Barb Drummond
@barbdrummond.bsky.social
Self publishing historian mostly on 18th century Britain. Books on wife selling, machines of the Enlightenment, and much more. Latest book The Great Flood of 1607 published September 2024. Love photography, churchcrawling, curiosity
Hi everyone, you’re probably aware that we have been helping with the campaign against Thames Water who are planning on getting approval to dump 75 million litres of semi-treated sewage in the river on a daily basis. Please help fight this destruction. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...
Petition: Ensure new sewage treatment infrastructure meets higher standards as in the EU
We urge the government to review the regulations for new sewage treatment infrastructure and introduce new legislation to ensure high international standards are met; to safeguard people’s health, bet...
petition.parliament.uk
Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite £247m revenue, £25.3m profit. Doesn't pay much anywhere, effective global tax rate is 1.4% Shifts profits through intragroup transactions, enjoys tax breaks. UK Govt rewarding it with public contracts, enriching execs & shareholders.
Palantir paid just £2m corporation tax in UK in 2024 despite lucrative public sector contracts
Software group benefits from global systems and accounting practices ‘that enable tax to be shirked’, says union boss
theguardian.com
Was chatting to young guy living in rundown flat, no contract. Has been told by landlord the building has been sold and that local council will provide him with a new one. Ridiculous!
Behind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
Inside Britain's university crisis
As teaching staff face job loss, their bosses have netted pay rises and bought advice from a “vampiric” management consultancy, writes Prof. John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter
democracyforsale.substack.com
Windfall tax on colossal bank profits could raise £19bn in 2026. Result of profiteering and govt policies. Sufficient to increase frozen personal income tax allowance by nearly £2,000. Banks paid out £25bn in bonuses in the year to March, can easily pay more tax.
Windfall tax on colossal bank profits could raise £19bn in 2026
Burnham urged to resist lobbyists and tax banks to pay for his cost of living measures
positivemoney.org
New Sentinel-2 satellite imagery reveals the extent of damage caused by large scale Israeli detonations overnight on July 30 into July 31st around UNESCO World Heritage site Beaufort Castle in Lebanon.
We're calling for Andy Burnham to televise a national briefing on the climate and nature emergency and stop North Sea oil and gas drilling investing in clean energy instead. 💚
In late 2023, the Society spent a day with Hertfordshire’s historians. We saw the quality, creativity and distinctiveness of teaching, research and engagement. We were told by a (now departed) senior manager that History was ‘a portfolio the university will guard very carefully’. bit.ly/4hLediN
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 4d agoSo it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
Shooting interests & the rightwing press want to exploit the wildfires to reinstate moorland burning. But you don't fight fire with fire. You fight it with water. This wildfire in Wales' Elan Valley in May stopped abruptly when it reached re-wetted peat bogs: www.walesfarmer.co.uk/news/2614875...
The Secretary of Health and Human Services is pathologically lying, gaslighting psychopath.
The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 3d agoRFK: "You are saying nonsense." Bash: "I am not saying nonsense, excuse me?…This is not productive. " RFK: "You're talking nonsense…You were scaring people." Bash: "Why are you saying that?" RFK: "Because that was the job of CNN." Bash: "Okay, stop."
Richard Arkwright died on this day 1792. Preston barber and wig-maker, invented the water frame for cotton spinning and played a huge part in creating and spreading the factory system. He was one of the few inventors in the Industrial Revolution to become wealthy.
The grave of William and Evelyn de Morgan in the great Victorian Brookwood Cemetery near Woking #memorialmonday #monumentmonday
More recently, Harvati’s team identified the world’s oldest wooden hand tools, dating approximately 430,000 years, at the Marathousa site in Megalopoli, central Peloponnese. The discovery revealed previously unknown plant-based technology and highlighted the adaptability of early human populations.
Paleoanthropologist Katerina Harvati wins Albert Einstein World Award of Science | eKathimerini.com
Katerina Harvati, one of the world’s leading paleoanthropologists, will receive this year’s Albert Einstein World Award of Science from the World Cultural Council in recognition of her groundbreaking ...
ekathimerini.com
The Manchester Collegiate Church was the scene, in 1787, of the first ever public meeting of the campaign to abolish the slave trade. Founded by royal charter in 1421, it became Manchester Cathedral in 1847. It is a classic example of English ‘Perpendicular’ architecture.
You know you're in a fucked-up country when there's even two-tier justice for grass.
‘It’s all right for them’: private schools and golf courses stay green despite England’s hosepipe bans
As parks turn brown and paddling pools go unfilled, exemptions mean sports pitches can stay lush – even in school holidays
theguardian.com
Isabella Ford (1855–1924): Quaker, Socialist & advocate for animal welfare. She founded the Leeds branch of the Independent Labour Party, was Chair of Leeds RSPCA, & set up a branch of the Women’s Peace Crusade. She was a friend of Edward Carpenter & corresponded with Walt Whitman. #YorkshireDay 🏵
