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Tom Newton

@tdnewton

VP at Smoothwall. Into edtech, Leeds United, conservation, photography. Try not to anger the cat. He/him. https://x.com/thomasnewton on "the other place"

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09.09.2023
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Latest posts by Tom Newton @tdnewton

1) looks complicated, 2) wife and I having separate duvets would cause conflict over burrito space, and 3) most importantly, I couldn't pretend to be a ghost while inside the duvet cover. But I will try it in the name of science. πŸ‘»

09.03.2026 18:47 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I still have a food mixer somewhere that my mother and father got as a wedding gift. It out lasted both of them.

09.03.2026 17:30 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Dear Shabana,
I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank.
You said: β€œA party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to
make a perilous crossing on small boats.”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton
and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government
who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division.
When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there
to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done
in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the
flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney.
As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking
points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I
filled water tanks and picked up litter.
What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop
the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country.
Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it.
It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping
migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and
croissants to refugees and food parcels.
When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She
said β€œwe have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for
refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers
whilst risking death on the seas.”
She said β€œmaybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on
the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: β€œA party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said β€œwe have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said β€œmaybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

05.03.2026 16:59 πŸ‘ 4906 πŸ” 1800 πŸ’¬ 249 πŸ“Œ 346

Scored 1 goal in 3 games. Not ideal.

05.03.2026 09:47 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

A very short break in play is inconvenient. How about changing the time of the whole match. Really?

03.03.2026 16:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This will be the first match of the season. Can't say I tried every home game though

02.03.2026 14:32 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

But you'll miss out on a broken coaster and a pair of socks

02.03.2026 13:54 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I got nowhere, but my mate got in, it said "not available" (same as Friday) but then became available. I wonder if a lot of people put tickets in the cart and then abandon?

02.03.2026 13:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
28.02.2026 21:39 πŸ‘ 9121 πŸ” 2864 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 11

you wake in the morning and think to yourself, does boydy still hate tech guys and their LLMs? and the answer will be yes. it's midday and you're doing a shopping run. does your banana hat pal still despise the lake evaporation fanclub? guess what, the answer is yes. you're putting the bins out,

28.02.2026 09:18 πŸ‘ 50 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Great report, and what a video! It struck me that enshittification is also a silent destroyer of other useful, but not obvious, properties, such as Internet safety.

27.02.2026 09:58 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Irish Independent: Man stole three coffee machines in a week from Monaghan department store.

Irish Independent: Man stole three coffee machines in a week from Monaghan department store.

How does he sleep at night?

25.02.2026 09:14 πŸ‘ 3599 πŸ” 606 πŸ’¬ 98 πŸ“Œ 53

Being a member this year absolutely pointless. Just got knocked back a bit earlier than everyone else.

25.02.2026 11:43 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

In that "there aren't any", yeah. The redirect at the end of the queue was a bit janky too

25.02.2026 11:40 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
A photo of an ice cream machine with a sign reading, "Anything is possible with ice cream." Beneath that is a hand lettered sign reading, "No ice cream".

A photo of an ice cream machine with a sign reading, "Anything is possible with ice cream." Beneath that is a hand lettered sign reading, "No ice cream".

2026 basically

18.02.2026 16:23 πŸ‘ 40988 πŸ” 10912 πŸ’¬ 310 πŸ“Œ 338

Definitely appreciate the jokes in baf. A game with so much potential.
Got to believe you played Dino Dini's "player manager" in the 90s, this is the spiritual sequel

15.02.2026 23:35 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

People can have different political opinions about immigration policy. Political differences are fine, healthy for a democracy.

But if you’re okay with this, that’s not a political opinion. That is a moral failing.

27/

11.02.2026 21:56 πŸ‘ 2781 πŸ” 496 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 31

Most people who post this sort of guff didn't even grow up in the 50s or even the 60s, it's totally imaginary for them

14.02.2026 13:10 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Far-right thug Tommy
Robinson flees UK after police
warning over terror threat
Far-right thug Tommy Robinson took to social
media this evening to proclaim himself a 'priority
target' for ISIS, adding he had fled the UK after
receiving a call from Bedfordshire Police

Far-right thug Tommy Robinson flees UK after police warning over terror threat Far-right thug Tommy Robinson took to social media this evening to proclaim himself a 'priority target' for ISIS, adding he had fled the UK after receiving a call from Bedfordshire Police

Fighting age man flees his homeland to seek asylum on overcrowded island.

14.02.2026 09:10 πŸ‘ 2979 πŸ” 876 πŸ’¬ 317 πŸ“Œ 82

Which is why they vote to give up human rights protections, assuming it’s someone else’s rights they are weakening. The motivation of a knave and the judgment of a fool.

14.02.2026 11:26 πŸ‘ 21 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Video thumbnail

Supporting Leeds United πŸ€πŸ’™πŸ’›

The Elland Road expansion will bring enormous benefits to South Leeds.

We should amplify and extend these by completing the West Yorkshire Mass Transit project as soon as possible.

My question in Parliament πŸ‘‡

13.02.2026 10:28 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Seen a few more than normal over the last few days. Block block block...

13.02.2026 11:56 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Vandalism.

13.02.2026 07:20 πŸ‘ 233 πŸ” 69 πŸ’¬ 7 πŸ“Œ 0

There's no patriot like a Monaco-based patriot.

12.02.2026 09:23 πŸ‘ 1394 πŸ” 299 πŸ’¬ 57 πŸ“Œ 9
Post image Post image

Republicans want hearings over Bad Bunny lyrics that weren’t even in the halftime show.

But the full Epstein files? Delayed. Again. And again.

They’ll police Spanish song lyrics before they expose child predators.

That tells you everything about their priorities.

11.02.2026 16:07 πŸ‘ 342 πŸ” 172 πŸ’¬ 24 πŸ“Œ 9
10.02.2026 12:43 πŸ‘ 3674 πŸ” 1085 πŸ’¬ 28 πŸ“Œ 18
Cartoon showing a street in the rain. A man on a bike is delivering food, while another courier is delivering packages from Amazon. Two other workers are collecting garbage. Inside one of the houses on the street, we see robots labeled 'AI' sitting dry and warm, engaged in making a paining, playing the violin and writing.

Cartoon showing a street in the rain. A man on a bike is delivering food, while another courier is delivering packages from Amazon. Two other workers are collecting garbage. Inside one of the houses on the street, we see robots labeled 'AI' sitting dry and warm, engaged in making a paining, playing the violin and writing.

The robot apocalypse hasn't happened yet, but still I can't escape the feeling that something has gone horribly wrong... Cartoon for Dutch newspaper @trouw.nl.

More of my work for Trouw: www.trouw.nl/cartoons/tje...

#ArtificialIntelligence #creativity #work #GenerativeAI

02.02.2026 07:38 πŸ‘ 536 πŸ” 235 πŸ’¬ 9 πŸ“Œ 14

I really do think this is an excellent metaphor for the moment.

09.02.2026 05:09 πŸ‘ 1811 πŸ” 416 πŸ’¬ 14 πŸ“Œ 4

From her lips to God's ears. I read faster than any video plays.

08.02.2026 20:53 πŸ‘ 17 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Absolutely. The folks over have @backblaze.bsky.social have saved my ass exactly once, but that's all the incentive I need to keep paying their bill

08.02.2026 23:18 πŸ‘ 14 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0