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sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Sarah
@sarahskeeter.bsky.social
640 followers 1.5K following 390 posts
Curiouser and curiouser, and increasingly militant
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sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Ha! The face on Bertie! talk about a spectre at the feast!

#spéirgorm #IrishPol
Picture from the inauguration of Catherine Connolly as President of Ireland. Catherine is on the left holding the seal of office, Bertie is in the background on the right and looks like he is glowering at her. Beside and behind the new President are the Chief Justice, the outgoing President, Michael D Higgins (partially hidden behind the Chief Justice), government ministers, Jack Chambers and Darragh O'Brien and former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern.
November 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Well, if this isn't nice, I don't know what is!
View of Port St Mary, Isle of Man. Sunny day, purple heather in the foreground, beyond which are fields and a wee town built around a natural harbour
August 9, 2025 at 5:30 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Shriver is unintentionally hilarious for two reasons:
1) the fucking melt went to PORTUGAL, which currently has more of a "social democratic" system than the UK
2) exposes the fact that right-wingers are in a much more sealed off echo chamber than any lefty could ever mamage

Alt txt on this pic
Headline: Now I've left Britain, here's what you look like Subheading: it's painful to see a great country stagger while trashing its traditions and values but the view is clear from Portugal Writer: Lionel Shriver Article: An American based in the UK for 36 years, in 2023 I absconded to Portugal. So how dismal does Britain look from a distance? Like the Danes abandoning their country because of rising sea levels in Families Like Ours, should Brits evacuate, too? Granted, I make frequent trips back. What I miss most in a small town just west of Lisbon is my friends and colleagues, whose dry, casually cynical sensibility dovetails with mine. Given the average periodicity of meet-ups in London, I'd have seen these people less often had I stayed put. Because I left Britain. I didn't leave the British. I still read the Times and the Telegraph. I watch Spectator TV, Spiked Online podcasts, and YouTube appearances by Matt Goodwin, David Starkey and Brendan O'Neill. Am I suffering separation anxiety? I'm still emotionally and politically enmeshed in British affairs. But my personal fate is no longer joined
July 24, 2025 at 10:10 AM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
this does risk toxic positivity, so my approach has been to say "I'm glad about [x] but [y] is still shit" as in "I'm glad we have the help and that mam is usually not in distress, but it's still hard to watch and sometimes a strain to provide the support she needs"

also the Vonnegut approach
text, written like it was produced on an old typewriter, says: I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, "If this isn't nice, I don't know what is" - Kurt Vonnegut
July 22, 2025 at 12:42 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Genuinely baffled by this post, mainly because at minimum two different people must have thought it was a reasonable thing to post, maybe even that it was funny. God help them
post from the European Commission saying "As temperatures soar it's time to unveil a seriously cool plan for Europe's future" above a picture which shows a green background with many calculations on it over which is superimposed the European ring of stars logo and the words "Leading the quantum revolution". The "seriously cool plan" is about quantum computing.
July 3, 2025 at 1:04 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
@gardasiochana.bsky.social I would really hope that you do not intend to send the message that you are allied with white nationalists but I don't see how anyone who is paying even the slightest bit of attention to these things would not know the link. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_bl...
Screenshot from wikipedia. Text reads: Blue Lives Matter Further information: Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter The "thin blue line" symbol has been used by the "Blue Lives Matter" movement, which emerged in 2014 as a rebuttal to the Black Lives Matter movement, and gained traction following the high-profile homicides of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu in Brooklyn, New York. The "thin blue line" has also been associated with white nationalists in the United States, particularly after the Unite the Right rally in 2017, who fly Thin Blue Line flags at their rallies. The thin blue line US flag has appeared regularly at Trump rallies. The flag, which ostensibly stands for solidarity with the police, also appeared at the January 6 United States Capitol attack, during which police officers were beaten and attacked by the mob of Trump supporters and far right extremists. Police departments in Madison, Wisconsin and Los Angeles, California have banned the thin blue line US flag because of its associations with views and ideologies described as "undemocratic, racist, and bigoted." Merriam, Kansas city council voted to ban thin blue line flags from an annual memorial service in remembrance of fallen officers and other first responders.
May 13, 2025 at 12:02 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
so the Gardaí in Cavan/Monaghan have taken the death of their colleague as an opportunity to adopt some Blue Lives Matter symbology.

That's reassuring

#SpéirGorm
Screenshot from the Facebook page of An Garda Síochána Cavan/Monaghan showing the profile picture with a blue line on a black background similar to the "Blue Lives Matter" iconography from the USA
May 13, 2025 at 11:42 AM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
As someone who grew up on a farm, this excerpt from an interview with one of the leaders of the All India Farmers Union sounded quite familiar

#farm #farming
In the early 1990s, India adopted the policies of liberalisation and privatisation. Following this turn, all the production and procurement of agricultural inputs used by the farmers - seeds, manure, pesticides, insecticides, diesel - were allotted to agribusinesses and multinational corporations. This has been done not only in India but across the world. As a result of these policies, the farmers continued to become indebted. Drowning in debt, they died by suicide in huge numbers. The youth of the country became unemployed, and businesses were destroyed. The liberalisation model also promoted agricultural imports and the prices offered to farmers declined. Large corporations and agribusinesses prospered, and farmers fell into a cycle of indebtedness. The increasing prices of agricultural produce affected farmers across the country, whether they were cultivating food grains, vegetables, fruit or cash crops like cashew and raisin. The cost of cultivating all kinds of crops increased sharply, and the farmers were not even earning enough to cover the costs they incurred. The farmers had no option but to protest. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund wanted farmers to be ousted from agriculture. They wanted the agricultural sector to be dominated by large agri-corporations, with farmers becoming wage labourers for these corporations.
February 21, 2025 at 10:52 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Dear An Post, what sort of madness is this?
You have the item
You've sorted the item
The item is on its way to you

What in the non-linear time are we at here?
#ireland
Screenshot of a timeline: 18 February 2025 16:56 Your item is on its way to us. Your retailer has let us know to expect it. Once we have it, we will scan it and send it for delivery. Keep an eye on track & trace for updates. 18 February 2025 14:47 Your delivery has been sorted DUBLIN PARCEL HUB, DUBLIN 12 18 February 2025 12:20 We have your item and will process it for delivery DUBLIN PARCEL HUB, DUBLIN 12
February 19, 2025 at 1:44 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ceasefire 1 Put in mind of his own father and moved to tears Achilles took him by the hand and pushed the old king Gently away, but Priam curled up at his feet and Wept with him until their sadness filled the building. 2 Taking Hector’s corpse into his own hands Achilles Made sure it was washed and, for the old king’s sake, Laid out in uniform, ready for Priam to carry Wrapped like a present home to Troy at daybreak. 3 When they had eaten together, it pleased them both To stare at each other’s beauty as lovers might, Achilles built like a god, Priam good-looking still And full of conversation, who earlier had sighed: 4 I get down on my knees and do what must be done And kiss Achilles’ hand, the killer of my son.
January 23, 2025 at 1:29 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Ah here, could we maybe not treat the Trump administration's pronouncements on public health as if they are anything other than the ramblings of a fool?
Headline from Sky: The US Is Sounding the Alarm on Fluoride in Drinking Water - What's the Story in the UK? Sub heading: Donald Trump's government will likely push for the complete removal of fluoride from public water
December 11, 2024 at 12:57 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
As I'm currently in #Ireland I got an ad for an Irish health insurance company, Laya Healthcare, on my tiktok so obviously I immediately RAN to comments. Imagine my disappointment 😂😂
Cowards
Screenshot showing some dude's forehead and the Laya Healthcare logo above a comment box which is empty except for the words "the advertiser has turned off comments" As my da would have said, the shite has got thin in them
December 8, 2024 at 9:25 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
My number 1 song apparently, streamed a whole 7 times in 12 months, or 11 months, or whatever the fuck it is.
"Commitment never sounded so good"

Right
Screenshot from Spotify wrapped showing The Ramones Road to Ruin album and saying that I streamed it 7 times, starting on 8 February. It then says commitment never sounded so good and invites me to share this story. It does not, at any point, identify the actual song that was allegedly my most streamed. For the record the song was I wanna be sedated - allegedly. Apparently, people have put in service user access requests to get their data, have crunched the numbers themselves and Spotify is chatting shit, so who knows what my actual number 1 song is! God I love technological advancement!
December 5, 2024 at 10:00 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Shinners will be hoping the voter discipline holds up here to get Bennett over the line instead of incumbent Tully. The possible twist is that Tully will likely give a few to fellow Cavan woman O'Reilly while SF transfers will split between Bennett and better-known Carthy.
Should be OK but 😬 #ge24
Count 10 from Cavan-Monaghan which is distributing votes from Fianna Fáil's Robbie Gallagher. David Maxwell (FG) is elected, next is Matt Carthy (SF) 600-700 votes short of quota, then Niamh Smyth (FF) 1500 votes off quota, Brendan Smyth (FF) who should get the 4th seat. At the bottom are Pauline Tully (SF) who will be eliminated and the two contenders for the 5th seat, Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú) currently on 8,407 and Cathy Bennett (SF) on 8,110
December 2, 2024 at 7:56 AM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Well FINALLY, #CavanMonaghan have a first count and looks like SF had a good day, but probably won't get the transfers to get all 3. I'm not sure Aontú will manage it either on this distribution.
Best news is that besides Aontú and Independent Ireland, the most hateful ones are losing their deposits
Candidates in order of votes gained in Cavan-Monaghan (Quota 11,542): Matt Carthy (SF) 9,363; Cathy Bennett (SF) 6,904; Brendan Smyth (FF) 6,653; Pauline Tully (SF) 6,455; Robbie Gallagher (FF) 6,273; David Maxwell (FG) 6,199; Niamh Smyth (FF) 5,789; Sarah O'Reilly (Aon) 5,148; TP O'Reilly (FG) 4,328; Carmel Brady (FG) 4,259; Shane P O'Reilly (II) 3,078; Val Martin (IFP) 1,258. Remainder are independents and small parties on less than 1,000.
December 1, 2024 at 12:41 PM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
I recently really enjoyed Babel. It's set in 1800s Oxford. Slightly magical - some power is derived from being able to translate between languages. About empire, language, belonging, resistance, power. Highly recommend it.
Babel by R.F. Kuang
November 12, 2024 at 12:08 AM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Always and forever one of my absolute favourite places to be #watersedge #reflections
Beach with mountains in the background and an overcast sky reflecting from water still lying across the sand. On the right three people are in silhouette at the edge of the sea
November 10, 2024 at 10:24 AM
sarahskeeter.bsky.social
Ha! Would have thought Aontú but turns out I disagree with FF and FG even more than them 🤷‍♀️ #GE24
My views are least in line with Fianna Fáil
November 8, 2024 at 7:12 AM