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Ric Crossman

@riccrossman.bsky.social

83 followers 67 following 460 posts

Statistician. Educator. Union man. Occasional pop culture critic for ATB Publishing (and himself). Just wants everyone to be happy, a fact that has made a number of people EXTREMELY angry. He/him/Comrade.

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · Apr 1

Plus, the first Infinite Diversity, Finite Combinations book is out in paperback, if that's the sort of thing you think you might be into (and you live in the UK).

www.idfc.co.uk/product-page...

Infinite Diversity, Finite Combinations Volume 1.1 (paperback+1st class postage) | Infinite Diversity,

The first volume of IDFC in weighty paperback form! Contains essays on every episode of Season 1 of The Original Series (including "The Cage"), along with pieces on The Motion Picture, James Blish's S...

www.idfc.co.uk

Reposted by Ric Crossman

Mike Sowden @mikeachim.bsky.social · 2d

Damn. This is amazing. £325 per week, paid monthly, for 3 years - and the result was a profit for the Irish economy:
www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employmen...

Post from Threads user rodneyowl: "Ireland has declared the Basic Income for Artists scheme permanent. This will be officially announced in tomorrow’s budget. Details to follow. Congratulations to all who fought for it and the present and future artists of all sorts in Ireland. That includes me 👌We’re just comin to the end of a 3 year pilot scheme. It’s been a roaring success. For every €1 paid out to the 2000 participants, the government got €1.46 back. Can’t argue with that. Other countries are already taking note."

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Reposted by Ric Crossman

Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 1d

"As the US author Ta-Nehisi Coates recently said of the Democrats, “if you can’t draw the line at genocide, you probably can’t draw the line at democracy”. The same applies to the Labour government."

It starts with Palestine protests. But where will the crackdown on Britain’s democratic freedoms end? | Owen Jones

In making dissent a privilege, not a right, Labour is crafting a repressive toolkit. Imagine it in the hands of a Farage government, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Ric Crossman

Sophie Molly @sophiemolly.co.uk · 2d

School/college and uni students.

A new project you may want to consider doing this semester/term.

Just an idea. Not an endorsement.

Players' bathrooms made gender neutral after students remove signs with drill
The demonstration marked the beginning of DU Players "Women ' Week"

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Reposted by Ric Crossman

Dundee UCU @ducuuo.bsky.social · 2d

Our members have voted to support industrial action to fight against job cuts passed today!

In the ballot our 72% of members were in favour of strike action, and 90% in favour of action short of strike. Turnout was 58%.

Thank you to all members, reps and officials for helping us get the vote out.

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

"I am uncomfortable being criticised, therefore the only logical conclusion is that I am perfect."

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

Union work over for the weekend; time to read up on the definition of children's literature. Multitudes; I contains them!

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

"People of colour went too far. Trans people went too far. The left went too far. Sadly this leaves me no other choice but to watch another season of Great British Bake-Off and hope it drowns out the screams."

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

It's certainly endlessly infuriating how many people in this country (mostly but somehow not exclusively cis-het white middle class dudes who aren't disabled) see a new outrage against the populace, and desperately grab for any excuse they can find for not actually doing anything about it.

Jana Bacevic @unsocialtheory.bsky.social · 3d

Forever this

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

But we'll never know, because he's obviously not going to do that. His position is whatever the last person who spoke to him told him it should be. He's Sorrento-Gillis in The Expanse: "He doesn't care about treason; that's just him parroting you because you talked to him last." 2/2

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

It's maybe possible he could turn this around, by admitting he's been duplicitous, committing to a coherent strategy, and actually taking multiple actions demonstrating that commitment is real, and not subject to change as soon as the press yell at him. MAYBE. 1/2

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

There is literally nothing Starmer can say to win back those who have abandoned Labour, because his words carry no weight. This is no less true of the anti-Tory right as it is of everyone to the left of Morgan McSweeeney. No-one has any reason to believe he's an honest broker. 2/2

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 3d

I mean, this is fundamentally the problem, isn't it. Starmer is demonstrably a habitual and shameless liar. It's the only way he got to be Labour leader in the first place (he got to be PM because Nigel Farage let him, something a lot of people have spent a lot of time trying to distract from). 1/2

Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 3d

Interesting analysis by @josh.politics.co.uk of Starmer’s new strategy.

Starmer’s problem is that, with all his policy “reversals” to euphemise the term “lies”, are people ever going to believe Starmer the storyteller, any more than Starmer the dishonest out-and-out lying toe-rag.

Josh Self @josh.politics.co.uk · 3d

“Starmer positioned Labour as Reform’s antithesis and antidote. He defined the nature of the populist threat, and presented a theory to explain its moral failings. In other words: Starmer told a story.”
www.politics.co.uk/week-in-revi...

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 4d

All of this, but the analogy stretches even further: when all the imaginary problems ascribed to the ECHR don't get fixed (because, again, THEY DON'T EXIST), those who dragged us out of the EU and dragged us out of the ECHR will start looking for another even more extreme "solution".

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 4d

Leaving the ECHR is just another "cause" that right-wing lunatics can latch onto.

It's Brexit 2.

And like the original most people backing, it don't understand it, don't really believe in what they
are doing and do not care one jot what havoc it causes.

Reposted by Ric Crossman

Danie Ware @danacea.bsky.social · 6d

For #NationalPoetryDay, a timeless classic:

The Tiger, by Nael, age 6
From, 'They're Singing a Song in Their Rocket'
The tiger
He destroyed his cage
Yes
YES
The tiger is out

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 6d

In case you missed this yesterday morning.

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

This month on IDFC, how to follow up your show's premiere, and thoughts on early signs regarding how Lower Decks plans to interact with the franchise.

9.1.2 "Second Comes Right After First!"

EnvoysA step back, a leap forward.Second ContactWe talked last time about the ways Lower Decks immediately establishes itself as a better Trek show than either Discovery or Picard. "Envoys" continues ...

www.idfc.co.uk

Reposted by Ric Crossman

A Mere Solicitor @ameresolicitor.bsky.social · 7d

There’s a developing trend of people standing for positions in left wing parties being “not openly transphobic” in the light of previous “just a little transphobia, as a treat” positions.

I’m not supporting any of them.

Open support for trans rights is a bare minimum.

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

Cosigned.

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

This month on IDFC, how to follow up your show's premiere, and thoughts on early signs regarding how Lower Decks plans to interact with the franchise.

9.1.2 "Second Comes Right After First!"

www.idfc.co.uk

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

"Don't you WANT to see a turn to the left, Ric?". A turn implies a change in direction. This is a glance and a wave, from a 1st class carriage on a bullet train headed screaming into ever-worse right-wing authoritarianism.

Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

All we've learned here is Starmer and Reeves realise the party base remains significantly to their left, despite their Herculean efforts to the contrary.

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 7d

Begging people not to treat a couple of Lab Conference speeches that are left-wing by recent miserable standards as some kind of turning point. You're celebrating habitual liars finally returning to the lies you want to hear.

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Reposted by Ric Crossman

Sheffield UCU @sheffielducu.bsky.social · 8d

BREAKING: Our members at the University of Sheffield have voted overwhelmingly for strike action against the University Executive Board’s ongoing campaign of job cuts, and the threat to staff workload and wellbeing that they represent.

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 10d

Very proud to have been a very small part of this. The work continues, but this was a good day. I hear someone was attacked by far-right hoodlums during the afternoon; very much hoping they're doing OK.

The Canary @thecanaryuk.bsky.social · 10d

Geordies weren't letting far-right fascists spout hate in their city this weekend

A far-right rogues gallery of racists came to Newcastle on Saturday 27 September - and yes, racists is the correct term. Or fascists...
www.thecanary.co/opinion/2025...

Geordies weren't letting far-right fascists spout hate in their city this weekend

A far-right rogues gallery of racists came to Newcastle on Saturday 27 September - and yes, racists is the correct term. Or fascists...

www.thecanary.co

Reposted by Ric Crossman

Grant Buttars @gbuttars.bsky.social · 11d

The @ucuscotland.bsky.social banner at today’s anti-racist rally in Perth #RefugeesWelcomeHere

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Ric Crossman @riccrossman.bsky.social · 12d

(Indeed, the two are broadly similar - a colossal shortage of person power intersecting with widespread mistrust after organisation-wide infiltration.)