Author | Lightnews

Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 1d

For the full gross-out, sorry the full story, listen to this episode of Origin Stories with anthropologist Melanie Beasley:
pca.st/episode/1519...

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Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 1d

With social media, the difference between enough and too much is a fine line between sanity and bombardment.

Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 1d

Thank god it's Friday. Christ, what a week.
And why do us atheists have such a limited vocabulary.

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Gernot Wagner @gwagner.com · 3d

And so it begins, Musk's Grokipedia is scraping Wikipedia and re-writing things in Musk's image.

The entry for climate change?

Let's just say the Wikipedia entry has neither an "Economic and Policy Critiques" section, nor one on the "Role of Media and Advocacy" that accuses both of bias.

Role of Media and Advocacy
Media coverage of climate change has often emphasized catastrophic scenarios and extreme weather attribution, contributing to heightened public alarm. A 2022 study analyzing English-language news media found a significant reporting bias favoring storms and wildfires, with these events receiving disproportionate attention compared to droughts or other impacts, potentially skewing perceptions of risk materiality.[219] This selective focus aligns with broader trends where outlets attribute unusual weather—such as heat waves, floods, and hurricanes—to anthropogenic climate change, even when causal links remain uncertain or unproven.[220] Such framing has fostered a moral panic, as mainstream reporting routinely overlooks empirical inconsistencies in alarmist predictions, including historical forecast failures like exaggerated sea-level rise or Arctic ice loss timelines.[221]
Advocacy organizations, including non-governmental groups like Greenpeace, Sierra Club, and Extinction Rebellion, have played a pivotal role in amplifying these narratives through campaigns, protests, and public shaming tactics. These entities mobilize grassroots pressure and influence policy by correlating their activities with shifts in public opinion on global warming, with studies showing moderate positive associations between environmental NGO presence and supportive attitudes.[222] For instance, Extinction Rebellion's 2019 actions, including street blockades in major cities, aimed to disrupt normalcy and demand immediate emissions cuts, drawing global media attention and pressuring governments toward net-zero commitments.[223] International NGOs further exert leverage via reputational costs, using public opinion channels and transnational advocacy to shape national laws, as evidenced in analyses of "climate shaming" campaigns.[224]

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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 2d

Amazon is helping fund a $300 million build of a ballroom for the White House.

Independent bookstores are donating to food banks and organizations that help with food insecurity.

They are not the same.

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Tony Yates @t0nyyates.bsky.social · 1d

40m users day is here!

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Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · 3d

Minority representation on TV causes outrage

From the new Private Eye, in shops now.

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Issue One @issueonereform.bsky.social · 4d

Voters across the political spectrum continue to reject key assumptions made by the Supreme Court in its controversial Citizens United decision, new @today.yougov.com poll shows.

The public’s perceptions of corruption are corrosive to the foundation of our democracy.

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3d

Younger people who voted Labour are going Green, young people who couldn't vote or didn't vote are going Green. Many uncertainties in politics but here's one sure thing: this group will be bigger at next GE than now - voting age going down and more people becoming eligible.

Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 3d

Where is the Green vote coming from? Only 4 in 10 current Green voters backed the Party last July. 1 in 5 opted for Labour while a similar number didn’t/couldn’t vote in a mirror of Reform UK’s attraction of previous non voters.

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Sue Julians @suejulians.bsky.social · 4d

How can you make these claims whilst admitting you didn’t look at intensity? Or if there was a reason why people chose not to walk for more than 15 mins every day? Or whether those that did, did so because they have a dog, known to have other beneficial effects? Bah

Daily steps more beneficial in ‘one long walk’ not shorter strolls

Early death and cardiovascular disease are significantly lower in people who go walking for longer than 15 minutes, a study shows

www.thetimes.com

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Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 5d

Russia still considers the UK one of its prime enemies.

And what’s the best way to bring ‘Britain to its knees’ again as the former Russian Ambassador to London once boasted?

Repeat the talking points of Farage and Far right activists - key collaborators in Putin’s mission

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 5d

There is no silver bullet to reducing the number of people stuck in hotels, but by fast tracking claims and providing asylum for those from high grant rate countries, providing those seeking asylum with the right to work, and investing in community schemes this government could make a difference.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 5d

It's not about what this country can or can’t afford. It’s about priorities. [Cartoon by Jesse Duquette]

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Simon Kuestenmacher @simongerman600.bsky.social · 5d

This is well worth contemplating in some detail. The chart shows daily usage of different social media apps in the UK by gender and age (for people under 40). Source: buff.ly/P5c1Xex

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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 5d

Private rent in UK now swallows 44% of the average wage.

Monthly cost jumps to record £1,385 outside London, £2,736 in the capital.

Lack of social and affordable housing, no rent controls, as govts appease corporations and the rich.

Profiteering creating poverty/despair, stifling economic growth.

Private rent in Britain now swallows 44% of the average wage

Monthly cost jumps to record £1,385 outside London, and £2,736 in the capital, with hotspots showing hefty rises

www.theguardian.com

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 5d

I want to think that this clip along with the Katie Lam madness represents the end of the Faragist cul-de-sac the Tories have gone down.

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 6d

Lewis Goodall pressing Chris Philp on the difference between what Sarah Pochin said and what Robert Jenrick said about 'white faces'.

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Dr Emma L Briant 🐸🎃 BOO! 👻 @emmalbriant.bsky.social · 6d

Oh wow

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 6d

We have reached the point where the *American Bar Association* cannot find attorneys willing to represent them in litigation against the Trump administration.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Trump’s orders unnerved many in the industry and appear to have discouraged some large firms from taking on cases they would otherwise have backed, lawyers say. That has dried up a formerly reliable supply of help from large law offices for people and institutions challenging government policies.

The American Bar Association, which joined or filed four lawsuits against the Trump administration, “has experienced difficulty finding previously willing law firms to represent it,” its attorneys wrote in court papers. In one case, the organization said, it was unable to join a lawsuit challenging the administration because it could not get attorneys in time.

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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 6d

As countries tighten rules on intl. students, the UK’s post-Brexit experience offers a warning. A new book, Brexit, EU Students & UK Higher Education: Broken Bridges, shows how swiftly fair intl access can collapse & how hard it is to restore once gone. www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile....

Brexit fallout: A warning and a guide for all HE systems

A new book on the effects of Brexit on United Kingdom universities shows that narrow parochialism has all-round costs. There is no halfway house, no c...

www.universityworldnews.com

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Daniel Abraham @abraham.bsky.social · 6d

If I were running the DNC, there would be Democratic Party sponsored food relief banks across the country right now that specifically welcomed anyone regardless of party affiliation.

Along with the food, there could be voter registration and links to runforsomething.net

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Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 8d

And in so doing re-enforces the sense in which the current bout of flag-flying isn't a symbol of shared belonging but a political, and, here, an explicitly party political, statement.

Bremain in Spain @bremaininspain.com · 8d

🙄 Reform UK will spend £75,000 putting up 150 Union flags across Nottinghamshire in a bid to "strengthen community spirit"

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Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 9d

Lots of useful context here, starting with, for example, this:
www.tysto.com/special/reno...

Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 9d

If using peated scotch only*, consider a touch of honey (chestnut, orange blossom, perhaps? call me fussy) and some really good quality cold black tea, Ceylon and Darjeeling. To taste.
*A proper version of this would use a sherry cask matured spirit, but that might not be 'indifferent whisky ; )

Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 9d

So, the recipe:
Take indifferent scotch. Add good stout gradually, to taste, more scotch than stout imho. (2tsp peated scotch too?)
Crucially, add a few thin slices of fresh ginger.
Maybe an ice cube, maybe even a tsp of cream, up to you.
Call it Autumn Haze. Or don't - Ginger Whisky Stout it is.

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Foz @nickfoz.bsky.social · 9d

I bought some excellent Mulligans stout from Aldi. But I also have some indifferent whisky from duty free. Happened to have both glasses by my side at the same time...
Light bulb moment.
I added a few teaspoons of stout to the whisky, it helped the nose. Added more it helped the mouthfeel. so...

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Krassensteins @krassenstein.bsky.social · 9d

BREAKING: Letitia James has announced a Government portal for Videos and images of ICE Agents who may have committed crimes.

Please Use it and SHARE!

ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...

Federal Action Reporting Form

Federal Action Reporting Form Please use this form to share information regarding federal government action in New York state. Filing a complaint does not start

ag.ny.gov

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