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martymcd.bsky.social
Martin McDonald
@martymcd.bsky.social
2.6K followers 2.1K following 14K posts
UK & US Politics and other stuff from the kitchen table, one tweet at a time. Some say 'a totally undiscovered twitter treasure' apparently. Also tax. And law
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Martin McDonald
timbale.bsky.social
Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 48m
"Over the last year, Badenoch has asked c.200 questions, Davey around 70, Green MPs 9, and Farage just 6. If those questions had been distributed according to their share of the opinion polls, rather than the number of MPs, Farage would have asked 120 , and the others between 40 and 60 each."
PMQs should give more space to Nigel Farage
In a recent survey of young people by Onward, six out of 10 felt that “too many people are ignored” by democracy or, worse still, that “democracy i...
www.politicshome.com
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Reposted by Martin McDonald
oldtrotter.bsky.social
David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 6m
The articles on CapX are increasingly weird.
Trump, however, is a very different beast. Unlike presidents who came before him, he is not a politician constricted by the need to subscribe to the rules and conventions of an imagined liberal international order. He recognises that most of the world is not like the United States or cushy western Europe, with our comfortable living standards and democratic peace. In actuality, it is the state of nature that prevails, and to bring about peace between nations whose raison d'etre is to see the other destroyed requires brutal trade-offs and naked incentives.
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martymcd.bsky.social
Martin McDonald @martymcd.bsky.social · 4m
Do you mean *more* weird because they've always been a bit odd that lot, isn't Iain Martin a key player over there?
Reposted by Martin McDonald
louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social
Louis Coiffait-Gunn @louiscoiffait-gunn.bsky.social · 2h
Fascinating discussion at #CiviCon25 (civicuniversitynetwork.co.uk/civicon25/) in Sheffield after my presentation on 'University libraries, the sector's civic secret weapon' ciliporguk.sharepoint.com/:p:/s/Shared... thanks all who joined
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ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1h
It really is bizarre to me that every single member of GOP House leadership & the admin has decided their coordinated talking point this week is that the No Kings demonstrations this Sat are essentially acts of domestic terrorism. Are they that afraid of free & peaceful assembly?
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fintwitter.bsky.social
FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 1h
*BESSENT SAYS ACTION WILL TOTAL $40B FOR ARGENTINA: SEMAFOR
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jamesrball.com
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 9h
I've spent *weeks* working on this special report for @thenewworldmag.bsky.social on GB News co-owner Paul Marshall – and the astonishing, unprecedented influence network he's built on the UK's right. There's never been anything like it before. www.thenewworld.co.uk/james-ball-p...
Paul Marshall, the man who owns the right
The multimillionaire controls a network of news channels, publications and think tanks that the left could only dream of. If Reform or the Tories win the next election, he will become the country’s mo...
www.thenewworld.co.uk
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hollyanderson.bsky.social
Holly Anderson 🍇 @hollyanderson.bsky.social · 1h
you fucked around and now the Episcopalians are doing memes. are you happy now. are you
Screenshot of a Facebook post featuring three of the Portland protesters wearing inflatable frog costumes with the following text: Episcopalians on Facebook Elizabeth Rose Elrod • 22h • Exodus 8:2-6 "But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs... The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your officials."
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nickbadley.com
Nick Badley @nickbadley.com · 1h
New video!!
I went to Norwich station to see the unit for the first nationalised Greater Anglia service! (Featuring an interview with the Secretary of State for Transport!)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwM7...
Greater Anglia Has Been Nationalised!
YouTube video by Nick Badley
www.youtube.com
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jimmfelton.bsky.social
James Felton @jimmfelton.bsky.social · 1h
Just glad Splatatouille's family can finally have some closure x
Scientists Studied The Infamous "Chicago Rat Hole" And They Have Some Bad News
The "Chicago rat hole" became so famous it is now housed in the City Hall-County Building. Scientists studying it found a few surprises, and some grim news.
www.iflscience.com
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fairless.xyz
Jonty @fairless.xyz · 6h
Windows 10 goes out of support today. My fave useless fact about w10 is that the iconic blue desktop background is a *photograph* - not CGI.

Tiny 'making of' vid here - youtu.be/_2RacX9DgWM...
Three images showing photographers in a studio, standing around a black curtained area with a projector and a 'Windows' logo etched onto a glass pane. The lower image shows a version of the iconic blue windows background, with blue lasers outlining and passing through an angled Windows logos against a dark background.
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petebuttigieg.bsky.social
Pete Buttigieg @petebuttigieg.bsky.social · 1h
The important thing is that we can rebuild something fully new and better, which is why facing the severity of this moment can be a source of hope rather than paralysis.
Opinion | Pete Buttigieg on Rebuilding America After Trump
www.nytimes.com
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petebuttigieg.bsky.social
Pete Buttigieg @petebuttigieg.bsky.social · 1h
Emerging from the darkness of this era will require us to acknowledge that the previous status quo, including many institutions that may have served us well in another era, have been failing for my entire lifetime.
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barberstig.bsky.social
Stuart Barber 🏳️‍🌈🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @barberstig.bsky.social · 1h
LNER 91127 arriving into York earlier on 1N81 from London Kings Cross. Always great to see an old girl wherever we can.

#LNER #Class91 @225group.org.uk
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rufustsuperfly.bsky.social
Tom Reagan’s Hat @rufustsuperfly.bsky.social · 21h
Milei looks like all the cast of Are You Being Served in one
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jamesrball.com
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 7h
“By 2028, Marshall boasted, “we will be left with two dominant news channels: the BBC representing the centre left, and GB News representing the centre right”. Marshall and the other backers of GB News don’t need to do anything other than wait to be guaranteed a breakthrough – and they know it.”
Paul Marshall, the man who owns the right
The multimillionaire controls a network of news channels, publications and think tanks that the left could only dream of. If Reform or the Tories win the next election, he will become the country’s mo...
www.thenewworld.co.uk
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Reposted by Martin McDonald
maddenifico.bsky.social
Bill Madden @maddenifico.bsky.social · 1h
In a rare interview, former special counsel Jack Smith warns Trump that attacks on public servants have an "incalcuable" cost on the country. 😳👇
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rolandmcs.bsky.social
Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 2h
Unemployed former Downing Street aide (2019-2020) says something.
andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social
Andrew Sparrow @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social · 2h
Dominic Cummings claims 'everybody in Whitehall' knows threat from China far worse than government admits publicly - www.theguardian.com/politics/liv...
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thorbenson.bsky.social
Thor Benson @thorbenson.bsky.social · 4h
This boat has a baby
Baby boat
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stephenkb.bsky.social
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 4h
What I love about Holden’s “when I was in Cabinet, these guys were charged”, is, yes, the same week that the PM was (rightly!) trying to get a meeting with Xi Jinping!
sturdyalex.bsky.social
Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 4h
INCREDIBLE clip.

<Richard Holden MP shouts like an angry man in a pub>

Lisa Nandy: "Can you calm down a bit, mate? You're shouting like an angry man in a pub."

Richard Holden: "That's not fair."

<continues to shout like an angry man in a pub>
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martymcd.bsky.social
Martin McDonald @martymcd.bsky.social · 18h
I should probably add, also, when someone said 'ooh, we've got remarkable engagement, how do we monetise this?'
martymcd.bsky.social
Martin McDonald @martymcd.bsky.social · 18h
It was fine until the bad people took over and started exploiting it, it can almost be dated to the point at which FB transformed from a place you met mates to when the 'elderly' started connecting with relatives and sharing opinions. Then they introduced the news feed thing, and it was game over
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jonnelledge.bsky.social
Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 18h
I have a half formed thought that one of the reasons everything is so awful right now is specifically because the internet and tech are at the root of so much of it, and the thing that was meant to create the future has actually given us the six fingered cyberpunk version of the 1930s.
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martymcd.bsky.social
Martin McDonald @martymcd.bsky.social · 19h
Some people are never happy, they always want 100% od something unattainable rather than 70% of something that is!
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chrisgeidner.bsky.social
Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 19h
BREAKING: Marco Rubio's State Department announces publicly that it is exercising unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination in revoking people's visas based on comments about the killing of Charlie Kirk.
Department of State v @StateDept g.. The United States has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans. The State Department continues to identify visa holders who celebrated the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk. Here are just a few examples of aliens who are no longer welcome in the U.S.: 5:55 PM • Oct 14, 2025 • 34.1K Views
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