Kristen
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ansibledialectics.bsky.social
Kristen
@ansibledialectics.bsky.social
160 followers 83 following 180 posts
Loves cats, reading and socialism!

She/her
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Reposted by Kristen
adambonica.bsky.social
Despite what we are often told, this line from Mamdani’s inauguration speech is what true pragmatism actually looks like:

“Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”
January 1, 2026 at 10:03 PM
ansibledialectics.bsky.social
Happy new year everyone! I hope 2026 is a better year
January 1, 2026 at 1:12 AM
Reposted by Kristen
jonnelledge.bsky.social
Fascinating thread but I don't feel it's that complicated? This is what happens when you go out of your way to performatively kick your own coalition in the hope of impressing voters who never liked you to start with.
duncanweldon.bsky.social Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 1d
Glad the FT is asking the question. Even if I’m not convinced they found a compelling answer.
I get that Starmer & Reeves are unpopular, I really don’t understand the extent of the dislike.

www.ft.com/content/1995... ‘There’s a real dislike, even loathing’: why voters hate Starmer and Reeves
‘There’s a real dislike, even loathing’: why voters hate Starmer and Reeves
Allies concede the prime minister and chancellor have made mistakes yet the level of disdain towards them is still striking
www.ft.com
December 31, 2025 at 10:22 AM
ansibledialectics.bsky.social
Just donated, it's a very worthy campaign, and a really good use of a Christmas message by a political party leader, rather than vague niceties.
December 27, 2025 at 1:28 AM
Reposted by Kristen
zackpolanski.bsky.social
This gives me real hope. In the last 24 hours you've donated over £20k to @calaisappeal.bsky.social

Please do watch my Christmas message here:

youtu.be/lopMMkz0law?...

and donate here:

www.justgiving.com/campaign/tog...
Zack Polanski's Christmas Message
YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski
youtu.be
December 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Reposted by Kristen
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Greta Thunberg arrested for holding a sign opposing genocide.

When peaceful protest is a crime, democracy is in deep trouble.

Happening under a Labour Government.
thecanaryuk.bsky.social The Canary @thecanaryuk.bsky.social · 9d
🚨BREAKING: GRETA THUNBERG ARRESTED UNDER TERRORISM ACT FOR SUPPORTING 'PALESTINE ACTION PRISONERS'
December 23, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Kristen
anthonypainter.bsky.social
The UK will celebrate net emigration and depopulation come 2027.

And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done.

The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.
Net emigration
December 22, 2025 at 7:28 AM
Reposted by Kristen
anna-orridge.bsky.social
Those people are not terrorists and we all know it including Labour MPs.
December 18, 2025 at 10:01 AM
ansibledialectics.bsky.social
Glad for Unison members that they will no longer have an uber Starmer loyalist as their leader!
December 17, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Kristen
robinince.bsky.social
Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.
This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career. I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters. Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B
December 13, 2025 at 12:02 AM
Reposted by Kristen
alizaadi.bsky.social
The real victim at the centre of this absurd case is very clearly Dr Beth Upton

To witness the way in which she’s been dehumanised and vilified by Peggie and their (Sex Matters) legal team, the tribunal judge, the British media, and UK politicians has been beyond horrifying

Solidarity Beth
December 8, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Kristen
robinince.bsky.social
then, the transphobes , feeling victorious at how many people they have made unhappy and despairing in the previous week, move on to anything else that has a spectrum and the possibility of more colours than they can conceive - such hateful people - they cannot understand anything that is not THEM
pete_wharmby_books & ••• HADLEY FREEMAN Wes Streeting must stand up to the ADHD activists I can help with the minister's review: some people are just confused by life Hadley Freeman pete_wharmby_books Ah, as expected the right wing press (and Freeman's pipeline from the Guardian op-Ed pages to the Times is worth looking into) is now piling on, suggesting that these scary ADHD activists are just trying to ruin things for everyone. Not, like, try to improve people's self esteem and sense of what is going on. 2025 is so horrifyingly, predictably *boring*
December 7, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Kristen
nadiawhittomemp.bsky.social
▪️ Lift the puberty blockers ban
▪️ Reject EHRC guidance
▪️ Legislate to ensure single-sex spaces are trans-inclusive by default.

Posting this from my speech at the Trans Day of Remembrance vigil, because yet again trans women and girls are being excluded from their spaces.
December 5, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Reposted by Kristen
zackpolanski.bsky.social
The Express is furious about this because the moment you show those who repeat anti-immigration rhetoric the real human stories their narrative collapses.

The “immigrants” are people. Our friends, colleagues and family.

And it’s this nation of neighbours that is what makes Britain great.
Question time fans rage defund the BBC after small boat migrants planted in audience.
December 4, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Reposted by Kristen
flyingrodent.bsky.social
Here’s Judith Butler explaining what this movement is and always was, about five years ago.
As a fascist trend, the anti-gender movement supports ever strengthening forms of authoritarianism. Its tactics encourage state powers to intervene in university programs, to censor art and television programming, to forbid trans people their legal rights, to ban LGBTQI people from public spaces, to undermine reproductive freedom and the struggle against violence directed at women, children, and LGBTQI people. It threatens violence against those, including migrants, who have become cast as demonic forces and whose suppression or expulsion promises to restore a national order under duress.
December 3, 2025 at 8:24 AM
Reposted by Kristen
ulycia.bsky.social
i hope every single person who still buys harry potter merch or engages with that franchise is happy that they're literally making girl guides cry

girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
This update includes information you may find upsetting. Please take care when reading. From today, it is with a heavy heart that we announce trans girls will no longer be able to join Girlguiding. This is a decision we would have preferred not to make, and we know that this may be upsetting for members of our community. There will be no immediate changes for current young members, but more information will be shared soon. Most adult roles - including unit helpers, district helpers and administrative support - are already open to all, so we are confident that no volunteers will have to leave the organisation. Girlguiding believes strongly in inclusion, and we will continue to support young people and adults in marginalised groups. Over the next few months, we will explore opportunities to champion this value and actively support young people who need us. We stand in solidarity with trans girls and women.
December 2, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Kristen
euan.bsky.social
for the record everyone should be mad *at the government* for this
December 2, 2025 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by Kristen
davidandress.bsky.social
Evil, evil, evil people.
hsw3k.bsky.social Hannah Shaw-Williams @hsw3k.bsky.social · Dec 2
I’m guessing this drove the decision:
Girlguiding faces legal action from parent over trans policy Charity is accused of failing to follow Supreme Court ruling on gender; leaving girls 'exposed to harassment' • NEWI 6r0 A Brownie uniform and badges. Girlguiding's policy permits boys who identify as girls to join the organisation ALAMY Girlguiding is facing legal action from a parent over its transgender policy which she claims discriminates against her seven-year-old daughter. The claimant, who has asked to remain anonymous to protect her daughter's identity, has alleged in a pre-action letter to Girlguiding that the organisation's policy "exposes girls to harassment".
December 2, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Kristen
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Delighted to be speaking at this charity concert at Wembley in March.

Tickets on sale 10am Tuesday!

Trans rights are human rights. 🏳️‍⚧️

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...
Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Wolf Alice and more to play all-star charity concert for trans rights
Organised by Olly Alexander and the Mighty Hoopla festival to ‘fight back against the politics of fear and exclusion’, Trans Mission will take place at Wembley Arena in March
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Reposted by Kristen
mariecgoldman.bsky.social
Imagine being turned away from a bathroom, hospital, or cinema for “not looking female enough”. The leaked EHRC guidance could do just that. Along with my Lib Dem colleagues, I’ve written to the Minister calling for new, inclusive, practical guidance that protects everyone’s rights.
November 28, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Reposted by Kristen
miamidsa.org
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Reposted by Kristen
ldobsonhughes.bsky.social
UK now at the point where the former Chair of the Racial Equalities Commission is calling for campaigns of terror against people of colour on the streets of the UK
jdportes.bsky.social Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · Nov 24
Trevor Philips in the Times, calling for a Trump/Miller-style of random deportations based on skin colour.

archive.ph/RlXPj
Second, we need to enforce the policy with a vigour that has reduced flows at America’s southern borders by 90 per cent, and in Denmark by 95 per cent. Crucial to the Trump programme is an aggressive policy of removals, including snatching suspected illegals off the street. One friend tells me Latino parents are now so afraid to be seen out and about that the other parents have a rota to walk the Latino children to and from school.
November 24, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Kristen
danielsohege.bsky.social
There are some truly unhinged bits in the piece about Glasman, as to be expected when dealing with Glasman, but seriously what the actual? That's...one hell of a conflation of terminology.
Even the term “progressive” makes Lord Glasman shudder. His mother died of progressive supranuclear palsy. “Every word of that condition is terrible. She lost all her bodily functions, yet her brain remained intact, leaving her a mute witness to her own demise. It took six years to kill her, and to cure me of any fantasy that ‘progressive’ is desirable.”
November 23, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Kristen
roseschmits.bsky.social
Its quite striking to me the similarity with the no more jury judgements thing Labour wants to do how they say “criminals shouldn’t get juries“ when the reality is that its “people wouldn’t get juries“
sarahmay1.bsky.social Sarah May @sarahmay1.bsky.social · Nov 20
Fixed it for you. Idiots! If the exclusion is based on appearance then it will certainly impact cis folks as well as trans folks.
Screenshot of a report on the BBC News website (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0y07959djo) original headline reads: Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance I have scrubbed out the word Trans The headline is above an image of a sign for toilets from Getty images The BBC staff are: Alison Holt Social affairs editor @AlisonHoltBBC Ewan Somerville Kate Whannel Political reporter
November 21, 2025 at 10:21 AM
ansibledialectics.bsky.social
Just constantly accusing various sections of the public of "gaming the system" seems to be the overriding comms and policy strategy of this wretched Labour government.
Criminals will be stopped from “gaming the system” by choosing trial by jury in order to increase the chances of proceedings collapsing, the courts minister has said, promising to enact radical changes to limit jury trials by the next election.
November 20, 2025 at 12:20 PM