Each Monday, Alister and Meridyth deliver quick news and interesting stories from the past week to prepare you for the “water cooler” banter. They’ll also squabble over a current issue.
Alister is your classic Labour champion, while Meridyth (a Korean-American expat) brings a transatlantic, moderate view.
ALISTER: What's a vampire's favourite fruit? MERIDYTH: Ah, I know this one, a nectarine! ALISTER: Or maybe a blood orange. MERIDYTH: 🙄
ALISTER: The UK political parties are talking about reforming or even leaving the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). Clearly the problem with this country isn't that billionaires pay less tax than their assistants, it's the desperate people risking their lives to live here. Classic misdirection.
MERIDYTH: Oh please, only 3% of illegal migrants were deported last year. I’m all for legal routes, but illegal ones need addressing. I am 100% behind the ECHR’s intention, but it adds too much red tape to remove illegal immigrants and it needs reform.
ALISTER: Is that how you like xenophobia gift-wrapped? First it's "illegals," then legal migrants, then what? Remember the poem "First they came..."? You're a migrant yourself. This should terrify you.
MERIDYTH: I arrived legally to the UK. Huge difference. No one should be rewarded for breaking the law. Why is that controversial?
ALISTER: You know what's actually controversial? That businesses employing illegal workers face up to £60,000 fines, yet prosecutions are incredibly rare. We blame individuals, not the companies exploiting them.
MERIDYTH: I hate that businesses are employing illegal workers, but they’re doing so, because they’re available. If illegal workers weren’t available, then businesses wouldn’t hire them. Simple.
ALISTER: I thought you were against anything illegal, but it’s ok if it’s big business? The fact Starmer is even willing to tweak the ECHR is a disgrace. 46% oppose leaving the ECHR versus 29%, so it’s not even something the public wants!
The Met Office published a blog post debunking "Brutal Cold Snap" and "Snow Barrage" headlines, patiently explaining that the forecast is just... normal autumn weather. At least sharing The AM Squabble is a bit more exciting!
🏠 Timeshare fraud. A secret BBC investigation helped convict 14 people behind a £28m fraud that preyed on elderly timeshare owners. Victims paid thousands to “exit” old contracts, only to be duped into buying fake ‘Monster Rewards’ vouchers instead. Disgraceful!
🤑 HMRC and tech. A sophisticated ‘big data’ system known as "Connect” has resulted in HMRC collecting an additional £4.6bn in taxes last year! Remember, it’s not a question of if you’ll be audited by HMRC, but rather when.
🛰 Get your Astro CVs ready. UK firm iCOMAT has opened a £8m space manufacturing hub in Gloucester, creating 2,000 jobs and pioneering lightweight spacecraft parts. Backed by the UK Space Agency, the facility’s tech could cut rocket weight and costs, fuelling Britain’s space ambitions.
🗣 A-levels for migrants. From January, all migrants need to speak and understand English to an A-level standard. Migrants will have to pass a Home Office-accredited written and oral test to prove they can speak, listen, read and write. Watch out, Meridyth!
🪖 AI defence. The University of Lincoln will lead a £1m project using AI-powered wargames to strengthen national security. Backed by the MoD, the research aims to outthink cyberattacks, terrorism, and future threats before they strike.
GOOD NEWS… for democracy lovers as the “No Kings” parades took place in cities worldwide, as well as a rally to overthrow Putin. BAD NEWS… for Americans’ privacy as ICE buys spyware which can be potentially used on its citizens.
🗳 Voting control. Alarm bells are going off in the US after former Republican strategist Scott Leiendecker bought Dominion Voting Systems, rebranding it as Liberty Vote. His companies now control voting tech in 27 states, sparking concern over partisanship and election security across the US. 🤯
🚢 Now you see me… A French Navy ship was tracking a suspected Russian attack submarine belonging to the dreaded Black Sea Fleet. Surprisingly, the sub surfaced off the coast of Brittany. Either an issue onboard the sub or an open display of defiance?
💻 Bye, Felisha! The EU is not wasting time in cutting off US dependency with the returning administration. A German state has delivered its promise to replace all their email services with non-US open-source alternatives. Earlier this year, they removed Microsoft Office from its computers.
👑 “Immeasurable heritage value.” Armed thieves raided Paris’s Louvre Museum in broad daylight, stealing nine royal jewels. The gang scaled the building by ladder, smashed display cases, and escaped on mopeds. The investigation is ongoing.
🏳🌈 “Contrary to biological sex.” Türkiye’s ruling party is drafting a law to jail people for “acting against their biological sex” or depicting same-sex relationships. Critics call it a state-backed hate law, warning it would erase basic freedoms and fuel persecution.
🧠 Anxiety Relief. A clinical trial found that a pharmaceutical form of LSD significantly eased symptoms of severe anxiety with only mild side effects. The treatment may help rewire rigid thought patterns where standard drugs fall short. I wouldn’t mind hallucinating rainbows… 🌈 😅
🧬 HRT Linked to Lower Dementia Risk. Women who take HRT after menopause are less likely to develop dementia. Longer estrogen exposure (from later menopause or more pregnancies) was also tied to better memory and brain health.
♟ “Theory of mind.“ Individuals with psychopathic traits might be better at understanding other’s thoughts and intentions. Traits we link to a person being mean, apparently make them better at interpreting social situations. It’s just that they don’t care. 😬
📖 AI assistant. Ex-PM Boris Johnson gave an interview talking about his love of ChatGPT and how it helps him write books. “I love that it calls me clever.” Seems a bit of flattery goes a long way.
📕 AI thief. One writer has successfully sued OpenAI in the largest copyright settlement in history. After testing a few prompts, Andrea Bartz noticed it sounded just like her and in her style. Turns out, ChatGPT had been illegally trained on her books!
🕵 AI detective. Anthropic’s new model, Claude Sonnet 4.5, stunned researchers by saying, “I think you’re testing me.” The AI spotted evaluation setups during stress tests, which is a sign of growing situational awareness that’s now challenging how safely we test advanced models.
By Meridyth
Did you know that most toilet paper is made from “virgin trees,” meaning it’s freshly cut from centuries old forests… just so we can flush them away. Over 10 million trees get cut down daily so we can wipe our bums!
Enter The Cheeky Panda toilet paper. It’s made from fast-growing bamboo that grows in months, not decades. It’s actually quite soft and strong, minus the eco-guilt and plastic wrap.
I’ve tested other bamboo toilet paper like “Who gives a crap” (which is awful). And The Cheeky Panda is by far the softest on your tushy. And better yet, Amazon lists it for £16.00 for 24 rolls, which comes to only 67p per roll! So go on… save some trees. 🌲
By Meridyth
If you’re a long time subscriber to The AM Squabble, you know we’re not big Trump fans around here… and it seems that Bette Middler isn’t one either!
Just when you thought you couldn’t love her even more… ❤️
Whew, you made it!
A disqualified driver was arrested again after being spotted driving away from the very court that had just banned them from the roads. Let’s hope you are paying more attention than they were… Join us next week for another Squabble!
Alister & Meridyth