It wasn't the first time I've been accused of not doing feminism right. Must get in more practise I suppose.

Polanski was on here today, about 25 minutes in. He blamed the media for the fuss about his social media joke on Farage and the guillotine and said that fossil fuel companies should be made to stop selling fossil fuels, not that anyone should stop buying them. I expect he'll grow up one day.

World at One - Police investigating explosive device at Leipzig Airport - BBC Sounds

Flights diverted after police confirm finding a drone carrying an explosive device.

bbc.co.uk

Errors in my social media posts may be attributed to my cat, who likes to nudge my phone while I'm writing them. She's also fond of doing a dance routine on my lap while I'm trying to eat my dinner so I consume a certain amount of fluff. Anyone else subjected to feline interference this way?

It got quite dark for an hour or so earlier today and then the sun came out again. At one time that would have pleased me.

If you think this year has been bad, 2027 could be worse.

Zeke Hausfather@zekehausfather.com · 3d ago

I'm not sure folks have realized just how crazy the second half of 2026 and 2027 will be for global temperatures – on the back of a record-smashing El Niño event. Here is my latest estimate of where both years will end up compared to global temperatures since 1850.

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

We are certainly down the wrong road. In our hubris, we imagine we can make things better when we only ever make things worse...Eden exterminated

M Meerkat@kackbro.bsky.social · 2w ago

Absofreakinlutely This....... 👇

The EHRC's statutory code of practice comes into force today. From now on, "waiting for guidance" is no longer an excuse any organisation can reach for — single-sex services, charities and associations are expected to be compliant, not still deliberating.

EHRC code comes into force

Upcoming policy battles

substack.com

Boys' misogynist and sexist behaviour is too easily blamed solely on online porn. What about their families? Are their parents totally oblivious? How should they learn about standards of behaviour? However, I would make smartphones age-restricted, like alcohol and tobacco, for several reasons.

ingeniousname.bsky.social@ingeniousname.bsky.social · yesterday

Things were bad enough when I was at school, but not like this. Is it social media, manosphere, porn, lack of role models? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A data center was just shut down in Wisconsin after the town council refused to have private talks with the developer and told them everything would include public approval That’s how it’s done, folks

Reading about the extreme heat and drought in the media and hearing phrases like "the new normal", It strikes me that there's a worrying degree of complacency about it all. There are no good reasons to believe that we're just going to have to get used to living like this and adapt. Adapt to what?

We launched a war on nature. Now we are in a climate warzone | Rebecca Solnit

Summer is not what it once was. We have been robbed of one of life’s great joys

theguardian.com

Found on Facebook: a trans activist who's very cross with J K Rowling and insists he's a woman. The transgender movement certainly seems to attract some totally bonkers people. I wonder what his mother thinks?

I was driven the few miles to the nearest town yesterday. All the fields between our village and the town are a pale ochre colour, just dry vegetation, acres and acres of it. This is East Anglia, where the wheat that becomes your bread is grown amongst other things. We can't eat money.

Paul Behrens@profpaulbehrens.bsky.social · 2d ago

I spoke to @thetimes.com on horrible yields and how there is no "new normal" "As bad as this year’s harvest is proving to be, Behrens warned against seeing it as a “new normal”. “Until we get our carbon emissions down things will continue to get much, much worse.”" www.thetimes.com/uk/environme...

A friend and fellow funeral celebrant wrote this on Facebook when sharing a post about a non-traditional funeral director. I totally agree. "Nothing says a funeral has to involve a traditional coffin, traditional venue, traditional clothing, traditional flowers.

Was reminded of the Pastafarians today and wondered if they were still going strong. Glad to hear they are. There are still some sensible people left in America.

Home - Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, after having existed in secrecy for hundreds of years, came into the mainstream just a few years ago. With millions, if not thousands, of devout worshipers,...

share.google

I've signed. Will you?

Electoral Reform Society@electoralreform.bsky.social · 6d ago

We're asking the government to set up a National Commission on Electoral Reform. It should be an independent review to build consensus for changing the electoral system for the Westminster Parliament. Add your name today: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/76...

Met a very cheerful and friendly woman in the dentist's waiting room today who greeted me with "Hello Margaret, fancy seeing you here." So I smiled and said hello back. Haven't a clue who she was.

So you might get to work, but you could get a criminal record?

Almost £200,000 of fuel stolen from UK forecourts every day since Iran war began

Incidents of fuel being taken without payment have risen by a fifth in five months, according to industry analysis.

bbc.co.uk

Sudbury Town Council in Suffolk has warned residents that trees are shedding branches. It's what happens during a drought.

'Don't sit under trees' alert issued as hot weather continues

Normanby Hall Country Park warns visitors about the dangers of branches falling unexpectedly.

bbc.co.uk

1/2 This is about the AI escape, and its future. Could it become more intelligent than humans? It already is more logical than many, isn't it? Oddly, an AI programme I was using had just gone wrong. I don't anticipate replicants, as in Blade Runner, but maybe keep a towel handy? (HHGTTG ref.)

The World This Weekend - Preparing for the future of increasingly intelligent AI? - BBC Sounds

As AI models jump the guardrails, how tough it is to legislate for the future of mankind?

bbc.co.uk

🧵 Been listening to beautiful music that makes me cry. This is one of my favourites. When I hear it I think of the woman who introduced me to it, a German Jew who came here as a refugee. She would have been horrified by what the Jews are doing in Israel. We played the music at her funeral.

Renee Fleming - Strauss' 4 Last Songs - Beim Schlafengehen

YouTube video by Gabba02

youtu.be

Miss Cat is very comfortable napping on my lap, but I'm not. I've got a numb bum. 10 minutes later: I put the kettle on. She rearranged herself on the table, so we're both happy.

It's taken 60+ years of public health campaigning to reduce the effect on public health of the tobacco industry, which is as ruthless in pursuing profit within the capitalist system as the fossil fuel industry. The processed food industry is as bad. None of them bear the cost of the consequences.

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4d ago

Ultra-processed food companies hindering health drives by suing countries, says WHO

As the UN Secretary General says, every new fossil fuel project approved today makes tomorrow’s heatwaves more dangerous & our world less secure. I hope Andy Burnham is listening. Caving in to the fossil fuel lobby as the planet burns would be unforgivable

Burnham risks first revolt as PM over apparent support for North Sea drilling

Labour MPs fear No 10 team lack up-to-date energy insight and don’t fully recognise voters’ climate concerns

theguardian.com

@nathannelson.co.uk don't forget there's another sink outside my kitchen window. X

I haven't listened to it yet but know enough about it to recommend this book.

Reviews & Praise | Richard Coker

Reviews of books by Richard Coker: Timor Mortis: How We Live With Death and From Chaos to Coercion: Detention and the Control of Tuberculosis.

richardcokerbooks.org

You've got to ac-cent-tchu-ate the negative, Eliminate the positive... Revised version of a song 👇

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 5d ago

Labour wins decisive victory in Greater Manchester mayoral byelection

Mr. Justice Chamberlain, a father of three, is responsible for this decision. Rather than accepting the reasons for experimenting on children, did he question the concept of gender or how it differs from sex? The physical treatment of "gender dysphoria" reminds me of lobotomies and ECT.

Puberty blockers trial can start recruiting children after judge rejects legal challenge

Campaigners brought the legal action to try and stop the trial going ahead.

bbc.co.uk

It's distressing to think of all the wildlife that's been burnt alive with no escape.

'Everything has burnt,' says National Trust as fire crews stabilise Suffolk wildfire

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service say no more evacuations were needed overnight, but plans are in place in case the wind changes direction again.

bbc.co.uk

Margaret Nelson 🌦@flashmaggie.bsky.social · 6d ago

Heartbreaking. "Dunwich Heath, which is owned by the National Trust, and nearby RSPB Minsmere are home to a variety of rare birds and wildlife. "Dartford warblers, nightjars and stonechats, along with reptiles such as adders, common lizards and slow worms, are among the species found there."

The day's barely begun and already Blusky seems like a catalogue of human stupidity, so I'm going to take a break.