Arete Roper
@areteroper.bsky.social
Dutch, love ( my 5*) cats, English, books, science and crochet.
VVD is built to validate *feelings* of privileged white people
David Roberts@volts.wtf · 2mo agoThe entire reactionary machine is built to validate the *feelings* of privileged white people, and so to that extent, it is based on truth -- they really do feel this way! The fact that the feelings do not correlate with objective reality is not disqualifying, not even really an impediment.
Over the last few weeks I’ve been out on high streets in Bristol testing the deep listening approach described in Monbiot’s article. Here’s a short blog describing why this matters and what I’ve found: www.bridgesforcommunities.com/2026/08/05/s...
Streets are made for talking: so that's what we did - Bridges For Communities
We’ve been trying something new at Bridges. Popping up on high streets and town centres in Bristol to talk to people about community life and the issues that are impacting […]
bridgesforcommunities.com
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 3mo agoThere is a way out of our political spiral, and it is thrilling and inspiring. We could have a very different country. This week's column. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Here is a starter pack of people and organizations working for trans rights in the UK, plus people who regularly post on the topic. The UK press is hopelessly anti-trans, so give these folks a boost: bsky.app/starter-pack...
Any cis women who are disgusted by the Burnham government's transphobic policy of segregation can sign the @nionwomen.bsky.social petition, which is now closing in on 110,000 signatures. notinourname.org.uk
Home - Not in our name
Not In our Name: Women in support of the trans+community
notinourname.org.uk
Pubic Service Announcement The Vagina Museum is trans inclusive. Always has been, always will be. Today the new EHRC Code of Practice comes into effect. Let us be clear, the guidance changes nothing about how we operate.
My column on how capital becomes a death cult. Faced with a choice between profit and human life, the radical right chooses profit. Then it tries to persuade us that mass death is what we want. It's the new phase of climate denial: accept your fate, earthlings. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Murderous heat, an endangered food supply, decimated landscapes: embrace the Mediterranean life | George Monbiot
As climate disaster stares us in the face, the radical right says ‘Embrace the Mediterranean life’. Embrace death, more like it, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
theguardian.com
Update: now at least 15 countries/territories which have had their highest ever recorded temperature in 2026: Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Czechia, Denmark, Germany, Guernsey, Hungary, Jersey, Kyrgyzstan, Liechtenstein, Poland, Slovakia, South Korea, Uzbekistan. Possibly Kenya too.
Ben Barclay@benbarclay.bsky.social · last mo.That means at least 7 countries and two territories have had their highest temperatures ever recorded in the past week or so, in some cases beating their old records on several occasions and by large margins.
Here’s a PDF. Worth a few minutes of your time. users.wpi.edu/~zrbutzke/Do...
users.wpi.edu
Adam Rawnsley@arawnsley.bsky.social · 2d agoToday, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
Dus die lul heeft "urenlang mensen geïnterviewd " en "aan de lopende band grappen" gemaakt en dít was wat er uitgezonden moest worden?
Girl Making Loser Sign & Tongue Out
Alt: Girl Making Loser Sign & Tongue Out
static.klipy.com
So, hey, this month's competition is actually for a chance at winning a YEAR's rent, not a month's... (UK renters only—sorry!) joflo.ws/spareroom
Jojo@jojowiththeflow.bsky.social · 4mo agoIf you are a renter in the UK and don't mind referral links, use mine to enter SpareRoom's monthly competition and we'll both improve our chances of winning a month's rent: joflo.ws/spareroom
Nor do we want to be on Truth Social. I would hate to find a welcome home there. I would hate to be somebody who would be palatable to such a place. We don't go on Truth, because nobody needs bullies. They *do* try to come on Bluesky, because bullies need the rest of us.
Ruth Zakarin@ruthz.bsky.social · 2d agoThe burden is always on us lefties to welcome them, debate them, compromise with them, find middle ground, and generally make them comfortable. It’s totally one directional. No one is calling for Truth Social to make any room for us.
Today is Venn Day, in celebration of the mathematician John Venn, born on this day in 1834. To commemorate the occasion, here’s a poem in the form of a Venn Diagram.
Hundreds of free open access journals to receive significant financial support! @ojcollective.bsky.social, which launched in January, has already raised £1.56 million of its £2.65 million target and will start to financially support 297 journals.
How collective funding supports sustainable publishing
Diamond open access publishing brings benefits for social science scholarship through increased usage, higher citations and global reach. How does funding help?
blogs.lse.ac.uk
I had a MRI done this morning. I asked if I could keep my halo on and if the bats hanging off the halo would be alright. Can't wait to see the results.
The map's form: poem It shows: oneself Its purpose: to record legends
History of science meets forensic mysteries: what's not to like? I've pre-ordered mine and can't wait! #histsci #histmed 🗃
Dr Lindsey Fitzharris@drlindseyfitz.bsky.social · last wk.Also, please note that the UK cover is different than the one I'm holding in the video! If you are in the UK and you want something extra special, you can now preorder SIGNED and DEDICATED copies from @foxlanebooks.bsky.social: www.foxlanebooks.co.uk/product-page...
it is International Owl Awareness Day! May you now be aware of the weird and wonderful Blakiston's fish owl! 🦉
I don't really have words for how this article makes me feel, except grateful for Ms. Rashid and the other lawyers who are representing trans people so each of them does not have to go through this alone.
emptywheel@emptywheel.bsky.social · 3d agoDOD is not letting trans service members attend their own separation hearings unless they conform with Whiskey Pete's notion of their gender. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Gift link -- no paywall. Stunning reporting here. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
Inside the Secretive Boards Deciding Trans Troops’ Fate (Gift Article)
The Pentagon is relying on closed-door hearings to kick out transgender service members. An Army Reserve lawyer is one of the few who have seen how they really work.
nytimes.com
Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.
Update: I asked SPD about KUOW's claim that they said Barnes' travel was no different than previous chiefs. They told me that's not what they said—according to the spokesperson, SPD told KUOW his travel to major police conferences like IACP was normal, not his frequent trips to his home in Chicago.
Erica C. Barnett@ericacbarnett.bsky.social · 3d agoKUOW says that "influencers" like me are the reason you should give them money. If you want "police say" statements, I guess go for it. If you want deeply sourced, in-depth investigative reporting by someone who's been a journalist in Seattle since 2001, support PubliCola! publicola.com/support/
i think the party of sick freaks who want to inspect kid's private parts should be branded as such
Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 3d agoAn initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play
Claudia Severa (born 11 September in the first century) was a literate Roman woman, the wife of Aelius Brocchus, commander of an unidentified fort near Vindolanda fort in northern England. #CelebratingWomen
#Columbus set sail #OnThisDay in 1492. What did the indigenous people of the Americas think of Christopher Columbus? 🔓 This article is free for 7 days www.historytoday.com/archive/peop...
The Indigenous People Who Discovered Christopher Columbus
What did the indigenous people of the Americas think of Christopher Columbus?
historytoday.com
It’s important to understand that when 1.2 million Americans are dying from a disease, any government action is excessive and tyrannical, but if a dozen trans women want to play soccer no government action can go far enough
