I found this opinion piece by a former Lifeline counsellor really useful, about ways to listen & ways to talk with someone who might need help. www.theage.com.au/lifestyle/he...

Armenia has made a sovereign choice. And for this you are facing significant economic pressure from Russia. When pressure mounts for our partners, we step up. We will strengthen and diversify Armenia’s trade and economy.

This will help redirect products that today depend heavily on the Russian market towards the EU. It covers almost all of Armenia's fresh fruit, vegetables and plants currently exported to Russia. link.europa.eu/vhGjNg

We have a €52 million package to help strengthen your economy. And today, we table a proposal to make 80% of your exports to the EU tariff-free.

Because of societal rejection, trans kids face higher rates of physical & mental health problems These rates fall when they’re allowed to play sports Trans kids want to be on sports teams to have fun, get exercise, & hang out with their friends—just like any other kid Let kids play sports FFS!

EU staff in Kyiv are accounted for. I am deeply grateful to our colleagues on the ground, who continue their work with courage and dedication under the most difficult circumstances. (3/3)

It is good to be back in Yerevan so soon. The recent elections have once again shown the strength of Armenia's democracy. Armenia is staying the course on reform and moving closer to Europe. So I'm here with a simple message: Armenia can count on us. Մենք ձեզ հետ ենք:

It's not just these legal cases, Darren Beattie, founder of Revolver News, used his position in the State Department to have a Censorship-Industrial Complex witch hunt (which appears to have gone nowhere) www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/01/1...

The Censorship Industrial Complex is a free speech absolutist conspiracy theory that Republicans and tech bros weaponised to go after fact-checkers, so its really good to see this outcome.

I have a friend who coaches his daughter’s high school soccer team There’s a trans girl in the team And nobody bats an eyelid Nobody cares who is cis or trans—the kids don’t care, the parents don’t care, the other teams don’t care Just let kids be kids and just let all kids play sports, OK? 2/2

Anyway, I feel very strongly about this We’re talking about high school sports, not the freaking Olympics! Also, emerging research (not conclusive) suggests that when trans girls are allowed to play sports, more cis girls end up playing sports too Inclusive policies are good for everyone 1/2

Another Ebola treatment centre burned down. 😥

U turn at break neck speed… sadly, after someone’s already died. Or is that what it takes these days to understand public health basics? www.cidrap.umn.edu/influenza-va...

Today, I will propose to sanction more entities supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in response to the strikes. The more Moscow attacks civilians, the more sanctions must be imposed. We keep raising the cost until Russia understands it cannot win. (2/3)

Words of condemnation alone will not stop attacks on Kyiv. Only sustained military support for Ukraine and increased pressure on Moscow can do that. This week, the EU has started disbursing €6 billion under the €90 billion support loan to strengthen Kyiv’s defences. (1/3)

"Narrowing the purview of the ECHR might sway decisions in a handful of cases, but it will not – and should not – revoke the underlying humanitarian protection. It does, however, give political succour to those who see human rights law as a liberal scam and want it all repealed."

Asteroid Threat xkcd.com/3265/

“I voted for Trump because I was sure RFK Jr.’s health policies would put my son and daughter in the dirt on day one, but lately, I’m starting to worry that my kids might make it to adulthood,” said Sandra Murrow

Relationship At Point Where Woman Has To Learn Boyfriend’s Family’s Weird Card Games https://theonion.com/relationship-at-point-where-woman-has-to-learn-boyfrien-1819578054/

Trump Indicates Desire For Speedy End To World https://theonion.com/trump-indicates-desire-for-speedy-end-to-world/

Today marks the 168th anniversary of the presentation of papers by Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace outlining the theory of evolution by natural selection at a meeting at the Linnean Society #OnThisDay 1858. Here's one of our favourite Wallace quotes🧵

Through a system that rewards engagement over accuracy we live in an information environment that now manufactures dissent rather than the 20th century system that could manufacture consent (both in terms of Lippmann and Herman/Chomsky).

So old models of epistemic and media analysis and criticism should be examined through the lens of the new information environment, otherwise we're making arguments about something that doesn't really dominate in the way it once did.

It’s infuriating.

We used to have actual beds. They reduced work hours from “Oh My God I’m going to DIE right now” to “I feel like 💩 but I’m can keep plodding” and then they got rid of the rest areas… And people die.. And it’s a “tragedy”.

Another tragedy… “Tragedy” Word used by people in power to describe staff being killed by irresponsible rostering and the lack of on call rooms and rest areas. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06...

Still. Killing. Wear a respirator. Get fresh/filtered air.

£5m from a crypto billionaire and £1/4m for advertising gold bullion have really helped Nigel Farage in his fight for the little guy against the establishment elites

MAHA Voter Feels Betrayed   By Continued Survival Of Own Children https://theonion.com/maha-voter-feels-betrayed-by-continued-survival-of-own-children/

#Onthisday in 1972, the UK's first official Pride march took place in London. Organised by the Gay Liberation Front and the Campaign for Homosexual Equality. The date, 1 July, was chosen as the nearest Saturday to the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising in New York.

The government faces tough choices if we want to keep the nation safe. For instance, do we want an upgrade to the A46 in Nottinghamshire or a couple of Patriot missiles?

Anti-Vaxxer Dating App Gaining Popularity https://theonion.com/anti-vaxxer-dating-app-gaining-popularity/

'The love, the noise, the happiness, the grief, the completely ordinary days. That's the whole thing... And that's what Humanists UK means to me. It's a community actively trying to make things better.' Janet Ellis MBE, Humanists UK President. #AllWeHaveisEachother humanists.uk/janetellisfilm

The Wayfair child trafficking conspiracy from 2020 has mutated into a new form, with grifters and conspiracy theorists claiming adverts on Vinted and Amazon are secretly adverts for trafficked children, just like they claimed with Wayfair furniture.

The problem with monetization incentives on platforms like X is it encourages people to produce content that rides the latest viral trends whether they believe them or not, even if those trends are conspiracy theories, because engagement = cash. For example:

This is basically something you demonstrate with "Their assertions of fact all count as nominal evidence against the claim, shifting onus." You're unwilling to examine any evidence that counters your opinion so you'll attack the organisations and individuals who provide it.

This is exactly what happened with Syria and chemical weapons, certain groups and individuals decided Syria was just Iraq 2.0, that any chemical would be a false flag, and when multiple groups produced evidence to the contrary they attacked those groups as being corrupted in some way.

The problem is people started with that position and when evidence comes from other sources that is consistent with those governments claims rather than examining the evidence and accepting it they attack those other sources so they don't have their world view and biases challenged.

It's why my work was attacked, then human rights organisations, then the White Helmets, then the OPCW. We all produced evidence that contradicted the denialist in-group's worldview, so rather than engaging with the evidence they attacked our reputations to avoid engaging with the evidence.

It's the Four Pillars of Disordered Doubt in action. Doubt is reasonable, but when it's about pre-selecting what's allowed information and rejecting anything else that's an in-group vs out-group mentality that is designed to shut down debate and avoid awkward facts.

@LauratheComedian on Insta found out the hard way: women who pay for roadside assistance can be confronted on a lonely road by an aggressive man who demands she unlock her car & refuses to verify he's a contractor. Petition here to force contractors to verify for safety: c.org/FD79hqZwXw #safety

I noticed someone has accidentally conflated "well known anti-semites" with "critics of Israel". I'm sure they'll happily correct that error when advised.

Quite chuffed to discover I'm on lists of "well known anti-semites/critics of Israel" here on BlueSky Disappointed however to see I'm only on two lists. I shall have to do better Also, the person who put me on the "Terf's List" . . . . I think you might need to improve your research skills 🏳️‍⚧️ 🤔

Palantir Acquires Pentagon For $800 Billion https://theonion.com/palantir-acquires-pentagon-for-800-billion/

"A patient is being tested for the suspected Ebola virus at a Glasgow hospital, the Press Association has reported. It is understood the patient was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth university hospital in the early hours of Tuesday."

The AI influencer ecosystem being filled to the brim with non-tech professionals is so similar to the pandemic ecosystem that was dominated by non-epidemiologists.

I'll have to avoid ending each article with "needless to say, I had the last laugh!"

At some point I'm going to write a series of articles dissecting the denial ecosystem around Syrian chemical weapons and how manufactured, unfalsifiable doubt obstructs accountability, hopefully starting in August. Really nerd out on it.

While I agree that police should always be held accountable, I couldn’t help but notice that it seems to be fine to roll out such extreme measures against anyone that doesn’t agree with you… but not against a deadly disease.