There’s such a long distance from believing that someone can reform themselves and believing that person would be an appropriate candidate for elected office. Never mind that I’m pretty sceptical about how much the AI slop politics video guy has actually reformed their character…
Andy Burnham Accepter@jorisbinned.bsky.social · 9h agoHello I'm an idiot
Just insane to me to destroy/neglect one of the areas that the UK is world leading at.
Glen O'Hara@gsoh31.bsky.social · 3d agoSo it's farewell to the History subject area at the University of Hertfordshire, not the first nor the last to go. One of the best departments in the country, just extinguished like a snap of the fingers. Think of the waste. (1/2)
If Biden had thrown Trump in the slammer we wouldn't be here. You can piss and moan all you want but J6 was history books shit and history books shit requires the President to do President shit. And he didn't. And now the guy who saved millions has to eat shit from a penis like Ron Johnson
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.Ron Johnson claims the the "injection injured" are committing mass suicide
The wider issue is the peanuts UKRI is operating with. Under £10bn for the engine of the UK's research in ALL subjects should be a national disgrace. Jodrell Bank is a helpful example but we are losing so much across *every* research field. This underfunding will damage the UK for decades to come.
Robert Falla-Louvét 🔭🪐🚀@lanerobertlane.space · last wk.This is so stupid and short-sighted. I wonder if Burnham knows they're stripping funding from an iconic science institution in Manchester?! 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I feel like the way of dealing with such behaviour is to look these people right in the eye and say, very gently, "You think your right to park matters more than homes these children?" Then when they reply just repeat it with slightly different emphasis.
Hundreds slam proposals to turn car park into children's home in Bromley
Plans to build a children’s home on a car park in Bromley have been slammed by nearby residents who call the current parking situation “a…
newsshopper.co.uk
If I can, let me explain today's Times story. This is less to do with renewables and much more to do with where generation is located and how it shows up at a system level. /1
Dr Stylite@columnist.bsky.social · 2w agoCan anyone provide me with an informed opinion re the greater / lesser / same propensity for electricity shortages the greater the use of renewable.* * I get that in principle wind / solar is less controllable than fossil fuels but presumably that just means operating with a greater supply margin?
When the story of why humanity didn't stop climate change is written, it will feature front pages like this. Even as the skies blacken with climate change-induced wildfires, right wing media continue their relentless crusade against measures to tackle it.
I struggle to understand how people can, in good faith, continue to buy/watch new HP things. This is how that money is being spent. Demented behaviour.
Miffythegamer@miffythegamer.bsky.social · 2w agoRowling looming over a progressive Irish cultural festival with her menacing insinuations & a phalanx of expensive lawyers dashing off legal letters. And all because the organisers don’t want transphobes peddling hate at their event. A nauseating spectacle of spite.
The editor in chief of The Economist referring here to the AfD’s leader as a “perfectly thoughtful person“ instead of what she truly is - a driver and enabler of German fascism - is a huge part of the problem.
Matt Novak@paleofuture.bsky.social · 2w agoAt one point she notes that AfD, the German political party that Musk supports, has "real neo-Nazis." Musk literally just shrugs.
Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood head into No10 together, with the role of Chancellor of the Exchequer being decided by a fight to the death for the first time
Do Americans actually like sport? They seem to feel there must always be something else going on to keep you engaged. Most fans just want the game to restart. We’re capable of enjoying the break.
"Cats" was *so* unbelievably bad. Went with a group of friends expecting to enjoy it in a "so bad it's good" way but was so awful I couldn't even laugh at it. Dishonourable mentions for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which are also awful films.
Defector@defector.com · 3w agoWhat's the worst movie you've ever watched in a theater? defector.com/whats-the-wo...
Incredible stuff. The technology exists to help dig us out of this hole.
lines down@linesdown.bsky.social · 3w agoThe growth of solar energy in Pakistan
Still can’t believe the push that Meta glasses are getting. Wonder if people at Rayban, Oakley, etc. are worried about blowback. Feels inevitable that something bad is going to happen with them and they are really tied to it…
Really interesting thread on land value tax. Great example of a policy that you would have if you were designing things from scratch but real challenges in getting to it from where we are right now.
Dan Neidle@danneidle.bsky.social · 3w agoStamp duty and council tax are terrible taxes. Land value tax could replace both - and Andy Burnham has backed it for 16 years. Who wins? Who loses? What happens to house prices? LVT could drive growth. But it isn’t easy. Our model shows its promise - and its problems.
Really interesting. A big part of this, in my view is difficult political decisions being kicked into the laps of regulators and other arm’s length bodies. Makes their remits confusing and contradictory and the orgs inefficient.
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 3w agoFound this interesting on Burnham’s focus on the ‘unaccountable state’. It’s fair to flag as it’s easy to feel modern society is Kafkaesque. But curious how he’ll rise to the challenge of it. Devolution can help a bit but only a bit… 🧵 www.thetimes.com/article/1167...
This is very much a normal reaction and a reasonable comparison.
My own medievalist take is that "accurate" is often taken to mean, "the color is washed out and be everyone's covered in mud," but otherwise everyone still acts like modern people in costume. I think that Eggers's The Northman is the only movie to go balls to the wall to show a medieval mentality.
Sonja Drimmer@sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 4w agoIn my experience, scholars of a particular historical period are the LEAST uptight about "accuracy" in fictional representations of their period, which is why, as a medievalist, I can assure you that A Knight's Tale is the greatest movie set in medieval England that has ever been made.
If nothing else, how does this comply with data protection regs? How would Meta ensure that those who aren't wearing their glasses consent to having their data collected and processed by Meta (which is what this technology would require).
So it turns out the "contract" teenagers signed for their student loans wasn't actually a contract at all, the government always had the right to retrospectively change the terms, and at no point was this explained to those taking out the loans... www.newstatesman.com/politics/edu...
Government mis-sold student loans to a generation, report finds
A new Treasury Committee report has found that the state did not sufficiently communicate the terms and conditions
newstatesman.com
Prior to this, FIFA's overt corruption was generally limited to allowing patently unsuitable countries to host tournaments. No question that this is bad. Escalating to changing the rules to please host countries is a fundamental breach of FIFA's core job, which is as a custodian of football.
Wallet Inspector MetaBlueSky ♨️@metabluesky.bsky.social · last mo.Very funny to see Europeans deciding that sucking up to Putin is just normal FIFA but sucking up to Trump is the true unforgivable line, as if they gave him that 'Peace Prize' because they suddenly had a standard somewhere. Y'all just discovered FIFA bootlicks tyrants today?
FACTCHECK: A guide to manufacturing headlines, by the Times 1) highlight upfront costs of an “eco” home (EV, heat pump, solar) 2) pretend that petrol cars and gas boilers are free (yes really) 3) count upfront “eco” costs twice, for good measure 4) that’s it!
A @thequietus.com subscription is exceptional value for money imo. Always guaranteed to find *something* interesting in their lists that you've not seen covered elsewhere. Especially enjoying the Bad Mothers Union album (37 in this list): badmothersunion.bandcamp.com/album/sore-l...
Sore Losers, by Bad Mothers Union
5 track album
badmothersunion.bandcamp.com
John Doran@jahduran.bsky.social · last mo.Sound the trumpets! The Quietus Top 100 Albums of the Year so far chart is here! But who is number one? And – dare I ask – how many have you heard? Link in bio.
The UK's route to prosperity lies through ruthlessly pumping resources into the cities with Russell Group universities, and embracing high quality higher education as a point of difference.
Absurd and grotesque. What is wrong with Labour?!
Jon Featonby@jonfeatonby.bsky.social · last mo.The latest reveal from tomorrow’s asylum bill - a refugee tax. Asylum support is only available to people who would otherwise be destitute. So this targets those with the least, lumbering refugees with £10k of debt just when they’re trying to get on with their lives www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
