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Severin Carrell

@severincarrell.bsky.social
15K followers 1.8K following 2.1K posts

Scotland editor for the Guardian (currently on sabbatical). A personal account. Likes and reposts ≠ approval or endorsements (with thanks to Dr Seuss) I once played in the second violins for the Edinburgh primary schools orchestra. Just once

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Severin Carrell
Zoë Crowther @zoecrowther.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The AI minister has used AI-generated synthetic focus groups provided by a private company to test public opinion on AI and other issues The model is trained on data from real-life focus groups
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Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Those Pro-Trump TV ads? Funded with money approved for Customs & Border Protection, per official & GOP senator. Susan Collins says it's from the big beautiful bill, not appropriations. Wise move? Jim Justice: "Well, if that's exactly what happened, probably not." www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
nbcnews.com
Pro-Trump TV ads paid for with Customs and Border Protection money, official says
The ads, which the White House has described as “public service announcements,” drew bipartisan criticism for being paid for with taxpayer money.
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Jay Hulme @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I'm going to tell you a story and then, at the end, I'm going to ask you if anyone happens to have the niche knowledge I need to help... The story begins, as so many of my stories do, in an ancient church in the middle of a city. But it's not now. And it's not hundreds of years ago. It's the 1960's
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Colin Yeo @colinyeo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Nine white men and one white woman?
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Ally Tibbitt @allytibbitt.me · 24/09/2026
Having led a campaign for proper continuous segregated bike lanes on Leith Walk a long time ago, it's very pleasing to read this. Build bike lanes and they will come... Who knew? www.scotsman.com/news/transpo...
scotsman.com
More bikes than cars recorded on Edinburgh rush hour route for first time
Highest figures also notched up on major Glasgow cycle routes too
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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
There will effectively be no TV coverage of Trump's UN visit or other presidential events, though I imagine smaller networks may take the White House's own feed. This is a very big deal and one only possible because of solidarity from the whole pool. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
washingtonpost.com
CNN, MS NOW, Politico to sue over White House bans
President Donald Trump banned the news organizations from the White House in recent days, calling them “fake news.”
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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
BREAKING: TV pool will not be providing coverage of presidential events until further notice b/c of CNN's ban, pool chair and FOX News Washington Bureau Chief Bryan Boughton said. It's effectively a boycott by the fellow members — ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
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Amanda Katz @katzish.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Wow. A big deal and I am impressed with Fox and CBS for sticking with the pack here
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
NASA picture of the day today is a real 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿beauty! This is a composite image of the ~5000yo Callanish Stones on the Isle of Lewis. The amazing Giuseppe Petricca has only gone and photographed the Sun at noon there, every few days, for a whole year. #Dedication 🔭🧪👌 ℹ️: science.nasa.gov/image-articl...
The imposing Callanish Stones stand talk with their shadows spanning out across the glass.  It's a super clear sky, but looks cold. Above the central stone is a strange figure-of-8 shape of dots.  This is the location of the Sun, at noon, on various different days across the year.
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Nick Harkaway @nickharkaway.com · 19/09/2026
The RNLI is the closest you will ever get to actual Batman. When rescue is visibly, viscerally, obviously impossible; when the water is a smothering, thundering black wall and the wind is screaming straight from Hell; when you are absolutely going to die: someone’s hand pulls you out and you don’t.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
🔴 Something Tom Watson won't tell you: Five police forces in the East Midlands working with Palantir on a controversial surveillance programme are ending their involvement Exclusive by Democracy for Sale and Liberty Investigates. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-f...
democracyforsale.substack.com
Revealed: Five police forces to drop Palantir surveillance tool
Exclusive: Palantir's UK policing ambitions take a hit as East Midlands forces end their involvement in a controversial data pilot.
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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
The fact that very few highly educated people support Donald Trump shows just how biased our educational system has become.
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EdinburghMinute.com @edinburghminute.com · 18/09/2026
🌤️  Good morning Edinburgh. It’s the 1,000th edition! The headlines: Uni staff plan 5-week walkout, culture groups win 25% funding boost, Leith Walk has more bikes than cars + 135 artists open their homes ⏰ Read more in Edinburgh’s ad-free local newsletter: www.edinburghminute.com/the-edinburg...
People on bikes on a city street. Text over reads: The Edinburgh Minute - Weekend edition: 18 - 20 September 2026: University staff plan five-week walkout, culture groups win 25% funding boost, Leith Walk has more bikes than cars + 135 artists open their homes this weekend
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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
From a @robertshrimsley.bsky.social column on how mega-donors obscure the wider threats to British democracy www.ft.com/content/f270...
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
🤩
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great news. Boots has opened theirs too 🎄🤶😢
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Massimo (mirror) @rainmaker1973-m.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Carrots were originally purple, white, yellow, and red. The orange carrots we know today became popular after Dutch farmers selectively bred them in the 16th–17th centuries. Original post
Image 1
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
😢
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
🤣
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
😳
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
It is Friday 11 September Argos has “officially opened” its Christmas shop Three months and 14 days before Christmas
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Richard Delevan @richard.wickedproblems.earth · 05/09/2026
Chatting just now with local Kent winegrower at farmer's market. This year's grapes are "smaller than peas" - not going to bother to harvest. What did he think of politicians saying 'hey enjoy your English sparkling wine thanks to climate change'? "Fucking morons."
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
On the JLP / Reform polling scandal - and the papers that are implicated: "The polls are not presented as something specially created for this one (fake) rich family. How many other polls were published in similar circumstances, but involving real [secret funders] rather than fake ones?"
theweekinpolls.substack.com
Pollsters and the media also have questions to answer after the Reform donations story
There are questions for the polling industry and the media following the Channel 4 broadcast about Reform.
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David Clark @david-k-clark.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
No arrests. When environmentalists block roads to protest about climate change, they are prosecuted and jailed. When masked fascists do it to promote race hate, they are allowed to go home without a fuss. How about that for two-tier policing?
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 04/09/2026
Investigations launched into polling firm at centre of Reform UK allegations
theguardian.com
Investigations launched into polling firm at centre of Reform UK allegations
British Polling Council and Market Research Society announce inquiries into JL Partners, which has been accused of breaking transparency rules * What is the latest finance scandal facing Reform UK? A polling firm at the centre of allegations that Reform UK breached electoral law is being investigated by two industry bodies. JL Partners, which is run by former Conservative aides, has been accused of breaking transparency rules by failing to declare that three separate polls had been commissioned by the party. Continue reading...
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Leon Simons @leonsimons.com · 02/09/2026
RIP 1.5
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
It's not often you can pinpoint real, positive change a journalist has caused. But as Turkmeni sources state, @dpcarrington.bsky.social's persistent and probing coverage of this issue has been critical to a change of policy, with massive implications. Big congrats www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Breakthrough’ as Turkmenistan starts fixing ‘mindboggling’ methane mega-leaks
Secretive state begins repairs on ageing facilities after being revealed as worst country for leaks of potent greenhouse gas
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
yep - very very fine
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
and your verdict? (***** for me)
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 29/08/2026
Man, 41, dies after large sign falls at Christian festival in West Sussex
theguardian.com
Man, 41, dies after large sign falls at Christian festival in West Sussex
Six more people hospitalised after incident at Big Church festival near Steyning A 41-year-old man has died and at least six other people have been injured after a large sign fell at a Christian festival in West Sussex, police said. The man, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was pronounced dead at the scene after the incident at the Big Church festival near Steyning on Friday afternoon. Continue reading...
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Grateful!
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Deadline News @deadline-news.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Police Scotland 101 service labelled “radically unfit for purpose” amid two-hour waits MORE than 40% of callers to Police Scotland’s non-emergency 101 line are abandoning their calls due to severe delays, a residents' association has warned....
deadlinenews.co.uk
Police Scotland 101 service labelled “radically unfit for purpose” amid two-hour waits
MORE than 40% of callers to Police Scotland’s non-emergency 101 line are abandoning their calls due to severe delays, a residents' association has warned. Wait times have exceeded two hours, prompting a Glasgow community council to brand the service as "radically unfit for purpose" following a Freedom of Information request. The Merchant City and Trongate Community Council (MCTCC) discovered the longest wait time this year was two hours and 14 minutes in June, while other months saw delays of over 90 minutes.
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
then you’re safe, surely
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LeithMotive @leithmotive.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
We did a meeting the other day using an AI agent that captures points from the transcript as you go along as minutes, it has, captured the exact opposite point to the one being made about 20% of the time. Really not great. These weren't complex points.
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Guardian NUJ @gonuj.org · 19/08/2026
Statement from the Guardian NUJ chapel on the death of professor Jason Arday
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Correction: *was once* a sub-station - britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/200364013-ho...
britishlistedbuildings.co.uk
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Queensferry Road, Edinburgh, Inverleith, Edinburgh
Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Queensferry Road, Edinburgh is a Category B listed building in Inverleith, Edinburgh, Scotland. See why it was listed, view it on a map, see visitor comments and photos ...
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Ahem: former church now a sub-station >> 1 DEAN BRIDGE, HOLY TRINITY CHURCH (FORMERLY SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH) LB27059 portal.historicenvironment.scot/apex/f?p=150...
portal.historicenvironment.scot
1 DEAN BRIDGE, HOLY TRINITY CHURCH (FORMERLY SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH) (LB27059)
1 DEAN BRIDGE, HOLY TRINITY CHURCH (FORMERLY SCOTTISH EPISCOPAL CHURCH) (LB27059)
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 13/08/2026
using the original work and labour of human experts - i.e. Claude is a parasite
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Anthony Zacharzewski @anthonyzach.be · 12/08/2026
Aaargh astroNOMICAL
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David O’Doherty @phlaimeaux.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
People with Meta glasses can look directly at it. You’ll be totally fine. Have a good old gawk
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Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyding to Nothing @aylwin.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Sucks that all the tree protesters in the 80s and 90s spent all that time chained to trees and burrowing underground when they could just have said their favourite womble was buried there.
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
X is a major national security vulnerability that UK government and politicians continue to prop up.
theguardian.com
Most X accounts posting about Belfast and Southampton unrest were based outside UK
Exclusive: Analysis shows 55% of accounts were overseas – and seven of 12 most-read posts came from US
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
He can start with @thetimes.com and @adobe.com
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Fortuna Horribilis @nerienis.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If you see this, reply with a picture that illustrates what it’s like living in the UK
On the side of a brownstone building with a white portico and window frames, a signpost with a triangular caution sign on top and a rectangular road sign reading Swans
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Chris Revie @thetallone.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
A sign on a tree which says No understanding anytime.
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If you see this, reply with a picture that illustrates what it’s like living in the UK
a white sign on a slightly tilted pole on a wet slipway says “danger - slippery slope”
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Severin Carrell @severincarrell.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
If you see this, reply with a picture that illustrates what it’s like living in the UK
A white sign on an off centre pole on a wet slipway says “danger - slippery slope”
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
And just for fun: the Socialist Party of Great Britain. The comrades made £389,883 from capital (investments) compared to £4,136 from members in 2025 Much of the surplus comes from their £1,890,016 investment fund, plus £1,356,817 worth of Clapham freehold property (their HQ)
SPGP accounts / balance sheet: Property worth £1.36m, plus investment fund worth roughly £1.9m, up from ~£1.5m the year before
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Wulfhelm @wulfhelm.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Tonight on the Mead Hall menu (top table only) sea bass en papillote with roasted vegetables and crushed* potatoes. Lower tables. Take a wild fucking guess Veg/vegan option. Scabies Scraps and scrapings by the leper gate as ever * I told them that Mums divorce was all their fault.
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