MSmitham
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msmitham.bsky.social
MSmitham
@msmitham.bsky.social
200 followers 1K following 830 posts
Family man, IT nerd, photographer, drone pilot. Left leaning. Glossop UK.
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by MSmitham
groomb.bsky.social
Steep Street, Blackburn, Lancashire, 1985, photo by Michael Kenna, Widnes-born photographer.
January 31, 2026 at 9:22 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
beardedwalker.bsky.social
Views over #Derwentwater to Derwent Isle and Cat Bells with lifting morning mists

#landscapephotography
#Cumbria
#keswick
#UK
#lakedistrict
Morning mists lifting over Cat Bells and Derwentwater.
January 30, 2026 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
mattashby.com
We're consumed by stories of murder, but how much do you know about homicide in England and Wales?

Every day this week I'm going to post a thread summarising a different aspect of what data can tell us about the nature of homicide.

🧵
Line chart showing the homicide rate per million people in England and Wales from 1900 to 2024. Light purple dots represent the annual rate, a thick purple line shows the trend, and black triangles mark spikes during the World Wars. A single black dot in 2003 highlights Harold Shipman’s murders, which were recorded that year despite occurring earlier. The rate generally declined from 1900 to the mid-1960s, then rose until the early 2000s before declining again. Data source: Home Office historical crime data. Base: all recorded homicides, 1900–2024. Vertical axis ranges from 0 to 20 homicides per million people. A bar chart comparing homicide rates per million residents in 2023 across European countries. Each country is represented by a vertical blue bar, except for England and Wales, which is highlighted in dark purple. A dotted line indicates the EU average of 9.1 homicides per million. Malta has the lowest rate, while Latvia has the highest, exceeding 40 homicides per million. England and Wales sits at almost exactly the EU average. Countries are listed along the x-axis, and the y-axis shows homicide rates. Data sources are the Home Office for England and Wales, and Eurostat for other countries. Bar chart showing homicide rates per million residents in countries with populations over 10 million, using the most recent available data (since 2021). Countries are sorted left to right by increasing homicide rate. Japan, Indonesia, and South Korea have the lowest rates, all well below the 2023 world average of 52 homicides per million (marked by a dotted line). England and Wales appears below average. The highest rates are seen in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, South Africa, and Ecuador, with Ecuador exceeding 450 homicides per million. Source: Home Office (UK) and World Bank. Vertical axis shows homicide rate; horizontal axis lists countries.
January 26, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
groomb.bsky.social
Fish and chip shop, Leeds, 1970s, photo by Peter Mitchell.
January 26, 2026 at 8:35 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
tishamark.com
Snowed in for a bit. Painting tiny seascapes and listening to Pixies' Doolittle album on repeat (as one does).

Tisha Mark ©2026, Tiny Seascape No. 2602, oil on Arches oil paper, 2.5"x2"

Original is available (ships when dry, approx 2 weeks):
tishamark.com/shop

#art #painting #bsnm #SciArt
Photo of a hand holding an original tiny seascape oil painting by Tisha Mark, "Tiny Seascape No. 2602" 2.5"x2" oil on Arches oil paper, (2026). A tiny atmospheric seascape painting with white cloud formations over a dark blue sea with a rocky shore. Painted in a limited palette of blues and whites. A paint palette with puddles of oil paint, two paintbrushes, and a palette knife are visible in the background.
January 25, 2026 at 7:25 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
artlimited.net
Red chair by Dorota Górecka https://www.artlimit...
#photography #colors #object #chair #colorful #minimalist #awesome_photographers #color #visiblewomen #furnishing #redhead #shotwithlove
January 25, 2026 at 8:19 PM
msmitham.bsky.social
The right winners. #traitors
January 23, 2026 at 9:49 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
groomb.bsky.social
New York doesn't have a monopoly on this kind of picture. Construction of Co-operative Insurance Society tower, Manchester, 1960s (Manchester Libraries).
January 21, 2026 at 8:42 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
mullicannot.bsky.social
Pacific Beach, San Diego, California

#sandiego #pacificbeach #beach #sunset #sunsetchasers #ocean #landscapes_lovers #photography
Low tide beach at dusk with shallow water reflecting pink clouds and a fading orange horizon. Gentle waves form dark horizontal bands beneath a wide sky that shifts from warm light near the horizon to deep blue overhead.
January 19, 2026 at 8:27 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
bergep.bsky.social
Cool shadow

#leica #streetphotography #photo 📸 📷 🎞️
January 19, 2026 at 9:47 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
msallilux.bsky.social
I have been feeling a lot of anger lately due to our political climate.

Dolly made this video today for her 80th birthday to benefit pediatric cancer.

We can’t lose hope.

youtu.be/McaD2PG8jOE
Dolly Parton - Light of a Clear Blue Morning ft. Lainey Wilson, Miley Cyrus, Queen Latifah & Reba
YouTube video by Dolly Parton
youtu.be
January 18, 2026 at 12:46 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
glennyrodge.bsky.social
In these challenging times someone might need one of them:
Childline: 0800 1111
Samaritans: 116 123
Domestic Violence Hotline: 0808 2000 247
Mind: 0300 123 3393
Age UK: 0800 169 6565
Alcoholics Anonymous : 0800 9177 650
Cruse Bereavement Care: 0808 808 1677
MH text support: 85258
January 18, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
danielsohege.bsky.social
A week and a bit into the job search, so obviously going to keep re-upping this. Pretty sure that this is the worst time of year to be looking for jobs in my area, but if you are looking for a Comms, policy, advocacy person, or know someone who is, please do let me know or share.
1/4
danielsohege.bsky.social Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 23d
Sadly it is official, my current employment contract finishes at the end of March. It has been a fantastic three years at Migrant Voice. If you, or someone you know, knows of job opportunities for an experienced policy, advocacy and comms person, across multiple sectors, please do let me know.
January 17, 2026 at 9:22 AM
msmitham.bsky.social
A 340⁰ panorama video of #Glossop in #Derbyshire

youtu.be/cLc9IU3ZBSE?...
Three hundred and forty degrees
YouTube video by Mark Smitham
youtu.be
January 16, 2026 at 2:59 PM
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glennyrodge.bsky.social
Someone just said the days are getting longer. As if things can’t get any worse.
January 15, 2026 at 7:45 PM
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hedgehoggrl.bsky.social
Les Bouquinistes, Paris.

#PhotographersOfBluesky #EastCoastKin #ClassicMono #AlphabetChallenge #WeekBforBooks #UrbanGaze #HumansOfBlueSky
Black-and-white photo of pedestrians shopping open air book stalls along a long sidewalk.
January 15, 2026 at 12:04 PM
Reposted by MSmitham
gregjenner.bsky.social
I thought this trailer was an SNL sketch, but nope! — it’s a real movie with possibly the greatest cast of 2026, and I implore you to watch the trailer 😆
youtu.be/pyZI5oM6hWk?...
The Sheep Detectives | Official Trailer
YouTube video by Amazon MGM Studios
youtu.be
January 15, 2026 at 11:43 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
marcuschown.bsky.social
We have to classify, X, Facebook and the rest of the tech platforms as ”publishers“, legally responsible for everything that appears. It’s unnaceptable that they hide behind their users & use the “nothing to do with me, guv” defence.

They make untold billions.

It’s up to THEM to police their sites
January 15, 2026 at 7:09 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
groomb.bsky.social
'Hot Bank Farm in the snow, a very cold day on Hadrian's Wall, Northumberland', Jan 2024, photo by Jake Thomas.
January 14, 2026 at 8:20 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
Jeez. This is completely insane. How has this been allowed to happen?
January 13, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
goodlawproject.org
We are pleased to see this from Ofcom www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet.... However, it appears to have a main or exclusive focus on CSAM and there is a wide variety of other illegal content which X, in breach of its duties under the Online Safety Act, has failed to remove.
Ofcom launches investigation into X over Grok sexualised imagery
Ofcom has today opened a formal investigation into X under the UK’s Online Safety Act, to determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in ...
www.ofcom.org.uk
January 12, 2026 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
philipoconnor.bsky.social
Grok has not "turned off" its CSAM generator for anyone - it has simply put it behind a paywall.
Stop uncritically repeating the narratives of tech companies.
January 9, 2026 at 8:59 AM
msmitham.bsky.social
Having to go to my grandmother's house to watch colour TV because we only had black and white.
thereal3ccentric.bsky.social 3ccentric @thereal3ccentric.bsky.social · 22d
Without revealing your actual age,what's something you remember that if you told a younger person they wouldn't understand?
January 9, 2026 at 10:47 AM
msmitham.bsky.social
Might get a Dirk Benedict sketch on my arm. Always wanted a Face tattoo. #OneForTheKids
January 8, 2026 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by MSmitham
danielsohege.bsky.social
The grifters and politicians who treat child sexual abuse as an "immigration issue" to stoke yet more racism and division seem pretty damn quiet and complacent about their go to social media site actively being used to create images like this.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
AI chatbot Grok used to create child sexual abuse imagery, watchdog says
Internet Watch Foundation warns Elon Musk-owned AI risks bringing sexualised imagery of children into the mainstream
www.theguardian.com
January 8, 2026 at 9:15 AM