Ad hoc singing campaign group.

Joined November 2013
Photos and videos
JP Morgan gets to choose our next Prime Minister, yet the electorate doesn't. That's democracy folks.
May 12
JP Morgan boss threatens to axe £3bn UK investment if Labour lurches to the left with Starmer replacement lbc.co.uk/article/jp-morgan-…
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Recommend people either attend a screening or go to the National Emergency Briefing channel on youtube and watch each expert briefing in the full original (which has no music behind it so much easier to hear).
What if the whole country saw the full picture? This is a national emergency. The impacts are already here. But the solutions exist. Across the UK, communities are watching The People’s Emergency Briefing & discussing what to do next. Find a screening → nebriefing.org/screening-map
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Super proud of my daughter today, two firsts as an 18 year old. First time voting and first call as a First Responder at 2 a.m this morning, kept a person stable on oxygen, until the paramedics could arrive and rush them to hospital. What a star she is 🤩
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Kirsty retweeted
We spoke to Jews on the Palestine march in London Not all Jews support Genocide, to say otherwise is textbook antisemitism:
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Good morning from one of our pair of meadow kestrels.
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Kirsty retweeted
Decarbonisation is one of the most powerful levers we have for protecting British nature. There is no version of the future where things stay the same. How much we lose depends entirely on how quickly we decarbonise.
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Kirsty retweeted
Such a terrible legacy for our children.
Borneo Rainforest estimated to be approximately 130 to 140 million years old Yet Indonesia has destroyed more than 90% of Borneo’s primary forest Imagine a species that pays more respect to a 100 year old building than 130 million year old forest Earth is being obliterated
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Kirsty retweeted
Palantir vient de publier son manifeste. Lisez-le. Pas pour ce qu'il dit sur la tech. Pour ce qu'il dit sur le politique. Sur l'idéologie de Karp et Thiel. Sur la guerre. Sur vous. Quand une entreprise privée se donne pour mission de définir qui doit être surveillé, ciblé, prédit, neutralisé, et qu'elle publie simultanément un texte expliquant pourquoi contester cela serait de la faiblesse civilisationnelle, on n'est plus dans la stratégie d'entreprise. On est dans la privatisation du souverain. Le droit de décider de l'ennemi, qui fut toujours le geste politique fondateur des États, est en train d'être racheté par une entreprise cotée au Nasdaq. Ce manifeste repose sur un seul tour de passe-passe, répété sous vingt formes différentes : rendre l'inévitable ce qui est en réalité un choix. Les armes à IA ? Elles seront construites de toute façon, alors autant que ce soit nous. La surveillance algorithmique ? La réalité géopolitique l'exige. Le réarmement de l'Occident, la hiérarchie des cultures, la disqualification du pluralisme comme naïveté dangereuse ? Simple lucidité face au monde tel qu'il est. C'est le geste idéologique par excellence : ne pas interdire la question, mais la rendre indécente. Ce que Palantir appelle réalisme est en fait une décision philosophique radicale : le conflit est la vérité permanente du monde, la délibération démocratique est une fragilité que l'adversaire exploitera, et une élite technologique privée est mieux placée qu'un peuple pour tirer les conséquences de cette vérité. C'est du schmittisme en hoodie. C'est littéralement la structure de leur pensée. Le danger n'est pas qu'ils soient fous. Le danger est qu'ils soient riches, cohérents, et déjà à l'intérieur des États. Palantir ne frappe pas à la porte des gouvernements pour vendre un outil. Elle arrive avec une cosmologie complète : voici comment fonctionne le monde, voici vos ennemis, voici pourquoi vous ne pouvez pas vous permettre de débattre, et voici notre contrat. Palantir est l'ennemie des peuples et de la démocratie. Ce qu'ils construisent, c'est un pouvoir technocratique que personne n'a élu et que personne ne pourra destituer.
Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software. 5. The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed. 6. National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost. 7. If a U.S. Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software. We should as a country be capable of continuing a debate about the appropriateness of military action abroad while remaining unflinching in our commitment to those we have asked to step into harm’s way. 8. Public servants need not be our priests. Any business that compensated its employees in the way that the federal government compensates public servants would struggle to survive. 9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret. 10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed. 11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice. 12. The atomic age is ending. One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin. 13. No other country in the history of the world has advanced progressive values more than this one. The United States is far from perfect. But it is easy to forget how much more opportunity exists in this country for those who are not hereditary elites than in any other nation on the planet. 14. American power has made possible an extraordinarily long peace. Too many have forgotten or perhaps take for granted that nearly a century of some version of peace has prevailed in the world without a great power military conflict. At least three generations — billions of people and their children and now grandchildren — have never known a world war. 15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia. 16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn. 17. Silicon Valley must play a role in addressing violent crime. Many politicians across the United States have essentially shrugged when it comes to violent crime, abandoning any serious efforts to address the problem or take on any risk with their constituencies or donors in coming up with solutions and experiments in what should be a desperate bid to save lives. 18. The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service. The public arena—and the shallow and petty assaults against those who dare to do something other than enrich themselves—has become so unforgiving that the republic is left with a significant roster of ineffectual, empty vessels whose ambition one would forgive if there were any genuine belief structure lurking within. 19. The caution in public life that we unwittingly encourage is corrosive. Those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all. 20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim. 21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful. 22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what? Excerpts from the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, by Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska techrepublicbook.com
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NSFW - One for ‘Owly Fans’ subscribers only 😆 #QuiteNoisy #OwlChicksOnTheWay #LittleOwls #Suffolk
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Kirsty retweeted
It was always absurd to use helium — a finite, irreplaceable resource — for party balloons. Now, as shortages bite, we will start to see real consequences: delays in MRI scans, constrained medical supply, & rising costs… ban the ridiculous waste of this precious element.
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Kirsty retweeted
BREAKING: An elderly man with a walking stick is arrested again for holding a sign in support of Palestine Action. The police know the ban was ruled unlawful, yet they are wrongly arresting hundreds of peaceful protestors. everyoneday.uk
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This is what it sounds like to live next to a data centre. Imagine what it does to human & wildlife health? This is what our internet & AI demands are driving, this needs a serious rethink.
Apr 11
Replying to @davenewworld_2
Here’s a small one I came across at my old job. Houses surrounding it. This one barely takes up 2 acres of space by the way. The one on the other side of town is a mega complex
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Kirsty retweeted
I want to talk about the scale of what’s coming for the UK over the next three months. Because I don’t think many people have joined the dots yet. The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for over five weeks. Before this war, 135 ships passed through it every day. Now it’s 5 to 7. Over 600 vessels are still stranded. Iran has mined the strait, is charging tolls, and controlling who passes. The CEO of Abu Dhabi’s national oil company said it this week: “The Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled. That is coercion.” Two thirds of Gulf crude has no alternative route. 14 million barrels a day behind a 21-mile chokepoint. Energy bills are forecast to jump 20% in July. From £1,641 to nearly £2,000. The second major energy shock in four years. Petrol up over 15%. Diesel up nearly 30%. Wholesale gas rose 75% in under four weeks. Food inflation could hit 8% by June and 9% by December. Academics advising DEFRA say it could reach 12%. UK food prices are already 38% higher than before Covid. We’re only 62% self-sufficient in food. We import 60% of our nitrogen fertiliser. Red diesel for farming has surged 60%. Average arable farm income has fallen to £17,000, the lowest in over 20 years. Yesterday, China announced it’s halting all sulphuric acid exports from May. Sulphuric acid is essential for phosphate fertilisers, copper mining, oil refining, and battery manufacturing. A third of the world’s sulphur was already blocked by the Hormuz closure. Now the world’s largest exporter has pulled the other lever at the same time. The fertiliser crisis just got significantly worse, heading straight into planting season. Before the war, markets expected rate cuts. Now they’ve priced in two rate rises. Over 1,500 mortgage products have been pulled. Two year fixes have jumped from 4.8% to 5.5%. Nearly £1,000 a year extra on a £200k mortgage. Gone in weeks. Flights are next. A quarter of UK jet fuel comes from Kuwait, behind the strait. In early April, major carriers said they had five to six weeks of reserves. That clock is running. Ryanair’s CEO has warned 5-10% of summer flights could be cancelled. Iran’s strike on Qatar’s Ras Laffan LNG complex, which handles 30% of the world’s helium, is estimated to take 3 to 5 years to repair. Helium is critical for semiconductors and MRI machines. That’s not a disruption. That’s structural damage. Chemical and steel manufacturers are imposing surcharges of up to 30%. Analysts are warning of permanent deindustrialisation. European gas storage was at just 30% after a harsh winter. If the strait stays restricted through summer, Europe can’t refill for next winter. In Ireland, fuel protests shut down Dublin for four days. The army was deployed. Over 100 fuel stations ran dry, with warnings of 500 by end of the week. Downing Street has held talks on the potential for mass protests here. The OECD has downgraded the UK more than any other G7 nation. Growth slashed from 1.2% to 0.7%. Inflation forecast nearly doubled to 4%, with some saying it could breach 5%. Starmer and Trump spoke this week about military options to reopen the strait. The UK is leading a 30 nation coalition. But the ceasefire is already fracturing. Iran re-closed the strait over Israeli strikes on Lebanon. Reeves is boxed in by fiscal rules. Higher gilt yields are eating her headroom. And I haven’t heard a credible plan from anyone in Westminster. Energy. Food. Fertiliser. Aviation fuel. Mortgages. Industrial chemicals. Semiconductors. Shipping. Government borrowing. Political stability. All under stress. All compounding. This country imports 44% of its energy. Has almost no gas storage. Imports most of its food and fertiliser. Gets a quarter of its jet fuel from behind a mined strait. Every structural weakness built up over 20 years is being stress tested at once. The next three months aren’t going to be uncomfortable. They’re going to be defining
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Kirsty retweeted
It might seem a bit technical, so just to be clear “end the NVZ regulations” means Reform are advocating for farmers to pour as much cow slurry into our rivers as they like, whenever they like. There’s nothing like ‘loving your country’ so much you want to kill its rivers with a deluge of cow shit.
Great to visit Gareth Wyn Jones on his farm in North Wales today with Dan & Laura to chat about all things agriculture! Reform are the only party who have a clear plan to reform the SFS, address Bovine TB, and end the NVZ regulations 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿➡️ @DanWalesReform @LauraJ4SWEast
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RIP Gold Dancer. This horse broke his back on the last jump, jockey and animal abuser Paul Townend then forced and whipped the horse over the finish with a BROKEN BACK to finish 1st. The horse was killed. Should have been the jockey. #Aintree #horseracing #RIP #Golddancer
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Kirsty retweeted
It's now been 3 hours since our supposed "ally" Donald Trump threatened genocide on a country of 93 million people. We've had absolutely nothing from the UK government. This doesn't come in a vacuum either - every day the US & Israel have been murdering innocent people.
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The US continuing to be utterly grim on all fronts.
For the first time in decades, consensus broke at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The United States cast the lone “no” vote on a document aimed at improving justice systems for women & girls worldwide. ✍️@kerrycullinan11 @UN_Women @unwomenchief healthpolicy-watch.news/us-i…
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Kirsty retweeted
H5N1 just leveled up. Scientists just pulled viable H5N1 2.3.4.4b out of soft-bodied ticks feeding on gulls. Up to 99.989 percent identity. Not passive contamination. A potential new vector. Influenza surveillance just got a lot more complicated.
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Kirsty retweeted
"In the iron cages of a fur farm, countless foxes are huddled together. They know nothing of "fashion," nor do they know that their fur will become someone's collar. All they know is the pain when the steel trap clamps down on their leg; the pain when the knife slices through ->
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Kirsty retweeted
Farmers in the Philippines are turning banana plants into a fabric that can replace plastic! The fabric is called Bananatex, and it's made from abacá, a type of banana plant that grows incredibly fast in the Philippine highlands. The fabric can be treated with sustainable water-repellent finishes, making it strong enough for backpacks and outdoor gear. Bananatex is now helping companies 'replace plastics with plants' in their products, and it provides income for farmers in the Philippines while helping restore forests too. (1 min, 3 sec) Join @davidavocadowolfe 🥑
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