basic govt strategy for everything. if they keep coming at us with their nonsensical battering rams, they figure we'll all give up. or die trying, in the case of disability 'support'.

Owen Boswarva@owenboswarva.bsky.social · yesterday

"We understand you must feel like giving up – please do!" #FOI #govcomms

*quietly screams "i told you so" into my pillow until the next election*

Lee Hurley@hleehurley.com · 2d ago

If I promise to do something to get you to trust me and then say I won't do that thing and I do this 50 times, am I backtracking or a liar who can't be trusted 🤔

another depressingly important thread. when can we finally get profiteers out of politics, please?

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 5d ago

🔴 NEW: Special advisers accepted hospitality from lobbyists and businesses 700 times + since Labour took power Glastonbury tickets, Taylor Swift, UFC fights + more SpAds sit outside the UK lobbying rules. So no one knows what was actually discussed🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/the-700-fr...

great survey, submitted and looking forward to more of these conversations. none of us are free until all of us are free.

Disability Rights UK@disrightsuk.bsky.social · 2d ago

🪧What role can Disabled communities play in challenging racism and building solidarity? Take part in this survey to be part of the conversation, which aims to create opportunities for reflection, learning and understanding 👇 touretteshero.typeform.com/to/bxYMB5Pe

depressingly accurate thread

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2y ago

1. A few years ago, people like me were widely attacked in the media for “declinism”. How could we fail to see that we were heading into a capitalist utopia, in which everything would keep getting better? This is a thread about what we could see that our critics could not. 🧵

been offline again for a few days after a major techfail on getting back to UK. reopen bsky to find a heap of likes from a new follower. it's all bot reposts of ai-spam, yet somehow has 12k followers. do people not check the feed of someone before they follow back (or block, in this case for me)?

love GLP to bits. help them continue their epic work ❤️

Good Law Project@goodlawproject.org · 3d ago

We need your help 🚨 What do you think is the most pressing issue facing the UK today? We want to know 👇 https://goodlaw.social/kn91

can't reply so hope this gets through. unsure it's directly what you're looking for @drbeth.bsky.social but solidarityapothecary.org do amazing work with herbalism and prisons, and are queer/allies/good folks. maybe a useful connection point?

Dr Beth@drbeth.bsky.social · 3d ago

A call out to the network - I really like to talk to someone who has worked in prison libraries & has experience of providing LGBTQ+ books in that sector. Is this you? Or do you know someone who I could talk to?

reminder that you can replace your mobile browser's default search engine to noai.duckduckgo.com by using this search string in the settings: noai.duckduckgo.com?q=%s&noai for some reason, i couldn't add the extension, and the example (google) search string formula they display doesn't work.

if i remember correctly, tories did this years ago with tesco - who were the biggest tax evaders at the time too. tories got a PR spin for employing youths (at non-liveable wage), corporates got even more dole bludging benefits. kids got screwed. "work experience progs" = 21st Century workhouses.

The Socialist Dad@thesocialistdad.bsky.social · 3d ago

Let's put this plainly Andy Burnham has created a 10,000 strong slave labour force for the already hugely profitable Sainsbury retail empire He's re-introduced slavery Tell me again how Labour are the making things better

"My piece was inspired by Picasso's Guernica...The patterns near Renee Good and Alex Pretti’s mouths are actually their last words in Morse code: ‘I’m not mad at you,’ and ‘Are you okay?’” -Jennifer Nelson (quoted in the linked booklet, alongside other extraordinary pieces)

Stacey Burns@wentrogue.bsky.social · 6d ago

Jennifer Nelson’s entry to this year’s Minnesota State Fair crop art

American 'academia' is basically "capitalists pay you to give them some flimsy 'evidence' which says they're right". it's not real evidence, it's cherry picked. or the program loses its funding. 'knowledge' = "richest white man says everyone else is wrong". can they all go bankrupt real soon, pls?

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 6d ago

Nathan Cofnas and the US Ambassador to Belgium say that the University of Ghent have now lifted his suspension, thanking the US government for supporting him (with threats of retaliation). The Ambassador says that Cofnas will be able to complete his one year appointment to March 2027.

i've been to Lake Ontario. it's big, and it's in Ontario (mostly. tho i've oft wondered how you split a lake, or what's effectively an ocean by UK standards). i'm sure gmaps will rename it, but i'm gonna enjoy editing that fkr. he's such a baby. i think we should rename "dummies" to "trumps".

Many years ago, I wrote down this bit of a speech Obama gave to an audience in Silicon Valley. Because it absolutely NAILED the difference between government and business.

David, Host of The Cold War@coldwarhost.bsky.social · 6d ago

The most damaging political idea I've seen in my lifetime is the idea that government should be run like a business

Must be refreshing to have a Prime Minister who's read the Good Friday Agreement and wouldn't just start a fight with Ireland and the EU for no good reason. Maybe one day we'll have one.

RTÉ News@news.rte.ie · 6d ago

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said a referendum on a united Ireland is 'off the table'

looking forward to all the creative competitions to flow from this: "best way to dispose of mouldy old polished-turd garbage that no one wants in case it infects their brains with the hate-virus". crappy tax break/PR stunt, JoKer. you're no Dolly. you're barely a writer, ffs.

The Bookseller@thebookseller.com · 6d ago

More than 200,000 print editions and audiobooks of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will be donated to schools, libraries and hospitals across the UK, US and other territories worldwide. Read more 👇

back in signal after being offgrid in northern Norway. i hear the heatwave has diminished and now there's grey. having only had 2/10 days of sunshine, this makes me sad for me, but relieved for everyone else in UK land. i also see we've lost Dolly. dammit, she was truly one of the good ones 💔

there's no smoking room in Oslo airport. i know i haven't travelled for years, but that's really odd to me! don't people smoke here?! (yes it's a stupid habit, no i'm not choosing right now to quit!)

it seems i'm ready. both rucksacks are under plane weight limits (phew!) now i have an hour to sit and worry about everything i might not have thought of, and second guess everything that's already packed, or decided not to be packed. oh fuck. it's gonna be fine, right? RIGHT??????? 🫣😳🥴🤔😱🤣

given that 99% of USA (/most) news these days is 100% nonsensical, i have no idea wtf this means. could Luigi be freed if they can't decide wtf to do? i mean, seems unlikely, but it's a really nice daydream. not that i condone murder. and the UH CEO dude is responsible for an awful lot of those.

Flingjore@flingjore.com · 2w ago

Judge indefinitely postpones the state murder trial of Luigi Mangione following his guilty plea to federal stalking charges. Defense attorneys argue that trying him locally for killing the UnitedHealthcare CEO violates double jeopardy protections under New York's strict legal statutes.

as a book lover, and a rare-things lover, and an Amazon/Bezos/Capitalism/AI hater... this goes far too bloody far. YOU CAN'T DESTROY RARE BOOKS, THAT'S JUST FUCKED UP.

404 Media@404media.co · 2w ago

SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:

be more like the Cherokee Nation.

UAINE@mahtowin1.bsky.social · 2w ago

Cherokee Nation bans hyperscale data centers on its lands, won't support projects without consultation. www.tomshardware.com/tech-industr...

all lists ticked, airport taxi booked for the morning, i'm at the half-rucksack stage of packing, and my brain has finally fizzed out. i have my carving gear, arts materials, (too many) books, maps, medical emergency gear, food [PRIORITIES!]... and might be going with no clothes at this rate 🤣

this is so sad. not the OP, the person who told him to stop sharing his books. if Tom hadn't shared HIS WRITING, or other ppl's funny reviews, i wouldn't've found him. i have one of his in my rucksack, ready to take on a plane & read tomorrow BECAUSE HE SHARES HIS BOOKS. make&share your art, ffs!

Tom Cox@dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social · 2w ago

A Bluesky user has written to me to ask me to stop mentioning my books on here. I wonder... Should I continue trying my best to make a living in a tough world via the writing I've spent decades putting my heart & soul into? Or should I obey them? Nah. I'm going to continue mentioning my books.

self reminder loop: "anxiety and excitement sit on the same fine line". my stomach is doing increasing flips. haven't travelled much in UK for years, haven't been overseas in 7yrs, and not alone in over a decade. used to travel alone all the time. it's gonna be fine, right?? it's gonna be AWESOME!

i really miss that place 🥹🦘🌄

Stardust 🌏🎬@stardustbluepr.com · 2w ago

Hopping into Monday.. Kangaroos on the sea at sunrise. Australia 📹 jeroen.fritz on IG

"Today, we’re announcing the Official Elon Musk is a Sad Little Bitch with No Friends Monument Design Committee." 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 this is pure lilbitch GOLD!

Kolina Koltai@koltai.bsky.social · 2w ago

What a fun update to this story that we covered a couple years ago. www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/elonhasnofri...

Thousands and thousands of people here at the Jason Arday vigil in Trafalgar Square. This was taken just before the 6pm start. It’s now too packed to take photos.

anyway, enough crappy news growling. i'm going off to learn how to survey woodlands and wetlands for ecological monitoring. particularly keen to broaden my knowledge re measuring Ash dieback impacts. i remain hopeful that we'll see strain-resistant growth. the alternative is too hideous to bear.

they embedded that generations ago. they're just empowered to say it louder now.

Paul Bernal@paulbernal.bsky.social · 2w ago

One more reminder. Yes, Reform are a deeply unserious party, and have no intention or ability to bring their plans into action, but there’s a very serious side to this. It’s about embedding the narrative that disabled people are dishonest, undeserving scroungers. That does need to be opposed.