One thing i notice is that people now instinctively react to any bizarre photo by assuming it’s slop, even when all the evidence is to the contrary, and I think that’s as dangerous as believing slop is real

“As the annual Pride parade weaved its way through Durham… the rainbow flags were almost matched in number by trade union banners, as miners, postal workers, and train drivers swelled the parade’s ranks in solidarity, making it the biggest in Durham Pride’s history.” Solidarity is our strength. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

As Archbishop Tutu said about apartheid with regards to the Truth and Reconciliation hearings: "Those who claimed they did not know cannot very well say so now. They know.” Except we have internet. We have social media. People know now. We know. We cannot claim otherwise.

Only the right kind of other people, of course 🙄

This was in the debate on the presentation of the trans-exclusionary guidance from EHRC, in response to a positive contribution from the LDs. It's a very telling observation, and not one which the junior minister had any response to.

I don't really talk about this, because I'm actually quite private about my personal life, but many many years ago Tony Head took me under his wing and showed me the kind of person I could be. It's not an exaggeration to say that I'm the person I am today because of the kindness he showed me.

Wow, you're telling me that while some "ultra-processed" foods are Bad, others are entirely Okay, and the distinction is...the actual ingredients?! I'm shocked! Shocked I tell you! (but this really shows up how poor most reporting is on this)

Oh god my eyes (I did ten years of Ancient Greek. This turns out to be a really bad idea in the context of this) FYI, it's Ὀδύσσεια or ΟΔΥΣΣΕΙΑ (sorry can't figure out how to put the accent and the soft breathing with my keyboard. Also the Y/u/upsilon was RIGHT THERE, why reach for the ψ!)

This is bad, obviously. But to broaden the question: why on earth is there a contract for this in the first place?

The determination of what counts as 'political' is itself a political act. It is not neutral, and has no conceivable objective referent.

The number is down again, because three Lib Dems have withdrawn their signatures in the past 3 days. What's going on?

We need as many signatures as possible especially from people in positions of influence; we can't force the government to debate it, but we might just be able to shame them into it. OBVIOUSLY this is something that requires parliamentary debate.

I'm genuinely very sad to see this, and also stunned that she was so young.

ICE is not about immigration. ICE is about normalizing a paramilitary force on peaceful streets. Abolish ICE.

It’s unfortunate these guys keep having their phones stolen, apparently out of sight of CCTV in one of the most heavily surveilled cities on the planet

I’ve written to my Labour MP every week since April 2025 asking to meet him about their bathroom ban and segregation rules and I just now got a boilerplate reply that didn’t address anything I said. Feeling very Normal about this👌

Quietly, quietly, the UK Supreme Court is embarked on a rollback of the human rights and judicial protections of vulnerable minorities which looks every bit as stark as that of the US Supreme Court.

🚨 NEW: 27 Members of Parliament have signed a motion to reject the EHRC Code of Practice edm.parliament.uk/early-day-mo... Ask yours to join them: equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode

You used to be able to google the time of the sunset, and Google would give you the exact time right on top every single time. Thankfully, with artificial intelligence, you can now ask Google what time the sun will set and it will conveniently tell you "I don't know."

I'm sure they had everyone's best interests in mind when they paved the road that the bus uses.

Relieved to see more coverage of the grip Nous is getting on #UKHE. Thanks @privateeyenews.bsky.social! A million pound @cardiffucu.bsky.social alone. That’s a lot of money for the very same PowerPoint…

Panem ET circenses? In hac oeconomiā?

"Indifference to the truth leads, slowly but surely, to a descent into totalitarianism."

This is yet another absolutely boggling example of a well off white dude seeming to be completely unaware of, completely detached from, the power of the State. We’re not just screaming at each other online. There are FUCKING LAWS being passed by one side using the State to eliminate the other! WTF?

Cannot wait for photorealistic Dali and Genghis Khan to tell me to drink more Coke and buy M&M's.

This is a good point, I think. We have a progress Pride flag in the window and various stickers and signs inside and we put it on our website. Virtue signalling is good! Getting the customers you actually want is good!

This is what I assumed as soon as I saw the Wikipedia entry on sex. In theory Wikipedia has mechanisms for dealing with this sort of thing, but in practice, they... don't work as well as they should.

Just adding this as another thing you could usefully work on if you have a great deal of patience, especially if you like Wikipedia. bsky.app/profile/oolo...

Something no one seems to want to answer. Ok, ban social media. Then what? What are you offering kids to do instead?

also like, the authorities beat the shit out of people and have killed at least two at or in connection with (very small, brave group) Tbilisi Pride so like... only barely being above that... seems very bad

for context, the UK is just above Georgia in gender recognition. in Georgia there IS no legal recognition of transition - gender affirming care, name change, etc is illegal or doesn't exist. how fucking shameful

The excellent RTT (Real Time Trains) website now has an app! It shows how any British train performed up to 2 weeks ago, shows planned rolling stock for any given train, and shows the *planned* platform so you can be positioned ready, ahead of the scrum (includes Eurostar).

I have to ask as a 59 year old straight guy who’s been married 34 years, worked on a pipeline, tagged a lot of markers for traditional masculinity — isn’t doing this gender thing all the fucking time *exhausting*? How do these people get through the day running “gender performance” code constantly?

Some quick research suggests that only Scots English still uses "gat" as the simple past tense of "to get", with the form surviving in other English dialects only in the archaic "begat" (i.e., the simple past tense of the likewise archaic "to beget"), and I feel like we need to fix that.

Hadn't realised Euan Blair runs Multiverse, the AI company partnered with Palantir on the NHS data contract.

A lot of Reform voters are now thinking "oh shit I agree with Tony Blair, where did I go wrong?" As to where Tony Blair went wrong... that's another question entirely. The contrast with Gordon Brown (his long-time deputy and eventual successor) is absolutely insane.

Them: In weather like this, you really need a big ass fan. Me: Like Sir Mix-a-lot.

Thoughts AND prayers? In this economy?

I made this meme some years ago and it just popped up in my phone photo memories and… welp.

Apologize to your children when you fuck up. Which you will a lot. Work on doing better. Show them the process. Let them see your humility and your work.

You'd think in 2026 there would be a better way to get a doctor's appointment than the whole country phoning up at 8am.

READ THE ROOM, METEOR.

I must once again point out that one of the richest men in the world believes in literal demons and devils and is going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars making sure the state supports his personal supernatural beliefs.

Rayner's authoritarian streak has gone unremarked for too long. It was also on her watch that MHCLG introduced (Tory-drafted) changes to the Building Regulations requiring gendered toilets in all new non-residential buildings. Soft left, my eye.

One of the many sources cited in the new papal encyclical is... Gandalf

Years ago I wrote a rather unsubtle comics script about a UK electoral takeover by fascists. "Actual Mosley dynast tries to sell the Met police a US-made spy computer named for the evil crystal ball in LotR, and is opposed by Muslim mayor" would have been much too on-the-nose.