This year, the NHS has severely limited its list of who is eligible for a covid vaccine. The press release says it's because it's "now a relatively mild disease", meaning those with long term conditions like cystic fibrosis no longer need to be vaccinated.

Covid is our generation's lead - people ignore the scientists yelling louder and louder about how it causes brain damage, because the alternative is making inconvenient changes.

a very bleak development in terms of my view of the world in the last few years has been both ‘the Israeli govt is much worse than I thought and deserves an enormous amount of criticism’ and ‘yeah a lot of people geniunely are just low-grade antisemitic’ both apparently being true.

Harold Shipman arrested over inappropriate use of prescription drugs.

It's a very modern American interpretation to think that fighting for roses is about fighting for nice things to put in your house. When we fight for roses, we're fighting for dignity in labour and for full access to culture.

There are members of our community for whom in-person events are still an absolute no. With their online-only events, @siren-events.bsky.social lets us celebrate all together, chatting online in a way most places seem to have forgotten in recent years.

It's wild how easy it is to be woken up by pain. I'm sure there's a solid evolutionary reason for it, but this isn't that I put my foot in the campfire, it's that my body is trying to destroy itself and frankly it's poor planning that I can't sleep through that.

Why doesn't London have a museums night like other cities?

London:

I asked in my neighbourhood group chat if anyone knew a copy shop that could laminate something for me. I'm now holding a laminated copy from a neighbour who said we didn't have anywhere, but could he do it at work for me? Maybe community's not dead and you just have to ask nicely.

If that's the case, Mike, why were only 12% of Civil Service Fast Stream interns under your government working class?

Since the OSA came into effect, the most downloaded apps in the UK have all been VPNs. The censorship is primarily for people who are less well informed, scared of technology, or find it hard to understand.

...they should do this. This is fine. They're not exactly going to stop endlessly capitulating to the billionaire-owned press without finding ways to communicate around it, are they?

so when i was calling earlier, the mastercard supervisor mentioned something like, 8000 calls that they've gotten over the weekend. Just wanna say keep it up, keep up the good work, i'll continue to do my part. Let's make 2025 the year of not rolling over anymore

Remember how the London Passenger Transport Board, precursor to the TfL, used to publish adverts hoping for the end of work?

Black Cake is the best series I've seen in years. A decade ago, it would've been categorised as prestige television. It's slightly too late for that so I'm just yelling about how brilliant it is instead.

My favourite part of today is that my dash has suddenly become a rolling recommendation list of lesbian books.

It's 37° today. I live next to a motorway and an old asbestos factory. Have made the cyberpunk decision to sit here in a FFP2 so that opening both my windows for a draft doesn't kill me.

Its the final day to complete the EHRC's consultation on their draft code of practice. If you want to fill it in and share your voice in support of trans inclusion, today’s your last chance! We've created a full guide w/ Mermaids & TransActual, on our website - www.scottishtrans.org/supreme-cour...

I know writers at the top of their game who are winning awards and who are on the fancy display tables in bookshop chains. These people still have day jobs. Writing money isn't quitting money, it's a nice extra that makes it easier to fix the washing machine.

Something common knowledge in your field that shocks outsiders? How often journos will reprint a press notice almost wholesale without fact checking it or double-checking sources. I've seen articles in national papers I could reasonably claim a credit for.

Gene Tierney's oldest daughter was born with congenital rubella syndrome. She needed a total blood transfusion, weighed 1.4kg, was deaf, blind, and had a severe intellectual disability. Gene Tierney caught rubella in her first trimester after a fan left quarantine to get her autograph.

I have a joke about Polyphemus that Nobody wants to hear.

The Labour Party are currently looking at making chemical castration compulsory for sex offenders. A reminder that once you decide there's a group of people it's OK to do this to, all you have to do is expand the group because the option's already on the table. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

If it stops right here (which it won't, but let's pretend), and the same number of stories are chosen as for IWTTO, that will be approximately 3% of all stories submitted. When you read this collection next year, remember that it's only the sharp tip of a very angry iceberg.

Download Festival confirm that they will be toilet policing this year, so please consider giving them a massive kick in the wallet…

If you have a story that might fit, this is your chance to make Bona Books horribly regret their wish.

"BTP will make every effort to ensure the officer is replaced by another member of the team" - before the ruling, were they making "every effort to ensure" women weren't searched by men? Or did they just make it not happen?

It turns out my friends can't be trusted to answer whether the Dreyfus affair is an understandable cultural reference because they're all nerds, French, or both.

One of the drugs I was given as a child turned out to be carcinogenic. That drug was the best option at the time. Because of it, I am still alive. Sometimes the things that are good for us aren't risk-free but the risks are worth it to keep us alive.

Voters aren't choosing to vote Reform instead of Labour: they're voting Reform instead of staying home, and they're staying home instead of voting Labour. If Labour want more votes, they need policies people are excited to vote for.

Useful advice on how to write to your MP from an expert trans lawyer: translucent.org.uk/a-guide-to-h...

There are so many cats in Athens that they have to find other things to do. This one, for instance, has joined a biker gang.

Athens drivers adore you (for being a pedestrian) and dislike other drivers (for driving). Possibly my favourite city to walk in so far.

I know that Azril isn't Athens and that Vitrine isn't Greek, but I thought she might enjoy the rebuilding of the Parthenon anyway.

I was walking along the road at the same time as two Americans. When we crossed the corner and passed this house, they started talking about how run down and threatening the area was, and maybe they should call a cab. Forcibly reminded that most Americans who can afford Europe are from the suburbs.

Less than an hour after sending this, Michael has written back. His email is kind, sincere, and makes it obvious how much the support was a surprise. Please do write if you have a moment.

I write to my MP and Ministers when I have concerns. Do they pay any attention? Well, they might if they're getting a lot of correspondence on a topic. However, writing shouldn't be restricted to concerns. If you have five minutes today, please send a supportive email to Michael Cashman.

Even putting aside the good cause, a lot of things in this auction are ridiculously cheap. Signed hardbacks for £10? A hand crocheted full size blanket for £25? Two hours of neuroscience consulting, with an accompanying 10k read, for £20? Go beyond the headliners and there are some real bargains.

Could JD Vance please also pray for the good health of Vladimir Putin?

The two most popular Parliamentary petitions in the UK right now are both in support of trans rights. Brits are turning up in droves to say they support their trans neighbours and won't bow to Trump's demands.

Today is Spy Wednesday. It commemorates the day on which the council who had been planning to kill Jesus welcomed Judas into their midst, knowing he would betray his friends and make their jobs easier. But I'm sure nothing like that would occur today, right?

Okay, cis pals. A lot of people are about to be hit with a barrage of misinformation from terfs, biased media, and just generally shoddy journalism. Our job is to get out in front of that so our mums don’t get their facts from their bigoted neighbours. ⬇️

My trans friends are incredible people with fascinating hobbies who do positive work in the community. The transphobes gathered outside the Supreme Court today are boring little nobodies with a shared delusion who don't represent anyone but themselves. None of that has changed.

The UK Supreme Court has made what seems to be an absolutely nonsensical ruling: that the word "woman" in the Equality Act applies only to cis women. The worst part, though, is how many transphobes are acting as though this is a holy diktat on the meaning of the word.

For once, "severe delays" on my train line didn't mean no trains running, or long waits between trains. It meant trains arriving regularly and then proceeding along the tracks about as swiftly as a bicycle. Absolutely delightful.

When I was young, a first class letter cost 25p and it was understood it would be delivered the next day. A first class stamp now costs £1.70 and 8% don't get delivered within a week. Royal Mail was privatised in 2013 but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it, right?

3 days ago RFK Jr. told the CDC to stop recommending water fluoridation, claiming it was a neurotoxin (this is a lie). Turns out he also just eliminated the CDC’s entire Lead Program, and now lead poisoned children in Milwaukee are just on their own. Lead IS a neurotoxin and harms brain development

Coughing, snorting, and hocking up phlegm in public spaces is gross. Why does the exaggerated disgust response associated with right wing politics not lead to a demand for public masking when sick?

Dear Nick: please start paying more attention to the titles of the novels you're in. The last one was ironic. This one? Good advice.