Bill Berry

@whimberry

Against Everything

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Bill Berry@whimberry· 4d

BREAKING: Reform UK has issued a press release, Reform UK has issued a press release, everybody quiet 'cos Reform UK has issued a press release

Bill Berry@whimberry· 10d

Met this handsome fella while #gardening this afternoon. Think it's a hawk moth. Hope it survives to reveal its pink wings!

A chunky grey-brown caterpillar with eye-spots

Bill Berry@whimberry· Jul 19

The same manifesto that says no new gas and oil drilling? #AndyBurn'em

BBC news front page headline: "Burnham will be bolder but stick to Labour manifesto, deputy leader says"

Bill Berry@whimberry· Jul 18

He's relatable! He's a skilled orator! He's the King in the North! He's [checks notes] going to get us all killed for fossil capital.

BBC news front page with headline "Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling"

Bill Berry@whimberry· Jun 2

Not published in UK, so I ordered from US. The copy that arrived was withdrawn from a public library there. I looked it up, expecting to find the far right had gone on one of their book banning rampages. 2/3

Crossed out library sticker on a book cover

The word "withdrawn" stamped in a library book

Bill Berry@whimberry· Jun 2

I enjoyed reading Natality by Jennifer Banks, arguing for birth to be given a more central place in philosophy as is death/mortality. 1/3

Bill Berry@whimberry· Apr 23

Can anyone tell me what this is? #ukgardening #gardening

A spike of small purple flowers with yellow centres, with some teardrop shaped leaves on the stem

Bill Berry@whimberry· Apr 10

"When people try to sell you on the idea that the future is already settled, it’s because it is deeply unsettled . If they can get us to accept that the future is already settled then we will create that for them. My most daring idea is to refuse."

In a November conversation at the Urban Consulate in Detroit, the great writer and thinker Tressie McMillan Cottom was asked by host Orlando P. Bailey, “Do you have a daring idea for us to ponder and sit with for our collective future?” McMillan Cottom replied with this: “When people try to sell you on the idea that the future is already settled, it’s because it is deeply unsettled. I think that this promise of an artificial intelligent future is really just a collective anxiety that very wealthy, powerful people have about how well they’re gonna be able to control us in the future. If they can get us to accept that the future is already settled—AI is already here, the end is already here—then we will create that for them. My most daring idea is to refuse.”

Today, I refuse.

Indeed. Refusal certainly seems to be the practice, while not always named, animating so many of these actions. Refusal of AI in a field, occupation, enterprise, or art form we have been told is doomed to upheaval.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Apr 8

2/ “succession and simultaneous interaction”. The “succession” element is that Macron’s onslaught ... does not undermine the RN but clears the way for [Le Pen]. The “simultaneous interaction” part is that Macron knows the fascists will support his racism and therefore is bolder in carrying it out.

There is, however, a relationship between Macron and fascism. In his book Marxists In The Face of Fascism, Beetham writes that the connection between fascism and the mainstream racist right within a parliamentary system can take two forms. These are “succession and simultaneous interaction”. The “succession” element is that Macron’s onslaught against migrants and Muslims, relentless removal of rights, and support for the cops’ savagery does not undermine the RN but legitimises it and allows the fascists to argue “choose the original, not the copy”. Far from being a bulwark against Le Pen, Macron clears the way for her. Beetham writes that “[r]eaction tends to be fuelled, rather than exhausted by concessions”. The “simultaneous interaction” part is that Macron knows the fascists will support his racism and therefore he is bolder in carrying it out.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Apr 8

Some very useful formulae here on the relationship between the far right and the rightward-moving "centrist" parties 1 / "The process of fascisation involves two concurrent and mutually reinforcing tendencies: a normalisation of fascism and a fascisation of the normal." isj.org.uk/france-crisis/

However, Palheta also argues (similar to David Beetham below, and the analysis I present):

Begin quote

The process of fascisation involves two concurrent and mutually reinforcing tendencies: a normalisation of fascism and a fascisation of the normal; [the preceding sentence is underlined.] a mainstreaming of the far right and an extremisation of the right. Second, when I say that the far right in power would not simply “continue the policies already in place,” I mean that it would not be satisfied with existing legislation, particularly regarding immigration, the rights of foreigners, freedom of the press, civil liberties, and democratic rights.

End quote

It is true Macron trampled on democracy in ramming through his pension attack.23 He does unleash police violence and attacks workers’ social gains. Yet, seeing him as “actually existing fascism” obscures important facts. Workers lost the 2023 battle over pensions not primarily because of state violence but because trade union and left political leaders held back the movement. Fascists destroy union rights and repress their leaders—Macron relies on union bureaucrats. Fascists eliminate elections and parliament. Macron’s threadbare argument for why he will not concede to mass protests comes from his election as president and his claim that he works within the constitution.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Apr 8

"The 2026 Iran war did not break globalisation. It revealed its deepest substrate. And the substrate is brittle, interwoven, and finally exposed." shanakaanslemperera.substack.com/p/the-last-m...

The last molecule of helium boiling off in a stranded ISO container somewhere in the Gulf of Oman is not a metaphor. It is a physical event occurring at minus 268.9 degrees Celsius, measured in hours, governed by the second law of thermodynamics, and beyond the reach of any diplomatic communiqué, any central bank intervention, or any financial derivative. The molecule does not know about the April 6 deadline. It does not care about the IRGC corridor or the yuan settlement mechanism or the Islamabad quadrilateral. It obeys physics, and physics does not negotiate

The IEA has described this crisis as among the gravest threats to global energy security in decades. The evidence assembled across these nine sections suggests it is more than that. It is the first Kardashev-1 stress test of global interdependence, the moment when the human species discovered that the molecular substrate of its technological civilisation runs through a single point of failure that nobody mapped, nobody priced, and nobody defended. The 2026 Iran war did not break globalisation. It revealed its deepest substrate. And the substrate is brittle, interwoven, and finally exposed.

The last molecule standing is the one that has not yet boiled off. When it does, the argument about whether this was temporary will be settled by thermodynamics, not by consensus.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 27

"The imperialist’s fallacy has always been to think that simply by imposing suffering, he can impose his will. Yet this pure negation cannot produce any durable dominance; the Strait of Hormuz bears witness to this. Nonetheless, the destruction is real. Israel and the US are deindustrializing Iran."

Quote:

Delusional yet powerful, naked yet enraged, Donald Trump revels in the sheer force of his killing machine across West Asia, threatening annihilation and promising peace in a single breath. Easily bored, the emperor always has his eye on the next prize. Trump recently proclaimed, with chilling candor, that he believes he “will have the honor of taking Cuba.” “I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it.”

The truth is that he could take it. He possesses the power of destruction. Trump boasts of being the emperor who can make die, who can bomb infrastructure and inflict on the Iranian nation what the postcolonial theorist Achille Mbembe calls a “permanent condition of ‘living in pain.’” But the imperialist’s fallacy has always been to think that simply by imposing suffering, he can impose his will. Yet this pure negation cannot produce any durable dominance; the Strait of Hormuz bears witness to this. “Maybe me and the Ayatollah” will “jointly control” the Strait, Trump recently mused to reporters.

Nonetheless, the destruction is real. Israel and the US are deindustrializing Iran.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 24

LOL the racists are annoyed with MattGPT (fka Matt Badloss) for making their racism look stupid

Standfirst from a book review reads: "Matt Goodwin has done the causes that he represents no favours with his new book"

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 23

Just finished reading The Brilliant Abyss by @helenscales.bsky.social after realising I just didn't know enough about hydrothermal vents. Brilliant abyss, brilliant #naturewriting. The deep really is full of wonders, to explore and to defend from predatory extractivist capitalism.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 21

Slime mould (I think?) going absolutely nuts on these stumps. The trees were only felled last year so it's really been having a feast!

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 19

"The complete and utter failure of the metaverse is a reminder not just of the fact that the future Silicon Valley is force feeding us is not inevitable, but that quite often these oligarchs ... have no idea what they’re doing."

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 18

"The war has also spilled over into Lebanon." How careless of it. Followed by the passive voice because of course it is. Were all those people killed by anyone, any murderous colonialist terror state, in particular, BBC?

Screenshot of BBC News feed, which begins "The war has also spilled over into Lebanon." followed by reports of deaths using the passive voice.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 13

This one has been irritating me today. Never mind everyone, I'm skeptical that anyone can like that from "investing", and if they are they're probably doing it wrong.

Detail on a street advertisement: a man whose face is contorted in near orgasmic pleasure because he has bought this product.

A street advertisement: a man whose face is contorted in near orgasmic pleasure because he has bought this product.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 13

This powerful reflection on "remaining alive in the neighbourhood of death" by Iranian philosopher Maryam Nasr Esfahani (trans: @naghmehs.bsky.social) includes a touching #naturewriting observation of birds in the oil-blackened water.

Yesterday I was watching birds from the window as they drank from the black water that had collected from acidic rain produced by the smoke of burning oil depots. There were crows and pigeons and collared doves, and also a little gray wagtail. I wondered how its delicate, slender body had endured amid these sounds, this suffocating air, that black water.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 11

The worst offender being this fella. Guess what he's selling. Pot noodle. Pot fucking noodle. Get a grip. (I actually had a pot noodle for lunch because it was the cheapest thing in the shop and I was skint. It was adequate. Did I feel like this? Reader, I did not.)

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 11

Is there an inverse relationship between the dour atomisation of actual humans in the city streets and the absurd fake-orgasm outpourings of ecstasy on every other advert? These and more all within a few metres of each other this morning. Get a grip, adverts.

Detail from a street advertisement: a man whose face is contorted in near orgasmic pleasure because he has bought this product.

Detail from a street advertisement: two women man whose faces are contorted in near orgasmic pleasure because they have bought this product.

Detail from a street advertisement: a woman whose face is contorted in near orgasmic pleasure because she has bought this product.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 7

youraislopbores.me Nice

A post from the "your ai stop bores me" website where I asked someone to draw "A prehistoric creature that is both fungus and animal" and they did.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Mar 2

This is monstrous, performative, racist, authoritarian cruelty from the government. And closing the door to refugees is all the nastier for coming at the same time as joining in ANOTHER war to set the Middle East on fire.

Refugee status becomes temporary in asylum shake-up - headline on BBC news website with photo of Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood

Bill Berry@whimberry· Feb 12

Thinking about BDS movement targets. Look at all the tech companies on the list! and rightly: eg for equipping genocide in Gaza, profiting from West Bank settlements. But not easy to boycott. Not wearing Reeboks is a lot easier than deleting Google. We need serious conversations about how to do it.

A graphic produced by the BDS movement showing the targets for boycott

Bill Berry@whimberry· Feb 9

Leafletting Denton yesterday with @mcrsutr.bsky.social. We blocked the BNP, we blocked the EDL, and who's to say we can't block Reform UK too. Next stop Gorton.

Stand up to Racism campaigners in Denton

Bill Berry@whimberry· Feb 6

Apart from anything else, those jeans with that shirt and shoes have got to be a job for @dieworkwear.bsky.social

Bill Berry@whimberry· Jan 27

Watching the Great Pottery Throw Down. Emily Hesling's "missing lynx" was a deserving winner this week as a great bit of raku sculpture. But also a nice plug on national TV for species reintroduction and ecosystem restoration. Bring back the missing lynx!

Publicity photo of a contestant on the Great Pottery Throw Down TV show 2026

Bill Berry@whimberry· Dec 12

What will happen to @netflix.com 's colossal pile of plastic shit promoting Stranger Things in Piccadilly station after a month or so of "use"? Landfill, incineration, fake recycling, export to poor country, don't know, don't care? How many of these monstrosities have you commissioned anyway?

A giant, perhaps 8 metre, plastic display in the shape of a Christmas tree but covered in grey tentacles and full of plastic objects from the TV show Stranger Things, in the central concourse of a major train station.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Dec 10

Glasman names two church documents that supposedly inspired Blue Labour. Has he even read them? From Wikipedia: "Each country should have laws to protect the rights of immigrant workers, so that they receive equal treatment." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laborem...

Emigration and work

John Paul expressed concerns about the phenomenon of people who emigrate, either permanently or seasonally, in search of work:

Emigration means a loss to the person’s country of origin.

Cultural adjustment is often difficult.

People working away from their country of origin may be vulnerable to exploitation.

Each country should have laws to protect the rights of immigrant workers, so that they receive equal treatment.

Bill Berry@whimberry· Nov 24

On why sticking this logo on plastic packaging has to be in the top 5 greatest filthy lies in human history.