The Iranian regime are the butchers. But Donald Trump made the promises. Promises that cost lives. So many, many, many lives. Donald J Trump is culpable.

30,000 people.

But what he said, and what protesters heard, was "Keep protesting". "Take over your institutions." "Help is on its way."

What Trump seems to have meant: we'll amass a force and threaten your leaders, like we did before, gambling that they will cancel their nuclear programme so that we can consider lifting sanctions, so that at some indefinite future time your economy will improve.

What Trump did next: nothing to prevent the Iranian regime continuing to butcher.

What the Iranian regime did: butchered maybe 30,000 protesters.

What Trump did next: nothing to help the protesters.

What Iranian protesters did: took heart, believed Trump, kept protesting.

What Iranian protesters heard: "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!" and "HELP IS ON ITS WAY" etc etc

What Trump said: "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!" and "HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP"

Government and media call ICE agents 'officers' and 'officials'.

Or are they a private army recruited rapidly from where? in an opaque process, without normal law enforcement vetting or training; masked bandits terrorising the streets of the US in the name of, and authorised by, the US President?

I've heard there's a 50/50 chance that year's is awarded to Schrödinger's cat.

Not sure his prediction that Everton would be equal to Manchester City multiplied by itself has yet to be proven in the field though.

He'd win by saying at every round table "I am a traitor" and no-one believing him.

I'm still waiting for them to announce this year's FIFA prize for physics.

Trump Administration Live Updates: Hundreds of Voice of America Workers Laid Off

Why would you shut down America's propaganda voice across the world unless you had plans for a future that you wouldn't want broadcast anywhere?

Trump Administration Live Updates: Hundreds of Voice of America Workers Laid Off www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

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I don't see an apology. I see an events company telling a woman she doesn't know how to look after her child at an event.

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... except the wall bit...

... make life genuinely a bit better. So do we want propose invading Belarus or corralling all Brexiters aboard P&O ferries or building a wall around Buckingham Palace just to snaffle headlines and turn the Marshall amps up to 11? I kinda think no...

Maybe it isn't the rightiness or leftiness of statements that actually gets the amplification: it's the clickbaity batshitiness. And the trouble with progressives is that we don't want to propose batshit craziness that we'd never actually do. We quite like saying achievable things that will ...

Happy new year 2025, Bluesky.