Louise Michel was a 40-year-old schoolteacher when the Paris Commune broke out. She fought in the front lines, was sentenced to life in exile, supported an anti-colonial uprising in New Caledonia, and dedicated her life to anarchist resistance. Today is her birthday. crimethinc.com/MichelCaledo...

A profoundly depressing read of the appalling racism that Roly Gregoire suffered whilst a player at #SAFC and the terrible suffering he went through. As he says, the racism might not be sung so much, but it's moved on line. All power to Roly. Fuck the racists. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Cllr Sarah Wakefield has been selected as the new Green Party candidate for the upcoming Makerfield by-election. On being announced, Wakefield said: “I am proud to be representing the Green Party...It is vital in a democracy that voters are given a choice of who they want to vote for."

Sunderland's Nigerian community protested Councillor Gibbins' inauguration over racist online remarks made in 2023 row | Peter Sagar

I don't want to appear cynical about #Southampton's defence, but I can't help but feel that they've been economical with the truth - they've admitted to three instances of spying, where they lost the subsequent matches. I reckon that they've done it multiple times but just haven't fessed up [yet].

The outstandingly talented poet Kinan Salaam has a message; it is worth our hearing. Every word of it means something. Get Out Of My Country:

Happy 75th birthday to Jonathan Richman. Here's That Summer Feeling

Are you trying to beat me in the elusive stakes?

Britain and America really are peas in a pod.

Seeing Wes Streeting lining himself up for a possible run at the Labour leadership / Prime Minister just makes it even easier to not vote Labour.

Tarkovsky's Three Men and a Baby

You know this opens the door to an incredible amount of grim shit. They know this opens the door to an incredible amount of grim shit. They're rolling the pitch for a Reform government, and they wont just be against people that don't like genocide.

There is no way any British government should make any use of a company that opposes pluralism and believes it must help the state to "hunt its enemies".

People do not hate the UK Labour government enough. There are some truly malevolent individuals at the top of that tree, whereas Keir Starmer is such a political empty vessel he doesn't have the capacity to know when he's being played

In Sunderland, Reform stood David Barker. Who beat his girlfriend “black and blue”. He also neglected and burnt his child with cigarettes. He was handed a suspended sentence. It comes up when you Google him. He won in the council election. A vicious domestic abuser is now a Reform Councillor.

I don’t believe that most voters are OK with this. A moral failing of the British media that these four reprobates were not made (in)famous enough to be stopped.

It's fair to say that about a third of Americans are as thick as mince, are nasty, and bigoted. Is this a standard global percentage that applies everywhere? I'd like to be smug but I do suspect that a third of the people here in the UK are as stupid and awful too.

Not sure why the referee is getting plaudits for knowing the rules better than most other people. That's why he's a referee. Mind, that's a bizarre rule about it not being handball when your teammate has kicked it. #BAYPSG

Why is it even possible to bet on games involving minors and children as young as...12? Yet legal and illegal platforms offer them. A call to arms - and to action - by Corentin Segalen and Samuel Wahlberg from the Group of Copenhagen for @josimarfootball.bsky.social.

It's always the ones you'd least expect.... 🙄

This is an interesting story about a Roman souvenir of Hadrian's Wall turning up in Spain. One of the few instances of a souvenir of Benwell too 🤣 www.euronews.com/culture/2026...

Since ChatGPT came online in late 2022, grant application numbers across 12 UK and EU funding bodies have increased by *57%*. For MSCA fellowships the number is *+142%*. I do believe that what we’re doing is insane and that we need to stop doing it IMMEDIATELY. www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Film you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. “Hard mode”: no Star Trek, Star Wars, LotR, Marvel, Disney, or Ghibli.

Yeah, it's puerile but an accumulation of attacks on Reform is OK by me.

Abolish the Home Office

Well Sunderland, this is catastrophic. And Micky Bridges' pronunciation of Mukiele is almost as bad. Mooky-L? Really? #SAFC

I’ve been hearing so much anger and disappointment from frontline workers about the BBC investigation into fraudulent asylum claims. One of the most damning responses has come from one of the experts they interviewed, solicitor Ana Gonzalez. It’s really worth reading her response in full:

FTSE 100 CEO average pay up 18% to £5.89m, less weight attached to environmental, social, governance targets. Did your pay rise by 18%? Workers produce wealth but get crumbs. Need worker elected directors, worker vote on exec pay to secure equitable distribution. archive.ph/Po1Au

Genocidal ad by genocidal company in genocidal paper of genocidal state

The mental contortions from pro-Trump evangelicals really are quite something. The prophet ushering in the end of days rapture is the worst person in the world; a philandering, moronic, misogynist, racist, degenerate, lying, murderous paedophile.

Well Sunderland, didn't even get a chance to sit down before Villa scored. 🤷🏻‍♂️😕

Extremely normal and fine for a company to put this in a public statement

I was sad to see Manila Digger knocked out at the AFC Challenge League Semi Final. Ideally I'd like them to come up against Tractor from Iran. If only there was a Pnom Penh Steam Shovel they could play in a heavy machinery round robin.

Just finished Lessons in Chemistry. I really enjoyed it. I note that women in the 1950s had really pointy boobs.

And horse racing in general And greyhound racing And hunting

Pablo #Picasso never got called an asshole Not like you. Street art in #Málaga.

St Mary's Lighthouse, Whitley Bay, photo by Angi Wallace.

Went to the Whitley Bay v North Shields match last night (the third El Coastico of the season). Went to bed thinking Whitley Bay had won 2-0. Woke up this morning to find it had finished 2-1. 🤷🏻‍♂️

A genealogy website I use has a lookalike feature. Yep, me and Johannes Kepler is its best guess.

Joseph de Maistre said “Every nation gets the government it deserves.” and Thomas Jefferson rehashed it as "The government you elect is the government you deserve.” Unfortunately the rest of the world has to suffer the stupidity and failings of other electorates.

A guy working on the tills in a local supermarket has written a book (self published, granted) on reconciling quantum mechanics with the general theory of relativity. I have no idea whether it's good as I can't comprehend the basics but you've got to be impressed by anyone who's up for tackling it.

Oooooh also this one

Since Israeli forces and settlers have been murdering Palestinians with impunity for decades, it's hard to know what this law does, other the codify the state's continued genocidal intent. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

In the world of football, there's only one thing I find more tedious than international football, and that's international football friendlies. #InAGrumpyMood

Would it be so awful if we got rid of think tanks? Or at least obliged them to be transparent on their funding?

Second only to Oreos in my well researched list of the world's worst biscuits. www.theguardian.com/food/2026/ma...

"I'm in prison, again."