David Beckler
@davidbeckler.bsky.social
Author, humanitarian, socialist. Drinker of coffee and walker of city streets. My next book, Trapped, is out 14th Aug 2026.
Today has been a good day. Yes, I worked out how to simply disable “AI Assistant“ from Adobe Acrobat - so no more enraging & intrusive offers to summarise a perfectly manageable document (Click on the three lines at the top left, select Disable New Acrobat <bows modestly>)
Perhaps we should all respond to the nonsensical ramblings of tech oligarchs with… “TLDR: Fascism” (TLDR is short for ‘too long, didn’t read’). www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley
As Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and their peers have grown richer and more influential, Gil Durán argues they have all but abandoned democracy – and found the perfect government to enable them
theguardian.com
If you see someone online ignorantly claiming that entry into Ceuta entails entry into mainland Spain/the Schengen area, here's the text proving otherwise. (Plus almost everyone who entered Ceuta returned within a day)
Steve Peers@stevepeers.bsky.social · 5d agoHere are those special rules on Ceuta and Melilla as regards Schengen - dating back to Spain acceding to the Schengen Convention eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...
Guess whose side the governments are on? "Nothing is safe from the billionaire assault on humanity. None of our rights, however ancient and familiar, are impregnable. Fight for them now or lose them, perhaps for ever."
Stephen Leahy@stephenleahy.bsky.social · 4d agoA must-read: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The world cannot pursue green initiatives, whilst it supports the US war machine. It really is that simple. Listen to the numbers. More here: chrishedges.substack.com/p/why-the-us...
Pictured here: Four-Time WNBA All-Star Ticha Penicherio and Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo, holding a poster that I illustrated. It was signed by both and gifted to me by the event's organizer, Kenneth Monroe (pictured in middle). Not a bad way to begin the week.
Delighted to announce that I will be at Preston Crime Fiction Festival this September, talking about; "Building The Perfect Mystery" alongside @dvbishop.com and @davidbeckler.bsky.social with @lizmistry.bsky.social moderating. Can't wait to be there. Tickets available now at the link below.
🚨LAST CHANCE🚨 Today is the FINAL DAY to preorder #GhostNotes by @@dougjohnstone.bsky.social for 25% off with code "SUMMER26" at checkout!🙌 DEAL ENDS AT MIDNIGHT⏰️ ✨️OUT 13/08/26✨️ Available EXCLUSIVELY on the Waterstones website & app!❤️ 🔗https://tinyurl.com/3pn7p42f #TeamOrenda #WPreorder
✨ If you feel mesmerised by our material history, and comforted by continuity you might like my Genius Loci Digest - a weekly digest exploring the spirit of place in hidden gems across historic Britain. Free to subscribe 👉 www.digest.andymarsh...
Please give if you are able. No one will save us but us and Palestinians are us. Merci de faire un don si vous le pouvez. Personne ne nous sauvera à part nous-mêmes, et les Palestiniens, c'est nous.
Memento Mori Povich 🇵🇸❤️🔥@paradis3gained.bsky.social · 3w agoOm jameel:My 5 kids are appealing to you, hoping for your donation to save their father, who is seriously injured,&their mom, who suffers from a heart valve condition. Don't let them be lost; their hearts are pounding.200$ between life &danger Despite the lack of food 😭😭😭 chuffed.org/project/1839...
Testing the acoustic qualities of the Cone of Shame. #Cat #Caturday #Catsofbluesky #LifuX
Cover reveal! ALL THE CRIME IN THE WORLD: LOCKED ROOM MYSTERIES AND IMPOSSIBLE PUZZLES FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE, edited by Gigi Pandian and myself for Crippen & Landru
All help for Nabil and his family needed right now. His dad's struggling to afford basics and worries about his sons' well-being and futures ❤️🍉🙏
Jennie Kermode@jenniekermode.bsky.social · 4w agoIt's Nabil's graduation ceremony tomorrow. He should be excited, but since his family lost their tent in a fire, life has been hard. Can you send him a small gift to lift his spirits and give him the chance to feel like other children do? gofund.me/35fdca7d #Gaza 🍉
Baraa? Let me tell you about this woman as I appeal to you to help her. She is such a loving & compassionate person she cannot bear if any of us suffer. And what she herself suffers is incredible. She checks in on & supports my wellbeing, she cares about my homeless friends. Let's look out for her.
Micheeel@micheeel.bsky.social · last mo."World,I'm hungry... my teeth hurt, I need treatment." Due to severe food shortages &skyrocketing prices,my son Ibrahim is fading,losing his weight&health daily.Having already lost my little girls,Im terrified.We fight hunger & pain alone. Please don't ignore his cry.Help him. 💔 tinyurl.com/baraaZ2
I am disgusted with the United States. So you are not confused. #FuckDonaldTrump. Kakistocracy is the order of the day. But it is so much more. I keep asking: Is this the best we can do? I know goddamn well it's not. That's what makes it unbearable. I'm not watching #incompetence. I see intent.
NEW: Boris Johnson failed to declare to parliament a gift of private jet flights from the same cryptobillionaire, Christopher Harborne who gave £5m to Nigel Farage, leaked documents reveal. New #HarborneReceipts investigation from @thenerve.news. 🔗 below 1/
Bargain of the moment: in my local Waterstones, I see that the paperbacks of 'Lone Wolf' by @adamweymouth.bsky.social and 'Upon A White Horse' by @peteralanross.bsky.social (see deskboundtraveller.com/my-books-of-the-year-for-2025/) are in the "buy one, get one half-price" offer.
The EU wants to hand over our fingerprints and facial images to Trump. Hardly anyone knows. Sign and share to help stop it! action.wemove.eu/sign/2026-06...
EU: Don’t send our data to the US!
Share the petition and you'll help multiply the impact of this campaign: EU: Don’t send our data to the US!
action.wemove.eu
Either Zia Yusuf has been lying to the British public or he's been used as a patsy to cover for the Reform UK leaders who absolutely know who Nathan Gill is. "I've never spoken to him, most people in the senior leadership team have never really heard of the guy." 😬 (h/t @jim_nauseum2 on X-Twitter)
Anti-racism rally, Leith, tomorrow, 1pm, Montgomery St Park
I attach a blog from @edconway.bsky.social who has been advocating for Air to Air heat pumps for years….He explains how they work for heating and cooling and how commonplace they are on the continent edconway.substack.com/p/the-missin...
The Missing Pipe
A short history of how Britain chose the wrong heating system a century ago, and why we are unnecessarily sweating our way through a heatwave in 2026
edconway.substack.com
So... Quantum of Menace is shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year #TheakstonsAwards @harrogatefestivals.bsky.social Final award is partly decided by vote, so if you can bring yourself to vote for me again... you can vote here: www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com/vote
If you're looking forward to the end of this heat, good news – Bloody Scotland is back on in Stirling this September, where I'll be hosting Can You Solve the Murder? Live (Friday, 6.45pm)! Join in, test your sleuthing skills, and see how good a detective you really are…
Musk says not a single person has died due to him axing USAID. Sadly, part of my job involves tracking aid spending. So here’s a thread with just some of the people who lost their lives because of USAID cuts
🚨 New research by us! 📣 Most British drivers don't know how dangerous SUVs are to other road users, but adding information to SUV marketing materials seems to do almost nothing to change people's plans to buy SUVs Here's a 🧵 on why harder action is going to be needed 1/10
