laraque
@laraque.bsky.social
linguist (English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Latin, Arabic, Basque/Euskera, British Sign Language). Recognise a few other languages.
Read Lots: Law, history, Fantasy (Pratchett), human Library. A bit sweary, in any of those languages
Read Lots: Law, history, Fantasy (Pratchett), human Library. A bit sweary, in any of those languages
Reposted by laraque
Why can't Labour stand up for the BBC, remove Gibb and tell Trump if he sues, every possible piece of evidence about 6 January 2021 will be placed before an English court. I guess he won't try a US court because of the 1st Amendment. Don't back down any further.
November 10, 2025 at 10:28 PM
Why can't Labour stand up for the BBC, remove Gibb and tell Trump if he sues, every possible piece of evidence about 6 January 2021 will be placed before an English court. I guess he won't try a US court because of the 1st Amendment. Don't back down any further.
Reposted by laraque
This is unbelievable. Just a complete lack of belief in objectivity. And the BBC fucking caved to it
Michael Prescott was ‘“shocked” that after an hour-long Panorama documentary dealing with Trump and the January 6 insurgency, there was no “similar, balancing” programme about Kamala Harris.’
More read about the machinations between the BBC resignations, the more worrying it becomes
More read about the machinations between the BBC resignations, the more worrying it becomes
The departure of Tim Davie and Deborah Turness means the BBC is leaderless when it needs leadership more than ever. Where are the people at the head of the BBC standing up for it?
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
November 9, 2025 at 9:44 PM
This is unbelievable. Just a complete lack of belief in objectivity. And the BBC fucking caved to it
Reposted by laraque
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by laraque
Farewell then Tim Davie. Under his watch the BBC whitewashed genocide, had the BBC News website resembling a “migrant crime” X account, boosted trans hate and the right wing STILL hate him. Quite an achievement
BREAKING: Tim Davie resigns as BBC's director-general - with CEO of BBC News also stepping down
news.sky.com/story/tim-da...
news.sky.com/story/tim-da...
Tim Davie resigns as BBC's director-general - with CEO of BBC News also stepping down
Tim Davie has resigned as the BBC's director-general.
news.sky.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Farewell then Tim Davie. Under his watch the BBC whitewashed genocide, had the BBC News website resembling a “migrant crime” X account, boosted trans hate and the right wing STILL hate him. Quite an achievement
Reposted by laraque
Incredible that Robbie Gibb - most influential person on BBC board by many accounts and from journalists I speak in BBC - was involved in setting up GB News.
GB News of course has breached Ofcom rules on *multiple* occasions - no sign of resignations though
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
GB News of course has breached Ofcom rules on *multiple* occasions - no sign of resignations though
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘Enforced veganism’: Ofcom lets GB News flout accuracy rules, say climate campaigners
Exclusive: Regulator has received 1,221 complaints about UK broadcasters since 2020 but found no breaches of its code
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Incredible that Robbie Gibb - most influential person on BBC board by many accounts and from journalists I speak in BBC - was involved in setting up GB News.
GB News of course has breached Ofcom rules on *multiple* occasions - no sign of resignations though
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
GB News of course has breached Ofcom rules on *multiple* occasions - no sign of resignations though
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
That bloody fascist gets his mugshot *everywhere. Either doing that compo face, or that weird, slithy grin.
A reminder that a subscription service would be the end of the BBC universality, which makes the BBC the BBC
November 11, 2025 at 1:36 PM
That bloody fascist gets his mugshot *everywhere. Either doing that compo face, or that weird, slithy grin.
Reposted by laraque
‘I once planned to sue the bbc for suggesting I encouraged an insurrection the time I encouraged an insurrection on live tv’
November 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
‘I once planned to sue the bbc for suggesting I encouraged an insurrection the time I encouraged an insurrection on live tv’
Reposted by laraque
If you've ever needed a reason to rally behind the BBC then this is it.
November 10, 2025 at 4:09 PM
If you've ever needed a reason to rally behind the BBC then this is it.
Reposted by laraque
When was the last time anyone at the BBC had to resign for misrepresenting a leftwinger?
November 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
When was the last time anyone at the BBC had to resign for misrepresenting a leftwinger?
Reposted by laraque
You don't have to be an environmentalist to see that this is all really bad, unnecessary, and irreversible.
Our children and grandchildren are going to curse us forever.
Our children and grandchildren are going to curse us forever.
By the time this man leaves office, we will have lost critical tracts of arable farming lands, been bled dry of potable drinking water, paved over critical wetlands, forestry, habitats of specifies at risk:
“Despite strong public opposition, the Ford
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/28/n...
“Despite strong public opposition, the Ford
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/10/28/n...
Ford fast-tracking water permits despite environmental concerns
Despite strong public opposition, the Ford government is moving ahead with changes to Ontario’s long-standing rules for water use that critics say will weaken public oversight and eventually suck Onta...
www.nationalobserver.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
You don't have to be an environmentalist to see that this is all really bad, unnecessary, and irreversible.
Our children and grandchildren are going to curse us forever.
Our children and grandchildren are going to curse us forever.
Reposted by laraque
History is replicated again & again
Saying it doesn’t repeat is wrong
Fascists found something that works
& keeps their agenda strong
Manufacture war
Suppress the vote
Divide the people in two
Blame vulnerable groups
Use false flag events
It’s easy for them to do
History DOES repeat
It’s true
Saying it doesn’t repeat is wrong
Fascists found something that works
& keeps their agenda strong
Manufacture war
Suppress the vote
Divide the people in two
Blame vulnerable groups
Use false flag events
It’s easy for them to do
History DOES repeat
It’s true
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
History is replicated again & again
Saying it doesn’t repeat is wrong
Fascists found something that works
& keeps their agenda strong
Manufacture war
Suppress the vote
Divide the people in two
Blame vulnerable groups
Use false flag events
It’s easy for them to do
History DOES repeat
It’s true
Saying it doesn’t repeat is wrong
Fascists found something that works
& keeps their agenda strong
Manufacture war
Suppress the vote
Divide the people in two
Blame vulnerable groups
Use false flag events
It’s easy for them to do
History DOES repeat
It’s true
Heard him whilst driving home. He *is a fascist. Incited riots, incites all sorts of nasty & he was at it again. He represents the very worst of humanity, much like the fellow he's sucking up to.
Fascist Frog face jumping on the Trump bandwagon. Can't wait for Farage's downfall and for him to suffer political annihilation by all of us. It has to happen.
November 10, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Heard him whilst driving home. He *is a fascist. Incited riots, incites all sorts of nasty & he was at it again. He represents the very worst of humanity, much like the fellow he's sucking up to.
The cruelty is the point, no? trump and his supporters and enablers are, by most reasonable people's standards, cruel.
Remarks by @newyorkstateag.bsky.social at press conference on states' AG's lawsuit to protect SNAP recipients.
"What was the point of the federal government's cruelty this weekend? Why subject people to prolonged anxiety and fear? It is not an abstraction. Real people are hurting. They are hungry."
"What was the point of the federal government's cruelty this weekend? Why subject people to prolonged anxiety and fear? It is not an abstraction. Real people are hurting. They are hungry."
November 10, 2025 at 7:17 PM
The cruelty is the point, no? trump and his supporters and enablers are, by most reasonable people's standards, cruel.
Reposted by laraque
ICE
DHS
Former J’6ers
Everyday thugs who like the SCOTUS sanctioned power to beat up,kidnap,and terrorize.
Losers who piqued in high school, can’t move on from football glory days.
Bullies, child abusers,wife beaters.
Racists
Christians
Neighbors
DHS
Former J’6ers
Everyday thugs who like the SCOTUS sanctioned power to beat up,kidnap,and terrorize.
Losers who piqued in high school, can’t move on from football glory days.
Bullies, child abusers,wife beaters.
Racists
Christians
Neighbors
November 10, 2025 at 1:16 PM
ICE
DHS
Former J’6ers
Everyday thugs who like the SCOTUS sanctioned power to beat up,kidnap,and terrorize.
Losers who piqued in high school, can’t move on from football glory days.
Bullies, child abusers,wife beaters.
Racists
Christians
Neighbors
DHS
Former J’6ers
Everyday thugs who like the SCOTUS sanctioned power to beat up,kidnap,and terrorize.
Losers who piqued in high school, can’t move on from football glory days.
Bullies, child abusers,wife beaters.
Racists
Christians
Neighbors
Reposted by laraque
You’re going to have to start calling them fascists lads, it’s what they are and they aren’t even embarrassed about it.
November 10, 2025 at 1:56 PM
You’re going to have to start calling them fascists lads, it’s what they are and they aren’t even embarrassed about it.
I've never used it. I have several languages, and I *know which words I want to use, and why.
Hand up! ✋
First thing I do on any phone/computer is turn off predictive text and autocorrect—my vocabulary is wider than any commercial product's dictionary coverage.
And I'm contractually forbidden from using LLMs for work. Seriously, I'd be in breach of contract if I used them in my writing.
First thing I do on any phone/computer is turn off predictive text and autocorrect—my vocabulary is wider than any commercial product's dictionary coverage.
And I'm contractually forbidden from using LLMs for work. Seriously, I'd be in breach of contract if I used them in my writing.
Hands up if you've never used Chat GPT ✋
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
(I feel like Dozer and Tank in The Matrix right now - at first I didn't use it because, rather ironically, I'm lazy and stubborn (peak Taurus energy there) - literally no, don't make me use the new thing I don't wanna. Now I'm glad I didn't 😅)
November 9, 2025 at 11:54 AM
I've never used it. I have several languages, and I *know which words I want to use, and why.
Reposted by laraque
Trevor Philips tries to get Zack Polanski to trip up on the issue of trans
Polanski responds with a slam dunk, a home run, a touchdown - whatever your sports metaphor is 👏
Polanski responds with a slam dunk, a home run, a touchdown - whatever your sports metaphor is 👏
November 9, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Trevor Philips tries to get Zack Polanski to trip up on the issue of trans
Polanski responds with a slam dunk, a home run, a touchdown - whatever your sports metaphor is 👏
Polanski responds with a slam dunk, a home run, a touchdown - whatever your sports metaphor is 👏
Reposted by laraque
Trevor Philips, "You don't want a rise in income tax?"
Zack Polanski, "No, people are tired and exhausted"
"How can you take from the hardest working people with extra tax, while allowing multimillionaires and billionaires to continue to not paying CGT?"
Zack Polanski, "No, people are tired and exhausted"
"How can you take from the hardest working people with extra tax, while allowing multimillionaires and billionaires to continue to not paying CGT?"
November 9, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Trevor Philips, "You don't want a rise in income tax?"
Zack Polanski, "No, people are tired and exhausted"
"How can you take from the hardest working people with extra tax, while allowing multimillionaires and billionaires to continue to not paying CGT?"
Zack Polanski, "No, people are tired and exhausted"
"How can you take from the hardest working people with extra tax, while allowing multimillionaires and billionaires to continue to not paying CGT?"
Reposted by laraque
Live your life in such a way that when you die people don't literally rise from the dead to shit on your grave.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Live your life in such a way that when you die people don't literally rise from the dead to shit on your grave.
Reposted by laraque
UK electricity bills up 163% since 2008. Wages haven't.
6.1m households in fuel poverty, £4.43bn debt
Profiteering: Energy sector average profit margin 23%, grid sector 38%, gas extraction 58%.
Profit last year £30bn. 128,000 a year die in fuel poverty.
No govt checks profiteering.
6.1m households in fuel poverty, £4.43bn debt
Profiteering: Energy sector average profit margin 23%, grid sector 38%, gas extraction 58%.
Profit last year £30bn. 128,000 a year die in fuel poverty.
No govt checks profiteering.
Electricity bills increased 163 per cent since 2008 as energy price cap rises - research - Insider Media
New analysis of UK energy costs showed that the average annual household electricity bill increased by 163 per cent between 2008 and 2024, reflecting a steep rise in household energy costs…
www.insidermedia.com
November 9, 2025 at 7:54 AM
UK electricity bills up 163% since 2008. Wages haven't.
6.1m households in fuel poverty, £4.43bn debt
Profiteering: Energy sector average profit margin 23%, grid sector 38%, gas extraction 58%.
Profit last year £30bn. 128,000 a year die in fuel poverty.
No govt checks profiteering.
6.1m households in fuel poverty, £4.43bn debt
Profiteering: Energy sector average profit margin 23%, grid sector 38%, gas extraction 58%.
Profit last year £30bn. 128,000 a year die in fuel poverty.
No govt checks profiteering.
Reposted by laraque
There are only two options. Either we *have* forgotten, or we have remembered and decided to root for the other side.
Gross hypocrisy.
Gross hypocrisy.
November 9, 2025 at 8:52 AM
There are only two options. Either we *have* forgotten, or we have remembered and decided to root for the other side.
Gross hypocrisy.
Gross hypocrisy.
Reposted by laraque
My grandad - forced to volunteer first because of a half-german wife - helped liberate Belsen. “Never again” meant “never again for anyone”. It didn’t mean “unless they’re brown” or “but there’s oil”.
Disrespectful, cheap, nasty two-faced weasel words.
Disrespectful, cheap, nasty two-faced weasel words.
November 9, 2025 at 9:37 AM
My grandad - forced to volunteer first because of a half-german wife - helped liberate Belsen. “Never again” meant “never again for anyone”. It didn’t mean “unless they’re brown” or “but there’s oil”.
Disrespectful, cheap, nasty two-faced weasel words.
Disrespectful, cheap, nasty two-faced weasel words.
Reposted by laraque
If you've never read Death of a Hero, it's a bona fide masterpiece. A furious assault on the hubris of London society and the futility of WWI that doesn't hold back from the first page. My late uncle - a career soldier - considered it the best book ever written about the reality of war.
November 9, 2025 at 9:38 AM
If you've never read Death of a Hero, it's a bona fide masterpiece. A furious assault on the hubris of London society and the futility of WWI that doesn't hold back from the first page. My late uncle - a career soldier - considered it the best book ever written about the reality of war.
Reposted by laraque
Richard Aldington's Epilogue to Death of a Hero.
Always worth revisiting on Remembrance Sunday.
Always worth revisiting on Remembrance Sunday.
November 9, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Richard Aldington's Epilogue to Death of a Hero.
Always worth revisiting on Remembrance Sunday.
Always worth revisiting on Remembrance Sunday.
Quite. National Forest residents face being poisoned by wealthy family's new project: Wilshees mocked the opposition the instant this was approved, after insisting it wasn't their project. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
November 9, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Quite. National Forest residents face being poisoned by wealthy family's new project: Wilshees mocked the opposition the instant this was approved, after insisting it wasn't their project. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...