Join us at @openthanatology.bsky.social @openuniversity.bsky.social to explore all aspects death and loss. From changing funeral practices to careers in palliative care, from grieving divergently to existential disconnections and global change. This hybrid conference covers all this and more!

Join us for the 'Launch of the Centre for Open Thanatology: Dialogue and Engagement with Death and Loss', reflecting the Centre’s vision to use research and education to foster open dialogue and critical engagement with death and loss. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/launch-of-...

There's zero logic in white supremacy, but still "Make a huge portion of your own military hate you during a war" doesn't seem like a winning strategy

“Anti-DEI” means pro-discrimination. It was never about merit, always about racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc

They must be so afraid of women of colour's competence.

Relevant ... "With no real management experience or strategic background, [Hegseth] has the chance to remake the US military in his image, an image + vision roughly equivalent to what you would expect from a 13-year-old boy who had logged too many hours playing Call of Duty on the couch."

A woman holds up a noose and a lethal injection, celebrating Israeli plans to introduce the death penalty for Palestinians. Her husband holds a gun labelled 'occupation', a plane labelled 'expulsion', and a house labelled 'settlement' 1/2

The ‘murky’ world of GP finance This is an example of a 10,000 Patient practice Average patient will have 7 GP practice appts/year, 1 A&E attendance every 3 years, 2 hospital appts/year £169/patient/year goes GP £3079 goes to hospitals £40pa would solve GP crisis @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social

The VIP lane was rotten to the core. A national scandal.

ICE agents are paid a bonus for anyone they seize and that includes tourists- read this account from a retired tourist held for 6wks despite a valid visa and seriously think do you need to go to the States? World Cup and Olympics are huge issues imo

Academic ennui in "Silent Witness" (alt-text predicted "dreamy" not "dreary")

Ethnic cleansing concerns in Gaza and West Bank amid intensified violence and forcible transfers by Israel – UN report

Just occurred to me that as Trump’s DOJ was investigating, indicting, and arresting Epstein — and talking that same summer to a woman accusing Trump of assaulting her as a child — across almost that exact same timeline he does all that crazy shit with Ukraine that ends up getting him impeached

NEW - I'm thrilled to announce I was asked to interview Robert Jenrick at a car boot sale for the New Yorker. open.substack.com/pub/mrhenrym...

@mrjamesob.bsky.social Bedford CC dealing with the bigots like an absolute boss.

National security assessment: the planet fails, Whitehall opens a workstream northwestbylines.co.uk/lifestyle/fo...

Incredibly effective writing and maybe the only way left to get to the people who have not vaccinated.

I wish I could make all new parents read this, and everyone who hasn’t vaccinated their children.

This is a vivid, horribly relevant read. “She does not sleep well. And as you lift up her pajama top to check her rash one morning, you see that her breathing is labored, shadows pooling between her ribs when she sucks in air. You suffer an icy moment of realization: This is a medical crisis.”

This week, I withdrew from a speaking engagement at a public university because they sent me a list of prohibited “words & concepts.” I will not humor this censorship. It does a disservice to the stories I’m discussing & the audience, who deserve unfettered access to information & conversation.

Oh God are we doing this again? A LARGE SWATHE OF YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DEAD BEFORE THE AGE OF FIVE. SCARLET FEVER WOULD HAVE CARRIED YOU OFF IN DROVES

It was an absolute pleasure being part of this conversation. Talking about death can help you learn a lot about life...

“I’m really worried for my friends and neighbours who are immigrants, or the children of immigrants, who’ve kept our city region moving.” Our candidate for Gorton and Denton, Hannah Spencer, says the threat of adopting ICE-style tactics would put hardworking communities in the firing line.

The annoying thing about Substack, client journalists who are all earning 6 figures have opened accounts, spreading their half truths and misinformation there also! Support independent journalism like this. PLEASE watch this, you will learn that legacy has 1/2 youtube.com/watch?v=k6I8...

Can anyone think of another group of people who did this? Clue: Germany 1930s.

Donald Trump’s mental decline has gotten worse. Why is the media only barely starting to report on it? And why won’t they ask who’s really making the decisions in the White House? https://youtu.be/NQHLciC67V8?si=uoJIQXi5JIEJvac-

Mostly dahlias, watercolour and indian ink #floral #watercolour

For 50 years, the median wage of hourly workers stagnated or declined while the stock market and CEO pay skyrocketed. Is it any wonder why so many feel abandoned by the system? People lose faith, and a demagogue fills the void. This is why we must fix the system. AOC is right.

#BlueSkyArtShow #Wood #Symmetry #GreenMan #Reflection

Palantir, a US spy-tech firm, has been given access to millions of NHS patient records. Its founder has said the NHS should be 'ripped up'. Join me in calling on the government to end the dangerous Palantir contract. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

A few days ago, I stood in the graveyard of an 1100 year old church, getting damper and damper in the drizzling rain. A woman walked into the graveyard, waved, said hello, and, as we had previously arranged, handed me a paper bag full of human bones. The life of a churchwarden is a strange one...

I say to the police that it's important to us, to have the bones back. That whoever they belonged to wanted to be buried, here, at this church. That even though time separates us, time is nothing to God, and they are still part of our community. I say we want to bring them home. To rebury them.

Super excited to share the cover of my children’s book Jacob’s Transition Goals! Jacob’s Transition Goals is about an 8 year old transgender boy who starts playing football for his local boys team. It’s a joyful story that I wish I’d been able to read when I was a trans kid. Out April 21st! 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

also, side note, but why are these deranged outbursts by a deranged racist & misogynist ‘embarrassing’ for Starmer, who’s trying to prop up a security alliance in the face of madness, and not ‘embarrassing’ for the journalists working on these stories who’ve done so much to sanewash Trump?

Trump has unleashed violence on America’s streets for much the same reason he has unleashed violence on Latin America and is planning to unleash it elsewhere: to display his own strength. His motive is to gain more power and, along the way, more wealth. Understand what's going on here.

Amazing to me that Donald Trump has not been asked once to comment on this insanely Neo-Nazi post from his Homeland Security department, nor asked who are the 50 to 60 *million* US citizens that his DHS say they want to ‘deport.’

Nadim Zahawi arrived in the UK from Iraq as a child refugee. His family claimed asylum once they were here. Today he has joined Reform who will stop all in country asylum applications. Under his new party, his own family fleeing persecution would be immediately deported.

Islamaphobic antisemitic racist WHO SLEPT UNDER A PICTURE OF HITLER presented as "a nerd" by the British press.

TLDR: this ‘nerd’ was fanatical racist and would be mass-killing terrorist

We all know what the headlines would be-and rightly so! And you wonder why people are so aware of crimes committed by asylum seekers or black or brown people? Because the headlines scream it from the rooftops Yet this white guy barely gets a mention and it’s given an “he’s a science nerd” spin 8/

If he was an Arab with a device labelled “throw at swarm of Jews” An Arab with a stash of ammunition, white Phosphorus, radioactive materials and suspected improvised explosive devices? If all other factors had remained the same? Would him being a “nerd” be the focus of the headline? 7/9

“The European Convention on Human Rights protects us all. The rights within it are the reason why families devastated by disasters like Hillsborough could demand justice, why victims of abuse can seek safety, & why disabled people are treated with dignity in care youtu.be/ceukUFLBrFo?...

It’s time that Russia’s malign influence on British politics was properly investigated. Agree? Add your name 👇🏻

📌White, toxic masculinity is ruining America, and it’s about time white guys started speaking out about it. 📌This is a piece that has needed writing for years now, but I was finally spurred to action by a run-in with one of these dudes early this morning. 📌Man, I am sick and tired of these guys.

When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland. My column today. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Since privatisation in the 1980s, we the public have paid *almost £200bn* to shareholders Your household has paid £250 extra a year since 2010 for this ideology Excellent new study from @cmmonwealth.bsky.social 👇 Time to take back OUR public assets 💧💡🚌🚄📮 www.theguardian.com/politics/202...