PhloggingAnOrse

Absolute travesty.
The right to be tried by one's peers (however long it takes) is central to real justice, not least because it reduces the risk of being tried by the state - which we know can go to some very dark places.

Birkenhead poet to headline at Future Yard Birkenhead poet Barry Woods will be headlining at Future Yard next week, performing work from his recent book Where Did All The Punks Go? The book uses punk rock and…

Birkenhead poet to headline at Future Yard www.birkenhead.news/birkenhead-p...

‘A lot of late 70s bands wore grey. But we were determined to have fun’: the return of the mega-influential Swell Maps after 46 years Championed by the BBC’s John Peel and signed to Rough Trade, the band were punk when that meant DIY, psychedelia and prog as well as screaming chords. What’s more, they loved Pink Floyd …

Nice piece on the forthcoming Swell Maps album in The Guardian today (of which I'm very proud of my unmentioned contributions to almost every song), although in true Grauniad style, they get my name wrong ...

www.theguardian.com/music/2026/m...

Simultaneously:
"And yet you still decided to wear the hat?"
#GirlsOwnCC

Men of strong taste and feeling for the sublime and the beautiful are thus affected to tears (not loud weeping, of course). It is perfectly natural and betokens anything but feebleness of mind.

"Indeed, standing before the pictures in a manner that obscures the view from the hoi poloi is quite the thing these days."

Trump-Thing's laugh in. ?

Unfathomable.

Ministers to ask 100 UK citizens to advise on digital ID plans Exclusive: Randomly selected panel will feed into consultation as government seeks to counter conspiracy theories and public mistrust

Abdication of policy making to an unelected 'focus group'

'Citizens Assemblies' combine the glibness of referendums with the undemocratic nature of a self-selecting process

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Peak Cluster slammed at council meeting The firm behind a £5bn pipeline plan stretching through Wirral has been told to “take your pipe and stuff it wherever you like”. Peak Cluster, which is pushing a major…

Peak Cluster slammed at council meeting www.birkenhead.news/peak-cluster...

Trump-Thing's laugh in. ?

Unfathomable.

Many of those watching let out a gasp when they first see the state of the now ruined building, before muttering that it's a shame or so sad. Others have mournfully said it'll never be rebuilt, a glum outlook to match the weather's drizzle. There is a real feeling that the city has lost a key part of itself with this disaster.

BBC Scotland capturing the mood

Though very Tribble adjacent.
🖖🏼

Yesterday, the German state of Baden-Württemberg elected a new state government & prime minister. BW is the 3rd largest state, its capital is Stuttgart, & its strength the automobile industry.

Winner & new PM: Cem Özdemir, a Green politician & son of Turkish immigrants. A portrait:

"Indeed, standing before the pictures in a manner that obscures the view from the hoi poloi is quite the thing these days."

"There are no strangers here; Only friends for whom you've yet to refuse to call a cab."

Apologies to WIlliam B

Almost a third of people in England use private dentists amid NHS dental crisis Exclusive: Watchdog finds sharp rise in number of poorer households forced to pay for fillings and extractions

⅓ use private dentists...

How many no longer see any dentist?

From my 'dental desert' campaign feedback I say it is another ⅓

www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Americans aren't facing a democratic collapse. We’re living in its aftermath | Eric Reinhart The US was an oligarchy well before Trump’s first term. Recognizing this reality is essential to building a true democracy

www.theguardian.com/global/comme...

"Look, Esme, it is quite simple. This is a two hundred foot drop and therefore requires a two hundred foot bungee-cord."
"If you say so, Roginaldo."

Alternative riposte:
"And I am so very looking forward to watching that, Roginaldo."

Enjoy the Sunday caption contest. Give away ❤️s, retweet to encourage more competitors, include #GirlsOwnCC

I pick up at Bold Street when I go up but it's overwhelming usually.
I've written to a Councillor for that ward, wrote to the ceremonial "Mayor", another councillor on another issue, ALL ignored-no replys. Politically, there is no will On Recent trips to Leeds and Glasgow;WHAT A DIFFERENCE-So Clean

Screw heads fractured. Road Peace memorial St John's Gardens, Liverpool.

Screws into masonry broken, it's beyond citizens.

Fire near Glasgow Central station causes major rail disruption Dozens of trains cancelled and station closed after blaze at building on Union Street Train passengers are facing major disruption after a fire broke out near Glasgow Central station. Dozens of trains were cancelled on Sunday evening after the blaze at a building in Union Street. Continue reading...

Fire near Glasgow Central station causes major rail disruption

Oower.
You'll need a grabbing stick to retrieve that, methinks.

Fire in Glasgow looks devastating, and they haven't even rebuilt the Art School yet.

ARD-Hochrechnung zur Wahl: Grüne in Baden-Württemberg vor CDU Bei der Landtagswahl in Baden-Württemberg liegen die Grünen laut erster ARD-Hochrechnung vor der CDU. Die AfD holt ihr bisher bestes Ergebnis. Die SPD fällt auf ein historisches Tief, FDP und Linke ba...

🌻 German Greens have won the election in Baden-Württemberg! – holding the state and making Cem Özdemir the first Minister President in Germany with a so-called "migration background" (his parents were both Türkish immigrants). Özdemir describes himself as an "Anatolian Swabian" and "secular Muslim".

Simultaneously:
"And yet you still decided to wear the hat?"
#GirlsOwnCC

Tsk! We commissioned #Penge artist-in-residence and occasional poet Cosmo Chancer to write a poem for #InternationalWomen'sDay - and he's only just got it over to us. 🙄

For more of Cosmo's poetry-that-neither-rhymes-nor-scans, head to bit.ly/cosmoxyoko

#cosmochancer #zines #colossivepress

Survivors of Ireland’s mother and baby homes start to have benefits cut in UK after accepting compensation Exclusive: Campaigners urge Keir Starmer to back ‘Philomena’s Law’ to protect payments for up to 13,000 survivors living in Britain

So we can't take a penny of people who inherit millions of unearned wealth if it's land but we can take every penny away from these survivors who are given a few measly thousands for the wicked abuse they suffered?
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...