Penny Homer

Penny Homer

@socialsoprano.bsky.social

Usually found in or in front of the choir. More of a menopausal mezzo these days but gotta keep the brand identity. When not singing I'm usually Trekking to a Star or drinking a beer (or both). West Brom sufferer. Trans rights are human rights. She/her

625 followers436 following5.8K posts

Penny Homer reposted

Mic Wright
@brokenbottleboy.bsky.social

Palantir being given access to this stuff is basically treason.

Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social

🔴 REVEALED: Palantir led closed-door review of how MoD buys software The review was presented to defence minister Luke Pollard by Palantir UK boss Louis Mosley in Feb and has mostly been implemented None of this was made public New investigation🧵 democracyforsale.substack.com/p/revealed-p...

democracyforsale.substack.comRevealed: Palantir led secret review of how the MoD spends billionsThe Ministry of Defence asked the controversial US tech firm how to fix its procurement rules. Its answer? Fewer obstacles for companies like Palantir

Penny Homer reposted

the pickwicker man
@pickwick.bsky.social

Everybody is mentioning poppy month in response to the BBC's sudden anti-badge, pin, symbol and slogan crusade, but I'd also note that they're flogging Pudsey badges and T-shirts for Children in Need in two weeks

Leicester Gazette@leicestergazette.leicester.news

Two University of Leicester students speak out over ‘absurd’ and ‘Orwellian’ decision by the BBC and ITV Studios to edit out pride pins worn on University Challenge

leicester.newsBBC edits out pride pins on University Challenge in ‘Orwellian’ move* * * This story was published by **The Leicester Gazette** : a local, independent newspaper about Leicestershire. 1,000 people have already joined our community. Just use those buttons below to download our app and **sign up for free**. * * * Astrophysics student Samuel Carlier and History student Emmeline Hague-Wright were shocked to find that their LGBTQ+ pride pins had been edited out of their University Challenge appearance earlier this year. The episode, initially scheduled for BBC Two on 24 August, was delayed twice before airing on 7 September 2026. The pins showed the progressive LGBTQ+ pride flag, the bisexual pride flag and a rainbow feather. Speaking to the Leicester Gazette, Sam said: “Living in a liberal democracy and having the state broadcaster tell you ‘we’re editing how you look’, seems very Orwellian.” Sam described the choice to remove the pins before broadcast as “weird” and “absurd”. He said: “[Censoring] that seemed weird. If I had worn a rainbow shirt, would they have censored that? If the idea is to keep things impartial, where is that line in the sand?” A side by-side image of Sam wearing the pin and with it having been digitally removed. Photograph: supplied Sam contacted the BBC to try to understand why his pins had been edited out. He told the Gazette: “The BBC people said they’d ring me, and I chased them, they just said go to the complaints website and file a complaint there, that’s what I did.” Since then, Sam hasn’t had a response from the BBC as to why his pins were removed. After the episode had aired, Sam noted that his shirt ‘melted’ into itself occasionally, as a result of the editing. Photograph: supplied ## Students believe the decision was made following online transphobia Emmeline was also shocked when she found out that the feather pin she wore was due to be removed from the episode she was in. It was understood by Emmeline that there was online transphobia in response to previous episode of University Challenge, and she had been contacted by the BBC, anticipating support from the broadcaster. When the BBC contacted her, instead of an offer of support, she was told her pin was going to be removed. “At first it was mostly confusion,” she said. “I heard that they had received a lot of nastiness online from people and I thought they were going to call me to say ‘we have support services if needed,’ and that wasn't what I got at all.” Instead, Emmeline was notified that the episodes were going to be delayed. “It was out of left field, I was confused for a while,” she said. “This entire delay has been because of a feather and two badges on a teammate that were basically impossible [for viewers] to see.” Emmeline had expressed her frustrations with the repeated delays from the BBC, spanning from mid-July to early-September. She said: “We were announced on the website and then delayed again, and then announced on the website a second time, and delayed even further. Speaking about the removal, she said: “It takes a lot of time” she said. “Making it [the edit] look good would be even more expensive and time-consuming. It seems like drastically a lot of effort.” ## Join the conversation Our app is more than just a way to keep up – it's a gateway to award-winning journalism and the local community. __Want to support our work?__ Click here for membership__.__ ## Wider criticism on LGBTQ+ support The pins Sam wore during the episode. Photograph: supplied According to leading LGBTQ+ charity Stonewall UK, two in five LGBTQ+ students will hide their identities at university for fear of discrimination. Stonewall has reported that more than 36 per cent of trans students have received hostile conduct from university staff due to their gender identity. Reflecting on the digital removal of the pins, Sam spoke about how disheartening the choice was. He said: “There was maybe like a span of eight years where someone could be uncontroversially out in the open queer – now that’s gone again.” he said. The BBC has also been widely criticised for ‘an attack on the LGBTQ+ community’ by pulling its involvement with the popular show, RuPaul's Drag Race. The broadcaster pulled its involvement in September following “significant financial pressures” as the reason for axing their involvement. The criticism follows another recent controversial edit by the BBC. On its hit show, Strictly Come Dancing, a decision was made to edit out ‘Protect the Dolls’ from contestant Bethany Antonia’s T-shirt. It’s a slogan which has become widely used to support the rights of trans women. The BBC defended their decision, saying the changes were made to meet editorial guidelines. It comes as the LGBTQ+ community has faced challenges amid an increasingly less tolerant political climate. ## What the BBC had to say When we asked them about editing out the pins worn by Leicester’s University Challenge team, a BBC spokesperson said: “In line with our editorial guidelines, we advise that no badges, flags, and emblems or symbols are worn or visible during filming, along with clothing with obvious branding or slogans. If such items are not removed for any reason then a decision is made between the programme makers and the BBC regarding any edits to the programme.” The BBC said the delays to the episode were unrelated to the decision to edit out the pins. A spokesperson for ITV Studios said: “University Challenge is an entertainment quiz show and is made in accordance with the BBC Editorial Guidelines requirements for impartiality.” The University of Leicester refused to comment on the matter. * * * **Before you go…** We’ve recently surpassed 1,000 subscribers, which is amazing considering we’re a small team on a shoestring budget. Now, we’re ready for the next stage of the Leicester Gazette. **Download our new app and get all of our journalism anytime, anywhere.** The app connects with **Bluesky** , **Mastodon** and **Threads** , giving you access to a network of around 60 million people. It’s a safer, more meaningful alternative to mainstream social media – owned by the community. * * *

Penny Homer reposted

Janina Matthewson
@j9andif.bsky.social

Never mind that stockpiling requires storage space people don't have – it is also maddening that this burden falls on individuals when the risks are largely the result of government policy

George Monbiot@georgemonbiot.bsky.social

Sure, we should, if we can (many cannot). But as I keep pointing out, the government itself is making no provision at all. No stockpiles, no back-up, no alternative sources. It's individuating the response to a collective problem, and that never ends well. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.comEvery Briton should stockpile water and food supplies, government advisesBe Ready campaign aims to prepare UK for impact of climate crisis, technological dependency and threats by hostile state

Penny Homer reposted

Jamison Foser
@jamisonfoser.bsky.social

my "zero 'coercion' required" t shirt is raising a lot of questions already answered by the shirt

Radley Balko@radleybalko.bsky.social

Democrats should really feature these creeps their extensive ties to this administration.

Penny Homer reposted

Madame Hardy
@madamehardy.bsky.social

The government stole £150,000 from the privately-raised Aberfan Disaster Memorial Fund and used it for disaster clearance. It was only paid back 30 years later ... without interest.

Paul Brislen@brislen.nz

Sixty years, tomorrow. They gave the man in charge a knighthood. They made the local community pay for the remembrance garden. No-one held to account. I always think of the dinner lady, Nansi, who shielded five kids with her body and died in the process but they all lived. #Aberfan

Penny Homer reposted

Spookably UnAwake
@lamentablyawake.bsky.social

UK Comfortables when Farage gets a milkshake thrown on him: "This is terrible, if that milkshake was something completely different someone could've died!" UK Comfortables when a far right org whose members are regularly in the TV studios is linked to a terrorist hitman: "..."

Spookably UnAwake@lamentablyawake.bsky.social

As far as I can tell no UK mainstream outlet has picked this up. Fair to say it would be very different if it was a left wing group linked to a hitman.

aljazeera.comParamilitary hitman linked to British right-wing group Turning Point UKAl Jazeera exposes Turning Point UK, a far-right British group to criminal underworld, including member of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Penny Homer reposted

Mama_twins
@hi-its-alaa.bsky.social

The literacy crisis isn’t that people can’t read the words. It’s that they can’t understand the context, infer meaning, recognise nuance, identify contradictions, or draw logical conclusions from what they’ve read

Penny Homer reposted

Samantha Asumadu
@samanthaasumadu.substack.com

Shabana keeping them in servitude indefinitely. Girl boss, Queen 😍

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social

Desperate stuff Home Secretary originally argued (very misleadingly) care workers shouldn't be allowed to settle because their wages were so low that they'd be a fiscal cost. Now she's arguing they shouldn't be allowed to settle because they'd get better paid jobs www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Penny Homer reposted

Jessica Ellis
@baddestmamajama.bsky.social

Repeated infections being a “fact of life” is a framing designed to make you think something is naturally inevitable rather than the expected result of a series of public health decisions designed with something other than your health and safety at the forefront.

Billy Hanlon@bhanlon15.bsky.social

NYT: 'How Bad Is Another Case of Covid?' “Every time there’s a wave, there’s another wave that’s going to follow with patients developing new onset long Covid,” said Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University www.nytimes.com/2026/10/19/w...

nytimes.comHow Bad Is Another Case of Covid?Repeated infections are “a fact of life” at this point, experts say. But they warn there is no such thing as a risk-free case.

Penny Homer reposted

Jessica Ellis
@baddestmamajama.bsky.social

Replying to @baddestmamajama.bsky.social

You are eventually going to realize that the Covid crazies are correct and if you continue to take no mitigations it’s really a roulette wheel of whether you or someone you love will be permanently disabled when you do realize it. There are better ways.

Penny Homer
@socialsoprano.bsky.social

Having an absolute meltdown realising that the "old lady" who got herself killed trying to get off the bus was in fact the age I am now and also IS L'RELL'S MUM OMG

Penny Homer reposted

Ethan Hein
@ethanhein.bsky.social

The oldest known musical instrument is a flute carved from the radius bone of a gryphon vulture made during the Ice Age 40,000 years ago. If people could do it then, there is nothing stopping anyone now

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Penny Homer
@socialsoprano.bsky.social

Here we are again

YouGov@yougov.co.uk

With much media coverage of a government report that ADHD and autism are being over-diagnosed, a claim which some experts have disputed, half of Britons now believe that the conditions are being over-diagnosed Over-diagnosed: 50% Under-diagnosed: 17% About right: 17% yougov.com/en-gb/daily-...

Penny Homer reposted

Anon Opin
@anonopin.bsky.social

£10 spent on benefits isn't just £10 lost, it's £10 that will then be spent on food, or rent which keeps circulating in the economy. £10 given to big businesses in a tax cut just ends up in a profit margin, or a millionaire shareholders pocket. Its likely never spent again.

Penny Homer reposted

Rose Schmits
@roseschmits.bsky.social

Many years ago, i had a serious mental health crisis and was hospitalised for it. The care was actually really good and that week on a womens ward did in fact save my life. Had i been treated as the nhs now says i should be, i would have in fact, only been pushed deeper into my suicidal crisis

Ethel Weapon@lousadzak.bsky.social

This will kill people

bbc.co.ukTrans people should use hospital spaces according to biological sex, NHS England saysNew guidance says trans patients should be cared for on single-sex hospital wards or bays that align with their biological sex.

Penny Homer reposted

Tiger (He/They)
@tigerknight957.bsky.social

God isn’t it great having a labour government, labour MPs are so great if you ignore the unwillingness to nationalise anything, blaming migrants, attacking the disabled community and the constant unrelenting transphobia

Penny Homer
@socialsoprano.bsky.social

You also know these AI bros will be like "oh you complain about the invasiveness of social media ON social media" and completely fail to see their hypocrisy.

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Penny Homer reposted

jenny tightpants
@jtp.bsky.social
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com

Look at the shabby state and increasingly authoritarian trajectory of the country and ask yourself if we can endure 2 more years of a lawless Trump administration wreaking havoc with no check from Congress, then vote accordingly. This is not the time for a protest vote or purity politics.