Mark Norman

Via @wacswain.bsky.social
“Royal Society statement on the US Administration’s repeal of the endangerment finding”

Sounds like the Board of Peace should be investigating.

It seems to have been largely ignored by the world’s English-language media too, with the exception of some organisations in Ireland. Just searched the BBC news app and still nothing there.

The former diplomat Carne Ross observed in September 2015 in The New York Times:[181] For a former diplomat like me, I found it confusing: I kept looking for a hierarchy, the singular leader, or signs of a government line, when, in fact, there was none; there were just groups. There was none of that stifling obedience to the party, or the obsequious deference to the "big man"—a form of government all too evident just across the borders, in Turkey to the north, and the Kurdish regional government of Iraq to the south. The confident assertiveness of young people was striking.

region's administration has also been accused by partisan and non-partisan sources of authoritarianism, media censorship, forced disappearances, support of the Ba'athist regime, Kurdification, and displacement. At the same time, DAANES has also been described by partisan and non-partisan sources as the most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, social equality, respecting human rights within the region, as well as defense of minority and religious rights within Syria. DAANES has widespread support for its universal democratic, sustainable, autonomous, pluralist, equal, and feminist policies in dialogues with other parties and organizations.

In March 2017 the "United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria" was unable to find evidence to substantiate claims about ethnic cleansing, stating: Though allegations of "ethnic cleansing" continued to be received during the period under review, the Commission found no evidence to substantiate claims that YPG or SDF forces ever targeted Arab communities on the basis of ethnicity, nor that YPG cantonal authorities systematically sought to change the demographic composition of territories under their control through the commission of violations directed against any particular ethnic group

God its so funny how hard Turkey+the US tried to do a smear campaign accusing Rojava of authoritarianism and ethnic cleansing to justify attacking them

but then the UN/human rights orgs investigated and are like "...this is a bunch of anarchists who are almost neurotically obsessed with equality"

Just like Liz Truss, Blair seems to have no awareness of when it’s a good idea to stay silent.

Telegraph: Blair rebukes Starmer of failure to back Trump's war

Mail: Blair delivers a stinging blow to PM over war

Man who dragged Britain into an illegal war in the Middle East scolds other man for not dragging Britain into an illegal war in the Middle East.

Irish peacekeepers assist after strike on Ghana UN post Irish peacekeepers in Lebanon have assisted with both casualty and fire fighting assistance after a strike on the Ghanaian United Nations Post.

RTE are reporting this story. How about something from the BBC?
www.rte.ie/news/middle-...

If the BBC has reported it, I have missed it too!

We uncovered the redacted climate report the government didn’t want you to see YouTube video by ITV News

Don’t look here!

ITV expose of the suppressed - redacted - government report on national security threat of biodiversity loss.

Ummm isn’t it their job to keep us safe?

🚨Quite an embarrassment for IPSO here.

IPSO rejected our complaint about a Daily Mail article with misleading claims about the cost of petrol cars & EVs, ruling that the article was fine as the public “would not be misled” by it.

So we asked the public - and they were misled by a margin of 4 to 1…

In all, this crisis again exposes how the UK food system is simultaneously dependent on imported gas, imported fertiliser and imported food. And how firmly we still assume that global markets will always deliver.

This week we have been debating the Crime and Policing Bill, at report stage, in the House of Lords.

It is quite astonishing that Labour has not only kept Tory restrictions on protest - but expanded them. Making peaceful protest harder it not the change people were promised.

This should be headline news around the world.

Image shows Sian Berry stood to the left of campaigner Rosamund Adoo-Kissi-Debrah, and surrounded by a group of clean air campaigners. All of them are smiling and holding a copy of Ella's Law - the Clean Air (Human Rights Bill).

Image shows Rosamund Adoo-Kiss-Debrah sat next to Sian with a copy of Ella's Law on the table in front of them. They are both reading the Bill that is named in memory of Rosamund's daughter Ella who died aged nine due to exposure to air pollution.

Ella’s Law has been published 👏

No child should have the growth of their lungs stunted because of dirty air where they live and play, yet this is the reality of air pollution in England. Ella’s Law would change this.

My thanks to Rosamund and all the hard-working campaigners demanding change.

ICO writes to Meta over 'concerning' AI smart glasses report Videos, including of glasses-wearers using the toilet or having sex, are sometimes reviewed by a Kenya-based subcontractor.

Last year when I was checking into a hotel, the desk person was wearing Meta glasses. I kindly asked them to take them off. They were annoyed. I said, “I do not consent to you looking at my credit card and ID with Meta glasses on.” My instincts were correct: www.bbc.com/news/article...

Again, Farage, Badenoch and their fellow travellers on X are wildly out of touch with the public on Iran.

Even the majority of Reform supporters oppose their position.

I'm delighted with my heat pump.

But my experience getting it installed taught me what’s been stopping many more people from getting one (so far).

I wrote for @politicshome.bsky.social on the hurdles that government needs to think about as it implements the Warm Homes Plan. 👇

I'm dismayed by rumours govt may scrap the windfall tax on oil and gas giants

With energy bills still driving cost of living pressures, it's senseless to cut taxes for highly profitable polluters, who already receive £2.7bn per year in tax breaks

www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...

🧵...

Reform UK receives another big donation from crypto investor Christopher Harborne gave the party £3mn in November, on top of £9mn donated in August

Reform UK receives another big donation from crypto investor ft.trib.al/eXBmrkF

This article was amended on 5 March 2026. An earlier version said low-skilled workers would “receive immediate access to welfare and social housing” if Labour did not make them wait longer to apply for settlement. In fact, settlement status only gives people the eligibility to apply for welfare and social housing, it does not give them instant or automatic access to such benefits. This has been clarified. From breaking news to huge investigative proje

Guardian has now [after my complaint] corrected Mahmood's deliberate & incendiary false claim settlement gives immigrants "immediate access to welfare and social housing".

Good for Gdn but embarrassing/shameful that Home Secretary deliberately misled the public for political gain like this.

NEW ANALYSIS: UK emissions fell 2.4% in 2025 as coal fell to a 400-year low. Incredibly, we used less coal last year than than in 1600, when Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne and Shakespeare was writing Hamlet.

All the details in our article: www.carbonbrief.org/...

Wealthy Dubai residents race back to UAE to avoid tax bills Some risk spending too few days in the emirate and too many in the UK

Tax exiles stuck in London desperately trying to get *back* to Dubai to avoid becoming tax resident in the UK? Just great stuff. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

How OPERATION EPSTEIN FURY is going so far:

🤣 🖕

👌 👎

family walking and running in an open field near woods, with their pet dog

🚨 Love getting outdoors? We need you! 🚨
Cheshire East is asking for feedback on its draft Rights of Way Improvement Plan, shaping how we improve paths, bridleways and access routes across the borough.
👉 Have your say: cheshireeast.gov.uk/prow
⏰ Closes 24 May 2026🌳

A picture of PEW poll on global attitude survey, saying the % who rate the morality and ethics of people in their country as good vs bad, where the US has the worst rankings and Canada the best

Americans: we live in a fallen state—embroiled by sin, cheating, lying, and evil. You cannot trust anyone, not even those who claim to know you best

Canadians: I love my neighbors and my friends!

Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

Please: LLMs do not 'hallucinate'. They provide incorrect information. They produce erroneous outputs. They don't have any intentionality, or consciousness. This metaphor is becoming increasingly unhelpful.

Campaigners condemn Starmer’s secrecy over US attack on Iran American warplanes are transiting through UK military bases en route to the Middle East. Why is Britain allowing it?

As the US and Israel illegally bomb Iran, American warplanes have been transiting through UK military bases en route to the Middle East.

www.declassifieduk.org/campaigners-...

Great news about Danes Moss North, an important peatland in Cheshire. Congrats to @savedanesmoss.bsky.social who have run a brilliant campaign to marshal the local community to protect this local gem.