Sign in

brensmith.bsky.social

@brensmith.bsky.social
138 followers 288 following 0 posts
PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
🇺🇸 AntiFa Chapter 8647 @waynesworldauto.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
#02network UK are currently promoting their #02Satellite service. I went back on to X to ask 02 (they're not on here), just one question...what satellite network does '02 Satellite' use? O2: We use Starlink Direct to Cell technology. So, #Musk tech - that's a big fuckin 'NO' from me, then!!
255
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Prince Charles Cinema @princecharlescinema.com · 22h
The Prince Charles Cinema Secures its Future The Prince Charles Cinema is thrilled to announce that we have signed a new 25-year lease with no break clause, ensuring our projectors will keep rolling for years to come. #YouSavedthePCC
852595657
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Oliver Bullough @oliverbullough.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Re the Sally Rooney news, I was looking up data on arrests under terrorism legislation the other day, and hadn't quite realised how utterly bonkers the effect of the Palestine Action prohibition had been. That big purple spike is basically all PA-related arrests.
321216531
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Rhodri Marsden @rhodri.biz · 14/10/2026
The news that Trump actually reposted footage of William Chapman in the tiger enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park has made me so furious that I’ve had to go for a walk
1318916
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Jay Rayner @jayrayner1.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
A mid week piece from me, on the FT newspages. In an act of extraordinary generosity the owner of the building which houses Rules, London’s oldest restaurant, has donated it to the @nationaltrust.org.uk www.ft.com/content/1386...
ft.com
Home of London’s oldest restaurant, Rules, given to National Trust
Building in Covent Garden bequeathed to heritage charity to ensure 228-year institution remains ‘part of the city’s cultural life’
1634466
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition as part of his $10bn lawsuit www.theguardian.com/media/2026/o...
theguardian.com
BBC asks judge to force Trump to sit for deposition as part of his $10bn lawsuit
BBC asks US federal judge to compel Trump’s lawyers to schedule deposition after his team canceled initial session
1434799
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Nick Lloyd @spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
A Little Owl (mochuelo in Spain, mussol in Catalan) kindly sent to me by Lucy Brzoska. It had flown down to inspect these items left by gardeners working in the Fossar de la Pedrera, Montjuïc , the mass grave of the victims of the Franco regime in Barcelona. Like a surrealist painting.
318934
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 13/10/2026
I'm starting to think that, despite its tax status, Facebook isn't really an Irish company.
2351586
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
gamera obscura october edition @ohrobin.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I think what frightens me most is that the sheer volume of things to be horrified by has become its own kind of protection for the people responsible. Nothing has to be explained or resolved becuase a story or a scandal or a tragedy only has to survive until the next thing happens in five minutes.
14631172
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
James C @iguandonjim.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Weetman skull-measuring incident has reminded me of people who used to "be a thing" on twitter. It's inspired me to do an occasional thread. Feel free to chip in with suggestions/lore/questions.
14825832
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
timoconnorbl.bsky.social @timoconnorbl.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Well, that’s the American defence industry borked. “Buy our products, you won’t get them if you try to use them to defend yourself against the Kremlin.” Which is why you buy European, instead.
27424
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Frank Ray Whitehouse (He/Him) @wheeltod.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
I named my dog "Nature" because he abhors the vacuum.
472826396
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
On this, they should find some way of publishing the evidence. Is it *more* than online influence campaigns (which I guess are now ubiquitous)? We should know or people will speculate endlessly.
34610
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
"The Greens' motion, awful as it is, won't have impacted the Holborn result hugely. Highly engaged voters in a low-turnout by-election rarely wait so late to decide. Zack absenting himself from the debate, in contrast, may have done more lasting damage to his leadership credentials than the motion."
1010018
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Also obvious and often forgotten: underlying maths here changed. A lot of people still analyse politics of Brexit as if the split in the public is still 52/48, with leave both an overall majority and more efficiently spread, with most seats majority Leave. None of that true now
925158
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Sathnam Sanghera @sathnam.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Dear tv and radio producers. Thankyou for the invitation. But, no, I do not want to appear on your show to defend the idea that I am English, after 50 years of living and working here, because the increasingly feral right want to turn this into a "debate" and you cannot see how you're being played
10752121146
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Turning state violence into a public spectacle is a very fascist move BTW.
531934539
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Grave Robber-tson 🏳️‍⚧️ @gemofamara.com · 08/10/2026
what does "netflix-style vision for iplayer" even mean? they already do the same thing as netflix's core product. it is a netflix-style service.
511121
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Film Stories @filmstories.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The BBC's director general Matt Brittin outlines a Netflix-style vision for iPlayer, including an AI agent called Iggy that speaks to users. filmstories.co.uk/news/bbc-exp...
filmstories.co.uk
BBC experimenting with a Netflix-style iPlayer make-over, including an AI agent called Iggy
The BBC's director general Matt Brittin outlines a Netflix-style vision for iPlayer, including an AI agent called Iggy that speaks to users.
28113
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Robert Ramsay @robertramsay.org · 08/10/2026
Just the kind of dickhead CEO it seems impossible to get away from. A paucity of imagination. Partridge put in charge.
1331
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Ed Morrish @edmorrish.com · 19/07/2025
another good way of thinking about what cracking value radio 4 is that it makes twenty hours of programming a day - news, drama, comedy, documentaries, a soap opera, arts - for about £90m/yr, while spotify pay joe rogan about £60m/year to listen gullibly to liars for about nine hours per week
426984
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Eloise Newman @eloisenewman.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
If you are like me and a bit too invested in the new series of the #traitors, you might like this (rough) #network analysis I did on who will be pivotal in this series, inspired by the BBC News article on connections between the celebrities #celebritytraitors www.eloisenewman.co.uk/posts/blog/2...
A social network of the cast of the celebrity traitors UK series 2 with colourful connections depicted the type of connection between celebrities
151
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Tony Yates @t0nyyates.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
This... the attacks on research funding and foreign students in US universities... all opportunities for us, not being taken.
54813
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Daniel Radosh @radosh.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
For sale: baby book, never read.
410616
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Surprised Eel Historian, PhD @greenleejw.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Have you seen the news about Andrew Tate, eels, and horses, and wondered, "WTF, man?" Well, friends...I'm here to tell you: it's not new. In medieval & early modern England, horse sellers practiced feaguing: inserting a live eel into the horse's rectum to get the animal to act more lively. 🗃️🧪
Meme. Still from the movie "El Dorado" with a very surprised looking grey horse standing next to a man with long blond hair. The man's arms are crossed, and his head is tilted as if he's looking down. His eyes are not, though. They are cutting towards the horse to gauge its reaction. The horse's jaw is dropped, and its eyes are wide like victorious marbles. The man and the horse are standing in a window or doorway, with heavy red drapes. Behind them, the sun seems to be setting over green hills. It is also setting over the horse's innocence.

An alternative reading of the scene might suggest that the horse isn't surprised at all, but rather is singing lustily. The man, rather than having just delivered bad news, is waiting to come in. The curtains suggest a stage, and the two of them are are singing a duet to an enraptured audience; perhaps "I Got You, Babe" or "Islands in the Stream."

Meme text reads:
"When you explain feaguing
to your trusted steed"
2321850
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
This is a positive development, full stop. Anti-racism norms matter, elite cues on anti-racism norms matter, a broad political consensus on anti-racism norms matter so a strong signal from the leader of a party which has been blurring red lines lately is good news.
1738667
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This ancient Greek figure from the 2,500 year-old Douris Cup looks uncannily like someone working on a laptop! 😲 💻 He’s actually writing with a stylus on a hinged wax writing tablet! The technology has changed, the posture has not! 😂 Altes Museum, Berlin 📷 by me
My photo shows detail from an ancient Greek red-figure kylix (drinking cup) of a young man shown in profile seated on a stool facing right. He wears a knee length cloak (himation) over his left shoulder, which is shown in folds around his waist and upper legs. His right shoulder, chest, and arms are bare. His dark hair is short, and he wears a band around his head. He is looking down at an open rectangular wax writing tablet which he is supporting in his left hand above his lap. In his right hand he holds a metal stylus pen poised over the writing tablet. The wooden writing tablet is hinged like a book and, from this angle, resembles a modern laptop. The figure is part of a scene depicting school lessons in ancient Athens, painted by Douris around 480 BC. On display at the Altes Museum in Berlin.
321367328
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Mags L Halliday @magslhalliday.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Monica Coglan was cross-examined for 13 hours by Archer’s lawyers in the libel trial. She was frequently in tears as her entire life and character was attacked. She died in a car crash before Archer was found guilty of perjury in that trial. Before it was found she’d told the truth all along.
5492169
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
'The University of Nottingham has confirmed that it will close its music and languages departments as it presses ahead with more than 500 job cuts despite widespread opposition from staff and students.' A blight on East Midlands and UK higher education.
timeshighereducation.com
Nottingham confirms course closures with hundreds of jobs affected
Languages and music departments to close despite strikes and protests but university insists it has addressed staff concerns in revised plans
8268198
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Why you can’t trust Grok - or any other LLM which basically tells you what you want to hear and amplifies online echo chambers
39422140
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
A cynical person might ask, of course, why are "young men of fighting age" wearing hijabs? 🧐
Main on Sunday front page: 

"As one of Kemi's top female frontbenchers calls them 'instruments of suppression...
UK HANDS OUT 1,000 HIJABS TO CHANNEL MIGRANTS"
531069188
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
This whole thread is absolutely mental.
58318
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
3 October 1840 is sometimes given as the date Sheela-na-gigs were ‘discovered’, but of course the people on whose buildings they appeared had known about them for a while. It’s really the first date they were officially recorded, because as far as anyone knows, they date back centuries (at least)
b/w photo of a Sheela from Lavey church Co. Cavan. A rudimentary figure with a roughly carved face, and thick arms, holding open her vulva
1637
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Prof Sheena Cruickshank @sheencr.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Excellent images to have a coffee whilst admiring
theguardian.com
Comedy wildlife photography award finalists 2026 – in pictures
A selection of the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards 2026 finalists – from a shortlist featuring a caiman wearing a wig, a leopard doing a handstand, a strutting white-tailed eagle and a polar bear appeari...
430297
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 02/10/2026
You know, I'm beginning to think positioning ourselves as the world's shopping centre might not have been the best idea.
929944
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
So be it. This just underlines that tyrants are not to be trusted.
1162
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 02/10/2026
1622381
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 02/10/2026
another thing I learnt about modern dating by secretly being a member of those weird Facebook groups for years: Clare's Law should be seen as one of Theresa May's best achievements as home secretary youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/here-i-am-...
212726
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 01/10/2026
Can't watch Two Brews Kemp without thinking of this:
0262
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
He is not burning cash. He is investing money to shape political discourse and public opinion in line with his ideology and interests. And it's a successful strategy. Also, for a billionaire losing 10 million is like losing 1000 pounds for a middle class person.
111132
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Nancy Levine Stearns @nancylevinestearns.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Worth repeating: Hegseth is an insane religious extremist who got us into a shit show of a holy war. His book: bsky.app/profile/atru...
Worth repeating: Hegseth is an insane religious extremist who got us into a shit show  of a holy war. His book:
1319
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Tony Yates @t0nyyates.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The perfect illustration of how America has gone to war on itself and is now less able to face external challenges.
98516
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 29/09/2026
Well-deserved. The guy is a hero and an inspiration
322242
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
*bangs head against wall forever* Apparently the way Burnham thinks we get parity of esteem is by saying vocational quals are for non-academic kids.
4133863
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
George Pearkes @peark.es · 23/09/2026
hahahahaha INCREDIBLE *CHINA IS HOLDING SENSITIVE F-35 PARTS DIVERTED TO HONG KONG *PENTAGON SAYS IT'S WORKING TO RETRIEVE STEALTHY JET PARTS *UPS FLIGHT WTH PARTS WAS HEADED TO US BEFORE BEING DIVERTED
942053360
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
lol my flight got diverted because of a medical emergency and they landed us in reykjavik in the middle of the night and deplaned us and sent us through passport control and then the crew vanished and then british airways sent us links to book an overnight hotel room but for a hotel at heathrow
21388321165
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
One vaguely serious party.... it's all I ask for.
1320717
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
wildswimmer.bsky.social @wildswimmer.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
400 losses at my local university alone, last academic year
0309
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
381080332
Reposted by @brensmith.bsky.social
Phil Tinline @philtinline.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If even Fox News can do the right thing in solidarity with its rival news channels against the nonsense, perhaps actual sovereign countries could give it a try too.
083