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Tom Bowker

@tombowk

Co-founder and managing director of Zitamar News, www.zitamar.com Follow Zitamar here too: https://bsky.app/profile/zitamar.bsky.social Brit abroad since 2014. Currently living in The Hague.

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06.07.2023
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Latest posts by Tom Bowker @tombowk

If Trump is convinced he wins all wars regardless of the actual outcome, maybe he could simply declare he’s won before he starts them, and skip all the bloodshed.

10.03.2026 08:42 πŸ‘ 33 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
Top: Pete Hegseth β€” suit snug, hair oiled, buzz on β€” signing a missile on Arsenal of Freedom tour. The sign is half cut off, though, so it reads 

The
ARSE 
of 
FRE

Bottom: the surface of the missile, which reads β€œMaybe it's the beer talking, Marge, but you've got a butt that won't quit. They've got these big, chewy pretzels here... meddanrtargym... five dollars?! Get outta here!”

Top: Pete Hegseth β€” suit snug, hair oiled, buzz on β€” signing a missile on Arsenal of Freedom tour. The sign is half cut off, though, so it reads The ARSE of FRE Bottom: the surface of the missile, which reads β€œMaybe it's the beer talking, Marge, but you've got a butt that won't quit. They've got these big, chewy pretzels here... meddanrtargym... five dollars?! Get outta here!”

01.03.2026 15:53 πŸ‘ 1357 πŸ” 192 πŸ’¬ 22 πŸ“Œ 13
Me, bearded and sunglassed, looking at the camera in front of a sandy beach and still bay under blue sky.

Me, bearded and sunglassed, looking at the camera in front of a sandy beach and still bay under blue sky.

Gorgeous day today. I don't deserve your sponsorship. But Ukraine does!

donorbox.org/tom-bowker-s...

25.02.2026 08:06 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Another one done. Thank you for your support!

donorbox.org/tom-bowker-s...

24.02.2026 11:51 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This post is the single best advert for the fact that proper local journalism matters.
If Jim’s team hadn’t put the pieces together quickly, this wouldn’t have been stopped.

24.02.2026 10:44 πŸ‘ 680 πŸ” 266 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 4
Preview
Tom Bowker's fundraiser for Ukraine | KHARPP (Powered by Donorbox) Hello, and thanks for visiting my fundraising page!This winter has been especially harsh for Ukrainians; not only has the weather been extremely cold, but Russia has deliberately targeted energy and h...

Seems like a good day to share my fundraiser for πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦ Ukraine πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡¦

I'm jumping in the chilly North Sea every day (from 2 Feb to 20 March) to raise money for the heroic but freezing Ukrainians, via the charity KHARPP.

Please consider supporting me and more importantly them:

donorbox.org/tom-bowker-s...

24.02.2026 08:12 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

As a Minister of Justice in apartheid South Africa is supposed to have complained: you appoint judges on the basis of their loyalty to the regime, but once they get there, they think they’ve been appointed on merit.

20.02.2026 22:40 πŸ‘ 56 πŸ” 24 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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As Nigel Farage makes Robert Jenrick his Shadow Chancellor, here's a quick reminder of the sort of man Reform wants to put in charge of the nation's finances

17.02.2026 12:37 πŸ‘ 705 πŸ” 390 πŸ’¬ 52 πŸ“Œ 14

You can't fire them? Counterpoint: you can fire them whenever you like, and they have no employment rights.

11.02.2026 17:51 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Sir Jim Ratcliffe lives in Monaco, which has been colonised by immigrant tax dodgers.

11.02.2026 17:24 πŸ‘ 521 πŸ” 163 πŸ’¬ 32 πŸ“Œ 3

Have checked, this is not a shitpost.

11.02.2026 17:31 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 2 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paulβ€”an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.

11.02.2026 16:46 πŸ‘ 11391 πŸ” 6556 πŸ’¬ 274 πŸ“Œ 624
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"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.

10.02.2026 10:09 πŸ‘ 8384 πŸ” 4448 πŸ’¬ 160 πŸ“Œ 473

Totally backwards to spend the first 2 years after winning a majority worrying about people on the opposite end of the political spectrum. Do your thing.

10.02.2026 07:29 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

But is it because, despite that mandate, he didn't actually get on and fix the country? I thought he would and wished he would, but he consistently disappoints

10.02.2026 07:26 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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09.02.2026 14:57 πŸ‘ 251 πŸ” 32 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 2

Might be attractive to offer voters the chance to turn back the clock and vote for "chaos with Ed Miliband"

09.02.2026 12:48 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Or the same AI social post writer. But I think you're right that something's up.

09.02.2026 10:22 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Just a quick update from the Twin Cities. (Please forgive the unsolicited message). THINGS ARE NOT BETTER IN MINNEAPOLIS. The media is mostly moving on, Trump is focused on other stuff, BUT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON THE GROUND. More than 2,000 DHS thugs continue to roam the streets, abducting people 24/7, assaulting legal observers with impunity, and routinely denying 1st, 4th, and 5th amendment rights. Drones and helicopters are overhead every day. Hundreds and hundreds of terrified families have not left their homes since mid-December ... relying on the community to bring them food and help with rent and other necessities. (Those people are NOT violent drug cartel sex offending murderers, as DHS would tell you. Most are legal residents or citizens.)  If anything, things have just become more stressful and intractable (think trench warfare as a suitable metaphor): The resistance is better organized and numerous, but DHS has become more clever and better at disguise... and the county sheriff's office is increasingly supporting them . Do not let anyone tell you that Homans (the new person in charge of the occupation) is making anything better. Do not let anyone tell you that 700 ICE agents leaving the city has made much of a difference; the remaining force (again, ~2,000) is still larger than the entire city's police force (which is legally unable to do anything). Please call your congressional reps ... especially if there is any chance the administration might listen to them.

Just a quick update from the Twin Cities. (Please forgive the unsolicited message). THINGS ARE NOT BETTER IN MINNEAPOLIS. The media is mostly moving on, Trump is focused on other stuff, BUT NOTHING HAS CHANGED ON THE GROUND. More than 2,000 DHS thugs continue to roam the streets, abducting people 24/7, assaulting legal observers with impunity, and routinely denying 1st, 4th, and 5th amendment rights. Drones and helicopters are overhead every day. Hundreds and hundreds of terrified families have not left their homes since mid-December ... relying on the community to bring them food and help with rent and other necessities. (Those people are NOT violent drug cartel sex offending murderers, as DHS would tell you. Most are legal residents or citizens.) If anything, things have just become more stressful and intractable (think trench warfare as a suitable metaphor): The resistance is better organized and numerous, but DHS has become more clever and better at disguise... and the county sheriff's office is increasingly supporting them . Do not let anyone tell you that Homans (the new person in charge of the occupation) is making anything better. Do not let anyone tell you that 700 ICE agents leaving the city has made much of a difference; the remaining force (again, ~2,000) is still larger than the entire city's police force (which is legally unable to do anything). Please call your congressional reps ... especially if there is any chance the administration might listen to them.

A desperate plea sent to me by a Minneapolis resident who's been on the front lines since the beginning of the ICE occupation:

08.02.2026 05:06 πŸ‘ 14974 πŸ” 8420 πŸ’¬ 158 πŸ“Œ 311

UPDATE: "Lindsey Vonn sustained an injury, but is in stable condition and in good hands with a team of American and Italian physicians." - U.S. Ski & Snowboard

08.02.2026 16:39 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

πŸ€¦β€β™€οΈ

08.02.2026 13:44 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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I don’t want to laugh at a small business but also VERY funny

06.02.2026 13:40 πŸ‘ 3110 πŸ” 829 πŸ’¬ 58 πŸ“Œ 109

Pour one out for every professional political pundit, writer, consultant whatever that has spent the last decade trying to pretend that the Trump phenomenon was about trade or opiates and not a big chunk of white america losing its mind over having a black president bsky.app/profile/kyle...

06.02.2026 09:28 πŸ‘ 14181 πŸ” 3402 πŸ’¬ 328 πŸ“Œ 159

I yield to nobody in my hatred of these blockchain tokens, but this isn't quite right.

There is no "con", nor is it "pyramid scheme" nor are the buyers "rubes." If any of that were true, the value would have hit zero years ago.

/1

06.02.2026 13:14 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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Mark Rutte:

During my visit to Kyiv today I saw a civilian heating plant targeted by Russian missiles.

No military value whatsoever - attacks meant only to make people suffer.

But Ukraine stands strong. And NATO stands with you.

03.02.2026 19:56 πŸ‘ 324 πŸ” 87 πŸ’¬ 26 πŸ“Œ 8
Preview
Steve Rosenberg on the tightrope of reporting from Russia on Ukraine war The BBC's Russia editor reflects on the difficulties of working as a British journalist in Moscow.

β€œWe still haven't destroyed London or Birmingham…We haven't wiped all this British scum from the face of the earth."
We haven't kicked out the goddamned BBC with that Steve Rotten-berg. He walks around looking like a defecating squirrel…he's a conscious enemy of our country!"
@bbcstever.bsky.social

02.02.2026 08:42 πŸ‘ 11 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

in exchange for asking them nicely to try and not wear masks anymore, the democrats agree to fund ICE while they build concentration camps.

"shut the entire government down" is not a radical position. it is the bare minimum.

30.01.2026 17:41 πŸ‘ 412 πŸ” 160 πŸ’¬ 5 πŸ“Œ 2

πŸ˜†

30.01.2026 15:16 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Konstantin Kisin straight up lying on #bbcqt

Douglas Alexander: β€œWhen Fraser Nelson put it to you that Rishi Sunak is absolutely english… you said β€œhe’s a brown Hindu, how is he english?”

Kisin: β€œNo, that’s not what I said...”

29.01.2026 22:56 πŸ‘ 498 πŸ” 189 πŸ’¬ 57 πŸ“Œ 41
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Kyiv residents share photos and videos on social media showing their freezing apartments and how they are trying to keep warm.

29.01.2026 21:36 πŸ‘ 1031 πŸ” 512 πŸ’¬ 36 πŸ“Œ 31