Anne Smith

Teacher, Headteacher, retired. Happily married. Raced Mtb back in the golden era, even won a National Downhill once! Still love to ride my bike.

[Anne Smith @AnnieSmithie]

Me too, George. Friends, please find me on https://t.co/6GCFzE03sd

[George Monbiot @GeorgeMonbiot]

This is my farewell post. I am not deleting this account, as I don’t want to lose the archive, and I don’t want my name taken by imposters. But, for as long as Musk owns the platform, I’ll no longer use it. I’m now posting at https://t.co/0iVBaQEKGy.

Since Elon Musk bought this site, he has transformed it from one on which millions could converse as equals into his personal megaphone. Now the world’s richest man uses it to wage his class war, transferring blame for the ills of capitalism onto vulnerable minorities, boosting the grimmest and most antisocial accounts while suppressing the humane voices with whom he disagrees.

He has used X not only to subvert the election for the US presidency, but to create a role for himself in US politics which, though he has never stood for election and would not be eligible, grants him immense power over the citizens of that nation. This site has been used as a tool to help replace democracy with oligarchy.

Musk claimed, on purchasing the platform, to be a “free speech absolutist”. He is in fact a prolific censor, suspending dissenting accounts and using lawsuits to shut down free speech, while employing an algorithm to increase the reach of his own posts 1,000-fold. He cannot abide a level playing field.

He has permitted or encouraged the growth of a ghost army of bots and trolls to degrade the experience of all who disagree with him. Their task is not just to abuse opponents but, perhaps more importantly, to drown intelligent conversation with a tsunami of stupidity. They respond to data with denial, expertise with execration, insight with insult, humour with hatred and thinking with thuggery. They suck the meaning out of everything. The stupidity trends in one direction: in the service of economic power. It is a weapon used to suppress the possibility of a better world.

Many years ago, when I lived in Brazil, I learnt that the military dictatorship had actively sought to suppress educational levels in schools, as it saw a well-informed population as a political threat. A confused, distracted and ignorant population is easy to manipulate. Now this counter-educational model is being rolled out worldwide, and Elon Musk is its primary sponsor.

I stayed here long after I first considered leaving, as I believed it was wrong to cede the ground to an oligarch and his minions. But I came to see that those of us who do not subscribe to Musk’s grim project are being used as groundbait: stimulating the feeding frenzy of 15-minute, 24-hour hate that now powers this platform. We can no longer build anything of value here. Brute force – the unmediated power of money – has beaten humanity, intelligence, humour and democracy.

On Bluesky I can be the person I want to be, a better person than I am on X, where it is almost impossible not to get dragged into the mud. I feel I can be understood because I am not confronting a deliberate effort to misunderstand me. So I can speak more quietly.

There is no guarantee that Bluesky will not also one day be monetised by its owners or captured by self-serving billionaires. But for now it remains a place in which interesting and enjoyable conversations can be had, kindness can be shown to strangers and a better world can be imagined. I hope to see you there.

[Anne Smith @AnnieSmithie]

@sainsburys we can’t login to amend our order due tomorrow and we have 30 mins left. Please help

[Anne Smith @AnnieSmithie]

@htona_rus Wow what a picture!

[Molly Scott Cato is on Bluesky @GreenPartyMolly]

A useful summary of the life of the man who led the rise of far right in the UK

His history of racism, support for Putin and crookery is not news

What is extraordinary is how BBC assisted his rise and still offer him so much airtime

And how few journalists have challenged him

[Edwin Hayward @edwinhayward]

Another Express poll needs correcting.

The link below takes you straight to the poll, avoiding all the horrid ads on their website. (Ignore the request for an email address. It works without.)

Please spread the word so that this can look healthier soon!
https://t.co/7uDQZX38H3

[Anne Smith @AnnieSmithie]

Found a lovely spot in France, complete with free gig in the evening #roadtrip #halfwayhouse #hiddengems

[Ben Page @Benpagelondon]

So who is eating the WORST food in Europe? The British perhaps! Viva italia! H/t @adam_tooze @lijukic

[Sir Rick #ToriesPartiedWeDie🇵🇸🇵🇸 🇺🇦🇺🇦 @shindaej]

I just signed the petition demanding Liz Truss is denied a resignation honours list. Will you sign too? https://t.co/eQTO0tSZsK via @38degrees

[Mike Galsworthy @mikegalsworthy]

Economists say border costs added £7 billion to grocery bills and caused a third of UK food price inflation.

#BrexitBenefits https://t.co/49F6T9aj0U

[Nick Reeves #RejoinEU #NAFO #FBPE @nickreeves9876]

1/ Please retweet if you want our Freedom of Movement restored.

We were robbed of our right to live, work, study and love in 30 countries by the worst abuses of democracy in modern British history.

[Lady Mary One of tofu-eating wokerati 💙🇪🇺 🇺🇦 @Iloveautumn2]

Petition: Do Not Leave the European Convention on Human Rights https://t.co/GcWIUN3YFt

[𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡 𝙈𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨 @PhilMyers53]

Johnson. The gift that keeps giving

[European Movement UK @euromove]

Here's the task. Hit 200,000 signatures before the start of the debate at 4:30pm today.

So, share, share, share!

https://t.co/AiIAeQoN23

[Deborah Meaden 🇺🇦 @DeborahMeaden]

Absolutely devastating...a pin sharp arrow to the futilty and harm of leaving the EU...for so many Businesses.

[Greta Thunberg @GretaThunberg]

Today, after yesterday's #IPCC report, everything is back to normal – as always. We continue to ignore the climate crisis as if nothing happened. Our societies are still in denial, and those in power go on with their never ending quests to maximise profits. We cannot afford this.

[Matthew Todd 🌏🔥 @MrMatthewTodd]

I’m staggered by the lack of reaction to the IPCC report. There’s almost no significant action. I don’t think we can get it until the media screams the full truth to the public & I see almost no one in the media who understands that this is true: New tactics needed urgently.

[Luke Pollard MP @LukePollard]

Overnight Plymouth’s Conservative council chopped down nearly 100 trees in the city centre. It’s a scene of environmental devastation and utter council vandalism. I’m appalled at the actions of the Tory Council. Sad day for our city. #plymouth #ArmadaWay

[Andrew Higgs @Macheath1]

This guy signed the order: #Plymouth #Tory council leader and climate change denier, Richard Bingley, who suggests people should not worry about climate, and can adapt to ‘barren, sandy landscapes’! #ToriesDestroyingOurCountry https://t.co/zf935TvVaR

[Birdy @BiddyBike]

1/🧵on the draft #ExeterLCWIP priorities
*RTs welcome*
Not priorities!
routes to
schools (eg Avanti)
nurseries
public transport (Msh Barton)
Collision data on bad roads (eg HonitonRd,TopshamRd,HeavitreeRd)
=> modal shift (eg Nurses Way)
no safe alternatives (eg Cowley Br. Rd)