A horrifying threat with genocidal connotation.

Green Day - Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams Listen to Holiday / Boulevard of Broken Dreams on TIDAL

tidal.com/track/292679/u

Timely feed tune

Israel Passes Law to Hang Palestinians Convicted of Deadly Attacks

"Israel’s Parliament passed a law on Monday that would allow the hanging of Palestinians convicted of deadly militant attacks, but experts say it almost certainly cannot be applied to Jewish extremists convicted of similar crimes."

www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/w...

Great piece on #astropolitics in @ejisbisa.bsky.social by @bleddb.bsky.social

(I declare an interest for having read a draft!)

Having failed to secure the Snickers or M&Ms that were my original objectives, sources tell the Washington Post I will now be refocusing all energy on extracating my hand from where it is stuck inside the vending machine and restoring said machine to the working order it was in prior to my arrival.

Trump TLDR: We've completely lost control of the war that we've already won. Even our only ally ignores us.

BBC World Service to get extra £11m a year in deal ending funding uncertainty Corporation welcomes three-year settlement as it continues to push for government to take on all of service’s costs

Great news as it protects #BBC World Service a little longer. But would be great to see an even greater, longer term commitment by government to enhance a priceless element of #UK soft power, influence, that's also a key tool in the fight against #disinformation
www.theguardian.com/media/2026/m...

Excellent 🧵 on the significance of diplomatic capacity in the #USA. Worth noting that the #UK is also currently significantly cutting its Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office

Trump's decision to bomb Iran is now the greatest windfall to the Russian war effort on record. If it continues, it might save the Russian war economy.

Indeed 👇

Reports say that at least 26 Lebanese civilians were killed in this raid, by Israeli Air Force fire aimed to protect the troops.
Absolutely abhorrent.

Trump: “The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Trump: “The UK, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, PM Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember. We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

Governments and voters are both reacting to algorithm-shaped “public opinion,” not grounded priorities. Immigration feels urgent because platforms amplify fear, pulling parties into hollow performances of toughness. The far right reads that drift as confirmation it’s winning.

South Park: 🎶 Peter Thiel knows about the Antichrist 😂

If you think that professors exist as repositories of knowledge that students ask for answers, you’re missing the entire point of a college education.

We’re here to teach students how to do research, how to analyze and argue, how to think for themselves — how to find the answers on their own.

Gone a bit quiet 😔

Here is Nathan Gill in 2014 blaming the EU for Russia advancing on Ukraine

Nathan Gill pled guilty to accepting bribes from Russia to promote a pro Russia anti EU position

He started in UKIP, joined the Brexit Party, then Reform UK

Here's what he said at the European Parliament

Any journalist or commentator who writes a wrap-up of this speech that suggests that any of it was normal, worthy of respect, not absolutely deranged, not an insult to the audience, not an embarrassment for the US, should be relieved of their jobs.

Er...buses? Trams? Metros? Come on @economist.com , you're better than this

Nick Gibb was awarded a BA in Law in 1981 & trained as an accountant. Hence, he's enormously well qualified to comment on the quality of education research. No irony at all in his criticism of the sector as 'out-of-touch, ideological and lacking rigour'.

Reform and X are not Britain, as John Curtice shows, though this loud minority voice thinks it is

Migration bad for economy?
32% of public - but 73% of Reform

Bad for our culture?
31% of public - 81% of Reform

Rights for ethnic minorities have gone too far?
18% of public - but 49% of Reform

Report also notes how Iran abused the survivors

Israeli airstrikes on Tehran killed inmates in ‘apparent war crime’ – report Human Rights Watch also finds that Iran abused survivors of June attack, which killed 80 people

More on the story today as a @hrw.org report finds that the strike was an "apparent war crime" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

A-level results in England expected to return to near pre-pandemic levels Career-focused subjects such as business studies and economics to surpass traditional academic disciplines like history in popularity

'Just 40,900 students entered to take history, compared with 41,900 taking economics and 43,000 for physics. Maths remains the most popular A-level with 105,000 entries this year, up by more than 4% compared with 2024.'

Both 'Just' and 'career-related' doing heavy lifting here. 1/2

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with 1 writer, 3 photographers and 6 videographers, all freelance, in the Gaza Strip since its staff journalists left in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones left to report what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to watch them die. One of them, Bashar, has been working with AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then freelance photographer, and since 2024, as lead photographer. On July 19th he managed to post a message on Facebook: “I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can’t work anymore.” Bashar, 30, works & lives in the same conditions as all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another under Israeli bombings. For > a year he’s lived in utter destitution, working at extreme risk to his life. Hygiene is a major issue for him, with recurring bouts of severe intestinal illness. Since Feb, Bashar’s been living in the ruins of his home in Gaza City with his mother, 4 brothers & sisters and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any furnishings, except a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that one of his brothers had “fallen, due to hunger.” Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, it’s no longer enough to buy food, or they have to pay completely exorbitant prices. The banking system has collapsed, and those who exchange money via online bank accounts charge a commission of up to 40%. AFP no longer has the ability to provide them with a vehicle and there is not enough fuel to allow these journalists to travel for their reporting. Driving a car means becoming a target for Israeli airstrikes. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. (alt txt continued in next post)

A horrifying statement published today by the Editorial Committee of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news agency.

"Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die"

Translation from French to English by @cnorristrent.bsky.social:

Israel levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions - BBC News Investigation by BBC Verify using satellite images and verified footage to show the extent of destruction in Gaza, where the Israeli military have carried out demolitions to raze entire towns and subu...

Just when you think the destruction in #Gaza can't get any worse. Good BBC investigation into deliberate demolition of entries Palestinian towns. Reveals that emolitions have significantly accelerated in the last 3-4 months in what are suspected "war crimes"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/resourc...

I think my great grandfathers (from Somme to 1918), 2 great uncles (1 KIA in Arras, 1 so ill mentally after being gassed that he *never* slept a full night after 1916), 2 grandfathers (1 in Burma as infantry Lt, 1 RAF ground in UK), 2 grandmothers in industry & agriculture would agree you

According to the Dinah Project, the documented patterns - such as forced nudity, gang rapes, genital mutilation, and threats of forced marriage - indicate a deliberate and coordinated use of sexual violence by Hamas operatives during the attack.

The Dinah report is now published, on the widespread use of sexual violence by Hamas during the October 7th attack, consistent with earlier investigations by the United Nations and the International Criminal Court (ICC), and likely a deliberate coordinated strategy.

news.sky.com/story/widesp...

Record air bombardment of #Ukraine by #Russia last night. Straight after #Trump agreed to restart supplies to Ukraine & questioned #Putin 's sincerity

The proposals are 2% on income *above* a threshold (like £10m). So if you had £11m you would only pay the 2% on the £1m (therefore £20k tax)