‚Nejsou to čistky.‘ Vláda už ve jménu úspor provedla dvě kola propouštění, chystá se třetí V prvním kole k 1. lednu škrtla vláda 322 míst, ve druhém k 1. dubnu 148, vyplývá z odpovědí jednotlivých ministerstev pro iROZHLAS.cz a Radiožurnál. Nejvíce se propouštělo na resortech vicepremiérů.

Vláda hned po svém prosincovém nástupu začala s hromadnými škrty. V prvním kole k 1. lednu škrtla 322 míst, ve druhém k 1. dubnu 148.
Přečtěte si přehled škrtů na jednotlivých ministerstvech.⤵️ irozhl.as/Bcp

One of the Sandy Hook families lives in hiding 1500 mi away from their baby’s grave due to people stalking them.

The graves of multiple children have been defaced.

One of the fathers had to submit DNA evidence to prove his son was a REAL HUMAN BEING after Alex Jones’ book said he never existed.

[Water Lilies by Beatrix Potter]

I live not in dreams but in contemplation of a reality that is perhaps the future.

~Rainer Maria Rilke

We claim to treasure free speech, above almost anything. But on the most critical issue, very few of us are free to speak. The majority are silenced by fear of censure or loss of employment. This conspiracy of silence looks more like what you'd expect in an authoritarian regime than in a democracy.

One problem is that many articulate, confident people are forbidden by the terms of their employment to speak out. To acquiesce in the power that threatens everything is acceptable and uncontroversial. To contest it brings your employer "into disrepute" and could have you sacked.

Almost everything we argue about is a substitute for the thing we should be arguing about: the immense wealth & power of an oligarchic class, which captures governments, ruins lives and wrecks the living planet.
This class redirects our rage at scapegoats. To resist its lies is to resist its power.

Finding Gertrud Kauders | Simon During In the last years of his life my father wrote a memoir. Born in 1916 in Munich to Bohemian parents—his father Jewish, his mother not—he had spent his

www.nybooks.com/online/2026/...

At a time when mass surveillance and autonomous weapons companies like Palantir are openly announcing their plans for violent world domination, it is crucial that our attempts at “big tech reform” don’t actually give them more power—ie via government mandated age verification/identity software

the please stop referring to homegrown christofascism as American Sharia law challenge

Demonstration in Prague taday against the Motorists and their destructive policies at the Czech Environment Ministry.
About 2500 attended. We started at Prague Castle and marched to Jan Palach Square.
Many thanks to the organizers and speakers!

Photo of pigeon perched on a branch, description from ebird: ‘Dark iridescent pigeon with a triangular throat patch the darkness of which varies geographically; it is white to pale gray across most of the range but dark in the Lesser Sundas. Found over a wide range of altitudes, from lowland into montane forests and edge. Often found in close proximity to human settlements, particularly on small islands. Forages in trees and on the ground. Vocalizations vary slightly; gives both deep booming coos and a higher pitched “COOroo...COOroo...COOroo..”’

Pigeon of the Day:
Metallic Pigeon
📷 Andrew Spencer

Pink pigeon with black collar on neck, grey ring tips and tail, perched on branch, painting.

Morning.
From Set of Three Pink Pigeons, Les Pigeon Rose, Unknown, 1811.

Photo of pigeon perched in foliage with berries, description from ebird: ‘Brightly-colored tree-dwelling pigeon. Adult male has a powder-pink neck, orange breast patch, gray-blue head, and yellow belly. Adult female is much plainer, tea-green above and brighter yellow-green below. Both sexes have striking black-and-yellow wing feathers and yellow spotting on the undertail coverts. Adaptable, and can be found in mangroves, open coastal forests, parks, gardens, and plantation edges. Primarily a lowland species, but can on occasion be found in foothills. Social, often gathering in flocks; occasionally mixes with other green-pigeons. Unlike many other pigeons, not very vocal; occasionally gives strange, alien-sounding coos.’

Pigeon of the Day:
Pink-necked Green-Pigeon
📷 JJ Harrison

Large pigeon on branch, pink and orange bellied, with blue and dark pink flashes at neck, brown wings and top of head, white markings on tail, illustration.

Morning.
From Set of Three Pink Pigeons, Les Pigeon Rose, Unknown, 1811.

Four little birds perched on a music stand with a page of music on it. Illustration.

🖼️ Józef Wilkon

Pink pigeon with rufous and dark tipped wings perched on a branch with lichen, illustration.

Afternoon.
Set of Three Pink Pigeons, Les Pigeon Rose, Unknown, 1811.

In Wales, dragonflies are called gwas y neidr, adder's servants, and we meet the adder today, in our 47th #darkspringtide tale, in the valley of the Eglwyseg River in Powys.

Gwas y neidr collect prayers for her, those that should rather not be prayed.

Read the story below.

Two rabbits in a moss and grass covered burrow sat looking out, painting.

🖼️ Dick Twinney

Photo of pigeon perched on a branch, description from ebird: ‘A common gray pigeon that is easily identified by the long pointed crest on the top of its head. Mostly pale gray with bright iridescence on wings. Feeds only on the ground. Takes flight with noisy wing-claps, and in flight has a wing-whistle which makes it sound like a wind-up toy. Common in open habitats and is often present in suburban areas.’

Pigeon of the Day:
Crested Pigeon
📷 Ben Johns

Fox with crow on its back surrounded by little blue flowers with yellow centres and bluebells and daffodils, a moth on a pale green background, painting.

🖼️ Kelly Louise Judd

Hedgehog and hoglet, toadstool, pine tree, pear stuck to spines on hedgehog. Tiny snake. Underneath it says, Vorsicht!’ Meaning ‘Take care!’ Illustration.

🖼️ R Engelhardt

Cuckoo perched in shady branches with foliage with white flowers, grass below, painting.

Morning.
🖼️ Cuckoo, Raymond C. Booth.

Mouse sat on mossy tree root surrounded by violets, painting.

🖼️ Dick Twinney

The striking stained glass window in Belfast City Hall commemorating the International Brigades. 48 mainly working class men volunteered from the city.
Gandesa, Belchite, Madrid, Brunete, Teruel, Córdoba....
Thanks to Paul Mullen for this photo.

I speak to a lot of people about JK Rowling - many once close friends with her. I was once friends with her. And they all say she is now very changed.

To pretend she is not radicalised, to give succour to her views on trans people, is an astonishing thing for Kezia, as Chair of Stonewall, to do.

I'm sorry, but this is utterly unacceptable from Stonewall's new Chair. And entirely unnecessary. Nothing is gained from this except communicating to trans people that Stonewall does not care about them.

The Book Supplement, Vol. 4 Manil Suri, Dur a Aziz Amna, Angela Pelster, and Anne Enright.

The fourth edition of The Book Supplement is here! This week we have a memoir, a novel, and two stunning new essay collections. Please read and subscribe *for free* to support independent book criticism 🙏📚. No paywall.

I cannot emphasize enough that, for many people, the core problem with society is that girls and people with uteruses are allowed to envision themselves as full human beings deserving of an interesting and self-determined life

Why Viktor Orban’s Fidesz Party Lost The opposition’s stunning victory offers lessons for U.S. Democrats—and a warning for Trump’s allies.

"As illiberal strongmen have discovered in other contexts... after a while, voters, especially moderates, become exhausted by constant messages of fear, hatred, and vituperation..."

foreignpolicy.com/2026/04/12/h...

A very special day: In Our Own Words: Documenting the Queer Everyday in Central Asia is now open access via @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social
books.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-di...
Funded by AHRC and created through collective effort. My deepest thanks to all contributors.