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats The U.S. military has killed dozens of people in targeted strikes on small vessels in waters off South America since early September.

To date, the Trump administration has acknowledged at least 19 strikes against boats suspected of transporting narcotics, killing more than 75 people.
https://to.pbs.org/4hCqmoj

Furious Liberals Call for Schumer to Step Aside, Senate Dems Mostly Quiet After their shutdown surrender, liberal lawmakers are begging their base to unite behind them anyway – as Trumpland celebrates that their opposition is a bunch of 'p*ssies.'

“If Schumer really wanted to use his considerable influence and leverage to stop this, he could have done that,” a senior Democratic Senate aide tells Zeteo. “He didn’t.”

Sheesh
zeteo.com/p/senate-dem...

Unfortunately a lot of serious* news media behaving as though this is exactly the case

Whitlam’s legacy is one of possibility and hope. He showed us what a brave, grown up Australia could look like. Whitlam showed us what a brave, grown up Australia could look like.  And 50 years later, you have to wonder – is it even possible to make Australia brave again?

"Whitlam was a rarity in modern Labor leaders in that he was not afraid of power. Not of it and crucially, not of using it." @amyremeikis.bsky.social

thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

‘America Must Save Britain’ – Byline Times Digital / Print Edition GB News’ new programme broadcast live from Washington DC features climate denial, vaccine misinformation, and non-stop praise for Donald Trump – with the channel’s co-owner telling ‘MAGA’ politicians ...

If you have a doubt the MAGA attack on the BBC is not co-ordinated, read what GB News owner told the US

“We need you to come and save us. To rescue us … You are making America great again… We need to make Britain great again”

subscribe.bylinetimes.com/edition/79/a...

Gough dreamed of a country that never was, and asked why not? The point.com.au

My post on Gough: "Gough dreamed of a country that never was, and asked why not?"

thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

Donald is a bad judge of character because he has none.

Long lunches, Swiss bank accounts and a kangaroo scrotum: My decades pursuing Graham Richardson For a reporter whose career has been spent uncovering crime and corruption, the Labor senator was the one who got away.

there's a list of names...
"when Kerry Packer was offloading assets, Eddie Obeid was offered the firm’s printing plant, Offset Alpine. Richo, who was by now a federal Labor minister, put Obeid in touch with his stockbroker, Rene Rivkin, who was funding the purchase."
www.smh.com.au/national/nsw...

Speaker Johnson won't guarantee vote in House on ACA subsidies

Oh wow. Who could've ever seen this coming?

"Speaker Johnson won't guarantee vote in House on ACA subsidies"

abcnews.go.com/Politics/liv...

Why threats to academic freedom are growing – and how universities can respond to intimidation When scholarship is politically steered, the public loses access to evidence and the means to hold power to account.

When scholarship is politically steered, the public loses access to evidence and the means to hold power to account.

Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’

Trump Threatens To Sue BBC Over Misleading Edit Of ‘The Vicar Of Dibley’ https://theonion.com/trump-threatens-to-sue-bbc-over-misleading-edit-of-the-vicar-of-dibley/

The mayor of Tamworth Council is a very old mate of Barnaby Joyce's and a National party member

No surprises this backward collection of red-necks drags their council to court on their ratepayers' money to oppose a wind farm - and even then can't get their legal arguments right

This is BRUTAL.

Trump LOUDLY BOOED at the Commanders game.

America lets him know exactly how they feel — to his face.