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Dr David R Brake

@drbrake.bsky.social
3.3K followers 141 following 1.1K posts

Journalist, policy wonk (transit, urban planning, EVs, climate, internet/media regulation), PhD (Media@LSE), dad, newly-adoptive Brightonian

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Dr David R Brake
The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 07/10/2026
"Only the Green Party has the policies to address inequality, through taxes on wealth; tackle the cost of living crisis with rent controls and raising the minimum wage; and fight climate breakdown through a nationwide home insulation programme and turbocharging renewables" - @carladenyer.bsky.social
Conservatives: for billionaires, inequality, and environmental damage

Carla Denyer
MP for Bristol Central

“Today Kemi Badenoch once again defined the Conservative Party as pro-billionaires, pro-inequality and pro-damaging the environment.”
 
“However much money you throw at it, you cannot have national security without action on the climate crisis. You cannot make this country fairer while you continue to favour the super-wealthy over ordinary working people, and you will not help young people into work by removing worker protections and support.”
 
“Cutting inheritance tax, cutting welfare and reigniting a new round of austerity reminds us that this is a party working for the wealthy few, not the majority.”

Green Party
Promoted by Chris Williams on behalf of the Green Party of England and Wales, c/o PO Box Green Party, London SE1P 6YL
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Reposted by Dr David R Brake
Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 07/10/2026
If you think of GB News as the media wing of Nigel Farage’s political project, the total subsidy funnelled his way by its owners and his crypto donors (just four men) tops £200m, writes Alan Rusbridger
prospectmagazine.co.uk
Farage and the £130m even his detractors have missed
GB news has provided relentless positive PR for Nigel Farage while racking up tens of millions in financial losses. And now there is a new channel in ...
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Bring back the crime-free paradise depicted in Kings Cross by the Pet Shop Boys and the movie Mona Lisa
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
It didn’t happen to me very often because my journalism was not political but I once offered to help the Boilermakers Union in Canada, only to find they wanted me to write about why Canadian oil was better than Saudi oil 🙄
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Alona Ferber @aloner.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
"One side says Zionism equals racism, the other says anti-Zionism equals terrorism. Both take a word that means different things to different people, choose its worst possible meaning, and pin it on everyone who uses it" - @daviddavidi-brown.bsky.social www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/gre...
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I don’t think he actually would -cars are extremely heavily taxed and while the public transit infrastructure is indeed crowded, it is also extensive. we could use more high density as well…
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I visited last year to decide if I wanted to live here and this terrific high profile stretch of active transportation prioritisation was a big factor in my decision to move here from Canada. Now I use it every day and love it!
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Okay, John Crace is a sketch writer so he has a license to be a little hyperbolic for effect. But this reads like a Daily Telegraph hatchet job. I expect @theguardian.com to be a progressive publication, not a Labour one www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
At Brighton, Polanski raised his arms in triumph. It felt more like a wave goodbye | John Crace
The Greens’ leader seems long on agitprop but short on ideas – and one byelection away from losing his job
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Reposted by Dr David R Brake
Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 02/10/2026
back in my day intentionally fabricating data for use in scientific inquiry was sternly frowned upon
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Come down to Brighton where we’re having a green party conference and you will find a bunch more, plus some fantastic cycling infrastructure and public transport use second only to London…
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 02/10/2026
"We did win elections in greater numbers than ever before. But more than that, we changed this country. You did this. We made this happen.” In his speech at Conference, Zack Polanski reflects on a historic year for the Green Party.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
My first session at #GreenPartyConference is about immigration policy - we’re the only UK party that continues to stand up strongly for human rights here even when those humans are not British. And the session is packed. 💚
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Choose sword-fighting 100% - it’s social and it’s exercise for the brain and body. And should there be a zombie apocalypse, I’m sure it will be handy.
static.klipy.com
Princess Bride Inigo Montoya The Man In Black Wesley Fencing Styles Swordfighting Scene
ALT: Princess Bride Inigo Montoya The Man In Black Wesley Fencing Styles Swordfighting Scene
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Reposted by Dr David R Brake
Bruce Macintosh @bmacastro.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This graph represents probably more than a hundred thousand hours of work by our community. Every year when I look at it I think our current proposal model is broken.
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The Green Party of England & Wales @greenparty.org.uk · 01/10/2026
A £276 increase in bills in January would be the final straw for millions across the country. The Prime Minister must turn words into actions and stop bills going up on his watch.
Green graphic image with Hannah Spencer's photo quoting her: 'The Prime Minister must commit to stopping bills rising'. Full quote reads:

“Andy Burnham keeps talking about giving families breathing space. But actions speak louder than words and bills are still going up on his watch when people can’t afford it.  

A £276 increase in January would be the final straw for many people in the constituency I represent and for millions across the country.

The Prime Minister must commit now to stopping bills going up in January, starting with moving more costs off energy bills, properly funding a national home insulation scheme, clamping down on rampant profiteering by energy companies, and rapidly scaling up cheaper, cleaner energy.”
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Thanasis Kinias @tkinias.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It really is interesting how we don’t call, say, a journalist who wrote a pop-sci book on galaxies an ‘astrophysicist’, or a retired banker who wrote a pop-psych book on personality types a ‘psychologist’—but the media call any rando who writes a book on something in the past a ‘historian’.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The ZiR motion is terrible, backed by a small group of understandably committed but doctrinaire activists. But @thetimes treats a straw poll of 91 as if it was a settled Green Party decision 🙄 www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Jewish Greens face sanctions for belonging to ‘Zionist’ synagogues
The Green Party rejected an amendment to protect Jewish members attending self-declared ‘Zionist’ organisations from reports of racism
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Sean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 29/09/2026
The rush to speculate that asylum seekers are responsible for every crime in the news is a sort of opportunistic informational terrorism. Until it’s disproved it stokes fear and hatred. When it is disproved there are no adverse consequences and they know that they only have to be lucky once.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Huge bummer when you’re just innocently trying to join and promote a movement that hates Black people, immigrants, and Jews — but then you discover that they have a dark side. apple.news/A9g-feRPSTme...
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Happy cheese day to all who celebrate. And a good moment to remember that our political system is so broken that this woman, who is visibly inane, became prime minister.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Every private conversation in Westminster: "Well the triple lock obviously has to go at some point". Every commentator on Burnham: "completely mad to propose getting rid of triple lock - political suicide".
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I really hope it turns out to be something trivial so all of the premature and borderline racist speculation by the usual suspects will make them a laughing stock.
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Does good work for her members I assume but wrong on tax, wrong on political funding, wrong on net zero. Every policy intervention is short-termist and blinkered
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Sarah T Roberts, PhD @ubiquity75.xyz · 28/09/2026
It bears mentioning that Microsoft just shut down its Microsoft Research Social Media Collective…because why should they care about the social consequences of their products, right? Including worker harms.
404media.co
Humans Are Reading Copilot Prompts — And They're Horrified
Human contractors are reviewing Copilot users’ prompts and uploaded images, according to internal documents obtained by 404 Media. The contractors are also bombarded with users’ requests for sexual AI...
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Sean Marshall @seanyyz.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“What is certain, however, is that a vast sum of our money will be wasted, countless Torontonians will find themselves profoundly inconvenienced for extended periods, and, eventually, a cyclist will get struck by a car. But at least the congestion will be worse.”
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
For all that it's been barely reported in the UK press, it's still hard to understate the importance of the stance @labourunionsuk.bsky.social has taken on trans and non-binary rights this week. Every single trade union affiliated to the party of government has stood up and said we will not comply.
Joint statement from National TULO

Solidarity with the trans and non-binary community

Labour's 11 affiliated trade unions stand in total solidarity with the trans and non-binary community.

Trans rights are human rights, and trans rights are workers' rights.

We in the trade union movement will do all we can to stand up for our trans members and all our trans siblings, to protect them from persecution, harassment and attack.

The government must act now to protect all trans people, to make sure their rights are protected, expanded and upheld in our workplaces and communities.

Labour Unions
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I really weary of how UK reporters are tiptoeing around the fact that the US president talked absolute shit about the RAF Fairford incident and arrests. "It's possible Trump was talking off the cuff" - no, it's in fact very clear that Trump was just lying compulsively because that's what he does.
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Doug Gordon @brooklynspoke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
One has to wonder if any of these guys will do any introspection and ask just who, exactly, left the door open to all of these Nazis currently taking over the party. [ed. note: They will not do any introspection.]
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
This just in- all of those arrested are UK nationals.
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The police have asked everyone to please not speculate about the RAF Fairford incident, so naturally I'm going to waste no time in making up total bollocks to suit my own agenda.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Sounds like this kind of dynamic has been an open secret for… at least eight years?! www.vanityfair.com/news/2018/01...
vanityfair.com
“Oh My God, This Is So F---ed Up”: Inside Silicon Valley’s Dark Side
Not far from Sand Hill Road exists a private world of wild sex parties and “cuddle puddles.” As one male investor put it, “You could say it’s disgusting but not illegal—it just perpetuates a culture t...
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Long John Dipshit 💀🎃 @wokeoaf.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
“It’s not going to improve people’s lives here is it?!” I dunno man I’ve been watched children get murdered for three years straight now, it probably would improve our mental wellbeing if we stopped running cover for the murderers and maybe tried to do something about it
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Hyper-fast acceleration is dangerous as well as pointless. As I wrote in 2024, the 0-to-60 metric is outdated and needs to die. No driver on a public road needs to go from 0 to 60 mph in under 8 seconds. Even the slowest car on the market is more than quick enough.
fastcompany.com
How fast can a car go from 0 to 60? It really doesn't matter
The auto industry has pushed this metric for decades. But cars—especially EVs—are so fast that comparing the decimals is pointless and dangerous.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I can't understand why this hasn't turned into a huge news story (perhaps it is going to?) The NYT has laid a trail for others to follow here... AI research, heavy LSD use, hugely wealthy men abusing their power and... effective altruism?! www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/t...
nytimes.com
The A.I. Party House Where Networking Has a Dark Side (Gift Article)
Group tech houses have proliferated across the San Francisco Bay Area in the artificial intelligence boom. One of the most prominent has also racked up an extensive police record.
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I can't understand why this hasn't turned into a huge news story (perhaps it is going to?) The NYT has laid a trail for others to follow here... AI research, heavy LSD use, hugely wealthy men abusing their power and... effective altruism?! www.nytimes.com/2026/09/21/t...
nytimes.com
The A.I. Party House Where Networking Has a Dark Side (Gift Article)
Group tech houses have proliferated across the San Francisco Bay Area in the artificial intelligence boom. One of the most prominent has also racked up an extensive police record.
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Sian Berry MP @sianberry.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
I wrote to the EHRC chair about how she must monitor the impact of her code of practice on trans and nonbinary rights, and inclusive organisations. It is her statutory duty to do so and is vital if we are to make legal gender recognition for trans people a reality again in the UK. buff.ly/AhfkaJr
Image shows sian with three Green councillors at an event in Parliament marking Trans+ History Week. The group is stood in front of blue and pink banners that read: 'the future lies with me' and the logo of Trans + History Week.
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Mr. Dan Zak @mrdanzak.com · 27/09/2026
The CDC awarded a no-bid contract for exploring whether immunizing pregnant women would lead to autism in their children; to pay for this contract, the CDC took $362,000 from a program that provides free vaccines to about half American children. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/26/h...
nytimes.com
‘Zombified’ C.D.C., Hobbled by Cuts, Struggles to Fulfill Scientific Mission
The agency has lost its independence and nearly a third of its staff, as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and associates have tightened control.
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Brian Goldstone @brian-goldstone.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
This story brought me back to Kara, one of the mothers in my book, There Is No Place for Us. She was homeless with her four kids while driving for DoorDash. They had to pee in bottles so bathroom stops wouldn't make her late. After gas, she earned $6.50 an hour—75 cents less than the minimum wage.
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Dan k5s @danafus.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Molly White wrote a great and very thorough article about migrating "Citation Needed" from Substack to self-hosted Ghost: www.citationneeded.news/substack-to-...
citationneeded.news
Migrating from Substack to self-hosted Ghost: the details
I migrated Citation Needed from Substack to self-hosted Ghost. Here is exactly how I did that.
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Toby Lloyd @tobylloyd.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Sigh. This was predictable but still wrong: the persistent under delivery of new housing numbers, let alone the often poor quality and unaffordability of them, shows that we need a radically different model of house building - not pouring more subsidy down the broken pipes of the existing one.
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Birdpoof @birdpoof.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
So I was looking at some Fidelity mutual funds. They have a "Climate Action Fund" with the top holdings in....NVIDIA, Google, Apple, Microsoft. Not sure about Apple, but everyone else is guilty of massive climate pollution in pushing AI.
Screenshot of the Fidelity Climate Action Fund, showing the top holdings as NVIDIA, Alphabet (Google), Apple, Microsoft.
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
One of the maddest posts I've seen
Nick Buckley MBE

Danny Tommo. To be convicted of criminal damage - the owner of the boat must be identified. If not, then Tommo might own the boat and is just damaging his own property. None of the above matters. He was arrested for being anti illegal migration. The government and establishment are terrified of the English people. We are beginning to roar. What comes next will change the country forever - good or bad.
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Sara Gibbs is Scary Enough Already @sararoseg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
He imposed Shania Law
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Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 26/09/2026
Tech companies suddenly decide they can, in fact, moderate content on their platforms after all
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Painful to watch but also brilliant. But you do you!
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Dr David R Brake @drbrake.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Campaign for Zack Polanski? 😁
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Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans) @iwriteok.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
no they weren't very close to 0% of the SS were hanged the vast, vast seriously vast majority of people who carried out the Holocaust weren't ever punished.
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 26/09/2026
Does my Speak-n-Spell feel pain when I type O-U-C-H? The jury is out. Philosophers and neuroscientists say that's fucking stupid, but I called a guy from the Center for Pretending that Household Electronics Are Sentient and he said there's no way to know for sure.
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