Fiona C

The govt will send representatives all over the world for St Patricks Day – it's the work of Irish artists that will open many doors for them.

Yet time and again, we see them treat artists shoddily.

It's welcome that the basic income scheme for artists is permanent – but it must be more ambitious.

In this story, there is a lot of support for trans people that you rarely see covered in the media unless they're being attacked. Businesses and individuals all standing up and saying 'I will not be a part of this' and I think that needs to be highlighted because it can feel lonely out there.

European Parliament Votes Overwhelmingly For "The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women" The resolution, though nonbinding, is a significant shot at those who seek to erode transgender rights on the continent.

In incredible news, the European Parliament has voted overwhelmingly for "The Full Recognition Of Trans Women As Women."

Even the center-right European People's Party voted for the declaration.

It will form a foundation for their position at the UN Commission on the Status of Women.

Our latest.

The strikingly soft tone in stark contrast to ICE aggression is very effective.

Reminds me of the Estonian Singing Revolution.

Keep it up #Minneapolis. Sing your way to peace and a better world.

#IceOut

A blackbird told me it was February (sound up for some much needed birdsong dopamine-these are my very favourite birdy notes):

CALL TO ACTIVISM (@calltoactivism) 🚨BREAKING: This brave immigration attorney is blowing the whistle on ICE saying agents are keeping all the Immigrants’ money, jewelry, Work Visas and any state documentation they had on them when deta...

substack.com/@calltoactiv...

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) tells reporters the Epstein files contain allegations that President Trump raped and threatened to kill children.

YouTube video by Kermode and Mayo's Take Mark Kermode reviews Melania

FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKIN ‘ELL

Ian McKellen performs “The Strangers’ Case” speech from “Sir Thomas More” on Colbert.

YouTube video by Scientists for EU Peter Mandelson and Palantir

It’s a longer video… but we REALLY need to talk about:

Peter Mandelson and -
Global Council
Lobbying (as an adviser and as ambassador)
Palantir

This is where the Mandelson affair needs to go next.

YouTube video by UltraMiraculous Penn and Teller on Vaccinations

youtu.be/RfdZTZQvuCo?...

The Hard Border - View media Over 129 years of moving images from Northern Ireland, featuring amateur and professional films from 1897 to 2026, brought to you by Northern Ireland Screen.

The Digital Film Archive had our 25th birthday party last night. Music, poetry and some very, very good film.
Local filmmaker Colm Laverty is genius at using the archives to amazing effect. This went down a storm at the event.
The Hard Border by Seamus O'Rourke

Board of Peace - Season 1

such a lovely thing to think about

Alt text: An email to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The writer, a transgender woman, critiques BBC News for using demeaning language about transgender individuals. She raises concerns about potential bias and discrimination, referencing the Equality Act 2010. The email highlights problematic terms used by the BBC and argues for a review of their reporting practices, emphasizing the need for respectful treatment of transgender people.

Letter addressing the Commission about BBC News’ reporting on trans issues. Concerns include potential harassment and hostile environments. Tone is formal and concerned.

I have requested that EHRC investigate the BBC under their regulatory obligations.

"Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back."

― Carl Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World

What causes inefficiency in the NHS?

It’s lack of retention of experience, expertise & knowledge.

High staff turnover means that many things are repeated, the systems slow

Higher numbers of lower paid, lesser trained staff lead to safety issues with higher demand

It’s simple🤷🏻‍♂️

Greta Thunberg being arrested this morning for holding a sign which says "I support Palestine Action prisoners. I oppose genocide"

What happened to freedom of protest?

We declare anybody we don't like a 'terrorist'.

ALT TEXT: A deep purple background with faint pink blue and white paint splotches, the Logo saying What The Trans?! In the top left corner, with white text reading in bold "Levy Review Released: Our Statement" "Today, after months of stressful delays, just as so many of us are ready to relax in the final days of 2025, NHS England has finally released the review into Adult Gender Services. It’s set to assess how clinics are performing and is expected to be used to update the non surgical service specification for gender services in the NHS. Now there is likely to be a whirlwind of reporting on this if there isn’t already. We can only stress that in this very early stage there is little we can concretely know until everything has been parsed through, and as ever the best people to trust will be those within our community, not those outside of it. We are already analysing it and will be collaborating with QueerAF, contacts, and experts to assess the review, and once we have the best picture we reliably can of it will be sharing that with you as soon as possible in our podcast and on other platforms. What we can see so far is it seems the report doesn’t recommend any blanket restrictions of care as seen in Cass, and does identify some improvements, while still ignoring the elephant in the room that is informed consent, but we need more time to be able to definitively say more. What we do know for sure is regardless of what the report contains we know our community will come together. Look after each other, reach out to friends and take care of yourself. Be kind as always, but especially now as we are all processing the information."

Our Statement on the Levy Review

Meter showing 90db peak sound level

Own a retail or cafe business? A word in your ear please…

This was the noise in a local Next* shop due to a 90db buzzer they always have running behind the till

This is mental torture for the ears of many neurodivergent people

Please, please stop this

(*Awful place, couldn’t avoid it)

Just when I thought I couldn't admire the man more...

🎯 🎯 🎯 💯 💯 💯 👍 👍 👍

If you need a good laugh this Sunday afternoon, may I suggest this 10 minute clip

A chart showing PISA scores over time for maths

Added another dashboard on my site on PISA data for the UK and Ireland since 2009. NI was ahead of both England and ROI for maths in 2009 and has since fallen behind; driven by a decline in grammar schools from 2009-15, and then another decline in secondary schools.
salmonofdata.com/dashboards/p...

Brexit costing UK up to £90bn in lost tax revenue , new analysis shows Exclusive: Britons also up to £3,700 worse off, leading to calls for the Labour government to improve relations with the EU

Surely it's time to go grovelling to the EU and ask to rejoin

Brexit is costing the UK up to £90bn a year in lost tax revenues, new analysis shows

This is the fault of Farage Johnson and that twat Dominic Cummings

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

When Rishi Sunak made the Vaccine deal with Moderna as Chancellor, he had up to £530m invested in Moderna.

Now Michelle Mone is desperately bringing it up.

Like if you want Mone on trial.
RT if you want them both facing the music.

Tweet announcing death of Trish’s mother from covid on 28 Dec 2020

Trish and her mum

Let’s never forget rationing ventilators and Zoom funerals. Boris Johnson and his cronies partied while our loved ones lay dying alone. COVID-19 was the worst public health crisis in a century. We should have locked down earlier. To some of us, PPE was not a get-rich-quick commodity.