Tom Phillips
@tiphillips.bsky.social
Retired from Dairy farm consultancy and Agricultural Science Academic. Mt Taranaki my favourite mountain, Melbourne the best city! Now in the UK, gardening & cooking
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Christmas decorations......in Australia......
December 8, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Christmas decorations......in Australia......
Reposted by Tom Phillips
The calls from America this weekend to "abolish the EU" are for one simple reason: the EU is the only thing that can keep European nation-states from becoming Russian or American vassals.
The US has declared rhetorical war on the EU
The calls from America this weekend to destroy the EU are revealing. They hate the union because it's the only thing that can keep European countries from being Russian or American vassals.
davekeating.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:05 AM
The calls from America this weekend to "abolish the EU" are for one simple reason: the EU is the only thing that can keep European nation-states from becoming Russian or American vassals.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
ICE is going after people who commit fewer crimes than U.S. born citizens. They're robbing people, hurting people, using racial profiling, violating due process, hurting children, and going after American citizens while they do. This is an illegal criminal enterprise from head to toe.
December 8, 2025 at 10:19 PM
ICE is going after people who commit fewer crimes than U.S. born citizens. They're robbing people, hurting people, using racial profiling, violating due process, hurting children, and going after American citizens while they do. This is an illegal criminal enterprise from head to toe.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Collapse of key Atlantic current could bring extreme drought to Europe for centuries, study finds. @swinda.bsky.social
That's an under-appreciated impact of #AMOC shutdown, of particular concern given the recent results showing much higher likelihood of this. 1/2
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
That's an under-appreciated impact of #AMOC shutdown, of particular concern given the recent results showing much higher likelihood of this. 1/2
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
December 5, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Collapse of key Atlantic current could bring extreme drought to Europe for centuries, study finds. @swinda.bsky.social
That's an under-appreciated impact of #AMOC shutdown, of particular concern given the recent results showing much higher likelihood of this. 1/2
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
That's an under-appreciated impact of #AMOC shutdown, of particular concern given the recent results showing much higher likelihood of this. 1/2
www.livescience.com/planet-earth...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
My attempt to cut through some of the misinformation around farming and water quality as we approach decision time on Ireland’s nitrates derogation
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
Ireland's lax approach to inspecting farms and enforcing rules
The EU Nitrates Committee meets tomorrow and may extend Ireland's nitrates derogation by up to three years. At the same time we need to protect or restore water quality on a national scale writes ecol...
www.irishexaminer.com
December 7, 2025 at 9:10 AM
My attempt to cut through some of the misinformation around farming and water quality as we approach decision time on Ireland’s nitrates derogation
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/ou...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
And why the new trains are needed: www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
‘We couldn’t have done this before’: On board the Dublin-Belfast Enterprise service
Passenger numbers on the Enterprise service are up by 40% in a year
www.irishtimes.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:06 PM
And why the new trains are needed: www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
“A bailout is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Government bailouts do not make up for our loss of income... We want markets for our crops.” —Soybean farmer John Bartman
www.thebulwark.com/p/heiress-so...
www.thebulwark.com/p/heiress-so...
The Disney Heiress, the Soybean Farmer, and Trump’s Dangerous Decisions
Two views of how the president’s senseless economic and moral acts put the country at risk.
www.thebulwark.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:19 PM
“A bailout is like putting a Band-Aid on a bullet wound. Government bailouts do not make up for our loss of income... We want markets for our crops.” —Soybean farmer John Bartman
www.thebulwark.com/p/heiress-so...
www.thebulwark.com/p/heiress-so...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Every real economist in America warned at the time he was imposing tariffs that it would affect each of these things, and deportations have affected the ability of farmers to access labor. This is all happening because of one man.
December 8, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Every real economist in America warned at the time he was imposing tariffs that it would affect each of these things, and deportations have affected the ability of farmers to access labor. This is all happening because of one man.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com
November 7, 2025 at 4:49 PM
🔴We Need to Talk About Michael Gove and Crony Covid Contracts
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Gove claims he had no “active role” in the procurement of Covid PPE during the pandemic, yet evidence suggests he was involved in multiple VIP deals worth over £1billion, reports Russell Scott
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/we-need-to...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and elsewhere, this is where the future lies. Scotland needs to stop arsing about with roads and start building public transport infrastructure for the future.
Perhaps the smartest #ClimateAction investment in cities is in public transit. While others make excuses, Paris is building a WHOLE NEW METRO NETWORK CONNECTING SUBURBS.
“…the Grand Paris Express, a new 200km system with 4 new lines & 68 new stations.”
#ActionStartsHere
@mayors4climate.bsky.social
“…the Grand Paris Express, a new 200km system with 4 new lines & 68 new stations.”
#ActionStartsHere
@mayors4climate.bsky.social
Paris is getting a whole new Metro network. And it’s huge | CNN
The Grand Paris Express will add four lines, 68 stations and 200 kilometers of track to the French capital’s 120-year-old Metro system, providing vital suburban links – just not quite in time for the ...
www.cnn.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and elsewhere, this is where the future lies. Scotland needs to stop arsing about with roads and start building public transport infrastructure for the future.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
We have a tranaport system that kills a human being every 1.4 days, yet no-one wants to meddle with the fundamentals. It's all in the "too hard" basket.
Let's just "encourage everyone to share the road".
Because an aggressive idiot driving a hi-lift Ford Ranger is clearly a great sharer. 🙄 4/n
Let's just "encourage everyone to share the road".
Because an aggressive idiot driving a hi-lift Ford Ranger is clearly a great sharer. 🙄 4/n
December 8, 2025 at 8:31 AM
We have a tranaport system that kills a human being every 1.4 days, yet no-one wants to meddle with the fundamentals. It's all in the "too hard" basket.
Let's just "encourage everyone to share the road".
Because an aggressive idiot driving a hi-lift Ford Ranger is clearly a great sharer. 🙄 4/n
Let's just "encourage everyone to share the road".
Because an aggressive idiot driving a hi-lift Ford Ranger is clearly a great sharer. 🙄 4/n
Reposted by Tom Phillips
New Zealand combines very high car ownership rates with the worst road safety record in the OECD.
Deaths, as far as I can see, are widely regarded as "collateral damage" in the transport system.
Where is the popular outrage? As far as I can see there isn't any.
nzroads.tfwelch.com/dashboard/
3/n
Deaths, as far as I can see, are widely regarded as "collateral damage" in the transport system.
Where is the popular outrage? As far as I can see there isn't any.
nzroads.tfwelch.com/dashboard/
3/n
NZ Road Safety Dashboard
nzroads.tfwelch.com
December 8, 2025 at 8:28 AM
New Zealand combines very high car ownership rates with the worst road safety record in the OECD.
Deaths, as far as I can see, are widely regarded as "collateral damage" in the transport system.
Where is the popular outrage? As far as I can see there isn't any.
nzroads.tfwelch.com/dashboard/
3/n
Deaths, as far as I can see, are widely regarded as "collateral damage" in the transport system.
Where is the popular outrage? As far as I can see there isn't any.
nzroads.tfwelch.com/dashboard/
3/n
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Rant alert: Trump’s national security strategy trashing the EU and core values at heart of transatlantic alliance makes it all the more urgent for Starmer to pursue bolder reset with EU. His timidity loses valuable time and risks leaving us even more subject to events rather than shaping them. 🧵
🔴‘Keir Starmer’s Brexit Blind Spot Leaves Britain With a Major Missed Opportunity’
It was striking that the most impressive recent speech on Britain’s future in Europe came not from our current Prime Minister, but from one of his Conservative predecessors, argues @alexhh.bsky.social
It was striking that the most impressive recent speech on Britain’s future in Europe came not from our current Prime Minister, but from one of his Conservative predecessors, argues @alexhh.bsky.social
'Keir Starmer's Brexit Blind Spot Leaves Britain With a Major Missed Opportunity'
It was striking that the most impressive speech on Britain's future in Europe this week came not from our current Prime Minister, but from one of his Conservative predecessors, argues Alexandra Hall H...
bylinetimes.com
December 6, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Rant alert: Trump’s national security strategy trashing the EU and core values at heart of transatlantic alliance makes it all the more urgent for Starmer to pursue bolder reset with EU. His timidity loses valuable time and risks leaving us even more subject to events rather than shaping them. 🧵
Reposted by Tom Phillips
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
December 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Covid fraud under the Tories cost the taxpayer £10.9 billion
The counter-fraud and error measures during the pandemic under the Conservative Government were accused of being 'so lax they may as well have left the door wide open'
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
The counter-fraud and error measures during the pandemic under the Conservative Government were accused of being 'so lax they may as well have left the door wide open'
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Covid fraud under the Tories cost the taxpayer £10.9 billion
The counter-fraud and error measures during the pandemic under the Conservative Government were accused of being 'so lax they may as well have left the door wide open'
www.mirror.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 7:07 AM
Covid fraud under the Tories cost the taxpayer £10.9 billion
The counter-fraud and error measures during the pandemic under the Conservative Government were accused of being 'so lax they may as well have left the door wide open'
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
The counter-fraud and error measures during the pandemic under the Conservative Government were accused of being 'so lax they may as well have left the door wide open'
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
"Morocco, which has endured seven years of drought, plans to supply 60% of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030"
#Morocco 🇲🇦
#ClimateCrisis
#Morocco 🇲🇦
#ClimateCrisis
Drought-hit Morocco turns to desalination to boost drinking water supplies - TRT Afrika English
Droughts have dried up some of Morocco's main water reservoirs and depleted underground resources.
www.trtafrika.com
December 6, 2025 at 7:07 AM
"Morocco, which has endured seven years of drought, plans to supply 60% of its drinking water from treated seawater by 2030"
#Morocco 🇲🇦
#ClimateCrisis
#Morocco 🇲🇦
#ClimateCrisis
Reposted by Tom Phillips
"Iraq has lost nearly 30% of its productive agricultural land over the past 3 decades due to #climate pressures... Rural provinces such as Nineveh, Babil, & Diyala have reported crop yield reductions of 40–70%, intensifying economic pressures & accelerating migration"
Iraq 🇮🇶
#ClimateCrisis
Iraq 🇮🇶
#ClimateCrisis
Iraq burns: Dust, drought ravage the nation's core - Shafaq News
Shafaq News
At dawn in Baghdad, the first thing many residents
notice isn’t the warmth of the sunrise but the taste of the air — a faint
bitterness settling on balconies, market stalls, and palm-line
shafaq.com
December 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
"Iraq has lost nearly 30% of its productive agricultural land over the past 3 decades due to #climate pressures... Rural provinces such as Nineveh, Babil, & Diyala have reported crop yield reductions of 40–70%, intensifying economic pressures & accelerating migration"
Iraq 🇮🇶
#ClimateCrisis
Iraq 🇮🇶
#ClimateCrisis
Reposted by Tom Phillips
The orange felon insults yet another female reporter by calling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” after she inquired about the price of his trashy dictator ballroom after it increased by another $100M.
This is what happens when you normalize a criminal for a decade.
This is what happens when you normalize a criminal for a decade.
December 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
The orange felon insults yet another female reporter by calling CNN’s Kaitlan Collins “stupid and nasty” after she inquired about the price of his trashy dictator ballroom after it increased by another $100M.
This is what happens when you normalize a criminal for a decade.
This is what happens when you normalize a criminal for a decade.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Before manufactured Zionism, the Middle East countries got along relatively well.
Zionism had nothing to do with holy land. In fact, those forming the state of Israel looked at Argentina to colonize because of their fertile land.
Palestine just made better propaganda.
Zionism had nothing to do with holy land. In fact, those forming the state of Israel looked at Argentina to colonize because of their fertile land.
Palestine just made better propaganda.
December 6, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Before manufactured Zionism, the Middle East countries got along relatively well.
Zionism had nothing to do with holy land. In fact, those forming the state of Israel looked at Argentina to colonize because of their fertile land.
Palestine just made better propaganda.
Zionism had nothing to do with holy land. In fact, those forming the state of Israel looked at Argentina to colonize because of their fertile land.
Palestine just made better propaganda.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
December 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Read this: www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Tr*mp started his career in the public eye by pretending to fire people from fake jobs. Now he’s worked his way up to being in charge of an administration that has murdered* at least 86 people. What do you think is next?
*It’s not a war crime, since we’re not at war. It’s just murder.
*It’s not a war crime, since we’re not at war. It’s just murder.
December 6, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Tr*mp started his career in the public eye by pretending to fire people from fake jobs. Now he’s worked his way up to being in charge of an administration that has murdered* at least 86 people. What do you think is next?
*It’s not a war crime, since we’re not at war. It’s just murder.
*It’s not a war crime, since we’re not at war. It’s just murder.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
How to buy yourself a needy malignant narcissist? Just offer him a phony, made up "Peace Prize" & he's all your's!!!
No need for a formal ceremony as he'll snatch from the box & put it on all by himself. Both laughably pathetic AND pathetically laughable. 🤡 🫣
No need for a formal ceremony as he'll snatch from the box & put it on all by himself. Both laughably pathetic AND pathetically laughable. 🤡 🫣
December 6, 2025 at 7:57 PM
How to buy yourself a needy malignant narcissist? Just offer him a phony, made up "Peace Prize" & he's all your's!!!
No need for a formal ceremony as he'll snatch from the box & put it on all by himself. Both laughably pathetic AND pathetically laughable. 🤡 🫣
No need for a formal ceremony as he'll snatch from the box & put it on all by himself. Both laughably pathetic AND pathetically laughable. 🤡 🫣
Reposted by Tom Phillips
other98
He called her "garbage" by name. The President of the United States called a sitting US Representative, and a child immigrant from Somalia, "garbage." This can never become normal. WE MUST REMOVE THIS MAN FROM POWER.
He called her "garbage" by name. The President of the United States called a sitting US Representative, and a child immigrant from Somalia, "garbage." This can never become normal. WE MUST REMOVE THIS MAN FROM POWER.
December 5, 2025 at 6:18 PM
other98
He called her "garbage" by name. The President of the United States called a sitting US Representative, and a child immigrant from Somalia, "garbage." This can never become normal. WE MUST REMOVE THIS MAN FROM POWER.
He called her "garbage" by name. The President of the United States called a sitting US Representative, and a child immigrant from Somalia, "garbage." This can never become normal. WE MUST REMOVE THIS MAN FROM POWER.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Low-traffic neighborhoods reduce the nuisance of rat-running motorists and create safe space for walking and biking.
December 5, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Low-traffic neighborhoods reduce the nuisance of rat-running motorists and create safe space for walking and biking.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
The line here that made my ears prick up (and should really spook Labour) is the third one (that we need “fair and managed” migration). That’s not the answer of someone who has come to get his 12 per cent. That’s a much more “no, when I say I want to replace Labour, I’m not coming to play” line.
Zack Polanski, "Labour are a government of cowards because you won't tell people the truth about migration"
"Migration is a positive thing for our country"
"We need migration"
"We need fair and managed migration"
"And that's what will change this conversation"
*huge clap* #BBCQT
"Migration is a positive thing for our country"
"We need migration"
"We need fair and managed migration"
"And that's what will change this conversation"
*huge clap* #BBCQT
December 5, 2025 at 6:15 PM
The line here that made my ears prick up (and should really spook Labour) is the third one (that we need “fair and managed” migration). That’s not the answer of someone who has come to get his 12 per cent. That’s a much more “no, when I say I want to replace Labour, I’m not coming to play” line.