Ian Shuttleworth
@ianshutters.bsky.social
Belfast-raised; 30 yrs in London as FT theatre critic; now Brexit refugee in Berlin and the Rhein valley. Fat. Smart. Wears tights. At 60 I recognised myself first as genderqueer, then as neurodivergent. He/him, but theyish. Monopolar depressive.
Pinned
Ian Shuttleworth
@ianshutters.bsky.social
· Apr 18
"Protest is when I say I don't like such-and-such. Resistance is when I make an effort that what I don't like doesn't happen any more. Protest is when I say I'm not going along with this. Resistance is when I make an effort that nobody else goes along with it either."
The time for protest is past.
The time for protest is past.
Folk who think they're confronting Trumpzism by saying "This is like Germany in 1933":
Venezuela - this is September 1939.
And it's time the rest of the world stepped up.
Venezuela - this is September 1939.
And it's time the rest of the world stepped up.
October 31, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Folk who think they're confronting Trumpzism by saying "This is like Germany in 1933":
Venezuela - this is September 1939.
And it's time the rest of the world stepped up.
Venezuela - this is September 1939.
And it's time the rest of the world stepped up.
As a child, I used to read the labels on my grown-up cousins' booze bottles, and I was convinced that Mr Bacardi's first name was Ron.
October 11, 2025 at 3:40 PM
As a child, I used to read the labels on my grown-up cousins' booze bottles, and I was convinced that Mr Bacardi's first name was Ron.
Protest is when I say such-and-such isn't OK with me. Resistance is when I make an effort that what isn't OK with me doesn't happen any more.
Protes is when I say I'm not going along with this. Resistance is when I make an effort that nobody else goes along with it either.
Protes is when I say I'm not going along with this. Resistance is when I make an effort that nobody else goes along with it either.
October 9, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Protest is when I say such-and-such isn't OK with me. Resistance is when I make an effort that what isn't OK with me doesn't happen any more.
Protes is when I say I'm not going along with this. Resistance is when I make an effort that nobody else goes along with it either.
Protes is when I say I'm not going along with this. Resistance is when I make an effort that nobody else goes along with it either.
"Anyone who's not a conservative at 40 has no head"
and
"But what if [any prominent Democrat] is in the Epstein files?"
are both manifestions of a mindset all too prevalent on the American (and elsewhere) right:
and
"But what if [any prominent Democrat] is in the Epstein files?"
are both manifestions of a mindset all too prevalent on the American (and elsewhere) right:
September 28, 2025 at 1:22 PM
"Anyone who's not a conservative at 40 has no head"
and
"But what if [any prominent Democrat] is in the Epstein files?"
are both manifestions of a mindset all too prevalent on the American (and elsewhere) right:
and
"But what if [any prominent Democrat] is in the Epstein files?"
are both manifestions of a mindset all too prevalent on the American (and elsewhere) right:
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
Per Reuters, Pentagon has informed European diplomats that the United States will partially halt military assistance to the Baltic nations and NATO member states bordering Russia.
The department stated that the decision is linked to the United States’ new priority — “homeland defense.”
The department stated that the decision is linked to the United States’ new priority — “homeland defense.”
As part of the “America First” program, Pentagon has classified certain weapons types, including Patriot, as “in short supply” and is beginning to block requests for these systems from European partners.
September 20, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Per Reuters, Pentagon has informed European diplomats that the United States will partially halt military assistance to the Baltic nations and NATO member states bordering Russia.
The department stated that the decision is linked to the United States’ new priority — “homeland defense.”
The department stated that the decision is linked to the United States’ new priority — “homeland defense.”
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
Russia designated the 'LGBT Movement' as a terrorist organisation. They know there is no such group; that's the point. It means they can choose to arrest ANYONE with any association with LGBT issues and treat them as a terrorist.
The fact that 'antifa' is not a group should not be a comfort here.
The fact that 'antifa' is not a group should not be a comfort here.
September 16, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Russia designated the 'LGBT Movement' as a terrorist organisation. They know there is no such group; that's the point. It means they can choose to arrest ANYONE with any association with LGBT issues and treat them as a terrorist.
The fact that 'antifa' is not a group should not be a comfort here.
The fact that 'antifa' is not a group should not be a comfort here.
I can't think why I'm remembering this incident from 2012, and my column in Theatre Record magazine:
(For non-Brits, Quentin Letts is a bilious right-wing political commentator for the Daily Mail, with a sideline as a bilious right-wing theatre reviewer for the Daily Mail.)
(For non-Brits, Quentin Letts is a bilious right-wing political commentator for the Daily Mail, with a sideline as a bilious right-wing theatre reviewer for the Daily Mail.)
![Quentin Letts on [Peter Brook's production] The Suit: “A song by Mr McNeill, delivered in a steady contralto, combines terrible descriptions of violence with a gentle, pretty melody of lament.” It certainly does. It’s called “Strange Fruit”, and was first performed by Billie Holiday in 1939; it went on to become her regular closing number and her biggest-selling record (over a million copies even at the time), and her version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1978. Other recordings of it have been made by artists as diverse as Nina Simone, UB40, Tori Amos, The Cocteau Twins, John Martyn, Robert Wyatt, Jeff Buckley, Diana Ross, The Gun Club, Lou Rawls, Sting and Gil Evans, and Siouxsie and the Banshees. In 1999, Time magazine called it the song of the century. And now Quentin has heard it at last, its history begins.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iivncipihk5k5ys26zhtb7ss/bafkreihnk6bovbx4yvcvwgmyu2aqkpsg57pkgo2rhe4vlvtrutgvdt4vbi@jpeg)
September 16, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I can't think why I'm remembering this incident from 2012, and my column in Theatre Record magazine:
(For non-Brits, Quentin Letts is a bilious right-wing political commentator for the Daily Mail, with a sideline as a bilious right-wing theatre reviewer for the Daily Mail.)
(For non-Brits, Quentin Letts is a bilious right-wing political commentator for the Daily Mail, with a sideline as a bilious right-wing theatre reviewer for the Daily Mail.)
Just seen the news about Robert Redford, and my first thought was, "Well, he's out of this shit."
Do you remember when we used to be unable to understand how people could accept theologies that said that this world is an agonising trial we must endure to enter the next?
Do you remember when we used to be unable to understand how people could accept theologies that said that this world is an agonising trial we must endure to enter the next?
September 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Just seen the news about Robert Redford, and my first thought was, "Well, he's out of this shit."
Do you remember when we used to be unable to understand how people could accept theologies that said that this world is an agonising trial we must endure to enter the next?
Do you remember when we used to be unable to understand how people could accept theologies that said that this world is an agonising trial we must endure to enter the next?
Nigel Farage grieves for his "friend" Charlie Kirk.
Nigel Farage advocates the kind of relaxation of gun control that Charlie Kirk supported so enthusiastically, waving away thousands of victims as a small price to pay. Before he was shot dead.
Nigel Farage is not very good at joined-up thinking.
Nigel Farage advocates the kind of relaxation of gun control that Charlie Kirk supported so enthusiastically, waving away thousands of victims as a small price to pay. Before he was shot dead.
Nigel Farage is not very good at joined-up thinking.
September 11, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Nigel Farage grieves for his "friend" Charlie Kirk.
Nigel Farage advocates the kind of relaxation of gun control that Charlie Kirk supported so enthusiastically, waving away thousands of victims as a small price to pay. Before he was shot dead.
Nigel Farage is not very good at joined-up thinking.
Nigel Farage advocates the kind of relaxation of gun control that Charlie Kirk supported so enthusiastically, waving away thousands of victims as a small price to pay. Before he was shot dead.
Nigel Farage is not very good at joined-up thinking.
Crikey. I've just discovered that, one of the flats I looked at back when I was first shopping for a place in Berlin, if it had had windows at the back of the building instead of into the courtyard, would have given me a view onto the transplanted and rebuilt house of Rosa Parks. Yeah, in Berlin.
September 5, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Crikey. I've just discovered that, one of the flats I looked at back when I was first shopping for a place in Berlin, if it had had windows at the back of the building instead of into the courtyard, would have given me a view onto the transplanted and rebuilt house of Rosa Parks. Yeah, in Berlin.
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
If you’re still on the fence about whether trans rights are really under attack, congratulations, you have the privilege of not being targeted.
But that privilege won’t protect you forever.
And when it’s your rights next, you’ll wish more people had spoken out when they came for us.
But that privilege won’t protect you forever.
And when it’s your rights next, you’ll wish more people had spoken out when they came for us.
August 14, 2025 at 1:32 PM
If you’re still on the fence about whether trans rights are really under attack, congratulations, you have the privilege of not being targeted.
But that privilege won’t protect you forever.
And when it’s your rights next, you’ll wish more people had spoken out when they came for us.
But that privilege won’t protect you forever.
And when it’s your rights next, you’ll wish more people had spoken out when they came for us.
This is a nonsense. It is impossible to click "Continue" meaningfully. The linked blog post does not explain what the intended changes are, only the areas in which they will occur. So we're being asked to "understand and agree" to things Bluesky are deliberately not telling us.
August 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This is a nonsense. It is impossible to click "Continue" meaningfully. The linked blog post does not explain what the intended changes are, only the areas in which they will occur. So we're being asked to "understand and agree" to things Bluesky are deliberately not telling us.
No. Not even dreams.
August 14, 2025 at 8:06 AM
No. Not even dreams.
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
i am begging everyone to stop repeating the myth that brains are underdeveloped until 25
www.sciencefocus.com/comment/brai...
www.sciencefocus.com/comment/brai...
‘Your brain isn’t fully formed until you’re 25’: A neuroscientist demolishes the greatest mind myth | BBC Science Focus Magazine
Whether you are young or old, your brain is always changing.
www.sciencefocus.com
August 13, 2025 at 4:56 PM
i am begging everyone to stop repeating the myth that brains are underdeveloped until 25
www.sciencefocus.com/comment/brai...
www.sciencefocus.com/comment/brai...
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
It doesn't matter how deeply rooted a constitutional right is, when it comes to trans people, it no longer matters. Free speech, due process, equal protection, parental rights, etc. all are contorted with pretzel logic to ensure the outcome that harms trans people.
August 12, 2025 at 5:23 PM
It doesn't matter how deeply rooted a constitutional right is, when it comes to trans people, it no longer matters. Free speech, due process, equal protection, parental rights, etc. all are contorted with pretzel logic to ensure the outcome that harms trans people.
Reposted by Ian Shuttleworth
Elon's AI is now actively recommending a second Holocaust
July 8, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Elon's AI is now actively recommending a second Holocaust
The one thing everybody knows about rhyming in English, er, isn't true.
July 7, 2025 at 8:49 PM
The one thing everybody knows about rhyming in English, er, isn't true.