Helen
@futurestand.bsky.social
Environmental socialist, anti-racist, singer, feminist, teacher, optimist. Art, theatre, museums, gigs, birds, natural history.
Reposted by Helen
Sorry, I was wrong. Paul's Christmassy tribute to Stevie Wonder – which I INEXPLICABLY FORGOT ABOUT – is even better. It's worth waiting for the chorus.
December 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Sorry, I was wrong. Paul's Christmassy tribute to Stevie Wonder – which I INEXPLICABLY FORGOT ABOUT – is even better. It's worth waiting for the chorus.
Reposted by Helen
“Often — though not exclusively — the young people expressing the strongest wish to change gender have been same-sex attracted, autistic, or with a troubled family history. Parents have found themselves navigating a nightmarish path through a Wild West of treatments”
www.thetimes.com/article/a094...
www.thetimes.com/article/a094...
Puberty blockers trial must not go ahead
Today’s children should not be put at risk to provide an evidence base that could, and should, have been achieved by other means
www.thetimes.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
“Often — though not exclusively — the young people expressing the strongest wish to change gender have been same-sex attracted, autistic, or with a troubled family history. Parents have found themselves navigating a nightmarish path through a Wild West of treatments”
www.thetimes.com/article/a094...
www.thetimes.com/article/a094...
Reposted by Helen
If handing someone their arse, was a video clip
December 12, 2025 at 8:12 AM
If handing someone their arse, was a video clip
Reposted by Helen
Why do people think transwomen can’t follow rules?
December 7, 2025 at 9:32 AM
Why do people think transwomen can’t follow rules?
Reposted by Helen
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
December 6, 2025 at 1:46 PM
A male rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in winter plumage.
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Ptarmigan is from Gaelic 'tarmachan' meaning "croaker". The p- was added when people mistakenly assumed it was a Greek word.
A bird forever warning people: "A werewolf!" (just in case of werewolves).
Reposted by Helen
I live in Wales and today received my Join Us letter from Reform UK, complete with SAE which I posted back to them, immediately, empty. If every other person in Wales did this, Reform would spend over £1.5 million on postage. Not sorry. Join me Cymru.
December 6, 2025 at 7:20 PM
I live in Wales and today received my Join Us letter from Reform UK, complete with SAE which I posted back to them, immediately, empty. If every other person in Wales did this, Reform would spend over £1.5 million on postage. Not sorry. Join me Cymru.
Reposted by Helen
Labour bans men from women's conference.
Because this is the 21st not the 19th century.
Women no longer have to meet in the presence of men.
share.google/esYhPorgoiJ7...
Because this is the 21st not the 19th century.
Women no longer have to meet in the presence of men.
share.google/esYhPorgoiJ7...
EXCLUSIVE: Labour women's conference plan and locals campaign priorities revealed - LabourList
Labour's NEC finds compromise position that enables women's conference to return in 2026. And Labour will campaign on NHS, Families and Pride in Place in May.
share.google
December 6, 2025 at 9:41 AM
Labour bans men from women's conference.
Because this is the 21st not the 19th century.
Women no longer have to meet in the presence of men.
share.google/esYhPorgoiJ7...
Because this is the 21st not the 19th century.
Women no longer have to meet in the presence of men.
share.google/esYhPorgoiJ7...
Reposted by Helen
Another criminal ‘patriot’ - He’s being pursued for an eight-year sentence in Spain over claims of fraud and membership of a criminal group.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
December 1, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Another criminal ‘patriot’ - He’s being pursued for an eight-year sentence in Spain over claims of fraud and membership of a criminal group.
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
Reposted by Helen
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
A Babson College student wanted to surprise her family for Thanksgiving. She was deported instead. - The Boston Globe
Any Lucia Lopez Belloza was at Logan to catch a flight to Texas when immigration authorities detained her as she was about to board the plane.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:47 AM
I feel much safer today knowing that we deported a Babson College student back to a country where she hasn't lived since childhood.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
She wasn't even flying internationally. She was flying to Texas.
Reposted by Helen
How men feared women! she thought, walking among the late-flowering roses. Not as individuals, but women when they talked together, worked together, spoke up for one another - then men saw plots, cabals, constraints, traps being laid.
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 AM
How men feared women! she thought, walking among the late-flowering roses. Not as individuals, but women when they talked together, worked together, spoke up for one another - then men saw plots, cabals, constraints, traps being laid.
Reposted by Helen
This is what happens when you put a preening, lazy, populist, dilettante in charge of a country.
Johnson was completely out of his depth and more concerned with his pathetic perceived popularity than leading this country through the greatest crisis since 1939.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...
Johnson was completely out of his depth and more concerned with his pathetic perceived popularity than leading this country through the greatest crisis since 1939.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...
November 20, 2025 at 4:29 PM
This is what happens when you put a preening, lazy, populist, dilettante in charge of a country.
Johnson was completely out of his depth and more concerned with his pathetic perceived popularity than leading this country through the greatest crisis since 1939.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...
Johnson was completely out of his depth and more concerned with his pathetic perceived popularity than leading this country through the greatest crisis since 1939.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm...
Excellent news: a Bristol venue that cancelled a British Jewish band’s gig in May, after intimidatory hassle from local anti-Semitic activists, has made a full and decent apology and is also taking good practical steps. The Equality Act applies to everyone, and is there to stop rabid activists.
November 20, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Excellent news: a Bristol venue that cancelled a British Jewish band’s gig in May, after intimidatory hassle from local anti-Semitic activists, has made a full and decent apology and is also taking good practical steps. The Equality Act applies to everyone, and is there to stop rabid activists.
Reposted by Helen
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
November 17, 2025 at 6:37 AM
The AI bubble may be about to bust.
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Peter Thiel has sold all of his Nvidia stock.
We all need to say this very clearly:
NO BAILOUTS FOR THEFT-TECH!
Expropriate their asses instead.
They stole from all of us and fully plan to burn the planet.
They owe us - not the other way around. 1/3
Reposted by Helen
The women described a culture of fear where even seasoned correspondents did not dare veer from the Stonewall-mandated position on trans issues in case they were accused of “transphobia”. "… It felt like activism, not news.”
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
Emails reveal BBC women complained over trans reporting
Messages dating back five years show female staff raised concerns with bosses but felt rebuffed or ignored
www.thetimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The women described a culture of fear where even seasoned correspondents did not dare veer from the Stonewall-mandated position on trans issues in case they were accused of “transphobia”. "… It felt like activism, not news.”
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
www.thetimes.com/uk/media/art...
Reposted by Helen
Your occasional reminder, if you’re in the UK, that it is shaping up to be a hideous bird flu season, with many wildlife casualties (including resident birds, not just winter migrants), and, however soft your heart, it is a Really Bad Idea to handle sick or ‘injured’ birds or bring them inside.
November 14, 2025 at 1:19 PM
Your occasional reminder, if you’re in the UK, that it is shaping up to be a hideous bird flu season, with many wildlife casualties (including resident birds, not just winter migrants), and, however soft your heart, it is a Really Bad Idea to handle sick or ‘injured’ birds or bring them inside.
Reposted by Helen
Seeing the Syrian flag flying above the embassy in London filled me with an indescribable sense of pride and belonging.
It was a powerful reminder of resilience, hope, and the enduring spirit of the Syrian people.
It was a powerful reminder of resilience, hope, and the enduring spirit of the Syrian people.
November 13, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Seeing the Syrian flag flying above the embassy in London filled me with an indescribable sense of pride and belonging.
It was a powerful reminder of resilience, hope, and the enduring spirit of the Syrian people.
It was a powerful reminder of resilience, hope, and the enduring spirit of the Syrian people.
Reposted by Helen
"There are soiled sheets, unvoiced fears, missed doses of morphine. The hard truth, in short, about underfunding palliative care is that people who are at their most vulnerable – the dying – suffer more pain, more indignity, less choice & less autonomy than they might have." Please read this piece:
"We would never tolerate a government that chose to defund 70% of neonatal services, gambling that charities would fill the gap. Yet this is exactly the situation for end-of-life care."
Please read my piece on the travesty of NHS palliative care underfunding 🙏
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Please read my piece on the travesty of NHS palliative care underfunding 🙏
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
As a palliative care specialist, I’ve witnessed the human tragedy of our end-of-life care crisis | Rachel Clarke
While the government debates assisted dying, palliative care is an afterthought. And many more people face death without the care and support they need, says Rachel Clarke
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:06 AM
"There are soiled sheets, unvoiced fears, missed doses of morphine. The hard truth, in short, about underfunding palliative care is that people who are at their most vulnerable – the dying – suffer more pain, more indignity, less choice & less autonomy than they might have." Please read this piece:
Reposted by Helen
Fgs, what a pompous twit, love or loathe Starmer he's worked in the real world and,achieved huge success, what has Polanski done to date.
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
Green leader says Starmer is ‘not a man I would be willing to work with’
www.independent.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Fgs, what a pompous twit, love or loathe Starmer he's worked in the real world and,achieved huge success, what has Polanski done to date.
Reposted by Helen
87 years ago today, the Kristallnacht burned. 36 years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell.
Whether from the darkness of 9.11.1938 or light of 9.11.1989, the lesson for 🇩🇪 in 2025 is clear: Fight for freedom. Stop fascists. #StandWithUkraine. Their fight for freedom & peace is ours.
Whether from the darkness of 9.11.1938 or light of 9.11.1989, the lesson for 🇩🇪 in 2025 is clear: Fight for freedom. Stop fascists. #StandWithUkraine. Their fight for freedom & peace is ours.
November 9, 2025 at 4:27 PM
87 years ago today, the Kristallnacht burned. 36 years ago today, the Berlin Wall fell.
Whether from the darkness of 9.11.1938 or light of 9.11.1989, the lesson for 🇩🇪 in 2025 is clear: Fight for freedom. Stop fascists. #StandWithUkraine. Their fight for freedom & peace is ours.
Whether from the darkness of 9.11.1938 or light of 9.11.1989, the lesson for 🇩🇪 in 2025 is clear: Fight for freedom. Stop fascists. #StandWithUkraine. Their fight for freedom & peace is ours.
Reposted by Helen
BREAKING NEWS - Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has arrived in the United States — marking the first-ever visit of a Syrian head of state to the country.
November 8, 2025 at 10:40 PM
BREAKING NEWS - Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has arrived in the United States — marking the first-ever visit of a Syrian head of state to the country.
Reposted by Helen
October 23, 2025 at 7:03 PM
Reposted by Helen
Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’
Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’
Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’
Reposted by Helen
I always enjoyed this wonderful drive-by on Alfred Lord Tennyson from Philip Larkin.
polyarchive.com/the-literary...
polyarchive.com/the-literary...
November 5, 2025 at 11:05 AM
I always enjoyed this wonderful drive-by on Alfred Lord Tennyson from Philip Larkin.
polyarchive.com/the-literary...
polyarchive.com/the-literary...
Very pleased to read that Kate Clanchy’s publisher has apologised to her. As I teach people from Afghanistan, Iran etc myself, Kate Clancy was one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, and I was horrified at the mad ‘purity spiral’ her accusers whipped up.
www.thetimes.com/article/7681...
www.thetimes.com/article/7681...
Kate Clanchy: I was cancelled. It made me contemplate suicide
When Kate Clanchy wrote about the children she had been teaching, she was blindsided by the resulting furore. Now, four years on, her publisher has apologised
www.thetimes.com
November 4, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Very pleased to read that Kate Clanchy’s publisher has apologised to her. As I teach people from Afghanistan, Iran etc myself, Kate Clancy was one of my favourite people to follow on Twitter, and I was horrified at the mad ‘purity spiral’ her accusers whipped up.
www.thetimes.com/article/7681...
www.thetimes.com/article/7681...