Tessera

something soul-destroying about watching #Newsnight get on board with Nick Clegg's attempt to rehabilitate himself as a serious politician. I'd happily never hear again from that venial man. He's actually talking about morality, and almost, almost, managing to keep a straight face.

Today's perspective nudge on 'No 10 North'. Considering the north to south extent of the UK, Manchester is actually not a big distance north of London. It's a hell of a long way from Manchester to Lerwick. I realise that many English commentators will have to look up 'Lerwick'.

Nolan's Odyssey: a BIG plus: he takes Agamemnon / Clytemnestra / Orestes seriously. The prologue to the Odyssey flags that up strongly as a key to the whole; it is thematically (the Telemachiad constantly bounces off the Orestes story to compare contrast). Most commentators miss it: Nolan gets it.

Rev. Benjamin Cremer @brcremer.bsky.social · 2w ago

thoughts on Nolan's Odyssey, watched today. the thing that niggled me most all through it was why did he cast a Mark Zuckerberg lookalike as Telemachus. Once you see it ... and why is Telemachus such a wimp?

Heartbreakingly, those who believe only those who believe and look like them here on Earth deserve the best also believe that way about heaven.

"Islamophobia itself has [become] a vehicle for the sort of things you can’t say out loud about people of colour in general, but which you can say about Muslims." @nesrinemalik.bsky.social hitting several nails on the head www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Why has Britain’s oldest political magazine become such a rabid cheerleader for Islamophobia? | Nesrine Malik

A report on the Spectator’s coverage of Muslims makes for grim reading. Conservatism is now focused on this minority to the exclusion of everything else, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

theguardian.com

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 3w ago

World Cup final, half-time: 'love, love, love AND a CDM going in on their number 10, taking his legs off at the knees'.

So. I did it. Lotta people gonna be mad about this one. Show it some love?

A Jewish Case for AI work exemptions

or: why should CHICAGO POPE have all the fun

lifeisasacredtext.com

Harry Smart @munross.bsky.social · 3w ago

gave US Traitors a go. Alan Cumming is a brilliant host, but even he can't save this series. The cast .. like 23 versions of the same person and not an ounce of charisma between them. Avoid. #Iwatcheditsoyoudon'thaveto #UStraitors #traitorsUS

Harry Smart @munross.bsky.social · 3w ago

Thinking today of the men of Easy Company who died in Bois Jacques near Bastogne in the winter of 1944/5. This isn't Bois Jacques, and it's not an anniversary. Why should we only commemorate people on their anniversaries. Seeing the photo took me back to Bois Jacques. Strange what a photo can do.

Viktoria Haack@viktoriahaack.bsky.social · last yr.

Morning light with a little fog

if my 70 years on this earth have taught me anything it's this: there is no point buying bananas in hot weather

Kadir@candidframe.bsky.social · 4w ago

a) because we remember those who died at Srebrenica b) because it reminds us of a world when genocide was given its proper name; it shows us how far we've come, such that genocide is now acceptable to states and their populations across the west.

Never forget Srebrenica. On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb forces began the genocide of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys. Dutch UN peacekeepers left civilians unprotected. Remembering #Srebrenica means honouring the victims and standing against #genocide denial. #NeverForget #Bosnia #Boşnak

Scottish traffic lights. #Montrose #streetphotography

Harry Smart @munross.bsky.social · last mo.

Mitch McConnell? A political figure goes unaccountably missing? Who ya gonna call? Marshal Zhukov. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytA-...

The Death of Stalin - Official Clip - Marshal Zhukov (Jason Isaacs)

YouTube video by Madman Films

youtube.com

I see this and it gives me joy. I see it, but I feel it too; I get the smell of warm misr and kestane from the stall, I catch snatches of conversation in Türkçe. There's the warmth of the street, and an emotional warmth. I'm back there and longing to be back there. Joy and #hüzün, #Sensucht

Harry Smart@munross.bsky.social · 9mo ago

Yeniçeriler Caddesi, #Istanbul, late summer evening. Walking through quiet crowded streets to the #medrese to smoke a nargile and talk with friends. #streetphotography

a colour photograph, walking along a busy street in Istanbul in the late evening. The sunset has coloured the clouds pink and peach against a sky that still shows a trace of blue. The street is mostly in silhouette, on the righ there is a mosque, to the left mostly shops. You can just make out the people in the street, and the pavement has a dull shine reflecting sunset colours.

The Costs of War Project @costsofwar.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Military spending produces an average of five jobs per $1 million in spending. By contrast, 13 jobs are created for every $1 million in education spending – nearly three times more.

Table 1: Comparison of Total Jobs per $1 Million, Military and Non-Military Spending from the report, "The Employment Impacts of Cuts to Federal Spending: Not All Cuts Are Created Equal".

Harry Smart @munross.bsky.social · last mo.

Hard to believe this place could be threatened with closure. The Botanics .. jings. #Dundee folk .. get your click in. one rarely-acknowledged thing is it's near Ninewells. I know we're not alone in, thank God, being able to stop there and spend a while taking in bad news. c.org/X58njQK7gB

Sign the Petition

Save Dundee Botanic Gardens and cafe

c.org

Forward Democracy @fwddem.com · 2mo ago

Are you an #exvangelical? Still a bit inhibited about swearing? I will swear for you. Let me know what's pissing you off and I will swear for you. It's the least I can do, after fifty fucking years in that world.

Andy Burnham wins Makerfield with a 20% lead over Reform UK. But this result wasn't just about Burnham. It was shored up by thousands of Green and Lib Dem voters who crossed party lines to keep the far-right out, delivering the Labour candidate an outright majority.🧵

Inequality News @inequalitynews.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🚨 A TRILLION TIMES THIS ➡️ "It is time to break decisively with the perverse logic in which retirees, the poor or immigrants are expected to balance the budget, while the rich are to be allowed to live tax-free in their own parallel society." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The era of trillionaires will be dire for democracy. Here is how we can fight back | Gabriel Zucman

There is a fundamental tension between extreme wealth and the very possibility of democracy. That’s because extreme wealth is always an extreme power

theguardian.com

Rev. Benjamin Cremer @brcremer.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Imagine taking the few Bible verses on human sexuality and women being silent in church as literal divine commands from God for all society, but minimizing the +2,000 verses calling for a generous economy and redistribution of wealth for the sake of the poor to a personal choice.

Harry Smart@munross.bsky.social · 3mo ago

reposting because as Al Carns' resignation shows, this is the problem

The question isn't can Starmer survive, it's could any Labour government do better. #Newsnight, please ask that. The party's been bought by the Israel lobby and corporate interests. It's spent years parachuting in candidates as morally and intellectually void as Starmer. It's over.

finally got to the big clearout of art college stuff, this was 2nd year when I started with Chinese ink and either brush or bamboo pen. Transformed my drawing, because it forces you to commit to the line / stroke, no hesitation. #lifedrawing

a drawing of a seated figure, made with a broad brush with Chinese ink, the lines move from broad solid marks through broad marks with streaks from the bristles, to narrow lines with sharp turns. The whole figure is represented in an impressionistic way with only a dozen or so strokes.

@bbcnewsnight.bsky.social switched off tonight, rarely happens, but uncontrolled heckling from the Reform candidate was unbearable. Gross disrespect to the family, gaslighting, talking over everyone. Predictably. It'll be great TV, you clearly thought. Shame on you, #Newsnight