Just one of the reasons we should stick to organic farming is that it protects us from fertiliser shocks. Farmers who have poisoned their soil biome with biocides can't just switch to organic overnight — a depleted and damaged topsoil does not have the ecosystem to process organic material into […]

"potentially allowing #UKLabour to form a minority government and install Sarwar in Bute House with the support of the likes of #ReformUKLtd and the other Unionist parties" Well, that says it all. Labour would prefer a coalition with the hard right to one with the soft left. #scotpol#reformukltd#uklabour…]

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@simon_brooke/116306484724114249 #mastodon has surprising reach. I wrote and published this essay yesterday; I have advertised it only in this one post, also, obviously, yesterday. I said it was incomprehensible and only for the incurably geeky, which is true. This […]

When the international food system collapses -- and I agree with George, this is now more or less inevitable -- it will be impossible to feed cities. There won't be enough #food. Most rural areas, especially if sparsely populated, will still be able to feed themselves, but without surplus to […]

This is the first time I've done a grocery shop on an acoustic bike with the trailer on since before #Covid. Wish me luck getting back up the hill! #biketooter

And this in a war which the UK parliament has not authorised, against a civilian population that the UK electorate generally supports. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why this is not an enormous scandal!

It's so cold in the house this morning that my hands hurt. A week ago it was too warm for winter clothes; now, I need the stove in day time. Tired of this.

“We have not heard from the people responsible. I want them to appear before the ICC and hear what on earth was in their mind when they ordered 120mm tank rounds to be fired into an ambulance. Justice is first of all bringing the light of attention into this crime and secondly seeing the persons […]

“By reconstructing the coordination and timing around the approved ambulance mission, it shows that there is substantial evidence of a deliberate ‘double-tap’ tactic – an initial military strike followed with a deliberately timed second strike targeting emergency responders and medical personnel […]

And the wooden gate repositioned into the gateway between my middle and top parks, where another wooden gate was destroyed in a winter storm (yes, it should not have been allowed to swing). This isn't fully done yet, the bottom hinge didn't fit and needs to be […] [Original post on mastodon.scot]

That's all three gates hung, swinging, and latching. One of the gateposts still needs to be replaced, so I'm not yet finished with these; but these three gates, separating the commons from my bottom and middle parks, are key to managing pasture on my croft, and […] [Original post on mastodon.scot]

Well, that's another gate hung. It has to be said Icarus isn't impressed. #Crofting #thejoyofcrofting

This is one very brave lady. Today in Focus: Charlotte Nichols MP on her rape trial ordeal Starting from: 00:33:07 Episode webpage: https://www.theguardian.com/news/series/todayinfocus Media file: https://flex.acast.com/audio.guim.co.uk/2026/03/18-67623-20260319TIFcharlotte.mp3#t=1987

@michaelgraaf @GhostOnTheHalfShell @barfilfarm and because with the increasing capital intensity of modern warfare, and the consequent decreasing labour intensity, the oligarch class no longer feel so dependent on the proletariat to fight their wars for them. Wars end when soldiers refuse to […]

@barfilfarm have you seen the things our #reformukltd candidate here in Galloway is reported to have posted on social media? If not, I'll dig you out the link.

@simon_brooke @barfilfarm And that dark money is making its way into what really has made its way into the UK for a long time just different. Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan came to power it around the same time because rich people had started their campaign methodically, seize the means of […]

@GhostOnTheHalfShell @barfilfarm I cannot at all understand how ordinary American voters can be repeatedly be persuaded to vote against universal socialised health care. But similarly, in the UK we have one of the lowest costs per patient and per treatment of any health care system in the rich […]

"More fundamentally, we must ask why so much of official Britain, and especially its security establishment, keeps clinging for dear life to the United States, behaving for all the world like someone stuck in an abusive personal relationship" #Trump #WarCrimes #irancrisis#warcrimes#trump…]

As the U.S. sinks into dictatorship -- malevolent rule by corrupt politicians and oligarchs -- the institution I know the best has almost completely failed to recognize, much less counter, the threat. Big Journalism will be remembered for its cowardice and capitulation […]

Just remember: the hateful claims made against Muslims today were previously made against Jews (and often still are). Sometimes word-for-word. Same hate, different targets. We all stand together against hatred, or we will be picked off one by one.

RE: https://digitalcourage.social/@OmasgR/116268853015820728 When are we going to do a #NoKings demo in Scotland? #ScottishIndependence #Republic #monarchieneindanke

Any journalists want to write an article about all the environmental costs of the more than 10,000 Starlinks that are now in orbit? All I'm seeing are breathless articles mindlessly worshiping That Awful Billionaire for crossing the 10,000 satellite mark. Every single one of those will come […]

One of the best parts of my academic committee work is that I get regular meetings with @planet4589.bsky.social, who is a lovely human and has the best public database on launches and reentries https://planet4589.org/space/index.html The worst part is hearing all the stuff that happened in […]

@sundogplanets When satellites reenter, they don't cleanly vaporize, they ablate, releasing aluminum oxide and other metallic compounds into the upper stratosphere. Research has found measurable concentrations of satellite-derived metals at altitudes where they didn't previously exist. The […]

Why does every techbro billionaire believe the same things - "anti-woke", "free speech" (for me but not you) - and sponsor the same creeps? Because their common belief system boils down to this: "I'm the King. Nothing must stand in my way. No one else has rights." www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

RE: https://mastodon.social/@Klaxun/116225174438565613 What happened to anti-monopoly legislation in the US?

@jik @casdeiro Meanwhile the UK is building coastal nuclear power stations, on the fast eroding Suffolk coast (Sizewell), for example.

You've all heard of the Resource Curse: countries are impoverished by rich resources in their territories, as these trigger colonial looting. Now we see the Base Curse: if you host a US base, you don't enhance your security. You make yourself a target.

Well, Shrove Tuesday was three weeks ago, but my hens have just started laying again so it's #PancakeTuesday here!

Is it just me, or do others find it odd to say that the UK 'must' take action to protect 'ex-pats' who have chosen to evade their fair share of taxation by moving to the Gulf? I think an appropriate response would be to say to them, yes, of course you can return to blighty if you pay off all […]

"Attacks on civilian systems, including water systems, must be condemned and punished under the laws of war" Well yes, but by whom? I am not a proponent either of nation states or of laws, but in a world of nations, some consensus standard of what behaviour is acceptable for them is better […]

Definitely spring. Too warm to cycle in a hat. #biketooter

RE: https://mastodon.scot/@simon_brooke/116159843659119052 War Criminals.

Everyone in the UK, there's an official petition to parliament to 'Call a public inquiry into pro-Israel influence on politics & democracy'. Please could I strongly urge everyone to sign it? #Israel #PalestineAction #Palestine #GazaGenocide #UKPol […] [Original post on mastodon.scot]

Wow! This is one hell of a victory speech! Hannah Spence is going to be a real star. #UKPol #Greens #hannahspence#greens#ukpolhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf7wVpDEvho

ICE will pursue these projects quietly whenever possible. ICE will obfuscate and sow misinformation to frustrate inquiry. ICE will not alert community leaders where new detention facilities are being planned and constructed. ICE will endeavor to fill every bed in these new camps. Tens of […]

“We’re being forced into permanent defence mode. Residential proxy networks let AI scrapers hide in plain sight, rotate identities, and extract data at scale. That shifts real costs onto projects that exist to serve people, not feed training pipelines.” @Firefishy […]

‘A good way of dealing with overpopulation’: Epstein files reveal how the rich fuel climate denialism https://www.fastcompany.com/91490280/epstein-files-how-ultra-wealthy-peddle-climate-denialism Jeffrey Epstein and his vast network of elite figures routinely traded in myths that undermine […]

"Living in Europe is no protection against Donald #Trump bricking your digital life." #digitalsovereignty#trump https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/17/europeans-are-dangerously-reliant-on-us-tech-now-is-a-good-time-to-build-our-own

“I can easily imagine a situation where the USA will demand #greenland from Denmark and will threaten to deactivate our weapons and let #`Russia attack us when we refuse. Buying American weapons is a security risk that we can not run.” -- Rasmus Jarlov. Chair, Danish parliament’s defence […]

"Austria’s military has already dumped Microsoft and moved to open-source services hosted in Europe, and some German regional governments have done the same. Danish schools were told to abandon Google laptops by the Danish data protection authority in 2024. The new Dutch government says digital […]

@simon_brooke there are probably gloves in the office/shed i can lob your way if it helps

Well, yesterday I did take my recycling in to the coup. It was a good ride, but it was tough — occasional flurries of snow, and stiff wind. Today I'm very tired, and it's 3.7° *inside* the house. So I think I'm going to light the stove, which I normally don't […] [Original post on mastodon.scot]

@barfilfarm and the greys spreading in fast from the east. I hear there are now greys as near as the other side of the village. It's a bad time to be a red squirrel in Galloway; I'll try to provide a refuge for them for as long as I can.

We have a squirrel this morning who does not know how to lift the flap on the squirrel feeder. That implies that it's a squirrel new to my wood, which is exciting because my wood is relatively isolated and quite hard for squirrels to travel to.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah Halle-e-loo-jah! "UK ban on Palestine Action unlawful, high court judges rule" #UKPol #RightToProtest #PalestineAction #GazaGenocide #gaza#gazagenocide#PalestineAction#Righttoprotest#ukpoltps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/13/uk-ban-palestine-action-unlawful-high-court-judges-rule

This is genuinely important and good news: as I expected, no British jury is going to convict #PalestineAction activists of non-violent protest. Of course, this is why the UK government is trying to get rid of jury trials, but ... Will the proscription of Palestine Action as a 'terrorist […]

"A National Audit Office investigation revealed in October last year that a staggering 98% of external insulation fitted under the previous government’s home-improvement schemes was installed so ineptly that it will have to be repaired or replaced." Surprise, surprise. Britain's building […]

"These lands weren't empty lands. Even the first small portion was said to be populated by Canaanites. The third claimed area is the lands of The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and […]

I mean, can't we just organise a new #KinderTransport? There are so many CHILDREN DYING in #gaza#kindertransportthis winter, and it is not OK to do nothing! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindertransport