"The US has nothing to teach the UK on policing. Deaths at the hands of police in the UK are extremely rare. In the US, around one person in 315,000 is shot dead by police each year. In the UK, the comparable figure is one in 25 million."

We all need to resist attempts like this to politicise Henry Nowak’s death and divide our country - whether they come from MAGA politicians like Vance or their cronies here in the UK.

Oh man, this one really hurts. Thank you for Giles, and then for decades of playing oily bastards who were nothing like Giles and clearly having a ball with that. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Good to see this sort of thing being discussed in a way that does not blame feminism. (Although I am wary that things targeted at 'how boys learn' tend to focus on young men who felt about as different from me as aliens when I was a kid, but there is clearly a need) www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Bog Myrtle, Myrica gale. One of my favourite scented plants. Strumpshaw Fen RSPB Reserve on Saturday with @vannabartlett.bsky.social. plantatlas2020.org/atlas/2cd4p9... #WildFlowerHour

"Let me out!" Rough Chervil, Chaerophyllum temulum, in the grounds of St. Anne's Church, Colman Road, Norwich. #WildFlowerHour

The Trump administration is attacking our democracy. Not in secret, but openly on social media. Starmer needs to show some backbone and call this out today. We can’t turn a blind eye to this blatant interference any longer.

I've never used an LLM. What are people using them for? I really don't understand and it's starting to worry me. Am I so out of touch with what most people do for a job? Never in my life have I had to just churn out content - if something needs researched and written it needs to be thought about.

I'm nominating the basking shark as one of mine.. not because the others are not awesome, but because it is the second biggest fish in the world - the temperate whale shark - and its good in somewhere as nature depleted as the UK to remember the giants as well as the more familiar species. ⬇️

World Environment Day is celebrated annually on 5 June and encourages awareness and action for the protection of the environment. Here at the Met Office, we recognise the need to promote and protect biodiversity by providing a suitable and sustainable refuge for local wildlife.

I have recently discovered how much finger posts cost and I AM SHOCKED. (£300-£500 each depending on number of pointy things and writing). Not including installation. I now look at publicly marked footpaths as a serious financial outlay.

Kemi's brand of single-minded fanaticism would make her an ideal civil war leader imo. Any dissent and you shoot a few officers pour encourager les autres.

The new beacon hall in Bristol really is a lovely venue. We are very lucky to have it.

A new investigation announced by special anti-corruption prosecutors in Albania into the $1.4 billion luxury project Jared & Ivanka are trying to build on protected wetlands. My deep dive into this project that's bringing thousands of protesting Albanians to the streets. youtu.be/Y6XhwqOw3bA?...

The USA is acting more and more like an ally of Russia. www.politico.com/news/2026/06...

Time to ban x/grok from the UK.

Your daily reminder that Pheasants are non-native birds that are factory farmed and then released into the British countryside in the tens of millions. All so that paying clients have as many as possible to shoot for fun.

How does one become a crypto billionaire? And whose money are they investing and playing with?

A reminder that crypto is an almost entirely parasitic industry, enabling crime, wasting the money of retail investors, energy and resources. We definitely do not need a national crypto reserve, the effect of which will be to tranfser taxpayers' £ to those already heavily invested in crypto.

Really good update - and notable that while the US has withdrawn most of its support, Ukraine has not folded, and in fact (with European backing) is probably stronger. Not to extrapolate too far, but lessons for UK/Europe.

‘An equal and habitable world is possible’ New report outlines vision of doubling incomes, halving working hours and keeping global heating below 2C. My article on the Global Justice Report by Thomas Picketty, Cornelia Mohren and colleagues. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

I have a vague sense that anything which can be kept unplugged and offline should be... because it is becoming harder and harder to keep things offline. Ever more stupid appliances and simply transactions demand I create an account, use an app, and often to little good.

It needs to be stated over and over - this isn't just a matter of errors: The point is that LLM AI is literally incapable of reviewing or validating research data. It absolutely cannot do that job, at all, ever. But it is very good at generating something that looks like a convincing review.

www.politico.eu/article/jare... Seriously moving stuff. Thousands of albanians standing up for their natural treasures against colonialiste oligarchs. Cut out flamingoes met witj riot police water cannons. Respect. Solidarity. Support. #HandsOffVjosaNarta

Energy independence is coming

Apparently there are data centres with 70 GW of power needs applying to be built. Thats roughly TWICE the entire electricity demand of the WHOLE COUNTRY. If you are wondering why Tony Blair’s bosses are upset by net zero look no further.

NEW: UK's 7th carbon budget will deliver '£865bn' in economic benefits * Major investments needed to get rewards, inc saving £445bn on oil / gas imports * Pointedly, given current politics, figures are presented relative to "no net-zero" Full analysis: www.carbonbrief.org/...

The race for net zero The UK net zero economy and the transition to a competitive future. eciu.net/analysis/re...

A House of Commons committee has concluded the Government should terminate NHS England's contract with Palantir, citing the company "supporting highly controversial policies & activities"

Dear archaeologists. Any idea what/when these shards of pottery are? I find them in the Somerset Levels. These ones were turned up near Athelney in the spoils while digging a ditch. Medieval? Roman? Last Tuesday? :)

Keir Starmer's response to Nigel Farage at PMQs just now was probably the most powerful and eloquent I have seen him in the Commons. The full answer is worth reading.

Ecologist Simon Breeze shares a few thoughts on his recent baseline surveys at a few of our sites. www.somersetwildlands.org/news/a-messa...

precog come to life - and if we're not careful, it's coming for all of us. i wouldn't rely at all on the 'well that's xi's china' for comfort.

"Terrorism" on the left. "Protest" on the right.

Excellent piece by @stephenkb.bsky.social about the Henry Nowak case and what it does/doesn't show about policing www.ft.com/content/aa94...

Salience. As long as the Far Right can keep the conversation fixed on how shit and broken everything is, and on race and immigration, they have a chance.

It seems people like Mandelson get a reputation as clever operators in large part because they will say whatever they need to stay in with the powerful. I'm sure there is an art to pitching it, but we can all do that, its just it makes most of us feel a bit sick after a while.

Oooh. I see the beaver was too political, but of this list I would be tempted to go big - if only because there is a tendency in British wildlife to make everything as small and domestic as possible. Maybe: basking shark, eagle, pine marten.. +1 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The idea that Europe should be reassured that America wants to extend its nuclear umbrella in Europe seems demented to me. The USA’s stated aim is to weaken and divide Europe. This is not about European defense. We should be seeking US downsizing, not increase.

If the police want an excuse to round up the fascists in Southampton, may I suggest a few agents-provocateur in the crowd holding banners opposing genocide or calling for an end to climate change. Then you’ll have all the cover you need to go in hard - paint them as the real threat to the nation.

At what point did it become unacceptable or impossible for parents and adults to just tell children to 'run along'. I think something important was lost that day.

Dunno about anyone else but it feels like the 20th Century has finally died. I wondered if the 2008 crash would one day be seen as the end of the long 20th century, but perhaps the second term of DT and the Iran war will be an even neater place to draw the line.

Further evidence the net zero economy is one of the few parts of the economy that is booming. Truly insane that now is the time politicians start attacking one of the only sources of growth for UK businesses. www.businessgreen.com/news/4530440...

Jeremy Clarkson has pivoted from abusing climate activists and denying climate change to accepting its real but insisting that there's nothing we can ever possibly do to stop it. FFS What are we meant to be celebrating or welcoming here? Defeatism is as lazy as denialism

🗣️ One fossil fuel price shock costs the UK economy as much as the entire net zero pathway to 2050. And we're living through another shock right now - increases to energy bills from 1 July are proof of this. [1/3]

That would be the green economy that Reform want to scrap...

What is Claude? This is getting a bit like blockchain... when its gone on too long to really ask.

And they might just give us a planet, and an economy, fit for the future. Although also bills.

In the face of frenzied right-wing attacks, this government has successfully executed one of the most ambitious climate change projects in the world. Time to give credit where it's due iandunt.substack.com/p/guest-post...

How should we be preparing? www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...