Paul Brownjohn @Paulos_the_fog@social.cleverlibre.org
Retired software engineer & woodworker.
Anglo-francophone.
Detest tories. Subscribe to green, leftish radical politics but not to any particular political party!.
Love the EU and all it stands for, moreover, I spent the last 10 years of my career working at an EU agency.
Enthusiastic photographer, especially wildlife and most especially butterflies.
Slightly knowledgeable gardener.
Atheist; loathe almost all religions and pity the people deluded enough to follow them. I make exceptions for Buddhism as it isn't really a religion in the strictest sense of the word as it doesn't postulate the existence of any god, and Jainism which is the epitome of peace.
For anyone who is interested, my header photo is of the most stupendous sunset I have ever seen. On the right is the waterfront of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the left is Thailand and in the middle, acting as the border between the two countries is the mighty Mekong river.
Joined Nov 2022
Paul Brownjohn
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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg: “It is in both Netanyahu and Hamas’ interests for you to take extreme positions. The path to Palestinian freedom, and to peace and safety for everyone, requires seeing everyone’s humanity and rooting for everyone’s liberation. That’s the way out. That’s the only way through.”
https://lifeisasacredtext.substack.com/p/a-lot-of-things-are-true
Paul Brownjohn
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London police defy ban on badges linked to far right and white supremacy - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/oct/14/london-police-defy-ban-on-badges-linked-to-far-right-and-white-supremacy @metpoliceuk full of proud racists, gosh what a surprise...
Paul Brownjohn
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/budget-2015-watch-smug-iain-6027521 You may remember this. It was the beginning of the war on disabled and impoverished people in the U.K. Changing the name of the minimum wage to mask the true intent of the Tory government. A prime minister who went on to benefit greatly from fast tracked ppe contracts. The Torys, self serving for 300 years.
Paul Brownjohn
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"Am I pro-Israel or pro-Palestine? I have no idea.
I'm pro-not-killing-civilians.
I'm pro-not-trapping-millions-of-people-in-open-air-prisons.
I'm pro-not-shooting-grandmas-in-the-back-of-the-head.
I'm pro-not-flattening-apartment-complexes.
I'm pro-not-raping-women-and-taking-hostages.
I'm pro-not-unjustly-imprisoning-people-without-due-process.
I'm pro-freedom and pro-peace and pro- all the things we never see in this conflict anymore.
Whatever this is, I want none of it."
Isaac Saul
Paul Brownjohn
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Let's just clarify one thing because I'm seeing this take a lot: the Israel/Palestine conflict is not about religion, it's colonialism. Palestinian land is being stolen piece by piece, and if we allow it to continue, Gaza is going to disappear from the map.
Paul Brownjohn
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I'm old enough to remember when the original 9/11 caused the west to lose its collective mind and kill one million people who had nothing to do with 9/11. Looks like this time we've decided to make it two million.
C'mon - let's be hearing from you!
Israel seems to be preparing all out for a ground invasion of the Gaza strip. Am I the only person who thinks this is a trap. Nobody knows how much weaponry Hamas has succeeded in smuggling into Gaza but given the number of rockets they are loosing off into Israel it is clearly quite a lot!
The Israelis will go in with tanks en masse and the simple way to turn a tank a liability rather than an asset, is to blow one of it's tracks off - a small buried explosive charge combined with a copper knife will do that easily!
Given the extremely well supplied and well organized efforts demonstrated by Hamas so far I think the Israelis are walking into a trap!
Paul Brownjohn
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In the middle of an international crisis
There is no Speaker of the House — because of Republicans.
There is no confirmed head of the Navy — because of Republicans.
There is no confirmed head of the Air Force — because of Republicans.
MAGA makes America weaker. Disgusting.
Jacob Rees-Moron wants the UK to abandon the metric system and return to using prehistoric imperial units. I'm interested to see what people's opinion about this is please vote and boost!
Paul Brownjohn
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For MPs industrial action is about to get very close to home, as #HouseofCommons security guards have voted to #strike partly the result of an intensification of rosters, partly due to staff shortages (party caused by long-term sickness).
I wonder what the #Tories think about these workers & what measures they'll be willing to take to 'break' the militancy?
Is having security guards angry at you the recipe for a safe working environment at Westminster... I suspect not!
Obviously, the events in Israel and in Palestine absolutely ghastly but I found it deeply chilling to hear the Israeli defence minister describe the Palestinians as “human animals” as that is precisely the kind of dehumanising insult that was levelled at the Jews in 1930s Nazi Germany! What is that old saying: “those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it”
The Israelis have treated the Palestinians appallingly ever since the 1950s and it's been getting worse not better. A friend of mine remarked that the Israelis have taken everything from the Palestinians, they confiscate their land without compensation they bulldoze their homes to built homes for settlers, they murder them and their children and finally, they have taken the only thing the Palestinians had left; hope!
Whilst I would never condone the kind of slaughter perpetrated by the Palestinians on the residents of Israel, I can understand it. The Palestinians have literally nothing to live for so it is understandable if instead they choose to die for their cause and take as many Israelis with them as possible. A people without hope and without a future is a very, very dangerous people indeed!
Paul Brownjohn
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Paul Brownjohn
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Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Paul Brownjohn
boosted
Retired software engineer & woodworker.
Anglo-francophone.
Detest tories. Subscribe to green, leftish radical politics but not to any particular political party!.
Love the EU and all it stands for, moreover, I spent the last 10 years of my career working at an EU agency.
Enthusiastic photographer, especially wildlife and most especially butterflies.
Slightly knowledgeable gardener.
Atheist; loathe almost all religions and pity the people deluded enough to follow them. I make exceptions for Buddhism as it isn't really a religion in the strictest sense of the word as it doesn't postulate the existence of any god, and Jainism which is the epitome of peace.
For anyone who is interested, my header photo is of the most stupendous sunset I have ever seen. On the right is the waterfront of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on the left is Thailand and in the middle, acting as the border between the two countries is the mighty Mekong river.
Joined Nov 2022
