HAPPENING NOW: Police arrested hundreds of protestors including Jewish elders, descendants of Holocaust survivors, and students, dragging them out of a sit-in at Trump Tower by their arms and legs. Jews say: Free Mahmoud, Free Palestine!

UK has one of the weakest social security systems in the rich world, with poorest households worse off than Slovenian counterparts. Jobless benefits covered the cost of essentials in just two of the past 14 years.  @niesrorg.bsky.social finds on.ft.com/4ijBPIO (£)

NEW: White House says the arrest and deportation of student activist & legal US resident, Mahmoud Khalil, is a blueprint for more. The final line here is chilling. The White House specifically says Khalil was not breaking the law. No evidence, no due process, no crime. He was just disappeared.

Have you heard that a sensory library has opened at #Coventry Central Library? Items include noise cancelling headphones, weighted lap pads and sensory lights. All you need is a library card! Alex, an autistic person from our city, came up with the idea... bit.ly/3XuL1BQ

Just over two weeks until the #Coventry and #Warwickshire Business and Community Awards 2025 🏆 We're honoured to be a finalist in the Coventry Building Society 'Not For-Profit Champion' category with some brilliant organisations doing important work for people and communities 💜

Also he should wear a suit while doing this

In my years as a civil rights lawyer, I’ve never seen a more clear cut First Amendment violation, or a more flagrant government declaration of intent to violate blackletter law. Part of the point here is to dare the courts to uphold longstanding precedent.

I just sent our university president and provost an urgent request to defend First Amendment freedoms at Stanford, given this administration’s willingness to punish those who disagree with it. I urge you to do the same with your university leaders.

Look, folks, this is it. The entire ballgame. Either we're a Republic of laws & the Constitution, or we have a dictator. This is fascism, & the impeachment vote should be happening today. Every single university president in the country should be out, in front of microphones, condemning this.

This is worth reading.

UK 15 year olds have the lowest life satisfaction in Europe, we have seen NEETs rise to around 1m. Not all of this is pandemic related, but there has been little recognition that young people sacrificed a lot whilst being least at risk, & have had little payback hetanshah.medium.com/we-need-to-t...

This is an excellent read. "At national level, we need to stress test everything." "And at local level, we need a deep focus on rebuilding connection and relationships".

The Times obtained a recording of a meeting of U.S. health and security experts and Embassy staff, who described how the Trump aid freeze means that there is limited disease surveillance or contact tracing in Uganda's growing Ebola outbreak. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/h...

If you're wondering what happens when a democracy slides into authoritarianism, here it is! truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...

What he said.👇

Trump's attacks on science have consequences : Penn Medicine graduate programs instructed to cut Ph.D. admissions by 35% due to funding uncertainty www.thedp.com/article/2025...

As I complete my term as Surgeon General, this is my parting prescription for the country I love: to remake and recenter our lives around relationships, service, and purpose. This is the path to health, well-being, and fulfillment. It is what will help us find our way home people.com/surgeon-gene...

Violence and wars consume 13.5% of the global economy. $19.1 trillion last year. More than the economy of China. How much should we spend on fostering peace?

If you're interested in the links between social cohesion and resilience, then this is worth a read. New report from Protection Approaches. protectionapproaches.org/cohesion-rep...

Barefoot human kindness. It's not about rejecting or ignoring the innovation and complexity, it's just making sure we don't lose our footing in the process. relationshipsproject.org/the-man-in-t...

📢 We are hiring 2 Associate Lecturers in International Relations @uniofstandrews.bsky.social, with a focus on Conflict and Security. Both will play a central role in supporting and teaching on a new online Postgraduate programme in Conflict & Security in Policy and Practice

Morning! Why does microsoft only have a web version of office for tablets/phones, and why does it not let you do really simple things!? Want to export ppt slides and notes onto a pdf? Desktop (which surely no one still has), "yeah sure, no probs", tablet "you'll need to cut and paste each one" WHY!?

FACT OF THE DAY. 1 December 1955. Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in racially segregated Montgomery, Alabama. Though she was not the first person to do this, her highly publicised protest became a landmark moment in the drive for black civil rights in the USA.

This world map shows only the regions with an average life expectancy of over 80 years. Source: buff.ly/2L8USYS

Fact-checking misinformation and disinformation is not censorship. It's what sane people have always done to separate the signal from the noise.

I found this a really helpful thread.

"He may be a sexual predator, the argument seemed to be, but at least he’s our sexual predator", an excellent short read on "moral licensing".

Civilian populations and humanitarian actors should always be protected. saludeverywhere.com/en/humanitar...

📖 To celebrate the migration to Bluesky I will put everyone who reposts this before Dec 2nd into a random drawing & send the winner a free paperback copy of my 2021 book Making the World Safe for Dictatorship anywhere they happen to be in the world. 📖

Great article about a wonderful thing. "It’s an enduring and practical enquiry into what happens when we just gather as a group of human beings, be in the moment together, and listen to each other. Just come along and experience it"

Peacebuilders, community weavers, relational practitioners and believers; if you had a moment to spare, we'd love to know your thoughts on this, or felt willing to help us shape it. relationshipsproject.org/relationship...

I've been watching the "assisted dying" debate. I've found myself imagining what might change if all debates in the H of C were held with similar levels of consideration, listening and respect - free from schoolyard nastiness, stamping, shouting and insults...

Excellent piece from Rebeca Sandu and Mel Smith on the core values, boundaries and challenges of those putting relationships at the heart of their practice. Challenging, thoughtful, heartfelt - which is par for the course from these two lovely folk. therelationalworker.substack.com/p/relational...

@rshipsproject.bsky.social @rosafriend.bsky.social This might be a better app, but I am no better at using it! Attached? Below? Whatever I'm supposed to call it, its an interesting article on the potentially protective power of community organising and relationships.

We've seen far right groups use this in the U.K. before; people clearing snow, turning up to flood affected communities with both help and messages of hate. If it can be used to divide, it can also be used to connect. A hopeful message for community organisers? www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...