Joe Hodson
@joehodson.bsky.social
Paralegal with masters in international maritime law, interested in languages, ethics, governance, environmental protection and human rights. Mythology-loving humanist.
When we play the MCC from 14-16 August, the matches will be played at Tungubakkavöllur, Mosfellsbær. If the MCC beat us, we will ask their squad to pronounce the venue, and if they do not do a satisfactory job, we will declare 'a moral victory'. We will judge them fairly.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim tells the hero that the secret to immortality can be found in a plant at the bottom of the ocean. And now I read there is an immortal jellyfish
‘When you kill it, it doesn’t die’: the jellyfish that has cracked the secret of immortality
Turritopsis dohrnii has the ability to turn back into a baby jellyfish and grow up all over again
theguardian.com
My editor asked me to write about what happened to summer:
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
There is no argument for limiting migration between countries that could not be contrived to be an argument for limiting migration between cities.
Even Home Office's own analysis shows tougher measures force more people into longer, more dangerous routes and exploitation. Tackling smugglers starts with ensuring people don't have to use them. Meanwhile, Labour's own policies mean more people are forced to use them. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Burnham pledges to be 'relentless' in curbing small boat crossings
The prime minister says enforcement is increased but there also need to be more safe routes into the UK.
bbc.co.uk
The serpent in Eden being either more informed or more honest than God about what the fruit does.
Sophia_Nyx 🏳️⚧️@sophianyx.bsky.social · 5d agoName a villain who was actually right.
This is frankly ridiculous and I hope Burnham takes the chance to reconsider the government's position.
Lizzie Dearden@lizziedearden.bsky.social · 3d agoThe number of terror-related arrests in Britain has risen 1,200% a year following the ban of Palestine Action The number of people arrested for holding signs - under a law originally designed for IRA uniforms - is higher than total terror arrests over the previous decade inews.co.uk/news/retired...
Covid lockdowns demonstrated, in a deeply imperfect way, the possibility of large-scale social solidarity for a higher cause. That is a prime reason why so many powerful people want us to run screaming away from them into the comforting arms of selfish individualist competition.
Now booked for Stornoway via Inverness, thanks for recommendations!
Joe Hodson@joehodson.bsky.social · 2w agoI've booked off some leave for the end of August, but still deciding what to do with it. Thinking to focus on exploring more of/around the UK rather than venturing particularly far outside it this time. Any recommendations?
I feel torn between glass-half-full joy that leaders are firmly and clearly opposing plutocracy for once, and glass-half-empty revulsion that they've picked a visible but relatively inconsequential battleground for it while continuing to cave over matters of life and death elsewhere.
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 4d agoNeoliberalism in a nutshell. UEFA on FIFA's proposal: “The moment external investors acquire ownership interests ... football changes forever. Commercial return becomes a permanent obligation. ... Every decision is no longer driven by what best serves the game, but by what best serves shareholders.”
They are apologising for the term "anti-rights", which to me seems odd because I'd have thought it too vague to be a solid basis for a defamation claim/threat. Presumably "rights" encompass moral ones as well as existing legal ones, and thus can't be exhaustively or conclusively defined by a court?
Lee Hurley@hleehurley.com · 5d agoAmnesty have issued an apology to JK Rowling and the rest. Adjust your expectations, and donations, accordingly www.amnesty.org.uk/latest/an-ap...
Is “pragmatic” the new, “grown up” word? Andy, there’s nothing “pragmatic” about drilling for more oil & gas - to even consider it with the planet literally on fire is total madness. How many times must we say it will do nothing for energy bills or security? It would be an act of utter recklessness
Burnham promises ‘pragmatic’ approach to North Sea oil and gas
PM tells reporters the government cannot ignore the energy resource ‘when people are struggling’
theguardian.com
What do hungry people do eventually? Riot. Then revolt. Climate change-induced food insecurity will cause violence and wars.
‘It’s too fast, too big’: speed of climate crisis is devastating crops, say farmers
Drought and extreme heat are killing plants, driving up prices while also making some farms economically unviable
theguardian.com
Or in the immortal words of Iannucci's Malenkov...
No Problem
Alt: Gif of Malenkov in Death of Stalin saying "I think I misspoke when I said "No problem". What I meant was "No! Problem!"
static.klipy.com
London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 5d ago‘John Healy is the managing editor whose job it is after someone goes, “Raises for everybody”, to come back out and go, “I actually meant raises for very few people. I'm sorry, my hands are tied.”’ @stephenkb.bsky.social on Burnham’s first week, on the podcast. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...
Troy: Fall of a City (2008) > Troy (2004) by several orders of magnitude
Paul Bernal@paulbernal.bsky.social · 6d agoMy favourite Greek myth films, in order: 1) Jason and the Argonauts 2) Clash of the Titans (1981) 3) The Odyssey 4) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief …. 9) Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters 19) Clash of the Titans (2010) 99) Wrath of the Titans 199) Immortals If I’ve forgotten any…
First test of whether this is serious will be whether the #Rosebank and #Jackdaw oil and gas fields are approved #ClimateEmergency
Leo Hickman@leohickman.carbonbrief.org · 6d ago++BREAKING++ The UK and Spanish governments have issued a joint statement overnight: "[We] agreed that this summer’s wildfires demonstrated that climate change was now a national security emergency facing Europe and threatening our way of life." www.gov.uk/government/n...
Who in the Greens would be the best (whether or not likeliest) successor/challenger to Polanski? I'm sure the party has enough talent and virtue somewhere to do better.
“when Hawaii’s State Senate Bill 2471 goes into effect in 2027, it will be illegal for corporations to spend money to influence elections in Hawaii.” www.liberalcurrents.com/the-corporat...
The Corporate Power Reset
Legislation in Hawaii and Montana shows how pro-democracy advocates can fight back against Citizens United.
liberalcurrents.com
One of the things we have to relearn in the modern era is the correct level of consequences. No, of course Zack Polanski shouldn’t be arrested for briefly sharing a post which had a picture that correctly is seen as threatening Farage. Yes, he should absolutely be judged and found wanting on it.
To adapt a common saying at The Other Place, "It's amazing how much rightist discourse is just them pretending not to understand things, thus making discourse impossible." #Europe #factCheck #climateChange #science #heatwave
Carbon Brief@carbonbrief.org · 2w agoNEW – Factcheck: No, Europe’s heatwaves are not being ‘caused’ by declining air pollution ✍️ written by @rtmcswee.carbonbrief.org 💬 with comments from Bjorn Samset, @erichfischer.bsky.social and Pedro Roldan-Gomez Read here ➡️ buff.ly/ukIO2fI
Could he have this attitude towards water at the very least, also apply it to fossil fuels selling out the future of the world too, or is that enough money for his compliance and agreeing to more drilling.
Jessica Elgot@jessicaelgot.bsky.social · last wk.Burnham intervenes to condemn FIFA’s share plans - all starting to feel very European Super League…
'If antibiotics fail...Modern medicine simply would not be able to continue.' Governments need to incentivise research on new antibiotics. And we all need to be doing everything in our power to prevent or delay development of antibiotic resistant bugs. www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-...
What If Antibiotics Stopped Working? | NHS If | The King's Fund
Professor Dame Sally Davies and Rebecca Sugden consider the future of modern medicine in the light of increasing antimicrobial resistance.
kingsfund.org.uk
Packing animals in close to one another can create ideal conditions for disease to spread. 'A previous study...found 80 per cent of human Campylobacter infections in Oxfordshire are associated with poultry meat, & many of these infections are resistant to antibiotics.' share.google/W2XF2mQ0J1as...
Factory farming could be fuelling spread of disease which causes food poisoning
Farmed chicken is thought to have increased the spread of Campylobacter, the most common bacterial cause of diarrhoea worldwide
independent.co.uk
Now wondering if calling Troy "ἱερὸν" (sacred) in the second line of the poem was usual inconsequential hyperbole or meant to imply that the sack was intrinsically sacreligious? And was the placement of that next to description of "foolish" eating of the sun-kine intended to reinforce that idea?
Joe Hodson@joehodson.bsky.social · 2w agoThey don't cover the killing of Astyanax, though that comes from sources outside the Odyssey. They show enough to demonstrate that Odysseus has a ton of innocent blood on his hands, though I didn't quite buy the degree of helpless angst with which he seemed to be participating in the sacking.
wanted to contribute to Odyssey discourse but unfortunately nothing I could say is better commentary than bsky's post settings
Real underpriced reason why a snap election is a dreadful idea is that it would likely give Reform a shot in the arm just as they’re flagging and, even if it went well on Labour’s end, would almost certainly make Nigel Farage leader of the opposition
12. Beyond anything about the film as a film, it was a terrible and entirely unnecessary choice to film the Trojan Horse sequence in occupied Dakhla, Western Sahara, without the consent of the indigenous population.
Calling it now - Nolan's next hit set again in WWII, replete with the par-for-the-course timey-wimey confusion and that signature sense of distance from women and emotions, but culminating in Mützel und Weber dramatically discovering skulls on their uniforms and realising that they are the baddies.
K E P S I C O@kepsico.bsky.social · 2w agoThe Odyssey is pretty fucking good. As a human being living through the oil age collapse where we are being told to fear invasion by the sea peoples but know damn well we ARE the sea peoples, it was pretty upsetting and cathartic at the same time. Someday people will learn to read and write again.
