I am a retired academic, with an MA & PhD in Social Policy & Administration from the Universities of York & Kent respectively. I am disabled, & am deeply concerned about human, gay and disability rights, the climate emergency and the biodiversity crisis. I was politically homeless, but now favour the Green Party. I like films, classical music, jazz & reading.
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2026-07-22T23:23:27Z Event JSON
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Last Notes npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber I'm all in favour of juvenile offenders receiving non-custodial sentences, as a rule, & think there are far too many youngsters in #jail - but a £26 fine for #rape is absurd & obscene. How can THAT comply with Sentencing Council guidelines? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber This is interesting - it's also vile & disgusting, but it's interesting. Right-wing #academics, like Richard Hernstein & Charles Murray, have argued that black people are less #intelligent than whites (see their: The Bell Curve, 1994, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bell_Curve). Making out that a #learning #disabled black person is more intelligent than he really is so he can be executed - words fail! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Many of you will have noted the #DDOS #attack on #Mastodon, which I was affected by today. I don't know who was responsible, [@FediTips](https://social.growyourown.services/@FediTips ), but they're a bunch of &*^% (censored), & they can cease & desist. I strongly suspect they're motivated by right-wing, or far right-wing, #politics, & paid for #dark #money. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20260407-middle-east-war-live-trump-s-iran-ultimatum-enters-final-24-hours-amid-escalation-fears. That is all-too-believable. #Trump may have been advised that his proposed actions against #Iran constitute #Warcrimes under the terms of Article 8(2)(b)(ii), (iv) & (v) of the #Rome Statute of the #ICC (https://www.icc-cpi.int/sites/default/files/2024-05/Rome-Statute-eng.pdf), but - quite obviously - he doesn't care two hoots! Any #US #armed #forces service person obeying him will be just as guilty! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/05/ministers-labour-backbenchers-temper-shabana-mahmood-immigration-plans. Shabana Mahmood - the #ReformUK Home Secretary in an allegedly "Labour" Government. They all make me sick to my stomach, @npub174g…4xwl, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv, @npub1ecs…kh2u, @npub1pq4…2mle. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber No, the revolution isn't the change - that is a mere abuse of language, & I know enough history to know some "revolutions" - like the Scientific, Industrial & Agrarian Revolutions, were non-violent. Go back further still - viz., the Neolithic Revolution. Just how "good" were they? Not good at all, IMO. See: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Progress-Idea-Shaped-Past-Future/dp/000846247X. I don't expect you to agree with me - but I really don't care! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber I think you & I have a different understanding of the word "revolution", & I don't agree with you. Past civilisations & empires have collapsed without any need for a revolution, & global technological capitalism will collapse in just the same way. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber As per Robert Graves's book, "The White Goddess", or Mary Renault's "The King Must Die". I'm reminded that Prometheus also warned Deukalion & Pyrrha of the impending Flood sent by the gods. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber They are both mountain gods, & Yahweh was syncretistically identified with the Canaanite god El (meaning "god"), who was a sky god. They are all seen as storm gods, having full control over the weather. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Indeed so. Raven was turned from a white bird into a black one - because he got burned - in the mythology of the Native Americans of the Pacific NW - because he stole fire (or the Sun) for the people. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber How does that fit with Prometheus creating humans from clay & breathing life into them, then teaching them about agriculture, etc., following that up by stealing fire for them from the gods - with the outcome we all know about? Interestingly, there are other Prometheus-like figures in world mythology. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Yes, it was a jar, & Pandora's name does mean "All gifts". She was the wife of Epimetheus ("Afterthought"), the brother of Prometheus ("Forethought") - & it was Epimetheus's fault for opening the box, or jar, which was the wedding present of the Olympian gods. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/01/in-europe-lobbyists-are-using-soaring-fuel-prices-to-make-the-case-for-more-dirty-energy. Why am I SO not surprised, @npub1san…jgxu? This is #capitalism all over! #Profits matter - people DON'T! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Quite possibly - but global capitalism is completely incompatible with all of them. The good news, however, is that that is doomed to collapse in the near future - because it is ecologically unsustainable - & no revolution is required! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Hope, may I gently remind you, was the last - & deadliest - gift in Pandora's Box? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/01/snowmelt-american-west. Why the Hell would it "stun" any of them? Have none of them heard of #climatechange? It seems to me the #climate #emergency is a #phenomenon that has been consistently underestimated, & those of us who have been warning of the #dangers have all been told we're "alarmists" & "doom-mongers", only to be proved RIGHT, @npub1san…jgxu! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/31/karl-turner-labour-whip-suspended. Whatever the denials, this is PRECISELY because of Karl Turner's opposition to David Lammy's plans to end #trial by #jury in many cases. Dissent of any kind is no longer tolerated in the modern #LabourParty, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv, @npub1ecs…kh2u. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/mcfaddens-speech-suggests-ministers-are-set-to-renew-efforts-to-pressure-young-disabled-people-into-work/. Once again, young #disabled people are being depicted as lead-swinging, work-shy "scroungers", who need to be forced into work, kicking & screaming. No account is taken of #disability #discrimination, either in the #jobs #market or the #workplace, let alone #education. That this is coming from a #Labour #Government, employing similar #rhetoric to the previous #Tory one is, to say the least, somewhat disappointing - but not at all surprising, @npub12pw…zvxn. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-altering-saharan-dust-and-europe-is-downwind-278605. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/16/inquiry-hmrc-anti-fraud-scheme-wrongly-cut-child-benefits. Sadly par-for-the-course, @npub12pw…zvxn. Will lessons be learned from the #NAO investigation? I wish I could believe it. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/who-profits-from-war-with-iran-understanding-that-will-be-key-to-resolving-the-conflict-277889. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/03/06/trump-orwell-hypocrisy-democracy-fascism-imperialism-multilateralism/. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber I wish I could truthfully say I was surprised. I am SO not! How can this Government demand more #disabled people get into #jobs when it engages in #disability #discrimination in the jobs #market itself, & won't - as you rightly say - make even the most basic #adjustments in the #workplace? It's hardly setting a good example to other #employers. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/concern-over-fit4jobs-questionnaire-that-filters-out-dwp-recruits-with-health-conditions/. "Ministers are facing questions over why the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) is using a strict screening process to filter out potential recruits with #health conditions, while repeatedly complaining that too many #disabled & #older people are not in #jobs." Very much par-for-the-course, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/mar/12/uk-government-axes-flagship-global-health-project. Our so-called #Labour #Government strikes again, once again betraying everything the #LabourParty EVER stood for, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv, @npub1ecs…kh2u. Those #values & #principles are now represented by [@greenpartyzack](https://threads.net/@greenpartyzack/ ) & [@thegreenparty](https://threads.net/@thegreenparty/ ). npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-staff-ignored-rules-on-how-to-respond-to-claimants-who-report-suicidal-thoughts-secret-reports-reveal/. It gets worse & worse & worse. People may think I'm exaggerating when I say that this wretched #Labour #Government hates #disabled people. Plainly, I am not, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/01/professor-reportedly-paused-uk-puberty-blockers-trial-recused-bias. A #cisgender man with "gender-critical" views being in charge of a clinical trial of the use of #pubertyblockers, @npub1ndr…vmk0, @npub1qz0…eedm, [@PinkNews](https://flipboard.com/@PinkNews ), @npub1e8w…dvft, @npub1pq4…2mle, @npub1s2u…42jv? I'm very glad to hear he's been recused - Professor Jacob George shouldn't have been involved in the first place, especially as he thinks JK Rowling is a "treasure of our time"! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/mar/01/shabana-mahmood-to-limit-refugees-to-30-months-in-uk. That vile woman is EVIL! Climbing into bed with #ReformUK will do #Labour no good at all, & it HASN'T done them any good at all, as the #voters in Gorton & Denton proved. Labour ministers appear to be incapable of learning anything, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/trump-tariff-ruling-shows-top-courts-serve-as-last-line-of-defence-against-strongman-rule-276571. Excellent stuff, @npub12pw…zvxn. "Trump is a would-be 'strongman' leader. Like all #strongmen, his aim is to concentrate #political #power in himself & those closest to him. Since returning to the #WhiteHouse in January 2025, #Trump has preferred to rule by way of #executive order rather than through the #legislative process. He has done so despite his #Republican party controlling both houses of #Congress." npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber "Sexual #equality has ceased to exist #online. It’s absolutely fine for #boys to have sex, but when #girls do, they are called worthless & referred to as objects... I’m a 15-year-old schoolgirl & like most #teenagers I spend a fair portion of my spare time on #socialmedia... I actively try to avoid online #misogyny, but I am met with it incessantly whenever I open my mainstream social media apps." npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/feb/23/15-year-old-girl-misogyny-social-media-online-abuse. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/un-security-council-blasts-israels-west-bank-plans/a-76029274. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/palestinian-journalists-tortured-in-israeli-prisons-report/a-76027348. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/feb/19/book-of-the-dead-exhibition-brooklyn-museum-ancient-egypt. "For the ancient #Egyptians, the journey to the afterlife included a danger-filled journey where your wits were tested at every turn - those fortunate enough to make it through would then sit before the god Osirus & 42 other deities while their heart was weighed against a single feather [the goddess Maat, truth]. If things went sideways, your soul would be devoured by a fearsome goddess named Ammit, composed of a lion, hippopotamus & crocodile." npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/feb/18/extinction-rebellion-fbi-trump-environment. First it was #PalestineAction; now it's @npub1ymn…y40u, according to Donald #Trump & his #FBI. The definition of #terrorism is VERY flexible these days, @npub1san…jgxu! But the FBI should note that the High Court in #London has rule the proscription of #Palestine Action to be ILLEGAL, precisely because it violated their rights to freedoms of expression & assembly (https://theconversation.com/palestine-action-why-the-high-court-ruled-against-the-government-and-what-it-means-for-the-future-of-protest-275976). Will the US courts be that different, @npub1z6y…qah3? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/18/trump-epa-environment-climate-lawsuit. And quite right, too, @npub1san…jgxu! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/02/11/ice-deports-lawful-residents/. "One evening last summer, Donna Hughes-Brown was handcuffed & led into a filthy holding cell somewhere in Kentucky, where insects crawled out of a drain & feces streaked the walls. The Missouri grandmother’s life had taken an unrecognizable turn days earlier, when federal agents... arrested her & told her she would be deported. Her crime? Writing 2 bad checks, for a combined total of less than $75, more than a decade earlier." npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Even hypocrites can speak the truth, & - in this case - he is, which doesn't excuse his hypocrisy. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/20/biodiversity-collapse-threatens-uk-security-intelligence-chiefs-warn; https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/696e0eae719d837d69afc7de/National_security_assessment_-_global_biodiversity_loss__ecosystem_collapse_and_national_security.pdf; https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/03/climate-crisis-on-track-to-destroy-capitalism-warns-allianz-insurer. I am so glad to see all these people agreeing with me, @npub1san…jgxu. I am far from being glad about all the suffering & death that will be entailed by our continued burning of #fossilfuels & #destruction & #pollution of the natural world. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/greenland-updates-macron-proposes-g7-summit-with-russia/live-75575266. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/how-george-orwells-nineteen-eighty-four-predicted-the-global-power-shifts-happening-now-273122. We must not allow Messrs #Trump, #Putin & #XiJinPing to turn Orwell's fictional "1984" into a nightmarish dystopian reality in 2026. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/15/nhs-limiting-number-of-adhd-assessments-despite-soaring-demand. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/15/glyphosate-cancer-linked-pesticide-uk-playgrounds. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/mcfadden-brags-about-cutting-disability-benefits-just-as-his-own-strategy-warns-of-deep-material-poverty/. McFadden BOASTING about cutting #disability #benefits, with more cuts to come - at the same time as the #DWP admits that single-parent #families, & families where at least one person is #disabled, are "particularly overrepresented in deep material #poverty", @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. #Labour seem Hell-bent on making the #Tories look like nice, cuddly people! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/12/09/pfas-forever-chemicals-infant-deaths/. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/08/trump-national-security-strategy-culture-war/. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/the-world-is-facing-a-cancer-crisis-thats-hitting-the-most-vulnerable-hardest-270862; https://theconversation.com/fine-particle-air-pollution-is-a-public-health-emergency-hiding-in-plain-sight-106030. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/us-halts-immigration-processing-for-19-nations/a-74993456. An all-too-typical #Trump move, alas. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/does-bbc-civilisations-get-its-four-stories-of-collapse-correct-experts-weigh-in-270114. How the #BBC gets it mostly wrong, again, it seems. I shan't be watching. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/people-with-dyspraxia-are-at-high-risk-of-falling-and-its-too-often-overlooked-256134. Don't I know it! I have been feeling very wobbly after my recent fall in a street near my home, & have very nearly fallen several times since in my home. Add a lesion on my left parietal lobe (the cause of my #epilepsy) to my age & the #dyspraxia, & you have the perfect combination, given that the left parietal lobe deals with one's sense of balance. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/12/01/venezuela-iraq-regime-change-trump/. Can anyone think of an example where it WASN'T disastrous - because, discounting the wartime examples of #Germany & #Japan, I can't, @npub12pw…zvxn. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/11/22/forever-chemicals-pesticides/. This is not the "Environmental Protection Agency" - under Donald #Trump, it's the #Environmental DESTRUCTION Agency & the #PublicHealth Destruction Agency, as well, @npub1san…jgxu. #PFAS in your #food & #water? Trump doesn't care! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-asylum-reforms-labour-backlash-b2866872.html?lid=p8z7ern5sg3p&utm_medium=email&utm_source=braze&utm_campaign=Morning%20Headlines%20Newsletter%2018-11-2025&utm_term=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP&empar=d05890695c3bf72b24c4cee29f3c758897f834bb104b9715c1c6f867c77393ae. "There are concerns that Ms Mahmood’s changes - which have been endorsed by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, among others - go too far & will exacerbate divisions within communities." There you have it, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv - a so-called "Labour" policy endorsed by Tommy Robinson! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-refuses-to-rule-out-cuts-to-pip-next-year/. This is the very last thing #disabled people need, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. The Government-sponsored #disability #discrimination continues, & the disability #hatecrime will follow in its wake, stoked up by the right-wing #media & #socialmedia. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/new-official-figures-expose-how-politicians-and-media-have-repeatedly-lied-about-social-security-spending/; https://obr.uk/docs/dlm_uploads/OBR_Economic_and_fiscal_outlook_March_2025.pdf (Ch.5). Compare & contrast: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/06/tesla-1tn-pay-package-elon-musk. #Musk, the first ever trillionaire, while #Labour, #Tory & #ReformUK #politicians here in the UK treat #disabled people like shit. Perhaps people will forgive me for being just a weeny bit depressed today, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/11/04/hektoria-glacier-retreat-record-antarctica/; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-025-01802-4 (abstract only). Very bad news for the potential rise in #sealevels, @npub1san…jgxu. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber I'm not sure about it being a "much bigger" factor. #Fiscal #policy does have an impact, & I'm inclined to believe it's greater than that of #monetary policy. It's also very clear that, in the absence of any intention to reverse #Brexit, #Labour will be imposing further #austerity on the most vulnerable members of our #society, which is the exact opposite of what the #LabourParty ought to be doing. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/oct/21/rachel-reeves-economy-starmer-labour-streeting-sentencing-bill-uk-politics-live-news-updates. Has the #Labour #Government of which #RachelReeves is a member any plans to reverse #Brexit? NO. They don't even intend to restore #freedom of #movement or allow #Britain to re-join the #SingleMarket or join #EFTA. So what is the point of this candour, @npub12pw…zvxn? They know what the #medicine is, but they have no intention of swallowing it! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber I'm not saying their "idiots". As for "fiscal probity" - may Heaven spare us from it. They remind me of Messrs Gradgrind & Bounderby in Dickens' "Hard Times". We need to liberate governments from the mercy of the bond markets. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/16/rachel-reeves-should-consider-welfare-cuts-in-budget-ifs-says. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which apparently wants to inflict yet more #poverty, #misery, #suffering & #inequality on #benefits recipients in this country, all in the name of keeping the gilt #markets (& "bond vigilantes") happy, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv, @npub1ecs…kh2u. "How to be a bunch of evil bastards in one easy lesson." See: https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-10/IFS-Green-Budget-the-Budget-and-bond-markets_0.pdf. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/10/08/rutgers-mark-bray-antifa/. If I were Professor Mark Bray, I wouldn't even think about returning to the #USA at any time in the future, because it's not a safe place for #free #enquiry. Academic #freedom isn't valued there, & nor is #freespeech, unless you agree 100% with Donald #Trump & the #Republicans. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/oct/01/labour-considering-charging-workers-for-employment-tribunal-claims-sources-say. "The Party of the Workers" - HAH, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1s2u…42jv, @npub1ecs…kh2u!! For that read, "The Party of the Bosses." npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/zbmp3_v1. This is a preprint, but still worth reading, @npub12pw…zvxn. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/09/19/trump-administration-noem-venezuela-tps-supreme-court/. Pure, unadulterated #racism. What is the point of condemning the abuses of Nicolas #Maduro - &, indeed, seeking to arrest him on alleged #drug charges - but plan to deport Venezuelans resident in the #USA back to #Venezuela? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/09/20/national-parks-climate-change-slavery-purge/. Yet another feeble & pathetic #Trump attempt to suppress the #truth! Calling it "improper partisan #ideology" doesn't make it anything other than the truth! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/11/tories-rightwing-junktanks-no-10-government-civil-servants. Thanks for this, [@georgemonbiot.bsky.social](https://bsky.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/georgemonbiot.bsky.social ). "Like [Liz] Truss, & in the face of powerful evidence, the #Starmer administration believes #growth will be delivered by #deregulation - which happens to be a fundamental tenet of #neoliberalism." Your comments, @npub12pw…zvxn? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/04/israel-president-visit-london-talks-ministers-isaac-herzog. WHAT?! Well, let's make sure he gets a warm welcome... VERY warm. Too warm for his comfort, or that of his hosts, the wretched, #Israel & #genocide supporting UK #Government, @npub1zxn…0kqm! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/08/27/gaza-journalists-killed-israel/. "According to a recent opinion poll, 76% of #Israeli #Jews agree to varying extents with the claim 'there are no #innocents in #Gaza'." What, no innocent #children - or #babies? Are they "fair game", too, @npub1zxn…0kqm? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/aug/27/higher-energy-bills-price-cap-rises. Alternative @npub13yw…wwpf headline: "UK #energy #poverty to increase," @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1q2e…weuj. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/picture/2025/aug/24/ella-baron-on-gazas-man-made-famine-cartoon. Only too accurate, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/21/why-shabana-mahmoods-outlook-on-prisons-is-wrong. Not just wrong, but badly, catastrophically wrong, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1q2e…weuj, @npub1ecs…kh2u. The answer to #crime is NOT more #prisons, the answer to sexual offending is not #chemical #castration & PAVA spray is not the way to maintain order in juvenile prisons. #Texas is NO example for this country to follow in penal policy. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Is the taking of #hostages & the killing of #Israeli #civilians anything other than #terrorism? I can understand - easily - why any #Palestinian in #Gaza might end up joining #Hamas, but the organisation is an extremist Islamist one, which (for example) has persecuted the #LGBTIQ community. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber #Hamas has got far, FAR less of a case than #PalestineAction. If any #organisation has engaged in #terrorism, & deserves to be called #terrorist, it is Hamas. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-israel-approves-west-bank-settlement-project/live-73697384. The #Netanyahu Government is determined to create a "Greater #Israel" & make a two-State solution impossible, @npub1zxn…0kqm. What will be the reaction from Global North governments? Muted at best, non-existent at worst. Meanwhile, the #genocide in #Gaza continues unabated. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/16/spain-put-up-wealth-taxes-pandemic-billionaires-stayed. So much for the Laffer Curve, @npub12pw…zvxn! If #Spain can do it, why not the #UK? Why are our #politicians so in thrall to the 1%, or even the 0.1%? What right do the likes of Keir Starmer & Rachel Reeves have to call themselves "Centre Left" or "Labour"? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/aug/14/gaza-starvation-deaths-unrwa-israel-middle-east-crisis-latest-updates-news. #Smotrich wants to make a State of #Palestine completely impossible, because he wants an ethnically pure, #Jewish one-State #GreaterIsrael, @npub1zxn…0kqm. He, & #Netanyahu, MUST be stopped! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/12/gaza-antibiotic-resistant-disease. As if #Gaza didn't have enough problems already, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Actually, no it wasn't. The #legislation aimed at #climate #protesters came later, under the #Tories. (I refer to, e.g., the Public Order Act, 2023: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Order_Act_2023; https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/15/pdfs/ukpga_20230015_en.pdf.) The Terrorism Act, 2000, is being abused, not used, in its application to #PalestineAction - which cannot, in any meaningful sense of the word, be described as #terrorist. Clearly, the wording of the 2000 Act needs to be amended, so that it can't be abused. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Yeah, as those 532 people arrested on Saturday by the #MetPolice in #London, protesting about the proscription of #PalestineAction as an allegedly #terrorist #organisation - half of whom were over 60 (https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/10/police-arrest-hundreds-london-protest-over-palestine-action-ban) will have discovered. "Protest is #Terrorism; #Freedom is #Slavery; #War is #Peace; #Ignorance is #Strength." And, of course - we ALL love Big Brother! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber They aren't stopping other #arms #exports to #Israel - & just how do they stop the #Israelis from using #German #weapons in #Gaza? This is just feeble #gesture #politics. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/ministers-comments-add-fuel-to-access-to-work-concerns/. "Comments by the #disability minister have fuelled concerns that the government is planning changes that will cut the amount of #workplace #support #disabled people can receive through the Access to Work scheme." So much for their concern for the disability #employment gap, @npub12pw…zvxn! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.dw.com/en/israels-gaza-city-takeover-plan-draws-condemnation/live-73560904. All of this so-called "condemnation" is fatuous. Words are cheap - what is needed is ACTION, #action to STOP what #Israel is doing in #Gaza, & save #Palestinian lives, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/07/uks-surveillance-flights-over-gaza-raise-questions-on-help-for-israeli-military. Direct, & unambiguous, #evidence of UK #complicity in the #Israeli #genocide in #Gaza, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://theconversation.com/israels-plans-for-a-full-occupation-of-gaza-would-pave-the-way-for-israeli-resettlement-262723. This is Netanyahu's plan, & would constitute a direct violation of Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949, which #Israel is already violating wholesale in the #WestBank. How much longer is this continuing breach of #international #law going to be allowed with total #impunity, @npub1zxn…0kqm, @npub1uqn…lhdy? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/06/microsoft-israeli-military-palestinian-phone-calls-cloud. The #collaboration of the #Israeli #military & #Microsoft laid bare for all to see, as is the mass #surveillance of #Palestinians, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/aug/05/israels-assault-on-humanitarian-norms. Please NB - this letter is from two academics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/aug/05/progress-by-samuel-miller-mcdonald-review-humanitys-greatest-myth. This is a book I think I want to get my hands on & read, pronto. The critic tries to dismiss him, but is talking balderdash. The only deterrent is the cover price of £22 for the hardback. Nevertheless, it sounds a worthwhile investment, [@breadandcircuses](https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses ), @npub1san…jgxu. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/aug/05/lord-dannatt-urged-ministers-to-crack-down-on-palestine-action-at-request-of-us-firm. "A member of the House of Lords urged ministers to crack down on #Palestine Action at the request of a US defence company that employs him as an adviser. Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British army, wrote privately to 2 separate Home Office ministers asking them to address the 'threat' posed by the group after its #activists targeted a factory in 2022." So, this is how the decision to proscribe Palestine Action as a "terrorist" organisation was made, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber We must do an Asquith & "Wait & see." Curious term, "gaslighting". People didn't say "candle-lighting" when gas was the main, or only, source of light, did they? Plus it was coal-gas - carbon monoxide - dangerous stuff! npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/aug/03/bank-of-england-interest-rates-cut-forecast-rising-unemployment-and-trump-tariffs. A drop in the cost of #borrowing will doubtless be welcome news for Rachel Reeves, @npub12pw…zvxn, & for #businesses as well - not such good news for savers, however, which includes us poor #pensioners. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/aug/02/the-us-complicit-genocide-israel-gaza. Indeed it is. #Trump is full-on in his #support for #Netanyahu, & for his use of #starvation in #Gaza. The #USA is absolutely complicit, & has been since #Biden, in the #genocide, #crimes against #humanity & #warcrimes being committed by #Israel against the #Palestinians in both Gaza & the #WestBank, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/08/02/radioactive-wasps-south-carolina-nuclear-site/. Only fools will be surprised by this, [@breadandcircuses](https://climatejustice.social/@breadandcircuses ), @npub1san…jgxu. Where there is #nuclear #waste, there will be #radioactive #contamination, in this case 10 times the permitted level. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/mps-ask-government-key-questions-on-impact-of-universal-credit-cuts-bill-on-poverty-and-safety/. Why weren't these MPs asking these questions BEFORE this wretched Bill was passed - & not AFTER it, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1q2e…weuj? Why did so many "Labour" MPs just trundle through the "Aye" lobby like a load of mindless zombies because the Whips told them to? Why should ANY #disabled person vote for their damned Party in 2029? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/29/uk-to-recognise-state-of-palestine-in-september-unless-israel-holds-to-a-ceasefire; https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/jul/30/keir-starmer-uk-palestine-statehood-gaza-uk-politics-latest-updates-news. #Israel will not "commit to a two-state solution", because #Netanyahu & his political allies believe in a one-state, Jews-only, solution, where all #Palestinians have been removed from #Palestine permanently - & are either dead or exiled. That is THEIR version of the "Final Solution"! As to Starmer's promise to recognise a State of Palestine - I'll believe it when it happens, & not one nanosecond before, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/28/uk-debt-doom-loop-hedge-fund-chief-ray-dalio-tax-rises. We've heard all this "Laffer Curve" nonsense before, @npub12pw…zvxn. It's strange that the rich haven't fled high tax economies like those in Scandinavia. Wealthy #Democrats in the #USA don't want their Trump-supplied tax cut, would prefer higher spending on public services & less public sector borrowing. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/28/israel-committing-genocide-in-gaza-say-israel-based-human-rights-groups. "Two leading #humanrights organisations based in #Israel, B’Tselem & Physicians for Human Rights, say Israel is committing #genocide against #Palestinians in #Gaza & the country’s western allies have a legal & moral duty to stop it." Indeed they do, @npub1zxn…0kqm - a duty they are shirking. Indeed, they are aiding & abetting the genocide, rather than doing anything to prevent it. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/07/20/west-bank-israeli-settlers-violence/. Most of the citizens of the #Palestinian village of Al-Mazra’a Al-Sharqiya in the West Bank have US nationality, but that hasn't stopped murderous #Israeli settlers from killing them, @npub1zxn…0kqm. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber Do you not care about #XiJinping's treatment of the #Uyghurs, which amounts to #genocide? Or his attempt to stamp out Tibetan culture? I don't know what you mean by "political" growth, although I don't dispute China's #economic growth. npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber What, including #Trump & #Putin, not to mention #XiJinping & Kim Jon-Un? npub18md3d47fha9luyl5dvcu2xj89pq9fkvldayx9ktvj20c83cg9sssu0qnq3 Richard Michael Blaber https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jul/20/yvette-cooper-to-create-new-offence-to-cover-non-terrorist-planning-of-attacks. Given that #YvetteCooper thinks #terrorism covers throwing red paint at RAF jets, God alone knows what this will entail - one dreads to think, @npub12pw…zvxn, @npub1q2e…weuj!
