Ed

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

Let me tell you what just got reported, because you will not believe it until you see it laid out.

The Trump administration cut a billion-dollar tungsten deal with Kazakhstan. Tungsten is the metal we need for missile warheads, fighter jets, and computer chips. Trump himself got on the phone to close it. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick worked it from the inside, sending letters, leaning on the Kazakh president, lining up as much as $1.6 billion in federal financing.

Within weeks of those negotiations, investors tied to a firm partly owned by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump took a 20% stake in an entity connected to the very same Kazakhstan project their father was negotiating. Around that same time, Cantor Fitzgerald, the firm run by Lutnick’s own sons, raised $210 million for a partner in the deal and pocketed the fees.

The fathers set the policy. The sons cashed in.

Six days after the Trump sons and their partners moved their money, Lutnick signed the final deal.

The reporting found one or both families have financial ties to at least 14 companies working with the government on critical mining deals.

The total federal funding flowing toward those companies tops $8.9 billion.

This is your tax money.

It is supposed to secure our supply chains and protect our troops, not pad the portfolios of the President’s children and the Commerce Secretary’s children.

This is the most corrupt administration in American history. It is not close.

We must keep digging, and keep asking the questions they do not want asked. Republicans in Congress are unwilling to lift a finger. Mike Johnson is running a protection racket.

Either we will end the corruption, or the corruption will be the end of us.

https://t.co/yFOl7zvOhC

[Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla]

NEW: Boris Johnson failed to declare to parliament a gift of private jet flights from the same cryptobillionaire, Christopher Harborne who gave £5m to Nigel Farage, leaked documents reveal.

New #HarborneReceipts investigation from @thenerve_news
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[Don McGowan @donmcgowan]

If you have a spare 3 mins and 45 secs today, watch this fantastic grilling by Sally Nugent on BBC Breakfast.

The very first time I've seen Farage questioned properly about his £5M bung, and it's fair to say, he totally fluffed it.

There are points when you can see Farage tremble and even accuse the BBC of putting him in danger. 🤦‍♂️

It was for security. It was for cars. Nobody cares. It's no one's business. He won't tell us. DANGER!

At one point, he let slip that the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards may 'disagree' with him on the rules around donations.

He knows he's going to be found guilty on this one. He's in trouble, and his face gave it away gloriously.

Top hats off to Sally Nugent. Stellar work. 👏

[Lindsay Owens @owenslindsay1]

Surprise, surprise. New reporting from @guardian confirms what fans have long suspected. Sky-high World Cup tickets were not inevitable. FIFA staff pushed for a more affordable ticketing strategy.

FIFA leadership instead made a deliberate business decision to maximize profits with dynamic pricing, even if it meant pricing diehard fans out of a once-in-a-generation experience.

The results have been what you might expect: the most expensive World Cup in history.
https://t.co/8xA2HZXwRY

[Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar]

Nigel Farage says his £5m gift from a crypto billionaire is “not any of your business” as it was given unconditionally to be spent on anything from Ferraris to gambling on horses 👇

https://t.co/FiT736X0lP

[Sam @SamCKx]

The first major wave of online misinformation resulted in Brexit, a decision that the majority of economists regard as the most damaging economic choice Britain has made in modern times, making millions of working families poorer.

Now it appears a second wave may succeed in forcing out a democratically elected Prime Minister who in a short timeframe has a track record of delivering policy designed to help millions of working families. Not a perfect man, but certainly one of the better PMs of the last 30 years or so.

A wave of gross & obvious misinformation, spread and amplified by foreign-owned social media platforms, in a deliberate campaign designed to indoctrinate UK citizens, may have toppled a British Prime Minister.

We are going down a very dark path here.

[Sam @SamCKx]

The replies to this post have put absolutely beyond doubt that the hatred for Keir Starmer is 99% based on misinformation. Just read through them, people spouting the same misinformation they have been repeatedly fed over the last year or so, disproven countless times, but still believed and amplified by so many. This is how easy it is to brainwash millions of people if you have the resources. This is how societies are destroyed.

[Anna Soubry 🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇦🇪🇺🖤🤍 @Anna_Soubry]

No one should be celebrating what seems certain to be the imminent departure of #Starmer & arrival of our 7th PM in 10 years
Something has gone horribly wrong in British politics. Stability & competence were key parts of what made us a great country.
Poorer quality politicians, the cheapening of political debate (in part social media but also MSM) & rise of so called populism led to #Brexit & the decision to leave #EU just exacerbated the demise of competent Govt, sensible politics & decent politicians.

[Bradley Wall 🏳️‍🌈 🇪🇺🇬🇧🌍 @BWallArthur]

I kinda feel sorry for him. He's quietly and competently getting on with fixing broken Britain. He's just not charismatic. Has tried to avoid angering either political side and ended up aggravating both and the right wing media has easily eviscerated him

[Jack Dart @JackWDart]

If people genuinely believe Burnham won’t receive the exact same media onslaught, they’ve not been paying attention.

Starmer is not, objectively, bad. This idea that he is somehow the worst PM in British history is frankly laughable.

Liz truss lasted 49 days, crashed the pound and was laughed out of Downing Street.

Since Labour took office, Keir Starmer’s government has:

• Scrapped the two-child benefit limit, lifting hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty and putting money back into some of the hardest-pressed households in the country.

• Expanded free school meals, cutting costs for families and making sure more children get a proper meal during the school day.

• Expanded funded childcare, reducing one of the biggest monthly costs facing working parents and making it easier for people to stay in work.

• Raised the National Living Wage, increasing pay for millions of low-paid workers.

• Strengthened workers’ rights, giving people greater protection against insecure work and bad employers.

• Introduced statutory sick pay from the first day of illness, so workers are less likely to choose between their health and their wages.

• Ended no-fault evictions, giving renters more security in their homes.

• Brought rail operators back into public ownership, taking key services out of failed private hands and giving the public a stronger stake in how they are run.

• Cut NHS waiting lists from their post-pandemic peak, meaning more patients are being seen sooner.

• Raised the state pension through the triple lock, protecting pensioners’ incomes against rising costs.

• Scrapped the old non-dom tax regime, making some of the wealthiest people in the country pay more fairly.

• Added VAT to private school fees, raising money from those most able to contribute.

• Removed business rates relief from private schools, ending an unjustified tax break.

• Increased neighbourhood policing, putting more officers and PCSOs back into communities.

• Helped bring knife crime down, meaning fewer families face the devastation of serious violence.

• Recorded the lowest homicide rate since the 1970s, a material improvement in public safety.

• Created Great British Energy, giving Britain a publicly owned clean energy company.

• Created the National Wealth Fund, backing investment in industry, infrastructure and clean energy.

• Passed planning reforms aimed at getting homes and major projects built faster.

• Improved relations with the EU, reducing diplomatic hostility and rebuilding practical cooperation.

• Agreed a UK-EU security partnership, strengthening cooperation on defence and European security.

• Signed a long-term partnership with Ukraine, reinforcing Britain’s support against Putin’s invasion.

• Secured new trade agreements, opening up markets for British businesses.

• Helped restore seriousness to government after years of scandal, chaos and decline.

People do not have to like Starmer. They do not have to vote Labour. But pretending this is the record of the worst Prime Minister in British history is absurd.

[Sam @SamCKx]

If Keir Starmer does resign, history will look back on his reign and scratch its head as to why the hell he was so hated.

On paper, he's probably delivered more to working British people in such a short time than any PM for decades.

After inheriting an absolute mess: NHS waiting lists fallen. Worker's rights improved. Rail operators nationalised. Improved relations with EU and improved UK's global reputation. Removed non-dom tax status. Halved childcare costs. Boosted state pensions. Lowest homicide rate in 50 years. Lifted 550k children out of poverty. Immigration vastly reduced.

We are in the age of billionaire funded misinformation, whose sole purpose is to topple democratically elected leaders, and insert leadership that favours the wealthy elites over the working people. Looks like the game plan is working...

[Supertanskiii @supertanskiii]

“You only care about violence against women and girls when it’s committed by a brown person”

I’m living for Thangam Debbonaire losing her shit after being incessantly interrupted by Sarah Pochin and then utterly bodying her.

No notes.

[Pippa Crerar @PippaCrerar]

EXCL: Nigel Farage has been trying to block Bank of England cryptocurrency plan that could be costly for billionaire bankrolling his party.

Reform UK leader has said Christopher Harborne wants nothing in exchange for millions donated to party and undeclared £5m personal gift to Farage revealed by Guardian.

But Farage used private meeting at Bank to urge governor to drop plans for state-run alternative to digital currency that has made his Thailand-based benefactor one of richest people in world.

Cracking tale from @tomburgis

https://t.co/o4ljHGx8fZ

[Paddy Power @paddypower]

Like clockwork…

[chief 🏆 @aliladiere]

Gabriel in his hotel room watching these Declan Rice corners on TV:

[Paddy Raff @paddyraffcomedy]

Describing a Toblerone to someone who’s never had one before

[The Footy Feed @TheFootyFeed]

These translations are getting better and better 😂

[T G J @thatguysjokes]

Me after calling Mbappe shit at half time

[Jenni @hashjenni]

Zohran Mamdani is 34 years old. YOUNG PEOPLE CAN LEAD EFFECTIVELY. You don't have to be 70 with "life experience" to do a good job.

[Brendan Cox @MrBrendanCox]

10 years ago my wife, the mum of our kids & the MP for Batley&Spen was killed by a far right extremist.

At anniversaries I try to be optimistic about the future. But not this time. In the ten years since she was killed we have gone backwards & I fear our democracy is now at risk