Helen

Solar is booming.

Folks, if you hate authoritarianism, you should be feeling good this morning. In Serbia, a student-led movement just ousted a longtime strongman, peacefully. And we Americans should be paying attention, because we have a chance in November to send a similar message. (link below)

Russia's online war against the west,waged with bots and misinformation, has been a success. It's interfered with elections, helped Trump polarize America, weakened NATO, damaged the EU, and aided the far-right. Our leaders must be more honest about the harm caused and more robust in fighting back.

“Digital crimes must be dealt with like real-life crimes.” 💯

Victory for Lula, who has already reduced Amazon deforestation by 70% since 2022, means there is now a chance of ending deforestation of the rainforest entirely I’m weeping with joy for Brazil, for the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, and for life on Earth 🇧🇷🌳🌎 www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...

WOOOHOOOO!! Serbia, now Brazil. Next? USA and Israel!

The BBC is doing something important, refusing to be intimidated by a powerful person trying to use the legal system to punish criticism and discourage scrutiny. They’re schooling the American press on what the 1st Amendment means. Read about it here: joycevance.substack.com/p/the-bbc-st...

The next 10 days will be monumental, with elections in Serbia, Brazil, Israel and the US. This one was a victory for democracy.

French riot thugs batter an unarmed woman. Macron needs to resign. The level of Police violence in France is criminally high.

A judge has ordered Trump to sit for a deposition in his lawsuit against the BBC. He’s dodged it so far.

Sometimes you get such a jolt out of what you dimly thought you were missing from Burnham. This magnificent speech is what we should all be hearing now. Please listen to it all, and thank you, @ilcontealmaviva.bsky.social, for drawing my attention to it.

Some early morning reading for the Energy Minister #Jackdaw #Rosebank👇

Big day for protests, here and abroad www.cnn.com/2026/10/17/e...

The new Prime Minister is writing a "10-year plan" for the UK. The arts & culture MUST be part of it. I've signed @campaignforthearts.org's petition urging @andyburnham.bsky.social to revitalise the arts – to revitalise the whole nation 🌱 Join me: www.campaignforthearts.org/petitions/10-year-plan/

if i take a walk in my little walkable neighborhood to buy fresh flowers and crunchy nectarines and my serenity is punctured by the sound of your tesla flipping in the air, i will blow up your car with a rocket launcher

How bloody crazy is all this, acknowledging that support for Palestine Action online could result in you getting arrested, even if you are the wife of the Government National Security Advisor. Lift the ban on Palestine Action Burnham.

c.org/dnwCxSgRpG Please help Marcus.

I've just added my name to the call for the UK to join the European Union by 2036. A stronger economy, more jobs, greater security, and a louder voice in the world. Add your name: www.europeanmovement.co.uk/join_eu_by_2...

Oui Elwan Benoît 🤎

Zelenskyy might be saving our democracy. The mad genius is bombing Russian data centers linked to FAKE NEWS bot farms. Without them, Putin’s midterm influence will accidentally fall from a 30th floor window. I 💙 Ukraine 🇺🇦

French Police beating up two female teachers who were simply looking for and trying keep their students out of harm. The French Police really are thugs.

robertklages.bsky.social: The protests from France are coming to Germany: Students barricaded the entrance of the French Gymnasium in Berlin on Monday. Teachers threaten with grade 6 and the police are investigating because the assembly was not registered. www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/franz...

Albanians have been protesting over a corrupt government for 120+ days. French students and teachers take to the steets over school conditions. The American lefts' response to an existential threat to democracy is angry social media and yard signs.

Wouldn’t that be nice. Let’s get there. VOTE to start making things right in the U.S.

‘We should be in the EU’: Labour MPs make case for rejoin in Brexit debate The calls came during a Westminster Hall debate on a petition calling on the UK to apply to rejoin the EU “as soon as possible” @politics.co.uk write-up and thread below 👇 www.politics.co.uk/2026/10/we-s...

Iran has announced a third oil tanker has hit a mine while exiting the Strait of Hormuz through the US-backed southern Omani corridor. It is the UAE-owned VLCC tanker AL MAQAM.

Zelenskyy might be saving our democracy. The mad genius is bombing Russian data centers linked to FAKE NEWS bot farms. Without them, Putin’s midterm influence will accidentally fall from a 30th floor window. I 💙 Ukraine 🇺🇦

Andy Burnham hits back at Kemi Badenoch: "How can she justify turning her back on a deal that is potentially on the table now to add billions to the UK economy?"

New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854

Humpback whale birth: #AGoodPlace Source: www.reddit.com/r/NatureIsFu...

Everybody knew Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum - the evidence was there - but people were too afraid of Farage’s mob to say it. So it’s good to see Burnham finally speaking the truth.

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Abhijeet Dipke, CJP: The student behind 'cockroach' protests that forced an Indian minister to quit

📍India Police in New Delhi used tear gas, batons, and internet shutdowns against largely peaceful student-led protests on July 20 🧵⤵️

News conference by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi picking up on the mass student protests: “We deserve an education system that works. We deserve an education system that is fair. And we don't have it. 1/2

Do read this sparkling profile of Neha Bohra by Rohini Mohan "Indian police’s most wanted student protester is an unlikely heroine When the police drag Bohra along the road,the protester leans back,face placid but eyes blazing,& delivers pitch-perfect political rhetoric in literary Hindi & English"

I see what’s happening here in Paris: reasonable student demands met with awful violence | Helen Massy-Beresford

Protesters stormed the offices of stock-market operator Euronext in Paris, turning the financial district into a scene of confrontation during nationwide unrest. The dramatic action reflected growing anger over government policies and economic inequality. As protests continue across France.

Protests spread beyond the Paris suburbs, across urban and rural France. It now spans general and vocational high schools, small-town schools and universities, bringing together students from different social backgrounds and educational tracks.

instead. Care2 Petitions Logo A crowd of French students stand with their hands up in peaceful protest as armed riot police stare them down. Teenagers in France Are Losing Hands, Eyes,Teeth for Protesting Crumbling Schools. Police grenades Protect Them Now!

Trump bankrolling Russia in its war against Ukraine is a new low for the US. How Europe & UK responds is critical. The US needs to be treated as a hostile force and sanctions put in place.

Not something a civilised country does. The firing squad execution of Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan will be live-streamed, the Defense Department said. “People need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

The Met’s biggest crackdown of its kind is working: phone theft in London is at its lowest level in four years. We're catching thieves, dismantling criminal networks and making it harder to profit from stolen phones. www.lbc.co.uk/article/phon...