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Jamie Mortimer

@flimflammery.bsky.social
546 followers 508 following 421 posts

SF/F Lit, amdram, board games, Transformers, getting too angry at TV shows, general geekery. UK; cis; he/him; ADHD.

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Reposted by Jamie Mortimer
Crowsa Luxemburg @quendergeer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
its so cool that you can't be disabled until you're 25, modern neoliberal science is magic www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Welfare changes under debate include ending key disability benefit for under-25s
Exclusive: Plan under discussion involves intensive package of support to help young people into employment
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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...
“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”
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maura quint @mauraquint.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Yes every woman has been harassed, many assaulted. But every woman has also experienced invisible loss from moments she avoided harassment. She felt a space becoming unsafe, so she left, while men stayed on. And in leaving, she lost: opportunities, experiences, learning, promotions, even simply fun.
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Disco Elysium Quotes @discoelysiumbot.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
EMPATHY - La responsabilité isn't concerned with trivial questions like *who killed who*. It's about the real issues: the human welfare index, the price of staple goods, the transition to real democracy...
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Duncan Hothersall @dhothersall.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If attendance at a major women's conference was down 80% due to a boycott fighting against trans *inclusion*, it would be all over the Times, Telegraph, Mail etc. This last weekend, attendance at a major women's conference was down 80% due to a boycott fighting against trans *exclusion*. Crickets.
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Alison Fisk @alisonfisk.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
An ancient and magical amber bear 🐻 ✨ Carved some 10,000 years ago, it washed up on a beach at Fanø in Denmark from a submerged Mesolithic settlement under the North Sea. National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen 📷 by me #Archaeology
My photo shows a small and ancient figurine of an amber bear carved some 10,000 years ago during the Danish Mesolithic period. The museum lighting makes the amber glow translucent orange against a dark display case background. The bear is displayed on a small metal stand viewed in profile facing right. The ears, muzzle, and mouth are defined. The neck has a polished groove suggesting it was once suspended on a cord. The characteristic shoulder hump of a brown bear is clearly defined. There are some finely incised horizontal lines along the belly. The legs are incomplete. Length 6.5cm. Amber has many properties which may have been associated with 'magic' for ancient peoples. For example, when rubbed against fur, amber produces static electricity which can give off sparks in the dark, make hair stand on end, and attract small things towards it.
The bear was found in 1991 on a west coast beach of the Danish North Sea island of Fanø. It is one of a small number of amber animal figurines from the Baltic Sea region which have been assigned to the Mesolithic period by means of a typo-chronological approach and /or other contextual information.
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Good Squiddance @squidfromspace.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Dave's 100% right here. These are the exact same people who a century ago were insisting firing squads were too good for cowards with shell shock.
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My kids have measles, I can't afford gas, my country has been humiliated by Iran, and our senile rapist president is going to allow unregulated AI to destroy our civilization. But a lesbian bar in a town I've never heard of still has a mask mandate. I have never felt more politically homeless.
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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
cuth pube
A sign that attempts to spell out "the Cube pub" by shifting the B in Cube down with the PU right before it and TH before the E.
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Good Squiddance @squidfromspace.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Some stray thoughts on this. Fundamentally, those defending transphobic candidates are actually pushing two arguments. The first is that it is morally defensible to sacrifice the rights of a minority in order to secure rights for other minorities.
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Good Squiddance @squidfromspace.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Yeeup, as part of the broader "Electoralism means coddling transphobes" effort, which continues to vaporise my yellow bile.
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Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Vote Green on October 8th in Holborn & St Pancras 💚
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the hills have vrunt @vrunt.social · 19/09/2026
sure yeah, can't even make a stick figure without fucking up and no one at the company gives enough of a shit to even give it another pass but go ahead and take my money so i can use this lazy shit technology every day too
ad for some AI company called evenfall
copy says "meet derek. ai every day. always hitting a wall. then he found evenfall"
the only graphic is a stick figure holding... a tablet maybe? he's missing an arm
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Claire Willett @clairewillett.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
every day of my life I think about the people using “she” to describe this computer program who still need to be convinced to use it for trans women
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The Onion @theonion.com · 18/09/2026
Trans Teen Hatches Nefarious Plot To Undergo Years Of Medical Treatments And Counseling To Win At Swimming theonion.com/trans-teen-hatches-nef…
Trans Teen Hatches Nefarious Plot To Undergo Years Of Medical Treatments And Counseling To Win At Swimming
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Mike Diver @mikediver.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
With The Transformers: The Movie back in cinemas right now, here are some words I wrote several years ago for @kerrang.com about its very hair metal soundtrack. www.kerrang.com/how-transfor...
kerrang.com
How Transformers: The Movie Introduced Me To Heavy Metal
Gigantic fighting robots soundtracked by killer riffs… what's not to love?
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
"Sometimes you have to choose the lesser of two evils," they say. Ah, and why does one sometimes *have* to do that? Because someone else, who could have chosen opposition to evil, instead opts to become a lesser evil for their own perceived advantage—leaving others to bear the burden of that choice
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Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The whole graf is hilarious The film (that I have not seen) “falls short on every dimension”
I haven't seen the film. This means I cannot confidently assess its editing, corroboration, or the full testimony it presents. I would love to live in a world in which I could wait, watch the movie, and have a sober debate about its claims.
Unfortunately, the discourse online is not so patient. That's why it's necessary to examine the argument its makers have published, the reporting on which it builds, and the standards by which its allegations should be judged. The film falls short on every dimension.
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Same people who seem to think it’s bad for China to beat us at AI are perfectly fine with China beating us at high speed rail, solar energy, wind energy, shall we go on
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Lee Draws Stuff @leedrawsstuff.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Daily Trek Character #34 - Constable Odo "Hmph." Various #startrek #DeepSpaceNine #DS9 #startrekfanart For my thoughts on this one or to see tomorrow's early head to www.patreon.com/cw/leedrawss...
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Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Reform UK should realy have to declare this as a donation in kind from GB News bylinetimes.com/2026/09/17/n...
bylinetimes.com
Nigel Farage Handed Platform by GB News to Defend Reform UK's £72m Donations From Crypto Billionaires
"These donations are completely legal," insisted the Reform UK leader as he used his first appearance as a GB News host for six months to dismiss all questions about where his party is getting its rec...
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Sarah, manic pixie dream MILF @goatsarah.org · 17/09/2026
Patients will be “triaged” rather than diagnosed. There is one thing that works massively well for adhd. Pretty much the gold standard of psychiatric intervention in any field: stimulant medication. That’s it. Give people that.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 17/09/2026
Every day, the stories from the UK read like a dystopian novel.
​Screenshot of a Reddit post from r/transgenderUK titled "Excluded from school for supporting a trans girl." A parent describes their daughter, who has Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS), choosing to use the boys' restrooms in solidarity with a trans classmate who was forced to do so, resulting in her being excluded from school.
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Mr too tired for a halloween name @laotianrockrat.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Ed Sheeran's agent: Ok fuck me that was a wild few days. Still we should be over the worst of it now...
Twitter post by that cunt Stephen Yaxley-Lennon expressing solidarity with Ed Sheeran (not reposting the exact text because fuck whatever he has to say)
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
“Applying the bare minimum sanctions required by law risks deepening and intensifying Israel’s status as a genocidal society” is an Israel problem, for them to work out. It is not a problem for the rest of the world, who should be looking at harsher enforcement mechanisms, not fewer.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you’re ever up in criminal court, try “prosecuting me will only make me more deeply committed to doing crimes, your honour” and see how you get on.
John Rentoul @rentouljohn.bsky.soc... • 31m
Jonathan Powell advised Ed Miliband not to ban imports from settlements before Israeli elections - Tim Shipman spectator.com/ article/reve...
The British ambassador in Tel Aviv, Simon Walters, who was of the same opinion, delivered a 'very explicit warning not to move so quickly. As a former director of national security for the Middle East in the Foreign Office, he had a deep understanding of the security implications. More remarkably, Jonathan Powell, the National Security Adviser, was of the same view. He was the most important figure in government on foreign policy during Keir Starmer's premiership, but now seems to have been ignored on the first major issue of Burnham's tenure.
What Powell and Walters sensed was that Benjamin Netanyahu, the combative Israeli Prime Minister, was in trouble in the polls and likely to lose his majority, and that any intervention before polling day would be weaponised by the Israeli right to drum up support for the government.
This has been confirmed by three different sources. 'Ed wants to get rid of Netanyahu and the Smotrich/Ben-Gvir lot [Netanyahu's far-right coalition partners], a senior security source says. 'He was explicitly told that would be less likely if he did this?
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M a r c u s 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Bonnie Greer famously sat with her back to the BNP’s Nick Griffin when he appeared on Question Time in 2009. There was much criticism of the BBC platforming the far right, Now every episode of Question Time is wall to wall far right talking points with open arms and a seat kept warmfor Reform
Author and critic
Bonnie Greer dies aged 77
Culture
16 Sep 2026, 13:41
GETTY IMAGES - picture of Bonnie Greer an elder Black woman with short red Afro hair wearing a black button up shirt 

Paul Glynn
Culture reporter
British-American author and cultural commentator Bonnie Greer has died at the age of 77 after a brief illness, her husband has said.
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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Elon Musk: 20+ years here, hates American culture and most Americans, constantly undermines our multi-racial democracy as part of his obsession to restore the Apartheid of his foreign youth, says non-white people can't assimilate Malala Yousafzai: visits Philly once, instantly adopts local customs
Instagram post from Malala decked out in Eagles dear with text "Go birds!"
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southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Publicly deplatforming this artist and putting his career and his tourmate’s career in some jeopardy is just my way of inviting him to lunch.
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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
2 panel comic

Panel 1 is titled “Journalist logs into Twitter”
Image shows a Pink Guy performing a high jump. He easily sails over a tall barrier that says “Racism, Nazis, Homophobia, CSAM and Bigotry”. He smiles and waves at the reader.

Panel 2 is titled “Journalist logs into BlueSky”
The Pink Guy is doing the high jump again, however, this time, a much smaller barrier just says “Smugness”. The Pink Guy is clinging to the barrier, trying to hook his leg over it. He yells “Hnnngh I CAN’T GET OVER IT”
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Adrienne @adrienneleigh.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
A WHOLE LOT of trans people are citing to the last decade of UK politics as a reason they think anti-trans Dems winning is worse FOR THEM than anti-trans Repubs. And a whole lot of US liberals aren't engaging with that example at all while pontificating about why trans people are wrong and stupid.
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 13/09/2026
It really hasn't dawned on liberals that for trans people in some races, there is no meaningful difference between who wins. Kansas and North Carolina have Dem governors and they're some of the worst for trans people in the country. So why bother to vote for a transphobic Dem?
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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 12/09/2026
A trans man in the UK has been banned in the workplace restrooms after he was forced to use the women's restrooms to comply with the new EHRC guidance. The women complained because he is visibly male and so they told him he can't use any bathroom.
A screenshot of a Reddit post from the r/LegalAdviceUK subreddit by user Dijstraanon, titled "FtM transgender facing two different issues at work? England."
The post text reads:
"Brother in law is trans FtM and presents fully as a man. He's now facing an impossible situation at work with his employer telling him that due to recent legislation he must use the toilet of his birth gender. BUT several female colleagues have raised a grievance about him using their gendered toilet.
His employer has told him that he cannot use the toilet while he is at work until they sort it out and cannot give him a timeframe to do so. They do [cut off] have disabled separate toilets.
In the mean time one of his female colleagues has accused him of sexual harassment because he was used their gendered toilet. His menstrual cycle meant he needed to use the toilet.
He's been with the employer for just over 5 years but only in this location for 18 months. The location is mainly male with just a handful of females, and his workshop only has male toilets.
I do not know how to support him and as he's not in a union there is no one to turn too right now."
The post has an orange "Comments Moderated" tag, 169 upvotes, and 134 comments.
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I will remind you that all of the pundits unified on the position that the Labour Party taking small donations from members of the public, which secured their finances years in advance, was a terrifying and anti-democratic imposition of minority enthusiasms on the people.
Pippa Crerar • G @PippaCrerar
X.com
NEW: Reform UK has received a record single donation of £36m from cryptocurrency billionaire Ben Delo in what will be seen as the Americanisation of British political funding.
The astonishing sum comes after Andy Burnham last month dropped his support for capping the amount a person or organisation can give in a single donation. The PM may be regretting that now.
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LiLBazula 👻 🎃 @lilbazza.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'm entirely for assisted dying in principle but it's precisely bc we all know there will no corresponding increase in palliative care & we live in a well-established political culture where assisted dying will just be the fig leaf for exterminating vulnerable people. The ratchet only goes one way
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Athena Kugblenu @athenakugblenu.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
a typical 'blue' Labour's mistake. Labelling moderate people as insufferable, top knotted, sourdough starter making, lactose intolerant fruitarians, when in fact their stated views on international policy, welfare, education and transport are very aligned with core Labour values
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flyingrodent @flyingrodent.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I agree with Andrew: it would’ve been massively better and less destructive for the entire world if we had responded to the 2001 attacks by setting a gajillion dollars on fire and keeping our armies at home, then occasionally bombing them ourselves.
Andrew Neil
@afneil • 53m
This was my essay on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 published last Saturday. Today is the actual anniversary.

(Don’t actually read this, I’m just quote tweeting him because he would hate the way I’ve characterised it)
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Good Squiddance @squidfromspace.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Day 11. It's the 11th September, 2026, five years to the day since my sister passed away. I wrote about that loss in my essay for "Operation -- Annihilate!", which has double the views of any other IDFC post. I'm never really sure how to feel about that fact.
idfc.co.uk
1.1.29 "I Don't Like What Happened To My Sister"
On siblings, and losing them.
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Jack Graham @timescarcass.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
A couple of exceptions in both directions aside, this is also a fairly reliable way to tell genuinely interesting, talented writers from hacks and windy frauds. Sorry, I know that's reductionistic, but...
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
For a sign of how absurd this is, *Theodor Herzl* did not observe dietary laws particularly closely, did not keep Shabbat, and was not in any way religious!
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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I’ve written more about this brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/analysing-...
brokenbottleboy.substack.com
Analysing Justin Webb’s interview with Ed Miliband about sanctions on Israeli settlements
On the absence of balance in an encounter where the Foreign Secretary’s Jewishness was called into question.
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Patrick Andelic @pkandelic.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
I went back to listen to it and it’s genuinely quite shocking.
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Aideen Blackwood @aideen.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
but it’s Ed who is doing the antisemitism gotcha
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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Justin Webb is doing the ‘you’re not a *proper* Jew, are you?’ thing to Ed Miliband on the Today programme right now.
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Jamie Mortimer @flimflammery.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Christ alive. I just watched the finale of Daredevil: Born Again s2. Absolutely infuriating in so many ways.
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Good Squiddance @squidfromspace.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Following on from yesterday's thread... IDFC turns 10 years old this month, just as Trek turns 60. To celebrate, I wanna go through the blog's history, highlighting perennial favourites, forgotten corners, and just what I think is my best damn writing. We kick off with my essay on "Skin Of Evil".
idfc.co.uk
3.1.22 "This First Parting There Was Among Us"
Evil lies in letting the bullies have their way.
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Bruno Dias @brunodias.dev · 01/09/2026
So it's useful to talk about the specific ways in which this argument is dishonest because I think a lot of liberal and left-leaning people are very vulnerable to this rhetorical bludgeon—the idea that you should "listen to experts". But let's unpack what exactly Giggies here means by "experts".
SE Gyges : this was early enough that it was very insightful and is now sort of transparently true if you think the gizmo isn't useful you're ignoring most major software project and all computer security professionals, you basically have to spit on expertise as a concept 


antivax movement but it's left coded and targets machine learning, artificial intelligence, and engineering fields
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Seems the difference between ‘protestors’ and ‘terrorists’ is that protestors wear balaclavas while terrorists hold placards.
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Leigh Jones @leighsus.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
OK, when is James Orr going to leave his role with Cambridge University? Are we still doing that?
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