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The UK government is reportedly planning to install former Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre as chair of the broadcasting regulator OFCOM. Some background: https://t.co/psZabLCOaD 1/

Polls have consistently shown that the UK public currently has a much higher level of trust in TV and radio media than they do in the UK newspaper industry, which has consistently been found to be the least trusted in Europe:
https://t.co/EY7DnA8SvW /2

The UK public's low level of trust in our newspaper industry should perhaps come as no surprise. In 2016 the Daily Mail and Sun were both called out for "fuelling prejudice" in an international report on rising racist violence: https://t.co/mdwZoWPtgf /3

In 2015, the United Nations spoke out, condemning "decades of sustained and unrestrained anti-foreigner abuse, misinformation and distortion" in the UK press: https://t.co/maP2ZIElrL /4

By contrast, UK broadcast media are currently held to a much higher set of standards. Although not perfect, OFCOM has strong powers to tackle racist and hateful coverage within TV and radio, eg: https://t.co/hXjbtkgU2s /5
Get ready for a load of spin about how the government's "Jet Zero" strategy allows them to do this and remain compatible with their climate goals. Jet Zero is a Trojan horse to expand aviation while promising change and it'll be too late to stop it when very little happens.


We've seen exactly the same from MPs of a certain colour regarding the expansion of Southampton Airport runway. Our own MP even claimed it was necessary to support British Airways families. AFAIK there are no BA families here: Literally throwing constituents under the (air)bus.

It's worth reading this debate in Hansard to see what is going on.

Want to see a textbook example of churnalism?

Here is a press release from the local business lobbying organisation of which the airport is a member: https://t.co/UGUssnUyj7

Here is the same thing reheated in the local press with a reporter's name on it:

Here we go...
The @AlphabetWorkers have formed what is called a "minority union." Quick thread on what that means:

A cornerstone of US labor law is the principle of "exclusive representation" - if you collect authorization cards from the employees and win an election, you...

1/


...get to represent all the employees you sought to represent. As the exclusive rep, the employer has to work with that union and that union only on any issue of wages, hours, terms and conditions of employment. In turn, the union has a legal Duty of Fair Representation (DFR)

2/

... to not discriminate against the people it represents if they choose not to join the union.

The big problem: labor law is so weak in the US, employers violate it all the time with no consequences, and therefore obtaining exclusive rep status is really hard.

3/

However, a legal theory floated by law professor Charles Morris in his 2005 book, The Blue Eagle at Work, suggests that the law also allows unions WITHOUT exclusive representation.

3a/

The National Labor Relations Act, after all, in its vitally-important Section 7, says workers have the right to collectively bargain. It doesn't say that right only exists when there is an exclusive representative.

4/
To: @GOP in the @USHouse
Re: Your ABSENCE is required

Dear Republicans,

Do NOT legitimize the sham of @JoeBiden by attending on Jan. 20.

All voters were disenfranchised by his election fraud.

To those who CERTIFIED this FRAUD: Shame on you!

@Robert_Aderholt
@repRickAllen


@Troy_Balderson
@Jim_Banks
@repAndyBarr
@CliffBentz
@repJackBergman
@StephanieBice
@repAndyBiggsAZ
@repGusBilirakis
@repDanBishop, @JDanBishop
@LaurenBoebert
@repBost


@Liz_Cheney
@repBenCline
@repCloudTX


https://t.co/rvz50giG2C


https://t.co/4UYoX1cVqJ
"You know you are in the Upside Down when a famous human-rights organisation petitions your government to disenfranchise you and members of your group, to stop you from engaging in peaceful actions and voicing your concerns and opinions."


"If any man can fill out a form, as is the case in Ireland, and legally become a woman ‘for all purposes’, that is not a legal fiction. That is an access-all-areas pass for predators...

...This is not to say that trans-identified people are predators. But it is to say, if predators went through the seminary to gain access to victims, are we to believe they would not fill out an A4 form?"

"That is the essence of self-ID: it affirms the wishes of the trans-identified person. Even if they are a rapist..Or a man who wants access to female-only spaces for the buzz of the transgression. This system is harmful to all of society – including genuine transsexuals."

"We do not accept that males, regardless of how they identify, should have access to female toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards or refuges. This is not a conservative viewpoint. This is the fundamental basis on which we order society."