Susan McCallum Smith
@susanmccallum.bsky.social
Reader, writer, teacher.
If this makes you as angry as it should: take some action. Join.greenparty.org.uk
Adam Bienkov@adambienkov.bsky.social · 22h agoDowning Street's press release for Burnham's "emergency" Cobra meeting on the drought didn't even mention climate, with the Prime Minister blaming the growing numbers of wildfires on disposable barbecues. He's since appeared on GB News this afternoon to talk about migrant camps
A grim story from Stirling Castle
Andrew Curry@andrewcurry.com · 2d agoThe man's skeletal injuries looked like a train hit him, but he died in 1304 CE. At #ppa26Berlin last week, @uniofbradford.bsky.social scientist Jo Buckberry concluded he was likely whacked by a flying boulder, making him the first confirmed trebuchet death in the archaeological record. @science.org
I'm loathe to share this man, but this one is personal. My masters thesis was on the MMR controversy, so believe me when I say that this path of separation of the MMR will result in nothing but increased sales of too-small coffins, and children with life-altering medical conditions.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 11mo agoTrump: "The MMR I think should be taken separately. This is based on what I feel."
Completely heartbreaking: www.theguardian.com/society/ng-i...
Matilda in pieces: what one mother’s suicide reveals about the carers broken by the system
Parent-carers of disabled children are exposed to chronic levels of extreme stress and often reach crisis point before help is available – then they face a ‘fight for basic support’, experts say. This...
theguardian.com
we all have that one friend who got drunk on a wednesday afternoon and called you after falling asleep in a catering cart being flown out of turkey
'Is it on the trolley? Can you show it to me?'
Ron Filipkowski@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 2d agoThis may have actually been posted from the catering truck.
Surely they always have a golf cart handy??
Alt National Park Service@altnps.bsky.social · 2d agoAccording to NYT, Trump was hidden in a catering cart and wheeled onto a military jet for a secret flight out of Turkey last month. 😂 We’re sorry, but we cannot get past the catering cart part. Imagine being Secret Service and hearing, “The eagle is in the chafing dish.”
Don't panic, just put him on the tea trolly! I'll drive!
Mr President, we have no time to waste. Get in the back of this horse costume
Heaven knows I love my books, but this is outrageous. Now the cable runs close to an actual Bronze Age burial site. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Harry Potter fans force relocation of £430m undersea cable to avoid Dobby’s ‘grave’
Power cable linking UK and Ireland now passes near Bronze Age human burial remains instead of fictional grave on Welsh beach
theguardian.com
About to tackle the big lego sort... yes, this article is a classic. news.lugnet.com/storage/?n=707
Storage : 707
news.lugnet.com
I'm so confused. This was widely reported in the press when he decided to stand. He's such a bellend.
Reform Party UK Exposed@reformexposed.bsky.social · 4d agoNigel Farage 'unaware Parliamentary investigation would restart' after by-election - report www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/nig...
In honor of Ross Douthat's last day at the NYT, let's remember this particular headline tweak from just last year.
This is hands down the best opinion piece you will read on the Arday case. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The takedown of Jason Arday has overjoyed the right, and must be a wake-up call for the left | Jason Okundaye
The Cambridge academic has rightly now resigned. But that won’t end the targeting of senior black figures or the lazy way institutions promote faux equality, says Guardian columnist Jason Okundaye
theguardian.com
in the UK anyone looking slightly progressive is vilified. Labour are a prime example- enacting Tory policies whilst booting out the likes of Corbyn. Nicola Sturgeon is to this day hounded, Zack Polanski is next. Labour fear these folks more than Reform, which says it all 🤷
George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 6d agoIt's time we stopped calling them "moderates". They are extremists in service to capital. And many of them appear to hate and fear the left of their own party far more than they hate and fear the Republicans. Like Starmer's Labour "centrists" (extremists) in the UK. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/06/u...
Lydia Davis will the give the second annual 𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 Autumn Lecture, titled ’Dying, or Doing Something Else: Reflections on Marcus Aurelius and Other Stoics’, on 28 October at the New School, New York City. Details and tickets here: www.tickettailor.com/events/londo...
Book tickets – The 2026 LRB Autumn Lecture in NYC: Lydia Davis on Marcus Aurelius – The Tishman Auditorium at the New School
The 2026 LRB Autumn Lecture in NYC: Lydia Davis on Marcus Aurelius – The Tishman Auditorium at the New School, Wed 28 Oct 2026 - Dying, or Doing Something Else: Reflections on Marcus Aurelius and Othe...
tickettailor.com
‘An extraordinary 314,000 people between 18 and 24 are not in work, or education, or in training, or receiving benefits. They have effectively disappeared off the government’s grid.’ @will-davies.bsky.social on what’s going wrong for British youth. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
William Davies · Young People Are Different: What do Neets need?
It appears that Britain’s Neet problem is just one manifestation of wider epidemiological and psychosocial trends that...
lrb.co.uk
Instead of saying that all these laws "prohibit trans people from using the bathroom of their choice" we should be more clear. Bathroom bans are intended to prohibit trans people from using the bathroom, or any public accomodations, at all.. Like be for real here.
Look, I've been hard on AES and will continue to be where it's warranted, but I'm also going to highlight good answers, and this is a good answer. The problem with capitalism currently is that it isn't classical capitalism, it's corporatism that badly needs anti-trust action.
laura olin@lauraolin.bsky.social · 6d agoAbdul El-Sayed on capitalism: “I’m capitalist who just knows about capitalism. I have a bad habit of reading, I’m so sorry.”
Wondering where to start with the Booker Prize 2026 longlist? 📚 Sometimes a little taste is all you need. We've compiled extracts from each of the 13 longlisted books to help you decide. 🔗 Tap the link below to start reading. thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-l...
Read extracts from the Booker Prize 2026 longlist | The Booker Prizes
Enjoy extracts from the novels longlisted for the Booker Prize 2026 – a selection of books that take the reader to new places, to see old places from new angles, and change minds…
thebookerprizes.com
Reform, the party of the worst bloke you know. Restore, the party of the worst bloke he knows.
@sturmyarcher3.bsky.social · 7d agoProbably legitimate concerns eh? A Reform councillor said "There were some skirmishes, it was a spirited protest but I didn't see any violence" but a female police officer was bitten www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Her face was beaten in’: how Taliban rule ushered in a new era of women being killed
An investigation into 231 femicide cases highlights the dire situation in Afghanistan, where men are empowered to murder and face no punishment while the state covers up their crimes
theguardian.com
I've mostly avoided Rod Liddle pieces but this is good on the ineffable sadness of watching people you care about, and the world at large, change into something you no longer recognise. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
I knew Rod Liddle and hated what he became. He would have wanted me to say so | Zoe Williams
A man who prized blunt speaking has been selectively eulogised. There’s a balance between decency and honesty: I’m sad he caused such harm, says Guardian columnist Zoe Williams
theguardian.com
I know he has a lot on, but in the midst of a ferocious drought, fires, heat events and severe threats to food production, it would be quite edifying to hear Andy Burnham mention climate breakdown.
Each night she fills, from the fabled well of disappointment, a kettle for her hottie… —Kathleen Jamie, “Mrs McKellar, Her Martyrdom” from The Edinburgh Book of Twentieth-Century Scottish Poetry, @edinburghup.bsky.social 2005 #poem #poetry edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-the-edi...
