Andy Hinton
@achinton.bsky.social
Bisexual left-liberal theatre sound person based in London. Long-suffering member of the Lib Dems.
Approves of: trans people, new urbanism, Doctor Who and sci-fi in general, Bioware games, good public transport, stuff like that.
He/him
Approves of: trans people, new urbanism, Doctor Who and sci-fi in general, Bioware games, good public transport, stuff like that.
He/him
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Please share this widely. There have been 13 peer-reviewed critiques of the Cass Review, to the extent that academia regards it as pseudoscience, but so far all have been subject to organised censorship by mainstream media. This is the first time one has broken through. Oz Guardian only still.
Worked hard to get this into Guardian Oz & big props to @fiercemum.bsky.social for setting it up & Melissa Davey for publishing it. She will doubtless get loads of hassle from transphobes for it, but it needs to be out there.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Puberty Blocker bans harm trans kids, no-one should pretend they don’t.
Puberty blocker bans in Queensland and NZ risk extreme harm to trans youth, UK expert warns
Sociologist who surveyed effect of 2024 UK ban says denial of gender-affirming care has left trans and non-binary children in ‘abject misery and severe distress’
www.theguardian.com
December 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Please share this widely. There have been 13 peer-reviewed critiques of the Cass Review, to the extent that academia regards it as pseudoscience, but so far all have been subject to organised censorship by mainstream media. This is the first time one has broken through. Oz Guardian only still.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Today I am thinking of all the people in my former industries (retail and hospitality) who are at the start of the worst fortnight of the year.
Congratulations on surviving Mad Friday, where all the knobhead office workers who come to the pub once a year and don't know how to order appear.
Congratulations on surviving Mad Friday, where all the knobhead office workers who come to the pub once a year and don't know how to order appear.
December 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Today I am thinking of all the people in my former industries (retail and hospitality) who are at the start of the worst fortnight of the year.
Congratulations on surviving Mad Friday, where all the knobhead office workers who come to the pub once a year and don't know how to order appear.
Congratulations on surviving Mad Friday, where all the knobhead office workers who come to the pub once a year and don't know how to order appear.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
If I had to ask the Louvre's permission it would 'kill' my high-end jewelry business!
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
December 14, 2025 at 8:13 PM
If I had to ask the Louvre's permission it would 'kill' my high-end jewelry business!
Reposted by Andy Hinton
So there is already an ai-generated whitewashing campaign to bury the name of the Muslim man, Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach shooters, and replace his identity with a white guy name and that’s why even a thimble of our potable water powering this tech is too fucking much.
December 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
So there is already an ai-generated whitewashing campaign to bury the name of the Muslim man, Ahmed al Ahmed, who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach shooters, and replace his identity with a white guy name and that’s why even a thimble of our potable water powering this tech is too fucking much.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Can't wait for Robin Ince to get as many column inches in the national press over his actual establishment silencing due to his stance on lgbt+ rights as phobes get over their former friends not wanting to hang out so much any more
December 13, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Can't wait for Robin Ince to get as many column inches in the national press over his actual establishment silencing due to his stance on lgbt+ rights as phobes get over their former friends not wanting to hang out so much any more
Reposted by Andy Hinton
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
December 7, 2025 at 5:17 PM
TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Elon Musk is worse at hiding it but this is the problem with all billionaires: they are a threat to democratic governance. They have an insatiable need to own and control everything. If you want to be free you have to curb their power, and demand political leaders who understand that
Elon Musk is against the European Union being the European Union —he posted this after X (fka Twitter) was fined for violations of the EU’s Digital Services Act.
December 6, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Elon Musk is worse at hiding it but this is the problem with all billionaires: they are a threat to democratic governance. They have an insatiable need to own and control everything. If you want to be free you have to curb their power, and demand political leaders who understand that
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Every dollar JK Rowling makes from Harry Potter is going into bankrolling an extortion racket issuing legal threats to organizations across the UK to purge themselves of trans people or face ruinous lawfare.
i hope every single person who still buys harry potter merch or engages with that franchise is happy that they're literally making girl guides cry
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
girl guides uk have been forced very much against their will to exclude trans girls. full statement is here: www.girlguiding.org.uk/information-...
December 2, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Every dollar JK Rowling makes from Harry Potter is going into bankrolling an extortion racket issuing legal threats to organizations across the UK to purge themselves of trans people or face ruinous lawfare.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
People jeering cynically at the not-even-particularly-slow-motion car crash that is Your Party may come across as just mean. But for a lot of us, Corbyn has been filling a space, Cuckoo-like where a genuinely progressive alternative to centrism should be for over a decade now and it needs to die.
Glorious. 10/10. No notes.
Zarah Sultana boycotts first day of Your Party conference over 'witch hunt' expulsions
November 29, 2025 at 2:42 PM
People jeering cynically at the not-even-particularly-slow-motion car crash that is Your Party may come across as just mean. But for a lot of us, Corbyn has been filling a space, Cuckoo-like where a genuinely progressive alternative to centrism should be for over a decade now and it needs to die.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Lots of people sharing this clip because it's funny and cathartic but I also genuinely believe it's important.
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
We have to win the narrative battle between "I live in a corrupt society and that's just how it is" and "I live in a corrupt society and we are going to defeat and humiliate these ghouls."
Reposted by Andy Hinton
"All I did was embolden a series of anti-queer, right-wing and anti-trans hate groups, and now there are more anti-queer hate crimes! I am appalled"
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/k...
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/k...
Keir Starmer's fury after niece and wife 'beaten by blokes for holding hands'
'I thought the days of beating up people because they were gay were well behind us.'
metro.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 11:02 AM
"All I did was embolden a series of anti-queer, right-wing and anti-trans hate groups, and now there are more anti-queer hate crimes! I am appalled"
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/k...
metro.co.uk/2025/11/26/k...
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Really worried this woman is going to have to sell her £2million and maybe, sorry, welling up here, maybe have to buy a £1million house like a piece of SHIT.
November 27, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Really worried this woman is going to have to sell her £2million and maybe, sorry, welling up here, maybe have to buy a £1million house like a piece of SHIT.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
This report does not quote any trans children, or parents of trans children, or any trans people at all.
It does quote Keira Bell saying it’s “disgusting”, though.
New puberty blockers trial to begin after UK ban www.bbc.com/news/article...
It does quote Keira Bell saying it’s “disgusting”, though.
New puberty blockers trial to begin after UK ban www.bbc.com/news/article...
New puberty blockers clinical trial to begin after UK ban
Those taking part in the study will be children under 16 who are going through puberty.
www.bbc.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:13 AM
This report does not quote any trans children, or parents of trans children, or any trans people at all.
It does quote Keira Bell saying it’s “disgusting”, though.
New puberty blockers trial to begin after UK ban www.bbc.com/news/article...
It does quote Keira Bell saying it’s “disgusting”, though.
New puberty blockers trial to begin after UK ban www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Andy Hinton
"Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance."
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance
The new code of practice on access to single-sex services cannot gain legal force until it gets sign-off from ministers.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance."
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Well knock me down with a fucking feather:
Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq
November 21, 2025 at 12:25 PM
Well knock me down with a fucking feather:
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Nothing as feminist as basing whether women can use the toilets on if they're hot or not.
The EHRC want to exclude women from femal single-sex spaces based on how "female" they look.
This is off the scale sexism and misogyny.
Millions of women will face harassment as result of this insanity.
This is off the scale sexism and misogyny.
Millions of women will face harassment as result of this insanity.
November 20, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Nothing as feminist as basing whether women can use the toilets on if they're hot or not.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
I don't use the word lightly, but this is really just evil isn't it. "Your identity makes us uncomfortable so be gone from public spaces." Fuck off.
I mean come on: we'll ask but reserve right to exclude you on the basis of how you look. Oh, and if you try to use your birth sex specific facilities we'll kick you out of those as well.
Get fucked.
Get fucked.
November 20, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I don't use the word lightly, but this is really just evil isn't it. "Your identity makes us uncomfortable so be gone from public spaces." Fuck off.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
s/warned/promised/
Definitely ruin the industry that thought it could profit on stolen creativity.
Definitely ruin the industry that thought it could profit on stolen creativity.
AI advocates have warned that if every author in the class action filed a claim, it would "financially ruin" the entire industry.
Authors celebrate “historic” settlement coming soon in Anthropic class action
Advocates fear such settlements will “financially ruin” the AI industry.
arstechnica.com
November 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
s/warned/promised/
Definitely ruin the industry that thought it could profit on stolen creativity.
Definitely ruin the industry that thought it could profit on stolen creativity.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
Somehow, we're already celebrating The Downballot's first anniversary today! It's been *quite* the year, and our fiercely loyal readers have made it all possible.
We're also marking the occasion with a special 25% off sale! If you haven't upgraded yet, check out all the perks you'll unlock →→
We're also marking the occasion with a special 25% off sale! If you haven't upgraded yet, check out all the perks you'll unlock →→
Morning Digest: The Downballot rings in its first anniversary today!
We're celebrating with a special 25% off sale for our readers
www.the-downballot.com
August 19, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Somehow, we're already celebrating The Downballot's first anniversary today! It's been *quite* the year, and our fiercely loyal readers have made it all possible.
We're also marking the occasion with a special 25% off sale! If you haven't upgraded yet, check out all the perks you'll unlock →→
We're also marking the occasion with a special 25% off sale! If you haven't upgraded yet, check out all the perks you'll unlock →→
Reposted by Andy Hinton
"Others still report the rationing of sanitary products and toilet paper – a single roll was supposed to last four people a week – or spending entire days in their underwear while they waited for their only outfit to be washed."
My latest, in the I.
My latest, in the I.
We're spending billions to house asylum seekers like animals in rancid hotels
We are not merely spending a fortune on housing asylum seekers. We are spending it on making them live like animals
inews.co.uk
October 28, 2025 at 8:38 AM
"Others still report the rationing of sanitary products and toilet paper – a single roll was supposed to last four people a week – or spending entire days in their underwear while they waited for their only outfit to be washed."
My latest, in the I.
My latest, in the I.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
RIP to the great Nabil Shaban. Known for playing the iconic Sil in #doctorwho
October 25, 2025 at 12:27 PM
RIP to the great Nabil Shaban. Known for playing the iconic Sil in #doctorwho
Reposted by Andy Hinton
This averages out at a violation roughly every four hours, around the clock, continuously since 10 October. At what point do we stop calling it a ceasefire when Israel has just literally not ceased firing
October 19, 2025 at 5:09 PM
This averages out at a violation roughly every four hours, around the clock, continuously since 10 October. At what point do we stop calling it a ceasefire when Israel has just literally not ceased firing
Reposted by Andy Hinton
The Gaza season has been super educational.
Best history podcast out there.
Best history podcast out there.
New from @EmpirePodUK
Our Gaza series reaches its climax with a double bill:
THE BRITISH MANDATE & THE OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE
and
THE PALESTINIAN REVOLT, 1936
Our Gaza series reaches its climax with a double bill:
THE BRITISH MANDATE & THE OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE
and
THE PALESTINIAN REVOLT, 1936
October 19, 2025 at 9:20 AM
The Gaza season has been super educational.
Best history podcast out there.
Best history podcast out there.
Reposted by Andy Hinton
"television cameras... cut away to show the exterior of the stadium, denying audiences a view of the protest." How utterly pathetic, and a dereliction of their duty as broadcasters. If the players feel that way, audiences have a right to know about it. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
Barcelona in Miami: More players stand still as La Liga protests continue
Players refuse to move for the first 15 seconds of matches in La Liga on Saturday as protests at the Spanish league's decision to stage a game in Miami continued.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 19, 2025 at 8:21 AM
"television cameras... cut away to show the exterior of the stadium, denying audiences a view of the protest." How utterly pathetic, and a dereliction of their duty as broadcasters. If the players feel that way, audiences have a right to know about it. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
Reposted by Andy Hinton
The message must be "No bailouts for billionaires." AI is not too big to fail. And should it fail, the richest men in the world should be held accountable and take responsibility for their failures.
October 11, 2025 at 2:39 PM
The message must be "No bailouts for billionaires." AI is not too big to fail. And should it fail, the richest men in the world should be held accountable and take responsibility for their failures.