Paul Baker
@paulbkr-social.bsky.social
Reposted by Paul Baker
‘Free speech’ latest…
Job candidates at federal agencies are being questioned on their loyalty to Trump.
Among the questions: Would you be willing to serve as a spokesperson for mass deportations? Which of Trump’s executive orders is your favorite? Who won the 2020 election?
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Among the questions: Would you be willing to serve as a spokesperson for mass deportations? Which of Trump’s executive orders is your favorite? Who won the 2020 election?
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump Team Tests Job Candidates by Asking Who Won the 2020 Election
The White House is giving potential job candidates litmus tests in interviews to make sure they are sufficiently loyal to President Donald Trump and his second-term agenda, according to people familia...
www.bloomberg.com
March 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
‘Free speech’ latest…
Reposted by Paul Baker
Nigel Farage’s “party of the people” received £100,000 from former Lehman Brothers senior banker Roger Nagioff, new donation records show.
That’s the same Lehman Brothers that was at the epicentre of the 2008 financial crash - an event that plunged millions of people into hardship
That’s the same Lehman Brothers that was at the epicentre of the 2008 financial crash - an event that plunged millions of people into hardship
March 6, 2025 at 12:43 PM
Nigel Farage’s “party of the people” received £100,000 from former Lehman Brothers senior banker Roger Nagioff, new donation records show.
That’s the same Lehman Brothers that was at the epicentre of the 2008 financial crash - an event that plunged millions of people into hardship
That’s the same Lehman Brothers that was at the epicentre of the 2008 financial crash - an event that plunged millions of people into hardship
Reposted by Paul Baker
Pretty much sums it up
March 1, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Pretty much sums it up
Reposted by Paul Baker
“I have never really been the owner of these forests, nor could I be.”
The wonderfully inspiring story of a Columbian ex-rancher, who turned from destroyer of forests to their protector and restorer, establishing a 7,500-acre nature reserve teeming with life.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The wonderfully inspiring story of a Columbian ex-rancher, who turned from destroyer of forests to their protector and restorer, establishing a 7,500-acre nature reserve teeming with life.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘I felt death in the flames’: how lighting a forest fire inspired one man to transform barren ranches into rainforest
Juan Guillermo Garcés had a brush with death while burning jungle for cattle pasture – now he runs a nature reserve in Colombia where more than 100 new species have been discovered
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2025 at 10:01 PM
“I have never really been the owner of these forests, nor could I be.”
The wonderfully inspiring story of a Columbian ex-rancher, who turned from destroyer of forests to their protector and restorer, establishing a 7,500-acre nature reserve teeming with life.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
The wonderfully inspiring story of a Columbian ex-rancher, who turned from destroyer of forests to their protector and restorer, establishing a 7,500-acre nature reserve teeming with life.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Paul Baker
A really fascinating article - for anyone interested in how misinformation and politics are related. Spoiler alert! “Misinformation and radical-right populism must hence be understood as inextricable and synergistic—two expressions of the same political moment.”
Important research investigating politics and misinformation: used 32M tweets from politicians in 26 countries, spanning 6 years and several election periods. Radical-right populism was the STRONGEST determinant of those who spread misinformation.
When Do Parties Lie? Misinformation and Radical-Right Populism Across 26 Countries - Petter Törnberg, Juliana Chueri, 2025
The spread of misinformation has emerged as a global concern. Academic attention has recently shifted to emphasize the role of political elites as drivers of mi...
journals.sagepub.com
February 11, 2025 at 8:03 AM
A really fascinating article - for anyone interested in how misinformation and politics are related. Spoiler alert! “Misinformation and radical-right populism must hence be understood as inextricable and synergistic—two expressions of the same political moment.”
Reposted by Paul Baker
In less than three weeks into his second administration, Donald Trump has turned the shining light on the hill into a scorched dung heap by the roadside.
www.salon.com/2025/02/06/o...
www.salon.com/2025/02/06/o...
Trump burns down the United States
He’ll return to claim credit for putting out the fire — but not before the United States gets burned
www.salon.com
February 6, 2025 at 4:07 PM
In less than three weeks into his second administration, Donald Trump has turned the shining light on the hill into a scorched dung heap by the roadside.
www.salon.com/2025/02/06/o...
www.salon.com/2025/02/06/o...
Reposted by Paul Baker
Musk's latest power grab: your Medicare benefits.
Elon - you're looking in the wrong place. Private insurers in Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers by at least $83 billion in 2024 alone.
Elon - you're looking in the wrong place. Private insurers in Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers by at least $83 billion in 2024 alone.
Exclusive | DOGE Aides Search Medicare Agency Payment Systems for Fraud
Elon Musk’s allies have been on site at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services offices this week.
www.wsj.com
February 6, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Musk's latest power grab: your Medicare benefits.
Elon - you're looking in the wrong place. Private insurers in Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers by at least $83 billion in 2024 alone.
Elon - you're looking in the wrong place. Private insurers in Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers by at least $83 billion in 2024 alone.
Reposted by Paul Baker
Trump lovers…
Are you cool with him ‘taking ownership’ of land that isn’t his?
Or letting the richest man in the world take from the poorest?
…or are you slowly waking up?
We discuss Trump’s Gaza Riviera & more on today’s brand new ep of @thetrawl.bsky.social
Listen here 👇🏽
Are you cool with him ‘taking ownership’ of land that isn’t his?
Or letting the richest man in the world take from the poorest?
…or are you slowly waking up?
We discuss Trump’s Gaza Riviera & more on today’s brand new ep of @thetrawl.bsky.social
Listen here 👇🏽
February 7, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Trump lovers…
Are you cool with him ‘taking ownership’ of land that isn’t his?
Or letting the richest man in the world take from the poorest?
…or are you slowly waking up?
We discuss Trump’s Gaza Riviera & more on today’s brand new ep of @thetrawl.bsky.social
Listen here 👇🏽
Are you cool with him ‘taking ownership’ of land that isn’t his?
Or letting the richest man in the world take from the poorest?
…or are you slowly waking up?
We discuss Trump’s Gaza Riviera & more on today’s brand new ep of @thetrawl.bsky.social
Listen here 👇🏽
Reposted by Paul Baker
Gordon Brown on the implications of US withdrawal from USAid and the need: “We all gain if USAid can mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, prevent malnutrition in the DRC & Sudan, halt the upsurge of IS in Syria & support a fair, humanitarian reconstruction of Gaza & Ukraine.”
Be clear about what Trump and Musk’s aid axe will do: people will face terror and starve, many will die | Gordon Brown
The decimation of USAid is already having a terrible effect in some of the poorest places on the planet. It damages America: it will harm us all, says Gordon Brown, the UN’s special envoy for global e...
www.theguardian.com
February 7, 2025 at 7:57 AM
Gordon Brown on the implications of US withdrawal from USAid and the need: “We all gain if USAid can mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, prevent malnutrition in the DRC & Sudan, halt the upsurge of IS in Syria & support a fair, humanitarian reconstruction of Gaza & Ukraine.”
February 7, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Reposted by Paul Baker
Convergent evolution in whale and human vocal cultures | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Convergent evolution in whale and human vocal cultures
The complex songs of humpback whales conform to fundamental laws of language
www.science.org
February 7, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Convergent evolution in whale and human vocal cultures | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by Paul Baker
Climate action globally is under threat. It’s hugely urgent to seize initiative from rightwing populists. We need to change tactics: start by building climate resilience in local communities where people can feel tangible benefits – we’re calling it climate popularism. @rupertread.bsky.social & me🧵
It’s time for climate populism
As politics turns against net zero, we need to mobilise a genuine mass movement against ecological catastrophe.
www.newstatesman.com
February 7, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Climate action globally is under threat. It’s hugely urgent to seize initiative from rightwing populists. We need to change tactics: start by building climate resilience in local communities where people can feel tangible benefits – we’re calling it climate popularism. @rupertread.bsky.social & me🧵
Reposted by Paul Baker
So..Elon Musk just did a straight-up Hitler salute for the adoring MAGA crowd.
Unreal.
Unreal.
January 20, 2025 at 8:06 PM
So..Elon Musk just did a straight-up Hitler salute for the adoring MAGA crowd.
Unreal.
Unreal.
Reposted by Paul Baker
Musk and his sheep love a bit of selective outrage…
Fuming at the UK
…and yet silent with others
Why?
Fuming at the UK
…and yet silent with others
Why?
January 13, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Musk and his sheep love a bit of selective outrage…
Fuming at the UK
…and yet silent with others
Why?
Fuming at the UK
…and yet silent with others
Why?
Reposted by Paul Baker
Lots of people commenting on the
So called grooming gang issue in following some “intervention” from the USA
They might want to consider that Starmer left office as DPP with the highest conviction rate for child sexual abuse since records began
So called grooming gang issue in following some “intervention” from the USA
They might want to consider that Starmer left office as DPP with the highest conviction rate for child sexual abuse since records began
January 5, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Lots of people commenting on the
So called grooming gang issue in following some “intervention” from the USA
They might want to consider that Starmer left office as DPP with the highest conviction rate for child sexual abuse since records began
So called grooming gang issue in following some “intervention” from the USA
They might want to consider that Starmer left office as DPP with the highest conviction rate for child sexual abuse since records began
Reposted by Paul Baker
This is not what he said and they know it. Something very disturbing has happened to much of the British press and a fair amount of conservative politics. The extremist Musk tail wagging the formerly mainstream dog.
January 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM
This is not what he said and they know it. Something very disturbing has happened to much of the British press and a fair amount of conservative politics. The extremist Musk tail wagging the formerly mainstream dog.
Reposted by Paul Baker
A male is a male and a female is a female...
except
except
December 2, 2024 at 6:58 PM
A male is a male and a female is a female...
except
except
Reposted by Paul Baker
If only Louise Haigh had repeatedly kicked her partner…
Or been arrested for numerous sexual assault charges
Or been found to have frequently bullied her staff
Then maybe she’d still be in her position.
Or been arrested for numerous sexual assault charges
Or been found to have frequently bullied her staff
Then maybe she’d still be in her position.
November 29, 2024 at 11:45 AM
If only Louise Haigh had repeatedly kicked her partner…
Or been arrested for numerous sexual assault charges
Or been found to have frequently bullied her staff
Then maybe she’d still be in her position.
Or been arrested for numerous sexual assault charges
Or been found to have frequently bullied her staff
Then maybe she’d still be in her position.
Reposted by Paul Baker
1. The one benefit of Brexit was a new farm subsidy system, that would pay for public goods such as ecological restoration. But now the government has frozen the new grants, while swiftly cutting off the old ones, leaving farmers high and dry. It's deeply unfair and highly destructive. 🧵
November 28, 2024 at 5:34 PM
1. The one benefit of Brexit was a new farm subsidy system, that would pay for public goods such as ecological restoration. But now the government has frozen the new grants, while swiftly cutting off the old ones, leaving farmers high and dry. It's deeply unfair and highly destructive. 🧵
Reposted by Paul Baker
1. Consent in our pseudo-democracies is strained at the best of times, but it hangs on the belief that there is some kind of justice: through inquiries, tribunals, sometimes even the law, powerful people who commit crimes against us will one day be held to account. But what if this no longer works?🧵
November 25, 2024 at 6:56 PM
1. Consent in our pseudo-democracies is strained at the best of times, but it hangs on the belief that there is some kind of justice: through inquiries, tribunals, sometimes even the law, powerful people who commit crimes against us will one day be held to account. But what if this no longer works?🧵
Reposted by Paul Baker
New data on farms and inheritance tax: a third of farm estates over £1.5m aren’t farmers but wealthy people avoiding IHT by sinking money into farmland.
The Budget hits farmers too hard and tax avoiders too lightly. It needs to change.
The Budget hits farmers too hard and tax avoiders too lightly. It needs to change.
November 24, 2024 at 9:00 AM
New data on farms and inheritance tax: a third of farm estates over £1.5m aren’t farmers but wealthy people avoiding IHT by sinking money into farmland.
The Budget hits farmers too hard and tax avoiders too lightly. It needs to change.
The Budget hits farmers too hard and tax avoiders too lightly. It needs to change.
Reposted by Paul Baker
Worth noting…
That the next most signed petition after asking for a 2nd EU referendum (4.1m)
Was when 1.8m Brits petitioned to stop Trump making a state visit to the UK
And that was prior to the 34 felonies, fascism and sexual assault liabilities
Possibly needs a re-run…
That the next most signed petition after asking for a 2nd EU referendum (4.1m)
Was when 1.8m Brits petitioned to stop Trump making a state visit to the UK
And that was prior to the 34 felonies, fascism and sexual assault liabilities
Possibly needs a re-run…
November 24, 2024 at 8:22 PM
Worth noting…
That the next most signed petition after asking for a 2nd EU referendum (4.1m)
Was when 1.8m Brits petitioned to stop Trump making a state visit to the UK
And that was prior to the 34 felonies, fascism and sexual assault liabilities
Possibly needs a re-run…
That the next most signed petition after asking for a 2nd EU referendum (4.1m)
Was when 1.8m Brits petitioned to stop Trump making a state visit to the UK
And that was prior to the 34 felonies, fascism and sexual assault liabilities
Possibly needs a re-run…
Reposted by Paul Baker
Wow. Imagine the shock for the Daily Mail when it finds out Tory plans were for fines of £5k - later reduced to £3k - for each missed heat pump sale. What Ed Miliband has done is to reduce that to £500. As @torstenbell.bsky.social says today Headline should read “Miliband slashes Tory boiler tax”
November 22, 2024 at 8:17 AM
Wow. Imagine the shock for the Daily Mail when it finds out Tory plans were for fines of £5k - later reduced to £3k - for each missed heat pump sale. What Ed Miliband has done is to reduce that to £500. As @torstenbell.bsky.social says today Headline should read “Miliband slashes Tory boiler tax”