Gavin

Especially if you think a government budget is like a household budget (it really isn't!) you need to watch this.

What's good for the goose...

Fishing crews in the Atlantic keep accidentally dredging up chemical weapons
https://arstechnica.com/health/2026/03/fishing-crews-in-the-atlantic-keep-accidentally-dredging-up-chemical-weapons/
Fishing crews face horrifying burns from dredging the dumped chemical weapons.

Microplastics and nanoplastics in urban air originate mainly from tire abrasion, research reveals Although plastic particles in the air are increasingly coming into focus, knowledge about their distribution and effects is still limited. Chemical analyses from Leipzig now provide details from Germa...

Around 4% of particulate matter consists of plastic, TWO-THIRDS comes from tire abrasion.

"...people in a city like Leipzig inhale approximately 2.1 micrograms of plastic per day through the air, which increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 9% and from lung cancer by 13%."

Revealed: UK’s multibillion AI drive is built on ‘phantom investments’ Exclusive: Rented datacentres and unrealised supercomputer site raise questions for Starmer’s push to ‘mainline AI into veins of economy’

More AI hallucination.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

‘No room for diplomacy,’ Iranian senior official tells CNN | CNN In this exclusive interview in Tehran, Kamal Kharazi, Foreign Policy Advisor to the office of the Supreme Leader, tells CNN’s Fred Pleitgen Iran can continue with the war for a long time and he doesn’...

To use Hegseth-style terminology: Iran is kicking ass in lots of ways.

CNN is operating in Iran with permission of the Iranian government & retains full editorial control over what it reports, with no reviews, approval, or previews prior to broadcast.
edition.cnn.com/2026/03/09/w...

...
- Families LOSE protections.
- Venture capital and private equity "investments" (and profits 😜) are untouched.
- "Adversarial culture" untouched/unremedied. Now, councils will decide, and families are "offered" a new complaints system, BEFORE being able complain to the DoE.

🤔

You're right - the current system is NOT working.

Think about why you might not be convincing me? Suggestions? ...

The Kurdish Attack on Iran That Never Happened False media reports of thousands of Kurdish fighters launching a ground offensive against Iran ended up endangering the very people living under the bombs, reports Dr Charles Kriel

🔴The Kurdish Attack on Iran That Never Happened

False media reports of thousands of Kurdish fighters launching a ground offensive against Iran ended up endangering the very people living under the bombs, reports Dr Charles Kriel

bylinetimes.com/2026/03/09/t...

"There were a record 25,000 tribunals, external brought in 2024/25 in which parents challenged the level of SEND support offered by their council. Over 95% of cases fought were won by parents." From https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c24dy787revo

Something tells me those 25000 families would disagree? That suggests a lot of councils were (or felt forced into?) "cutting costs"?

And it *looks* like families have LESS protection against such penny-pinching?

SEND reforms to 'strip away' children's legal protections, charity says Planned changes to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system in England were announced last month.

Three cheers for Keir Starmer! 🤮

Here he is targeting the most vulnerable members of society again, instead of targeting the richest, most privileged as he blood well should...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Maybe they relied on AI to pick targets. But they bombed the school twice, hitting it again 40 minutes after the initial strike, in order to kill survivors and first responders. The mere *existence* of AI means no one has to be held responsible for this crime against humanity

A reminder that humans in cars - notably omitted from this thanks to motonormativity - kill 1.2m people every year

Remember Earth’s energy imbalance has tripled in two decades.

Pretty much everything else is noise.

Calling for a more coherent policy response to driving harm Abstract. High rates of population-level driving are associated with multiple adverse health outcomes arising from road crashes, air and noise pollution, p

NEW STUDY: “Thanks to the influence of the road lobby, the harms of driving are underestimated & overlooked, while measures that make walking, cycling, & public transport the easiest option are viewed with suspicion. Policy responses to reducing population-level driving…can create positive change.”

Ahh I see we have reached the stage of fuel suppliers being accused of profiteering.
Cos businesses making a profit is only bad when it comes to selling petrol for cars.
Funny how so many unwittingly become communists when it comes down to filling the suv.

Quiz question for today:

Compare the two images below and decide which one is best described by the word 'sectarianism'

The Fight for Queensbury Tunnel The campaign to save Queensbury Tunnel is an excellent example of how local people coming together with a shared vision can form an incredibly powerful voice when faced with short-sighted political de...

In our latest blog post we focus on the campaign to save the Queensbury Tunnel.

Grant Shapps’ intervention in 2020 should have been the end of it, but sadly that was not the case...

Read about the history, the ups and downs, and what comes next
transportactionnetwork.org.uk/the-fight-fo...

Meanwhile, Spain's massive investment in renewables is paying dividends now: with prices for Spanish industry and consumers low and stable compared with other European economies.

www.ft.com/content/ac77...

A parent walking to school with children.

Parents and carers – we need your voice! 📋

We’re gathering the views of families across the UK to understand the barriers faced when walking and wheeling to school.

Take our short survey to be entered into a £200 gift card draw.

Have your say 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/parentWOW

Attacks leave dead vs killed

Green Party say 'Hannah Spencer won't be silenced' after Manchester violence Hannah Spencer, Gorton and Denton's newly-elected MP, was ushered into a police car amid the unfolding chaos

The anti trans men who chased Hannah Spencer, this is exactly who these men are. Misogynists who just love an excuse to hound women for not doing what they tell us. All male terfs act like that. And the women are just as vicious www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater...

If you need it explaining - the fire was at the OTHER end of Union Street, and the building in the photo is, AFAIK, absolutely fine.

Humanity heating planet faster than ever before, study finds Researchers identify sharp rise to about 0.35C every decade, after excluding natural fluctuations such as El Niño

The Guardian on our new study, which shows that global heating is significantly gathering speed. Our efforts to overcome our fossil fuel addiction should do the same.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Yorkshire Water receives fresh funding despite sewage fines and pay row Private equity group EQT to take 42% stake as supplier faces scrutiny over environmental record and CEO’s pay

Swedish private equity group takes 42% stake in Yorkshire Water.

Thames Water, Northumbrian Water, Southern Water, South West Water and Wessex Water gutted by PE.

All have criminal convictions, dump sewage in rivers, profiteer. 90% of England's water is foreign owned.

Expect more looting.

*clears throat, gets bullhorn*
buuuuulllllllllSHIT

Medical transition for trans kids is now banned for new referrals on the NHS. Trans kids in the UK can still go private or DIY (for now).

This means the new clinics that replaced GIDS are close to useless at best, conversion therapy at worst. 1/5

YouTube video by Bold Politics with Zack Polanski The Water Industry Scandal

My conversation this week with the brilliant @feargalsharkey.bsky.social:

youtu.be/MPo3_0DjgyU?...

This is what ecocide looks like.

Matthew Petti • @matthew_p... •49m saying "the regime" like a magic talisman that lets you pretend that oil refineries, water plants, police stations, courthouses, schools, and hospitals are not just part of society

They did this in the Lebanon War in 2006: they just bombed anything that looked like it had any social or economic value - bakeries, ports, factories, on and on, then told the world every single one was a military target. It was all lies then, just as it has been for years here.