The UK is, of course, not an EU country nowadays, but according to Russia, that's not something they had anything to do with.

These would be genuinely useful in Ukraine, AIUI, with their energy grid having been repeatedly targeted and damaged.

Not so useful for getting Grok to do more of.. whatever Grok does.

Knew that company smelled of grift. Always something slightly off about it.

Yep. And anyone to the left of Blue Labour would - rightly - be rendered persona non grata for joking about deporting a Jewish person. Just so much Nope.

Fleur Anderson MP is still pretending that traffic is up on Putney Bridge because the Hammersmith Bridge closed to motor traffic in 2019. She’s just said “traffic on Putney Bridge increased by 16% between 2020 and 2023”.

Hmm, what was happening in 2020, I forget 🧐

The next one over is Wandsworth, and the route north of there is tight.

Tolling would be good though. Probably wouldn't even have to be much more than a bus fare to put a big dent in demand.

"Pie and mash".

Pies, properly made, are delicious. As is mashed potato. But the London pie shop version is disgusting.

Meat that looks and smells like cat food, in hard, greasy pastry, with a slimy, vile-smelling sauce that would have any medic sending for the strongest antibiotics available.

Petition: Reduce national speed limits on single carriageways Reduce the national speed limit on single carriageways usually found in rural areas from 60mph to 30mph.

Here's a govt petition to reduce the default limit on rural single carriageway roads from 60 down to 30. Seems a sensible suggestion to me. Obviously individual limits could be higher. They would just need to be signed.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

Using the term "blow-in" in the context of suburban London is an absolutely reliable mark of idiocy.

I can see how it makes a degree of sense if we're talking tiny fishing villages or deep rural Wales. But 20th century suburbia? Give me a fucking break.

"So this bloke you want to hire. Captain.."
".. Wrongun."
".. Captain Wrongun, of Wrong Island?"
"Yep, that's him."
"So our usual vetting and background checks, how'd you like us to..?"
"No need, it'll be fine."
"Says on his LinkedIn he's been a Prince of Darkness since 1995?"
"I said IT'S FINE."

Phones to be banned in schools by law in England under government plans Education minister Jacqui Smith said the move would create

This is such bollocks.

All primaries and over 90% of secondaries already impose bans.

This is policy to placate GB News viewers and completely unnecessary.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Get this repellent and dangerous company out of British public life

Looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, steps like a goose.

That sort of thing. Although most long-lived cults choose lies that are less immediately consequential for the participants than the frauds perpetrated by Ponzi or MLM.

"If you're prepared to believe us about (ludicrous thing A), we can trust that you'll go along with all our social prescriptions."

A trusted circle that you can rotate with your rich pals to keep things interesting.

Same for houses. Owning more than one or two is grind. Having access within a trust network, all good.

They already operate like this AFAICT, the problems start when the same logic is applied to.. yeah, NO.

Or: repeating something which you know, on some level, to be bollocks, as a display of loyalty towards the tribe.

Except that the photo caption places @zoegarbett.bsky.social on the left.

Which, I mean, yes, but she's on the right in the photograph.

It’s a mark of how completely normalised the corruption & depravity have become that we barely bat an eyelid at the thought of two *property developers*, one Trump’s nepo baby son-in-law, being sent to represent the USA in peace negotiations with Iran. Sometimes it all hits you afresh.

The closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles has created much safer conditions for walking and cycling across a huge area of Hammersmith and Barnes and resulted in fewer vehicles on all West London bridges including Putney and Chiswick.

Keep it closed to cars forever.

4 runners seen side by side running down the middle of the road. The road is quiet and safe because it is in a low traffic neighbourhood

Two kids cycling side by side down a quiet road within a low traffic neighbourhood. Other cyclists oncoming in the distance

‘Quality of life’ isn’t a big house, luxury goods or a fancy car. It’s being able to cycle your kids on safe streets or run side by side down peaceful roads with your friends. Everyone can & should have this.

Palantir’s screed reads like a crazed school shooter’s manifesto.

Palantir must be removed from the NHS and yesterday is already too soon.

I mean in terms of the perception of a certain kind of press and public. The "we've had enough of experts" tendency. 🤢

Because, since 2016 or thereabouts, the only thing worse than being a technocrat working in the national interest is being a technocrat working in an international interest.

We do, but perhaps more consideration should be given to which skills are transferable under what circumstances?

Who would you consider the last PM to be competent at everything they ought to be..? Impossible job, rotten system or a bit of both?

If the below is what they're comfortable to say out loud, the quiet part must be an absolute horror-show.

bsky.app/profile/elio...

Why we're REALLY going back to the Moon (it's not about science...) #shorts YouTube video by Dr. Becky

www.youtube.com/shorts/K7Qg3...
Why we're REALLY going back to the Moon (it's not about science...) A scientist's perspective

If he were simply useless and incompetent, there's no way he would have risen so far outside of politics. Top performer in a v competitive field.

So some of:
- Skills less transferable than anticipated.
- Paralysed by events.
- Information / perspective that we're not party to.
- Doesn't want to.

Yep, not 1:1 early r/atheism energy but that ballpark.

That last part rings very true indeed. And I'd sort of expect it of the Tories (well, "sell anything and everything, pocket the takings" is a strategy of sorts), but Starmer seems on the surface to be the type who ought to be able to articulate that? Even if it weren't of his own making.

Extremely normal and fine for the NHS and MoD to be giving contracts to an outfit like this.