Tom Gleeson
@tggleeson.bsky.social
Datasmith (retired) same handle on the Bird Site.
Pinned
Tom Gleeson
@tggleeson.bsky.social
· Jul 1
As per tradition, a cat picture for the first post on a new platform. Biscuit aka Ginger Puss
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
As a Labour MP said to me last week: ‘obviously if you get 34 per cent you need to ask “how to get more votes” and we basically looked at three groups of voters, for different reasons it offended the egos in No 10 to go after them, and here we are’.
February 14, 2026 at 11:18 AM
As a Labour MP said to me last week: ‘obviously if you get 34 per cent you need to ask “how to get more votes” and we basically looked at three groups of voters, for different reasons it offended the egos in No 10 to go after them, and here we are’.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Indeed. Late last year a Spad said (paraphrasing): “basically once you understand that everything is about four to eight people going ‘don’t let anything detract from MY big win’ and working backwards from there”, and it was a real “oh, yeah of course!” lightbulb moment for me.
February 14, 2026 at 11:28 AM
Indeed. Late last year a Spad said (paraphrasing): “basically once you understand that everything is about four to eight people going ‘don’t let anything detract from MY big win’ and working backwards from there”, and it was a real “oh, yeah of course!” lightbulb moment for me.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
going for Reform voters whilst also trying to make 2029 a Labour vs Reform election feels like a *courageous* bit of double dipping
February 14, 2026 at 11:24 AM
going for Reform voters whilst also trying to make 2029 a Labour vs Reform election feels like a *courageous* bit of double dipping
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
We saw these two walking towards us, and I said “He must be in love”. She said “He must have done something terrible”.
February 14, 2026 at 6:51 PM
We saw these two walking towards us, and I said “He must be in love”. She said “He must have done something terrible”.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
When Monet first exhibited this impression of a sunrise at Le Havre, most critics were appalled, claiming they could not recognise what the painting was supposed to show.
The energy transition to renewables is not dissimilar: “What? Electricity without combustion? Ridiculous!”
The rest is history.
The energy transition to renewables is not dissimilar: “What? Electricity without combustion? Ridiculous!”
The rest is history.
February 14, 2026 at 5:20 PM
When Monet first exhibited this impression of a sunrise at Le Havre, most critics were appalled, claiming they could not recognise what the painting was supposed to show.
The energy transition to renewables is not dissimilar: “What? Electricity without combustion? Ridiculous!”
The rest is history.
The energy transition to renewables is not dissimilar: “What? Electricity without combustion? Ridiculous!”
The rest is history.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
WOWWW!! 😍. What an STUNNING: “Skyline at Sunrise..” over Courtmacsherry Bay in West Cork, #Ireland on St. Valentine’s Day 2026!! 🥰📸🌅🔥🌊✨❤️ #sunrise #cork #Valentinesday #Valentinesday2026 #love #trending #Speirgorm #bluesky #photography #photo #art #blueskyart #colours #nature #stormhour #thephotohour
February 14, 2026 at 4:28 PM
WOWWW!! 😍. What an STUNNING: “Skyline at Sunrise..” over Courtmacsherry Bay in West Cork, #Ireland on St. Valentine’s Day 2026!! 🥰📸🌅🔥🌊✨❤️ #sunrise #cork #Valentinesday #Valentinesday2026 #love #trending #Speirgorm #bluesky #photography #photo #art #blueskyart #colours #nature #stormhour #thephotohour
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
We wanted to understand how mRNA vaccines work. So we talked to three cocaine addicts in a gas station bathroom off Route 6.
February 14, 2026 at 2:33 PM
We wanted to understand how mRNA vaccines work. So we talked to three cocaine addicts in a gas station bathroom off Route 6.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Scientists no Longer Find Twitter Professionally Useful, and have Switched to Bluesky
Synopsis. Social media has become widely used by the scientific community for a variety of professional uses, including networking and public outreach. For
academic.oup.com
February 13, 2026 at 10:08 PM
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
I've painted a bleak picture of Brazil but this has to be tempered somewhat. Sure there are reasons why the country's stuck in the middle income trap, but still it's middle income rather than desperately poor.
As for the secure middle class... sure there's an intelligentsia that sees what can be achieved in the developed world and would love to fix the dysfunction.
But a more common reaction is despair/cynicism, if nothing works the best you can do is agitate for lower taxes.
But a more common reaction is despair/cynicism, if nothing works the best you can do is agitate for lower taxes.
February 14, 2026 at 4:35 PM
I've painted a bleak picture of Brazil but this has to be tempered somewhat. Sure there are reasons why the country's stuck in the middle income trap, but still it's middle income rather than desperately poor.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Of course, having grown up in Brazil, I'm interested in the failure modes.
The essay mentions "stepping into traffic and expecting the drivers to stop" as an example of cooperation with complete strangers. You should absolutely never do that in Rio de Janeiro.
The essay mentions "stepping into traffic and expecting the drivers to stop" as an example of cooperation with complete strangers. You should absolutely never do that in Rio de Janeiro.
February 14, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Of course, having grown up in Brazil, I'm interested in the failure modes.
The essay mentions "stepping into traffic and expecting the drivers to stop" as an example of cooperation with complete strangers. You should absolutely never do that in Rio de Janeiro.
The essay mentions "stepping into traffic and expecting the drivers to stop" as an example of cooperation with complete strangers. You should absolutely never do that in Rio de Janeiro.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
An AI bot wrote a blog post attacking an engineer because he had rejected lines of code the bot had submitted to an open-source project. on.wsj.com/4aghEdg
February 14, 2026 at 4:36 PM
An AI bot wrote a blog post attacking an engineer because he had rejected lines of code the bot had submitted to an open-source project. on.wsj.com/4aghEdg
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Britain has 6 train stations with "International" in the name. Only one has international railway services.
London public transport is generally great
but it’s very annoying that I’m at Stratford ‘international’ to get train to St Pancras to get the train to Amsterdam
but it’s very annoying that I’m at Stratford ‘international’ to get train to St Pancras to get the train to Amsterdam
February 14, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Britain has 6 train stations with "International" in the name. Only one has international railway services.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
212 following the old team route. Great views from the upper deck over the high walls of BlackRock Road. #Speirgorm
February 14, 2026 at 1:48 PM
212 following the old team route. Great views from the upper deck over the high walls of BlackRock Road. #Speirgorm
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Happy Valentine’s Day! Relics of St Valentine are in the Carmelite church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin. Here is a transcription of the original documents that accompanied the relics to Dublin - the church is quite different to its early 19th c design by George Papworth, but still v interesting!
February 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Happy Valentine’s Day! Relics of St Valentine are in the Carmelite church on Whitefriar Street in Dublin. Here is a transcription of the original documents that accompanied the relics to Dublin - the church is quite different to its early 19th c design by George Papworth, but still v interesting!
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
vividly remember, in the Corbyn Hell Years, seeing people on Twitter quite actively bonding over their joint hatred of me - trying to outdo each other in their meanness - and I just don't think it's possible to explain how weird and unpleasant it is, especially as someone who's....no-one
People don’t really understand the nature of the problem. It’s not lots of little random ankle-biter tweets. That’s annoying but whatever. It’s when hating you becomes this communal pursuit that exists separately from yourself. Like there’s an entire group of people working together to target you.
ignore it. why do you big accounts always complain? it’s like a celebrity complaining they get too much attention in the street. it comes with the territory. just ignore or mute those accounts. it seems you might have a kind of para social relationship back.
February 14, 2026 at 12:52 PM
vividly remember, in the Corbyn Hell Years, seeing people on Twitter quite actively bonding over their joint hatred of me - trying to outdo each other in their meanness - and I just don't think it's possible to explain how weird and unpleasant it is, especially as someone who's....no-one
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Saying I bought this beer just because of the bottle is a slur, and also true
February 14, 2026 at 1:47 PM
Saying I bought this beer just because of the bottle is a slur, and also true
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Coroner's re-enactment of St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Chicago (1929)
Photo: Chicago History Museum
#happyvalentines
February 14, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Coroner's re-enactment of St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Chicago (1929)
Photo: Chicago History Museum
#happyvalentines
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
In the case of Starmer, he has a simple choice.
A life of "if I had my time again" or diverting the flow of UK history.
It really is that stark.
bsky.app/profile/stef...
A life of "if I had my time again" or diverting the flow of UK history.
It really is that stark.
bsky.app/profile/stef...
Fascinating detail here from @rafaelbehr.bsky.social on Sunak and Brexit:
February 14, 2026 at 1:47 PM
In the case of Starmer, he has a simple choice.
A life of "if I had my time again" or diverting the flow of UK history.
It really is that stark.
bsky.app/profile/stef...
A life of "if I had my time again" or diverting the flow of UK history.
It really is that stark.
bsky.app/profile/stef...
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
As New Delhi endures another winter of deadly smog, public anger is growing over a pollution crisis India's government has failed to resolve.
India’s Toxic Air Crisis Is Reaching a Breaking Point
Months of deadly smog in New Delhi are sharpening public anger over a pollution crisis the government has failed to fix.
bloom.bg
February 14, 2026 at 11:30 AM
As New Delhi endures another winter of deadly smog, public anger is growing over a pollution crisis India's government has failed to resolve.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
The right kind of nostalgia
Happy Valentine's Day❤️. On this day in 1951, Mr and Mrs Snoddy, their two children and pet tortoise moved into a three-bedroomed flat in Gladstone House, the first residents of the Lansbury Estate in east London. We built 162,584 new council homes that year.
February 14, 2026 at 9:38 AM
The right kind of nostalgia
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
Steve Bannon discussed opposition strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis, with Bannon saying he hoped to “take down” the pontiff, according to newly released files from the US Department of Justice. https://cnn.it/4tH3r0O
February 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM
Steve Bannon discussed opposition strategies with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein against Pope Francis, with Bannon saying he hoped to “take down” the pontiff, according to newly released files from the US Department of Justice. https://cnn.it/4tH3r0O
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
A man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers and left half-dead on the side of the road. The first two passers by ignored him. The third was Nadhim Zahawi. Who ran straight into a radio studio to slag him off.
February 14, 2026 at 10:33 AM
A man was walking from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by robbers and left half-dead on the side of the road. The first two passers by ignored him. The third was Nadhim Zahawi. Who ran straight into a radio studio to slag him off.
Reposted by Tom Gleeson
“The time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defence clause to life,” von der Leyen told the Munich Security Conference, in a bold pitch for the EU to take on a Nato-like defence role
“As they say in Ukraine, you change or die,” she added. "We must adopt this mantra too.”
as.ft.com/r/948d76c4-8...
“As they say in Ukraine, you change or die,” she added. "We must adopt this mantra too.”
as.ft.com/r/948d76c4-8...
Von der Leyen says Europe must bring its mutual defence clause ‘to life’
[FREE TO READ] Commission president tells Munich Security Conference ‘you change or die’
as.ft.com
February 14, 2026 at 9:57 AM
“The time has come to bring Europe’s mutual defence clause to life,” von der Leyen told the Munich Security Conference, in a bold pitch for the EU to take on a Nato-like defence role
“As they say in Ukraine, you change or die,” she added. "We must adopt this mantra too.”
as.ft.com/r/948d76c4-8...
“As they say in Ukraine, you change or die,” she added. "We must adopt this mantra too.”
as.ft.com/r/948d76c4-8...