John T
@jtatlife.bsky.social
Dutch consultant by day, interested in world history & British politics by night. Proud Hollander
“the universe didn’t care because it didn’t know what ‘fair’ meant” has stuck with me for a long time there’s no grand cosmic force out there who’s going to pause the whole thing and balance it out, if you want to change something that’s unfair you’re going to have to do it yourself
Literal heroes who sacrifice their time and risk their lives to save strangers getting harrassed and attacked for *not* leaving a subset of strangers to die a lonely death at sea. This is sick. That should be the the least controversial position in British politics. If it isn't, Britain is sick
John Oxley@joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 3w agoWhat on earth is happening?
"I have neither the time nor the crayons to explain this to you" is going to be my go-to reply for those times that my patience finally snaps
Karl Schamotta@karl-schamotta.bsky.social · last mo.Speaking on behalf of FX people everywhere, we neither have the time nor the crayons to explain this to him.
Unsurprisingly my bugbear on this, but there is a real failure to appreciate the sort of places you have to win to form a government if you don't have Tory MPs in places like Woking.
One way you know Dolly Parton lived life the right way: I don’t think anyone’s going to get fired for accurately quoting Dolly Parton today.
Dolly Parton was one of those people where it’s just fun that they were alive at the same time you are
in general, speaking as someone who once got more than half my calorie intake from client entertainment, the proverb was always "there are two kinds of booze, free booze and booze you pay for, and the difference is that free booze is more expensive"
"He was dull in company, dull in his closet, dull everywhere. He was dull in a new way, and that made many people think him GREAT" relevant Johnson quote for our age
This is a brilliantly pithy summary of the soon to be ex-PM.
John Oxley@joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 3mo agoAlso how he seemed to have viewed his tenure as "CEO that rescued failing brand" for the Labour Party, rather than governing the country.
I’m also reminded of the Ron Funches quote: “Raising a child is like taking care of someone who’s on way too many shrooms, while you yourself are on a moderate amount of shrooms. I am not confident in my decisions, but I know you should not be eating a mousepad.”
It’s a shame the USA’s 250th anniversary comes when it’s clearer than ever that the project (as outlined by the founders, not in terms of economic or military might) has failed on its own terms. The 200th fell in the aftermath of Watergate so maybe these anniversaries are jinxed
15 top TV shows ever, gut instinct edition (in no particular order) Shogun HBO's Rome The Good Place Friends Firefly Star Trek TNG Reacher The X-Files (S1-3) Elementary Stargate SG1 House Mad Men Simpsons (S2-10) Ted Lasso (S1) How I Met Your Mother
Micah@rincewind.run · 5mo ago15 top TV shows ever, gut instinct edition (in no particular order) The Wire Breaking Bad Better Call Saul The Good Place Farscape The Expanse Veronica Mars (S1) Reacher Cowboy Bebop Leverage Friday Night Lights Babylon 5 Justified Chuck Ted Lasso (S1)
Yeah I think this is the more nuanced take. C suite types don't like HR because they're the ones who stop them from harassing the interns. Line staff don't like HR because they're the ones who pass on the message that they're fired.
The EU is perhaps also a factor in Orbàn not going down the Erdoğan route and simply arresting Magyar. Just enough space was left for this, because Hungary has some external checks & balances
The horse op-ed is an instant classic. I can't tell you how much joy this piece gives me. It should be taught in every introductory writing class in no small part because the horse arguments are so compelling. "I have noticed that human children get to eat cake. But I am bigger than the children."
To position this a little bit, and assuming some exaggeratiion: For every 2 Russian boys born last month, 1 Russian man was killed or maimed in Ukraine For comparison, in 1968 during the height of the Vietnam war, for every 100 US boys born, one American man was killed in Vietnam.
NOELREPORTS@noelreports.com · 6mo agoRussian losses per 02/04/26 reported by the Ukrainian General Staff +1300 men +2 tanks +7 ACVs +59 artillery +1 MLRS +2497 (!) UAVs
This seems entirely typical of the Israeli approach. Theoretically blowing up militia stations would reduce the regime’s control, but doing it with a 900kg bomb & so deliberately slaughtering dozens of other civilians strengthens regime support. It’s just crazed murder www.bbc.com/news/article...
Iran war: Inside Tehran as the civilian toll of US-Israeli strikes rises
One month since the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran, Tehran residents tell the BBC their lives have been devastated.
bbc.com
Destroying ambulances run by a Jewish group does not make you a good person: it makes you an anti-semite. And wanging on about "but Israel" as you seek to defend destroying ambulances run by a Jewish group similarly makes you an anti-semite.
One of my favourite facts is that the spiky tail of a stegosaurus didn't used to have a specific name, until Gary Larson published this Far Side cartoon, at which point "thagomizer" was adopted by paleontologists.
The last thing here is redolent of one the most famous sci-fi novels of this century, Liu Cixin's Dark Forest. In which an overwhelmingly technologically outmatched and surveilled humanity must give complete autonomy to its commanders to avoid plans being leaked
Albert Pinto@70sbachchan.bsky.social · 7mo ago135/ US & Israel dominate ISR (intelligence,surveillance,target acquisition,reconnaissance) Enemy gets a vote:"Motorcycle couriers over radio,analogue over digital, individual commanders sharing goals and mutual knowledge, but conceiving their own means of implementation." bsky.app/profile/nick...
Europeans when asked to help unblock the strait of Hormuz
Pirates Of The Caribbean - Parlay - Means No GIF
Alt: Pirates Of The Caribbean - Parlay - Means No "I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request" "?" "Means 'no'"
media.tenor.com
Lucy Fishwife 🥐@lucyfishwife.bsky.social · 7mo agoEuropeans when asked to help unblock the strait of Hormuz:
I am forever grateful that Terry Pratchett was with us as long as he was and it was not even close to enough his work made me a better person, and I do not think I'm alone in that GNU Terry Pratchett, we are so much poorer without you
US officers are concerned because these posts are not posts of warriors, they're the posts of executioners. And nobody respects executioners, themselves least of all
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 7mo agoNBC’s Richard Engel: “The White House meme campaign is outraging many former US military commanders… they say only someone who has never really seen combat would think it’s a joke and put out material like this.”
So there's been a 'war' on for a week now, during which the aggressors have suffered 6 deaths (from two hits) and their victims have suffered thousands. As van Creveld once said, at these proportion of loss it's not war, it's massacre. People involved are not warriors but butchers.
as far as I can tell the US wants Iran to become Venezuela, while Israel wants it to become Libya
At least the 'strategic analysis' community' seems happy with the recent turn of events. I appreciate that the rule 'don't go around attacking other countries' was dull for them, but they don't seem to think it was *good* dull. I mean, 1900 was a very interesting time strategically....
Speaking as a private EU citizen, I am beyond embarrassed that our leaders and representatives criticise Iran while staying silent on the US and Israel. Values are supposed to be universal and if the EU has a point it has to be to defend universal values. That’s my EU.