Things Elon has polluted so far: 1. Our night sky 2. Our social discourse 3. Our politics 4. The moon

It shouldn't be a windfall tax. It should be a 100% tax on windfall profits - any extraordinary profit, hand it all in. Because banks and oil companies must not be allowed to make money from us over a manufactured international geopolitical crisis.

This is probably true for several Indian languages but one interesting thing about Hindi is that for every number from 1 to 100, there is a unique word. There are also unique words for important fractions and decimals. eg Hindi has a unique word for 0.5 as well as for 1.5 and 2.5

Horrible by The Mirror. The image caption says: "People Smugglers caught onboard HMS Bulwark in 2015". These are rescued migrants !!!!! There are 3 (suspected) people smugglers marked with white dots at the back. but primarily, everyone in this image is a migrant. I'll be writing to the Editor.

To be fair to Andy Butnham, in the same announcement he did add that we need safe routes in place to truly stop the boats. I'm going to give him the benefit of doubt and wait to see how this pans out.

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · 3d ago

Very disappointing from the new Prime Minister, very much sounding like the previous PM. These are among the world’s most vulnerable and desparate people. They need safe routes and humanity from responsible politicians, not grandstanding. This isn’t doing politics differently.

This is the sort of unbiased, educated analysis that makes online reading enjoyable and informative at the same time.

UK Politics News // Papernaut@ukpolitics.papernaut.co · 3d ago

BBC NEWS: Manchester’s growth paired public investment with private capital and retains over half its graduates. Burnham’s Manchesterism calls for changes to investment, devolution and regional power, but whether the city’s model works nationwide remains open. - by Faisal Islam

This is an egregious breach of trust. The Home Office cannot rewrite decisions years later and threaten people’s jobs, homes and families. This policy must be reversed.

EU citizens in UK get letters telling them post-Brexit residency rights were given ‘in error’

After years of building lives in UK, potentially hundreds of thousands of EU citizens are being told they have no right to remain

theguardian.com

So, immigrant carers will be exempt because they looked after Andy's father. What about teachers? What about industry specialists? What about writers? Everyone else? Immigrants' lives are in limbo because Shabana Mahmood shifted the goalposts on how long it'll take them to obtain a permanent visa.

UK Politics News // Papernaut@ukpolitics.papernaut.co · 4d ago

DAILY MIRROR: Andy Burnham hints that carers may be exempt from the visa crackdown, pledging “fairness” for people who came to the UK in good faith to work in social care. - by Lizzy Buchan

THE GUARDIAN: Dover’s “invasion” exists mainly in rightwing influencer content: locals describe a pleasant, struggling seaside town, while charities help refugees build lives and politicians who failed to solve crossings chase clicks. - by Kevin Rawlinson

On the ground in the English seaside town rightwing influencers say is being ‘invaded’

theguardian.com

In less-popular news, it appears Belgium might be back exploiting Congolese resources for its own gain. A Belgian company has secured exclusive access to strategic Congolese germanium under a deal criticised by a Congolese watchdog for allegedly bypassing tender rules and lacking transparency.

50,000 migrants appear to have crossed into Ceuta. The EU's response to these events has always been a crack down. That does not solve the problem and increases the likelihood of a bigger event such as this.

This is a frustrating example of WEIRD science being promoted as universally applicable. Attachment Theory relies on child-primary caregiver relationship to explain adult behaviour. But anyone familiar with non-Western cultures knows there is never "one" primary caregiver - always a team.

Indian workers are fighting back against AI. A joint investigative report by opendemocracy and Scroll India. Brilliant read.

Told to Train AI Models, Indian Workers Fought Back

In Delhi’s factories, labourers are resisting efforts to train their robot replacements on the most human of actions.

thewire.in

How is it possible that I am the only one who seems to be aware of/bothered that the Gibraltar deal reduces the rights of non-EU migrants in the UK? e.g. this article by @martinsandbu.ft.com in the FT fails to even acknowledge the effect on millions of people.

Gibraltar should show Burnham a softer Brexit is the only option

The recent deal again illustrates that closer alignment with the EU offers the best of both worlds

ft.com

Praṇay Manocha@pranman.com · 3w ago

Gibraltar now falls outside the UK entry clearance zone. This means most immigrants & tourists will now require a separate visa to visit, reside, or transit Gibraltar. There are ~7 milion non-OECD immigrants who live and work in the UK + ~2 million tourists on visas/year.

Fiona Cottrell transferred £1m to Richard Tice's company, Britain Means Business, which then donated £500K to Reform UK. Cottrell also made two separate £250,000 donations directly to the party. The Met Police is investigating these donations.

Police investigate payments to Reform UK first revealed by The Guardian

Scotland Yard is looking at two £250,000 donations to the party by Britain Means Business before the 2024 election

theguardian.com

Maybe Manchester should be twinned with Ramallah. Or maybe it should be twinned with New Orleans or Ahmedabad - after all, those are two cities from regions Manchester exploited to become the industrial powerhouse it did, on the back of slavery and empire.

Findings from focus groups before the Makerfield by-election pointed at several things voters wanted to see Andy Burnham do when he was elected. It's refreshing to see he has already delivered on one of these.

People saying they're not racist because they have a black friend is like saying they're not sexist because they have a mother.

Jon Stewart on Daily Show: "The world cup final was like a reverse superbowl. The game was in Spanish and the halftime was in English" 😂

Honestly, this headline sums up Britain perfectly.

If you've heard about the protest in Delhi, this is an excellent ground report on Instagram. A great unbiased account to follow as well. www.instagram.com/p/DbBf5b5z_AZ/

Can I say, I am thoroughly fatigued by this whole "let's change the Prime Minister" revolving door. I don't care if it has been Labour or the Tories. The fact is most changes have happened because of Westminster politics and that is no way to represent the people.

In extraordinary news from India, a private startup full of university graduates and geeks has become the first in the world to get their rocket into orbit on the first attempt! Only US and China have companies that can do this at all. No European company has managed this yet.

India's Skyroot launches Vikram-1 in first private orbital rocket mission

Indian space startup Skyroot Aerospace on Saturday launched the country's first ‌privately developed orbital rocket, a key test of national efforts to compete for a bigger share of the global commerci...

reuters.com

Do you think the "ex-pats" in Spain have integrated enough with their adopted country to be supporting Spain tonight? And they won't just be supporting Spain out of spite for Argentina? Will there be chants of "Yo soy español, español, español!" in the pubs in Benidorm?

why are so many england fans dressed up as crusader knights? 🤯

Change the Prime Minister they said, it will be better, they said.

Burnham to announce plans for new North Sea oil and gas drilling

Drilling has become a controversial topic for the Labour party after the 2024 manifesto pledged to not issue new licences.

bbc.co.uk

We know of many successful immigrants in the US, but few for the UK despite a greater number of immigrants as proportion of our population. I want to change that, so here is a list of 10 extraordinary people, some of whom you might know of already, and others you might not. Thread 🧵

You may not like or engage with it - I understand, it is a niche concern. But this thread is one of the reasons I make a conscious effort to be on social media as an immigrant. Awareness of our rights, effect of policies on our lives, it is so scant that I feel obliged to surface it when I can.

Praṇay Manocha@pranman.com · 3w ago

People celebrating the Gibraltar deal with Spain: know that you this deal only works because it stomps on immigrant rights. Currently, immigrants and tourists can visit Gibraltar on visas granted by the UK, i.e. if you are allowed in the UK, you're allowed in Gibraltar. This deal stops that.

People celebrating the Gibraltar deal with Spain: know that you this deal only works because it stomps on immigrant rights. Currently, immigrants and tourists can visit Gibraltar on visas granted by the UK, i.e. if you are allowed in the UK, you're allowed in Gibraltar. This deal stops that.

Rachel Reeves: "A closer relationship with the EU would be of immense benefit to the UK" Me (sigh of relief): Finally!! So are we joining the Euro? "Ha ha, hell no" Schengen? "No way" Single market? "Too much" Freedom of movement? "We voted to leave" At least Customs Union?? "Fat chance"