JuneSim63 💚

I keep pointing out to the people who demand I agree that Israel has a right to exist, that no state has a right to exist under international law. Here, Jonathan Cook explains this clearly, with particular reference to Israel and Palestine. #States #Politics #InternationalLaw #Israel #Palestine No state has a ‘right’ to exist – least of all an apartheid, genocidal state like Israel https://jonathancook.substack.com/p/no-state-has-a-right-to-exist-least

Slashing the heat pump subsidy to fund the megapolluting arms industry is not only economically illiterate, it will decimate the nascent heat pump industry. Labour claims to want growth. The future is in renewables, not war. #HeatPumps #Renewables #Defence #UKPolitics Ministers preparing to slash heat pump subsidies to fund defence spending | Heat pumps | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/oct/12/ministers-plan-slash-heat-pump-subsidies-fund-defence-spending

"Restricting social media will not make public transport easier to use, youth clubs more welcoming or local venues less overwhelming. It will remove a route through which young people currently gather the information and contacts needed to navigate those settings" #Autism #SocialMedia #UKPolitics Social media provides valued community spaces for autistic young people https://theconversation.com/social-media-provides-valued-community-spaces-for-autistic-young-people-286874

"During their relationship, Lisa’s ex-partner was controlling. He kept her at home where he was emotionally and physically abusive towards her, including once attacking her with a machete. These days, he runs protests outside houses of multiple occupancy that he claims are housing asylum seekers" Interviews with 7 partners of 'Protect our women' thugs. #FarRight #DomesticViolence #DomesticAbuse #CoerciveControl #Women https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/06/uk-domestic-abuse-survivors-ex-partners-behind-far-right-street-patrols

"The bombardment of Gaza and the house-by-house, greenhouse-by-greenhouse demolitions that followed have created 61 million tonnes of debris, almost 10 million of which are at high risk of asbestos and heavy metal contamination" #Israel #Gaza #Ecocide Ecocide in Gaza – Israel’s Other War Crime https://zeteo.uk/p/ecocide-in-gaza-israels-other-war

British weapons manufacturer BAE Systems worked with UK universities to counter campus protests against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, according to emails and internal documents. #Gaza #BAE #Universities #GazaProtests #UKPolitics Weapons Firm Gave Advice to UK Universities on Countering Gaza Protests | Novara Media https://novaramedia.com/2026/09/25/weapons-firm-gave-advice-to-uk-universities-on-countering-gaza-protests/

"far-right groups target non-political associations, sports clubs and community groups precisely because they are trusted and embedded in local life. If far-right groups can capture or intimidate the institutions that communities rely on, they may be able to reshape the boundaries of what is considered normal" #FarRight #PatriotPlatform #RNLI #UKPolitics Why far-right protesters target non-political groups like lifeboat volunteers https://theconversation.com/why-far-right-protesters-target-non-political-groups-like-lifeboat-volunteers-292909

"The shift from chemical pesticides to [Integrated Pest Management] was not just an agricultural decision; it was a moral one. I realised that what I was doing was harming the environment, exposing my family and consumers to chemicals and contributing to climate change" #Pesticides #IPM #Farming #Environment ‘Spraying should be the last option’: how farmers are exploring alternatives to pesticides | Pesticides | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/sep/13/kenyan-fruit-farmers-pesticide-environment

"On X, over the past 24 hours, photographs of two [RNLI] volunteers have been circulated with calls for these two men to “face justice.” To be “prosecuted” under a Restore government. Wishes of serious harm to them and their families. These men have, apparently, now been identified by name, and their details are currently spreading like wildfire.." #FarRight #RNLI #Immigration #Terrorism The Far Right Has Put RNLI Volunteers In The Crosshairs https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/the-far-right-has-put-rnli-volunteers

"British taxpayers funded “therapeutic healing” for Israeli soldiers who fought in Gaza, Declassified can reveal. An Israeli organisation received the undisclosed sum via a UK charity, with 25% Gift Aid added on by the British government" #Israel #IDFhttps://www.declassifieduk.org/exclusive-uk-funded-therapy-for-israeli-soldiers/

"Before the war, I lived like a queen. I had a beautiful life. I was a farmer. I planted and harvested my land. I had animal shelters where I raised livestock, chickens, rabbits and ducks. I lived a very beautiful life, but it has changed for me. Now, we have no home, no source of income and no good food. Life in tents is terrible – actually unbearable" A day in the life of a grandmother in Gaza. #Gaza #Israel #Genocide https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2026/sep/23/this-is-where-i-live-now-the-back-of-a-truck-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-grandmother-in-gaza

"After years of hype, and trillions of dollars, the AI boom will leave us with a captured economy, a corrupted democracy, and a devastated environment. We’ll be told that this is just how markets work – sometimes they go up, sometimes they go down. But this narrative obscures how decisions are really made in capitalist economies" Chilling read on the AI boom from Grace Blakeley. #AI #AIBubble #Capitalism #Data #Technology https://graceblakeley.substack.com/p/data-centres-and-democracy

"This is about clarity, it's about leadership, it's about standing with people who are asking for us to stand with them. I think one of the reasons why I'm here is that, as a gay man, I understand when they come for one of us, they come for all of us. Ultimately we've got to stand together in solidarity." Zack Polanski #Trans #TransPride #GreenParty #UKPolitics #ZackPolanski https://www.scenemag.co.uk/zack-polanski-on-standing-with-trans-people-when-they-come-for-one-of-us-they-come-for-all-of-us/

"George Cottrell, the convicted money launderer whose donations to Reform are now the subject of a police investigation, previously worked for Roman Abramovich, the now-sanctioned Russian oligarch close to Putin" Of course he did... #Farage #ReformUK #Russia #Oligarchs #UKPolitics Farage, George Cottrell and Putin’s friend Abramovich https://www.thenerve.news/p/george-cottrell-arkadiy-abramovich-roman-farage-reform-russia-putin

"Palestine protests are treated differently in Britain to all other forms of activism. Direct action is regarded as terrorism and words on a placard are rendered illegal. Over the years we’ve delivered banners, put up billboards and done guerilla projections across the country, but the only time our equipment has been seized and destroyed was when it related to Palestine.” Ben Stewart, Co-Founder of Led By Donkeys #Palestine #Gaza #UKPolitics

An excellent summary of Farage’s long career of grift and racism, from his schooldays to the present dodgy donations. Worth saving. #Farage #ReformUK #Corruption #Racism #UKPolitics Monday briefing: An (almost) comprehensive guide to Nigel Farage’s many scandals | Nigel Farage | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/03/monday-briefing-an-almost-comprehensive-guide-to-nigel-farages-many-scandals

The wonderful Bea Elton profiled here. #MentalHealth ‘No matter how bad, it is always fixable’: how Bea Elton cleans up the houses – and lives – of desperate people | Life and style | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jul/13/bea-elton-cleans-houses-cleaning

Today, Green MP Hannah Spencer is to introduce a bill in parliament that would pave the way for a maximum workplace temperature in England. Sorely needed. Go Hannah! #ClimateEmergency #Heatwaves #UKPolitics #GreenParty https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/12/green-mp-hannah-spencer-aims-to-pass-law-on-maximum-workplace-temperatures

The NHS will have to divert £45bn from essential services to pay for new medicines under the terms of the UK-US trade deal agreed last December, leading to more than 200,000 avoidable deaths of patients, analysis has found. Another of Starmer's legacies. He rolled over when Trump demanded we cave to Big Pharma. #BigPharma #UKPolitics US-UK drug deal could result in 229,000 excess deaths in England, analysis suggests | NHS | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jul/01/us-uk-drug-deal-could-result-in-229000-excess-deaths-in-england-analysis-suggests

"In the middle distance, the increasingly gigantic datacentres whirred on, and I thought of a few lines from another of John Betjeman’s poems: “And over all the land, instead of trees / Clean poles and wire will whisper in the breeze / We’ll keep one ancient village just to show / What England once was when the times were slow.” #AI #DataCentres #UKPolitics As AI guzzles water and energy, we are already facing a choice: datacentres or homes? | John Harris | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/aug/09/slough-famous-the-office-datacentres-locals-hub-europe

"..when the authorities did act, they were also punished. Arron Banks didn’t just sue me for defamation, but the Electoral Commission too. You won’t know that, of course, because, like my trial, it was barely reported" A must read from Nerve founder, Caroline Cadwalladr #Brexit #Farage #ReformUK #UKPolitics Farage, the money launderer and me: a decade of denial https://www.thenerve.news/p/nigel-farage-carole-cadwalladr-brexit-party-arron-banks-george-cottrell-funding-electoral-commission

Predictably those 'safety fears' are over threats from far right and gender critical activists. #Journalism #FarRight #Trans #Media #UKPolitics #Trump UK journalists are self-censoring stories about Trump and the right over safety fears’ | Journalist safety | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/jul/26/uk-journalists-changed-how-what-report-fears-safety

"We’re treating nature as a commodity or a resource and we’re forgetting we’re part of the same system. And it’s this sense of entitlement that we can just strip it away and plunder it. It’s replicated across the country, across the globe.” Green Councillor Rachel Rodwell #ReformUK #Kent #Forests #Trees #Nature #Biodiversity ‘It’s irreplaceable’: Fury over Reform plans to expand quarry in ancient Kent woodland | Trees and forests | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/30/oaken-wood-ancient-woodland-kent-quarry-expansion-reform-council

"One pound in every £11 of UK government spending on contractors went to private equity-controlled companies last year, research shows, including key services such as transport, waste management and healthcare" Nationalisation would rid key public services of these ghouls. It would also be of interest to track their political donations. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/28/1-in-every-11-spent-uk-public-contractors-private-equity #PrivateEquity #PublicServices #UKPolitics

Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin received a £5k donation from a food industry millionnaire on May 19th. In the following weeks, Pochin suddenly began campaigning on an issue that close affects their businesses. Dodgy Reform donations? Par for the course. #ReformUK #Corruption #UKPolitics Investigate Reform MP Over Donation, Campaigners Demand - DeSmog https://www.desmog.com/2026/08/04/reform-mp-sarah-pochin-parliamentary-standards-investigation/

"Farage called this election because he wanted control over the story. He wanted control over the narrative. Instead, he’s created four weeks in which every camera in the country will be pointed at the money, at the donors, at the excuses, and most importantly, the man in the bin standing beside him" #Farage #Clacton #ReformUK #CountBinface #UKPolitics Faragian Farce Day 5: Winning Isn’t Enough Anymore https://www.bearlypolitics.co.uk/p/faragian-farce-day-5-winning-isnt-cb3

Good summary of all the dodgy deals Farage and Reform are being investigated for. #ReformUk #Corruption #UKPolitics Why the questions about Reform UK and its wealthy donors won’t go away https://theconversation.com/why-the-questions-about-reform-uk-and-its-wealthy-donors-wont-go-away-288568

Four hundred thousand children in the UK were supported by baby banks in 2025, an 11% increase from the year before, prompting warnings from charities that they “cannot continue to absorb the impact of child poverty on this scale” without government support. Starmer supporters still banging on about his 'decency'. #ChildPoverty #UKPolitics #BabyBanks https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/23/uk-children-baby-banks-poverty

"One conclusion is obvious: if this is the greatest threat to our security and the integrity of the global ecosystem, we should be redirecting money away from conventional military spending and towards human and environmental security" #ClimateEmergency #UKPolitics The government knows the real climate threat. Why is it hiding it? https://www.opendemocracy.net/email/fef6a0b2-6222-42cd-916a-5256a0811180/

"When you plant a tree, it does not matter who you are or where you came from. Your hands are in the soil, and you belong to the planet as a human being. We don’t just plant trees. We plant belonging, and we plant purpose.” #AsylumSeekers #Refugees #Environment #Nature ‘We plant belonging’: how nature charities and asylum seekers work together in UK countryside | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/12/we-plant-belonging-how-nature-charities-and-asylum-seekers-work-together-in-uk-countryside

This scoop by Byline Times is a complex read but well worth your time. I doubt you'll see this reported on the BBC. Dodgy as f*ck... #ReformUK #UKPolitics ‘Posh George’, Two Passports, and a Fraudulent Identity: Convicted Fraudster and Nigel Farage Funder's Connections to Reform UK’s Murky Financial Structures – Byline Times https://bylinetimes.com/2026/07/23/posh-george-two-passports-and-a-fraudulent-identity-convicted-fraudster-and-nigel-farage-funders-connections-to-reform-uks-murky-financial-structures/

“We have contributed so little to climate change. It is imperative for those in the global community who benefit from larger, much more polluting economies, and whose historical contribution to greenhouse gases is much bigger than ours, to accept a shared responsibility. This affects all of humanity.” #Nepal #ClimateEmergency Nepal says big polluters must ‘wake up’ as it calls for climate compensation over flood disaster | Nepal-Tibet flood disaster | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/08/nepal-floods-climate-compensation

"Nearly 2,500 articles about the extreme heat – when temperatures topped 37C, a record for the time of year – appeared in the UK’s nine main national daily media publications. But nearly three-quarters of them – about 72% – left out any mention of global heating or the climate" #GlobalHeating #ClimateEmergency #Heatwaves #UKMedia Most UK media reports on June heatwave failed to mention climate crisis | Extreme heat | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/14/most-coverage-june-heatwave-did-not-mention-climate-crisis

"Quite frankly, it’s insulting that the government has launched their biggest ever campaign to encourage the British public to reduce water usage in a heatwave, while charging full steam ahead with data centre expansion" #AI #DataCentres #Water #ClimateEmergency #Heatwave #UKPolitics We’re being asked to save two buckets of water a day. Meanwhile data centres drink a town’s worth https://www.thenerve.news/p/adele-walton-heatwave-data-centres-water-shortage

From Bluesky: "Just sitting on the pavement and clapping is now terrorism. Not saying anything, not holding or displaying any signs, just sitting on the pavement & clapping. Andy Burnham can stop this. But he isn't. Reporting by Steven Methven for @novaramedia.com" https://bsky.app/profile/saulstaniforth.bsky.social/post/3mrwbons3hs2v

“We’re fighting wars,” Trump said earlier this year. “It’s not possible for us to take care of daycare, Medicaid, Medicare … We have to take care of one thing: military protection.” For what? A war that the US itself launched, that nobody asked for, that has no defensive features at all, and which is run by a frat house of bullies and lickspittles" #USPolitics #Iran He’s commander-in-chief of chaos. Now we’re all victims of Trump’s wars | Nesrine Malik | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/27/commander-in-chief-of-chaos-victims-trump-wars

"Refugees and asylum seekers from 52 different countries have trained at Green Man. Last year the festival had participants from Afghanistan, Libya, Sudan, Pakistan, Syria, Nepal, Yemen and Ukraine" #GreenMan #Wales #Refugees #AsylumSeekers ‘A big chunk of positive energy’: Green Man celebrates 10 years of training refugees | Refugees | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/05/green-man-welsh-festival-celebrates-10-years-of-training-refugees

"Rewilding is often presented as a wildfire problem; when you stop grazing, cutting or burning, vegetation accumulates and there is more fuel for fires. But this is not the full story. Carefully planned rewilding that focuses on restoring functioning ecosystems can make landscapes wetter, patchier and more fire resistant" #Rewilding #Wildfires #Nature How rewilding could help stop the spread of Britain’s wildfires https://theconversation.com/how-rewilding-could-help-stop-the-spread-of-britains-wildfires-288968

@GeofCox@climatejustice.social Just as Reform UK has done over here. They promised to reduce local taxation and instead, Reform controlled local councils have some of the highest council tax rises.

The housing charity Shelter found that more than 1.3m households are on a waiting list for a social home, but only 12,198 were built by councils, housing associations or private developers across England last year. This equates to an average of 110 households waiting for every new social home delivered, and it would take 119 years to clear the waiting lists if building continued at the same rate. #Housing #SocialHousing #UKPolitics https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/07/social-housing-119-years-waitlist-current-building-rate?CMP=GTUK_email

"..cold river water from the Seine is pumped through one pipe, which runs right next to a secondary pipe carrying warm water from the city’s buildings. A thin metal wall separates them and a heat exchanger allows the heat from the warm city water to enter the cold Seine water without the fluids ever touching" #Paris #Heat #ClimateEmergency #DistrictCooling ‘Kind of miracle solution’: How Paris is harnessing the Seine to replace air-con | Extreme heat | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/26/underground-revolution-seine-cooling-network-paris-buildings-heat

"Music means a lot to me. Before the war, I didn’t think about it in this way but during the war I discovered that it has become a real refuge for us. Even if only for a short while, music gives us a chance to escape reality.” #Gaza #Music Gaza’s musicians reopen bomb-shattered conservatory – in tents | Gaza | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/05/gazas-musicians-reopen-bomb-shattered-conservatory-in-tents

"We’re all helpless in the current political climate. [For ordinary working people] no social system in China, Europe or the US guarantees an alternative or a way out. The old discourses aren’t working. If we want things to get better, we have to start with the kinds of small questions and daily struggles of the kind Xiao Hai raises.” #China #Workers #Poetry The poet of China’s factory floors | The Observer https://observer.co.uk/culture/interviews/article/the-poet-of-chinas-factory-floors

"The spill is less than 3 miles (4.8km) away from Marsden Bay, which is home to one of England’s most important seabird colonies" #Environment #Wildlife #Tyneside #Plastic One billion plastic pellets spilled into River Tyne after two ships collide | Pollution | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/22/billion-plastic-pellets-nurdles-spilled-uk-river-ships-collide

"By slashing UK aid funding to countries like Ethiopia, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone and Uganda, this Labour government is abandoning communities on the frontlines of conflict and the climate crisis and risks plunging these countries’ populations into poverty and instability.” #ForeignAid #UKPolitics #Africa UK aid cuts ‘reduce bilateral support to some African countries by 90%’ | Foreign policy | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jul/16/uk-aid-cuts-bilateral-support-african-countries

"A Home Office minister has acknowledged that Britain’s powers to strip people of their British citizenship disproportionately affect ethnic minorities — but insisted the unequal treatment is “justified” #HomeOffice #Racism #Citizenship #UKPolitics 'Racist’ and 'Two-tier' Citizenship-Stripping Law 'Justified' by Government https://zeteo.uk/p/racist-citizenship-stripping-law

Another trial where the judge is now considering a terrorist sentence, despite the jury not being told of this when they delivered their verdict. For what? Breaking windows and throwing red paint. A travesty of justice. #Palestine #Justice #UKPolitics Palestine Action activists face being sentenced as terrorists over bank damage | Palestine Action | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jul/27/palestine-action-activists-face-being-sentenced-terrorists-damage-barclays-bank-burnley

The Guardian has recreated an audio landscape from across the past 50 years to try to portray the variety and plentitude of birdsong we have lost since tens of millions more birds were in full voice. #Birds #Ornithology #DawnChorus #UKBirds Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years | Birds | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jul/03/dawn-chorus-uk-birdsong-50-years-audio-landscape

"It’s been heath for hundreds of years. It’s not the heath that’s changed, it’s the environment around it. These are not really wildfires, they are often started with human barbecues, cigarette butts or litter, but the key thing is climate change" #Wildfires #DunwichHeath #ClimateEmergency #Suffolk ‘These are human fires, not wildfires’: Dunwich reflects on the devastation | Suffolk | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/aug/09/these-are-human-fires-not-wildfires-dunwich-reflects-on-the-devastation