NEW: last night, the US govt launched an assault on the ‘global censorship industrial complex’, aka European tech researchers/campaigners. It’s a deeply chilling move & speaks as to why we need international solidarity more than ever. open.substack.com/pub/broligar...

Today in the inexplicable & inexcusable casual media normalization of things that totally violate our international treaty commitments with our closest allies & should have immediately ended his presidency. bsky.app/profile/mcop...

The fact that the nay sayers conflate not wearing masks with masks not working illustrates their sloppy thinking

"The recent news that British students will be allowed to participate in the EU-wide scheme (Erasmus) without incurring the burden of tuition fees is welcome and a good step forward to undo the terrible mistake of Brexit." #Erasmus #Brexit #Education #EU🇪🇺 #Scotland🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Confabulated AI citations now appearing in Google Scholar. Time to limit the number of references in academic papers?

Great @yorkshirebylines.co.uk write up of my recent talk about Trump for grassroots Europe yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/tru... Thanks @colinngordon.bsky.social for inviting me back!

The PCR positivity map is out and even where there are hotspots it's (mostly) good news this week. I'll cover covid first, then flu. jamestindall.info/skeuomorphol... 1/8

Flu (+RSV/HMPV etc) doesn't have to be "super" to cause profound harm, disruption, & NHS pressure. SARS2 variants don't have to be "more virulent". Not being in the emergency phase of a pandemic does NOT mean we should revert back to ignoring infectious disease. #VaccinesPlus

Do read this. It’s by Brian Eno for @thenerve.news & it’s about this generation’s BandAid. Lullaby is based on a traditional Palestinian melody, all proceeds go to Gaza, it would be amazing for it to be Xmas no 1, but more than that, buying it is a political act 👊

Good ventilation and air filtration are critical tools in preventing respiratory infections. The Government must assess current standards in hospitals and schools — and act where they fall short. #Flu #Covid #Ventilation Full response 👉 hansard.parliament.uk/Lords/2025-1...

“Let's make Together for Palestine's record this year's Christmas No 1.” Musician and activist Brian Eno explains why one song in particular matters this Christmas.

Read the full article and subscribe: www.thenerve.news/p/brian-eno-...

@independentsage.bsky.social have consistently tried to counter the spread of infection and misinformation...great to work on this in @bmj.com with Steve Reicher (lead) and @martinmckee.bsky.social, we hope it's helpful...and thanks to Jolie Neill for edits & guidance 🙏 www.bmj.com/content/391/...

Just because you’re a professor and you hold the opinion that masks don’t work doesn’t make you a “top scientist”.

If we are really worried about the pressure put on the NHS by flu then shouldn’t we have offered the flu vaccine to more people for free?

How the US is going after opponents using 'domestic extremist' laws and tax investigations. Similar tactics were used during the civil rights protests in the 1960s. youtube.com/shorts/hmEgD...

Oh, and if you want to read about the reality of masks and airborne transmission, look no further than this... doi.org/10.1128/cmr....

Thread of the day 👇🏻

Thanks BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast Programme for the opportunity to talk about why following the science, wearing a mask, & cleaning the air to help avoid you & others getting horribly ill with flu is a better idea than not doing that. Starts approx 7.05 minutes in www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Part 2 (10 mins) covering attacks on science, civil rights and how Trump wants to be a king. again there will be some short versions of some of it later this week... All based on www.trumpactiontracker.info youtu.be/9fudutXpn08

You want my social media history to decide whether I can enter your country? Then I don’t want to enter your country.

Honoured to be featured in the #ThereForME advent calendar! Huge thanks to @murtoz.bsky.social for the nomination🙏. Inspiring to work with people like you, with lived experience of ME & pandemic disability, via @inclusivenew.bsky.social & we're so grateful to those who've listened.

Actually there's slightly more evidence that handwashing does help reduce spread of influenza. None at all for COVID but in flu trials, masks + hand hygiene outperforms masks alone. Whether there's a Hawthorne/bundle effect there I don't know. Ben Cowling's your man. not sure if he's on here.

Indeed 👇🏻

For those interested - here is an 8 minute discussion of what has happened in the sphere of immigration, nationalism & foriegn policy last week in the US that you might have missed. Will also be doing shorter clips over the week! youtu.be/8I4OoIfTUrU 1/2

An important point to come out of the Sandie Peggie case is that 'gender critical' employees can't take matters into their own hands and confront trans employees. If they do that it is likely to be harassment/ bullying/ a hate incident.

You know, infuriating and a shameful betrayal though the BBC and other media's misreporting of the Sandie Peggie judgment is, it also doesn't really matter. What matters is the judgment which lawyers will read, use to advise their clients, and inclusion will be the winner.

Well, I guess this means that I would no longer get a visa to visit the US. I would love to visit friends and family there, but maybe not so keen to visit the country.

This is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Three more Farage bloc MEPs alleged to have followed Russian asset’s script At least eight MEPs elected for Ukip or Brexit party now known to have been focus of efforts by jailed Nathan Gill www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Immunity debt's "...explanatory power has faded as the number of non-covid infections has kept rising each year... A growing number of scientists believe that the SARS-CoV-2 virus may instead be subtly altering our immune systems." 🛟😷medsky

Shamina Begum must be held accountable for her actions when she was 15. Whereas I should not, because I was a mere child.

Breaking down some of the anti Vax stuff going at the CDC *before* this week's ACIP meeting on childhood vaccines. Notably their "finding" on COVID vaccines and children and a recent appointment... youtube.com/shorts/AR97l...

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... "Our findings redefine SARS-CoV-2 infection as a condition of long-lasting immune compromise." But sure, keep basing your life on the idea that it's fine to get reinfected annually.

The US is rolling back standards on harmful soot particulates. These under the radar actions will cause a lot more illness in the years to come. youtube.com/shorts/wuIGF...

Santa has never been so disappointed as this year, folks.

Sickening. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Zia Yusuf - the unelected multimillionaire policy chief of Reform - makes his fourth Question Time appearance tonight. The party has five MPs

NHS England: “It will not be possible to halt the spread of a new pandemic virus, and it would be a waste of public health resources and capacity to attempt to do so.” This has got to be one of the most 🤯 things I’ve ever seen written down in an official document.

Fiona Bruce desperately tries to smear Zack Polanski and the Green Party as supporting open borders as if it is the worst thing in the world. But 56% of the UK support Free Movement. It is actually her demonisation of migration which is supported by only 20% of the UK.

You might have missed yet another attack on DEI and universities in the US - this time cutting out 38 universities from the US Diplomacy Lab youtube.com/shorts/pC33H...

CATA has written an open letter to Baroness Hallett archive.org/details/2025...

Eligibility for an NHS Covid booster has been HUGELY restricted this Autumn. Studies show that both acute & long-term impacts of Covid are substantially WORSE than flu on almost every measure. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan... So why are the government offering so much LESS protection for Covid?

Why does Marco Rubio care about our immigration policy? the US is trying to export its nationalism to its allies. youtube.com/shorts/CYn48...

The future for vaccine access in the States? 👇🏻 And where the States go, Reform follows.

And by stopping staff from criticising this approach externally they squash dissenting voices. This is not ethical or scientific practice. Thanks to @duncanrobertson.bsky.social for sharing. Full article here:

Testing before visiting someone vulnerable isn’t overcautious, it’s caring. Antigen tests help, and PCR or LAMP tests more reliably prevent weeks of illness for someone else. #COVID #COVID19 #PublicHealth #InfectionPrevention

How RFKJr starts creating a set of ‘literature’ in non peer reviewed ‘journal’ to support his views- just wait for this to be cited by his ACIP and team

Why do we constantly have Tufton St "Think Tanks" framing our national news re @ukcovid-19inquiry.bsky.social, @bbcnews-world-rss.bsky.social? Inquiries are expensive, sure. But the biggest public & human cost results from successive governments ignoring their recommendations. Make it count please.

In the Holocaust, Nazis captured my grandpa’s sister Sheinale (Yiddish for "beautiful") & her family & executed them in a forest in Lithuania. Their bodies are in an unmarked forest grave. In contrast, Covid vaccines saved an estimated 20 million lives in their 1st year of use. See the difference?