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Sam

@tiedyedcryptid.bsky.social
128 followers 86 following 131 posts

Expect mysterious stuff & whimsy, plus politics; 'staying neutral' allows the oppressors to win. Non-binary, she/her. In Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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Reposted by Sam
☠️ Skulls and Sheets 👻 @skullsandsheets.bsky.social · 13h
BTW if anyone wishes to commission me you are welcome, you will have to pass 3 trials of my choosing though heh ;)
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pmamtraveller.bsky.social @pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Etruscan Wolf's Head Helmet, 6th-5th century BC
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M a r c u s 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧🇬🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · 12h
It’s gone from a safe Labour seat with a 30k+ majority in 2017 to a marginal with 3,364 majority with the Greens in second what the fuck are you on about
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Weird Alex @jackalpants.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Reminder that "biological sex" is not a thing that exists. It is a legal fiction in every place that refers to it. In the UK, in the equality act, it means "the sex that was written on your original birth certificate." Incidentally, it doesn't matter if that's due to a clerical error.
theguardian.com
‘We were horrified’: parents heartbroken as baby girl registered as male
Parents told Nottinghamshire registrar’s error on birth certificate cannot be changed
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Dr Tom Hewitt @ethnotweeter.bsky.social · 22h
Preseli (manylyn) #TomTomos #LlunYDydd
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Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 22h
Handy @theguardian.com graph on Holborn and St Pancras by-election
Labour vote declining from 48.9 to 45.2%. Green vote up from 10.4 to 32.8
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The Ghost Monk @theghostmonk.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
'The Spookissimus' is here to remind everyone about #SpookySunday, the new feed for posts on all things ghost (replacing #PhantomsFriday, which has been cast into the Outer Darkness). Ghost-related words, art, haunted sites, #folklore, popular culture will all be reposted: @spookysunday.bsky.social
'It was the Spookissimus', an illustration by Walt MacDougal from 1902, showing a small boy shining a lantern on a huge, monstrous creature, part dragon and part centipede. Shoes peeping out from under it show it's really just a costume.
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T E Hodden @tomhodden.bsky.social · 21h
So now the "Christian Rights" lobby have argued that all people should be respected and treated equally for their beliefs, even by those who might not share those beliefs... They are going to apply that lesson and respect the LGBTQ community too, right?
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Adam Chapman @adamchapman.bsky.social · 21h
This puts the works of Beatrix Potter in a whole new light.
Mrs Tiggwinkle, hanging a small tablecloth on a wooden clothes airer. Or the head of a secret cabal determined to undermine British heritage and culture, YMMV.
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T E Hodden @tomhodden.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
I thought it would be worth sharing some of the best films that are available to watch for free (give or take some adverts) on You Tube. BAFFLED: A 1970s TV pilot in which Leonard Nimoy is a race driver who has premonitions of a murder.
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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Every donation from visitors and supporters - no matter the size - means that our churches can be enjoyed both today and in the future. Accordingly, please follow this link to find out more about how you can support our work: friendsoffriendlesschurches.org.uk/support-the-... 5/6
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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
One visitor said that they were “impressed beyond words by what FoFC has achieved… To see the wall paintings discovered was an incredible experience and privilege. Without you all this would have been lost.“ 2/6
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Dr Toby Driver @drtobydriver.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Crowds coming and going at Castlerigg stone circle this morning, Keswick I used to want these places to myself when I visited..but then it struck me, the stone circle is still functioning as a place of communal gathering & wonder - even in our modern age So - it's never really fallen out of use
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Them Fatale, @mxthemfatale.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Badenoch claims £2,700 a month from the taxpayer to rent a grade II-listed farmhouse with six bedrooms. The property sits within the highest council tax bracket, costing over £4,000 in council tax a year, which the Essex MP also claims on expenses. "Best welfare" is being an MP.
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morrismummer @morrismummer.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Jayavarman VII may be the greatest king that most people have never heard of. www.medievalists.net/2026/10/khme...
medievalists.net
Khmer Empire Developed Massive State Healthcare System, Study Finds - Medievalists.net
A new study examines how the Khmer Empire under Jayavarman VII created a remarkable network of 102 hospitals offering free healthcare across its territories.
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 07/10/2026
Creating an "AI" avatar of your dead loved one w/o their input or consent, & saying that it counts "the same" as the dead loved one— ESPECIALLY as evidence in a MURDER TRIAL— is both a massive misunderstanding of what "AI" is & how it works, & a hugely dehumanizing insult to said dearly departed.
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Cali 🕊️ @aviancali.work · 16/07/2026
bringing my butch brawler oc Banks back to your timeline 😌
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Folk Horror Revival 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ @folkhorrorrevival.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
When I originally posted this I thought it looked familiar even though I've never been to Hardwick Hall, and I've just realised it's because I saw another painting in the Tate a few years ago (unknown artist) of a lady, thought to be Mary Clerke, wearing a petticoat decorated with sea monsters.
Painting of an Elizabethan lady, with a painted petticoat just visible in the gap in the front.Close up of the painted petticoat, which is just visible and shows a castle in the background, and in the sea in front are three sea monsters.
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Coyote / J. Stryker 🇨🇦 | Memento Vivere 🍃 @easterncoyote.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I’ve lurked in conversations where some participants made glib references to “the occasional human sacrifice.” Not tyrants. Not billionaires. Ordinary citizens. The ruling class exempted themselves by destroying the social contract. Those ghouls aside, there’s NO SUCH THING as “acceptable losses.”
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
seeing conservative men debate how to dress online is very funny. can't dress up or wear interesting casualwear bc you've made any visible interest in dress to be a sign of homosexuality. but you feel the need to dress better bc you've linked dress to respectability. a prison of your own making.
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☠️ Skulls and Sheets 👻 @skullsandsheets.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The local supermarket getting into the halloween spirit.
a b and w photo of a store manager which has been defaced to look like dracula and speech bubble that says Buy some cheese and I wont haunt you!
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Claire Mitchell @clairemitchell.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Beyond The Pale have uploaded this book - for free - Garvaghy: A Community Under Siege Published in 1999 and written by Garvaghy Road residents Powerful testimony www.beyondthepalebooks.com/shopnewbooks...
beyondthepalebooks.com
Garvaghy: A Community Under Siege — beyond the pale books – books on Irish society and politics
Published in 1999 and written by Garvaghy Road residents, this book presents a graphic description of life in a Catholic/nationalist area of Portadown under siege in the late 1990s. Forcing unwanted O...
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T E Hodden @tomhodden.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
So ai was at the excellent City Of Ghosts event in Canterbury yesterday. Multiple speakers suggested that Kent’s connection to smuggling might be part of the reason we have so many ghost stories, but I don’t think it is because of Dr Syn in spooky disguises, or warning away travelers…
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VenetiaJane’s Garden @venetiajane.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The last of October’s birth flowers is the marigold. Its sun-like flowers have the power to strengthen and comfort the heart, and cure melancholy. A spoonful of marigold jam taken at breakfast each morning will protect you from witches & enable you to see fairies. #FolkloreSunday
A collage about marigolds. On the left is Walter Crane’s 1906 illustration “The marigold that goes to bed with the sun, And with him rises weeping”, from “Flowers from Shakespeare’s Garden”. It shows a graceful woman in a pale flowing gown adorned with marigolds, standing beside a harp, with a setting sun and drooping marigold blooms behind her. At top right is a close-up photograph of a golden-yellow pot marigold flower against a soft green background. At bottom right is a wider photograph of a border filled with orange marigolds in bloom.
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Bethany Black @bethanyblack.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
I also got one of my One Milkshake to Rule Them All shirts with a design by @dochackenbush.bsky.social made up 😁 you can get these on my redbubble store here www.redbubble.com/people/Beffe...
A black shirt with a pink milkshake with Sauron’s helmet covering it with the words in yellow on a pink background “one milkshake to rule the boys, one milkshake to find them, one milkshake to bring the boys and in my yard to bind them
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Bethany Black @bethanyblack.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Phobia means fear, dislike or aversion to. It is a phobia if they irrationally dislike something, they don’t need to be scared of it.
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Libby from Biscuit @thisisbiscuit.org.uk · 04/10/2026
“Sometimes, my previous boyfriends would sometimes start questioning their sexuality. They would ask me: Does dating you mean I am not straight? Their sexuality becomes the priority and not my non-binary identity. I am expected to undermine my identity because it’s an ‘inconvenience’,”
mid-day.com
Mumbai's LGBTQIA+ community highlights how acceptance of identity is still a challenge in romantic relationships
In a city like Mumbai, home to a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community, many non-binary people say acceptance remains elusive even in their most intimate relationships
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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Hey, I’m just asking questions. Ignorant questions, bigoted questions, questions that have been repeatedly answered for many years. Sorry, but I’m not listening to answers right now; I’m far too busy asking questions. It’s called being intellectually curious.
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☠️ Skulls and Sheets 👻 @skullsandsheets.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
These two could work together
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☠️ Skulls and Sheets 👻 @skullsandsheets.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Another autumnal mari today (this took so long to sketch out)
A mari dancing with some leaves
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The Megalithic Portal Ancient Sites & Stones @megalithic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
White Shaman: Blasting from the construction of Trump's border wall looks to threaten many rock art sites, some up to 4000 years old . The painting faces west.
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ScARRRRGHy Gorgon @scarygorgon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🐌
A snail eating a gold leaf (rendered in actual 24k gold leaf).
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mad-swilliams.bsky.social @mad-swilliams.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Very anxious about posting this, but I feel strongly compelled to share. I know it’s a lot to take in for a Saturday morning and I appreciate anyone for taking the time to read it.
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 29/09/2026
The official verdict is out - £900m of unprecedented financial cheating. The biggest football scandal Britain has ever seen, described today by Jason Burt as a 'rules row'. Read the findings for yourself now:
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GeekOnALeash 🏳️‍⚧️ @geekonaleash.co.uk · 29/09/2026
I have written to @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social to ask some important questions relating to her appearance and comments on The Daily T's Sunday Showdown, where she stated she was "a woman, defined by my biology", and that a women’s refuge should be for those of us who are “biologically women"
"... When asked whether you would have allowed a trans woman fleeing domestic abuse into the women’s refuge you once managed, you answered: “No.”

You said that alternative provision could be made, and that a women’s refuge should be for those of us who are “biologically women”.

That deserves considerably more scrutiny than another political soundbite.

You have chosen to justify your position by appealing to biology, so I would like you to explain what you mean by that claim in biological terms, rather than simply referring back to the law, the Supreme Court or the EHRC.

What, biologically, is a woman?

The scientific picture is considerably more complicated than the neat binary your statement suggests. Sex-related biology involves multiple characteristics, including chromosomes, gonads, reproductive anatomy, hormones and secondary sex characteristics. These characteristics do not always align in the stereotypical way, which is why medicine recognises differences of sex development. Contemporary scientific literature describes sex-related biology as involving multiple interacting characteristics rather than one single biological test that can infallibly sort every human being into one of two boxes.

You already know this. Biologists, doctors and other experts sent you an open letter specifically explaining these issues. They warned that reducing human sex biology to an immutable binary is an oversimplification and that policy built upon that oversimplification can cause real harm.

That does not mean biological sex is meaningless. It obviously is not. Female and male reproductive biology are real and medically important. But acknowledging that doesn't require pretending every human body is a perfectly standard biological specimen.

So let us get away from slogans.

You say that you are a woman “defined by my biology”. You say that I am not.

What, precisely, is the biological distinction you are making?""...And how would you establish it?

Would you take my blood? Sequence my chromosomes? Examine my gonads? Inspect my anatomy? Measure my hormones? Demand medical records?

Because the moment “biologically a woman” has to become a real-world test rather than a political phrase, the simplicity disappears.

And nowhere is that more obvious than in the refuge you once managed.

Imagine a woman arriving at the door after fleeing an abusive partner. She is terrified. She has no passport, no birth certificate and no medical records. She may have left everything behind to get herself and her children somewhere safe.

You have said the refuge should be for women who are “biologically women”.

So how does the refuge establish that?

Does she need to prove her chromosomes before being allowed through the door? Does somebody examine her body? Does she have to produce evidence of her reproductive anatomy? Or does a member of staff simply look at her and decide whether she appears sufficiently female?

Because the last option is not biology.

It is gender policing.

And then comes the question you cannot escape: how would you identify a trans woman without simply assuming that she is trans?

You cannot see somebody's chromosomes. You cannot see their gonads. You cannot see their hormone levels. You cannot see their developmental history.

If your answer is appearance, you have created a system in which women can be challenged because they are too masculine, too tall, too muscular, too deep-voiced, too gender-nonconforming or do not conform to somebody else's idea of what a woman is supposed to look like.

That is not a minor administrative problem. It is the policing of women's bodies, dressed up as biological certainty.

And feminism should recognise that for what it is....""...Sex and gender are related, but they're not interchangeable concepts. Sex encompasses biological characteristics and processes; gender also encompasses the social and personal dimensions through which human beings understand and live their gender. The scientific literature itself recognises that these concepts interact in complex ways rather than functioning as two completely separate boxes.
...You have experience running a women's refuge. You know what a woman arriving at that door needs. She does not need a politician's abstract definition of womanhood. She needs safety.

So I am asking you, as Minister for Women and Equalities, to answer some very straightforward questions.

What biological characteristics make you a woman and make me not one?

How would you establish that distinction in practice?

How does your definition account for women with differences of sex development?

What happens to women whose chromosomes do not fit the stereotypical XX model?

What happens to women who cannot produce eggs, who have no ovaries, who have undergone hysterectomy or who have otherwise experienced changes to their reproductive anatomy?

And most importantly:

How does a frightened woman fleeing domestic abuse prove that she is “biologically a woman” without being subjected to exactly the kind of bodily scrutiny and gender policing that feminists have spent generations challenging?

If your answer is that she does not have to prove it, then why should a trans woman?

If your answer is documentation, what happens to the woman who has none?

If your answer is appearance, whose idea of female appearance are you using?

And if there is no practical biological test, then perhaps “biology” is not quite the straightforward answer you have presented it as.

Women fleeing violence need refuge workers asking whether they are safe, not whether they can pass an ideological biology exam.....""...You have chosen to draw a line between yourself and me by saying that you are a woman defined by biology and that women like me are not. I am therefore asking you to explain where that line actually is.

Not in a court judgment.

Not in an EHRC document.

Not in a political slogan.

In biology.

Because if you cannot define the biological test, and cannot explain how it could be applied fairly to women standing at the door of a refuge, then “biologically a woman” is not the clear, objective safeguard you claim it is.

It is simply a phrase being used to decide which women are allowed through the door.

And when the woman on the other side of that door is fleeing an abuser, that is not an abstract debate.

That is somebody's life.

Yours sincerely,

A woman who apparently needs a biology exam to prove it,'
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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Now that’s an important historical anniversary
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Defend Our Juries @defendourjuries.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
BREAKING: 94 year old Jewish human rights barrister, Margaret Owen arrested under the Terrorism Act outside Andy Burnham’s Labour Party conference. UK taxpayers are funding these arrests while masked men terrorise the streets in coastal towns. Lift The Ban on Palestine Action.
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Sarah @sarahfaulkner.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
For #wildflowerhour today, I thought I'd compile a collage of the cheeriest yellow flowers I've seen this week - floral sunshine for a grey day. Here are Autumn Hawkbit, Agrimony, Gorse, Common Toadflax, Creeping Buttercup, Ragwort, Bristly Oxtongue, Tormentil, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Fleabane. 💛
A collage of yellow flowers seen in Dorset this week:
Autumn Hawkbit, Agrimony, Gorse, Common Toadflax, Creeping Buttercup, Ragwort, Bristly Oxtongue, Tormentil, Bird's-foot Trefoil and Fleabane.
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jane fae #facciamorete #antifa @janefae.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A day late (was Jim Henson's birthday yesterday: he would have been 90). But thank you Jim for Rainbow Connection and a song that has only grown in importance over the years: youtu.be/9-VpPCKTCAI?...
youtu.be
The Muppets - Rainbow Connection Finale (Tribute To Jim Henson)
YouTube video by The Muppet Hub
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Lyra 💕 @lyra-scotland.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yet another article that mentions us without us. Trans people boycotting labour's conference is mentioned here. It calls it a protest by "Trans Activists" and ignore that the majority of the companies biggest unions are boycotting & then pushes labour as too soft on trans people. archive.is/2JGrC
archive.is
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The Lexorcist @lexidarlingxoxo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
I’ve literally never seen anyone considered a progressive champion of human rights be explicitly ideologically transphobic. Meanwhile some people who’ve agreed with & praised GC views include: Elon Musk, Tommy Robinson, Donald Trump, Glinner, Matt Walsh, Chris Rufo, Nathan Cofnas, Adolf Hitler,
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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Walked in on the cat making yet another podcast; tiptoed back out. #nzpets
A very hard “excuse you” stare from a black and white cat sitting on a desk, with a microphone set-up at face level.
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 25/09/2026
The media in the UK is broken at all levels. This is Sky Sports reporting Manchester City, owned by Abu Dhabi, being found guilty in 114 of 115 charges of financial cheating that robbed many other clubs of trophies and players. bsky.app/profile/phil...
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Caroline Litman @alicemydaughter.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
UK government is calling for evidence on puberty suppressing hormones for children and young people with gender incongruence. It’s asking: what research has emerged since 2023. How has the evidence base changed? What makes the evidence hard to generate, evaluate and use in clinical/policy decisions?
post.parliament.uk
Puberty-suppressing hormones for children and young people accessing gender identity services
How has evidence on puberty suppressing hormones for children and young people with gender incongruence evolved since 2023, and what challenges affect its interpretation and use?
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Erin Reed @erininthemorning.com · 24/09/2026
In the latest development among anti-trans wings of the Democratic Party, the Ohio Democratic Party is now deleting criticism from caucus members of Kaptur's anti-trans ad calling transgender people an "ideology." It appears any dissent over the ad is practically banned on caucus social media.
erininthemorning.com
The Ohio Democratic Party Is Silencing Its Pride Caucus Over Criticism Of Kaptur's "Transgender Ideology" Ad
The Ohio Democratic Party suppressed dissent from within its own Pride Caucus, activists said.
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Matthew Facciani @matthewfacciani.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
My book, Misguided, officially launches today! If you’ve ever wondered why people believe false things — or how to build resilience against misinformation — this book is for you. I wrote it to help us navigate our overwhelming information environment, and I’m thrilled to finally share it with you.
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Wear The Peace @wearthepeace.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Actress Susan Sarandon being arrested earlier today for protesting Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations. One is speaking out against genocide, one is committing it. One was arrested, one was not.
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Lee West @whodat35.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Two Minnesota solar farms turned the ground beneath their panels into habitat, and native bee abundance rose more than 20-fold www.ecoticias.com/en/two-minne...
ecoticias.com
Two Minnesota solar farms turned the ground beneath their panels into habitat, and native bee abundance rose more than 20-fold
Minnesota solar farms planted with native flowers saw native bees rise 20-fold, with bees also pollinating nearby soybean fields.
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The Sian from Atlantis @parthenoid.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Hey, it's my birthday, just saying gofund.me/80f259a2f
gofund.me
Donate to Help Sian Access Gender-Confirming Surgeries, organized by Sian Penny
My name is Sian and I am crowdfunding for gender confirming surgeries. Not… Sian Penny needs your support for Help Sian Access Gender-Confirming Surgeries
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Taryn de Vere @taryndevere.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"the Irish Government had proposed - as part of the plans for the EU Presidency- that the rights of big AI companies to collect data on people should be recognised as a higher right than humans’ data protection rights." 😯😯😯 www.thegist.ie/the-gist-on-...
thegist.ie
The Gist: On (and On) Bullshit
I have been thinking about Bullshit, in its official categorisation. In his short and easy essay “On Bullshit”, the euphoniously-named American philosopher Harry J. Frankfurt posited that a person co...
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