Hugh Barnard
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hughbarnard.bsky.social
Hugh Barnard
@hughbarnard.bsky.social
930 followers 690 following 1.1K posts
Ecology, local democracy, FOSS, AI, ethics, radical financial reform/alternative currencies, music:http://tinyurl.com/4btpysvm, miscellaneous mischief.

Pic is Umi&me at the Grand Soleil in Gruissan
@[email protected] and https://hughbarnard.org
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social
Radical thought: maybe rather than playing fantasy economic games, government could focus on society's needs?

Health, education, decent housing, a flourishing environment not choked with plastics and toxic chemicals....

#GetGreensElected - #VoteGreen
The government line: No.10 this afternoon dismissed suggestions Reeves had misled the public. Reporters — who aren’t massive fans of being lied to — tried multiple times to get the spokesperson to admit we’d all been zigzagged around a garden path laid with crazy paving. “The chancellor set out the challenges facing the country,” the spokesperson said about the infamous 8 a.m. flashing red lights speech. There was lots of similar dancing around. The great irony is … these OBR forecasts never turn out to be correct anyway. So we’re having a row about the government spinning fake narratives from snapshot numbers that could be wildly different if the sums were done again tomorrow, and mean nothing either way. It’s a great way to run a country, innit.
November 28, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
drpauldorfman.bsky.social
UK energy bill payers will hand £2bn a year to EDF for new #nuclear power stations Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK energy bill payers will hand £2bn a year to EDF for new power stations
French government-owned company to receive funding for Hinkley Point C and Sizewell C
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:27 PM
hughbarnard.bsky.social
www.msn.com/en-us/news/w...

Water wars. China wants to buy Thames Water at the moment.
MSN
www.msn.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
bladeofthes.bsky.social
The UK state pension, worst in the world.
November 28, 2025 at 1:10 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
peterstefanovic.bsky.social
🚨Now at almost 85,000 signatures. Let’s keep going!

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...
November 28, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
micchiato.bsky.social
Protest bans metastasize.

“the move ‘sets a precedent’ for further crackdown on other protest movements in the UK, such as climate activists”
UN compares UK’s Palestine Action ban with human rights restrictions in Russia
UN special rapporteur on human rights says the ban is ‘an unnecessary and disproportionate restriction’ on fundamental human rights
www.independent.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
snig.bsky.social
Nigel Farage has been a lifelong racist. He's been a racist since his school days. David Lammy was forced to apologise for saying Farage flirted with the Hitler Youth - but what do you call it when someone sings Hitler Youth songs? Read Chloe Deakin's letter on Farage's fascism and racism at school.
From Chloe Denkin 01-734 1717 and 1778 E3 ALBANY PICCADILLY WIV ORH 4th June 1981 Dear Master, I am happy to say that I am not acquainted with N. P. Farage, of ASRY happy, because judging from hereporis i haveter ceived he is not someone with whom I would wish to be acquainted; and becaure I am, therefore, able to write on the ground of no personal prejedice, but on that conceraing p. inciple. You will recati that at the recent, and longthy, moeting about the selection of prefects, the nomads by a hegy that Sara was "a fascist, but that was no reason why ho would not make a good prefect" invoked considerable reaction from members of the Common Room. Another collesgue, who teaches the boy, des-cribed his publicly professed racist and neo-fascist views; and he citod a particular inciler in which Farage was so offensive to a boy in his set, that he had to be removed from the lesson. This mastor stated his view that that behaviour was precisely why the boy should not he made a prefect. Yet another colleague deseribed how, at a CCE camp organized by the College, Farage and others had marched through a quiet Sussex village very late at night shout-in Hitler-you songs; and when it was suggested by a master thie boys who expressed such views "don't really mean them", the College Chaplain himself commented that, on the contrary, in his experience views of that kind expressed by boys of that age are onted, and are mennt, At the end of that meeting I had not a scintilla of doubt that after the facts disclosed to you, Farage's nomination would no longer be considered. Nor, I imagine, had my colleagues; other-wise, we would have expressed ourselves even more strongly. But yesterday I was told by a senior boy, in terms of st that Farage was indeed to be selected; and today, of course, his appointment was announced in Assembly an announcement, I gather, which was met with disbelief and derision. To say that is too late to reverse this decision, or that Farage', acdir 3 will be restricted to particular areas of College te, or that he will be supervised within them, is futile. His appointment will have four immediate consequences. First, it will vastly increase his own confidence, and sense of self-justification. Secondly, he will have the privilege of listing his appointment as a profect at Dulwich College in his uni-versity and other applications. Thirdly, his peers, according to their own views, will either adopt him as an exemplar, or, as is much more likely, regard his appointment with disillusionment and cynicism when Ley observe that his notorious views and behaviour, well known to poth Master and members of the staff, are, as it would aptent, condoned by them. Fourthly, those members of the Common Room, such as myself, who believed that a firm daca fon had been reached through a democratic process, will be shock, saddened, angered, and disheartened. You will appreciate that I regard this as a very serious matter. i have often heard you tell our senior boys that they are the nation's future leaders. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these lenders are enlightened and compassionate. As you know, the national and educational press has recently given much prominence to the growing concern at the exploitation of school pupils by extremists of all kinds. A school of the stature and high roputation of Dulwich College which openly con-domned the recent troubles in Brixton, and offered its facilities freely to the foreca of law and order, ought not to be seen laside or outside its confines to be giving its endorsement, expressly or by implication, to budding extremists of the opposite kind. A school which is proud of its selectiveness, conservatism, and discipline, cught not to allow these characteristics to degen erate into intolerance, political extremism, or bullying of the nastiest kind, in its pupils. The matter of the appointment of Farage as a prefect may be thought by some to be minuscule against these deep considerations. It is not so. I am by disposition, tolerant; and in politics, moderate. But as a member of the Common Room, I find it distasteful that a boy such as Farage should have bestowed upon him the prestige of office and authority: wore I a parent or a pupil, I would find it profoundly so. In view, as I am aware, of the wide concern within the College about this matter, I am sending a copy of this letter to the chairman of the Common Room. Yours very sincerely, David Emms, Esq., MA, The Master of Dulwich College.
October 1, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
pimlicat.bsky.social
Great letter in today's Guardian. What sort of free speech is prevented by factchecking, Zuck?
January 9, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
bencollins.bsky.social
Hi everybody,

It's Black Friday, a big day for us at The Onion, since we rely almost entirely on your memberships.

Our goal for 2026? More print subscribers than the Washington Post.

This is, somehow, feasible.

So sign up! A year of print is $75 for the year today. Help us do a very funny thing.
Join The Onion
Don’t just read the news. Feel it. Be among the first to feel the news.
membership.theonion.com
November 28, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
tristangrayford.scot
TW: Suicide and transphobia

A trans woman died in Scottish prison after spending *nine weeks* in isolation as discussions over being transferred to a women's prison "dragged on" in 2019.

The inquiry ended this month.

insidetime.org/newsround/tr...
Trans woman took her own life after being refused move to female jail
A transgender women took her own life in the segregation unit of a male prison after being denied a move to a female establishment. Sarah Jane Riley died in January 2019 at HMP Perth, where she was…
insidetime.org
November 28, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
alayanabeth.bsky.social
"To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life"
tjmasters.bsky.social TJMasters @tjmasters.bsky.social · 22h
Books & Reading #92
The great British novelist W. Somerset Maugham wrote this in his 1940 work Books and You, a collection of essays which he subtitled "A Dissertation Upon Reading" #bookworm #booklover #booknerd #readingislife
November 28, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
downwithdan.bsky.social
not beating the “AI art is lazy” allegations
SUNO r/SunoAl Jo 6h ago Join ThrowRA1234567788777 Sick of having to come up with prompts Discussion ... Hey y'all, looking for some tips here. I like what I've made so far with Suno but now I'm kind of hitting a wall with ideas for prompts. Why doesn't Suno also have a feature to write prompts for you? Like just hit a button the says "new prompt" and then hit make song when it comes up with something that sounds interesting! Thoughts?
November 26, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
stevepeers.bsky.social
Former Farage party MEP denies taking money from pro-Russian campaign www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Former Brexit Party MEP denies taking payment from pro-Russian campaign
A prominent former MEP for Nigel Farage's old party denies taking bribes in a pro-Russian campaign.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
jefftrnka.bsky.social
November 28, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
reformexposed.bsky.social
Reform UK Doncaster leader resigns after being defeated in council chamber by his own party

www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk/news/politic...
Reform UK leader resigns after being defeated in council chamber by his own party
Reform UK Councillor Guy Aston has stepped down as group leader on the City of Doncaster Council, claiming he has received “vitriolic texts that border on abuse” from members of his own party.
www.doncasterfreepress.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
theguardian.com
Video shows Israeli forces shooting Palestinians dead moments after surrender
Video shows Israeli forces shooting Palestinians dead moments after surrender
Far-right minister defends killing of two men in Jenin, saying ‘terrorists must die’ Video of an Israeli military raid in Jenin shows soldiers summarily executing two Palestinians they had detained seconds earlier. The shooting on Thursday evening, which was also witnessed by journalists close to the scene, is under justice ministry review, but has already been defended by Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who declared: “terrorists must die”. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
aplante.com
i know WHY this is but that just makes it even more of a kick in the pants lmao
screenshot of a tumblr post from user “wildmansters” The thing that really boils my potatoes about Al in general is that I have been a creative professional for over a decade now and the devil has ALWAYS been in the details. Big and small, I've had single-person businesses rip me to shreds over how their colors turned out on newsprint, and have worked with huge companies with THICK brand guidelines with every detail of their brand identity laid out and enforced with an iron fist. But I guess all of that stuff doesn't matter anymore? Who gives a fuck if this Al generated baby has six fingers, that mom-and-pop shop is still going to use it. That rug from Temu says Happy Thanksgivirg? Oh well haha it's just a silly funny thing now (nevermind that you never would have given a B-grade item from a craft show the same consideration). I don't actually care that the Al Coca-cola ad has a truck that changes size every scene, but I can't help but think about how, if it had been some poor underpaid artist, they would have been laughed out of the building. I don't really know how to put it in a succint way but it just feels all the more obvious how much more grace and flexibility has always been possible but never offered.
November 28, 2025 at 3:28 AM
hughbarnard.bsky.social
Quote from therestartproject.org

'In fact, lots of us end up regretting Black Friday purchases; it's estimated that Black Friday creates an extra 1.5 million tonnes of waste just in the UK and whopping 80% of purchases get thrown away!'

#EnoughStuff
The Restart Project - The Right to Repair and Reuse Your Electronics
The Restart Project encourages and empowers people to use their electronics longer in order to reduce waste. Join or host a Restart Party in your community
therestartproject.org
November 28, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
carnage4life.bsky.social
Elon Musk and the Trump administration gleefully shutting down USAID “has already caused the deaths of six hundred thousand people, two-thirds of them children.”

People throw around terms like genocide quite freely online but it’s hard to find other words to describe this level of man-made death.
USAID shutdown has led to hundreds of thousands of deaths | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
The Trump administration’s decision to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths from infectious diseases and malnutrition, accord...
hsph.harvard.edu
November 28, 2025 at 11:24 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
buckmeister.bsky.social
The Romans had actual corn laws that distributed subsidised (and eventually) free corn as state welfare. Important parts of Roman history hinge on this and we still use the phrase "bread and circuses" which is a direct reference to this state welfare
November 28, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
matthewpb.bsky.social
Speaking on Nick Robinson's Political Thinking podcast on Friday morning, Badenoch suggested it could be "argued that" the Budget was unchristian. When pressed on the remark, the Tory leader explained: "In early Christian times, there was no state or welfare, so I think that you can argue that, actually.
November 28, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
workingclasshistory.com
#OtD 28 Nov 1979 mostly Asian women workers at the Chix confectionery factory in Slough, were on strike. They had walked out in October for recognition of their union, and stayed out for eight months until they won stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/1004...
November 28, 2025 at 7:10 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
tomhulme.bsky.social
I heard a story about a female academic giving a paper at the IHR who, after receiving a long and aggressive question from a senior male professor, simply leaned back with her hands behind her head and replied “Oh, do fuck off.”
plashingvole.bsky.social Plashing Vole @plashingvole.bsky.social · 1d
One of my colleagues went to a seminar at Berkeley and when someone asked a question Derrida brushed it off saying ‘what you ask may be important but it is not interesting’.
sanho.bsky.social Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 2d
This path leads to chaos.
November 27, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
mancunianmedic.bsky.social
Two things really struck me in what is a very good article

1. *Why* did we shift from always having a CMO who is a trained public health doctor to appointing ones who are not?

2. What did SE Asian nations do so much better than the West/UK did &why did we ignore lessons (and ignore WHO too)
November 28, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Reposted by Hugh Barnard
ardernkate.bsky.social
Very well worth a read … I agree with the need for an urgent review of the remit, role, function and membership of SAGE 👇

www.bylinesupplement.com/p/230000-dea...
230,000 Deaths and the ‘Calculated Silence’ of the Medical Establishment About the COVID Inquiry
The Covid Inquiry Report is a devastating critique of the medical establishment which led the UK to the worst public health disaster in a century, argues Anthony Costello
www.bylinesupplement.com
November 27, 2025 at 9:24 PM