IanJ
@instantsquid.bsky.social
Guardian-reading, tofu-eating, wokerati
Likes music, cycling, gardening and Warhammer (but not at the same time)
Likes music, cycling, gardening and Warhammer (but not at the same time)
@gwr.com Either I am extraordinarily unlucky or the service between Reading and Basingstoke is genuinely awful. I use it perhaps once or twice a month and experience delays every single time.
July 11, 2025 at 4:14 PM
@gwr.com Either I am extraordinarily unlucky or the service between Reading and Basingstoke is genuinely awful. I use it perhaps once or twice a month and experience delays every single time.
Reposted by IanJ
Brutal : I voted Labour for "change". I didn't realise it would be *Climate* change.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/jan/30/ben-jennings-labour-climate-climbdown-cartoon
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/jan/30/ben-jennings-labour-climate-climbdown-cartoon
January 31, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Brutal : I voted Labour for "change". I didn't realise it would be *Climate* change.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/jan/30/ben-jennings-labour-climate-climbdown-cartoon
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/jan/30/ben-jennings-labour-climate-climbdown-cartoon
Reposted by IanJ
According to the City of Paris, in the last 10 years 150,000 trees have been planted and 45 hectares of parks created in the city, all intended to not only improve quality-of-life today, but also help the city adapt to and manage summer heatwaves of 50℃ (122F) by 2050.
Plant a lot more urban trees.
Plant a lot more urban trees.
January 23, 2025 at 6:00 PM
According to the City of Paris, in the last 10 years 150,000 trees have been planted and 45 hectares of parks created in the city, all intended to not only improve quality-of-life today, but also help the city adapt to and manage summer heatwaves of 50℃ (122F) by 2050.
Plant a lot more urban trees.
Plant a lot more urban trees.
Reposted by IanJ
“The dream of technology is now under the control of men who are vain, foolish, self-centred, amoral, desperate for power, and in some cases openly fascistic”
@iandunt.bsky.social
iandunt.substack.com/p/how-to-res...
How to resist the tech overlords
Big tech has now made its position clear. It is on the far-right. Here's what happens next.
iandunt.substack.com
January 26, 2025 at 7:11 AM
“The dream of technology is now under the control of men who are vain, foolish, self-centred, amoral, desperate for power, and in some cases openly fascistic”
@iandunt.bsky.social
iandunt.substack.com/p/how-to-res...
Reposted by IanJ
Carbon emissions are NOT falling. They're rising faster than ever.
Any politician not telling voters what this means & why we need to take all possible measures to avoid accelerating economic & social collapse is in politics for all the wrong reasons. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Any politician not telling voters what this means & why we need to take all possible measures to avoid accelerating economic & social collapse is in politics for all the wrong reasons. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Planet-warming carbon dioxide levels rose more than ever in 2024
The record rise is incompatible with keeping global warming to 1.5C according to the Met Office.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 18, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Carbon emissions are NOT falling. They're rising faster than ever.
Any politician not telling voters what this means & why we need to take all possible measures to avoid accelerating economic & social collapse is in politics for all the wrong reasons. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Any politician not telling voters what this means & why we need to take all possible measures to avoid accelerating economic & social collapse is in politics for all the wrong reasons. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by IanJ
It's been a terrible week. A terrible, terrible week. The worst people on earth are full of energy and vigour, the best are defined by anxiety and self-doubt. Here are three simple rules to surviving the next four years, because by God we'll need them iandunt.substack.com/p/a-little-b...
A little bit of hope after a terrible week
A survival guide to the next four years.
iandunt.substack.com
January 10, 2025 at 12:00 PM
It's been a terrible week. A terrible, terrible week. The worst people on earth are full of energy and vigour, the best are defined by anxiety and self-doubt. Here are three simple rules to surviving the next four years, because by God we'll need them iandunt.substack.com/p/a-little-b...
Reposted by IanJ
Weaker, poorer, unhappier, more divided and with an emboldened and radicalised loud minority who champion overt racism and selling out to Musk and Trump…
This is where Brexit has led us. Over and above these dismal numbers. That is the true cost.
This is where Brexit has led us. Over and above these dismal numbers. That is the true cost.
January 10, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Weaker, poorer, unhappier, more divided and with an emboldened and radicalised loud minority who champion overt racism and selling out to Musk and Trump…
This is where Brexit has led us. Over and above these dismal numbers. That is the true cost.
This is where Brexit has led us. Over and above these dismal numbers. That is the true cost.
Reposted by IanJ
It’s an indictment of UK media that no one is asking why the government is appealing against the high court ruling that found Suella Braverman’s protest law to be illegal. Her move to push this through using secondary legislation was described in the House of Lords as “a constitutional outrage”
With reports that Britain is THREE TIMES more likely to arrest climate activists than other countries everyone should watch this film
The court’s decision in @libertyhq.bsky.social’s case is due in the coming weeks
youtu.be/qk5aiRXRuU0?...
The court’s decision in @libertyhq.bsky.social’s case is due in the coming weeks
youtu.be/qk5aiRXRuU0?...
Labour Government backs Tory power grab by appealing Liberty High court victory
YouTube video by Peter Stefanovic
youtu.be
January 10, 2025 at 8:13 AM
It’s an indictment of UK media that no one is asking why the government is appealing against the high court ruling that found Suella Braverman’s protest law to be illegal. Her move to push this through using secondary legislation was described in the House of Lords as “a constitutional outrage”
Reposted by IanJ
I discussed the role that human-caused climate change is playing in the devastating Southern California wildfires with #BriannaKeilar on @cnn.com early today:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVs...
Michael Mann on CNN with Brianna Keilar on Climate Change & Current So. Cal Wildfires (JAN 8 2025)
YouTube video by Michael Mann
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2025 at 1:41 AM
I discussed the role that human-caused climate change is playing in the devastating Southern California wildfires with #BriannaKeilar on @cnn.com early today:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVs...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=piVs...
Reposted by IanJ
Reposted by IanJ
Hot Type: The Cult of the Billionaire
In my latest column for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, I write that instead of glorifying hoarders of vast un-spendable wealth, the world must finally wake up to the huge damage they are doing.
1/🧵
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/hot-type-t...
In my latest column for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, I write that instead of glorifying hoarders of vast un-spendable wealth, the world must finally wake up to the huge damage they are doing.
1/🧵
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/hot-type-t...
Hot Type: The Cult of the Billionaire
Instead of glorifying hoarders of vast un-spendable wealth, the world must finally wake up to the huge damage they are doing, writes Heidi Siegmund Cuda
www.bylinesupplement.com
December 17, 2024 at 5:44 PM
Hot Type: The Cult of the Billionaire
In my latest column for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, I write that instead of glorifying hoarders of vast un-spendable wealth, the world must finally wake up to the huge damage they are doing.
1/🧵
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/hot-type-t...
In my latest column for @bylinetimes.bsky.social, I write that instead of glorifying hoarders of vast un-spendable wealth, the world must finally wake up to the huge damage they are doing.
1/🧵
www.bylinesupplement.com/p/hot-type-t...
Reposted by IanJ
"One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion. So now people assume that religion and morality have a necessary connection. But the basis of morality is really very simple and doesn't require religion at all."
Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
December 21, 2024 at 1:05 PM
"One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion. So now people assume that religion and morality have a necessary connection. But the basis of morality is really very simple and doesn't require religion at all."
Arthur C. Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke
Reposted by IanJ
The Ugly Truth About Spotify is that Spotify hires fake bands to produce bland unmemorable pap and promotes the songs on the algorithms, reaping enormous profits while real artists get pennies.
The Ugly Truth About Spotify Is Finally Revealed
A year-long investigation by an indie journalist is a call to action
www.honest-broker.com
December 21, 2024 at 3:08 AM
The Ugly Truth About Spotify is that Spotify hires fake bands to produce bland unmemorable pap and promotes the songs on the algorithms, reaping enormous profits while real artists get pennies.
Reposted by IanJ
Reposted by IanJ
Emerging research indicates ChatGPT and OpenAI language models consume huge amounts of energy and water - a cause for environmental concern?
The Hidden Environmental Costs of Chat GPTs: A Conversation with Bing Copilot - Bylines Scotland
Emerging research indicates ChatGPT and OpenAI language models consume huge amounts of energy and water - a cause for environmental concern?
bylines.scot
December 13, 2024 at 7:39 PM
Emerging research indicates ChatGPT and OpenAI language models consume huge amounts of energy and water - a cause for environmental concern?
Reposted by IanJ
Here's a little petition. It's nearly 20,000 signatures old. Can you help to get it to 100,000? Then the UK government might debate it. Beg,ask, cajole, pester all friends, family, groups & communities to sign & share it:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Petition: Run a public information campaign on the climate crisis
Communicate clearly:
1) the science behind the climate crisis - how & why for the first time in the last year we've averaged 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels
2) the implications of going beyond...
petition.parliament.uk
December 6, 2024 at 8:24 AM
Here's a little petition. It's nearly 20,000 signatures old. Can you help to get it to 100,000? Then the UK government might debate it. Beg,ask, cajole, pester all friends, family, groups & communities to sign & share it:
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...
Reposted by IanJ
A huge amount of effort is currently being expended into trying to make the prospect of Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister appear to be anything other than a ludicrous joke.
Here’s why
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Here’s why
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Nigel Farage and the Rise of the ‘Anti-Establishment’ Establishment
By threatening nothing but the interests of the already-marginalised, the Reform leader has made himself the darling of the very establishment he claims to despise
www.adambienkov.co.uk
December 7, 2024 at 1:46 PM
A huge amount of effort is currently being expended into trying to make the prospect of Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister appear to be anything other than a ludicrous joke.
Here’s why
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Here’s why
www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/nigel-fara...
Reposted by IanJ
Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse…
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
Exclusive: EU countries will share laboratory capacity but UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2024 at 7:23 AM
Just when you thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse…
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by IanJ
"When this possibility is too easily dismissed as an improbability – particularly by their political opponents – it gives credence to the notion they present to the public: that their more radical political solutions are necessary to break the status quo"
Why Farage and Reform are on the rise 👇
Why Farage and Reform are on the rise 👇
Trump’s Return and the Farage Blindspot: Dismissing What We Disagree With in the Hope It Will Disappear Isn’t the Answer – Reality Proves Otherwise
Not taking seriously political figures we find undesirable will not change their potential impact or ambitions – Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Steve Bannon, and Nigel Farage only benefit from being underes...
bylinetimes.com
December 7, 2024 at 10:23 AM
"When this possibility is too easily dismissed as an improbability – particularly by their political opponents – it gives credence to the notion they present to the public: that their more radical political solutions are necessary to break the status quo"
Why Farage and Reform are on the rise 👇
Why Farage and Reform are on the rise 👇
Reposted by IanJ
“But UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad; they have to be tested in the country in a certified lab of which there are now none.”
I mean… ffs…
Brexit never gets any less idiotic or ruinous, does it?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
I mean… ffs…
Brexit never gets any less idiotic or ruinous, does it?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘Brexit problem’: UK tap water safety at risk after testing labs shut down
Exclusive: EU countries will share laboratory capacity but UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2024 at 8:27 AM
“But UK rules mean products cannot be tested abroad; they have to be tested in the country in a certified lab of which there are now none.”
I mean… ffs…
Brexit never gets any less idiotic or ruinous, does it?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
I mean… ffs…
Brexit never gets any less idiotic or ruinous, does it?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Reposted by IanJ
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering plans to close a loophole that allows foreign billionaires like Elon Musk to bankroll British political parties, one of his ministers has signalled👏
bylinetimes.com/2024/12/06/k...
Keir Starmer Considers Closing Elon Musk Donations Loophole to Stop 'Foreign Interference' in UK Elections
A rumoured $100 million donation from Musk to Nigel Farage's Reform would be banned under the proposal
bylinetimes.com
December 6, 2024 at 4:50 PM
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is considering plans to close a loophole that allows foreign billionaires like Elon Musk to bankroll British political parties, one of his ministers has signalled👏
bylinetimes.com/2024/12/06/k...
Reposted by IanJ
With Farage back on Question Time last night...
...here is your reminder that Farage was on BBCQT a record-breaking 35 times before he became an MP.
And, further, that the panellist selection on BBCQT has been heavily slanted to right-wing think tanks and commentators over the years.
...here is your reminder that Farage was on BBCQT a record-breaking 35 times before he became an MP.
And, further, that the panellist selection on BBCQT has been heavily slanted to right-wing think tanks and commentators over the years.
An open letter to the BBC
Dr Russell Jackson, senior lecturer in communication and public relations at Sheffield Hallam University, writes to the BBC about Question Time
yorkshirebylines.co.uk
December 6, 2024 at 6:25 PM
With Farage back on Question Time last night...
...here is your reminder that Farage was on BBCQT a record-breaking 35 times before he became an MP.
And, further, that the panellist selection on BBCQT has been heavily slanted to right-wing think tanks and commentators over the years.
...here is your reminder that Farage was on BBCQT a record-breaking 35 times before he became an MP.
And, further, that the panellist selection on BBCQT has been heavily slanted to right-wing think tanks and commentators over the years.
Reposted by IanJ
Worried about #ElonMusk buying his way into UK politics? Think we need to take money out of our democracy?
Help #DemocracyForSale's people-powered plan to #SafeguardDemocracy by taking this short survey: democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard Please share. Thanks!
Help #DemocracyForSale's people-powered plan to #SafeguardDemocracy by taking this short survey: democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard Please share. Thanks!
Democracy For Sale
A survey into people's attitudes to the health of British politics from leading investigative journalists who write about lobbying and dark money
democracyforsale.co.uk
December 5, 2024 at 8:59 AM
Worried about #ElonMusk buying his way into UK politics? Think we need to take money out of our democracy?
Help #DemocracyForSale's people-powered plan to #SafeguardDemocracy by taking this short survey: democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard Please share. Thanks!
Help #DemocracyForSale's people-powered plan to #SafeguardDemocracy by taking this short survey: democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard Please share. Thanks!
Reposted by IanJ
🔴Nigel Farage Teams Up With Extreme Anti-Abortion Group and Calls for Debate on Restricting Abortion Rights in the UK
The Reform Leader is joining forces with a US-based Christian legal group, which campaigns for abortion to be outlawed around the world
bylinetimes.com/2024/11/29/n...
The Reform Leader is joining forces with a US-based Christian legal group, which campaigns for abortion to be outlawed around the world
bylinetimes.com/2024/11/29/n...
Nigel Farage Teams Up With Extreme Anti-Abortion Group and Calls for Debate on Restricting Abortion Rights in UK
The Reform Leader is joining forces with a US-based Christian legal group, which campaigns for abortion to be outlawed around the world
bylinetimes.com
December 2, 2024 at 10:44 AM
🔴Nigel Farage Teams Up With Extreme Anti-Abortion Group and Calls for Debate on Restricting Abortion Rights in the UK
The Reform Leader is joining forces with a US-based Christian legal group, which campaigns for abortion to be outlawed around the world
bylinetimes.com/2024/11/29/n...
The Reform Leader is joining forces with a US-based Christian legal group, which campaigns for abortion to be outlawed around the world
bylinetimes.com/2024/11/29/n...