Discydave

Verification, Deliberation, Accountability: A new framework for tackling epistemic collapse and renewing democracy Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.

My work on counterpublics and related topics
demos.co.uk/research/ver...

I fear we are seeing in the UK what has become abundantly clear in the US: for all their power and privilege, elites and institutions are absolute cowards in the face of right-wing authoritarianism. Weak, weak, weak, as Tony Blair once said

Just a shame you didn’t all vote when it mattered

Russia hikes hybrid aggression... From Foxhound incursions to red paint on the factory wall... why, and what next?

An audit of Russia's hybrid war - it's the political warfare, not the drones, that is the biggest threat...
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/r...

Why Finland Can Agree When Everyone Else Can’t. Finland’s Polarization Paradox

An interesting study, but I fear the simpler explanation mentioned is closer to the truth: it’s not that Finnish politics is especially resistant to polarization, it is that serious questions of national survival transcend polarization.

nordicpolicydispatch.substack.com/p/why-finlan...

Some days are just better #cep #porcini #funghi #mushroom #boletus

Why did it take Turkey just 17 seconds to shoot down Russian jet? Ankara has delivered an incendiary message to Moscow, and while there may be too much at stake for the conflict to spill out of control it also won’t go away

💯
www.theguardian.com/world/2015/n...

The fact that Europe has no coherent strategy to neutralize Russian aggression is exactly why Russia will invade more European countries beyond Ukraine.

"…and Magda Goebbels made a great strudel.”

Colombia Against the Fossil Fuel Age Colombia’s energy transition is not just playing out in policy papers — it’s unfolding in oil fields, coal towns, and courtrooms. Jacobin spoke with engineers, unionists, and President Petro himself a...

This piece by Andreas Malm & Maxy Guez brilliantly captures both how mind-bogglingly difficult, but also courageous, the Colombian pledge not to permit new exploration of fossil fuels actually is.

CINDY MCCAIN: “The desperation is overwhelming.”

EU imports of Russian fossil fuels in third year of invasion surpass financial aid sent to Ukraine – Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air

Last year the EU paid €21.9 bn for Russian fossil fuel imports while at the same time providing Ukraine with €18.7 bn of financial aid.

energyandcleanair.org/publication/...

The annual clean the valley roof day has arrived #valleyroof #seagull #moss problems

Neil deGrass Tyson: "How sad it must be believing that scientists, historians, scholars, economists, journalists devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, but a reality-TV star proven in court to be a lying felon is your beacon of truth & honesty"

Russians are advancing in Zaporizhzhia oblast under the American flag.

As things stand, Ukraine and Europe are on the verge of being confronted with exactly the kind of Faustian deal they feared would emerge back in February. The fact that Europe hasn’t moved to block such a deal in the past six months is a failure of leadership and diplomacy.

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Remembrance of Scents Past At museums, curators are incorporating smells that can transport visitors to a different time.

Sniffing something that you haven’t encountered in years—Play-Doh, fresh-cut hay, your grandmother’s laundry detergent—can be as vivid a sensory experience as it was the first time, while also being almost psychedelically nostalgic.

Mull of Galloway, looking over to the Isle of Man

Standing Stone, Rhins of Galloway

YouTube video by Shove Records Jon Spencer - Come On!

youtu.be/iVjX77W3tgc

Guest post: How solar panels and batteries can now run ‘close to 24/365’ in some cities - Carbon Brief The white paper sets out how near-continuous “24/365” solar power has become an economic and technological reality in sunny regions.

Solar power is already the "cheapest electricity in history", and battery prices continue to fall. It's only NZ's perverse electricity "market" that stops prices here falling.

"The cost of solar plus storage has fallen by 22% in one year and 43% since 2019"

www.carbonbrief.org/guest-post-h...

Rocket has rocketed #allotment

Garlic’s a bit disappointing #allotment #meh

#Garden visitor #Badger

Snowballs in May, on the #allotment

Spotted my first #Swift of the year. Heard it before seeing it 😊

#Hastings Jack in the Green #JITG #JITG25

Liz Truss: *kills queen*
JD Vance: Hold my communion wine