Sam (he/they)

The BBC’s decision to cut this section of Akinola Davies Jr’s speech when the Baftas was broadcast later in the day is shameful.

Labour's policing minister backed overdose prevention centres in opposition. Bristol MP @carladenyer.bsky.social wrote to her asking for permission for Bristol Council to set one up. She refused.

Labour knows that drug reform is needed but won't act; instead they smear the people who do want to.

HUGE news for @greenparty.org.uk ! Labour voters need to understand *they* are the ones risking a reform win. Let's get behind @greenpartyhan.bsky.social 💚💚💚

The incredible, narcissistic whiteness of drinking bovine breastmilk.

You cannot buy the revolution. You cannot make the revolution. You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.

Labour targets animal rights protestors| LSE British Politics Having criticised the previous Government's anti-protest legislation, Labour recently passed an amendment in Parliament targeting animal rights protesters.

Animal rights protesters targeted by a Labour government…again blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

British politics is so incredibly out of touch with younger people.

I can tell you personally from listening to dozens of conversations on the doorsteps of Gorton and Denton today, Lucy Powell is talking out of her hoop -- residents are furious with Labour! Only @greenparty.org.uk can beat Reform. If anyone should stand down there it's her own ignominious party.

Vibes from the doorsteps of Gorton and Denton today were mainly fury at Labour, with a fair amount of disillusionment with British politics in general. It's @greenparty.org.uk vs Reform. Hope v hate.

Out campaigning for @greenpartyhan.bsky.social in Gorton and Denton today 💚💚💚

The UK government didn't want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I'm not surprised | George Monbiot It took an FOI request to bring this national security assessment to light. For ‘doomsayers’ like us, it is the ultimate vindication, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

Please spread this far and wide, as stories don't get much bigger than this. When the government blocks even the intelligence services from telling us we're heading for environmental catastrophe, you know we have a problem. A very big problem.
Thank you.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Let’s be clear: if the Palestine Action hunger strikers die, the government will bear moral responsibility | George Monbiot The three remaining hunger strikers have been convicted of nothing. Yet with astonishing cruelty, ministers refuse to listen to their reasonable demands, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

It's horrifying but grimly believable that the British government, including 'prison reformer' Lord Timpson, is willing to allow young people (who have not been convicted of an offence) to die of starvation rather than talk to them www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

A very long and important THREAD -

The real reason the US is invading Venezuela goes back to a deal Henry Kissinger made with Saudi Arabia in 1974.

And I'm going to explain why this is actually about the SURVIVAL of the US dollar itself.

Not drugs. Not terrorism. Not "democracy." 1/

Britons support a ban on trail hunting by 50% to 29%

Support by 2024 vote
Green: 64%
Labour: 62%
Lib Dem: 50% (net +22)
Reform UK: 45% (net +5)
Con: 34% (net -13)

yougov.co.uk/politics/art...

This is the saddest day of my professional life. Today is not only the final recording of the latest series of The Infinite Monkey Cage, it is my last ever Monkey Cage. I never thought that I would have to leave the show. I always imagined going on until | dropped dead under the studio lights due to a brain aneurysm caused by my final attempt to understand notions of quantum gravity or the shock of being told about fly maggot infestations in the sacks of macaque monkeys. I resigned in September, after sixteen years of dedication to the show, A show that I named and helped develop over all those years. Unfortunately, my opinions outside the BBC have been considered problematic for sometime, whether it has been voicing support for the trans community, criticism of Donald Trump, numerous other outlandish opinions, including once gently criticising Stephen Fry. These things were considered to conflict with being a freelance BBC science presenter

In a recent meeting where BBC Studio executives again voiced problems with me, I realised my choices. Obedience and being quieter to remain making Monkey Cage, or 'Resign and have the freedom to speak out against what I believe are injustices'. • I chose the latter. It broke my heart. I love this show and I love the audience, and it is because of the audience in particular, that this decision was so difficult to make. I kept thinking about all the extremist voices promoting hate and division. They are being given so many platforms, while voices that represent kindness, open mindedness, empathy seem to be scarcer and scarcer. I felt I couldn't pamper myself with the luxury of silence. One of my many privileges is that I am able to resign and I can speak out even if it is to the detriment of my career.

I have thought a lot about my heroes, Sinead O Connor, James Baldwin, Audre Lorde, and so many more. I think of Sinead's words, "the job of an artist is to be themselves at any cost". James Baldwin said prejudice was really just a word for cowardice. Audre Lorde, viewing her life, wrote that her only regrets were her silences. I think of my father as I resign, he brought me up to believe in fairness , justice and kindness. Though my heart is broken, it is also full of fire. I apologise to our incredible listeners for my departure, your love of the show means a great deal. I am so sorry to let you down. I hope that you can understand my reasoning. I have to accept that I am not what the current BBC expects of their freelance presenters.

Despite this I should add that I have always worked far more than my contracted hours to try and ensure the show was always the best it could be, as well as making myself accessible and responsive to the audience wherever and whenever I met them. Every night, we have recorded, I have been filled with determination to make the best show possible. This was not "just a job" I hope that with my departure I can be a better ally to the LGBTQ community, to the neurodivergent community, to activists fighting against those who aim to brutalise society, to those currently in prison on hunger strike, and to all those who fight for a more inclusive world. From many conversations, I know there are many Monkey Cage listeners who support these communities and activists too. The strawberry is dead. Long live the strawberry. B

Very sad that I felt I had no choice but to resign from The Infinite Monkey Cage - a victory for the transphobes and other bigots - I did it because so much of the media has chosen to believe the kind and empathetic people are a fiction - they are real and so often unrepresented.

Government move could criminalise protests against animal testing, warns Camp Beagle - News for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Camp Beagle has raised the alarm over a proposed change to the Public Order Act 2023, warning it could criminalise peaceful protests against animal testing

The government has proposed to add 'life sciences' to the list of "key national infrastructure" that have their own offences for disrupting under the Public Order Act 2023. This risks further criminalising already heavily policed protests against animal testing www.cambsnews.co.uk/news/governm...

Grey background with light brown stars. 4 green squares in centre. Black 01 text on top. Black writing underneath reading '12 days of acab. significant protest court cases'. GBC logo top right.

Grey background. Green border with darker green stars. GBC logo bottom right. Black text reading Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty 7 11 years for conspiring to blackmail - 2009 Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, was an international animal rights campaign against Huntingdon Life Sciences, Europe's largest contract animal-testing laboratory. In 2009, seven members were convicted of conspiring to blackmail and sentenced to between 4 and 11 years. This followed intense police surveillance, including the bugging of meetings and a series of raids involving 700 police officers. There is a long history of police repression of animal rights groups. Check out netpol.org/policeraids for info on your rights during a police raid

On the first day of ACAB, my true love taught me...
in 2009, animal rights activists were imprisoned for 11 years for conspiring to blackmail, following police surveillance and a series of raids.

➡️Check out netpol.org/policeraids for info on your rights during a police raid

#12DaysOfACAB

The typo 🫠

Starmer has sold us out and destroyed our party. Labour is lost. I hope you'll consider joining me in defecting. After all, we have 2 exciting socalist parties to choose from now @greenparty.org.uk #YourPartyUK

The lengths we go to, to avoid seeing the bleeding obvious.

Rejection of Norfolk megafarm marks turning point for industrial livestock production in the UK | Sustain The planning application for an industrial megafarm in Norfolk has been rejected in a landmark decision that could shape the future of industrial farming and bolster councils and rural communities in ...

After 15,000+ objections to the proposed Cranswick megafarm, and incredible campaigning on a local and national level, Norfolk council has rejected the application! 🔥 A step in the right direction for the environment, for animals and for local communities💚

www.sustainweb.org/news/apr25-r...

Very enjoyable and hopeful evening seeing @georgemonbiot.bsky.social in Nottingham tonight. Last time I saw him speak was October 2019 inside Smithfield meat market, which I'd helped to occupy with (then) Animal Rebellion.

Image of a news story from the Times headlined ‘We should avoid avocados, avers Titchmarsh’, in which they outline the celebrity gardener’s concerns about the environmental impact of avocado production, including the clearing of rainforests for avocado production and water use.

The Times using its front page to let us know how environmentally bad avocados are cos they clear rainforests to grow them and they use 320 litres of water to grow.
They’re going to lose their shit when they hear about beef, right?

I worked in climate change comms (focusing on unions & working class action) back in the noughties, & we knew then what did & didn’t work, in terms of people’s sense of reciprocity, proportion, duty & what just invites a backlash. It’s depressing how bad the establishment is at learning this lesson.

Kudos to nine-year-old Isabelle, whose petition to ban animal experiments on dogs in the UK has amassed 200,000 signatures in a week
www.itv.com/news/2025-02...

Devon farmer's 'worst day' as 5,000 hens culled due to bird flu - BBC News Farmer Jerry Saunders, from south Devon, says he is devastated about the cull.

Man who kills hens for a living devastated that his hens will be killed before he can kill them. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Who are the Zizians? What we know about vegan 'cult' linked to six killings A US border patrol agent and a landowner stabbed 50 times are among alleged victims of the group.

“Boss, I’ve got this story about a murderous cult”
“Call it a vegan cult”
“But it’s not got anything to do with veganism”
“Bung in half a sentence about how it cropped up in a blog and call it a vegan cult”

Can we go back to calling it a fad please, ta.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Incidentally this is the exact same reason that the animal skin and wool industries desperately want to avoid fur being banned. They know they're next.

Don’t think the bans will stop with greyhounds. They’ll come for horse racing next The implications of the Welsh Senedd’s plans go much further than the closing of the principality’s last remaining track

Wales is banning dog racing 🎉 The Telegraph is worried where it will end! Oh no, could this inadvertently bring an end to animal exploitation?? That would be just terrible www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02...

Leftwing activists less likely to work with political rivals than other UK groups, study finds Exclusive: Lack of understanding by ‘progressive activists’ of other voting blocs has led to rise of far right, authors argue

Kudos to @theguardian.com for managing to blame the rise of the far right on the only group of people who have actively resisted the rise of the far right www.theguardian.com/politics/202...