Francesca S.
@stefafra.bsky.social
Botanist, scientist, on a bike from A to B.🧫🧬🥼🥦
Likes plants and fungi, in the lab and in the kitchen.
European in UK:🇪🇺 🇮🇹🇳🇱🇨🇭
She/her
Likes plants and fungi, in the lab and in the kitchen.
European in UK:🇪🇺 🇮🇹🇳🇱🇨🇭
She/her
Reposted by Francesca S.
NEW: The Trump administration is directing USDA employees to investigate foreign scientists who collaborate with the agency on research papers for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.”
By @lisalsong.bsky.social and @fastlerner.bsky.social
By @lisalsong.bsky.social and @fastlerner.bsky.social
Trump Administration Orders USDA Employees to Investigate Foreign Researchers They Work With
The new directive asks workers to check the backgrounds of foreign nationals collaborating with the department’s scientists for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.” Their names are being sen...
www.propublica.org
January 16, 2026 at 1:00 PM
NEW: The Trump administration is directing USDA employees to investigate foreign scientists who collaborate with the agency on research papers for evidence of “subversive or criminal activity.”
By @lisalsong.bsky.social and @fastlerner.bsky.social
By @lisalsong.bsky.social and @fastlerner.bsky.social
Reposted by Francesca S.
This might be the single most pathetic thing I've seen in my adult life.
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has given her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House, saying it was a recognition of his commitment to her country's freedom
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Machado presents Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
Trump thanked Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, calling it "a wonderful gesture of mutual respect".
www.bbc.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:57 AM
This might be the single most pathetic thing I've seen in my adult life.
Reposted by Francesca S.
Nobody wants to be proved right about any of this, but what Miller, Vought and others in Trump's circle saw as legal/constitutional opportunities with unchecked executive power could easily - perhaps more easily - happen here.
January 15, 2026 at 6:21 PM
Nobody wants to be proved right about any of this, but what Miller, Vought and others in Trump's circle saw as legal/constitutional opportunities with unchecked executive power could easily - perhaps more easily - happen here.
Reposted by Francesca S.
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
NEW
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution
In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK
By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
January 15, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Reminder that in the UK an incoming radical, populist government would have immediate access to immense, unchecked executive power.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
And the current government is doing nothing to protect us from that.
Reposted by Francesca S.
If this greedy and ridiculous man were to become Prime Minister, he'd be responsible for our security, safety, our NHS, our economy, and the welfare of our children.
Meanwhile he can't be bothered to do even basic checks on the Cameos that rake in £141,000 for him
metro.co.uk/2026/01/15/i...
Meanwhile he can't be bothered to do even basic checks on the Cameos that rake in £141,000 for him
metro.co.uk/2026/01/15/i...
Nigel Farage ‘tricked into paying tribute to Ian Watkins’
It cost £98 for The Reform UK leader to film the clip on his Cameo account
metro.co.uk
January 16, 2026 at 8:01 AM
If this greedy and ridiculous man were to become Prime Minister, he'd be responsible for our security, safety, our NHS, our economy, and the welfare of our children.
Meanwhile he can't be bothered to do even basic checks on the Cameos that rake in £141,000 for him
metro.co.uk/2026/01/15/i...
Meanwhile he can't be bothered to do even basic checks on the Cameos that rake in £141,000 for him
metro.co.uk/2026/01/15/i...
Reposted by Francesca S.
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool
Despite restrictions announced this week, Guardian reporters find standalone app continues to allow posting of nonconsensual content
www.theguardian.com
January 16, 2026 at 8:03 AM
X still allowing users to post sexualised images generated by Grok AI tool www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Francesca S.
One of Robert Jenrick's first acts as a minister was a Small Town initiative. He launched it in Wolverhampton, which is actually a city and prides itself on no longer being a town, thus causing widespread offence. It was to be the peak of his ministerial career.
“Later, it emerged that Jenrick had been delayed because he had got lost in the corridors of Millbank Tower, getting stuck one floor below the press conference location after failing to find his way up the stairs.”
Did anyone ever think Honest Bob was clever at anything other than grifting? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
January 16, 2026 at 8:43 AM
One of Robert Jenrick's first acts as a minister was a Small Town initiative. He launched it in Wolverhampton, which is actually a city and prides itself on no longer being a town, thus causing widespread offence. It was to be the peak of his ministerial career.
Reposted by Francesca S.
We're happier being the UK. The UK is far safer and nicer than USA. (Disregard that daft Telegraph story, only very right wing people read that)
January 15, 2026 at 10:56 PM
We're happier being the UK. The UK is far safer and nicer than USA. (Disregard that daft Telegraph story, only very right wing people read that)
Reposted by Francesca S.
they’ll blame you for being in their way even when they’re the ones who invaded the neighborhood where your baby was sleeping inside your home
January 15, 2026 at 2:34 PM
they’ll blame you for being in their way even when they’re the ones who invaded the neighborhood where your baby was sleeping inside your home
Reposted by Francesca S.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman persuaded Trump to “give Iran a chance”, AFP reports. Riyadh, Doha, and Muscat warned Washington that striking Tehran would lead to “serious consequences”.
“A chance”.
“A chance”.
January 15, 2026 at 2:44 PM
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman persuaded Trump to “give Iran a chance”, AFP reports. Riyadh, Doha, and Muscat warned Washington that striking Tehran would lead to “serious consequences”.
“A chance”.
“A chance”.
Reposted by Francesca S.
This is no longer just about assisted dying, writes Stephen McNair. It’s about constitutional propriety. When MPs have approved, the public supports it, and a Lords majority may exist. Should a tiny minority be able to stop a decision altogether?
eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/sho...
eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/sho...
Should seven people be able to block a popular law?
After an unprecedented degree of parliamentary scrutiny, the Terminally Ill Adults bill now risks defeat by just seven unelected peers
eastangliabylines.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 3:01 PM
This is no longer just about assisted dying, writes Stephen McNair. It’s about constitutional propriety. When MPs have approved, the public supports it, and a Lords majority may exist. Should a tiny minority be able to stop a decision altogether?
eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/sho...
eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/sho...
Reposted by Francesca S.
Jenrick apparently "left his resignation speech printed out and hanging around" and "someone got hold of it".
He's got the brains of a 4 year old child - and that kid will be glad to have got rid of them.
He's got the brains of a 4 year old child - and that kid will be glad to have got rid of them.
BREAKING Kemi Badenoch has sacked Robert Jenrick from the shadow cabinet, removed the whip and suspended his party membership.
She says she was "presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" to Reform
She says she was "presented with clear, irrefutable evidence that he was plotting in secret to defect" to Reform
January 15, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Jenrick apparently "left his resignation speech printed out and hanging around" and "someone got hold of it".
He's got the brains of a 4 year old child - and that kid will be glad to have got rid of them.
He's got the brains of a 4 year old child - and that kid will be glad to have got rid of them.
Reposted by Francesca S.
a huge part of the reason that we remain mired in the push-pull of resistance against chaotic authoritarianism is because the business class remains cowed and too afraid to firmly push back on the president in defense of american values
patriotism must prevail
patriotism must prevail
January 15, 2026 at 3:28 AM
a huge part of the reason that we remain mired in the push-pull of resistance against chaotic authoritarianism is because the business class remains cowed and too afraid to firmly push back on the president in defense of american values
patriotism must prevail
patriotism must prevail
I lived in flat in Switzerland: you needed to know the various kind of recycling and general waste front of house pick up.. more or less the same
January 14, 2026 at 6:36 PM
I lived in flat in Switzerland: you needed to know the various kind of recycling and general waste front of house pick up.. more or less the same
Reposted by Francesca S.
Grok is just the tip of the iceberg, the "use of AI to harm women has only just begun" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Use of AI to harm women has only just begun, experts warn
While Grok has introduced belated safeguards to prevent sexualised AI imagery, other tools have far fewer limits
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Grok is just the tip of the iceberg, the "use of AI to harm women has only just begun" www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Francesca S.
Larry! Didn't know it was your birthday yesterday. I'll join Maximus the Belgian PM's cat to wish you a very happy birthday. @number10cat.bsky.social
January 14, 2026 at 12:22 PM
Larry! Didn't know it was your birthday yesterday. I'll join Maximus the Belgian PM's cat to wish you a very happy birthday. @number10cat.bsky.social
Reposted by Francesca S.
A war cry buried for 2,000 year.
Archaeologists have uncovered a terrifying Celtic battle instrument near Thetford – possibly linked to Queen Boudica herself.
Read about it before tonight’s “Digging for Britain” on BBC 2 ⤵️
Archaeologists have uncovered a terrifying Celtic battle instrument near Thetford – possibly linked to Queen Boudica herself.
Read about it before tonight’s “Digging for Britain” on BBC 2 ⤵️
A historic find in Norfolk: the instruments of Iron Age war
A remarkable hoard in West Norfolk is exciting archaelogists and scholars who study the lives and battles of Boudica and her Norfolk Iceni
eastangliabylines.co.uk
January 14, 2026 at 7:14 AM
A war cry buried for 2,000 year.
Archaeologists have uncovered a terrifying Celtic battle instrument near Thetford – possibly linked to Queen Boudica herself.
Read about it before tonight’s “Digging for Britain” on BBC 2 ⤵️
Archaeologists have uncovered a terrifying Celtic battle instrument near Thetford – possibly linked to Queen Boudica herself.
Read about it before tonight’s “Digging for Britain” on BBC 2 ⤵️
Reposted by Francesca S.
You may deride lawyers generally, and you maybe right to do so.
But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.
Well done these guys on resigning.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.
Well done these guys on resigning.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Federal prosecutors quit in protest over lack of investigation into ICE shooting
Six lawyers from US attorney’s office in Minnesota quit along with four leaders of DoJ’s civil rights division
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 10:24 PM
You may deride lawyers generally, and you maybe right to do so.
But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.
Well done these guys on resigning.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
But sometimes, even lawyers can be pushed too far.
Well done these guys on resigning.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
Reposted by Francesca S.
Haidt is not an expert, he’s a polemicist and a moral panic entrepreneur
Wes Streeting asks US expert Jonathan Haidt to address officials on social media ban for under-16s
Wes Streeting asks US expert Jonathan Haidt to address officials on social media ban for under-16s
Exclusive: Health secretary issues invitation in push for UK to consider copying landmark restrictions in Australia
Wes Streeting has asked Jonathan Haidt, a bestselling author and high-profile advocate of banning social media for under-16s, to speak to his officials in his push for the UK to consider following a landmark ban in Australia.
The health secretary has invited Haidt to address an event with staff, charities and MPs after the prime minister, Keir Starmer, said he was open to stricter limits for young people. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 14, 2026 at 7:50 AM
Haidt is not an expert, he’s a polemicist and a moral panic entrepreneur
Reposted by Francesca S.
• Africa is about 14 times bigger than Greenland
• Greenland is about 1.5 times bigger than Alaska
• Alaska is about twice as big as Texas
So…it’s *fairly* big. But it’s also mostly unpopulated and surrounded on all sides by traditional US allies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Greenland is about 1.5 times bigger than Alaska
• Alaska is about twice as big as Texas
So…it’s *fairly* big. But it’s also mostly unpopulated and surrounded on all sides by traditional US allies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
January 13, 2026 at 7:11 PM
• Africa is about 14 times bigger than Greenland
• Greenland is about 1.5 times bigger than Alaska
• Alaska is about twice as big as Texas
So…it’s *fairly* big. But it’s also mostly unpopulated and surrounded on all sides by traditional US allies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
• Greenland is about 1.5 times bigger than Alaska
• Alaska is about twice as big as Texas
So…it’s *fairly* big. But it’s also mostly unpopulated and surrounded on all sides by traditional US allies. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
At one workplace I worked they hired students to do cleaning hours. One guy was "cleaning" too well: wallets, rucksacks, pockets.. I "lost" my wallet. One rucksack was found a month later, under a cupboard, it had one very very mouldy cheese sandwich inside, my friend never got the smell off.
January 13, 2026 at 8:48 PM
At one workplace I worked they hired students to do cleaning hours. One guy was "cleaning" too well: wallets, rucksacks, pockets.. I "lost" my wallet. One rucksack was found a month later, under a cupboard, it had one very very mouldy cheese sandwich inside, my friend never got the smell off.
Reposted by Francesca S.
It's pretty mad anyone thinks a rampant transphobe is a "moral compass" in the first place.
Every serious study shows that denying gender affirming care causes more harm to young people than providing it, but this isn't about "protection". It's about eradication of trans and non-binary individuals.
Every serious study shows that denying gender affirming care causes more harm to young people than providing it, but this isn't about "protection". It's about eradication of trans and non-binary individuals.
January 13, 2026 at 8:21 PM
It's pretty mad anyone thinks a rampant transphobe is a "moral compass" in the first place.
Every serious study shows that denying gender affirming care causes more harm to young people than providing it, but this isn't about "protection". It's about eradication of trans and non-binary individuals.
Every serious study shows that denying gender affirming care causes more harm to young people than providing it, but this isn't about "protection". It's about eradication of trans and non-binary individuals.
Reposted by Francesca S.
Fox News is going all-in on manufacturing consent to murder liberal white women:
Fox News' Will Cain: “There's a weird kind of smugness... in the way that some of these liberal white women interact with authority”
January 13, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Fox News is going all-in on manufacturing consent to murder liberal white women:
Reposted by Francesca S.
“Many of ICE’s critics worry that the agency is hoovering up pro-Trump thugs…for a domestic security force loyal to the president. The truth, my experience suggests, is perhaps even scarier: ICE’s recruitment push is so sloppy that the admin effectively has no idea who’s joining the agency’s ranks.”
A few months ago, ICE hired me
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
I didn't sign and submit any paperwork. I almost certainly failed the drug test. I'm real outspoken about my opposition to the Trump administration, and I am extremely googlable
And yet, there it was, in plain English. "Welcome to ICE!"
My latest for Slate
You’ve Heard About Who ICE Is Recruiting. The Truth Is Far Worse. I’m the Proof.
What happens when you do minimal screening before hiring agents, arming them, and sending them into the streets? We're all finding out.
slate.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:23 PM
“Many of ICE’s critics worry that the agency is hoovering up pro-Trump thugs…for a domestic security force loyal to the president. The truth, my experience suggests, is perhaps even scarier: ICE’s recruitment push is so sloppy that the admin effectively has no idea who’s joining the agency’s ranks.”