Mick Kelly
mickkelly100.bsky.social
Mick Kelly
@mickkelly100.bsky.social
Retired computer programmer, degree in Astronomy, rather rubbish amateur musician. Socialist and ex Labour Party member.
My views entirely. AI and the blind, grasping, tech barons are destroying the internet, and the very Earth itself for short-term profit

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Becoming an AI-detective is a job I never wanted and wish I could quit | Samantha Floreani
My social media feed is now a hellish stream of puerile AI slop. Am I stubborn to want to hang on to reality?
www.theguardian.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Reposted by Mick Kelly
Both my grandfathers perished in WWII. They didn’t make that sacrifice so that new, sad and angry little cub-fascists like Sir Keir Starmer and Nigel Farage could go all Hitler-lite by the time the grandchildren they never met were grown. #GuessWeForgot
November 11, 2025 at 5:35 PM
I could probably be diagnosed as autistic- but I can’t see that that would make any difference to my life - I’d still be me and I’d still not care what people called me.

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
A new start after 60: I realised I had autism – and suddenly my life made sense. I have never been so happy
After decades of loneliness and depression, Cathleen Caffrey had come to think of herself as a bad person. Then she learned about others who had struggled to fit in …
www.theguardian.com
October 13, 2025 at 10:24 AM
This is exactly how I feel- my dad was a shop steward and Labour activist. But how I wish the party was more like its old self.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Some people have a choice about whether or not to vote Labour. I wish I did too | Polly Hudson
I’m disillusioned with Keir Starmer’s government. But my late father’s passion for his political career makes it difficult to imagine putting my cross in another box, writes Polly Hudson
www.theguardian.com
October 5, 2025 at 2:57 PM
I’m no admirer of Nick Clegg but this is an interesting piece on Tech Bros. Best quote “ If you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.”

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
‘If I felt Zuckerberg and Sandberg were monsters, I wouldn’t have worked at Meta’: Nick Clegg on tech bros, AI and Starmer’s half measures
When Britain’s former deputy PM took a job at Meta, nothing could have prepared him for the ‘cloying conformity’ of the tech world. So why does he still think social media is a force for good?
www.theguardian.com
August 23, 2025 at 8:09 AM
I’ve signed up for this, but I’m the typical middle-class white male who does.

If you’re not like me, please consider it. They need more diversity.

www.nihr.ac.uk/news/nihr-ur...
www.nihr.ac.uk
August 9, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Signing petitions is a bit of a waste of time - but I signed this one. As much for the Israeli people as the citizens of Gaza. Having this on your conscience will not be good for future generations

secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/...
🔴 EU: No summer holidays while Gaza starves
We're delivering our demands for justice to leaders' holiday doorsteps
secure.avaaz.org
July 26, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Interesting article about using microfilm as a precursor to today’s internet. I recall, as a boy in the 1960’s, reading a story by Charles L. Harness featuring this machine.

The forgotten 80-year-old machine that shaped the internet – and could help us survive AI
theconversation.com/the-forgotte...
The forgotten 80-year-old machine that shaped the internet – and could help us survive AI
Leading American engineer and scientist Vannevar Bush thought that the memex was the answer to information nightmare of the 1940s.
theconversation.com
July 12, 2025 at 9:38 AM
It has been obvious to me for years that we in the West have hit the buffers in terms of ‘growth’ - and other countries will surely follow…

Welcome to post-growth Europe – can anyone accept this new political reality?
theconversation.com/welcome-to-p...
Welcome to post-growth Europe – can anyone accept this new political reality?
An expert in public policy asks if it will ever be possible for political parties in Europe to be honest about the limits of growth – and still get elected.
theconversation.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Halfway there to getting this debated in parliament. Please add your signature
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/71... What do you mean, you haven't signed the Parky Charter petition calling for better Parkinson's care?? We Parkies have an excuse - one of the symptoms of PD is apathy. But as for the rest of you, jump to it! (pretty please..)
Petition: Increase funding for people with Parkinson’s and implement the "Parky Charter"
We want the government to take the decisive five steps set out in the Movers and Shakers' "Parky Charter" and to fulfil the Health Secretary’s promises.
petition.parliament.uk
July 1, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Can anyone help me locate a book?

I read it approx 15 years ago and all I remember is that one of the protagonists lost all his money investing in a ‘postmodern chain of undertakers’ called ‘Tits Up’.

It’s a very funny book I’d love to re-read
June 13, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I have long admired the artist Gwen John and her brother Augustus, so I’m looking forward to reading this book.

However, I think the reviewer is far too hard on Augustus. Every painter is unique and his paintings evoke the thirties for me.

www.theguardian.com/books/2025/j...
Artists, Siblings, Visionaries by Judith Mackrell review – the remarkable lives of Gwen and Augustus John
Gwen’s talent vastly outshone her brother’s – but both are treated with subtlety in this outstanding dual biography
www.theguardian.com
June 9, 2025 at 8:16 AM
As a little boy, I went to the Rathbone school in Kensington (Liverpool).

I knew she was a philanthropist but I never knew what a hero she was…

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/j...
The Woman Behind the Welfare State
Podcast Episode · Journey Through Time · 04/06/2025 · 59m
podcasts.apple.com
June 7, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Another of my fave guitarists gone. I played Roadwork to death. Sublime.

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/m...
Rick Derringer obituary
Guitarist and singer who featured on Hang on Sloopy by the McCoys, and went on to collaborate with top artists including Bonnie Tyler and Steely Dan
www.theguardian.com
May 31, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Reposted by Mick Kelly
May 29, 2025 at 1:03 PM
This is from the US, but living in Europe and seeing the rise of the hard right makes it relevant to us

www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Systems are crumbling - but daily life continues. The dissonance is real
If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help
www.theguardian.com
May 23, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Good piece here about the Covid app just as the history of the outbreak is being rewritten by armchair epidemiologists…

rorycellanjones.substack.com?utm_source=n...
Rory’s Always On Newsletter | Rory Cellan-Jones | Substack
A tech notebook with a focus on health - and occasional glimpses of a dog called #sophiefromromania. Click to read Rory’s Always On Newsletter, by Rory Cellan-Jones, a Substack publication with tens o...
rorycellanjones.substack.com
May 16, 2025 at 8:53 PM
🚨🌱 The Chancellor is reviewing all public spending from scratch. Please join me in signing the @campaignforthearts.org petition to remind the UK Govt: the arts make our lives happier & our communities stronger. Now is the moment to invest in them. www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp...
Petition: Make the arts part of UK National Renewal | Campaign for the Arts
The Chancellor is reviewing all public spending from scratch. The arts make our lives happier and our communities stronger. Now is the moment to invest in them.
www.campaignforthearts.org
May 16, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Reposted by Mick Kelly
Keir Starmer’s “island of strangers” rhetoric is reckless and divisive.

In Wales, as across the UK, social care is in crisis. The solution is not to turn on migrant workers, but to invest in training, raise wages, and improve working conditions.

🗣️ @benlake.bsky.social
May 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM