Dusted off what little taxonomic knowledge of fungi I had for a rambling week in Mull — another career change into mycology seems unlikely at this point 🍄🍄‍🟫🍂🍁

After the barrage of illiberalism in recent times, this vote on assisted dying - following the vote on late abortions - is welcome.

The starting point for such significant decisions should always be with the individual where possible, and not the State imposing its view on the individual.

Another public inquiry.

Aka, another implicit admission that the organs of the state failed to provide accountability in real-time.

By me from last year.

David Runciman · Hokey Cowboy: Is Hayek to blame? Hayek suspected that nothing about the vindication of neoliberalism was likely to be straightforward. Some magical...

‘Hayek suspected that nothing about the vindication of neoliberalism was likely to be straightforward. Some magical thinking would be needed to leaven the mix.’

David Runciman on Hayek and his far-right descendants: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

My latest, for @prospectmagazine.co.uk

This is Ozymandias, the official kitten of Magdalen College, Oxford.

I learned about him 30 seconds ago and I would die for him.

As I have said before, trying to defeat fascism by making concessions is like trying to cure gangrene by giving it your leg.

Liam Neeson.

My regular running route used to take me along a canal backing onto Liam Neeson’s garden. He would often be tending to his flowerbeds and would always return my cheery wave.

It took four years for me to realise it was not Liam Neeson. It was just a man.

Why is it easier to access court documents in the US? We can follow US legal cases in a way which is impossible in the UK

NEW

Why is it easier to access US court documents than UK court documents?

How we can follow developments in US legal cases in a way which is impossible here

By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Essential genetics debunking of very entrenched myths.

Worth also noting that many of these came initially from the labs of US eugenicists, for whom monogenic traits had to explain everything so their proposed policies would ‘work’

🚨BREAKING🚨

WE’VE WON OUR CASE TO #DefendDemocracy

The Court of Appeal has ruled that anti-protest laws which completely ignored the will of Parliament are unlawful

The UKSC's decision should come as no surprise. @michaelpforan.bsky.social 's analysis was, in legal terms, completely compelling, regardless of the view one takes of what the law ought to be.

Sex in the Supreme Court A Brief Overview

Anyone who is interested in understanding the judgment the Supreme Court will be delivering today in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers will no doubt find @michaelpforan.bsky.social's excellent overview of the legal issues very useful. knowingius.org/p/sex-in-the...

IT’S GONNA BE A BIG DAY FOR COMMENTING ON A JUDGMENT YOU HAVEN’T READ

Andrew Tate High Court case could be legal first, barrister says Four women have accused the influencer of rape, assault and coercive control, which he denies.

Interesting to see the underexplored feminist/anti-harassment potential of tort liability - battery & intentional infliction of harm - in play here.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

ADHD Barrister Marking Neurodiversity Week 2025, an anonymous barrister shares the revelations and emotions from a mid-career diagnosis with a view to encouraging others to find out more

This is an exceptional piece of writing by an anonymous barrister recently diagnosed with ADHD.

www.counselmagazine.co.uk/articles/adh...

As a lawyer who does Equal Pay law it is interesting to note that the prospect of young men falling behind young women is causing a sense of societal crisis that the reverse position consistently failed to invoke.

The mail on Sunday headline which reads Now Stop The State Visit for Bully Trump

This is the most right wing newspaper in the UK.

Extraordinary.

This handsome boy is Mully. A v healthy 10yrs young, he urgently needs a loving new home as he hates his sister & living in a conflict zone is not good for any of us! He is a real love bug & purrs like a train. He likes to explore our small garden & play with his toys & would be a great companion

This is a new one:

Victim about to deliver an impact statement in court, defence barrister raises a concern that it has been ‘generated by AI’

Victim says she put it through a computer system to check spelling, but denies the entire thing is AI generated.

Elon Musk’s 2018 tweet in which he called Vernon Unsworth a ‘pedo guy’.

A gif of Trump mocking reporter Serge Kovaleski, who has a chronic condition called arthrogryposis which affects the movement of his arms.

I will never understand how this wasn’t the end for either of these deranged brats.

Every milquetoast brownnoser who elevated or defended them hoping for a crumb from their unearned power should be ashamed. You knew. The evidence was right there. But you liked standing near the big boys.

Undergraduate contract lawyers, your time is now.

The true cost of ignoring whistleblowers New research reveals that not heeding warnings about systemic failures comes at a high price

Writing for Prospect, John Bowers KC of Littleton Chambers says, "there needs to be a duty placed on employers to investigate #whistleblowing concerns—save where they are vexatious, as some are. This is vital to closing the accountability gap."

Valentine's Day doesn't have to be about the big spectacle. Whether you're with someone or with your own good self, stay true to the story you want, unfolding in its own time.

Higgs v Farmor's School is out. A victory for the claimant. The CA judgment is mega-long for the CA (181 paras) but you can skip to para 175 for the "broad summary" if you wish (though Underhill LJ stresses it's no substitute for a careful read!

www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/u...

The curious thing about billionaires defying the rule of law and the orders of the court, is that their wealth depends entirely on enforceable legal rights: contract, property, and so on.

Those saying court orders have no value need to be careful what they wish for.

It is an honour to present my research with Protect — the UK’s leading whistleblowing charity.

Taking 3 whistleblowing scandals as costed examples, we show that failing to strengthen whistleblowing protection is costing the taxpayer billions of pounds.

Read it here: lnkd.in/efkqHZzV

January 25 2025, Regent’s canal, shepherd’s delight

New

The coming battle between social media and the state

Behind the alignment of X and Meta with Trump is a cold business logic — and a position of weakness rather than strength

By me, in todays @financialtimes.com

www.ft.com/content/917c...