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Reposted by Duncan Smith

George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 2h

To be effective, protest must be noisy, obstructive, annoying. No longer is this allowed. Now the last attribute of effective dissent – persistence – is also to be banned. But the moment protest ceases to be effective is the moment democracy dies. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Here’s what you need to know about Starmer’s illiberal protest curbs: they would have killed the Labour party at birth | George Monbiot

The rights we enjoy in the UK, and the movement the PM purports to lead, were built on protest. Those rights are in dire peril, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Duncan Smith

Bob Marshall @bobmarshall.co.uk · 1h

Hi #PortfolioDay!

I'm an Architectural Illustrator from Edinburgh. I visually reconstruct heritage buildings and monuments in #Blender3D guided by archaeology, measured survey data, and by working in collaboration with historians and archaeologists.

Website: bobmarshall.co.uk

ALT: A speculative digital reconstruction of the Bass of Inverurie - a late twelfth-century timber and earthwork castle held by the Earls of Garioch (pronounced "Geary" in the local tongue)- members of the extended royal family of Scotland and the ancestors of King Robert the Bruce. Personal project © Bob Marshall 2017. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Speculative digital reconstruction of Tor Alvie hillfort near Aviemore, Scottish Highlands. The site was identified as a hillfort in 2010-11 (Historic Environment Record: MHG55341). The reconstruction model was created in Blender 3D using a combination of high-resolution digital terrain data obtained from Ordnance Survey, which I used to create my backdrop of the Cairngorm Mountains. Although the fort has never been excavated, the line of its rampart walls can broadly be determined by a stony bank that encloses an area of roughly 85m x 30m, bearing immediate similarities in size and shape to Craig Phadrig hillfort near Inverness. However, unlike Craig Phadrig, there is no evidence that Torr Alvie was vitrified. It is difficult to know how thick the ramparts were, whether there were timber palisades, and how many entrances the fort had, so imagination plays a large part in this visualisation. With grateful thanks to Eve Boyle and Adam Welfare of Historic Environment Scotland and Professor Gordon Noble of the University of Aberdeen for their input and assistance. © Bob Marshall / badenochstorylands.com 2020.

A speculative digital reconstruction of the early sixteenth-century chancel screen of St Mary's parish church in Youghal, Ireland. Using survey measurements, I developed a computer model to help me work out a possible design for the screen and its loft. Its form is guided by the information written in historical documents and from a single piece of decorated timber, which may have been part of this original screen, found underneath the church floor during recent archaeological investigations. I have combined influences from some surviving medieval screens found in churches in several English counties. The depiction of the Last Judgement painted above the chancel arch is imaginary, and also influenced by similar mural paintings found in several medieval English churches. The Last Judgement, sometimes also referred to as a ‘Doom’, was a common feature of medieval churches. It was an instrument for highlighting the contrasts between the rewards of heaven and the agony of hell, intended to guide Christians away from sin and misbehaviour.

A digital reconstruction of Brougham Castle shows how it may have looked in 1388 following the additions and alterations made by Roger Clifford, 5th Baron of Westmoreland. This view of the castle in wintertime is from the northwest. Artist: Bob Marshall. © Historic England / English Heritage Trust. Contact Historic England Archives for Licensing enquiries.

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Reposted by Duncan Smith

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 13h

The UN health agency found that one in six infections worldwide was resistant to the most commonly available antibiotics. “Antibiotic resistance is widespread and threatening the future of modern medicine,” one WHO official said.

W.H.O. Warns of Sharp Increase in Drug-Resistant Infections

The U.N. health agency found that one in six infections worldwide was resistant to the most commonly available antibiotics.

nyti.ms

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Duncan Smith @dnmns.bsky.social · 13h

Looking for the same.

Duncan Smith @dnmns.bsky.social · 14h

Submarine getting closer…closer…<plink> no internet connection.

Reposted by Duncan Smith

The People's Fabric @peoplesfabric.com · 15h

Imagine going back in time to tell 2015-you that in 2025 armed masked secret police are driving around Chicago, asking to see papers, kidnapping dozens of people a day, and arresting citizens who record them, while launching tear gas into neighborhood streets.

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Pam Jarvis @drpam.bsky.social · 23h

But if evidence emerges that someone on the breadline has filled in a form wrong, they have to pay it back and they will be arrested if it looks like it may be intentional. This is outrageous. So arrest him, and interview him under caution.

Boris Johnson breached rules designed to stop abuse of contacts made in public office, watchdog finds

Johnson found to have breached rules after refusing to answer specific questions about allegations published by the Guardian

www.theguardian.com

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Jason Rabinowitz @airlineflyer.net · 19h

I, for one, welcome our new Chinese vehicle safety regulation overlords.

WIRED @wired.com · 23h

Proposed regulations in China would mean the end of flush handles on car doors, with precious little time to roll out the changes. www.wired.com/story/new-ru...

New Rules Could Force Tesla to Redesign Its Door Handles. That’s Harder Than It Sounds

Proposed regulations in China would mean the end of flush handles on car doors, with precious little time to roll out the changes.

www.wired.com

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Reposted by Duncan Smith

Senator Scott Wiener @scottwiener.bsky.social · 1d

The level of kleptocratic corruption in this regime is breathtaking, e.g.:

—Selling off Freddie Mac & Fannie Mae to big banks

—Bribes from ABC & CBS

—TikTok sale to Ellison

—Everything Qatar: the plane gift, the Idaho military base

—Whoever has bribed him by buying his scam meme coins

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The Register @theregister.com · 23h

We're all going to be paying AI's Godzilla-sized power bills

Even if you never use it, you'll be paying for it thanks to datacenters' never-ending hunger for electricity Opinion When I was a wet-behind-the-ears developer running my programs on an IBM 360, a mainframe that was slower than a Raspberry Pi Zero W, my machine used about 50 kilowatts (kW). I thought that was a lot of power. Little did I know what was coming.…

dlvr.it

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Reposted by Duncan Smith

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 1d

It's hard to help Americans left behind because so much of US identity is rooted in individualism. The average American conservative holds all three positions at once:

— Virtue signals about supporting US manufacturing
— Against raising the minimum wage
— Buys foreign imports because they're cheap

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "I'm willing to pay more for quality products if they are made in America, by Americans, who are paid a decent income." The tweet shows Norman Rockwell's "Freedom of Speech" painting, which is often used to show the tweeter is expressing a brave opinion.

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "MINIMUM WAGE JOBS WERE NOT MEANT TO BE A CAREER. Why does no one understand this? Entry level jobs are STEPPING STONES to better jobs. No one wants to work towards that though."

HardPass4 on Twitter tweets: "Buy $5 gloves instead of $50 ones. Trust me." The tweet shows a box of "Gorilla Grip" gloves.

The label on Gorilla Grip gloves show they're made in China.

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Zack Labe @zacklabe.com · 1d

Unfortunately still no #Arctic sea ice thickness and volume update for the month of September on my website... data issues from the U.S. government shutdown

PIOMAS notice: psc.apl.uw.edu/research/pro...

Screenshot that says "August 2025 Monthly Update [September update delayed due to US Govn’t shutdown resulting in unavailable data]"

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 2d

Private equity wrecked UK high street, says Iceland Foods boss

PE model - low wages, cut staff/investment, high debt, profiteering, tax abuse.

PE devoured Debenhams, Maplin, Byron Burger, Cath Kidson, Comet, Flybe, Poundworld, Toys R Us.

Controls care homes, vets, supermarkets.
archive.ph/tJVkV

Private equity has wrecked the high street, says Iceland boss

Richard Walker says private buyers take out costs and fail to invest then sell to the highest bidder in a cycle that makes retailers steadily worse

www.thetimes.com

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Slurmsadako MacKenzie @slurmsmackenzie.bsky.social · 2d

GenAI truly was the worst technology to come along at this moment.

An energy and water guzzler when we most urgently need to take climate action.

A disinformation machine as our journalism fails.

A bias machine as fascism takes root.

A job killer in a cost of living crisis.

Bria "tries to write a book" Horses @thevoidencore.bsky.social · 7d

The "cognitive decline and brain damage from repeat COVID infections" and "easy to use robot that makes slop and melts your critical thinking skills" is a hell of a combo in a post-fact media ecosystem

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Reposted by Duncan Smith

John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 3d

There is background radiation all over the internet and it feels like war to me. Nearly every website is getting slammed with traffic that appears to be from AI scrapers? But no one really know where it's all coming from. These days you can hardly run a small website without a CDN to shield you.

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John Skiles Skinner @skiles.blue · 3d

Meanwhile Pete Hegseth thinks the wars of the future will be a soldier beauty pageant and pushup contest. Ignoring the actual ways in which war is being fought, right now, in Ukrane, Gaza, and across worldwide computer networks.

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God @thegodpodcast.com · 2d

When Obama was president the right wing acted like masked government agents were coming to kidnap them and take all their rights away.

Then Republicans get elected and actually do that shit for real.

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Professa Murray @kalimurray.bsky.social · 2d

What drives me nuts about this dialogue: diversity and inclusion training was a corporate response to the statutory requirements civil rights laws. None of these laws have been repealed by Congress. Congress can pass the laws under Section 5 of the 14th Amendment, which has also not been repealed.

Anna Gifty @itsafronomics.bsky.social · 2d

lol gentle reminder that DEI is not illegal. Supporting marginalized groups is not illegal. Anyone reneging on support is making a CHOICE to do so.

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Disability Rights Watch (US) @disrightswatch.bsky.social · 2d

Breaking: per internal sources, the entire Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), including OSEP and RSA beneath them, was RIFed last night at the Department of Ed. Developing story. DoEd union says may take 1-2 days for all affected employees to receive official notice.

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Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 2d

To summarize. If Trump wanted to send Ukraine Tomahawks, he could right now. If Trump wanted to sanction Russia, he could right now. If Trump
wanted to seriously bolster Ukrainian air defense against Russia drones/missiles, he could right now. But he’s not, so he doesn’t want to.

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The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 2d

Imagine that

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Matt Green @mattgreencomedy.com · 3d

There’s a comment piece in The Times about sickness benefits mysteriously going up and no mention of Covid, long Covid, the effects of lockdown etc. Boosters help people stay healthy, but now they are only available to the very old or people who can afford them.

Jason Hazeley @jasonhazeley.bsky.social · 3d

It’s dispiriting that this is what getting a COVID vaccination now looks like to this chronic asthmatic.

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Arfur Towcrate @arfurztowcrate.bsky.social · 3d

Thatcher said "The trouble with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money."

The trouble with capitalism is that if you run out of other people's money, you can do it again with a new limited company

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The Ranty Highwayman @rantyhighwayman.bsky.social · 3d

For my mind, anyone saying that a new road or adding capacity to a junction will "unlock thousands of new homes" needs to be very stringently asked "how".

Linking a road scheme as necessary to unlocking land for housebuilding should be a huge red flag for the media to probe.

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Anon Opin @anonopin.bsky.social · 7d

The green cross code is the most disastrous public information campaign in history. It has made generations believe that pedestrians are responsible for avoiding crashes. Crashes are actually the responsibility of the operators of the massive motorised lumps of metal.

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