Dear @mrjamesob.bsky.social
I know you don't do Threads, but there are times when I think it might be worth a look.
This might give you a giggle.
Anyway. I've tried.
www.threads.com/@nextdeals.c...

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

Also worth noting was the outstanding contribution from @simonmarksfsn.bsky.social

I'm trying to send observations from our side of the pond, to a family member in the US, who doesn't seem to have a good news source.
Has Simon's segment been clipped up anywhere please? I'm no good at doing this.

I need a link to this section please - my daughter's English BIL is now living in the US and he has no idea what's going on.

A young caller on @mrjamesob.bsky.social has just struck such a chord.

Women are presented with things to make them feel bad about themselves, and then they are sold things to fix it.

What insight.

Try kalettes - easier, more productive, and utterly delicious when lightly roasted in olive oil.
Become like crispy seaweed with a soft centre.

Completely and absolutely agree, the message Trump’s actions in Venezuela sends to Russia and China is that anything goes, international law be damned. Russia and China will act aggressively no matter what, but this adds cover to their agendas on Ukraine and Taiwan.

There seems to be some *confusion*
among Reform supporters over Nathan Gill being one of them

“But, but, Reform didn’t exist when he took his Russian bribes”

“But, but he was in UKIP”

“But, but it has nothing to do with Farage, he barely knew the guy”

So here’s a little history lesson 👍🏼🧵

1/14

www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

I'm a member of this demographic, and I wholeheartedly disown it.

A handmaid.

I've got a sneaking suspicion that there may well be a fair few articles quietly ammended.

I wouldn't be surprised if this is what will happen across the board - the suspect doesn't fit the correct narrative for fueling the violence, so the whole story will be quietly shuffled out of sight.

Well, well.
www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/asyl...

Screegrab of thread on X, by Lib Dem Councillor Tom Astell: "Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell Something very concerning is happening in Hull & East Yorkshire. The new Reform UK Mayor has launched a website for a “£1m Community Fund.” Here’s why residents should be worried 👇 1/10 1:06 PM · Aug 17, 2025 · 57.7K Views Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h The site (http://lukeasksyou.com) carries the Combined Authority logo & privacy policy, making it look like an official consultation and that the Combine Authority will be the ones handling your data. 2/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h But when you complete the survey, you’re told it’s “promoted by Reform UK.” Your personal data goes to the party — not the Authority. 3/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h And the £1m fund? It doesn’t exist. It has never been through the Combined Authority Executive Board. No decision. No approval. It’s not even clear if the Combined Authority actually has the ability or monies available for such a fund. 4/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h The Constitution is clear: any spending over £250,000 is a Key Decision. It must be formally approved. That hasn’t happened. 5/10"

Screegrab of thread on X, by Lib Dem Councillor Tom Astell: " Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h So residents are being invited to pitch ideas for a fund that hasn’t been agreed — while handing their data to a political party. 6/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h This is a serious breach of trust. Public branding. Party data collection. A non-existent fund. Residents deserve honesty. 7/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h I’ve written to the Combined Authority Chief Exec demanding answers: 🔹 Has this fund been authorised? 🔹 Who approved use of CA branding? 🔹 Is this an official consultation — or a party campaign tool? 8/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell · 20h I’ve also raised this with the Monitoring Officer, Chief Finance Officer and the ICO. Governance and transparency matter. 9/10 Cllr Tom Astell @tomastell Public office is a public trust. Hull & East Yorkshire deserves honesty, not smoke and mirrors. 10/10 1:06 PM · Aug 17, 2025 · 5,987 Views"

An important thread. What is Reform UK up to? ~AA

'Putin was beaming, and seemed to tower over his host.'
'Trump's vanity turned out to be an old-fashioned Soviet honey trap.'
'Ukraine wasn't thrown under a bus - but the Presidential Beast limo.'

Matt Frei analyses the political optics of yesterday's Alaska meeting.

Again: shock.

@mrjamesob.bsky.social you must be psychic - I was sending "please talk about the Allotment issue this morning" vibes your way as soon as I read the headlines!

Heard it too, and I'm too tired to think of anything witty to say. Just relieved it's wasn't only me and I'm not going completely doolally 🤦

...and here in the UK, be very, very careful what you wish for...

We'll have her back, if you don't mind.

So much to revisit today 🤦

On the ninth anniversary, things are going so well.
Not.

...and... I'm waiting for this to be reposted by all the usual suspects...

Viral video does not show migrants at the beach in Dover – Full Fact A widely shared clip which contains a voiceover of someone claiming people on a beach are asylum seekers at Dover is misleading.

A widely shared video claims to show a large number of asylum seekers on a Dover beach.

But the footage isn’t from Dover. It appears to have been filmed on a popular beach in Goa, India.

There are also natural alternatives, which I use with my lot.
Last year I spent 5 days in a tick hotspot with two of them. The advice was to chemically treat beforehand, but as I didn't want to go down that route, I doubled my regular diet addition a couple of weeks ahead of the trip.
It worked.

@matthew-wright.bsky.social so good to hear you raising the issue of the damage that pet spot-on treatments can cause to our waterways.
However, it's worth noting that it doesn't stop there!
www.songbird-survival.org.uk/post/bird-mo...

To be fair, there's been a fair bit of big stuff this week.
When is your next holiday going to be? I need to make a note in my diary...