Red plaque reads: 'NATIONAL TRANSPORT TRUST. POWDERHALL STABLES. Baronial-style stables built in 1893 for horses hauling Edinburgh's refuse to the adjacent waste incinerator – the "Powderhall Destructor".' TRANSPORT HERITAGE SITE.

RED WHEEL FOR POWDERHALL STABLES.—Commemorative plaque marks important site in transport history: www.broughtonspurtle.org.uk/news/red-whe...
#Edinburgh #hyperlocal #news #localhistory #transport

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte:

President Putin is trying to break the people of Ukraine, hoping to weaken their resolve.

But Ukraine and Ukrainian people have shown, time and again, that they will not be broken.

Vernon Bogdanor, The Times

Gaelic’s popularity in Glasgow is a lifeline — but has it come at a cost? A new generation of Glasgow Gaels have revived Scotland’s traditional tongue. Some worry about cultural erasure

🧵In 1988, the six pupils in Glasgow became the first cohort to be taught entirely in Gaelic. Their English-speaking classmates, nicknamed it the ‘Garlic Unit’. It didn’t matter though; the six pupils were pioneers.

A highlight of today was Mary Beard helpfully correcting my Latin pronunciation.
For a start, I’ve never been taught Latin - so poor pronunciation is only to be expected. And if anyone is going to correct you, Mary Beard is hard to beat.

National Insurance is a regressive tax that hits the less well-off hardest Compared to income tax, national insurance contributions attract little sustained scrutiny even though they provide large amounts to the public purse.

National Insurance (NI) dodges.

Companies pay employers' NI (ENI) on director wage.

Partners of Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) get share of profit, instead of wage

No ENI paid. Big 4 law firms alone dodged £4bn.

Billions more lost in other LLPs.

No govt plugs this perk for the rich

Casey Wasserman wrote to child sexual abuser and trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell:
"I think of you all the time... So what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?"

Casey Wasserman is the current chairman of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. Why has he not stepped down.

Are any of the ICE software servers hosted by Meta or Google located in Ireland?

Is Ireland fining any of the tech companies assisting ICE to torture Irish citizens?

cc @whittledaway.bsky.social @irishrainforest.bsky.social

It's not as if the Reform party is being censored here - the BBC falls over itself to cover their every word (largely uncritically), and much of the print media are their cheerleaders.

Streeting wrote off his re-election chances in WhatsApp exchanges with Mandelson Health secretary publishes messages as he seeks to draw line under his relationship with former peer

Wes Streeting wrote off his re-election chances in WhatsApp exchanges with Mandelson

Health secretary publishes messages as he seeks to draw line under his relationship with former peer

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Just received an advance hardback copy of ‘Dragonflies’ with masses of fantastic new photos, mostly by Steve Cham, and many new artworks. Also received, a reprint of ‘Bees’, both excellently printed in China.

When he was a Tory politician (you remember, just after he was binned as a Labour one) female colleagues were free to express their disgust at his blatant misogyny. “Lee is an odious sexist,” was Anna Soubry’s irrefutable conclusion. I wonder what his current colleagues will have to say…

“Russia has been attacking its neighbours for over 100 years. To stop the war, there should be concessions on the Russian side," EU foreign affairs chief @kajakallas.bsky.social Kaja Kallas said

📹: euronews/EuropeToday

MoJ orders deletion of UK’s largest court reporting archive Courtsdesk, which supports the media in monitoring records, is an important tool for journalists and the move raises concerns over open justice

Govt orders deletion of court records widely used by journalist to monitor activity and decisions bit.ly/45UjduX

‘Absolute hell’: Irishman with valid US work permit held by Ice since September Seamus Culleton has been in a detention facility in Texas for nearly five months despite having no criminal record

This is absolutely insane. The sort of Kafka-esque nightmare you would find in a Philip K Dick book set far in the dystopian future. A window on America tumbling into autocracy.

www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...

Looks like tomorrow is looking dry so I can finally go Birding tomorrow. Tomorrow I will visit Aberlady Nature Reserve.

Maybury Road - from Cammo Meadows to Barnton junction and along Whitehouse Road to West Barnton Avenue.

An active travel scheme with from right to left a pedestrian area, a cycle lane and then by the road a bus stop.

Barnton, Edinburgh. Do you visit, live, or work in this area ? Edinburgh Council have proposals to improve walking, wheeling, and cycling at Maybury Road

If you would like to know more, or to comment please click on the link. Closing date February 9th.

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/cycling-walk...

Last night, Russia attacked Kherson with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES) reported

Six civilians were injured. At various locations, private homes, a non-residential and a warehouse building, a garage, and an apartment building caught fire.

Isle of Cumbrae residents renew calls for CalMac to abandon proposed cuts to ferry services | STV News

https://news.stv.tv/west-central/isle-of-cumbrae-residents-renew-calls-for-calmac-to-abandon-proposed-cuts-to-ferry-services

#scothinews

It's finally happened! The Sofia to Istanbul (or Dimitrovgrad to Istanbul, if coming from Bucharest) sleeper train is finally bookable online, at the Turkish Railways website! 🥳

Chris Williamson proposes Neom-informed Loop to connect northern British cities Chris Williamson has proposed linking nine northern British cities with The Loop – a raised high-speed railway informed by Neom's megacity The Line.

Choosing to believe that Chris Williamson lost some kind of bet which is why he has been forced to propose this:

Oh yes! Idon't where they disappear to🤔

Variety?

All the scrubbers and hackers in the world could not get rid of the bad stuff

Also took the opportunity to discuss the Dutch 'Room for the River' approach to flood management, and yes, the Dutch know a thing or two about staying dry in a country much of which is below sea level.

🔴 Russia hit a market in Druzhkivk, Donetsk region, with cluster munitions.

At least 7 were killed and 15 wounded after strikes and two aerial bombs, according to local authorities.

Anas Sarwar's 'old friend' Peter Mandelson, April 2025.

Anas Sarwar's 'old friend' Peter Mandelson, Feb 2025.

And the annual Brass Neck Award goes, once again, to Anas Sarwar. #Scotland #Holyrood26

Great work!

It's traditional at this point to say there's no suggestion of illegality or impropriety.

But there absolutely is potential illegality: leaking emails to Epstein was, plausibly, misconduct in public office - a criminal offence...