Suz MacLeod
@firmlyaground.bsky.social
Brit (Grade B). Boatperson. Musician. Metaphorist. Snarkophile. Anomalous. Retired Cat Herder and Lost Cause Technician. Culturally incoherent and proud of it. Sorry: can’t follow you (back) if I can’t see some posts of yours.
“Sexual intercourse began In nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) - Between the end of the Chatterley ban And the Beatles' first LP.” [Annus Mirabilis, Philip Larkin]
Hull (& EY). You don’t know whether to laugh or cry. One minute complaining at being ‘left behind’ (though secretly celebrating being the Wild East outlier where only local rules apply); next minute voting itself a regional Mayoralty who doesn’t know how to spend even the public money it’s given 🙄
I just can’t believe we’re seeing this sort of stuff from a sitting MP Just want to say to British Somalis that you are loved and I’m so, sorry this is happening.
Rather than allowing humanists to contribute to Radio 4's Thought for the Day, the BBC's current format requires all speakers to frame political and current affairs commentary through a religious or scriptural lens. Yet half of the UK is non-religious so why not let us speak?
Demanding to examine a child's genitals for them to play sports is fucking insane
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
It’s a mere matter of time now until one of the Reform bunch starts talking about the ‘small boats emergency’ as ‘the new Battle of Britain’. Shamelessly appealing to the WWII-preoccupied. I’ll be opening a book.
Things must be busy at the Spanish government now. Wildfires are threatening many lives, livelihoods and environments in Spain, and now thousands of swimmers have just left the shore of Morocco and entered the exclave/enclave of Ceuta—Spanish territory.
Newlyn, Cornwall. Locus of the Ordnance Datum (OD), a mean sea level measured over 6 consecutive years, a ‘zero’ height above (or below) which the altitude of land in Great Britain is measured and marked by benchmarks and ‘spot heights’ AOD on Ordnance Survey maps since 1921.
The phrase ‘Data Centre’ seems awfully polysyllabic. What about ‘Slop Farm’?
I watched a documentary from 59 years ago in which an academic geographer pointed out that Earth is currently in an interglacial period and that—for all the *current* temperatures and rises in sea level—there will be another ‘Ice Age’. This ‘geological fatalism’ is the basis of ‘climate denial’.
Highly recommended: Mike Brady and team on the human suffering of war, intolerable yet replicated year after year, seen through the lens of the fate of one ship and thousands lost in the Baltic. youtube.com/post/UgkxVas...
Post from Oceanliner Designs - YouTube
'WILHELM GUSTLOFF: The Forgotten Tragedy' is out now! This project has been a long time in the works and was a massive undertaking for our team members all a...
youtube.com
Am I alone in thinking that the UK Govt has completely messed up with ‘Simpler Recycling’? The mess could almost be summed up by “If in any doubt, put it in General Waste”.
"Reform UK councillors vote to destroy ancient woodland for Kent quarry expansion "The future of Oaken Wood will now be decided upon by government inspectors assessing the Kent Mineral Sites Plan.... A six-week public consultation is also being held..." www.birdguides.com/news/reform-... #R4Today
The Times corrects its splash story headlined "Migrant care workers bring dozens of family members." The Times got this totally wrong. It then used its own error as the basis for an editorial calling explicitly for forced expulsions of people living here legally. www.thetimes.com/comment/regi...
In the European view, the fact that Donald Trump could be elected president twice and still command over 35% popular support after engaging in depraved, reckless and corrupt conduct is stark evidence of long-term institutional disintegration inside the US. The country is no longer a desirable ally.
If I’ve understood correctly from recent statements that the PM would be willing to ‘call out’ the US President ‘if it were in the country’s interest to do so’ i.e. criticise Trump for bad behaviour, does that mean the PM would not criticise bad behaviour ‘unless’ it were ‘in the UK’s interest’?
“I have no issue with Nolan making this as a ‘Summer Blockbuster’. I actually think: Good on you! If you can make such beautiful cinema and make a lot of money in the process, so that companies back other projects like it, well done. It brings audiences back to the movies and back to the Classics.”
Alex Andreou's Podyssey@alexpodyssey.bsky.social · 2w ago🆕 ODD-POD: 🐴 A Deep Dive into Chris Nolan's Odyssey 🏛️ The one you've been waiting for. Every shot. Every choice. Every moment. Every controversy. What was in. What wasn't. All the experts. A review almost as long as the film. 🍏 podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a... 🎧 open.spotify.com/episode/4WtT...
Normally a porridge breakfaster, in these warm months I’m trying ‘overnight oats’ instead. Rolled oats, a few sultanas (plump up nicely), chia seeds (lots of recipes have them), live yoghurt, a little peach juice, maple syrup, oat milk—all mixed and fridge-chilled in a lidded glass pot. Yours?
There is definitely something very European about this. Stubbornness about summer means the already unworkable model of two entire months of "holiday" in the middle of the year and almost nothing outside of that will persist, even as it becomes actively dangerous
Auke-Florian 🪹@aukeflorian.nl · 2w agoWelcome to the Anthropocene 🔥
If British people die - as. result of Iranian terrorism or some other Iranian action - simply so that the UK can support the US in committing war crimes - how will this be explained to the bereaved families or even to international criminal courts?
Lisa Cumming@lisacumin.bsky.social · 3w agoA very succinct & important point (made on another platform) from peace scholar Paul Rogers.
Down at the Muckrakers Arms, mischievous Pecksniff: - explores why Burnham is writing his own political story instead of responding to everyone else's. - peers behind the headlines at the real cabinet intrigue. - finds plenty to amuse him in Clacton's extraordinary by-election. Enjoy!
Pecksniff: Burnham wants to tell his own story in his own way
In which Mr Pecksniff lays before his readers for their approval certain observations and speculations reflecting on the political life
eastangliabylines.co.uk
"They were careless people. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.” This man did incalculable damage, while 'carried away.'
Following in the footsteps of France and Switzerland's Government who banned Palantir from Government contracts, Spain has now banned Palantir from signing ANY contracts in Spain. Lets get Palantir OUT.
Genuinely terrifying. And remarkably similar to how the Nazis began their criminalisation of dissent and their dehumanisation of any who resisted. It's happening. In the US. Right now. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Three speeches on a single day signaled a dying American democracy | Robert Shpiner
Stephen Miller warned of a leftwing ‘cancer’ threatening civilization. As a critical care doctor, I have a response to his diagnosis
theguardian.com
companies are sourcing millions of printed books for AI labs that scan them for training data, then destroy them. printed books are more valuable because they're free of AI slop, and AI labs know destroying them is an "optics problem." www.404media.co/ai-companies...
AI Companies Are Buying Tons of Old Books Because They're Free of AI Slop
ISBNdb, a company that sources printed books for AI companies to turn into training data, tells clients “the optics problem is real.”
404media.co