And Keir #Starmer thinks this an appropriate site for our government to be using. And he thinks it's an appropriate site for this country to be using.

For a government that is led by a former human rights lawyer, the treatment of these hunger strikers is truly debased

Well the UK IS an unwelcoming, racist country.

Happy Christmas Eve Eve. Tonight, I'll be wrapping presents while watching Going Postal (both parts). It is a tradition stemming from the fact I have a large family and one film was never long enough. Do you have any "not technically Christmassy" Christmas viewing rituals?

Shock collars. Puppy farms. Caged hens. Farrowing crates. Years of Tory rule and they did f*ck all. Now there’s a bill to stop animal cruelty and the Tories are screeching again. Cruel, rotten, amoral b**tards. Same f**th, different day. #ukpolitics

I'm meeting up with my writing group to celebrate solstice this evening. There is a thinning line betwixt writer and witch.

The Yanks' Christian Taliban scam has crossed the pond. Slashing the minimum wage, free healthcare and disability benefits isn’t very Christian. But since when has Farage ever given a toss about the poor, innit.

All super rich guys sound the same now. It’s all “I sleep four hours a night and spend the other twenty hours a day developing a product that’s going to bring us the best widespread poverty anyone’s ever seen.”

The real question is not "Why is Bluesky so left-coded," the real question is "Why can't the right exist in a social media environment without algorithmic assistance, where people can ignore them"

Michelle Mone can be expelled from the House of Lords by a simple majority vote in the Commons, and then in the House of Lords. Like if she needs to go. RT if she has to go.

Saw my oncologist today to get my latest CT scan results. No cancer detectable. 3 years since I finished active treatment, I remain in remission. Not bad for an incurable

"Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance." No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"70% of people in poverty are in work. We can't afford our energy bills, to heat our homes, or food." YES! And these middle class comfortables sit on #bbcqt pontificating about how reasonable it is to pile more pressure on people & what a MYSTERY it is that folk are mentally ill & physically sick.

DAMN

Went back to Prunella Scales's contribution to Barkworth's "About Acting" today. Not just because it is immensely funny and charming, but for the most unfussy, practical, and profound description of a proper acting process ever captured in print. Huge condolences to Sam and her family and friends.

Confirmed, the "Gaza peace deal" was the same deal offered to Netanyahu and the US repeatdly, but it was turned down by Israel because they wanted to gift Trump (Israeli asset) a perceived victory at the expense of the Israeli hostages and Gaza population.

An old director I worked with used to say: "You can write, block, time, direct, and perfect every aspect of comedy. But some people just have a comedy multiplier." Keaton just had whetever that is; that unteachable, undirectable multiplier. She made the mediocre, good, and the good, side-splitting.

I’ve just been sent this and it’s genuinely made my jaw drop Massive kudos to the journalist for maintaining his cool I really hope editors are there for him right now This sort of stuff would have my Windrush generation anti-racism campaigning grandad turn in his grave

They have control of almost everything. Almost all your money goes to them, nearly 70% of people are employed by them. They don't pay tax, they don't maintain the essential industries that they control, they get 12% richer every year. You cannot just ignore them.

It's not immigration, it's billionaires. Until the problem is tackled the UK CANNOT improve. That is a fact and it is not going to change.

If you'd like to see the Test and Trace looters, the Grenfell murderers and the Thames Water polluters in jail, give this a RT. It is time we went after the real criminals.

Sobering and powerful interview with David Suzuki by @davislegree.bsky.social .

We’re honored to report that over 11 million showed up for today’s No Kings protest, and totals are still coming in. Just… wow. WOW 😮! There’s nothing more to say.

Lee Jae-myung, the South Korean politician who climbed the fence of the parliament to get inside and vote against martial law, has been elected president. Pretty cooool

I'm going to add one more question to this thread. This scandal is now well-known enough that many, many big name authors - and other publishing industry bigwigs - most certainly know about it. Why do you all continue to stay quiet? Why have none of you even expressed an opinion about it?

This is—it bears repeating—ethnic cleansing and a war crime. It feels utterly pointless to say, and roughly equivalent to screaming into the void, but the United States should not be supporting or providing any aid to a state that has ethnic cleansing as a policy position.

Saw the ever brilliant Barney Norris's Wiltshire set modern adaptation of Lorca's #BloodWedding at the Omnibus Theatre in Clapham last night. A tragedy that sparkles with comedy. Runs until 24th May. Highly recommend. Photos are from a fab Terri Paddock Q&A after with cast, playwright & director

Truth

Sending love to my trans sisters and brothers in the UK. I see you. No cruel and cowardly law changes will change that. I'm so sorry this is happening

“History was full of the bones of good men who'd followed bad orders in the hope that they could soften the blow. Oh, yes, there were worse things they could do, but most of them began right where they started following bad orders.” - Terry Pratchett, Jingo (and these are not good men)

USA is now a fascist country led by predators , meanwhile, in the UK , we reckon it is fine to send Afghanistani women who have been fighting for equal rights back to Afghanistan

Blimey. One of Nigel Farage's biggest donors, and the owner of 55 Tufton Street, is helping the Russian military effort www.nytimes.com/2025/03/28/w...

There's going to be an event, sometimes in the next ten years, when Europe's military independence from the US is made painfully clear. Trump types are going to hate it. But its origin will lie in the events of the last few weeks.

Hamdan Ballal, one of the directors of the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, has been assaulted & injured by settlers at his home in the West Bank & arrested by the IDF. No trace of him since. The vengeance is clear. Do not let Hamdan disappear. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

There is a significant difference between pirating a movie here and there because you're poor And a giant corporation stealing every single movie so they don't have to pay anyone to make movies ever again. If you can't see that- it's because you don't want to see it, not because it's not clear.

Good news, I remain in remission 🥳🎉🎊 #oncsky #cancer

Quarterly oncology appointment tomorrow. Never gets easier. Hoping for unremarkable results 🙏

First stab blood draw today and no wait. Feels like a lucky day. *buys lottery ticket* #thankscancer #scanxiety #cansky

The best analogy I've seen for Labour "countering" Reform's campaign of racism against asylum seekers with its own campaign of racism against asylum seekers.

Me last night: Maybe this week’s column was a bit harsh on Labour. Perhaps they’ll start to see disability benefits in a more nuanced way and respect the people relying on them. Labour this morning:

This position on international law, ie that it is good and should be upheld, which was pretty much required - at least as a stated position - for eligibility for membership of the Western establishment a year and a half ago, is now shocking and dangerous to hold.

Companies - Record Profits. Landlords - Record Rents. Healthcare - Record Cost. Media - You must hate the immigrants it is definately their fault... (Media counting record profits and laughing)

What a ridiculous article. Huge numbers of patients are dying needlessly in the NHS right now because it is under-resourced. Why on earth should anyone ‘stay calm’ if public service cuts are announced?🚨 www.theguardian.com/business/202...

I’m so fed up of politicians denying the NHS the resources it needs to save lives, deflecting blame elsewhere, and then funnelling more and more money into private company hands. It’s grotesque. Patients are dying.

Yes, transphobic "feminists" are successfully preventing meaningful progress for the very group they pretend to be supporting. Hate destroys the brain. #transrightsarehumanrights

Austerity: - didn't work for 14 years under the Tories - hasn't worked in the last 9 months. So our "Labour" government are going to implement... - more austerity www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Choose 20 films that have stayed with you or influenced you. One film per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just posters. #films #movies #movieSky Day 20