Severin Carrell

Edinburgh fringe with the family: five shows for kids A lively, wriggly tube creature, mesmerising birds for babies and a joyful take on Joyce’s Ulysses will delight young audiences at this year’s festival

Edinburgh fringe with the family: five shows for kids

These kids are today’s Brownshirts, smashing things up for the sheer kicks and power rush

Loch polluted by radioactive waste from nuclear bomb plant Loch Long on the Clyde has been contaminated by radioactive waste from the UK’s nuclear bomb store, official files reveal.

Six years ago I asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency for files on radioactive problems at the Clyde nuclear bomb bases. After three more #FoI requests, multiple reviews, two appeals and opposition from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), they released them.

theferret.scot/radioactive-...

Radioactive water from UK nuclear bomb base leaked into sea, files show Exclusive: Polluted water was released into loch near Glasgow because Royal Navy failed to maintain 1,500 water pipes, says watchdog Radioactive water from the base that holds the UK’s nuclear bombs was allowed to leak into the sea after old pipes repeatedly burst, official files have revealed. The radioactive material was released into Loch Long, a sea loch near Glasgow in western Scotland, because the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1,500 water pipes on the base, a regulator found. Continue reading...

Radioactive water from UK nuclear bomb base leaked into sea, files show

View of Loch Long surrounded by wooded hills under a clear sky. Overlaid text reads: “Loch polluted by radioactive waste from nuclear bomb plant.”

🔴 NEW: Loch Long on the Clyde has been contaminated by radioactive waste from the UK’s nuclear bomb store where old water pipes have repeatedly burst and caused floods, files released after a six-year secrecy battle reveal.

Our investigation: theferret.scot/radio...

At Coulport nuclear bomb base: “shortfalls in maintenance and asset management that led to the failure of the coupling that indirectly led to the production of unnecessary radioactive waste” - Scottish Environment Protection Agency 👇

Radioactive water from UK nuclear bomb base leaked into sea, files show Exclusive: Polluted water was released into loch near Glasgow because Royal Navy failed to maintain 1,500 water pipes, says watchdog

Radioactive water released from nuclear bomb base into sea near Glasgow because Royal Navy failed to maintain 1,500 water pipes, says watchdog - @robedwards5.bsky.social @severincarrell.bsky.social exclusive 👇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🐟🌊

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Another horrific series of press rights abuses tonight at hands of LAPD.

Initial reports are 4 journalists injured (several bleeding), 3 cameras broken, 5 put in zip ties.

All in defiance of state law, a judge's order, and chief's signed order.

LAPD can't police itself. Maybe the judge will.

The Times has got some basic legal points wrong. There's no requirement for visa waived visitors (such as UK citizens) to have travel medical insurance. Nor is there a requirement to have a return ticket, just the means to buy one (or being in a position to acquire such means lawfully).

BBC reunites with Met Office for weather forecasts After eight years apart, the BBC wants the Met Office to help provide

I missed this- the BBC is reversing its daft move 8 years ago to end its relationship with the Met Office and get its weather forecasts from a private US company: "an agreement between the two organisations in the interests of public service"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Foreign correspondents > “Broke Britain’s on the edge of financial disaster, Labour’s out of its depth — and people are angry. I’m scared for what’s to come.” — Andrew Neill, Daily Mail, 22 July. Brillo lives largely in the South of France > “Migrant hotels are radicalising Middle England.” — Guy Dampier, Daily Telegraph, 22 July. Dampier lives in Germany > “Small boats and sky-high legal immigration will continue to wreak demographic havoc. This change is permanent. Millions of immigrants from clashing traditions will bring only more of their friends and families. None of these people are going home.” — Lionel Shriver, Times, 24 July. As Shriver explained in her column, she recently moved to Portugal, having previously migrated to the UK from America > “Epping proves the police are the paramilitary wing of the left.” — Richard Littlejohn, Daily Mail, 25 July. Littlejohn lives in Florida for much of the year > “All the online censorship & superinjunctions can’t keep the English down. Regime change.” — Former MP and Telegraph columnist Douglas Carswell commenting on footage of asylum hotel protests, X, 3 August. Carswell lives in Mississippi > “Unless our leaders get a grip — and fast — exasperated communities will turn vigilante. Then things could get really ugly.” — Isabel Oakeshott, Daily Telegraph, 4 August. Oakeshott moved to the UAE in January for tax reasons

In pic 1

Many of the columnists seemingly egging on English rioters don't even live in the UK. Private Eye again

Protest outside hotel used for asylum seekers fails to happen amid counter-demo A protest was planned outside the Britannia Hotel in Wolverhampton today but was largely attended by counter-demonstrators

For 3-4 of the "announced" protest points, not a single post, picture or local news report of anybody taking part.Only several posts declaring they would. So media should check whether the number it is said would happen took place

Wolverhampton: nobody went
www.birminghammail.co.uk/black-countr...

BBC among media misreportimg/exaggerating scale of asylum protests

Median protest is a few dozen, below 100.

"Usually Several hundred at a time" is false.
- should say *occasionally*
< 1/10 protests have 200 people

"Sometimes thousands"
I dont think a single 2025 protest had > 2000 people yet

There were 10-14 protests last night. About 3 attracted > 100 people. Some announced but next to nobody went

Aggregate total was in ballpark of 1500

If BBC right - "usually hundreds, sometimes thousands - the total would have been many thousands.

The BBC misreport exaggerates about 10-fold

😳

Here’s Trump Sec Def Pete Hegseth signing off on Doug Wilson’s views that women shouldn’t vote or be in positions of leadership, 🇺🇸 should become an overtly Christian nation, etc.👇🏽

Wilson’s influence is growing in Washington.

Full: www.instagram.com/reel/DNGyqaS...

US envoy to Israel taunts Starmer and likens Gaza assault to Dresden bombing Mike Huckabee launches undiplomatic harangue after UK prime minister calls for immediate ceasefire The US ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, has launched an undiplomatic attack on Keir Starmer by invoking the allied second world war bombing of Dresden after the British prime minister criticised the Israeli security cabinet’s decision to expand the war in Gaza. “So Israel is expected to surrender to Hamas & feed them even though Israeli hostages are being starved?” Huckabee wrote on social media in response to a post by Starmer calling for an immediate ceasefire and lamenting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, as well as the fate of the remaining Israeli hostages being held by Hamas. Continue reading...

US envoy to Israel taunts Starmer and likens Gaza assault to Dresden bombing

Timetables, tricky tickets and high prices: the problems with European cross-border rail travel For all the fanfare over new routes, fast and efficient rail services between major cities remain a rarity

That's a nice end to the work week!

I am quoted in this @jonhenley.bsky.social piece about the headaches of #CrossBorderRail in Europe in this piece in The Guardian www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

The piece takes a Barcelona 🇪🇸 - Ljubljana 🇸🇮 route as to demonstrate what needs to be fixed...

Two bees are feeding on a bright yellow sunflower’s nectar, with a dark red sunflower to its right

Dinner time! 🐝🌻

Thieves Target Tennessee National Guard Facilities, Stealing Night Vision Googles and More A string of US armory break-ins, kept quiet by authorities for months, points to a growing security crisis—and signs of an inside job.

A string of US armory break-ins, kept quiet by authorities for months, points to a growing security crisis—and signs of an inside job. www.wired.com/story/myster...

It Looks Like a School Bathroom Smoke Detector. A Teen Hacker Showed It Could Be an Audio Bug A pair of hackers found that a vape detector often found in high school bathrooms contained microphones—and security weaknesses that could allow someone to turn it into a secret listening device.

He learned that the Halo 3C goes beyond detecting smoke and vaping. It also has a microphone for “aggression detection,” gunshots, and keywords such as someone calling for help.

Why a NASA satellite that scientists and farmers rely on may be destroyed on purpose The Trump administration has asked NASA staffers to draw up plans to end at least two satellite missions that measure carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, according to current and former NASA employees.

Head of NASA Sean Duffy intends to destroy a satellite that collects key data on carbon dioxide and plant health, by causing it to burn up in the atmosphere. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture and private agriculture firms use the data to forecast crop yield, drought conditions and more.

New research reveals King George IV profited from slavery in Grenada Experts say finding heightens pressure on the monarchy to confront its historical links to slavery Grenada has vowed to step up its pursuit of an apology and reparations from King Charles after new research revealed that George IV personally profited from slavery on the Caribbean island. The research by independent scholar Desirée Baptiste shows that George IV, who ruled for a decade until 1830, received profits from enslaved labour on Grenadian plantations – a finding that experts say heightens pressure on the monarchy to confront its historical links to slavery. This article was amended on 7 August 2025 to remove a description of King Charles as an ancestor of George IV. King Charles was a relative. Continue reading...

New research reveals King George IV profited from slavery in Grenada

X’s Altmetric hegemony ‘ending’, with Bluesky ‘clear alternative’
Alternative social media platform matching engagement of Elon Musk’s X in ways that ‘would have seemed unthinkable until recently’, says study
www.timeshighereducation.com/news/xs-altm...

Here's a point shared regularly by people paid to understand the media industry: Differentiate or Die. This version is from Dylan Byers of Puck. It's paywalled. puck.news/how-dow-jone...

Dismay as north of England universities miss out on share of £54m talent fund Exclusive: MP presses minister for explanation as thinktank says omission undermines innovation in the north

Dismay as north of England universities miss out on share of £54m talent fund. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Kleinhaus said: "The biggest challenge is here you work, hey. There's no kitchen lady you call to sweep the house, or clean the house, or stuff like that. You do the work yourself."

This guy got a free house but he's still whining:

Need some relief from the heat Tampa Bay? Take a dip into the refreshi...
Never mind. The Gulf is en fuego!

Street Scene with bus stop, passengers and customers going into and out of the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh. It has an open porch over the street.

Tollcross’s busiest bus stop at Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh is to close for a week.
It is said to be for “safety reasons”; but it has also been suggested it’s to enhance red carpet treatment for celebrities. You can read the full Edinburgh Reporter story by clicking on the link:- bit.ly/452CPgr

This is the week Scotland was forced to confront its role in slavery, and say: ‘Yes, that was us’ | Hannah Lavery Guardian revelations about Edinburgh University’s links to both the practice and theory of the evil trade must now provoke a national reckoning on race, says poet and playwright Hannah Lavery

"Scotland has long positioned itself as a nation on the margins of empire - a victim... But many of us have always known that’s not the whole truth. It’s a lie of omission" - @hannahlavery.bsky.social for @theguardian.com on #Edinburghracereport

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...