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Michael Harper

@michaelharper.bsky.social
132 followers 101 following 188 posts
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 05/05/2026
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...
theguardian.com
Israeli army chief says West Bank troops ‘killing like we haven’t killed since 1967’
Leaked remarks by Maj Gen Avi Bluth describe fatal shootings of stone-throwers and different treatment for Jewish settlers
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Foreign Office unit tracking Israel’s potential breaches of international law closes due to cuts
Exclusive: Officials warn department will also lose access to database of 26,000 verified incidents due to cuts
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
@dpcarrington.bsky.social I think the framing of this headline is woefully poor. It is not the case that the risk of AMOC collapse is worse than thought. Rather, as the article states, the more ‘pessimistic’ scenarios are more realistic. Essentially, we chose to believe the optimistic ones… again.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
I think it is notable BBC avoids this story www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
theguardian.com
Gaza death toll for first 16 months of war far higher than reported, says peer-reviewed study
Lancet Global Health research suggests more than 75,000 killed in period, 25,000 more than announced at the time
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
Why do journalists and some scientists insist on always saying things like « several Earth system components may be closer to destabilising than once believed »? Is it some sort of « nobody told me » exculpatory argument? It is bogus - we were all warned. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Point of no return: a hellish ‘hothouse Earth’ getting closer, scientists say
Continued global heating could set irreversible course by triggering climate tipping points, but most people unaware
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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 05/02/2026
🇱🇧 Israeli aircraft sprayed chemical substances over areas along the Blue Line across southern Lebanon on Feb. 1, which Lebanon’s Ministries of Ag. & Environ. confirmed included the herbicide glyphosate at concentrations 20 to 30 times higher than normal levels. The ministries said the spraying...
The ministries said the spraying constitutes a hostile act and a grave violation of Lebanese sovereignty, warning of severe damage to vegetation, soil fertility, agricultural production, water sources, and long-term public health. They held Israel fully responsible for the resulting environmental, agricultural, and health harm, and announced expanded field surveys and precautionary measures for residents and farmers.

Glyphosate is commonly used in military vegetation-clearing operations along borders to kill crops, grass, and ground cover, strip concealment, create exposed buffer zones, damage agricultural livelihoods, and discourage civilian presence and return. Lebanese authorities warned that its use in this context threatens food security and long-term environmental stability.

The chemical has been classified as “probably carcinogenic to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a UN-affiliated body, raising additional concerns over health risks from high-concentration aerial spraying.

UNIFIL said it was informed in advance by the Israeli military that a so-called “non-toxic” chemical would be dropped near the Blue Line, forcing peacekeepers to suspend operations for more than nine hours across roughly one third of their area of responsibility. UNIFIL called the action unacceptable and a violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned the spraying as an environmental and health crime and ordered diplomatic and legal action. Lebanon has documented more than 2,000 Israeli ceasefire breaches in the final three months of 2025, as Israel continues to occupy Lebanese territory and block reconstruction in border villages.

🎥 Video from GreenSoutherners
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Inès more crime to add to an already long list: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...
theguardian.com
Israel accused of spraying cancer-linked herbicide on farms in southern Lebanon
President condemns ‘environmental and health crime’ as critics say Israel seeks to make southern Lebanon uninhabitable
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Without making any comment on the merits or otherwise of doing this, exactly the same arguments for designation applied to IDF (“long-overdue political signal that massive violence and transnational repression will no longer go unanswered”): www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
EU formally designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation
‘Any organisation that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,’ says Kaja Kallas
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
The UK as weak link again: “Britain’s two leading opposition parties are vying for Trumpian favour and much of its oligarch-owned right-wing press is increasingly MAGA-aligned”. open.substack.com/pub/nixons/p...
open.substack.com
New World Order
Thoughts on Europe's looming Chamberlain moment, Carney in China, when good news is bad news, and how Maria Corina Machado got the last laugh
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Questions remain www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Palestinian citizen of Israel wins UK asylum over ‘well-founded fear of persecution’
Exclusive: Refugee status granted despite attempt by former home secretary James Cleverly to block 26-year-old’s claim
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Incomplete redress for abuses over 20 years ago. Slavish complicity with US international crimes is not a great policy. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
UK ‘pays substantial sum’ to tortured Guantánamo Bay detainee
Lawyers for Abu Zubaydah accused British intelligence services of providing questions to his CIA interrogators
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Bet the Norwegian Nobel Committee is regretting its choice. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
theguardian.com
Nobel Institute rejects María Corina Machado’s offer to share peace prize with Trump
Organisers clarify award ‘cannot be revoked, shared or transferred’ after Venezuelan opposition leader’s comments
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
US will be exempt from global tax deal targeting profits of large multinationals. Quite the most ridiculous decade of tax negotiations ever conducted. The OECD secretary general, Mathias Cormann, an absolute poodle. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
US will be exempt from global tax deal targeting profits of large multinationals
Agreement finalised by the OECD waters down a landmark 2021 deal that set a minimum global corporate tax of 15%
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
The deft hand of Yvette Cooper still screwing UK’s peaceful protests. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Grassroots group’s bank account frozen due to ‘Palestine Action investigation’
Greater Manchester Friends of Palestine, which has no affiliation to direct action group, informed by deputy mayor
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Patrick Reinsborough ❌👑 @giantwhispers.bsky.social · 13/12/2025
As the fossil fuel industry derails efforts to ramp down, the tech bro propaganda campaign to normalize solar geoengineering is ramping up.😱 50+ African nations are calling for a NON-USE agreement before it's too late. The Guardian is joining them. So should the rest of us. #ClimateSky 🔌💡
theguardian.com
The Guardian view on solar geoengineering: Africa has a point about this risky technology | Editorial
Editorial: Sun-dimming risks putting the planet’s thermostat under Donald Trump’s control. Better to adopt the precautionary principle with high-stakes science
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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
Dutch foreign minister resigns over government's failure to sanction Israel - www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/liv…
middleeasteye.net
Dutch foreign minister resigns over government's failure to sanction Israel
<article data-history-node-id="427562" about="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/dutch-foreign-minister-resigns-over-governments-failure-sanction-israel" class="live-blog-update default clearfix"> <h2> <a href="https://www.middleeasteye.net/live-blog/live-blog-update/dutch-foreign-minister-resigns-over-governments-failure-sanction-israel" rel="bookmark"> <span class="field field-title">Dutch foreign minister resigns over government's failure to sanction Israel</span> </a> </h2> <div class="content"> <div class="field field-field-text"><p><meta charset="UTF-8"></p> <p>Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on Friday resigned after his government failed to agree on sanctions against Israel.</p> <p>“I see that I am insufficiently able to take meaningful additional measures to increase pressure on Israel,” Veldkamp told Dutch news agency ANP.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Dutch government did not agree on sanctions during a cabinet meeting on Friday.&nbsp;</p> </div> </div> </article>
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Middle East Eye (Unofficial) @middleeasteye-rss.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
UK close to giving Israel's Elbit £2bn contract to train British soldiers - www.middleeasteye.net/news/uk-close…
middleeasteye.net
UK close to giving Israel's Elbit £2bn contract to train British soldiers
Elbit, which was the primary target of Palestine Action's activism, is close to winning a contract that would allow it to train 60,000 troops per year, according to Private Eye
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Joe Noonan @joenoonan.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
As they call the Israeli Ambassador in for a word on her country carving up the West Bank. Money talks more honestly.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 19/08/2025
What Christian Zionists think and do no longer amazes me : open.substack.com/pub/zeteo/p/...
open.substack.com
'The Lord Is Counting on Me to Stand on the Side of Israel': ICJ Judge Reveals Her Bias
Judge Julia Sebutinde, a Christian Zionist, was the sole dissenting vote on the ICJ ruling on Israel's illegal occupation and the only one to vote against all six 'provisional measures' for Gaza.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 11/08/2025
This seems noteworthy: www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
'Jews, rebel!': Ex-Knesset speaker calls on world Jews to take Israel to ICJ over Gaza
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Repeat reminder that UAE backs and supports RSF. David Lammy’s failure to act explained: “Thirty-seven days after Zamzam fell, the UK declared its desire for a trade deal with the Emirates.” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
‘They slaughtered us like animals’: the inside story of how one of the biggest atrocities of the Sudan war unfolded in Zamzam
As the UK prepared to host a global summit on bringing peace to Sudan, the RSF paramilitary began a ‘genocidal’ massacre in Zamzam refugee camp. But when reports emerged of the killings, London held i...
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
A new poll carried out by the Israel Democracy Institute showed that a vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are "not so troubled" or "not troubled at all" by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza. www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...
haaretz.com
Large majority of Israeli Jews untroubled by reports of famine in Gaza, poll finds
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Clive Stafford Smith: In support of Palestine Action’s right to protest | Good Law Project. goodlawproject.org/clive-staffo...
goodlawproject.org
Clive Stafford Smith: In support of Palestine Action’s right to protest | Good Law Project
Supporting Palestine Action’s right to protest is not the same as supporting Palestine Action. It’s time for Keir Starmer to remember why human rights exist, says Clive Stafford Smith.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Daily reminder of utter failure of Yvette Cooper to understand genocide or terrorism. Her actions make no-one safer and debase genuine concerns about threats to UK. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
Woman, 74, tells of pain and fear after arrest at Liverpool pro-Palestine rally
Exclusive: Video shows veteran campaigner being dragged and handcuffed and she says bail conditions effectively confine her to her house
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Waldo Jaquith @waldo.net · 19/07/2025
Trump is closing all four climate observatory stations in Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Antartica. Because you can't have high CO2 levels if you don't *measure* CO2 levels. roll_safe.gif
nytimes.com
After 7 Decades of Measurements From a Peak in Hawaii, Trump’s Budget Would End Them
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
Yvette Cooper (and those that voted for the proscription) have completely debased the Terrorism Acts. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
theguardian.com
More than 100 arrested across UK at protests related to Palestine Action
Police in London detain scores of people and confiscate placards under section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Does the UK have a problem with regulators? First OFWAT and now the Charity Commission in one day: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
theguardian.com
Two UK charities donate millions to Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank
Charity Commission criticised for endorsing transfer of about £5.7m to high school in illegal village of Susya
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Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
“one officer told her: “Mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that all come under proscribed groups, which are terror groups that have been dictated by the government.” Absolutely chilling
theguardian.com
Armed police threatened to arrest Kent protester for holding Palestinian flag
Officers accused Laura Murton who also had a sign saying ‘Free Gaza’ of supporting a proscribed organisation
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
Absolute tectbook example of why UK government and @teamlabouruk.bsky.social approach to terrorism legislation is broken and a failure: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Armed police threatened to arrest Kent protester for holding Palestinian flag
Officers accused Laura Murton who also had a sign saying ‘Free Gaza’ of supporting a proscribed organisation
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
‘Humanitarian city’ would be concentration camp for Palestinians, says former Israeli PM
Ehud Olmert says forcing people into camp would be ethnic cleansing, and anger at Israel is not all down to antisemitism
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
On Israel and comparisons with the Nazis www.owenjones.news/p/on-israel-...
owenjones.news
On Israel and comparisons with the Nazis
After Israel announces it's building a concentration camp, condemning the few politicians speaking out is morally twisted
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
Israeli strike kills at least 10 children queueing for medical treatment in Gaza Children among at least 15 killed in attack that NGO says was ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’….. but Israel has the right to defend itself surely www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Israeli strike kills at least 10 children queueing for medical treatment in Gaza
Children among at least 15 killed in attack that NGO says was ‘blatant violation of international humanitarian law’
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
I agree with Owen Jones on this fully. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
This column does not express support for Palestine Action – here’s why | Owen Jones
In Britain’s increasingly authoritarian society, any sort of protest can find itself at odds with the law. You might even go to jail, says Guardian columnist Owen Jones
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
“The argument that the IDF is conducting a war in Gaza is simply cynical, there is no war in Gaza. What the IDF is doing in Gaza is demolishing it. Hundreds of buildings are being bulldozed every week.” Omer Bartov. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Seeking bulldozer drivers to demolish Gaza: how a genocide is being outsourced | Arwa Mahdawi
The systematic destruction of Gaza is hardly a secret. Now, the IDF is posting Facebook ads for bulldozer operators to help demolish the strip
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Raimo Kangasniemi @rk70534.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Oldest mosque in Gaza, site held consecutive pagan tempes before it. Destruction of most historical and cultural sites in Gaza by Israel has largely been received with a shrug by those who were vocal about ISIS & Taliban doing the same. bsky.app/profile/gogr...
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
I love the undercurrent by in this sentence, that strikes me as gloriously dismissive of such an absurd and demented notion: “Barclay now runs the Land of Opportunity Campaign, a lobbying effort that intends to recreate Britain’s economy in the image of the US”. www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...
theguardian.com
Flight of the non-doms: how worried should Labour be about the super-rich leaving the UK?
Reports say wealthy elite are leaving over tax changes – prompting a possible rethink by Rachel Reeves – but hard data is tricky to find
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Gillian Martin @gillmartin.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Here's Home Sec Cooper with the Israeli ambassador who endorsed the complete decimation of Gaza ('every school,every hospital, every home'). Yvette doesn't count such language as terrorism. The other photo is 83 Yr old Rev Sue Parfitt. She calls for an end to genocide. Apparently THAT is terrorism.
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Resist 🕎🍉 @antizionistjew.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
#BREAKING | Islam Al-Za’noun, a correspondent for Palestine TV, was shot in the shoulder by an Israeli drone while courageously covering events in Gaza City.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
3rd Gaza story in 2 days not covered by BBC even though 2 are actually anoit the BBC #BBCLostThePlot www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Gaza film’s producer accuses BBC of trying to gag him over decision to drop it
Ben de Pear hits out at ‘PR person’ Tim Davie and claims corporation attempted to use legal gagging clauses
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
@bbcnews-world-rss.bsky.social why zero coverage of this on BBC news website though she was interviewedon world service? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Global firms ‘profiting from genocide’ in Gaza, says UN rapporteur
Report by Francesca Albanese singles out companies such as Palantir and calls for prosecutions
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
#DoctorsUnderAttack www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
theguardian.com
Gaza: Doctors Under Attack review – this crucial film is the stuff of nightmares. But the world needs to see it
The film the BBC refused to air shows the targeting, detainment and torture of medics in Gaza. Its relentless timeline of horrors will never leave you
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
letter to BBC management calling for the removal of a board member, Robbie Gibb, over claims of conflict of interest regarding the Middle East. Still no appearance on BBC news site. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
theguardian.com
More than 400 media figures urge BBC board to remove Robbie Gibb over Gaza
Miriam Margolyes, Alexei Sayle and Mike Leigh among signatories to letter criticising Jewish Chronicle ties
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
@teamlabouruk.bsky.social, does this come under “the right to defend itself” for which UK HMG is providing intelligence and weaponry? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal
Exclusive: Experts say use of heavy munition in Monday’s strike that killed dozens may constitute a war crime
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Raimo Kangasniemi @rk70534.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
'More than 100 BBC journalists... calling the choice not to broadcast #Gaza: Doctors Under Attack a “political decision”... The #BBC, they say, is “an organisation crippled by the fear of being perceived as critical of the #Israeli government”.' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Caution has turned to cowardice – the BBC is failing viewers with its Gaza coverage | Karishma Patel
The craven failure to broadcast Gaza: Doctors Under Attack is just the latest example of skewed journalistic values over Israel’s war, says former BBC journalist Karishma Patel
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Cant find this on BBC website - odd www.theguardian.com/media/2025/j...
theguardian.com
More than 400 media figures urge BBC board to remove Robbie Gibb over Gaza
Miriam Margolyes, Alexei Sayle and Mike Leigh among signatories to letter criticising Jewish Chronicle ties
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Josep Goded (Backup Account But Still Active) @josepgoded2.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
Israel continues its carpet bombing of Gaza.
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Michael Harper @michaelharper.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
“Specifically, gas sets the wholesale price of electricity in the UK 98% of the time, according to academic research published in 2023”
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WalkingInAustin @walkinginaustin.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
All those universes, gone, because of a few whose bloodlust cannot be sated.
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