Valentina W

[Bernie @Artemisfornow]

Dear Adam,

I have taken time to think about your apology. Mostly because, having made a mistake publicly before, I was keen to accept yours. It hurts when people don’t understand that you are sorry for messing up. I get that, probably more than most.

But here’s the thing… I’m not sure you understand what you did wrong. And so you don’t really understand what you are apologising for or why. With that in mind, I want to help you.

I didn’t know Ann, except as a powerhouse in politics and that so many people have spoken of her friendship and great loyalty. How lovely, I wish I had known her.

I am utterly disinterested in her sexual prowess or the state of her virginity. But I would have enjoyed hearing you speak of her great accomplishments. Not as a woman, but simply as a human being.

Here’s a list.

She served in the House of Commons for 23 years and won five general elections.

She served as a government minister in Social Security, Employment and the Home Office, where she was Minister of State for Prisons.

She rose to become Shadow Health Secretary and then Shadow Home Secretary.

She was appointed to the Privy Council.

After leaving Westminster, she built an entirely new career as an author, broadcaster, documentary-maker, stage performer and television personality.

Then, at the age of 71, she returned to elected politics and became a Member of the European Parliament.

She was a longstanding advocate for Britain leaving the European Union and, when the political establishment failed to deliver the referendum result, she left the Conservative Party after more than 50 years and stood for the Brexit Party.

She was elected as an MEP and took the argument for British independence directly into the European Parliament.

She was also an unapologetic defender of free speech. She continued to speak openly on difficult and unfashionable subjects when others chose silence, it was easier to do that, she accepted the criticism and hostility that came with it rather than surrendering her convictions.

Her Catholic faith was central to her life. She converted to Catholicism, met Pope John Paul II in Rome and was later made a Dame of the Order of St Gregory the Great by Pope Benedict XVI for her service to politics and public life.

She remained a powerful public voice well into her late seventies, defending her beliefs despite decades of ridicule and hostility.

That is an extraordinary life of public service, courage and reinvention.

Yet, when asked to speak about her after her sudden and violent death, you chose to tell the country that she was a “spinster”, an “old maid” and a virgin. You discussed a failed relationship and suggested that afterwards she simply dedicated herself to other activities.

Do you understand the reduction involved in that?

You took the life of a highly accomplished woman and assessed it according to whether she had married, whether she had sex and whether a man had wanted her.

That is what was wrong. That is what you should have known.

It wasn’t simply that your words were poorly chosen or badly timed. It was the instinct to view a woman’s entire life through her relationship with men, even when her achievements should have rendered that completely irrelevant.

Nobody discussing the death of an accomplished male politician would think it necessary to tell viewers whether he was a virgin, speculate about his sex life or describe him as an ageing bachelor whose romance had failed.

I don’t want you cancelled. I don’t believe that people should be denied forgiveness when they make mistakes.

But a meaningful apology has to identify the actual wrong.

Ann was murdered after a lifetime of public service. At the moment her achievements should have been remembered, you diminished her to an unmarried woman who apparently hadn’t had sex.

She deserved better than that. And I’m still not sure you get it. But every woman who watched you speak of her and then read your apology does.

Bernie.

[Allison Pearson @AllisonPearson]

Apology not accepted.
Nothing to do with facts. You called that great woman, just slaughtered, an “old maid”, a “virgin”, a “spinster”.
Language which gave away your horrible misogyny.
You would NEVER have described a 78-year old man as “bachelor” let alone “virgin”.
It was unforgivable.
As Ann would have said: “APP-ALL-LLING”!

[James Martin, SJ @JamesMartinSJ]

Asking God, in a public prayer, to help a political leader make wise decisions, care for the poor, seek peace, foster harmony, and try to include all those who feel excluded? Yes. Comparing a political leader, in a public prayer, to the sinless Son of God during Holy Week? No.

[Kelechi DonPido @kmbiamnozie]

I am not merely a Catholic by affiliation, I nearly walked the path to the priesthood. Scripture, to me, has never been casual reading; it has been studied with the care of a sculptor refining form; patiently, attentively, reverently.

And so I say this with both conviction and humility:

Prayer is not performance. It is not spectacle. It is a sacred act, an intimate communion between the human spirit and the divine. A means not only to speak, but to interface with the heavens, the hosts of heaven themselves.

When we pray, we approach with humility. With thanksgiving. With love. Just as one brings offerings into the house of the Lord, not in arrogance, but in surrender.

Which is why moments of public prayer demand even greater care.

When figures such as Paula White stand before the world in prayer, the expectation is clear: to seek wisdom, not validation. To ask that leaders like Donald Trump be guided toward justice, compassion, peace, and discernment. To intercede for the poor, the vulnerable, and the preservation of life. That is what true supplication looks like.

But to elevate any political figure especially during the sacred solemnity of Holy Week to a comparison with the sinless Son of God is not devotion.

It is error.

And more than that, it borders on blasphemy.

Likewise, when Franklin Graham invokes the Book of Esther as justification for the destruction of a modern nation such as Iran, it reflects not divine insight, but a troubling misapplication of scripture. Context matters. Theology demands responsibility. Sacred texts are not instruments for political ends.

Faith was never meant to be weaponized.

It was meant to guide, to correct, to humble.

And if we are to invoke God in matters of leadership and war, then let it be done with trembling reverence, not confident distortion.

Because the danger is not in believing too deeply but in believing wrongly.

I am ashamed, this is our Holy Week for Gods sake.

God have mercy.

[Project Endo @projectendo]

After years of work, countless screenings, and an incredible community behind it…
Below the Belt is now streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and YouTube.
If you’ve been waiting to watch, now’s the time and share it with someone who needs it 💛

[Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla]

Distracted by the slaughter of children in Iran & Lebanon? Me too! But what better time could there be for govt to quietly relaunch its Digital ID plan?

Missed it? Me too! But look who’s celebrating…

The director of ‘govt innovation’ at the Tony Blair Institute!
1/

[BBC News (World) @BBCWorld]

Sri Lanka declares Wednesdays off as Asian countries try to conserve fuel https://t.co/mIrNTajEDq

[Lulu NYT @LuluGNavarro]

Many people have asked about Gisele’s relationship with her daughter Caroline. Our interview gives the most up to date account of their complicated relationship. (More) https://t.co/Lo19V5GAor

[Harriet Harman @HarrietHarman]

“Rough sex gone wrong” is the most hideous defence for homicide charge. Blames her for his killing her. Besmirches her name when she can’t speak. Because he killed her.

[Helen Rumbelow @HelenRumbelow]

I'm not sure how many people want this piped into their ears but this podcast is outside the paywall....

https://t.co/6Ogxdn5hlX

[NET Cancer Day @netcancerday]

The incidence of neuroendocrine neoplasms is said to be now about between 6 or 8 per 100 000 population. ☑️Spread awareness on NETs with #NETInfo in 11 languages: https://t.co/ekWhXLmXPv
#LetsTalkAboutNETs #MedTwitter #MedEd #LungTwitter #RadTwitter #GITwitter

[Sam Coates Sky @SamCoatesSky]

How AI lied and gaslit me:

🤯💣🔥

Won’t lie: what happened to me this week made my jaw drop

Do watch:

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

I’m hearing from ever more parents of primary school aged children that their children really don’t like school. They say that it’s boring, that they have to sit for long hours listening. Parents say that young children are taught things which they, their parents, have never needed to know. Things like ‘fronted adverbials’ and the difference between homophones and homographs.

Which wouldn’t matter if the children were interested and curious, but this isn’t why they are learning those things. They’re learning them because someone has decided that this is the best way for young children to spend their time.

That these – fronted adverbials, for example - are the most important things.

Parents say that their children are stressed about school work before they’ve even turned seven. They say that children wake up at night worrying that they’ll be put in the Red Zone or taken off the Sun and put on the Rain Cloud.

They say that when they tell school that their child doesn’t want to come, school tells them that maybe home is just too nice. They suggest that rather than improving their experience of school, parents should focus on making their experience of home worse so school seems better in comparison.

Huh?

How does that make any sense?

We’re losing a generation of children. They’re learning that they don’t like to learn, at the stage of their lives when they should be bursting with curiosity and excitement. By the time they are nine, some of them are already saying that school is ‘just something to get through’.

Here’s my take. Education shouldn’t be about ‘information in’. The first priority should not be covering content or passing tests.

That is something which can happen later, but first?

We need to inspire children about learning.

When our young children think that they are stupid. When our six-year-olds learn that learning is irrelevant and difficult. When our eight-year-olds believe that they are bad because they can’t sit still and concentrate?

Those things last a lifetime.

This is the foundation of education. If we get it wrong now, we’ll be dealing with the consequences far into the future. Our children need change.

[Dr Zoe Harcombe, PhD @zoeharcombe]

I've been quiet for a month - busy with a critically ill relative & having to navigate the Welsh NHS.
I won't bore you with everything that has gone wrong but my overriding takeaway is this...
The front line staff are amazing; the system is broken.

Doctors & nurses (we found no exceptions) are warm, talented, & caring - everything you want them to be. Their behaviour and demeanour is all the more incredible given the chaos and bureaucracy within which they work.
The system doesn't care about your relative. The system manages people and beds as if they are items in a warehouse. The system has one screen saying this is happening and another saying this isn't happening. The system would be better off firing all non-medical staff and starting again. (The system has protected itself by not allowing this, so useless managers are there for life 😡).

[Radio Times @RadioTimes]

What an emotional scene...

#StephenGraham #Adolescence

[Netflix UK & Ireland @NetflixUK]

How *that* scene in #Adolescence was filmed.

[Science Magazine @ScienceMagazine]

A #SciencePerspective by @zalaly and @EricTopol identifies key issues that need to be prioritized in the study of #LongCovid.

Learn more on #LongCovidAwarenessDay: https://t.co/RKUBqaDIRT

[Long Covid SOS @longcovidsos.bsky.social @LongCovidSOS]

🚨 Mythbusting #LongCovid with Dr Amir Khan🚨

Long Covid is real. It’s serious. And it’s affecting millions.

On #LongCovidAwarenessDay, @DrAmirKhanGP joins us to bust harmful myths.

Watch, learn, and share—because the more we talk about Long Covid, the harder it is to ignore.

[Lynsey Redwood @Endit_Mendit]

Endometriosis diagnosis:

You can have LIGHT periods and still have severe endometriosis.
In fact, I've connected with lots of sufferers who faced dismissal (like me) due to not having 'heavy' periods

I have stage 4 endometriosis

#EndometriosisAwarenessMonth
#endometriosis

[David Davis MP @DavidDavisMP]

In an attempt to meet the demands of the Home Office - demands made on false illusions of providing security - Apple has been forced to entirely undermine the online security of pretty much every UK citizen who uses an Apple product.

https://t.co/nPLzBoloYY