Simon Brooke

Anarcho-syndicalist, autistic, crofter, cyclist, depressive, entrepreneur, geek, searchable, Trans ally, Zapatista. Politics & environment, especially #LandReform. Clinically insane. he/him.

Credo: Life is harsh. What we can do - and what we should do - is strive to make it less harsh for the people around us.

Addendum: you would not deliberately block a wheelchair ramp. Do not post images to social media without alt text.

Pronouns: any/don't care

Home Page: https://www.journeyman.cc/~simon/
Post Scarcity Software: https://www.journeyman.cc/post-scarcity/doc/html/
Blog: https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/
GitHub: https://github.com/simon-brooke

Public Key

npub1rtc9e36k2rqy8e42ns364yg0klj2ym2yts42wnsk5tsv36vpyd2qdvmlvq

NIP-05 Address

simon_brooke_at_mastodon.scot@momostr.pink

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsp4uzucat9pszru64fcga2jy8m0e9zd4z9c248fct29cxgaxqjx4qpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0ds9wyr40

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1rtc9e36k2rqy8e42ns364yg0klj2ym2yts42wnsk5tsv36vpyd2qdvmlvq

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Last Notes

2026-05-08 15:58:49 UTC

And I see Holly Bruce has now won Glasgow South for @npub1nzf…lckw. I know absolutely nothing about Holly, but two #Green constituency MSPs will shake up #SNP complacency even more, without damaging the pro- #ScottishIndependence majority.
Good to hear @npub1qcr…ch5e saying that there is absolutely a mandate for an #IndyRef2 based on this result.
Edit: also glad to hear her calling the SNP out on their #ClimateChange backsliding.

2026-05-07 16:36:17 UTC

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"You won’t be able to move this weekend for commentators gravely intoning that #Starmer lacks a vision for government. What they won’t say is that he eschewed any vision to get into government. His very lack of politics is how he became politically successful. It was the essential precondition for him to be judged by the right wing papers and others as no threat"
#UKPol
#UKLabour
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/06/labour-wipeout-adults-in-the-room-con-job-keir-starmer-elections

2026-05-07 16:32:10 UTC

"One proves political maturity by not banging on about injustice, by not troubling too much the rich and powerful. To try it out, simply stand in front of a mirror and slowly declare yourself to be “pro-business and pro-worker”. If you can do that without flinching at the obvious contradiction, then congratulations! You too can be prime minister"
This isn't my analysis of why #Starmer has been a disaster; but it is a convincing analysis.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/06/labour-wipeout-adults-in-the-room-con-job-keir-starmer-elections

2026-05-06 19:24:13 UTC

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the thing is, the system I use to publish my blog is really good and easy to use if you are familiar with my own personal collection of idiosyncratic tools, and is really lightweight and secure on the server; but it isn't suitable for the average person. You can say all the rude things you like about Wordpress, but ordinary mortals can use it.

2026-05-03 08:34:17 UTC

RE: https://freesewing.social/@Rania/116509670776037831
Since #Israel's new war on #Iran and #Lebanon started, the siege on #Gaza has tightened again. Not nearly enough food is being allowed in. No one is being allowed out. Malnutrition -- especially among children -- is growing rapidly.
At the same time, Gaza isn't in the headlines -- what's happening in the Gulf and in Lebanon is more exciting. So public interest in Gaza is diminishing.
Food can get into Lebanon. It can get into Iran. It can't get into Gaza. Gaza needs YOUR help.
#note15qc…z33v

2026-05-03 06:41:43 UTC

"Fascism and monopolies go hand in hand, and smashing monopolies is key to the program of fighting #fascism." -- @npub1fdr…lvhs
https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/02/denazification/

2026-04-26 11:06:14 UTC

"Matthew Swindells was, until recently, a joint chair of four NHS trusts, having previously been deputy CEO of NHS England...
He was still the joint chair of those NHS trusts when Global Counsel recruited him as an adviser in 2019, and only stood down last month after the Financial Times revealed he had urged GPs to put practice data on Palantir’s platforms"
#Corruption
The Palantir pipeline: how Peter Thiel's surveillance firm hired more than 30 senior UK officials
https://www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-revolving-doors-peter-thiel-transparency-corruption-risk

2026-04-26 10:50:51 UTC

We were told that we couldn't buy telecoms equipment from #Huawai because they were a security risk. How is #Palantir different?
It seems that what the Chinese need to learn is that if they want to do business in the UK, they need to bribe — or hire — the *right* people.
#Corruption
#Mandelson
#UKPol
The Palantir pipeline: how Peter Thiel's surveillance firm hired more than 30 senior UK officials
https://www.thenerve.news/p/palantir-revolving-doors-peter-thiel-transparency-corruption-risk

2026-04-26 07:35:41 UTC

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Look, the report the UK government is busy suppressing says we have four years left to make effective change. I think that's optimistic. But in any case it was written before Trump started his oil wars, and war (especially oil war) burns a huge amount of carbon to waste.
"Much less than 1 Bn people by 2100" is now extremely likely.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/27/uk-government-report-ecosystem-collapse-foi-national-security

2026-04-25 16:53:08 UTC

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"I understand that Peter Mandelson’s vetting clearance was conditional on his being accompanied to meetings with former clients, such as #Palantir. Will the Prime Minister clarify why there is no record of his and Peter Mandelson’s meeting with Palantir in Washington, and will he tell the House what it was all about?"
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2026-04-20b.23.0#g62.7

2026-04-25 16:47:54 UTC

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"This is a humiliating day for the Prime Minister, and for the House, and for the whole country, yet still the Prime Minister is not being open with us. He is relying on some later inquiry, when the Cabinet Secretary told him in writing, in the official briefing, that he must seek vetting prior to the appointment of a political appointee. That is true, is it not, Prime Minister? And can you give a straight answer, just for once?"
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2026-04-20b.23.0#g61.1

2026-04-25 16:39:59 UTC

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This contribution is also a bit punchy.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2026-04-20b.23.0#g59.3

2026-04-25 16:38:31 UTC

Woo, the #HouseOfCommons exchanges on the #Mandelson affair got pretty toasty.
https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2026-04-20b.23.0&s=zarah+sultana#g57.2

2026-04-25 09:09:41 UTC

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if we are to continue to use things which are based on the semiconductor property of pure silicon, we're going to have to find other ways — which may not be economic in today's economy — to purify it.
If there are any.
This feels personal to me. For me, computers have been a liberatory technology — one that transformed a child who could not write into a highly skilled practitioner of a valuable craft. Without them, my life would have been much poorer — in every sense of that word.

2026-04-25 08:53:16 UTC

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I am not a chemist so don't trust me on this, but I **think** carbon is the only element greedy enough to strip carbon away from silicon.

2026-04-25 08:50:28 UTC

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aye, but you're purifying silicon dioxide into silicon, so you need something greedier to take the oxygen atoms away — which is carbon. The way you heat it doesn't matter.

2026-04-25 08:40:46 UTC

I was today years old when I realised that the purification of silicon — needed for computer chips — is an incredibly carbon intensive process, and that in a post-carbon economy, we may not be able to do it at all.
So — no more computers, at least not with the technology we use now; and, probably, nowhere near as cheap or as ubiquitous.
#ClimateEmergency
In Our Time: Silicon
Episode webpage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002t2v2
Media file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0n8j94p.mp3

2026-04-22 21:25:56 UTC

What is the longest word in the English language that you can type on consecutive keys, either forwards or backwards, on a qwerty keyboard?
I think it's 'wert', although that's archaic; can anyone find a challenger?

2026-04-22 17:31:31 UTC

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"Gaza Humanitarian Foundation"
Has there ever been a more cynically, ironically dishonest name for any organisation outside the novel 1984?

2026-04-21 13:58:23 UTC

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Needless to say, no data available for Scotland. Probably because, although this is also a problem in Scotland, it's not nearly such a big problem in Scotland... yet.
But if we're not very careful it will become so. Both the #SNP and #UKLabour are far to friendly with lobbyists.
#ScotPol

2026-04-15 18:56:52 UTC

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I am really worried not only for Islam but also for @npub1dkk…kleh and all those other people in Gaza cooking over burning plastic. I understand why they do — it burns, and they have no other fuel — but the fumes must be doing so much harm to their lungs.
I find I get angrier every day about our government STILL supporting #Israel. This siege of #Gaza, and the ethnic cleansing now being carried out in South #Lebanon, is unspeakably cruel.

2026-04-15 17:01:55 UTC

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My current thinking is that I'm probably going to abandon the first-pass compiler written in #Scheme. The reasons are:
1. I haven't found Scheme tooling I like;
2. The compiler has eventually to be written in #Lisp 1.5 if it's to be part of a Lisp 1.5 implementation, so I might as well just do it in Lisp 1.5.
It feels really disappointing that there doesn't seem to be -- or I haven't found -- nearly such a rich infrastructure for Scheme as there is for e.g. #Clojure.

2026-04-14 09:45:44 UTC

I've just begun a project in #Guile #Scheme, and I'm looking for tooling -- especially documentation tooling. #Clojure has Marginalia and Codox, both of which I like; Common #Lisp has Codex, Coo, Stable, cl-domain and others.
But the only thing I could find for Scheme is SchemeDoc, which is 'NOT MAINTAINED ANY MORE'.
https://people.cs.aau.dk/~normark/schemedoc/
Doxygen does not support Scheme out of the box, nor does Sphinx.
What else should I be looking at?

2026-04-13 09:56:49 UTC

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It's not a good look for the #GreenPartyEnglandandWales , @npub174g…4xwl , to show so little regard for inclusion and disabled people that you can't be bothered to do your own #AltText .
Do better! Be the change you want to see in the world!

2026-04-13 09:54:25 UTC

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#AltText4You
A pie chart captioned 'Who's got a piece ow Wes Streeting', and showing donations to the Health Secretary from private healthcare companies and investors:
£95,000 John Armitage
£84,900 MPM
£113,000 OPD Group
£40,000 Peter Hearn
£18,500 Sir Trevor Chinn
£13,000 Kevin Craig
£5,000 Red Capital
£246,713 Other
More than 60% of registered donations accepted by [Streeting] come from people and companies linked to private health
Data: Parliament, Electoral Commission.

2026-04-12 09:08:01 UTC

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Calling someone who vibes up prompts for a #StochasticParrot an "engineer" of any kind is a gross calumny on the whole tradition of engineering.

2026-04-12 09:05:24 UTC

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Also, from the same essay:
"The department needs papers, because papers justify funding, and funding justifies the department. The student is the means of production. Whether that student walks out the door five years later as an independent thinker or a competent prompt engineer is, institutionally speaking, irrelevant. The incentive structure doesn't just fail to distinguish between Alice and Bob. It has no reason to try." — Minas Karamanis
#HigherEd #AI
https://ergosphere.blog/posts/the-machines-are-fine/

2026-04-12 08:59:39 UTC

"We have built an entire evaluation system around counting things that can be counted, and it turns out that what actually matters is the one thing that can't be"
You thought this was about intelligence quotients, didn't you? It isn't. It's about another familiar usage of the word "intelligence". I think it exhumes a curious paradox about the word: we all think we know what it means, but when we pin it down, it vanishes.
#AI
The machines are fine. I'm worried about us.
https://ergosphere.blog/posts/the-machines-are-fine/

2026-04-11 11:16:46 UTC

Novara media are reporting that UK RAF surveillance drones are supporting #Israeli massacres of civilians in #Lebanon .
This follows the RAF's complicity, by operating daily surveillance flights over #Gaza, in the #GazaGenocide .
Needless to say, if the reports are true, this is criminal activity under both UK and international law. UK residents, please write to your MP and ask them ask them to ask the Ministry of 'Defence' to confirm or deny these reports.
#UKPol
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxTKjr47msBgMPku4YQGJhv4LJ8j1dhar9

2026-03-27 10:23:11 UTC

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But nevertheless it's well attended. The #Palestinians are a cultured people, with a long tradition of valuing learning and education.

2026-03-24 13:47:44 UTC

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And this in a war which the UK parliament has not authorised, against a civilian population that the UK electorate generally supports.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why this is not an enormous scandal!

2026-03-24 13:42:18 UTC

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It's a #WarCrime because, in seven seconds, there isn't time to evaluate whether or not it's a legitimate target.
Beyond that, #Israel would not be allowing UK aircraft to "surveil" Israeli controlled air space unless they were getting something out of it, presumably that surveillance data. So UK aircrew are responsible for that surveillance data, so they are guilty of that war crime.
/Continued

2026-03-24 13:34:55 UTC

OK, here's something very disturbing. We know UK aircraft were flying daily surveillance flights over #Gaza for at least the first two years of the current #GazaGenocide.
Here's a senior British military officer saying "in Gaza, from sensing to something firing, seven seconds" thanks to #AI.
If true, that's a #WarCrime
The Briefing Room: What's the current state of the UK's armed forces?
Starting from: 00:07:34
Episode webpage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002sr4w
Media file: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss/proto/http/vpid/p0n7ktly.mp3#t=454

2026-03-24 08:35:43 UTC

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Obviously, you could do your own designs, but you can also use mine if you'd like. There are certainly many people in Scotland who would want to wear something to show they were supporting Palestine, and I'm sure that's true of many other places around the world.
If you want to do this yourself, you have my support. If you want to set up a cooperative with other women in Gaza, you have even more of my support.
/Continued

2026-03-24 08:31:17 UTC

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/23/europe-clean-energy-gains-failure-phase-out-fuel-burning@npub1m0j…qy4f @npub1kqy…dzg9
The company which made my #PalestineAction hoodies is
https://www.inkthreadable.co.uk/
They are such a company, and I already know that they're prepared to make Palestine-friendly merch. But there are plenty of others, so although the quality of what they've done for me is pretty good, I'm not especially recommending them.
My plan was to get these hoodies on sale and send the profit to people in Palestine, but I haven't done it.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/283/182/102/209/398/original/608485f5d0c9ca3c.jpg
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/283/183/205/917/420/original/e3eafcc3c22649bf.png
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/283/205/163/735/439/original/7fe2518aeb6ec574.png

2026-03-24 08:14:51 UTC

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OK, there is something which is genuinely possible here; I have suggested it to someone in #Gaza before. It isn't 'a job'; but it is a legal business; a way of making an income.
There are companies in the west which make 'merch' for influencers: you design the products, they make the products, they deliver them to customers, they collect the money, they send you a percentage.
/Continued

2026-03-22 15:06:57 UTC

Well, that's another gate hung. It has to be said Icarus isn't impressed. #Crofting #TheJoyOfCrofting
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/273/442/761/726/290/original/edf2575c7f588e52.jpg

2026-03-21 11:17:23 UTC

That day when it is — quite suddenly — *much* too warm for winter clothes.
#ClimateDiary at 55° N, 4°W, 10.2°C.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/266/873/048/141/721/original/484afa5496141c2f.jpg

2026-03-20 13:01:56 UTC

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I would worry too. In a state where he cannot have regular good food, and a secure warm home, recovering from surgery would have risks. A cough and a runny nose aren't good; but they're not that serious, and may clear up with better weather and, hopefully, better food.
I will keep you in my thoughts.
Give Ibrahim my best wishes.

2026-03-20 08:46:13 UTC

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How is Ibrahim, Bara'a? Has he recovered from the virus he was suffering from?

2026-03-20 07:20:56 UTC

Dear people in #Gaza
I know your situation is very bad, but there are many thousands of you.
I can afford to make only three gifts each week, and those will inevitably mostly go to people I already know. So no, I almost certainly cannot support you by sending you money.
If you send me private appeals, I can't share them. I am now receiving so many private appeals that I cannot reply to each one. If you are verified, and you mention me in public appeals, I can share those.
Best wishes.

2026-03-19 10:40:29 UTC

Bringing new gates and fence posts over the hill. Nothing in the least dodgy about this load, no sirree. Hopefully this means I can get all my parks stock proof and the bulls separated from the cows (and ideally sold) before the cows calve.
#Crofting
#TheJoyOfCrofting
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/255/407/120/037/209/original/bea2dc485435ce45.jpg

2026-03-19 07:18:34 UTC

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Rania, please tell us more about the situation now. I know the food prices got much worse when #Israel and the US attacked #Iran and #Lebanon, but are food prices still rising or are they starting to come down at all?
Is there much crime or violence within the camps, or are things reasonably calm?
How is your tent, and do many other people also have damaged tents?

2026-03-17 15:56:37 UTC

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https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/posts-output/2014-03-18-a-circular-history-of-money/
https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/posts-output/2023-02-08-on-money/

2026-03-17 15:44:17 UTC

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tracking obligations is how societies get into trouble. No matter what systems for tracking obligations you adopt someone will successfully game it — to the point that, as we see now, the least deserving walk away with most of the wealth.
You can have property or you can have a good society. You can't have both.

2026-03-17 09:47:36 UTC

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apples are normally propagated from cuttings, and those cuttings are normally grafted onto root stocks from a robust variety. Many eating apple varieties won't 'come true' from seed — the resulting apples may not be similar to the parent apple — and many are not very vigorous.
So you probably will get some sort of a tree from your seeds and it probably will eventually bear apples, but they are likely to be different from where you started.
/Continued

2026-03-16 09:06:23 UTC

“Britain’s failure to meet its legal obligations has contributed to the mass killing of Palestinian civilians and the wholesale destruction of civilian objects, the desecration of international law and the further erosion of Britain’s status as a nation committed to the rule of law in the international arena.”
#Corbyn would have done much better to have NOT led this tribunal; his presence will inevitably by used to smear it.
#GazaGenocide
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/15/uk-complicit-desecration-international-law-gaza-says-corbyn-led-tribunal

2026-03-15 19:17:49 UTC

Guess who's behind the sudden rush of age verification legislation?
In the US, #Meta is spending $26.3 Million to hire at least 86 Lobbyists from 40 lobbying firms, and lobbying in at least 45 states. It is confirmed that Meta wrote the Louisiana age verification bill.
In the EU, Meta is spending ten million euros annually on lobbying, retaining 18 lobbying firms.
Age verification isn't about protecting children; it's about attacking privacy.
https://tboteproject.com/

2026-03-15 10:58:28 UTC

"The code points represent every letter of the US alphabet when fed to computers, but their output is completely invisible to humans. People reviewing code or using static analysis tools see only whitespace or blank lines. To a #JavaScript interpreter, the code points translate into executable code."
Sigh.
https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/03/supply-chain-attack-using-invisible-code-hits-github-and-other-repositories/

2026-03-13 11:49:14 UTC

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Friends in #Gaza
The more I know about your situation, the easier it is for me to decide whether to give to you. I can only make two or three gifts each week.
I give mostly to
* Single adults caring for children;
* Who are living in tents;
* Who do not have anyone in their family who is SERIOUSLY ill;
* Who aren't receiving much support from other people.
However, if I know enough about your case, I may recommend you to other potential donors even if I won't give myself.

2026-03-13 11:41:50 UTC

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Right, I've made my decision.
The people who were at the top of my list this week who I have NOT given to this week are:
@npub1tqc…gqzq
[@eslamradwan1_D_5](https://mastodon.social/@eslamradwan1_D_5 )
They also urgently need help; someone, please help them.
Others I'm aware of who urgently need help but don't meet my criteria include:
[@hadeel_2026](https://mastodon.world/@hadeel_2026 )
@npub1ekq…g3lc

2026-03-13 11:25:41 UTC

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Well, so did I. The SNP do NOT deserve to win this election, they have not done well in this last term in government, they need to be told clearly that we're not happy with them, that we want a lefter, greener, more principled and (hopefully) more competent government. But we must block the rise of #ReformUKLtd, especially here in Galloway.
So I probably shall vote SNP constituency, Green list, although I shall moan about it!

2026-03-13 11:18:34 UTC

I gave two of the three gifts I can afford to give this week to #Gaza, to people I already know and regularly communicate with; I woke up this morning thinking I knew who I would give the third gift to.
But I've just learned of a young unmarried woman living in a tent, caring for younger siblings (and I think some other people, I'm not yet fully clear). She appears to have no support at all.
It is really hard to decide! So many are in need, and it's so hard to judge who is in most need!

2026-03-12 19:49:57 UTC

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Although I am now fundamentally a @npub1nzf…lckw voter, I will probably actually vote #SNP constituency/#Green list, protesting bitterly as I do so. Galloway has historically been an SNP/ #Labour/ #Tory three way marginal; Yoon votes will probably bleed from both Labour and Tory to #ReformUKLtd and to block Reform we've really got to vote SNP.
Painful though that will be for me.

2026-03-11 21:51:52 UTC

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Generally, that's a REALLY GOOD PLAN. If all pro-independence voters followed it, we would, as you say, maximise pro #ScottishIndependence
representation.
You can therefore be absolutely certain the #SNP will sabotage it.
I despair of the party, they will always put tribalism first and independence second.

2026-03-10 13:43:49 UTC

Well, Shrove Tuesday was three weeks ago, but my hens have just started laying again so it's #PancakeTuesday here!
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/205/162/456/081/028/original/d352e9fd5cf31288.jpg

2026-03-10 12:10:02 UTC

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You know, I'm not sure this is true. Our squirrels have distinct tufts all through the year. I don't have good enough photos to show this clearly, but this is one of our squirrels in September last year and it's plenty fluffy.
#RedSquirrel
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/204/793/668/530/237/original/44db9bbe8286195b.png

2026-03-03 08:19:57 UTC

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If the UK won't stand behind the concepts of international law, then there will be no international law. Not because the UK is especially powerful, but that without the whole hearted support of the vast majority of nations, the whole concept unravels.

2026-03-01 14:15:54 UTC

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As I wrote four years ago
"Suppose one person has a warehouse containing ten tons of food. Suppose another person has no food, and a hungry family. The poor person is desperate to buy food today, because their family is hungry today. The rich person feels no urgency to sell food; instead, they can choose to wait and sell it at a higher price later, when more people are hungry."
It grieve me to see this happen to you.
https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/posts-output/2022-02-17-manifesto-for-a-good-society/

2026-03-01 14:04:17 UTC

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Bara'a,
We are told in the west that there are militias operating in Gaza, both militias associated with #Hamas, but also militias which are supported by the #Israeli occupiers.
Are the militias taking money from the merchants, and if so, are both sides taking money from the merchants, or only one?

2026-02-27 11:55:40 UTC

Wow! This is one hell of a victory speech! Hannah Spence is going to be a real star.
#UKPol
#Greens
#HannahSpence
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf7wVpDEvho

2026-02-24 11:48:36 UTC

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Oh Bara'a!
How much of the canvas can you salvage? Have you been able to keep your clothing and bedding dry?
How is Ibrahim?
My best wishes to you
Simon

2026-02-24 09:44:21 UTC

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quibble. Marie Curie died ninety years ago; she isn't publicising anything. Some corporate body named after her may be doing so, but that is a very different thing.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie

2026-02-21 06:08:22 UTC

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I think you're mistaken about anarchism. We are inherently very good at self organising, although that does break down to some extent at the scale of the societies we have today.
Self organising societies cannot tolerate significant disparities of wealth of influence, and with the population density and speed of communication we have today it's hard to have insulation between functional social units.

2026-02-20 10:15:02 UTC

#Clojure is not widely used in Africa, it seems. Or Greenland.
Everywhere else, though...
https://clojure.org/news/2026/02/18/state-of-clojure-2025

2026-02-18 09:53:21 UTC

T S Elliot wrote in The Waste Land that 'April is the cruellest month'; but for this year, at least in #Gaza, the largest concentration camp the world has ever seen, he's wrong. #Ramadan is the cruellest month. Hundreds of thousands of people in inadequate shelter, many of them, especially children, already sick from hunger and malnutrition, are fasting though the hours of daylight.
Please, if you can, be generous.

2026-02-13 10:05:13 UTC

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Indeed, back in 1972-74, I was a member of a crew which produced what in those days was called an 'underground magazine', and we (illegally of course, we were all anarchists) republished that cartoon in a special issue on the Club of Rome Report.
Yes, the #ClimateCrisis is older than you thought -- and still virtually nothing's been done.
https://www.clubofrome.org/publication/the-limits-to-growth/

2026-02-11 09:34:00 UTC

This is genuinely important and good news: as I expected, no British jury is going to convict #PalestineAction activists of non-violent protest.
Of course, this is why the UK government is trying to get rid of jury trials, but ...
Will the proscription of Palestine Action as a 'terrorist organisation'(!) also fall?
#Palestine
#GazaGenocide
Palestine Action activists cleared of aggravated burglary at Israeli defence firm site | Palestine Action | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/04/palestine-action-activists-cleared-aggravated-burglary-israeli-defence-firm-elbit-systems-filton

2026-02-09 08:58:02 UTC

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Thank you!

2026-02-09 08:50:39 UTC

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BBC reported on the first reading of the bill here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpv13rxpgk9o
Al Jazeera reported on it here:
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/12/21/israeli-death-penalty-bill-violates-international-law-palestinian-analysts
Amnesty International commented here:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/11/israel-must-immediately-halt-legislation-of-discriminatory-death-penalty-bill/
But generally, the western media have been strangely silent.

2026-02-05 14:39:34 UTC

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It certainly seems to be Morgan #McSweeney's plan.
#Labour
#UKPol
#Corruption

2026-02-05 10:17:48 UTC

"An analysis in October suggested that on just 27% of the vote (roughly in the middle of its polling over the past year), Reform UK would win 48% of the seats, allowing it to take power with a small coalition partner. If Reform UK forms the next government, it will be for one reason and one reason alone: our electoral system." -- George Monbiot, citing
https://electoral-reform.org.uk/first-past-the-post-could-catapult-reform-uk-into-government/
George's essay:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/04/labour-reform-greens-splitting-vote-unfair-electoral-system
#UKPol

2026-02-05 10:05:47 UTC

"Lewisham’s two #Green councillors defected from #Labour, claiming they were “bullied out” for opposing the brutal destruction of #Gaza. And every single non-white voter names Palestine as the reason they can no longer back Labour.
While SW1 theorises that the Green surge is down to Polanski, SE4 reality says it’s 99% #Starmer." -- Aditya Chakrabortty
I can't help feeling that Morgan #McSweeney is getting too little credit here.
#Labour
#UKPol
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/05/green-party-lewisham-zack-polanski-labour

2026-02-03 11:06:01 UTC

If the use of #GenerativeAI continues to grow in academia, are universities which wish to maintain a reputation for excellence going to be forced to move to examining undergraduates by viva?
It is the only thing I can think of that would work, but it would be hugely expensive.

2026-01-31 16:27:13 UTC

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Eyewind Stream, surely? But yes, it's just strange to see a personal name translated.
Yours sincerely
He Who Listens [by] Running Water

2026-01-31 12:56:26 UTC

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H'mmm... autotranslate thinks Øyvind Strømmen should be called 'the Eyewind Power'!

2026-01-30 13:59:48 UTC

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This kind of assumes that #Starmer has technocratic competence. He doesn't; his foreign policy is entirely subservient to Trump, while his domestic policy is mainly staying as close as he dares to Farage.
He has neither vision nor principal; and without at least one of those things, there are no objectives, no benchmarks, against which competence can be assessed.
I'm not persuaded by any part of Beckett's argument here.
#UKPol

2026-01-27 08:49:18 UTC

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Well, they're not wrong, are they? The way we're currently driving climate change will bring total economic and civilisationsl collapse before this cohort reach sixty, but our government is still pursuing 'economic growth'.

2026-01-26 08:50:35 UTC

And once again, with #AltText4You
"We can't have clean energy because it will destroy the oil industry. We can't have healthcare because it will destroy the health insurance industry. We can't have peace because it will destroy the
weapon industry. Capitalism is a system which disables the option to do the right thing."
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/115/960/533/111/067/975/original/1c532bb64851288c.jpg

2026-01-24 10:38:00 UTC

"This is the metric by which you can tell who in politics are your allies and who are your enemies: whether they support or oppose the extreme concentration of wealth. In fact, the matter should be definitional." — George Monbiot
#Kleptocracy
Money Talks – George Monbiot
https://www.monbiot.com/2026/01/23/money-talks/

2026-01-22 20:48:41 UTC

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People across #Gaza are facing death, Geri. People are crowded tightly into inadequate tents in flood zones. They're getting inadequate food, and the food that is available is neither nutritious nor varied. They're cold, and many do not have winter clothes. And on top of all that, they are being bombed and shelled by the perpetrators of the #GazaGenocide.
It's not acceptable that they're facing death. But seeing that they are, it must be acceptable to say so.

2026-01-20 10:10:06 UTC

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Seriously, no.
No one should fuck that guy.
No one.
#Trump

2026-01-20 09:44:03 UTC

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The international arrest warrant for #Netanyahu has already been issued. It's just that no government has the courage, or the commitment to the idea of an 'International Rules-Based Order', to actually enforce it.
#Israel
#GazaGenocide
#ICC
#InternationalLaw
https://www.icc-cpi.int/defendant/netanyahu

2026-01-15 21:56:11 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eslamradwan1_D_5/115883406582607453
It's increasingly obvious that conditions in the coastal camps in #Gaza are unbearable. All the people I'm in touch with from those camps are expressing anguish and despair. They are especially vulnerable in times of bad weather, due to storm surges from the sea, and floodwater draining off the higher ground.
More an more people are reporting their children are ill, and under these conditions in winter it's no wonder.
Islam is a widowed single parent living in a tent.
Please help if you can.
#note1pj3…4mt4

2026-01-14 15:54:03 UTC

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...but ALMOST HALF (47%) of white people in the US thought the shooting, by an armed thug, of a peaceful unarmed woman civilian was 'justified'.
#StateTerrorism
#Murder
#ICE
#Renee

2026-01-12 18:49:09 UTC

"There's so many good domestic reasons to do this. Without C-11, Canadian companies could defend their fellow Canadians from American data-theft and cash ripoffs by making alternative clients, jailbreaks, and other add-ons that disenshittified America's defective tech" -- @npub1fdr…lvhs
This is good advice to Canada, but it's equally good advise to the UK -- and the EU.
https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/12/disenshittification-nation-2/#heated-rivalry

2026-01-09 21:12:46 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@eslamradwan1_D_5/115860724197782791
Islam ([@eslamradwan1_D_5](https://mastodon.social/@eslamradwan1_D_5 )) is another of the single parents I'm in touch with in #Gaza, living in a flimsy inadequate tent on a beach which floods, in winter.
People in Gaza have had to flee their homes not once but several times in the course of this dreadful war; each time, they can carry less, they lose more. It's no wonder they lack winter clothes.
These are conditions that are hard to understand, and harder to live through, and now the bombing is increasing again.
Please help, if you can.
#note1x8j…cryc

2026-01-09 21:05:32 UTC

I've just checked out a #Clojure project I last worked on thirteen years ago, compiled it, ran its unit tests, and they all passed. I then ran `lein ancient upgrade :check-clojure` to upgrade all the dependencies to their latest versions, ran the unit tests again, and they all passed.
I did get one 'deprecated' warning. I can live with that!
It's not stability that I came to Clojure for, but it's a feature I really appreciate.
Say 'no' to bit rot!

2026-01-07 09:01:40 UTC

RE: https://mastodon.social/@baraa1998/115849166721212305
Friends, everyone in #Gaza needs support. But I am genuinely worried about Bara'a (@npub1rd9…ur9k) -- her health is obviously failing, but also her state of mind is deteriorating. I have sent her some money today, as I have several times over the past months.
She is a young single parent with one surviving child (she's lost two, and their father). Please, if you can, give her some hope.
#note1m8r…fnu8

2026-01-04 18:19:17 UTC

Dear @npub1zxf…wlsp, thank you so much for this podcast. It makes me think very carefully about the narratives that I am trying to write. But let me in turn urge you to reject the thought that 'there is no alternative' to money.
Money is the vector which transmits the disease of capitalism.
Accidental Gods: Thoughts from the Edge: Navigating the turbulent seas of the incoming year with grace and courage (Manda solo)
Episode webpage: https://share.transistor.fm/s/f15d0d0d
Media file: https://media.transistor.fm/f15d0d0d/d1f95463.mp3

2025-12-27 10:15:27 UTC

OK, this is genuinely scary. It's a picture of me, aged 5. It was taken in 1960. It was scanned and uploaded to Google Photos in 2002. No one has told Google where it was taken. But the map, bottom right, is correct.
Obviously, in 1960, my father's pre-war Exakta camera did not have GPS. Could you identify, from that picture, exactly where it was taken?
Google can.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/115/790/989/823/255/188/original/8476815b6561c5e7.png

2025-12-27 09:46:43 UTC

Friends in #Gaza, I am not able to send money to all of you. I am personally making gifts mainly to single parents, who are living in tents, and who are verified by the @npub1d6t…vdlg team.
If you are verified, I will boost your posts, even if I cannot afford to give to you. I do understand that there are very many of you who desperately need support.

2025-12-25 11:58:49 UTC

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I was thinking just this. And how many checkpoints are there now, on the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem?
#Palestine
#GazaGenocide

2025-12-22 11:39:34 UTC

“They won’t imprison us all, they know if they fill the prisons with activists, we will overpower them from within. So flood the damn streets in your millions. Shut down these factories in your thousands! They can never arrest the resistance in our smiles. We will use the shards of our broken hearts to spear the system of injustice.” -- Qesser Zuhrah
#SayHerNamee
#PalestineAction
#Gaza
https://prisonersforpalestine.org/prisoner/qesser-zuhrah/

2025-12-22 09:54:01 UTC

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I hate clearfell. It's such an environmentally destructive practice, for so many reasons.

2025-12-21 23:30:47 UTC

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this is what I profoundly believe. If we share material wealth equitably in cohesive communities, we each need far less wealth to live satisfactory lives that we do in today's atomised, competitive battle zone.
Truly, it is civilisation, not hunter gatherer societies, that is the war of each against all.

2025-12-21 23:24:22 UTC

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I cannot believe that anyone who claims to believe in any of
1. Democracy;
2. Civil liberties; or
3. An international rules based order
Could possibly vote to proscribe #PalestineAction
The degree of hypocrisy, dishonesty and sheer bad faith in #Starmer's "#Labour" party is truly ground-breaking.

2025-12-21 22:50:27 UTC

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Turd Reich, perhaps?

2025-12-21 11:26:16 UTC

I've written to my own MP this morning about Qesser Zurah's #HungerStrike, and I've added the text of my letter to him to the end of this post.
Please could I humbly urge everyone in the UK to write, today, to their own MP urging for her immediate release on bail? This is now very urgent indeed.
Please, also, boost this post.
#PalestineAction
#UKPol
#Gaza
#GazaGenocide
https://www.journeyman.cc/blog/posts-output/2025-12-21-Tidings-of-comfort-and-joy/

2025-12-21 10:33:51 UTC

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A death by starvation at Christmas, while all our politicians are chomping down on their chestnut-stuffed turkeys, pigs in blankets, christmas puddings, mince pies and rich fruit cakes, would be very bleak.
Qesser Zuhrah has not yet been -- and will now likely never be -- found guilty of any crime.
It would (deservedly) do this government a great deal of harm.
If she dies, we should all go and demonstrate on the streets
#PalestineAction
#HungerStrike
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/dec/20/palestine-action-activist-vows-continue-hunger-strike-teuta-hoxha