snowthistle

GROUND CONTROL TO MAJOR TOM - mailchi.mp/justclick.lol/… According to a new report by the European Space Agency (ESA), the growing threat of human-made debris in orbit worsened significantly in 2024. The number of tracked space debris objects rose by approximately 8% last year...

@BrianLeishmanMP Not sure if you've noticed, but you're not in the opposition anymore....

There’s gov’t money for Ineos to build a refinery in Belgium. There’s gov’t money for Ineos’s owner to redevelop his football stadium. But there’s no gov’t money for the Grangemouth refinery workers, their community & Scotland. That sums up everything that’s wrong with politics.

@STVColin I remember a hustings where the SNP's John Nicolson told everyone that Ineos was a private company. People who were understandably desperate to save jobs at Grangemouth didn't want to hear that. But Labour knew the implications of that all along, they lied just the same.

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar on Grangemouth redundancies after FMQs youtu.be/PdJThDwqEMU

I was a member of the The Scottish Parliament the day the combined unionist parties including all the Tories forced the SNP Government to fund the Disastrous Edinburgh Trams fiasco instead of the A96 @Douglas4Moray you are a charlatan Sir

@MrJohnNicolson I hope that's a different 'wife' he's talking about and not the one you hired to work in your office

I do enjoy Scottish conspiracy theory blogosphere writing. Who are these odd people? Do they have jobs? Or friends? How do they become like this? One says I’m a US State Department controlled “neocon”. Another thinks I’m a Labour Party plant. As is my wife...lols as the kids say.

@BenBrownEdin @MrJohnNicolson Do you mean controversy about the abhorrent case from 15 years ago or do you have knowledge of controversy in the last 5 years since the current CEO has been in post? Sadly many organisations, including the BBC, have more recent issues..

@MrJohnNicolson While I would not word it the way Pam has there are concerns amongst parents and that should not be dismissed as easily as you do. LGBT Scotland are mired in controversy as well with various scandals. It's an issue and it should be aired.

If there's something crass and foolish to be said, Pam will always be at the front of the queue clamouring to say it. Here she is parroting transphobic nonsense about "trans ideology". Same old Scottish Tories.

@MhairiBlack Your The Rest is Politics interview is getting a wee bit of attention on BlueSky - would be really appreciated if you posted a quick 'hi' to your followers there

@MrJohnNicolson @ChristiCMPG I believe Ms Murray is the only MP in Westminster who is still a local councillor. All the rest have resigned as councillors, she's the only one who is yet to do so

@ChristiCMPG We're not really good enough at piling the heat on them. They're scoundrels. Is she keeping both salaries? It's not possible to do both jobs simultaneously.

Characteristically dishonest LibDem leaflet through the door. Health is devolved. A Westminster LibDem MP has no control or influence over Scotland's NHS. Championing local is the claim. But using a London printer - not one of the local printing businesses who need support.

@alcanlin It seems that ASN schools suddenly fell into dilapidation on 4th July #bbclaurak

When will you hurry up and fix the disastrous mess that the neglectful and incompetent Conservative government left the country in? #bbclaurak

This fun wee book makes philosphical ideas accessible to all. It's an easy read and would make a great stocking filler for any Swifties in your life

Only a Labour MP would have the brass neck to boast about this when their party refused to back @GavNewlandsSNP and @ChrisStephens previous attempts to ban fire and rehire.

Is Taylor Swift a Philosopher? andphilosophy.com/2024/09/20/is-… via @PhilosophersEye

A year ago Labour's leaders said calling for a #Gaza ceasefire was "gesture politics". A year on - despite the carnage and evidence of multiple Israeli war crimes - we're *still* selling them arms. So will the UK ever say 'enough'? What will it take?

In years to come, students in university departments around the world will be studying the propaganda embedded in this headline. As someone who regularly lectures in sociology, journalism and media studies, I could teach an entire lesson on the title alone. For example: 1. Treating the 4 Israeli soldiers as more important than the 23 Palestinian children (by leading the story with their deaths and just chucking in the others at the end) implies their lives are of higher value. 2. Infantilizing active duty soldiers as "teenagers" while not emphasizing the age of the schoolkids, despite many of them being demonstrably younger. 3. The classic use of the passive voice: Israelis are "killed" while Palestinians merely "die". 4. Putting scare quotes around "23 die" subtly undermines the credibility of that claim. Maybe no one died, and the Palestinians are just lying? 5. Using the word "attack" for Hezbollah actions, but choosing a more neutral, clinical word like "strike" for Israeli aggression. 6. Allowing Israeli sources to dictate the framing of the story ("Israel names teenage soldiers") etc. 7. Actually naming the Israeli soldiers, but not doing the same for the far greater number of Palestinians, again sends the message to the reader that Palestinian lives don't matter nearly as much, if at all. It's truly incredible how much propaganda has been packed into 16 words. We are swimming in an ocean of propaganda. That's why it is crucial to deconstruct it and critically assess everything you read, see and hear.

A (good) joke from Jezza. Not sure I've heard a joke from him before! Salmond, Corbyn & Starmer used to have something in common: they all believed Scotland had the right to self determination. Only one of the three changed his mind on this key democratic principle... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇪🇺

All the information you need on the 75th International Astronautical Congress #IAC2024 is now available in the IAC 2024 Final Programmes & Congress App! ✨ ➡️ iafastro.org/news/digital-i…

@BrianLeishmanMP x.com/snowthistle/st…

What happens next to Grangemouth will be the test of whether “A Just Transition” is more than just a slogan, because this is what an unjust transition sounds like. There should be no gap between the refinery closing and new industries being ready.

Oil giants set to make millions from Grangemouth refinery closure open.substack.com/pub/democracyf…

Happy #ComingOutDay Times have changed but still takes courage. Come out in your own time. I came out to trusted friends. Then some colleagues. Then family. Then in the press. It’s sometimes hardest to tell those you love most. But in my experience you’ll seldom be disappointed.