Starmer being as Starmer as you can possibly be

Kidnapping the leader of a foreign state without any declaration of war and announcing it via social media is full-on rogue state stuff. From the world’s number one superpower.

Whatever you might think of Maduro, the seizure and kidnapping of a head of state takes us to a very dark place. Vast, arbitrary, extra-legal power, which could be exercised almost anywhere, regardless of the character of the target government.

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

The perpetrators aren't paying any real price. But there can be a political price in 2026. Hate to drop some Enten on you, but "independents" hate the MAGA war on America stuff. Scared politicians respond to what they think independent voters want. So worth connecting this to the regime.

Christmas record listening part 1

it's weird so many establishment politicians have failed to notice why Mark Carney prevailed in Canada Emmanuel Macron has sort of inched toward "we need independent European digital services" but they don't realize a confrontation with Trump would be galvanizing bsky.app/profile/saba...

Call for submissions! We'd like to expand the diversity of our Archive authors, and are looking for proposals for any available story from anyone meeting the criteria of being disabled or a person of colour obversebooks.co.uk/blackarchive... Closing date for subs 30/06/26 Please share! #booksky

Call for submissions! We'd like to expand the diversity of our Archive authors, and are looking for proposals for any available story from anyone meeting the criteria of being disabled or a person of colour. obversebooks.co.uk/blackarchive... Closing date for subs 30/06/26 Please share! #booksky

ICYMI Have you ever wanted to watch a film from 1930 but couldn’t find it? They’re now in the public domain, so I put together a database of every feature film released that year and where to find them. Enjoy! pre-code.com/how-to-find-...

Wanna see real-life miracles? Fund scientific research. A team of US scientists just cured Alzheimer’s in mice — and there is now hope that the disease can be reversed in humans. futurism.com/health-medic...

100% what Jonn said. It's not complicated at all.

STARDUST AND SNOW, the little book about Bowie and love and friendship that @paulmagrs.bsky.social wrote for @obversebooks.co.uk is now a radio play!

Some people never do tire of making sure that their grandchildren will lie about not being related to them

God honestly. Doesn’t this just sum up Reform. And their plastic patriotism. Can’t even give a straight answer or follow the rules on their unbelievably naff merch. So on brand. Oh well. You sell or wear one of these, you’ve told us all we need to know about you. (iPaper)

I seem to have woken up in 1529…

It should never be possible for any minister to revoke citizenship with a stroke of the pen. #checks #balances Jenrick - like Farage - wants to be an unaccountable tyrant like Trump.

Back to Work… #currentlistening

Genuine 'Fucking hell' moment.

Are people doing the "Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains" thing again specifically to annoy me or... sorry cannot think of another reason.

"Did you see what Mark Cuban posted? Oh did you see the clapb—" You shake yourself awake in the cold North Atlantic water. You are not online. It is July of 1858. You are a baleen whale, and you have changed your mind. The future most not come to pass. The telegraph cable must break.

Miniature musical instrument makers admit defeat as violin size requirement for story is declared "too small to build."

Rewatching the absolutely perfect Paddington 2 - and my abiding hatred for Paddington 3 and every one of those horrible, mawkish ‘Paddington as Angel of Death’ cartoons is increasing by the second.

The SF Collections at Liverpool host the Olaf Stapledon Archive. We're delighted that SFF trustee Una McCormack was able to discuss Stapledon's landmark debut novel with Matthew De Abaitua and Andy Miller. www.backlisted.fm/episodes/253...

Moment of the year at Tynecastle has to be Halkett’s derby winner. The celebrations for that are probably as mental as anything I can remember since Tynecastle had been all-seated. Fucking incredible.

"Whenever people keep being given a platform to say they have no platform, or whenever people speak endlessly about being silenced, you not only have a performative contradiction; you are witnessing a mechanism of power". Sara Ahmed

This is fantastic writing. So good, I think folk that don't even give a fuck about Hearts or even football would enjoy it. The Cammy Devlin paragraph is sensational. "Gorgie was louder than war". Incredible.

God, yes. Absolutely dreadful.

All very well beating Celtic, but Hearts proving they can take care of those niggly mid-table sides too

“Arsehole? Then our vodka’s for *you*”

Even though The Mail grassing on The Sun about Rupert Murdoch just feels like a falling out amongst a group of angry middle aged men over who’s not been putting up enough flags.

Every time there's a breaking story about a celeb's treatment of women, everyone in the book world asks, "Is it finally Walliams?" Well, it finally is.

The idea of “imported” violence against women and girls is a deeply comforting fiction - one that allows people to avoid looking at where it actually happens: within our homes and behind closed doors.

Jo Cox was murdered before the vote by a far-right terrorist & this is the language this complete disgrace chooses to use

It's all 'protect women and girls' until its actually a legitimate situation that affects women and girls.

IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING. How he lasted longer than Brand is beyond me. (It’s not, he had super-injunctions) couldn’t have happened to a more odious man and literally the worst kept secret in creative media

Can't believe it's Christmas, and David Walliams is going to be visited by three Ghostwriters to show him the error of his ways.

Nothing fills me with more optimism than the major journal of publishing signing up for the "steal from authors in order to put all the book people out of work" industry.

We’re waiting for Trump to die, every day, and not doing enough (or anything?) to hold him to account. I don’t care if he’s doolally, he needs to be criticised and preferably kicked up the balls really quite often.

Reform Ltd. Liars to a man.

Listening to this today - a stunning record in every respect. 'The transparent vinyl is embedded with fragments of coal, which we collected in big chunks from the beach at Blackhall Colliery before smashing and mixing into the press.' Read about it here: www.threadsintheground.com/projects/anc...

I'm privileged to call Robin a friend, and as such, have seen behind the curtains with what went on with Monkey Cage. When BBC bosses say they don't recognise his version of events, I was being told of them by Robin in real time. This stuff has been going on for YEARS. I'm heartbroken for him.

Robin Ince reveals to last night’s audience at a recording of Infinite Monkey Cage that the BBC has forced him to resign over his support of trans people

Oh @robinince.bsky.social is the best of us and it’s criminal that he has to resign from presenting on the BBC while Justin Webb and Sharron Davies and all the poisonous people continue without the “difficult” conversations

It seems there’s no room for kind, empathetic, caring people in the BBC any more. A genuinely sad day.

One more reason why I will continue to read ebooks on my 1st generation ipad mini, which basically runs nothing except an email program with an email address I use only to send epubs through, and a copy of Books.

I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork

Ah, bollocks. I only discovered Bailterspace a few months ago, and now it seems Brent McLachlan from the band has died. RIP :-( bailterspace.bandcamp.com/track/glacii...