I know she's incapable of ever admitting she's wrong about anything, but even I'm surprised that Kemi Badenoch has chosen this particular hill to die on
James Ball
@jamesrball.com
Political editor @ The New World Opinion @ The i Paper Fellow @ Tech Policy Press Fellow @ Demos PhD researcher @ UCL Laws newsletter @ techtris Latest book: The Other Pandemic – How QAnon Contaminated The World. 🏳️🌈 https://www.jamesrball.com/
![A news article headlined: "[Zack] Polanski on Conservative antisemitism row: 'I don't believe anyone should be pushed out of public life permanently.'"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:iriguxga3a3ngc4ezfk56knk/bafkreiet6zcohf2r7hhsqy5pbxpax2ck4ejf36ucja5ae6mbdoj3gjvgsy)
A good thread on the slow rollout of GLP-1s to low-income Australians. It increasingly feels like one of the most effective health interventions of the 21st century is being slow-rolled because many people in public health across the world simply don't like its vibes.
Asher Wolf@asherwolf.bsky.social · 3h agoWegovy was recommended for listing on the PBS for people with prior serious adverse cardiovascular events over seven months ago. Now the landmark deal has stalled www.theaustralian.com.au/health/medic...
God, I have come to really profoundly hate the Met Office. My head understands it's not *actually* their fault. My gut does not.
Met Office - weather and climate@metoffice.gov.uk · 3h agoWhile northern areas see further rain at times over the next few days, further south there will still be a lot of dry weather Temperatures will climb again for a while here too 👇
I, too, love to make the second sentence of my emails a sentence just saying my name. And then sign off as an "author author"
Kat Arney@katarney.bsky.social · 3h agoAttention writers! A new type of AI email scam designed to flatter your ego and engage you in order to extract personal info just landed. The real Larry Niven is 88, I don't think he gives a shit about my writing journey...
I am going to be spending the rest of my day and possibly my week thinking about "Werner the Herzog" and quite frankly it's the last thing I needed
MaksonLima@maksonlima.bsky.social · 3h agoJuro que tem dias que eu acordo pensando nisso aqui:
Not hard to see why Burnham is less enthusiastic about a snap election than some others on here.
Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk · 4h agoMRP Poll | Labour 81 Seats Short: LAB: 245 (+138) | 26% RFM: 174 (-112) | 23% CON: 99 (+19) | 21% LDM: 67 (-17) | 11% SNP: 25 (-8) | 2% PLC: 8 (-2) | 1% GRN: 7 (-13) | 10% Via @convergent-opinion.bsky.social, 25-30 Jul. Changes w/ 15 Jun MRP.
I wrote about the weird and vaguely-psychotic test you're asked to take when being recruited by Steven Bartlett - this is quite fun, even if I do say so myself: www.thenewworld.co.uk/matt-muir-ap...
Applying for a job with Steven Bartlett – very odd and very revealing
The podcaster and digital marketing man has an unusual hiring style, during which a candidate will learn just as much about him as he does about them
thenewworld.co.uk
I'll be honest: I'd buy this a lot more if his main outlet wasn't abusively attacking opposition politicians via AI slop in ways which obviously nod to other forms of prejudice.
Mark Wallace@wallaceme.bsky.social · 6h agoConservativeHome has always been a critical friend of the Conservative Party, and a place for all of its wings and views to debate and discuss. So in addition to the above editorial, Bonehill-Paine is also in today’s Comment section making his own case conservativehome.com/2026/08/05/j...
Israel's security – and perhaps its very survival – relies upon the closeness of its alliance with the USA. Over the last decade, Benjamin Netanyahu has made that alliance a partisan one with the Republican Party. The consequences of that may be about to bite.
Netanyahu’s to blame for his American nightmare – and it spells his doom
James Ball: The Israeli Prime Minister has played his hand well in Washington, but badly in the rest of America
inews.co.uk
"Netanyahu built his influence with Trump and his administration so assiduously that he helped lead the America First President into a new overseas war. The danger for him – and for Israel – is that he will now tumble, Icarus-like, into political irrelevance."
Netanyahu’s to blame for his American nightmare – and it spells his doom
James Ball: The Israeli Prime Minister has played his hand well in Washington, but badly in the rest of America
inews.co.uk
an unfathomable amount of stuff has got better over the last 40 years - hell, even over the *last 15* - and anyone convinced it hasn't does not remember or know what things were like 15 or 40 years ago.
Constantine@ajaxsinger.bsky.social · 13h agoFood, man. Food is so much better than it was in 1986. All of it. Poor-people food, restaurant food, fresh food, frozen food. Food is just a hell of a lot better.
The opposite position would be more rational. If she really thinks this guy’s credentials are as exemplar of rehabilitation and can teach anti-extremism she should want him to have biggest platform. “It’s ok because he’d only be on potholes and bins” suggests less confidence in his conversion.
A day after "second chances for neo-Nazis but not for One Nation," too. Truly we are living through peak Keminaissance.
Chris Terry-Enescu@cjterry.bsky.social · 6h agoIt's OK for criminal ex-neo Nazis to run your bins is a hell of a line.
Ngl, I am a bit confused by open weight models being subject to *less* scrutiny than closed ones. Once an open weight model is out in the world, there's no pulling to back or tweaking it. That's not quite true of closed models. So…generally, you'd assume they'd get additional oversight.
Justin Hendrix@justinhendrix.bsky.social · 13h ago"The White House told top tech companies Tuesday that it would exempt certain AI systems from its plans for government vetting of new AI models, giving free tools known as “open weight” models a pass and focusing scrutiny on the latest technology from leading US companies like OpenAI and Anthropic."
"The White House told top tech companies Tuesday that it would exempt certain AI systems from its plans for government vetting of new AI models, giving free tools known as “open weight” models a pass and focusing scrutiny on the latest technology from leading US companies like OpenAI and Anthropic."
White House will exempt ‘open’ AI systems from security review
Officials briefed tech companies Tuesday on a framework that would let officials vet cutting-edge systems for cybersecurity risks.
washingtonpost.com
The paperback of Invisible Rulers is out today! To celebrate I dropped audio of the Twitter Space where Mike Benz first groomed Matt Taibbi into believing there'd been "mass censorship" of "hundreds of millions of tweets"—something he'd then testify before Congress. open.substack.com/pub/agentsof...
When Matt Taibbi Met Mike Benz
How independent media turned an obscure political operative into a "whistleblower"—and his claims into government action.
open.substack.com
automatically running signal messages through a stranger's AI is, I think, the worst pitch and idea I've ever been cold pitched in my life and that is saying a lot
One more interesting point: this spring I sat down with Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes for an extensive interview about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media has unquestionably aided the Trump administration’s cover up here.
Senator Ron Wyden@wyden.senate.gov · yesterdayBombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:
This is the literal definition of terrorism.
Oxford Clarion@oxfordclarion.bsky.social · 24h agoLeaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.
They’re calling it the most theater kid story of all time
Pixie Casey@pixiecasey.bsky.social · yesterdayin insane local news, the 26 year old director of a rocky horror production was arrested for sending threatening messages to himself in order to get the play shut down bc he didn’t want to deal with cast drama www.mynbc5.com/article/rock...
Spiderman: Brand New Day – really good fun! Better than any recent MCU stuff, even if it has a *long* runtime (only 27 mins less than the Odyssey). Biggest tip: go as unspoiled as you possibly can. Much more fun that way. And don't bother staying for the post-credit scene. Not worth it.
Our average of polls at FiftyPlusOne gives Trump a roughly 36% approval rating and 61% disapproval rating — a net -25 — among all adults, and he’s rapidly losing ground. The president set a new record low six days in a row just in the last week: www.gelliottmorris.com/p/2026-08-04...
Anyone who refuses care from a non-white member of NHS staff should be told to pay to go private.
Charles EP Murphy@cepmurphy.bsky.social · yesterdaynews.sky.com/story/nhs-st... stereotypically this has been seen as Old People, but not only would the old people of now have often been born post-Windrush, lot of this will be younger people who've always lived in a diverse Britain. The guy with a pregnant wife likely millennial at oldest
"Trump’s America has lost friends and alienated people on every continent. The President has another two-and-a-half years left of his time in the Oval Office, which ends in January 2029. By then it’s fair to ask: will he have any friends left at all?"
Trump has united the world - in pure frustration
The US President's war with Iran has been the last straw for many of his new and old allies
inews.co.uk