Mark Tomlinson
marksceptic.bsky.social
Mark Tomlinson
@marksceptic.bsky.social
Co-Director of Institute for Life Course Health Research at Stellenbosch University, Cape Town. Researcher of stuff, opinionated and skeptical
The poster child for the dark triad of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism
November 8, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Not to mention stealing the discovery of the helix from a woman
RIP James Watson. Reading The Double Helix in high school was one of the first times I felt the thrill of scientific discovery. But his later statements were also a stark reminder that great science and deeply flawed views can coexist in one person.
The obituary of someone who gained widespread fame through remarkable achievements at a young age and then expected to be taken seriously for anything he said thereafter.
November 8, 2025 at 8:33 AM
I keep telling people that but nobody listens
November 7, 2025 at 7:18 PM
“I don’t want a comfortable country,” he said. “I don’t want a country without questions or a country without a cause.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘Beating, torturing, killing’: freed Palestinian author on life in Israeli jails
Nasser Abu Srour says outbreak of Gaza war after 7 October 2023 led to prisons becoming like ‘another front’
www.theguardian.com
November 4, 2025 at 8:28 AM
"The person who promised to drain the swamp is himself a swamp or a swamp creature (and I've alway perceived him as a sloshing, semi-liquid thing, like slime, jello, vomit, an animated meltdown, a blob of flesh in the process of liquefaction)."
www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-wreckag...
This Wreckage Courtesy of the Enshittification Administration: Notes On Late-State Trumpism
In 2022, the tech critic and privacy advocate Cory Doctorow coined the term enshittification to describe what's happened on the Internet to a lot of the most widely used platforms: Google, Amazon, Fac...
www.meditationsinanemergency.com
October 23, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Therein lies the problem. 50 year old moms and dads dressing up as frogs carrying witty placards. I find this Gothically sad. Young people ferment revolution. However well meaning, older people with much to lose, pose, dress up and march twice a year. Recipe for everything staying exactly as it is
The average age at the #nokings protest in suburban Brighton, NY must be 40-50 years old.

Also, lots of veterans and they're letting you know.
October 19, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The @theguardian.com newspaper is perhaps the best of an epically bad stable of traditional media. Israel has slaughtered close to 50 Palestinians since the ceasefire began and are now bombing. How does a journalist with a brain write a neutral headline like this?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reports of Israel airstrikes on Rafah as Gaza ceasefire deal comes under threat
Air force reportedly carries out attack after Hamas militants emerge from tunnels and shoot at Israeli soldiers
www.theguardian.com
October 19, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
While Israelis are celebrating wildly the release of their hostages, Palestinian families are terrorised that, if they dare celebrate the release of their own, hell will be visited upon them. This is not Peace breaking out. This is Apartheid at its worst! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘Locked up for 24 years’: release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees sparks joy and sorrow
Nearly 2,000 people, including about 1,700 seized from Gaza and held without charge, set free from Israeli jails
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
🔔 Introducing The Lancet Regional Health – Africa, a new #goldopenaccess journal promoting the advancement of clinical practice and health policy in Africa.

Explore the new journal at hubs.li/Q03KzMp00 #MedSky
October 2, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
"There is a war on children"

A clarion call for action and accountability from Dr. Thaer Ahmad who served in Gaza.

He reads the 'will' of a 10-year-old girl who Israel killed, as a way to honour her.

open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
Doctor Who Served in Gaza Reads the ‘Will’ of a 10-Year-Old Girl Who Was Killed
Dr. Thaer Ahmad gives an emotional statement at a high-level UN event about Israel's war on children in Gaza.
open.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
In a world filled with horrible news every day, this is really amazing. This is what SCIENCE is about. And this is just the beginning. AMAZING!!

"An emotional research team became tearful as they described how data shows the disease was slowed by 75% in patients."

www.bbc.com/news/article...
Huntington's disease successfully treated for first time
One of the most devastating diseases finally has a treatment that can slow its progression and transform lives, tearful doctors tell BBC.
www.bbc.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:41 AM
I trust that the silence of the world leaders listening to this moron was out of empathy and respect for elderly people with late stage Alzheimer's. Otherwise they are complicit
Just the President of the US telling the United Nations that the UK wants to go to Sharia law. How in the fuck did anyone look at this brainless sack of shit and say “Yep, that’s the guy to run the most powerful nation on earth”?
September 24, 2025 at 8:04 AM
This feels about as surprising as being told that gravity exists
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Elon Musk’s father accused of sexually abusing his children and stepchildren
Errol Musk, rarely mentioned by his tech billionaire son, dismisses New York Times report as ‘nonsense’ and ‘false’
www.theguardian.com
September 24, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
The Disney brand, and the USA brand, sinking together. Parody from Dutch TV
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vRX...
Jimmy Kimmel’s show has been cancelled | The New Disney | LUBACH
YouTube video by LUBACH
www.youtube.com
September 20, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Such an interesting post. Imagine having to wait for a book for a week or two. Wait! Order a book every 2 weeks. Then you will never have to wait. Read a library book. Just wait.
September 20, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Hiroshima? Warsaw ghetto? Dresden? No - Gaza
September 17, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
Kafka-land at UC Berkeley

www.thenation.com/article/soci...
September 17, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Reposted by Mark Tomlinson
If we truly cared about children, we would

- ensure they had easy access to lifesaving vaccines

- enact policies to control guns

- protect them in conflicts and wars

- tackle climate change which jeopardizes their future

Adults are failing on all the above
September 16, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Funny thing this. Whenever somebody says their conscience is clear, you kind of know....... www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘My conscience is clear’: Prince Harry on Ukraine, his family and the media
Exclusive: The duke talks about the cost of war, his portrayal in the press and boxing as the Guardian joins him on a visit to Kyiv
www.theguardian.com
September 15, 2025 at 6:44 AM