Sam Bradley

Thank god for that. Now I know which shirts to buy! Thanks, Bond! Gabby Bond!
...
Gabbond?

Not enough product placement.

@tomgrossi.bsky.social I'm a Packers fan, in the UK, and new to football. Is it okay to cheer for a divisional rival? I feel like the Bears, Lions, and Vikings are OUR rivals. Other teams shouldn't be allowed to beat them. The Bears may suck, but we should be proud of them tonight. NFC North 4eva

It's the penalties that bugged me. We got exactly the same in rushing yards as penalties. If we could have played a clean game then Josh and Emanuel could have sat in an easy-chair with a nice pipe and a newspaper, and Jordan could have thrown the ball more or less at his leisure.

The Micah Parsons effect On Sunday, the Packers once again played down to the level of their competition. However, their superstar pass rusher made sure it didn't cost them a win.

On Sunday, the Packers once again played down to the level of their competition. However, their superstar pass rusher made sure it didn't cost them a win.

For @theleap.bsky.social: the Micah Parsons effect

https://www.theleap.football/p/the-micah-parsons-effect

... a profound one in fact?

‘Thick as Thieves’: Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage’s Putin Problem Far from being distant from the Reform UK Leader, insiders told Byline Times that the former MEP convicted of bribery was one of Farage’s closest aides, while we reveal how Gill worked on the Kremlin’...

🔴NEW🔴

Thread 🧵

@bylinetimes.bsky.social can now reveal that, during the crucial period when convicted Reform leader Nathan Gill was most active, working directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most senior ally in Ukraine, he was also one of Nigel Farage’s closest confidantes 1/12

Honestly I read that headline as if they were climate skeptics and had to double-take

But Andy, how will I see another space laser destroy a city I have no investment in without expensive VFX? What, you want those VFX artists to do smaller more intimate works with more emotional depth to them? You want stories that resonate? What about the space lasers?

There are no quick solutions and I sorely wish there were. I don't have any suggestions except to agree with Blake, and to hope that people with smarter heads than mine can implement something. I am so glad I do not work in this area; I don't think I could do what he does and remain sane.

My take: I'm sharing this because it encapsulates the problem so well. The grievance of the "gammons" *is* fair. It *is* wrong that we have to prioritise homeless migrants over domestic struggling but it is the only thing we can do and not be monsters. The problems are decades in the making.

But I'm not king, and all I can really do is express the issue clearly in the hope some MP somewhere can figure out a solution before racism overwhelms the conversation and ignored problems for the bottom rung of society tear everything down in a wave of nationalism like the US.
17/17 (fin)

build enough social housing so that we go back to a society where council housing is less desirable than any other form of housing, and allow asylum and immigration applicants to register and bid for social housing as part of their immigration process, not from a position of homelessness.
16/?

or add new ranks atop, demoting them in action but not name.
If I were king for a day, I'd combat this by offering a genuine legal pathway to apply for asylum. Building facilities to process in person presentations and applications,
15/?

it seems inhumane to most of us to consider putting them back in the queue, or not even letting them in the queue as is suggested by your average flag wearer? But the housing register doesn't go up to 11, so you can only either demote asylum seekers,
14/?

So, in terms of challenging a racist narrative, we should be addressing their ills, and directly. And that's hard, when we've adopted policies that put asylum seekers in a dreadful position, and then drop them at the front of the queue,
13/?

And that, is correct.
And suggesting we build more houses, or tax landlords, or do any number of specific real problem solves, doesn't address the fair.
If they must suffer, someone else joining the breadline should suffer worse, or at least as long.
12/?

or just massively overcrowded, never reach first place in the queue. Current waiting lists for these people in the Manchester area are measured in decades.
This, as you may be able to imagine, irks at something undeniably British in the heart of your ordinary gammon. It is not fair.
11/?

So, a family of asylum seekers, will always be top of the housing register.
So the thousands and thousands of people bidding every day for a council flat, either living in legally unaffordable private rents, in their parents garage,
10/?

do a family reunion shortly after getting their decision, bringing their family over as their family were still in the horrible war torn country while they made a risky crossing and spent 12 months living on bread and water waiting for their decision.
9/?

No, true, but a large large (I don't have data on this, I honestly don't think it's being recorded, but it's GMCA wide as a big issue) portion of single male applications who are then homeless,
8/?

This sucks. It should not be the case, but it is.
They are then, the most priority need for social housing.
"But not single males!" I hear you cry, because they are over represented in both asylum presentations and homelessness cohorts.
7/?

We don't have enough. This goes for if you want one just now for the first time, or if you've a family of 5 in a two bed. Homeless trumps overcrowding, it trumps everything for housing allocation.
A large large number of asylum seekers who get positive decisions, are immediately made homeless.
6/?

And finally, right to buy is fantastic for the individual (not society, but hey).
It is currently a fact, that becoming homeless is the best and quickest way to get a council flat. Massive wait lists across the country, huge overcrowding issues, lost stock, etc etc.
5/?

Rent controlled, statutory duties for landlords, repair guarantees, often well located with great amenities and a better prospect of having your ASB neighbour dealt with than if you just live in a rough bit of town. Also, no private landlord means no risk of sudden eviction.
4/?

It has come to my attention that a large swathe of the circles I run in, are not aware how incredibly desirable a council house is for a large chunk of the UK. Usually working class, not always.
They're bloody brilliant if you fit into a chunk of society.
3/?

Ok, one last shout into the void about _why_ stupid angry racists are angry and why even if it's not any asylum seeker or immigrants fault, it's still a discussion we need to be able to have and not leave it to the right wing alone.
2/?

My friend Blake works with vulnerable communities in Manchester and has written this amazing take on the nationalist response to immigration, the housing shortage, and the British sense of "fairness" that I want to spread further. Copied and pasted here with no edits, a thread. 1/?

🔥 STEWART: “This is the lie they tell you — that all this money flowing towards corporate interests is actually for YOUR benefit…. That government intervention for corporations is our ‘FREE MARKET’, but government intervention for workers is ‘SOCIALISM’.

I guarantee you that loads of people will. I also guarantee you that loads more will be off by a league.

As an aside, if Cain appears can you please persuade Simon Templeman to voice him?

Voice of Kain from LoK would be such a baller move.