Val Stevenson
@valstevenson24.bsky.social
Idler; previously editor/lecturer. Intolerant of whimsy. Pronouns: sex-based. Londoner/Irish/European. DMs = block. Gibbering idiocy = mute.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
"When it comes to precarious manhood, Republican voters and their leaders seem to be in sync, with many of them concerned that their masculinity is under siege and determined to take it out on women."
When Trump calls female reporters “piggy,” “ugly” and “stupid,” it doesn't reflect badly on the women. It's just more evidence that the males of MAGA are manspreading their own insecurity.
My weekly Stop the Presses newsletter. Read and subscribe for free.
My weekly Stop the Presses newsletter. Read and subscribe for free.
The males of MAGA manspread their insecurity
Trump & Co. bring down the country to lift their fragile egos
www.stopthepresses.news
December 1, 2025 at 11:04 PM
"When it comes to precarious manhood, Republican voters and their leaders seem to be in sync, with many of them concerned that their masculinity is under siege and determined to take it out on women."
100% yes.
December 1, 2025 at 7:13 PM
100% yes.
I am profoundly happy that Larry again observes Advent.
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree. Ate it.
December 1, 2025 at 9:04 AM
I am profoundly happy that Larry again observes Advent.
Lovely thread to start the day.
Eleven years ago, I wrote to Tom Stoppard to ask about this coup de théâtre from 1949. It took me down an unexpected rabbit hole - in memory of Stoppard, here's what I found.
December 1, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Lovely thread to start the day.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
OTD in 1991 Ukrainians, including those in Crimea, voted overwhelmingly for independence from USSR.
I don't like that vote result, so I am changing the voters and having new votes.
I don't like that vote result, so I am changing the voters and having new votes.
December 1, 2025 at 7:30 AM
OTD in 1991 Ukrainians, including those in Crimea, voted overwhelmingly for independence from USSR.
I don't like that vote result, so I am changing the voters and having new votes.
I don't like that vote result, so I am changing the voters and having new votes.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
The only army on the continent that knows how to shoot at the invaders is the Ukrainian army. Give us weapons. Give us decent financial support, proper guarantees for the wounded and the families of the fallen — and you will forget about russia forever.
November 30, 2025 at 5:26 PM
The only army on the continent that knows how to shoot at the invaders is the Ukrainian army. Give us weapons. Give us decent financial support, proper guarantees for the wounded and the families of the fallen — and you will forget about russia forever.
Fun will be had, though probably not by any MP the party somehow manages to get elected.
No 'Your Party' MP will be allowed to be its leader under rules voted for by members at its Liverpool conference on Sunday
The party membership has approved 'collective leadership', which rules out both Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana leading it, reports @siennarodgers.bsky.social
The party membership has approved 'collective leadership', which rules out both Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana leading it, reports @siennarodgers.bsky.social
Corbyn And Sultana Barred From Leading 'Your Party' As Members Will Front It Themselves
Members of 'Your Party' have stopped a potential leadership contest between Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana after voting in favour of a 'collective...
www.politicshome.com
November 30, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Fun will be had, though probably not by any MP the party somehow manages to get elected.
Too bloody right he is. "Smith, who is a trans woman, used phrases including 'a person is dangerous when they have nothing to lose' and 'bullets will be flying around'", so a bit of time inside and a restraining order are not over-reactions.
November 30, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Too bloody right he is. "Smith, who is a trans woman, used phrases including 'a person is dangerous when they have nothing to lose' and 'bullets will be flying around'", so a bit of time inside and a restraining order are not over-reactions.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
Trump’s Ukraine “peace plan” is a capitulation to Russia that would hand Putin a strategic advantage and hobble European security.
European leaders must wake up to the reality that we cannot rely on the US, and must write our own destiny.
My latest for @heraldscotland.bsky.social
European leaders must wake up to the reality that we cannot rely on the US, and must write our own destiny.
My latest for @heraldscotland.bsky.social
Europe must wake up: Trump’s Ukraine plan hands victory to Russia
President Trump’s Ukraine “peace plan” is a capitulation to Russia that must wake European leaders up to the reality that we cannot rely on…
www.heraldscotland.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Trump’s Ukraine “peace plan” is a capitulation to Russia that would hand Putin a strategic advantage and hobble European security.
European leaders must wake up to the reality that we cannot rely on the US, and must write our own destiny.
My latest for @heraldscotland.bsky.social
European leaders must wake up to the reality that we cannot rely on the US, and must write our own destiny.
My latest for @heraldscotland.bsky.social
Reposted by Val Stevenson
The territories Ukraine holds are Ukraine, you absolute genocidal maniac
Putin: “When Ukrainians troops withdraw from the territories they hold, then we will cease hostilities; If they don’t leave, we will achieve this by military means “
November 27, 2025 at 10:44 PM
The territories Ukraine holds are Ukraine, you absolute genocidal maniac
A thoroughly depressing article. “Ethical trials require a clear intent to answer a scientific and clinical question that can inform future treatment decisions. It is hard to see what that question is.”
www.quackometer.net/blog/2025/11...
www.quackometer.net/blog/2025/11...
PATHWAYS: A Trial Built on Missing Data, Pseudoscience, and Quiet Cruelty – The Quackometer Blog
www.quackometer.net
November 27, 2025 at 7:07 PM
A thoroughly depressing article. “Ethical trials require a clear intent to answer a scientific and clinical question that can inform future treatment decisions. It is hard to see what that question is.”
www.quackometer.net/blog/2025/11...
www.quackometer.net/blog/2025/11...
100% this. I am still hacked off that my authors were ripped off despite copyright notices.
"Imagine you stole all of the intellectual property in the world. And you're using it to help people write middling emails and make revenge porn about women, and also children. And you're powering this plagiarism and non-consensual porn machine by eating up what's left of humanity's carbon budget."
How to explain AI to your family this holiday season | CNN Business
Politics, football and movies are among the many topics that tend to come up around Thanksgiving. In 2025, a new question may arise at the table: Why the heck is everyone talking about AI, and what sh...
www.cnn.com
November 27, 2025 at 11:46 AM
100% this. I am still hacked off that my authors were ripped off despite copyright notices.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
Byron called her mother, Annabelle Milbanke, his “Princess of Parallelograms”. She was an abolitionist & philanthropist.
She endured a lot while married to him - including the realisation he was sleeping with his half-sister, she believed.
Anna passed on her mathematical talents to her daughter.
She endured a lot while married to him - including the realisation he was sleeping with his half-sister, she believed.
Anna passed on her mathematical talents to her daughter.
Ada, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, mathematician & a pioneer of computing; born 1815, died #OTD 1852. #WomeninStem
Painted by Margaret Sarah Carpenter 1836
UK Government Art Collection
Painted by Margaret Sarah Carpenter 1836
UK Government Art Collection
November 27, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Byron called her mother, Annabelle Milbanke, his “Princess of Parallelograms”. She was an abolitionist & philanthropist.
She endured a lot while married to him - including the realisation he was sleeping with his half-sister, she believed.
Anna passed on her mathematical talents to her daughter.
She endured a lot while married to him - including the realisation he was sleeping with his half-sister, she believed.
Anna passed on her mathematical talents to her daughter.
May have to delay cocoa and bed socks for this.
This week! Friday 28th November at 10:10pm THE STONE TAPE (1972) with #MichaelBryant #JaneAsher #IanCuthbertson sci-fi-horror #TPTVsubtitles Part of #TheCellarClub hosted by #CarolineMunro
November 25, 2025 at 5:29 PM
May have to delay cocoa and bed socks for this.
Rebecca Paul’s speech was strong and clear: "Inclusion trumping safety, ideology winning out over reality, the feelings of a man holding more weight than the fears of many women."
Yesterday the Prime Minister said the Supreme Court ruling on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act “must be implemented in full and at all levels”
This was in response to a question from Rebecca Paul MP on why male prisoners were still being held in Downview women’s prison
This was in response to a question from Rebecca Paul MP on why male prisoners were still being held in Downview women’s prison
November 25, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Rebecca Paul’s speech was strong and clear: "Inclusion trumping safety, ideology winning out over reality, the feelings of a man holding more weight than the fears of many women."
Reposted by Val Stevenson
Premium: This is The Hater's Guide To NVIDIA: A 14k word guide to how NVIDIA makes its money, how millions of Blackwell GPUs have been sold with nowhere for them to be installed, and how NVIDIA's future relies on companies raising hundreds of billions in debt.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
The Hater's Guide To NVIDIA
This piece has a generous 3000+ word introduction, because I want as many people to understand NVIDIA as possible. The (thousands of) words after the premium break get into arduous detail, but I’ve wr...
www.wheresyoured.at
November 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Premium: This is The Hater's Guide To NVIDIA: A 14k word guide to how NVIDIA makes its money, how millions of Blackwell GPUs have been sold with nowhere for them to be installed, and how NVIDIA's future relies on companies raising hundreds of billions in debt.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-haters-g...
Reposted by Val Stevenson
"A woman’s right to prioritise her perception of herself, refusing to allow it to be overridden by male fantasy, is never a luxury."
thecritic.co.uk/does-it-real...
thecritic.co.uk/does-it-real...
Does it really cost women nothing to use incorrect pronouns? | Victoria Smith | The Critic Magazine
Towards the end of 1984, there’s a scene in which Inner Party member O’Brien asks Winston Smith to state how many fingers he is holding up: “Four.” “And if the Party says that it is not four but five…
thecritic.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 3:23 AM
"A woman’s right to prioritise her perception of herself, refusing to allow it to be overridden by male fantasy, is never a luxury."
thecritic.co.uk/does-it-real...
thecritic.co.uk/does-it-real...
Reposted by Val Stevenson
Lesson 2 - from the "lost month", as Baroness Hallett so vividly describes it - February 2020:
If you can't be arsed to do your job even as a deadly pandemic grips the world, you certainly don't deserve to be within a thousand miles of Downing Street.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
If you can't be arsed to do your job even as a deadly pandemic grips the world, you certainly don't deserve to be within a thousand miles of Downing Street.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Boris Johnson took four days off as NHS warned Covid could ‘overwhelm’ system
Files show then PM was walking dog, riding motorbike and hosting guests as pandemic planning stalled in ‘lost month’
www.theguardian.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Lesson 2 - from the "lost month", as Baroness Hallett so vividly describes it - February 2020:
If you can't be arsed to do your job even as a deadly pandemic grips the world, you certainly don't deserve to be within a thousand miles of Downing Street.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
If you can't be arsed to do your job even as a deadly pandemic grips the world, you certainly don't deserve to be within a thousand miles of Downing Street.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Val Stevenson
Keep in mind that Trump stopped intelligence sharing w Ukraine and reversed course. Also, it'd be absurd to refuse to sell American weapons to Ukraine through Europe. He's bluffing. His leverage and commitment to applying it to punish Ukraine if it politely declines the "deal" aren't convincing.
November 22, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Keep in mind that Trump stopped intelligence sharing w Ukraine and reversed course. Also, it'd be absurd to refuse to sell American weapons to Ukraine through Europe. He's bluffing. His leverage and commitment to applying it to punish Ukraine if it politely declines the "deal" aren't convincing.
Reposted by Val Stevenson
The Irish State is dumping €450 million of wind energy a year, despite 29% of households suffering fuel poverty, because 'there's no market'.
If you're struggling to get your head around that, it's called capitalism.
share.google/k9gHug8xaazA...
If you're struggling to get your head around that, it's called capitalism.
share.google/k9gHug8xaazA...
Up to €2.7m worth of energy ‘wasted’ every day by State, committee told
Wind farms wound down or shut down at night while households are in fuel poverty, says energy charity chief
share.google
November 19, 2025 at 10:08 PM
The Irish State is dumping €450 million of wind energy a year, despite 29% of households suffering fuel poverty, because 'there's no market'.
If you're struggling to get your head around that, it's called capitalism.
share.google/k9gHug8xaazA...
If you're struggling to get your head around that, it's called capitalism.
share.google/k9gHug8xaazA...
Reposted by Val Stevenson
I hate that no one said a word
November 19, 2025 at 5:02 AM
I hate that no one said a word
Reposted by Val Stevenson
It's an odd-shaped image, but let's see if this works.
November 17, 2025 at 8:34 AM
It's an odd-shaped image, but let's see if this works.
Just stunning.
Today, a friend involved in the Esna restoration project has shared with me his latest stunning photos of the restored ceiling and columns of the Temple of Khnum in Esna, Upper #Egypt. During a multi-year restoration project, the dirt and soot that had obscured the ...🧵1/3
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
📷 D. v. Recklinghausen
🏺
November 16, 2025 at 11:06 PM
Just stunning.
Indeed. The multiple award-winning @newjournal.bsky.social has published some fine letters on this issue in the last couple of weeks.
November 15, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Indeed. The multiple award-winning @newjournal.bsky.social has published some fine letters on this issue in the last couple of weeks.