Richard Michael Blaber

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/sep/14/end-times-fascism-by-naomi-klein-and-astra-taylor-review-the-fightback-starts-here.

https://theconversation.com/what-neurodivergent-people-really-think-about-the-words-used-to-describe-them-271784; https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26134030/; https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/27546330251390590 (open access). "Across #diagnoses, people spoke powerfully about how certain words made them feel. Words such as 'disorder' were widely disliked. Many felt they implied something broken or defective, rather than acknowledging that difficulties often arise because #society is not designed with #neurodivergent people in mind. Several participants said these terms reinforced #stereotypes & shaped how others treated them."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/02/keir-starmer-calls-for-ban-on-some-pro-palestian-protests-british-jews. #Starmer would just LOVE the excuse to ban ALL - never mind SOME - #protests in favour of the #Palestinians. He is NO #democrat, & no #liberal; he IS an #authoritarian & a #Zionist, willing to defend #Israel come-what-may, even when the #Israelis are committing #genocide, & even if that entails the #UK being #guilty of aiding & abetting genocide. His #fascism must be named for what it is, & rigorously opposed!

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/14/african-scientists-fungal-conservation-movement-aoe. The #biosphere is fully integrated & inter-dependent. Take out one part of an #ecosystem & the rest of it collapses - & the same is true of the biosphere as a whole. If all #fungi were to become #extinct, the #extinction of other #eukaryotic life-forms, including #humans, would follow, & very rapidly.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/may/13/datacentres-electricity-consumption-uk-us-ai. 6% of #electricity #supply in the #UK & #US used by #Datacentres, @DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social - & what about #water #consumption & #carbon #emissions? See: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666389925002788.

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/key-cost-saving-change-on-pip-re-assessments-as-dwp-offers-new-ways-to-engage-with-timms-review/. "The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has increased the number of #disabled #claimants who will face fewer #reviews of their #eligibility for #personal #independence #payment (PIP)." Thank Heaven for small (very small) mercies!

https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/tories-and-reform-face-scottish-voters-with-manifestos-describing-plans-to-slash-disability-benefits/. So #disabled people in #Scotland will know NOT to vote #Tory & NOT to vote #ReformUK if they don't want their #disability #benefits to be cut!

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/09/supreme-court-death-penalty-execution-disabilities. I can believe this only too easily, @andrewstroehlein@mastodon.social, @humanrightswatch@mastodon.online, @Nonilex@masto.ai, @DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social. It ought to be nothing more than the deranged fantasy of some far right-wing extremist, rather than the real prospect of an actual #SCOTUS majority #decision. It is wrong, wrong, wrong. There is nothing in the least bit right about it. It is a grievous example of #disability #discrimination, & an attack on all #disabled people, but only too typical of this #fascist SCOTUS!

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/may/01/esther-cohen-poet-laureate. Only #Trump supporting #Republicans could fire this woman - a #pacifist - on the grounds that she supported #violence, @DoomsdaysCW@kolektiva.social. What was their #evidence? Yes, she opposed Trump & voted, & campaigned for, Zohran #Mamdani. Was that supposed to be "violent"?

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20260430-teen-with-30-tortoises-under-clothes-nabbed-at-thai-airport. Here's another very naughty #teenager - 19 years old, this time. I don't think she'll get away with a slap on the wrist. Smuggling #wildlife - like these protected #tortoises - is a major #problem, which needs to be tackled.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/14/us-companies-methane-pollution-rankings; https://law.ucla.edu/news/methane-made-america; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/18/trump-oil-gas-industry-donors.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/21/victims-of-sexual-violence-distressed-by-mps-pugnacious-questioning. "Victims of #rape & #sexual #violence have told #parliamentarians they felt anxious & distressed during a #Westminster #evidence session, with one stating that witnessing 'pugnacious' questioning had resulted in her 'breaking down, sobbing & struggling to breathe'. The victims’ commissioner has made a formal complaint to the chair of an influential group of MPs."

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/sep/14/civil-service-chief-record-860000-payout-sacked-starmer. "The former head of the #civilservice Chris Wormald received a record pay-out of almost £860,000 when he was forced out of the top job in #Whitehall by Keir #Starmer. Cabinet Office accounts have revealed that the former cabinet secretary, who was sacked earlier this year, was paid £859,496 upon departure... Wormald has since been made a #member of the #HouseofLords, after serving as cabinet secretary for just 14 months."

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/14/trump-epa-repeal-pollution-standards-power-plants.

https://theconversation.com/even-in-japan-robots-are-a-long-way-from-being-fully-fledged-carers-heres-why-281657. #Robots aren't #humans - so how can a #robot CARE for a #human? How can a robot CARE for anything? Humans & non-human #animals have #emotions - robots don't & can't!

https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/2026/may/15/wealth-britain-billionaires-gdp-rich-list-inequality. "The #wealth of Britain’s 157 #billionaires is now equivalent to more than a fifth of the country’s entire #GDP, according to analysis by the Equality Trust - a fivefold increase since 1990."