Ian Kenway @iankenway@qoto.org

Liz Truss and I ‘got carried away’ writing mini-budget, admits Kwasi Kwarteng - https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/dec/10/liz-truss-and-kwasi-kwarteng-got-carried-away-writing-mini-budget understandable; after all, which of us hasn't got a little carried away and practically destroyed one of the largest economies in the world...?

French authorities declare the use of Microsoft Office and Google Docs illegal in schools and education markets, as they don’t follow GDPR and might disturb later competition by making students used to these proprietary solutions.

https://questions.assemblee-nationale.fr/q16/16-971QE.htm

I am excited to hear that as of today the user member count int he #UFoI has just hit a record high of ~400,000 user members! That gets us to about 5% fediverse coverage!

#UFI @ufoi

Government to weaken water #pollution goals in ‘attack on nature’ - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/09/government-to-weaken-water-pollution-goals-river-health the tories are killing our rivers and seashores...

In 1967, there were 322.31 ppm carbon in the atmosphere.

Today, there are 416.43 ppm carbon in the atmosphere.

That's an increase of 94.12 ppm during my lifetime thus far.

These levels are speeding up. As a comparison, carbon only increased 21.31 ppm during the 55 years before my birth.

Source: https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/carbon-footprint-calculator/carbon-by-birth-year/

When I hear about the coup attempt in Germany & the desire of these violent extremists to insert Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss as the leader after a planned execution of the German chancellor, it sounds ludicrous, laughable. But that's the thing: These people are deadly serious.

Because the plots of these anti-democratic extremists often seem so ludicrous, they can succeed because the public--& too many leaders--don't take them seriously enough. This tendency is how Trump got as far as he did.

New from me, in The Conversation–
“#Measles: why the World Health Organization has declared it an ‘imminent global threat’”
https://theconversation.com/measles-why-the-world-health-organization-has-declared-it-an-imminent-global-threat-195499

#publichealth #globalhealth #vaccineswork

Too few children have received their routine childhood #immunisations, in part due to limited access to healthcare amid too much COVID-19 across the last 2-3 years.

Rishi Sunak says he was “shocked” to read the revelations about Michelle Mone.

He’ll be even more shocked when he finds out he was the Chancellor who signed off on £3.9 billion worth of illegal VIP fast lane contracts…

#GeneralElectionNow
#ToryCorruption
#ToriesOut154

We are told to make enemies of the people we once clapped , of saying they will cause inflation. But the inflation is due to money being taken out- in dividends and profits made from profiteering.
Don't let them divide us. There is a better way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOZj1Xyx354&ab_channel=BenHarperVEVO

Do these dimwitted ministers wailing about industrial action inconveniencing hard working people not realise that nurses, posties, railway staff, teachers and bus drivers ARE hard working people. And that it’s bloody inconvenient when your wages don’t cover your basic needs!! 😡😡

People now realise they were hoodwinked into Brexit
Leading Brexiteers are hysterical that nothing must be allowed to dilute their hard Brexit but Kevin Maguire is bang on. Our future lies with EU. Anyone who says differently should wake up & smell the coffee #Brexit https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/letters-people-now-realise-were-28657407

@bookstodon #books #reading #ReadingRainbow #LavarBurton #inspiration #learning #education #pbs #PublicTelevision

Drakeford says that compulsory Welsh language education will "alienate people who are sympathetic to the Welsh language", but gives no explanation for this belief.

It's quite an extraordinary statement, when all evidence points towards bilingualism being a huge advantage to an individual (as well as a country as a whole), and I think this is fairly well understood now. Where it's not understood, education of parents is the answer.

https://nation.cymru/news/first-minister-compulsory-welsh-medium-education-will-alienate-people/

"For the first time in recent history, the UK has fallen out of the top ten of Germany's trading partners. It has now been overtaken by the Czech Republic. In the first year after the Brexit referendum, the UK was still in the top five."
#Brexit
https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/brexit-grossbritannien-faellt-aus-top-ten-der-deutschen-handelspartner-a-cbe61fcb-6953-4d05-99ec-79b6f9a5e78d?sara_ecid=soci_upd_wbMbjhOSvViISjc8RPU89NcCvtlFcJ

Never discourage anyone… who continually makes progress, no matter how slow.

– #Plato #Quotes

I just read about the process to vote in Georgia. First ID check, then fill out a form after an ID check, you then get a ticket that you plug into a computer to verify it’s you a few times before actually voting, and then after you vote you get a form to plug into another machine, and half those machines may or may not be working. In between that, all the waiting in between steps. Partly why the lines are so long at polling places.
They are trying to make #voting hard on purpose #uspolitics

BREAKING: First UK coal mine in decades approved.

Minister states he is "satisfied that there is currently a UK and European market for the coal".

However, as #IEEFA's steel analyst Simon Nicholas notes, the #steel technology transition away from coal has accelerated in #Europe in 2022.

Poor decision.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-63892381

#finance #energy #transition #cokingCoal #coal #greensteel #investors #investment #climate #climatechange #UK #news #media #emissions #sustainability