Steve McDowell
@cowsmellcj.bsky.social
A skeptic with a healthy curiosity.
"...in the winter of 2022 I find myself doubting whether the US will still be a functioning democracy by the end of the decade." Sadly, what seemed like a pessimistic projection 2.1/2 years ago is now reality, making Martin Wolf's analysis more relevant and more urgent. Read it as soon as you can.
June 13, 2025 at 6:26 PM
"...in the winter of 2022 I find myself doubting whether the US will still be a functioning democracy by the end of the decade." Sadly, what seemed like a pessimistic projection 2.1/2 years ago is now reality, making Martin Wolf's analysis more relevant and more urgent. Read it as soon as you can.
Reposted by Steve McDowell
This government needs to make time for the reforms proposed by Chris Bryant two years ago
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/code-of-c...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/code-of-c...
Code of Conduct
THE INSTANT TOP TWO SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE PARLIAMENTARY BOOK AWARDSLongstanding Labour MP Chris Bryant tells the inside story of what went…
www.bloomsbury.com
May 31, 2025 at 11:20 AM
This government needs to make time for the reforms proposed by Chris Bryant two years ago
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/code-of-c...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/code-of-c...
Reposted by Steve McDowell
Instead of opposing rightwing extremism, has Germany considered enabling it at every turn, taking every job it offers, and slavishly praising it over and over in the hopes that you'll be the first ally in its life it doesn't eventually betray and discard?
Rubio publicly criticizing an ally for cracking down on right-wing extremism. And Germany hitting back. We are in a new world
May 2, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Instead of opposing rightwing extremism, has Germany considered enabling it at every turn, taking every job it offers, and slavishly praising it over and over in the hopes that you'll be the first ally in its life it doesn't eventually betray and discard?
Fed up with Kuenssberg, Mason, Farage and Tice on your box? Let the BBC know by completing the last question in its survey. And encourage your friends to do the same.
The BBC invites views about its independence from government, but does not ask about other political influences (e.g the bias of its own presenters and executives and the time given to minor parties). You can rectify this by adding a comment at the end of the survey.
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Our BBC, Our Future - Audiences asked to help shape BBC’s future
From 27 March BBC account holders across the UK will start to receive an online questionnaire to help identify what they want from the BBC now, and what they want from it in the future
www.bbc.co.uk
April 30, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Fed up with Kuenssberg, Mason, Farage and Tice on your box? Let the BBC know by completing the last question in its survey. And encourage your friends to do the same.
The BBC invites views about its independence from government, but does not ask about other political influences (e.g the bias of its own presenters and executives and the time given to minor parties). You can rectify this by adding a comment at the end of the survey.
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
Our BBC, Our Future - Audiences asked to help shape BBC’s future
From 27 March BBC account holders across the UK will start to receive an online questionnaire to help identify what they want from the BBC now, and what they want from it in the future
www.bbc.co.uk
April 28, 2025 at 2:06 PM
The BBC invites views about its independence from government, but does not ask about other political influences (e.g the bias of its own presenters and executives and the time given to minor parties). You can rectify this by adding a comment at the end of the survey.
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...
I was in awe of AI, then came to understand that controlling it is as vital as reversing climate change, maintaining biodiversity and avoiding war. As @carolecadwalla.bsky.social (TED talk) says, AI is currently run by careless men without sufficient checks.
www.panmacmillan.com/authors/madh...
www.panmacmillan.com/authors/madh...
Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia
Find out more about Code Dependent by Madhumita Murgia
www.panmacmillan.com
April 14, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I was in awe of AI, then came to understand that controlling it is as vital as reversing climate change, maintaining biodiversity and avoiding war. As @carolecadwalla.bsky.social (TED talk) says, AI is currently run by careless men without sufficient checks.
www.panmacmillan.com/authors/madh...
www.panmacmillan.com/authors/madh...
Do I need to be told what my beer tastes like? It's not a bottle of wine that I might leave on a supermarket shelf, it's a pint that I bought at the bar. If it tastes rank, I'll take it back. If it tastes good, I'll order another one. This is not marketing, it's preaching to the converted.
March 29, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Do I need to be told what my beer tastes like? It's not a bottle of wine that I might leave on a supermarket shelf, it's a pint that I bought at the bar. If it tastes rank, I'll take it back. If it tastes good, I'll order another one. This is not marketing, it's preaching to the converted.
Story in The i paper: "Taxpayer-funded cars taken from 11,000 benefits claimants for abusing the system". But the statistics show that is only 2% of claimants. Do editors not understand stats, or do they have a problem reporting that "2% of claimants are taking the piss"?
March 26, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Story in The i paper: "Taxpayer-funded cars taken from 11,000 benefits claimants for abusing the system". But the statistics show that is only 2% of claimants. Do editors not understand stats, or do they have a problem reporting that "2% of claimants are taking the piss"?
Reposted by Steve McDowell
The ocean is the final victim of multiple planetary crises, suffering from nutrient pollution, excess heat, rising CO₂, explains PIKs Johan Rockström. "This has to be turned around. The ocean will ultimately determine whether we secure a livable future for humanity."
www.weforum.org/videos/earth...
www.weforum.org/videos/earth...
Earth has crossed 6 of 9 dangerous planetary boundaries, says this leading climate scientist
The World Economic Forum is an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging business, political, academic and other leaders of society to shape glob...
www.weforum.org
March 3, 2025 at 2:01 PM
The ocean is the final victim of multiple planetary crises, suffering from nutrient pollution, excess heat, rising CO₂, explains PIKs Johan Rockström. "This has to be turned around. The ocean will ultimately determine whether we secure a livable future for humanity."
www.weforum.org/videos/earth...
www.weforum.org/videos/earth...
Reposted by Steve McDowell
I can't stop laughing at this man I'm sorry. This is the kind of shit the biggest loser in the world would say to their girlfriend about buying her flowers on Valentine's Day once, and he's doing so in an argument that started because he called her a bitch
March 1, 2025 at 2:49 PM
I can't stop laughing at this man I'm sorry. This is the kind of shit the biggest loser in the world would say to their girlfriend about buying her flowers on Valentine's Day once, and he's doing so in an argument that started because he called her a bitch
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
Centrism by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social is fascinating. Far from being an anodyne anticlimax to their books on Conspiracy Theory and Facism, Centrism is thoroughly engaging. All 3 books deserve our attention now.
Centrism by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social is fascinating. Far from being an anodyne anticlimax to their books on Conspiracy Theory and Facism, Centrism is thoroughly engaging. All 3 books deserve our attention now.
Centrism
AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK
'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford
'I wish I could make ...
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk
February 26, 2025 at 11:47 AM
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
Centrism by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social is fascinating. Far from being an anodyne anticlimax to their books on Conspiracy Theory and Facism, Centrism is thoroughly engaging. All 3 books deserve our attention now.
Centrism by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social is fascinating. Far from being an anodyne anticlimax to their books on Conspiracy Theory and Facism, Centrism is thoroughly engaging. All 3 books deserve our attention now.
Reposted by Steve McDowell
🚨NEW 🚨
On 22 January, GB News presenter Josh Howie repeated a homophobic slur linking the LGBTQ+ community to paedophilia. This is offensive, wrong and unlawful.
Join us in writing a complaint to Ofcom to force them to take action 👇
t.co/3b5UH9zuOR
On 22 January, GB News presenter Josh Howie repeated a homophobic slur linking the LGBTQ+ community to paedophilia. This is offensive, wrong and unlawful.
Join us in writing a complaint to Ofcom to force them to take action 👇
t.co/3b5UH9zuOR
February 7, 2025 at 8:55 AM
🚨NEW 🚨
On 22 January, GB News presenter Josh Howie repeated a homophobic slur linking the LGBTQ+ community to paedophilia. This is offensive, wrong and unlawful.
Join us in writing a complaint to Ofcom to force them to take action 👇
t.co/3b5UH9zuOR
On 22 January, GB News presenter Josh Howie repeated a homophobic slur linking the LGBTQ+ community to paedophilia. This is offensive, wrong and unlawful.
Join us in writing a complaint to Ofcom to force them to take action 👇
t.co/3b5UH9zuOR
Reposted by Steve McDowell
When witches were persecuted, everyone feared the witch finder as much as the witch. Power exercised without responsibility results in a climate of total fear. The USA will live in fear unless those responsible for the checks and balances in the constitution resist today's witch finders.
January 23, 2025 at 10:20 PM
When witches were persecuted, everyone feared the witch finder as much as the witch. Power exercised without responsibility results in a climate of total fear. The USA will live in fear unless those responsible for the checks and balances in the constitution resist today's witch finders.
The numbers are difficult to comprehend. Even if 90% of the statistics were wrong , the international community has allowed a heinous crime to be committed. The numbers bring shame on all of us. The stories underlyiing the shame are horrific. Yet somehow, we are not horrified. What have we become?
Article in the Lancet estimates the number of direct casualties in Gaza up till the summer of 2024 at 64,260. 40% above official estimates.
With excess mortality, the death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands. The question is how many hundreds.
1/
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
With excess mortality, the death toll will be in the hundreds of thousands. The question is how many hundreds.
1/
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Traumatic injury mortality in the Gaza Strip from Oct 7, 2023, to June 30, 2024: a capture–recapture analysis
Our findings show an exceptionally high mortality rate in the Gaza Strip during the period studied. These results underscore the urgent need for interventions to prevent further loss of life and illuminate important patterns in the conduct of the war.
www.thelancet.com
January 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The numbers are difficult to comprehend. Even if 90% of the statistics were wrong , the international community has allowed a heinous crime to be committed. The numbers bring shame on all of us. The stories underlyiing the shame are horrific. Yet somehow, we are not horrified. What have we become?
The alarm caused by Meta's capitulation to politcal pressure is partly offset by seing the breadth of the world-wide network of fact checkers signing this letter. The capacity exists to maintain truth and tolerance if only we can find the collective will to insist on it.
"If Meta decides to stop the program worldwide, it is almost certain to result in real-world harm in many places."
✍️ An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from the world’s fact checkers, after Meta announced an end to its US fact checking partnerships.
✍️ An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from the world’s fact checkers, after Meta announced an end to its US fact checking partnerships.
An open letter to Mark Zuckerberg from the world’s fact-checkers, nine years later - Poynter
From person-to-person coaching and intensive hands-on seminars to interactive online courses and media reporting, Poynter helps journalists sharpen skills and elevate storytelling throughout their…
buff.ly
January 10, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The alarm caused by Meta's capitulation to politcal pressure is partly offset by seing the breadth of the world-wide network of fact checkers signing this letter. The capacity exists to maintain truth and tolerance if only we can find the collective will to insist on it.
Where a social media platform does not uphold your organisation's ethical and social values, do not use it. If your organisation values truth and tolerance, make sure it uses a platform which moderates content for compliance with those values.
🗣️ Our full statement in response to Meta ending its third-party fact checking programme in the US: fullfact.org/blog/2025/ja...
January 10, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Where a social media platform does not uphold your organisation's ethical and social values, do not use it. If your organisation values truth and tolerance, make sure it uses a platform which moderates content for compliance with those values.
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1v...
Following briefings by UN and humanitarian workers, 14 countries expressed grave concern about repeated contraventions of international law by Israel. The response from the USA urged everyone to criticise Hamas and went on to quote 'facts' provided by Israel.
Following briefings by UN and humanitarian workers, 14 countries expressed grave concern about repeated contraventions of international law by Israel. The response from the USA urged everyone to criticise Hamas and went on to quote 'facts' provided by Israel.
The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question - Security Council, 9830th meeting
The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question - Security Council, 9830th meeting
webtv.un.org
January 5, 2025 at 12:13 AM
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1v...
Following briefings by UN and humanitarian workers, 14 countries expressed grave concern about repeated contraventions of international law by Israel. The response from the USA urged everyone to criticise Hamas and went on to quote 'facts' provided by Israel.
Following briefings by UN and humanitarian workers, 14 countries expressed grave concern about repeated contraventions of international law by Israel. The response from the USA urged everyone to criticise Hamas and went on to quote 'facts' provided by Israel.
Reposted by Steve McDowell
If you're worried about big money in British politics, do take Democracy for Sale's 'Safeguarding Democracy' survey which is all about these issues. Only takes 3 mins.
Thanks! democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard
Thanks! democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard
Democracy For Sale - Safeguard Democracy
A survey to make a people-powered plan to safeguard Britain's democracy from leading investigative journalists who write about lobbying and dark money
democracyforsale.co.uk
December 23, 2024 at 11:30 AM
If you're worried about big money in British politics, do take Democracy for Sale's 'Safeguarding Democracy' survey which is all about these issues. Only takes 3 mins.
Thanks! democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard
Thanks! democracyforsale.co.uk/safeguard
Cognitive biases make us susceptible to narratives presenting the world as less random, less complex and more manageable.
Awareness of this tendency keeps us in touch with reality.
@iandunt.bsky.social @dorianlynskey.bsky.social explain brilliantly.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d....
Awareness of this tendency keeps us in touch with reality.
@iandunt.bsky.social @dorianlynskey.bsky.social explain brilliantly.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d....
Conspiracy Theory
AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK
'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford
'I wish I could make ...
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk
December 20, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Cognitive biases make us susceptible to narratives presenting the world as less random, less complex and more manageable.
Awareness of this tendency keeps us in touch with reality.
@iandunt.bsky.social @dorianlynskey.bsky.social explain brilliantly.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d....
Awareness of this tendency keeps us in touch with reality.
@iandunt.bsky.social @dorianlynskey.bsky.social explain brilliantly.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d....
Excellent book by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social We should consider if current populists have some of the characteristics of past fascists. Even if they don't have the full set, it would unwise to ignore the lessons of history.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
Fascism
AN ORIGIN STORY BOOK
'Provides clarity, scholarship, wit and essential insight into why our world is the way it is' Adam Rutherford
'I wish I could make ...
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk
December 6, 2024 at 3:46 PM
Excellent book by @iandunt.bsky.social and @dorianlynskey.bsky.social We should consider if current populists have some of the characteristics of past fascists. Even if they don't have the full set, it would unwise to ignore the lessons of history.
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
www.weidenfeldandnicolson.co.uk/titles/ian-d...
Watch this UN security council and decide for yourself which countries are responsible for a genocide, which are facilitating a genocide and which are trying to stop it.
Will you buy products from those countries obstructing peace?
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1y...
Will you buy products from those countries obstructing peace?
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1y...
The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question - Security Council, 9790th meeting
The situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question
webtv.un.org
November 27, 2024 at 7:03 PM
Watch this UN security council and decide for yourself which countries are responsible for a genocide, which are facilitating a genocide and which are trying to stop it.
Will you buy products from those countries obstructing peace?
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1y...
Will you buy products from those countries obstructing peace?
webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1y...