Paul

Keir Starmer and David Lammy are taking an extraordinarily dangerous gamble with our individual liberty This week, MPs will vote on the second reading of the Courts and Tribunals Bill. Don’t let the anodyne name fool you – this is one of the most revolutionary pieces of legislation in our…

Every Labour MP should read this important blog from @barristersecret.bsky.social

thesecretbarrister.com/2026/03/07/k...

"lethal autonomy without human authorization"

The asymmetry of the value placed on human life is so striking. Israel has a goal to recover 40-year-old remains; to do so, it invades a sovereign country, and the lives of 26 Lebanese are an afterthought. Their names not even worth printing in the New York Times.

The desalination plant is seen next to the coastline of Qeshm Is.

For context, Tthe US has bombed the desalination plant on Qeshm Island, Iran, disrupting water supply to 30 towns.

These plants are protected under international law, specifically the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit targeting infrastructure indispensable to the survival of civilian populations.

New vs cancelled clean energy projects in the US... $ICLN

There is almost no difference between the UK and French positions on Iran. But Macron's approach has been broadly accepted by French media and the opposition - except for the extreme left. The parallel with the UK is interesting.

the price of oil surging means you can burn your shein clothes, extract the oil, and make more money than you paid

The killing of Iranian children during an illegal war is an impeachable offense (not to mention a grave crime) and Congress should really act like it.

15 Republicans in the Senate could end this nightmare before it somehow gets even worse.

Four images, three of patterned and colourful weaving designs and one of the head and shoulders of a white woman in a monochrome photograph

The work of Gunta Stölzl (1897– 1983), influential German textile artist and designer who played a fundamental role in the development of the Bauhaus school's weaving workshop #WomensArt ##WomensHistoryMonth

Cartoon with four images in black and white comparing a cat's and a dog's behaviour

Sarah C. Andersen (born June 15, 1992) US cartoonist and illustrator #Womensart

Last 14 months of Biden's term:

+1.74m jobs

First 14 months of Trump's term:

150,000 jobs

(total! for the whole 14 months!)

www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

Lisa Vicari is reuniting with the 'Dark' creators for a new HBO Max thriller series

• It's based on the children’s book ‘Struwwelpeter'

• Follows a federal investigator solving ritual murders inspired by the dark and gruesome stories

(via Variety)

Trump's war is starting to cost you at the gas pump, and it's going to also bring a big bill to taxpayers as a whole.

The chart shows that childless Britons losing employment will see less of their vanished wages replaced by benefits than those in any other comparable country, aside from Australia and the US. Even for a lone British parent with two children, the so-called ‘replacement rate’ is 16 percentage points lower than the OECD average, representing the fourth-lowest level of relative support for such a family across the entire rich-country club.

The safety net for Britons is far lower than most of their counterparts.

Many other benefits systems around the world hardwire in a specific link between typical wages and general benefit rates, or what an individual's previous earnings and the payments they are entitled to.

More➡️ buff.ly/a300OG4

They are super aggressive. Remember moving into a rental about 5 years back, and inside of a month, they sent a letter saying I had missed a payment and was now liable for the full yearly amount.

Zelensky highlighting the moral and strategic poverty of the USA under Trump. In the last year Trump has ended all military aid for Ukraine, has undermined Ukrainian air defense, has tried to bully Ukraine in handing over territory, and has rolled out the red carpet for Putin.

Emma Walmsley’s pay rose almost 50% to £15.6m in final year as GSK boss Bulk of 2025 renumeration came from share bonuses as drug company’s now former CEO benefitted from stock rise

GSK CEO got 50% pay rise to £15.6m.

Did you?

Neoliberals moan about rise in minimum wage. Govts preach pay restraint to workers. Silence on profiteering, hikes in exec pay/perks, dividends, share buybacks.

The state devoted to welfare of the super rich.

And here's the clip, thanks to James: bsky.app/profile/jame...

Press Association comment from Quakers in Britain This evening, for the second time in a year, the Metropolitan Police raided a Quaker Meeting House and arrested a number of young nonviolent activists who were meeting there on the grounds that they were conspiring to commit a criminal act. The room in Westminster Quaker Meeting House was let to Take Back Power to hold nonviolent direct action training. Quakers support the principle of nonviolent direct action, which aims to protest without harming people. Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for Quakers in Britain, said: “For Quakers, faith and action are inseparable. Peaceful protest, prayer and nonviolent action are integral parts of many Quakers' religious life. “Whilst we take the planning of criminal acts very seriously, we believe that this incident is a deliberate targeting of committed young people who want to make our country a more equitable place. This raid is part of a systematic stifling of dissent. “That this is the second time in a year that the police have raided our meeting house dramatically illuminates the broader trend in the UK of cracking down on those who disagree with the government. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy. It's a key part of how people make their voices heard between elections.”

Statement from @quaker.org.uk about tonight's police raid on Westminster Meeting House. Guys, I don't think they're buying the Met's line about it all being a cover for plotting "mass shoplifting"

Huge #Saharandust transport over #Europe. The #Copernicus #Sentinel5p aerosol index map on March 5th shows the dust cloud reaching #England, heading to Northern Europe, confirming the @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social CAMS forecast. #airquality

It's like when the fascist Oswald Mosley's grandson, who Palantir hired to run its UK operations, appeared on Laura Kuenssberg wearing a black T-shirt.

None of this is accidental: it's all answering the question, 'what message do I want to send?' 'Fascism to immigrants' is the message Mahmood does.

Happy birthday to Betty Boo. Here's a reminder of the time she rapped with Public Enemy in the McDonalds at Shepherd's Bush back in 1987 (look out for the unimpressed manager!)

FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

CAAM + Arquitectos brings the beach into Suuel hotel in Mexico: www.dezeen.com/2025/09/07/caam-arquitectos-brings-the-beach-into-suuel-hotel-in-mexico/

We paid an ex-Tory MP to lobby for our fake Chinese firm - and authorities did nothing Investigation finds no rules were broken. It just goes to show how few rules there are.

Last week, UK lobbying regulator closed investigation into ex Tory MP Ben Howlett

We offered Howlett money to work for a fake Chinese investor. He introduced us to a dozen Labour MPs

Regulator didn't even speak to us. Our system is broken

New, by me: democracyforsale.substack.com/p/we-paid-an...

NHS official pushed to add patient data to Palantir platform whilst also advising company

A lobbyist who worked directly for Peter Mandelson, on the Palantir board, and on the board of *four* NHS trusts.

Lobbying the NHS to hand over even more patient data to Palantir.

This absolutely stinks. Get Palantir out of the NHS. Sign my petition:

you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/st...

Coincidence corner: JCB and Reform UK

From the new Private Eye, out now.

Come March, the buds on the tree's begin to burst, this #dataviz shows the timing of bud burst for different tree species across the UK. The black lines show the timing in the Spring for the years 2000 to 2025 and the blue line is the average day for that species.

Remember the implausible story about a pub giving such a large discount for customers paying by cash that it sounded larger than any card transaction fees?

BBC has now responded to my complaint: "You may already be aware that we have removed this article as it did not meet our editorial standards."