Also frankly I am quite desperate! A party that’s at best ambivalent on the question of whether I’m English and wants to deport my friends is 9 points ahead in the polls and the current leader is floundering and visibly out of his depth!

The richest man on earth owns X. The second richest man on earth is about to be a major owner of TikTok. The third richest man owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The fourth richest man owns The Washington Post. See the problem here?

Prof. John Curtis predicting a thumping Indy majority at Holyrood 2026 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪 SNP the biggest party, with Scottish Greens 2nd (Official Opposition)

Indefinite Leave to Remain is about precisely the kind of immigrants that we are all told that people whose fathers paint roundabouts really like. The kind coming by legal channels and doing good work. But if you ask who the enemies of the UK would like out of our country? Those with ILR.

TLDR: Make racism shameful again. While you’re at it add fascism too.

This thread shows why we'll never be able to rely on AI for answers

An appalling indictment. The UK has wealth. It's just not distributed, remaining in the hands of a few uber-wealthy individuals. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The core problem for Starmer is that what made him Labour leader and prime minister was his ability to judge what the audience in front of him wanted to hear - to work out which narrative would get him to the next step on the board. But you can't run a country on storytelling.

Ten years ago I was in a new relationship with Sophie. It never occurred to me that by now one of my biggest worries would be that the colour of her skin would make her a target. Main-stream politicians talking about people like her creating ‘an island of strangers’.

I have ADHD. I was successful at secondary school. I have a Ph.D. and published a book which was reviewed in the broadsheets and I taught at tertiary level. There is no way on God’s green earth I could consistently comply with the rules this school lays out. They are cruel.

What I find interesting is that Charlie Kirk was one of the VERY vocal MAGA people on transparency and releasing the Epstein files. After a convo with Trump in July he made an about face but then dedicated a podcast later on July calling for the release. Yet, no one is discussing this.

Political violence from any party or any ideology is a direct assault on the foundations of democracy and the rule of law; it seeks not to persuade but to intimidate, not to debate but to destroy.

Hannah Arendt said 'The death of human empathy is one of the earliest & most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism' We saw the recent cruelty of MAGA denying empathy to Melissa Hortman Empathy for Kirk—not because he ever acted like a decent human—but because we are decent humans

“I will kill you, Reacher Gilt. I will kill you in our own special way”. Because if Bansky means it or not, this is hugely effective.

A hilariously ironic and horribly appropriate response. I wonder if it was part of Banksy's intention - I heard that he has never worked on a listed building before, so presumably he would have anticipated this swift response and it's part of the overall piece. I'd like to think so, anyway.

Once Donald Trump gets the citizens of this nation comfortable with the current atrocities committed under the color of law – what comes next?

The Daily Mail (sadly someone posted it) are running a large article about girls playing football who keep getting abuse from other girls and also parents because they say they are boys - because they have short hair. Transphobia harms all women and girls. And the Daily Mail is part of the problem.

Transphobia - whether from the right or left and whether disguised as feminist or not - will always close down the field of what is acceptable for women and girls. So-called bio essentialism always leads to the boxing in of options for women and girls.

Please, please please read this. Anyone who thinks ‘well maybe it’s conflicting rights’.

The headlines would have hit different yesterday if they said "Linehan arrested again as he arrives in country to face trial"

Iconic moment at the Downton Abbey premiere

The latest column from Scottish Trans Manager, Vic Valentine, was published in the Scotsman on Sunday. It explores the devastating impact of the proposed EHRC Code of Practice and our calls to ensure that it is properly debated in Parliament. Read here: www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Monty Python and the Holy Grail updated for Britain in 2025.

I think this is fair and balanced. Racism has been there all my life. Recently many of those in power have stopped fighting it. And that’s the real difference. Now we must do everything we can to stop racism becoming normal and use the law and social pressure against it every single time. Every time

It’s not an abstract issue in my home either as my wife is obviously of Asian descent. From being washed last in the school showers of an all-white town in the 80s to being warned a local trader wouldn’t deal fairly with her last year, it’s never abstract for her. I’ll resist every single time.

Donald Trump's threat to bring the National Guard to Chicago isn't about safety — it's a test of the limits of his power and a trial run for a police state. Illinois has long worked with federal law enforcement to tackle crime, but we won't let a dictator impose his will.

I mean, at least we’ve got the daily telegraph to finally admit that prison isn’t actually a holiday camp, I guess?

Most of the time Sophie (my half Asian wife) and I live in our family and friends world. We have the usual ups and downs and worries of our small farm life, and our families lives. They are vivid and sometimes heartrending but patterns universal to human kind. People meet and love, quarrel, get ill.

god I hate this I hate this I hate it I hate it, I hate that the mainstream right has gone this mad and racist and radicalised, I hate that no one seems to know how to stop it from getting worse, it worries me so much and I hate it all

Famine has now been officially declared in Gaza City. Families and children are dying of starvation, and this is just not a tragedy - it is genocide in plain sight. There must be an immediate ceasefire, urgent aid into Gaza, and sanctions on Israel. www.theguardian.com/world/live/2...

Well it’s right that I’m a left-leaning graduate voter, but rather gratifyingly it suggests I might be very much younger than I am. And I don’t our woes are as simple as the filthy rich either. We will change the world when we learn compassion and not before.

Forget the OSA - Keir Starmer opening an OnlyFans account would probably be the most effective thing the government could do to damage the online porn industry

M&S might like to remember that cis women shop too. And if they are being transphobic, bluntly I won’t.

Women always had the right to private spaces. The women’s quarters, women’s pursuits, every society has granted women the right to be private together. What has often been denied is women’s rights to public spaces. The law courts, the universities, trades, guilds - those were where we won rights

So we have this rose bowl for a year, courtesy of the beauty of Monksfield Damaris, Penny’s kid, and our roses look rather fine in it, I think.

I will feel some hope for the future when I read ‘tax us more so that we can have a kinder, more gentle society’ say Labour voters.

The rights for which women have fought are NOT the right to a safe and private place. I say this as a cis gay woman, and as a historian to trade. Women fought for the right to work as men worked, to be free from constraints in society as men were. Women-only spaces were ALWAYS available to them.

Well I hope they paid the excellent Val McDermid a shedload of dosh for mangling and sentimentalising her second Pirie novel.

Street homelessness is bad. Primarily for the people who are forced to sleep on the street, but it’s not good all round. But if you’re terrified of someone asking you for change or sleeping in a doorway, then you need to grow up - and if you think a “crackdown” is needed you need to fix your heart.

The attack on trans people was just the first shot. Those behind it have much bigger prizes in view. All gay people for a start. America is further down this road than us, but unless we are very alert, and careful and lucky, we will follow.

Should have based them with Chaos Black spray. Then maybe drybrush with Retributor Armor with an Agrax Earthshade wash to get a gold effect. Would have given them some visual depth.

But at least she grasps that it’s not ok for the state to put trans people in harms way, however much she might disapprove of them. (I was also weirdly cheered by her willingness to say that women who are a danger to others exist. I’m so tired of the pretence that women are always nice & threatened)

Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you joy and happiness.

I’ll be honest. Kate Forbes stepping down is a relief to me because I want to see progressive politics in Scotland and people who fully accept LGBT equality leading the party. I really hope she finds something as fulfilling and engaging as a career, where her undoubted talents shine.

GoatSky2

While it’s vulgar to boast, Zoe got Reserve Champion Goat at Dumfries show yesterday and here she is with @chalcedonyvark.bsky.social. (Note for USA. In the UK red is first, blue is 2) #Goats #SmallFarmLife

Post like this make Bluesky all worth it 👍

Except AIs constantly get stuff wrong, sink or omit sources, will further erode site revenues, remove critical thinking regarding the process of research, are dripping in bias, etc. But: horse, bolted. This is Google trying to lock you into Google. It doesn’t want people going elsewhere.

It's a great piece, Ian. Thoughtfully written and *very* competent.