iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Those three little words "in order to" seem to have been missing from political debates about costs and benefits. Good to see them back

3423

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 15h

It’s a mark of the corruption of our whole way of thinking about the world that trying to meet a planetary emergency is routinely described as “ideological”, while continuing to accelerate it is presented as “pragmatic” and “economic”.

171065380

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

My other main thought: that prospectus means that it's now overall possible to be progressive and feel ok about supporting Labour again. That hasn't been the case for some time. Those in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s have a chance to put things right when we've drifted badly off course.

5143

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The BBC news summary this morning went seamlessly from "critics warn PM scrapping triple lock would be electoral suicide" to "critics ask if PM has nerve to make tough decisions" and I don't think it's a particularly pro Burnham stance to suggest he might not be the entire problem here.

441425256

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026

Google finally updated some of its satellite images of Gaza and my god, it's horrific. The entirety of Rafah has been demolished. The majority of Khan Younis is in ruins. Entire towns completely leveled and erased of the map.

9352103191

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 27/09/2026

The before and after it's even more haunting.

3428291603

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

📌 ICYMI — Rupert Murdoch Flew Kemi Badenoch and Her Deputy to Mediterranean for Summer Trips Worth £12,000 — @josiahmortimer.bsky.social The Conservative leader and Alex Burghart MP held "off-site meetings" with the billionaire media mogul in August

bylinetimes.com

Rupert Murdoch Flew Kemi Badenoch and Her Deputy to Mediterranean for Summer Trips Worth £12,000

The Conservative leader and Alex Burghart MP held "off-site meetings" with the billionaire media mogul in August

1911682

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Liar. Small boat crossings peaked under Johnson in 2022 reaching 46,000 in 2022. In current year they are 18,565 and falling. Also prior to Boris Johnson's Brexit there were none.

It's a disaster, and it can all be traced to
Labour ideology. Burnham has no mandate
from the people. He has no real ideas, and
no plan,

Johnson on X

23132681202

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 25/09/2026

I now publish a History of Europe in 75 Train Journeys as a podcast as well as a blog. Here’s the latest, somewhat grim, episode. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

podcasts.apple.com

Journey 9: Berlin to Kraków

Podcast Episode · A History of Europe in 75 Train Journeys Podcast · 25 September · 11min

000

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Martin Stanley @ukcivilservant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Definitely worth subscribing to this free c. monthly blog …

111

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 25/09/2026

It this was a BBC news report, there’d be a warning that people may find the contents distressing. And they probably would, for this month's chapter is about the holocaust. But it's also crucial we never forget what we - as humans - are capable of - and the railway's ghastly complicity.

historyofeuropein75trainjourneys.substack.com

Journey 9: Berlin to Kraków

Chapter 43: The Holocaust

001

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Have the BBC forgotten how to do proper reporting? The arrest isn't "over video", it's over the dinghy slashing.

1527761

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 23/09/2026

This is beyond nuts. Being English is not an ethnicity. It’s being… English. Like both Suella and I am. Or was Winston Churchill not English?

010

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Every time I return to Paris, I notice they've done more to reclaim streets from drivers and cars, including removing on-street parking, protecting cyclists from drivers, and prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists in shared spaces. Other cities can learn a lot from Paris.

202333370

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Caroline Russell @carolinerussell.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Summer of terrifying drought and wildfire, bus drivers sweltering in shocking temperatures, everyone losing sleep unable to get cool at night and *this* is the policy they come up with? Just makes things worse and does nothing to address inequality or enable people to walk, cycle or catch a bus. 🤷‍♀️

713944

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

George Eaton @georgeeaton.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Lib Dem pledge to cut fuel duty by 10p is depressingly bad policy: poorly targeted, expensive (£5bn), and it weakens incentives to switch to EVs and reduce usage.

44641136

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 19/09/2026

Tomorrow, I’m assuming we’ll have an interview with a prominent figure who has not lost faith in the UK. Because surely this won’t be the ONLY topic on which the BBC doesn’t do “balance”

073

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Why does the BBC have as one of its lead news stories this morning another Britain-hating interview with Jim 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants' Ratcliffe? What public interest is this serving?

5253369721

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The RNLI has said the abuse of volunteers in Portsmouth has forced it to close the lifeboat station there and stop operating since September 10. Nearby stations have been providing cover to the area instead. One of the UK's largest coastal cities without a lifeboat because of the far-right.

40901503

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 16/09/2026

Fun fact: it was, briefly, possible to reach within a few miles of Piddington by tube. When London Transport was set up in 1933, it ended up acquiring a rural branch line to the village of Brill in Oxfordshire. Average train speed 4 mph.

121

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The BBC is terrified by data showing its lost the trust of low-trust, Reform voters and is desprately trying to win them back through this bullshit... ...without realising that low-trust is their nature and all their efforts do is lose the faith of people who actually do trust the beeb

721048

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Dom White @domw.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

BBC News currently acting as the propaganda arm of the Reform party.

912618

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

In the movie version of this, after Piddington runs out of food water and money as a result of leaving the UK, the residents apply for asylum and end up housed in a military base, with HILARIOUS consequences. www.bbc.com/news/article...

bbc.com

Piddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plans

Piddington residents voted over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby

1663527837

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 15/09/2026

The East Coast Mainline really is the most unfair route. Sights by side of train, if travelling south: Calton Hill LEFT Berwick LEFT Berwickshire / Northumberland coast LEFT Newcastle bridges LEFT Durham Cathedral and Castle LEFT York Minster LEFT Peterborough Cathedral LEFT Emirates Stadium LEFT

170

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 15/09/2026

Trainline seems to think Scottish Independence has already happened. Got this notification a few minutes after crossing the border into England

072

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Nick Cohen @nickcohen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Trump now attacking Zelensky for defending his country from Russian attack by taking out Russian oil supplies. Once again, there is no criticism of Putin. As always, the question is: If Trump were a Russian agent, how would he behave differently? www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/13/t...

themoscowtimes.com

Trump Tells Ukraine's Zelensky to Stop Hitting Russian Diesel - The Moscow Times

U.S.

2297

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

It's nonsense to suggest that people who support Brexit and Reform are motivated by racism. And if you don't believe me, check out this perfectly reasonable tweet by prominent Reform member and former mayoral candidate, Arron Banks.

1262034672

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Well, yes, it makes sense that Itamar Ben-Gvir would think the question of sovereignty has nothing to do with the people who actually live there

1648791

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 08/09/2026

Genuinely, could someone who understands the media explain to me why the BBC has spent the weekend looking the other way both from Reform's leaders being videoed engaging in a criminal offence, and to far-right blackshirts hitting the streets? Why? What conversations are happening in BH?

271

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Chris Terry-Enescu @cjterry.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Truly wild to have lived through moral panics about teenagers wearing hoodies and Muslim women wearing the head dress to now experience 'but is a large group of organised far right activists in balaclavas really that scary'

9359961596

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I find it baffling that Labour does not seem to get this. By equivocating on such a core issue, they’re making their own voters unsure about the core values of the party / government and hence more susceptible to voting for someone else.

30630163

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.

632778879

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Suppose the blackshirts would also have marched then as well but they were all in prison.

0573

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Shameful and saddening from Simon Schama. What is happening in Gaza is not the Holocaust. But it *is* genocidal, perpetrated by an explicitly and openly genocidal government, and he knows that. This denialism demeans him and his record as a great historian. www.jewishnews.co.uk/simon-schama...

jewishnews.co.uk

Simon Schama: Anybody accusing Israel of committing genocide should be ashamed - Jewish News

In speech at HET appeal dinner, the historian and professor says 'We, the victims of the greatest genocide the world has ever seen, are being called perpetrators of genocide'

29394124

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

One reason England does so well is our second generation immigrants outperform their peers which is not true in most OECD countries. We are also very good at integration. And it's v sad that this is never acknowledge in debates on immigration.

592405851

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

If "legitimate concerns" were considered to excuse illegitimate methods, then nobody from Just Stop Oil or Palestine Action would have been arrested. So we know it doesn't. In fact that phrase is only ever used in one context. Only in that context is uniformed mob intimidation "peaceful protest"

211107401

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Ryan Bridge - Founder of "Raise the Colours" flag protests - charged with 14 offences including common assault. Danny Thomas - ringleader of Dover/Portsmouth thuggery - an ex-con jailed for attempted kidnap at knifepoint. Almost like they're not "ordinary people with concerns" but criminals.

401643616

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Nick Robinson on Today is literally talking about ‘legitimate concerns’ after second night of organised men dressed in black - sorry ‘protesters’ - mobilising en masse in another littoral town. This is how street fascism is normalised

19835351084

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

The AfD and Reform immigration policies are almost identical. There is no plausible reason for considering one far right and the other not.

642897902

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Watching BBC News and it's striking to hear the presenters repeatedly referring to the AfD as "far-right" whilst refusing to ever say the same about the hundreds of actual masked blackshirts currently swarming British ports

8743331049

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 04/09/2026

This is a great post as it gets to the very heart of what’s gone wrong in the current incarnation of the BBC. These few words should be printed out on huge poster paper in the lobby of Broadcasting House

152

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/09/2026

With all respect to the BBC, the reason this story "matters" is not about whether it distracts from Reform's conference. It "matters" because it is important our leaders are not conspiring to break the law.

12750391202

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Ruth Cadbury MP @ruthcadbury.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

These are appalling remarks from a senior member of Reform. As Sunder says Sagal arrived in the UK as a child refugee in the 1990s. This is part of an increasing effort to stop people from being allowed to take part in public life and politics...

413134

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 01/09/2026

Hi Bluesky, I realise you didn't ask my daughter to tabulate every journey made across all 1,084,170 words of the Harry Potter series. But she did - which means we now know there are 2,824 legs across all seven books. And we can use that to know so much more. www.freewheeling.info/blog/wizardi...

freewheeling.info

Percy Weasley’s In-Tray — Freewheeling

Did you know that Percy Weasley went on to become Head of the Department of Magical Transportation? What did he have to deal with? Well, I’ve been looking at the numbers and we have a serious lack ...

010

Thomas Ableman @freewheeling.info · 01/09/2026

It's first day back after summer - you need something to cheer you up. How about a comprehensive analysis of the Wizarding World's transport policy, based on a tabulation of all 2,824 journey legs in the entire series? Yes, I thought that's what you needed. www.freewheeling.info/blog/wizardi...

freewheeling.info

Percy Weasley’s In-Tray — Freewheeling

000

Reposted by Thomas Ableman

Glen O'Hara @gsoh31.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The UK should be doing this! We could attract loads of top talent! Maddening.

910924