F***! Is that a genuine still from the chaotic video and not AI? If it is genuine that is undoubtedly a state execution.
At least the German Nazis didn't execute incognito.
I think that has to be a fake.
Bellingcat has synchronised the videos and I don't think it possible for such a clear image through the scrum of ICE agents. Neither is there anyone filming from that angle:
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
We need to see GWB come out with the same sentiment. He is good friends with the Obamas and I am pretty sure shares their view of the shit staining the Oval Office at the moment. He should have the courage to make a stand. That might start to move Republican sentiment as well.
PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not. 🤷🏻♂️
Oof, that's shots fired. Comes across as a bit petulant though, I don't think that was necessary to twist the knife, that was already done.
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
So why all the f****** about then? I don't understand what 12D chess move he has mastered here.
It was his only chance to become PM - get back into Parliament during a northern by-election and take on a weakened Starmer in a leadership bid.
Labour will get thrashed like a ginger stepchild at the next GE, and when/if they recover, King Andy will be too old. That's his calculation.
What happens now? Lab lose Gorton, Wes challenges SKS and possibly loses, so he limps on in office. Andy remains King of the North but will never be Labour Leader/PM.
The Ken Clarke de nos jours.
That's unfair on Clarke. He is far smarter than Burnham.
And (the edited bit) on Hezza.
More like John Redwood.
Now now. I don't rate or like the treacherous Burnham but Redwood? Is Burnham litigious? He could sue.
As could Redwood. He may have been eccentric, and done the worst campaign launch ever until Change UK took that crown, but he did believe in things. Whereas Burnham's key belief in this farrago seems to have been that he really ought to be Prime Minister
My friends and acquaintances provide plenty of anecdotal evidence of a reluctance to travel to the States. Anybody else come across similar?
Most Definitely! Spoke to a friend this morning who has deliberately avoided visiting New York on her way to her daughter's place in Canada. She and her husband quite fancied a short break in New York, and they still want to go, but say they won't do so for the forseeable future. On a walk with friends last Friday the discussion also turned to ways in which they could boycott US goods and services, as well as avoiding visiting there.
(FWIW these people are all retired professionals, well educated, with families and civic responsibilties. One family votes Labour, the other Green or Labour.)
Yeah they just elected a proper commie there. Doesn’t believe people should own property.
Yes President Trump isn't all bad. He has come out in favour of gun control.
Although it sounds like something he'd say, it's a fake post
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
My friends and acquaintances provide plenty of anecdotal evidence of a reluctance to travel to the States. Anybody else come across similar?
Most Definitely! Spoke to a friend this morning who has deliberately avoided visiting New York on her way to her daughter's place in Canada. She and her husband quite fancied a short break in New York, and they still want to go, but say they won't do so for the forseeable future. On a walk with friends last Friday the discussion also turned to ways in which they could boycott US goods and services, as well as avoiding visiting there.
(FWIW these people are all retired professionals, well educated, with families and civic responsibilties. One family votes Labour, the other Green or Labour.)
Yeah they just elected a proper commie there. Doesn’t believe people should own property.
Yes President Trump isn't all bad. He has come out in favour of gun control.
Although it sounds like something he'd say, it's a fake post
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
The idea that PMs are somehow immune to challenge from in their party and it's undemocratic/evil to do so, is ridiculous.
Or are we to say that the oustings of Thatcher, Blair, Johnson and Truss were wrong?
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
Poland is in no hurry to join the euro zone, Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday.
Domanski said that the case for adopting the euro had weakened as Poland has outpaced most economies in the bloc. Member states of the European Union are obliged to join the single currency area when certain criteria are met.
“Our economy is now doing clearly better than most of those that have the euro,” Domanski said.
“We have more and more data, research and arguments to keep the Polish zloty.”
Confirms we could re-join the EU and not have to have the Euro.
PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not. 🤷🏻♂️
Oof, that's shots fired. Comes across as a bit petulant though, I don't think that was necessary to twist the knife, that was already done.
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
David Frum @davidfrum · 7h Not everybody who supported Trump and MAGA was a bad person at the start. But MAGA is a jealous god. It demands its supporters descend a path of degeneration to utter moral ruin. Police death squads today; who knows what tomorrow.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
The idea that PMs are somehow immune to challenge from in their party and it's undemocratic/evil to do so, is ridiculous.
Or are we to say that the oustings of Thatcher, Blair, Johnson and Truss were wrong?
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
So why all the f****** about then? I don't understand what 12D chess move he has mastered here.
It was his only chance to become PM - get back into Parliament during a northern by-election and take on a weakened Starmer in a leadership bid.
Labour will get thrashed like a ginger stepchild at the next GE, and when/if they recover, King Andy will be too old. That's his calculation.
What happens now? Lab lose Gorton, Wes challenges SKS and possibly loses, so he limps on in office. Andy remains King of the North but will never be Labour Leader/PM.
The Ken Clarke de nos jours.
That's unfair on Clarke. He is far smarter than Burnham.
And (the edited bit) on Hezza.
More like John Redwood.
Now now. I don't rate or like the treacherous Burnham but Redwood? Is Burnham litigious? He could sue.
As could Redwood. He may have been eccentric, and done the worst campaign launch ever until Change UK took that crown, but he did believe in things. Whereas Burnham's key belief in this farrago seems to have been that he really ought to be Prime Minister
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
The idea that PMs are somehow immune to challenge from in their party and it's undemocratic/evil to do so, is ridiculous.
Or are we to say that the oustings of Thatcher, Blair, Johnson and Truss were wrong?
Many would say they were mistaken, but that is a different thing. But people always go too far in objection. Same thing happened when Boris was ousted, attempts were made to claim it was improper to do so because of the 2019GE, when that has never been how our system works.
Mrs Stodge is very concerned about flying through the US on our next visit to the mother-in-law in NZ.
I'm more concerned about three months with the mother-in-law.
I've suggested we go through Vancouver - adds a bit to the journey time - or we go the other way, via Singapore or Hong Kong.
Our eldest flys quite often to NZ from Vancouver and it would be a good alternative to Singapore
I wouldn't go near the US though we have flown to NZ via the US
Thank you.
Never been to Vancouver but as Air Canada are in Star Alliance with Air NZ it could work quite well. Last time we were going in December and didn't want a stopover but it might be a March/April trip this time so we'll see.
Not seen what other people may have suggested, but I fly to NZ 1 or 2 x a year and I always go via SE Asia. So many reasons: - slightly lower total flying time outbound; - much nicer transit or immigration experience; - more interesting choice of stopover cities; - generally nicer airlines.
Singapore, Hong Kong are the obvious choices, agreed. Specific aircraft also makes a difference, 23 hours on A350s is less draining than on 777s. Cathay probably a good overall bet.
Is the ultimate destination Auckland or somewhere else in NZ ?
Heading to Napier.
Thank you for the kind words - Mrs Stodge had a very bad experience with turbulence flying over SE Asia in December 2021 and hates going that way. Given a choice, I'd be happy to do either Singapore or HK.
We flew back last time from Singapore on a 777 - 14 hours and not pleasant. I'd love to do an A380 as I suspect it would be the most comfortable.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not. 🤷🏻♂️
Oof, that's shots fired. Comes across as a bit petulant though, I don't think that was necessary to twist the knife, that was already done.
Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.
No excuse when it comes to twitter though - you always have sufficient time to think before you post.
With apologies if this has already been posted...the spectacle of MTG being a voice of reason* shows how truly bonkers Republican politics is right now: https://x.com/FmrRepMTG/status/2015438556789870682
*I plead guilty to overstatement - her post is still bonkers but contains some kernels of anti-Trump sense.
My friends and acquaintances provide plenty of anecdotal evidence of a reluctance to travel to the States. Anybody else come across similar?
Most Definitely! Spoke to a friend this morning who has deliberately avoided visiting New York on her way to her daughter's place in Canada. She and her husband quite fancied a short break in New York, and they still want to go, but say they won't do so for the forseeable future. On a walk with friends last Friday the discussion also turned to ways in which they could boycott US goods and services, as well as avoiding visiting there.
(FWIW these people are all retired professionals, well educated, with families and civic responsibilties. One family votes Labour, the other Green or Labour.)
Yeah they just elected a proper commie there. Doesn’t believe people should own property.
Yes President Trump isn't all bad. He has come out in favour of gun control.
Although it sounds like something he'd say, it's a fake post
PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not. 🤷🏻♂️
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
With apologies if this has already been posted...the spectacle of MTG being a voice of reason* shows how truly bonkers Republican politics is right now: https://x.com/FmrRepMTG/status/2015438556789870682
*I plead guilty to overstatement - her post is still bonkers but contains some kernels of anti-Trump sense.
She's a loon, but she is at least demonstrating an ability to consider what if the boot was on the other foot, and if it would be wrong then. Those still in office, every single one of the GOP in House, Senate, and the Supreme Court, wilfully pretend otherwise.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
PB Tories love a Charlatan.
I am as you can read, equally naïve.
No PB Tories love Human Brandy, Mixed
They love the stirring of the Labour shit, and the way that Slalom Sir Keir always swerves into that shit
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
PB Tories love a Charlatan.
I am as you can read, equally naïve.
No PB Tories love Human Brandy, Mixed
They love the stirring of the Labour shit, and the way that Slalom Sir Keir always swerves into that shit
That may be normally true but this weekend Burnham poured the bucket of wet ordure all over Starmer. Burnham unfortunately was down wind of the blowback.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
I think the word is humilated
OK.
Burnham was humiliated in September. In the last 24 hours he's humiliated himself and Starmer.
Yeah that works for me.
Why have a couple of angry PB Tories been beating up on @Mexicanbastard because he's been nasty to Andy Burnham? It doesn't make sense.
Well, BJO is horrible to everyone, so I don't think you should take that personally. I think it comes of being a disciple of the kinder, gentler politics Corbyn espoused. In fact, given what he posted on the last thread about the reasons for Burnham being barred (which is alarming on more levels than TSE's elevator) you should probably wear it as a badge of honour.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
We need to see GWB come out with the same sentiment. He is good friends with the Obamas and I am pretty sure shares their view of the shit staining the Oval Office at the moment. He should have the courage to make a stand. That might start to move Republican sentiment as well.
I wonder whether GWB, as the only living ex-Republican president, is holding back until some kind of final crisis occurs with Trump, at which he can make an intervention? And make it bipartisan. Probably not, but would like to think so. Mike Pence is another possibility, I suppose.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
And was the guy killed one of these insurrectionists? Was he engaging in such activity at the time he was shot?
Because event he presence of insurrectionists, somewhere, does not mean a) insurrectionists can be shot in the street just for being there, and b) that federal agencies have no duty to take care not to kill civilians.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Twitter rumour: Simon Danczuk to stand for Reform.
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Fun fact, I've met his ex-wife, in the Malmaison in Piccadilly.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Twitter rumour: Simon Danczuk to stand for Reform.
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Fun fact, I've met his ex-wife, in the Malmaison in Piccadilly.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
Twitter rumour: Simon Danczuk to stand for Reform.
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Fun fact, I've met his ex-wife, in the Malmaison in Piccadilly.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
"I have received Lord Ashcroft's latest data but, as far as I can see, without percentages expressed. After an enjoyable Sunday lunch I have calculated the percentages as:-
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way. 💪🏻
Translation: I expect Reform to win and I will dump all the blame on Kier Starmer when it happens.
Great 12D chess I am sure. But it just makes Burnham look like a Jenrickian tw@t.
It is basically Burnham to blame for Starmer being a blank firing bollock
I am not and haven't been defending Starmer all weekend. Burnham should have been allowed to stand and then hopefully crushed in Gorton and Denton.
Burnham was humbled in September. In the last 24 hours he's humbled himself and Starmer.
The problem with his statement is that it's obviously not true. If he had really wanted to avoid the 'divisive politics of Reform' he would have announced he wasn't seeking the nomination. If he had actually been genuinely interested in standing to get back into Parliament as a hefty figure who might be able to help out,* but not damage the Labour party, or Starmer, he could have sounded out the NEC privately about their views.
The only reason for doing what he did in the way he did was to damage Starmer and cause a crisis.
Trouble is, he's damaged himself too.
*Yeah, we have come to this.
He's sold his lie to the remaining PB Tories. I can't understand how or why? Oh wait, you said what? "They also fell for Johnson's BS". Oh right.
You seem to have taken this politics thing really badly?
PB Tories love a Charlatan.
I am as you can read, equally naïve.
No PB Tories love Human Brandy, Mixed
They love the stirring of the Labour shit, and the way that Slalom Sir Keir always swerves into that shit
That may be normally true but this weekend Burnham poured the bucket of wet ordure all over Starmer. Burnham unfortunately was down wind of the blowback.
It’s been a shit show for the grown ups in government
Starmer is a scaredy cat. He can’t even take on Mascara Man, who now has to go back, flat cap in hand, to Manchester
Twitter rumour: Simon Danczuk to stand for Reform.
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Fun fact, I've met his ex-wife, in the Malmaison in Piccadilly.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
I thought that pink Cayenne belonged to Jordan.
Her's is a pink Range Rover.
I had the silverish Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
Not that incongruous. After Rob Earnshaw signed for the Baggies he blew his transfer fee on a black Hummer. I used to see this little chap driving this enormous monstrosity around the narrow lanes of the Vale of Glamorgan. That's why I never got myself a Hummer.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
Shooting a defenceless man on the ground? Are you serious?
Though, in a surprising twist, the man shot on the ground wasn't guilty of wearing a loud shirt in a built up area. Or being in possession of an offensive wife.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
Burnham may be right to be irritated by this. But yesterday he said that as an MP he'd be there to "support the work of the Government, not undermine it" and I think we can conclude that was not, you know, an entirely truthful statement.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara: "People have had enough. This is the third shooting in less than 3 weeks. The MPD went the entire year last year recovering about 900 guns from the street, arresting hundreds of violent offenders, and we didn't shoot anyone ... this is not sustainable."
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Sandpit, you are going full Plato.
I still can't work out how @sandpit can square his circle of Trump being one of the good guys whilst Trump is dumping all over Ukraine.
I’ve regularly disagreed with Trump on Ukraine, but right now he’s the one sanctioning the shadow tankers and stopping the Indians from buying the Russian oil.
To say he’s unconventional would be an understantement, but the US are tightening the screw on Russia.
There’s also a lot going on behind the scenes which doesn’t get discussed much, such as satellite intelligence passed to Ukraine to help target Russian O&G facilities.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
The Trump administration sent 3000 ICE and other federal agents to Minnesota. They started it with this entirely unnecessary invasion. We agree that there hasn’t been a high rate of illegal immigration in the state, so why were all those ICE agents sent there in the first place?
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
They certainly are. And Trump is giving them immunity to commit murder.
Oh, sorry, were you talking about the observers? I think that such claims say rather too much about Paedo Protector's apologists on Twitter.
(Cam Higby is by no stretch of the imagination a 'journalist.' He is a paid agitator of the MAGA movement. He is to journalism what David Irving was to historical research.)
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
I particularly like the way that Minnesota is sending nonthreatening individuals in to vandalise ICE bullets with their faces. Bad Minnesota!
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Sandpit, you are going full Plato.
I still can't work out how @sandpit can square his circle of Trump being one of the good guys whilst Trump is dumping all over Ukraine.
I’ve regularly disagreed with Trump on Ukraine, but right now he’s the one sanctioning the shadow tankers and stopping the Indians from buying the Russian oil.
To say he’s unconventional would be an understantement, but the US are tightening the screw on Russia.
There’s also a lot going on behind the scenes which doesn’t get discussed much, such as satellite intelligence passed to Ukraine to help target Russian O&G facilities.
They are not f***ing tightening the screw on Russia. They have repeatedly pushed Ukraine to accept a humiliating peace deal that could’ve been written in Moscow. Trump has massively cut back aid to Ukraine: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-10308/ You are drifting further away from reality.
I also have anecdotal evidence of USians looking to move to more welcoming countries.
Similarly, anyone in the UK with a mixed race family who doesn't have a backup plan for what happens if a) Reform win and b) start getting a bit too excitable is a fool.
It's a great shame that Sir National Security risk has seen fit to legitimise these sorts of sentiments about Reform amongst his dwindling band of imbecile supporters. It will cause a great deal of distress to many people, and will delude many others that things like cancelled elections are an acceptable tactic in the face of this completely unevidenced 'racist threat'. It'll get very nasty before the Labour Party is finally flushed.
Reform have talked about emulating ICE, who have been taking US citizens into detention. Reform politicians routinely question whether Black and Asian people are appropriately loyal to the UK. I have paid no attention to the PM's comments in this area but I can see where Reform is heading and as part of a mixed race family I am of course concerned and wondering about a plan B. I agree that anyone who isn't is complacent in the extreme.
Both Reform and the Tories have spoken of there being a UK version of ICE - the need for such an organisation if 600,000 are to be deported is not an ideological position, it is a simple statement of fact.
Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry has questioned specific figures' loyalty to the UK - a review of his Twitter feed when this was last discussed shows he has said the same things about people of white British extraction in the same timeframe. On the slightly more significant opposite column in the ledger than one man's Tweets, Reform's 'second in command' is a Muslim of Asian heritage. Its London Mayoral candidate is a Muslim of Egyptian heritage.
Labour's current strategy is one of deligitimising Reform as an electoral option. It has already sanctioned the delaying of elections to counter this 'threat' and it can only get uglier as the gloves come off.
Maybe it will be fine. But maybe isn't good enough when it comes to the safety of my family.
My half-Thai granddaughter wants to come and work here for a few months later this year. Finishes (Bangkok) school in June, off to an Aussie uni in February 2027. Her elder sister hd no problems doing that. But you're making me wonder! Would she do better going to her Norwegian relatives?
This year is fine.
It is when we become Faragistan that the problems begin.
On that subject, this from Reform's Laila Cunningham is a bit of a headscratcher.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
The Trump administration sent 3000 ICE and other federal agents to Minnesota. They started it with this entirely unnecessary invasion. We agree that there hasn’t been a high rate of illegal immigration in the state, so why were all those ICE agents sent there in the first place?
Pam Bondi exposed what this was about - - to paraphrase "Give us all the detailed Minnesota voting informtion - and then we will stand down ICE."
This is about the steal. Again.
The worse the polls, the greater Trump's imperative.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
The Trump administration sent 3000 ICE and other federal agents to Minnesota. They started it with this entirely unnecessary invasion. We agree that there hasn’t been a high rate of illegal immigration in the state, so why were all those ICE agents sent there in the first place?
Because Tim Walz called JD Vance a pseud and a couchfucker.
Which is absolutely not on.
Vance might forgive the couchfucker jibe, on the grounds nobody took it that seriously, but he absolutely can't forgive Walz for nailing his past so neatly.
(Oh and by the way, if this is a civil war, why are Vance and Trump in Washington? Are they cowering away, a little behind the front lines, perchance? Like they always did?)
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
I particularly like the way that Minnesota is sending nonthreatening individuals in to vandalise ICE bullets with their faces. Bad Minnesota!
Presumably the next logical step is to charge the families for the cruelly defaced bullets.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
Shooting a defenceless man on the ground? Are you serious?
Though, in a surprising twist, the man shot on the ground wasn't guilty of wearing a loud shirt in a built up area. Or being in possession of an offensive wife.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
Burnham may be right to be irritated by this. But yesterday he said that as an MP he'd be there to "support the work of the Government, not undermine it" and I think we can conclude that was not, you know, an entirely truthful statement.
mr glenn is of course our go to expert in not entirely truthful statements
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
The same Obama who, in 2012, sued the state of Arizona in order to establish federal supremacy of immigration law in the Supreme Court. That Obama?
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
Let's say for sake of argument that is what is happening - does the ICE response seem to be a proportionate and effective means of addressing these 'antifa-goons'? Because it sure doesn't seem like it.
Yes.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
Shooting a defenceless man on the ground? Are you serious?
Though, in a surprising twist, the man shot on the ground wasn't guilty of wearing a loud shirt in a built up area. Or being in possession of an offensive wife.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
(Deleted as jumping the gun by only checking last source quoted)
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
Sandpit is just a shill for maga and the orange baboon. His comments about Antifa are ridiculous as well. Most people in the world are anti fascist, so Antifa. The worst they do in the US is demonstrate. If I had been aware at the time I would have joined the anti fascists in the UK.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
I particularly like the way that Minnesota is sending nonthreatening individuals in to vandalise ICE bullets with their faces. Bad Minnesota!
Presumably the next logical step is to charge the families for the cruelly defaced bullets.
Reminds me of an (hopefully apocryphal) story about a guy charged with destruction of police property for...bleeding on their uniforms when they 'restrained' him - as the story goes, there was unfortunately no footage of the incident, despite the cells where it took place having security cameras.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
CBS News: the charges and convictions of the many fraud schemes in Minnesota
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud." A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills." Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism." Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
I think the Gorton by election will be a close run thing. I do not think Labour will be in the horse race.
Burnham would have won it I reckon.
Burnham has fecked it for the candidate who is selected unless it is Gary Neville.
Neville would be such a shallow and unserious choice of candidate; bad enough that Starmer might be trying to engineer it
Labour aren't imaginative to select a celebrity.
If only Sir Alec was a little younger.
I would expct Manchester United players and associates would be a net negative in Greater Manchester? Selecting someone associated with a particular club is going to alienate more than it enthuses, while leaving countless more uninterested.
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
In all seriousness you are so wrong.
Two things can be true. ICE officers can have behaved appallingly, and ICE as a whole could be being subjected to a highly organised and well-funded professional protest movement aimed at taking it down via some questionable tactics.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
Ok...
Those numbers from Vera are tracking who is being held in detention centres. They tell you nothing about where the detainees are being picked up. There are several flights a day out of Minnesota to detention centres in Texas and elsewhere. Example here:
Twitter rumour: Simon Danczuk to stand for Reform.
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Fun fact, I've met his ex-wife, in the Malmaison in Piccadilly.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
My granny lived in Levenshulme in a 2 up 2 down house with outside wc
We would visit her in the late 1940 - early 1950' s and she would give my sister and I her last sixpence until her next pension day
She always used a candle to go to bed, and I would make perfume from the roses in her yard put in water in her ktchen sink
Simple things and my memory was that everything looked in a sepia colour
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
CBS News: the charges and convictions of the many fraud schemes in Minnesota
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud." A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills." Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism." Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
CBS News: the charges and convictions of the many fraud schemes in Minnesota
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud." A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills." Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism." Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
Yes, the federal prosecutors trying to prosecute Smith for daring to prosecute the fat old Paedo Protector say that it goes much further than previously claimed. Of course. That's conclusive.
The reality is there was fraud. As there was in every state. Most notably, of course, in Florida. It was not as widespread or as serious in Minnesota as MAGA are claiming because it's essentially a highly personal smear campaign against Tim Walz, building on the really nasty false allegations they made against him in the campaign.
No wonder he's had enough and is quitting politics.
Edit - there's a detailed analysis here if you're interested in analysis rather than MAGA tinhattery:
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
If there are more ICE arrests in a dozen other states, why has the Trump administration identified Minnesota as such a hotbed of problems and sent such a large army of ICE agents there? They are not needed in Minnesota. Your own data proves that this is a politically motivated attack on the state of Minnesota.
Other way around, the State of Minnesota is waging a politally motivated war on Trump.
In all seriousness you are so wrong.
Two things can be true. ICE officers can have behaved appallingly, and ICE as a whole could be being subjected to a highly organised and well-funded professional protest movement aimed at taking it down via some questionable tactics.
They could be.
But only one of them actually has any evidence to support it at the moment that hasn't come from a source known to be a neo-Nazi forger and liar.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
CBS News: the charges and convictions of the many fraud schemes in Minnesota
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud." A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills." Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism." Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
Yes, there were some serious fraud cases in Minnesota that have, rightly led to prosecutions. The lead prosecutor on those cases recently resigned, because Trump's DoJ wanted him to investigate Renee Good's widow rather than the ICE agent who shot her. He could see through Trump's lies; why can't you?
I think the Gorton by election will be a close run thing. I do not think Labour will be in the horse race.
Burnham would have won it I reckon.
Burnham has fecked it for the candidate who is selected unless it is Gary Neville.
From this Arsenal supporting perspective it looks as if the bloke they need if they want a 100% winner who isn't called called Burnham would be Michael Carrick.
It's been 14 mins and Andy Burnham still hasn't published part II, this is why he isn't fit to be an MP and the NEC were right to block him.
I am disappointed by today’s NEC decision and concerned about its potential impact on the important elections ahead of us.
To whoever is Labour’s candidate and to our members in Manchester and Tameside: you will have my full support and I will be there whenever you need me.
'PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
@BarackObama · 1h The killing of Alex Pretti is a heartbreaking tragedy. It should also be a wake-up call to every American, regardless of party, that many of our core values as a nation are increasingly under assault.
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
You're going to have to do better than an unsourced/unliked graphic from a person whose pinned Tweet begins with.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I’ll start with Newsweek then, who say that 23.2% of all ICE detentions are in Texas, with Florida in second place.
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025 Overview of Detention Numbers In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees: STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES Texas 9,657 California 5,000 Florida 4,500 New York 3,200 Arizona 1,592 Key Points Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody. California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations. New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
That statistic is absolutely meaningless unless we know how many actual illegal immigrants there are in each state.
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
CBS News: the charges and convictions of the many fraud schemes in Minnesota
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud." A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills." Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism." Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
Yes, the federal prosecutors trying to prosecute Smith for daring to prosecute the fat old Paedo Protector say that it goes much further than previously claimed. Of course. That's conclusive.
The reality is there was fraud. As there was in every state. Most notably, of course, in Florida. It was not as widespread or as serious in Minnesota as MAGA are claiming because it's essentially a highly personal smear campaign against Tim Walz, building on the really nasty false allegations they made against him in the campaign.
No wonder he's had enough and is quitting politics.
Edit - there's a detailed analysis here if you're interested in analysis rather than MAGA tinhattery:
Comments
Bellingcat has synchronised the videos and I don't think it possible for such a clear image through the scrum of ICE agents. Neither is there anyone filming from that angle:
https://bsky.app/profile/bellingcat.com/post/3md733zyf722w
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/fact-check-fake-trump-post-174823445.html
Or are we to say that the oustings of Thatcher, Blair, Johnson and Truss were wrong?
I don't have enough popcorn for any of them being a candidate in East Manchester.
https://www1.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2026/01/01/a-10-1-and-a-6-1-tip-to-start-your-new-year/
He doesn't seem to have learnt much from losing Leicester South though.
David Frum
@davidfrum
·
7h
Not everybody who supported Trump and MAGA was a bad person at the start. But MAGA is a jealous god. It demands its supporters descend a path of degeneration to utter moral ruin. Police death squads today; who knows what tomorrow.
https://x.com/davidfrum/status/2015389687523750000
I am as you can read, equally naïve.
Thank you for the kind words - Mrs Stodge had a very bad experience with turbulence flying over SE Asia in December 2021 and hates going that way. Given a choice, I'd be happy to do either Singapore or HK.
We flew back last time from Singapore on a 777 - 14 hours and not pleasant. I'd love to do an A380 as I suspect it would be the most comfortable.
*I plead guilty to overstatement - her post is still bonkers but contains some kernels of anti-Trump sense.
(The real version isn't better....)
They love the stirring of the Labour shit, and the way that Slalom Sir Keir always swerves into that shit
Perhaps he’d be better off telling Tim Walz to stand down the Antifa goons and obey the law like the other 49 states do.
These guys are well organised and well funded insurrectionists, not the polite protestors they’re being made out to be.
This journalist infiltrated them:
https://x.com/camhigby/status/2015470423413047597
https://x.com/camhigby/status/2015093523733733474
Why are the Trump administration focussing on illegal immigrants in Minnesota when say Texas has a much worse problem?
It couldn't be to do with the fact Texas has a Republican governor?
That would make a RefUK win much less likely.
Because event he presence of insurrectionists, somewhere, does not mean a) insurrectionists can be shot in the street just for being there, and b) that federal agencies have no duty to take care not to kill civilians.
https://x.com/deepbluecrypto/status/2015428484147855685
Tim Walz and his fraudster friends are trying to stoke a civil war, that’s why the media focus is on Minnesota.
Another fun fact, I've spent a lot of time in Levenshulme, had an ex from there, I kept on being mistaken for a drug dealer when I visited there due to the vehicle I drove at the time.
Third fun fact, at that time, my choice of vehicles is even more ostentatious than my footwear.
DEMOCRATS IN THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OPENED THE BORDERS FOR POLITICAL GAINS
THEY PUT THESE IMMIGRANTS THROUGH FINANCIAL, PHYSICAL, SEXUAL AND EMOTIONAL TORTURE BY CARTELS
JOE BIDEN, KAMALA HARRIS & ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS HAVE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS
The journey through the dense, unforgiving jungles of the Darién Gap for millions of Latin American migrants seeking refuge in America during the Biden administration was a descent into chaos, where every step courted death. Families from Venezuela, Honduras, and beyond, fleeing economic collapse and violence, embarked on this perilous trek, often starting with overcrowded buses or boats that dumped them at the jungle's edge. The physical ordeals began immediately: navigating swollen rivers that could sweep away the unwary, trudging through mud-slick trails infested with venomous snakes and insects carrying deadly diseases like malaria. Exhaustion set in quickly, with migrants carrying heavy packs under relentless rain, their feet blistering and rotting from constant wetness. Many succumbed to dehydration, starvation, or injuries from falls into ravines, their bodies left behind as grim markers for those who followed.
I had the silverish Porsche Cayenne Turbo.
Starmer is a scaredy cat. He can’t even take on Mascara Man, who now has to go back, flat cap in hand, to Manchester
I do not think Labour will be in the horse race.
Burnham would have won it I reckon.
https://www.newsweek.com/map-shows-states-ice-arrest-immigration-2107629
Maybe then go to the Vera Institute of Justice, which is tracking ICE arrests. You can barely see Minnesota on their map.
https://www.vera.org/ice-detention-trends
DuckDuckGo AI, quoting the Prison Policy Initiative:
ICE Detentions by State in 2025
Overview of Detention Numbers
In 2025, the number of individuals detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) varied significantly across different states. The following table summarizes the states with the highest number of ICE detainees:
STATE NUMBER OF DETAINEES
Texas 9,657
California 5,000
Florida 4,500
New York 3,200
Arizona 1,592
Key Points
Texas consistently held the largest number of detainees, with over 9,600 individuals in ICE custody.
California and Florida followed, with significant numbers reflecting their large immigrant populations.
New York and Arizona also had notable detainee counts, indicating active ICE operations in these states.
Burnham may be right to be irritated by this. But yesterday he said that as an MP he'd be there to "support the work of the Government, not undermine it" and I think we can conclude that was not, you know, an entirely truthful statement.
If only Sir Alec was a little younger.
To say he’s unconventional would be an understantement, but the US are tightening the screw on Russia.
There’s also a lot going on behind the scenes which doesn’t get discussed much, such as satellite intelligence passed to Ukraine to help target Russian O&G facilities.
Oh, sorry, were you talking about the observers? I think that such claims say rather too much about Paedo Protector's apologists on Twitter.
(Cam Higby is by no stretch of the imagination a 'journalist.' He is a paid agitator of the MAGA movement. He is to journalism what David Irving was to historical research.)
Weird poster though. Perhaps “make the UK like Greenland”?
The MAGA cap is in the post.
This is about the steal. Again.
The worse the polls, the greater Trump's imperative.
Which is absolutely not on.
Vance might forgive the couchfucker jibe, on the grounds nobody took it that seriously, but he absolutely can't forgive Walz for nailing his past so neatly.
(Oh and by the way, if this is a civil war, why are Vance and Trump in Washington? Are they cowering away, a little behind the front lines, perchance? Like they always did?)
Now check this out
https://bsky.app/profile/dmbmeg.bsky.social/post/3mdbahkestc2s
(In their minds.)
Most of them will be in states that border Mexico or ones with easy access to the sea. So that is where most arrests will happen. Minnesota is neither.
And given your claims about Somalian fraud turned out to be essentially a mad MAGA conspiracy theory I don't think you're on very strong ground with arguing Minnesota is a hotbed of illegal immigration.
I don't think so. Nobody can train him to make me like him on any level; he's a pricky, pompous, preposterously proud, inhuman hypocrite
I fear that he might start smiling like Gordon Brown
This summer, state officials shut down a fairly new program designed to help seniors and people with disabilities find housing after discovering "large-scale fraud."
A month later, federal prosecutors charged eight people with defrauding the program, which was run through the state's Medicaid service, by enrolling as providers and submitting millions in "fake and inflated bills."
Another five people were charged with bilking the housing program in mid-December — including two Pennsylvanians with no clear connections to Minnesota who allegedly traveled there in what prosecutors described as "fraud tourism."
Prosecutors said the housing stabilization program was susceptible to fraud because it intentionally had "low barriers to entry" and few record-keeping requirements. They also noted that spending on the program had ballooned to more than $100 million last year, despite initial estimates that it would cost around $2.6 million a year.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/minnesota-fraud-schemes-what-we-know/
NY Post: Minnesota welfare fraud masterminded interviewed from prison
The convicted mastermind of the staggering $250 million welfare fraud scam in Minnesota has moaned in a jailhouse interview about having “lost everything” as she faces up to 33 years in prison.
As the head of the infamous nonprofit Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, 45, splurged millions of federal dollars intended to support hungry children during the COVID-19 pandemic on luxury cars, designer handbags, and properties worldwide.
Bock oversaw a network of fraudsters — almost all Somali and East African — that took advantage of a bill co-signed by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) waiving some requirements for school meal programs during the pandemic.
https://nypost.com/2026/01/21/us-news/minnesota-welfare-fraud-leader-aimee-bock-gives-jailhouse-interview/
NY Times
Prosecutors Say Minnesota’s Fraud Scandal Goes Further Than Previously Known
Federal prosecutors said they were now investigating fraud worth billions of dollars in 14 social services programs in the state.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/18/us/minnesota-fraud-scandal.html
Those numbers from Vera are tracking who is being held in detention centres. They tell you nothing about where the detainees are being picked up. There are several flights a day out of Minnesota to detention centres in Texas and elsewhere. Example here:
https://www.mprnews.org/episode/2026/01/20/immigrant-detention-center-in-texas-where-many-minnesotans-are-being-transferred
Your first link is to out of date information, looking at first half of 2025, just embarrassing.
Give your head a wobble.
We would visit her in the late 1940 - early 1950' s and she would give my sister and I her last sixpence until her next pension day
She always used a candle to go to bed, and I would make perfume from the roses in her yard put in water in her ktchen sink
Simple things and my memory was that everything looked in a sepia colour
The reality is there was fraud. As there was in every state. Most notably, of course, in Florida. It was not as widespread or as serious in Minnesota as MAGA are claiming because it's essentially a highly personal smear campaign against Tim Walz, building on the really nasty false allegations they made against him in the campaign.
No wonder he's had enough and is quitting politics.
Edit - there's a detailed analysis here if you're interested in analysis rather than MAGA tinhattery:
https://lailluminator.com/2026/01/11/minnesota-child-care/
But only one of them actually has any evidence to support it at the moment that hasn't come from a source known to be a neo-Nazi forger and liar.
Reform voters most preferred Burnham, giving him a 24% lead over Starmer, followed by Green voters who gave Burnham a 20% lead over Sir Keir.
Tory voters gave a slightly smaller 17% lead for Starmer over the PM, 2024 Labour and LD voters were most likely to want to keep Starmer over the King of the North. Though even Labour voters preferred Burnham by a 5% margin and LD voters by an 8% margin over Sir Keir
https://yougov.co.uk/politics/articles/53085-would-andy-burnham-be-a-better-prime-minister-than-keir-starmer
So after today's news it may not hit the Labour vote too hard but no chance of any Reform or Green voters going back to Labour anytime soon either
'Tomorrow I return with full focus to my role as Mayor of GM, defending everything we have built in our city-region over many years.
I decided to put myself forward to prevent the divisive politics of Reform from damaging that. We are stronger together and let’s stay that way'
https://x.com/AndyBurnhamGM/status/2015485486429618250?s=20
'PS - The fact that the media was informed of the NEC decision before I was tells you everything you need to know about the way the Labour Party is being run these days.
You would think that over 30 years of service would count for something but sadly not. 🤷🏻♂️'
https://x.com/AndyBurnhamGM/status/2015492151602299134?s=20
Surely, as an educator, you had a laugh at the story of the “Quality Learing Center”(sic), which had no kids but a turnover of $3m a year?