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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

@mcdowall.me

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 7d

This morning I have written to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice @angelaconstance.bsky.social MSP to register our concern over plans by the Home Secretary to provide new protest policing powers to police forces in England and Wales and to ascertain if the CabSec intends to mirror this in Scots law.

Audio version of letter is linked on the second post. The link to the audio version is: https://tinyurl.com/cabsecjustice

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1m

Reeves really will do anything but tax the super wealthy.

Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 47m

Pakistan is currently carrying out air strikes across several provinces in Afghanistan including the capital Kabul. It’s an escalation on previous attacks.

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 43m

I hate being right.

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Patrick Harvie MSP @patrickharvie.bsky.social · 16h

The whole point of human rights law is that the Government can be held to account when they breach people's rights.

If the Home Secretary doesn't like it, that's why she needs to hear it.

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 18h

Woah! So Labour's position really is, 'telling us off for breaching human rights undermines the case for human rights'? Proper Trumpian stuff from Labour's answer to Suella Braverman.

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 14h

Tell him to steer clear of pots of tea oh and open windows.

Al Jazeera English @aljazeera.com · 14h

The trip will be Ahmed al-Sharaa's first official visit to Russia, a longtime ally of the former Bashar al-Assad regime.

Syria’s al-Sharaa to meet Russia’s Putin in Moscow on Wednesday

The trip will be Ahmed al-Sharaa's first official visit to Russia, a longtime ally of the former Bashar al-Assad regime.

bit.ly

Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Scottish Refugee Council @scotrefugeecouncil.bsky.social · 1d

🎤 Nae Borders is BACK!

⭐ Join us next month for an unmissable night with the best in the comedy circuit at @gleeclubglasgow.bsky.social !

Our outstanding comedians are standing up in solidarity with those seeking safety in Scotland.

Don't miss out!

🎟️Tickets on sale now: booking.glee.co.uk/22899

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Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Jolyon Maugham KC @goodlawproject.org · 18h

Woah! So Labour's position really is, 'telling us off for breaching human rights undermines the case for human rights'? Proper Trumpian stuff from Labour's answer to Suella Braverman.

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Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Tristan Grayford @tristangrayford.scot · 17h

I think it would have surprised even the most pessimistic if you'd told people during the 2024 campaign that a year into Government Starmer's team would be negatively briefing against the ECHR and Council of Europe for daring to question their assault on trans rights

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 14h

Then again, it’s Nigel Farage. He bellows “law and order” when it suits him, but tramples it when it doesn’t, weaponising Connolly’s shameful, dangerous post to stoke outrage and rake in support from his base. We are all worthy of protection from threats in law.

Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 14h

A man was jailed for threatening Farage (rightly so), yet Farage persistently excused Lucy Connolly’s dangerous and reckless tweet amid riots where a hotel was set on fire, towns smashed up and businesses looted. Farage invited Connolly to speak at Reform’s conference. It is hypocrisy on stilts.

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 15h

Sounds like a great suggestion. If I’m ever involved in plans for an office I’ll make sure that is added as a high priority :)

Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

British Society of Criminology @britishcriminology.bsky.social · 1d

BSC Conference 2026 at NTU. If you didn't know already we are off to Nottingham for our next conference. A conference about resilience and hope - yes please... More details to follow but you can find out more here: www.britsoccrim.org/conference/

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 15h

Keeps you on your toes.

Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.bsky.social · 16h

i don't have the words to emphasise how seriously bad things are gonna get

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1d

Oh that’s a good idea! I’ll need to have it a bash!

Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1d

Someone needs to invent a cheap soundproof box like a pay phone style kiosk that we can all go into and just scream.

a young boy is laughing with his mouth open in a striped shirt .

Alt: A young girl screaming loudly

media.tenor.com

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Laura Bassett @lebassett.bsky.social · 1d

I don’t think you can “abuse” your right to protest

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 1d

Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson's full statement, in which she says she will sign an EO permitting protest "only at the safety zone located at the ICE facility on Beach Street," is up on the village's website.

"There are too many protesters abusing their right to protest," Thompson says.

Image text:

Broadview Shrinks Protest Safety Zones

The following statement can be attributed to Village of Broadview Mayor Katrina Thompson:

“The protests at the ICE facility on Saturday night degenerated into chaos. There were 15 arrests, and 10 of those were around the age of my own daughter. As a mother and a mayor, I am mad. Broadview didn’t choose to have the ICE facility in our community. But it’s here. And so are Broadview residents. There are too many protesters abusing their right to protest. Too many are raising their fists rather than their voices, creating chaos at the expense of the people who call Broadview home. Broadview residents lack the protestors’ privilege to return to calm, quiet neighborhoods for undisturbed rest.

Therefore, I have issued a new executive order, in consultation with the Illinois State Police and Cook County Sheriff, that permits protests only at the safety zone located at the ICE facility on Beach Street.

There will no longer be a designated protest safety zone at 2000 South 25th Avenue between Lexington and Fillmore.

Additionally, it has been only God’s grace alone that a protester has not been struck and killed by a motorist on 25th Avenue given how frequently protesters dash onto this busy, four-lane street. This new
measure will provide for both the serenity of residents and safety of protestors.

As I have repeatedly said, I respect, support, and defend the protesters’ free and – peaceful – speech against the outrageous injustices and deplorable unprovoked chemical arms attacks by ICE agents against American citizens, journalists, and ministers that put Broadview police and firefighters in harms’ way.

Nevertheless, my first priority is to defend public safety and the residents who live here and people who work here. They deserve stability, safety, and respect, a quality of life that is currently being denied to them. They deserve the love and kindness that they expect by being Broadview residents.”

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1d

You’ve put the willies up them!

Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

The Glee Club Glasgow @gleeclubglasgow.bsky.social · 5d

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 NEW SHOW: Scottish Refugee Council are excited to announce Nae Borders Comedy Night, on Thu 13th Nov 2025 at The Glee Club!

Featuring Mark Nelson, Kim Blythe, Sid Singh, Paul Black, Marjolein Robertson, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Mhairi Black & Susie McCabe

🎟 On general sale 10am Mon 13th Oct

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Julien Hoez @julienhoez.eu · 2d

We were right.

Michael Gove has admitted that the 🇦🇺 & 🇳🇿 trade deals negotiated by the Conservatives did not protect Britain’s farmers

“I felt that we were too anxious as a government to secure those deals in order to show that Brexit was working”
www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/country-and-...

Michael Gove admits that post-Brexit trade deals were bad for farmers

Michael Gove has admitted for the first time that the Australia and New Zealand trade deals negotiated by the former Tory government did not protect Britain’s farmers.

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk

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Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1d

It is heartbreaking that trans people are even having to consider this as a serious option in the first place but I understand entirely why such an option seems like the best and in some cases, the only, option available where gender-affirming surgery can be accessed.

Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA @mcdowall.me · 1d

It’s no surprise trans people are travelling thousands of miles to Iran for gender-affirming care, given the dominance of transphobes and anti-LGBT+ activists in Western govts. It’s what happens when you isolate trans people and refuse affirming healthcare.

www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/10/tran...

Trans medical tourism is booming in Iran, while transitions are forced on locals - LGBTQ Nation

Prices for gender affirming surgery are lower in the Islamic Republic, and their industry has been fostered for decades by forced transitions.

www.lgbtqnation.com

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Reposted by Rob McDowall AMRSPH MIHSCM FRSA

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree @pingree.house.gov · 1d

🧵

For more than 12,000 years, Indigenous peoples have inhabited the vast and beautiful lands we call Maine.

On #IndigenousPeoplesDay, we honor their enduring contributions, acknowledge the injustices they’ve faced, and recommit ourselves to a future rooted in respect, sovereignty, and truth. (1/4)

Image of a pond or lake in Maine at sunset, with people canoeing on it.

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 1d

One of Trump’s few consistent positions is pro-corruption.

Adam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 2d

Trump calls on the Israeli President to pardon Benjamin Netanyahu:

"Cigars and champagne - who the hell cares about it?"

Netanyahu is currently on trial for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust, including allegedly accepting 700,000 shekels (approx. $210,000) worth of luxury goods in bribes.

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NPR @npr.org · 1d

President Trump said "left-wing radicals" have tried to tarnish Columbus' legacy, and the proclamation is a way to preserve it. Some experts say it's a way to erase the heritage of Native Americans.

Trump issues a Columbus Day proclamation to 'reclaim' the explorer's legacy

President Trump said "left-wing radicals" have tried to tarnish Columbus' legacy, and the proclamation is a way to preserve it. Some experts say it's a way to erase the heritage of Native Americans.

n.pr

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