Amos
@amosduveen.bsky.social
Random wonderer.
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Amos
@amosduveen.bsky.social
· Nov 16
Just so you so know, I plan to use this space much as I did the other one i.e. when I post, I'm often just trying to put my own thoughts in order. If you find that interesting or useful, that's great; if not, that's also great. I'm not here to chase engagement.
Reposted by Amos
Elon Musk spending billions of dollars to buy a social network to replicate what it's like to have friends who like you, and an AI to replicate what it's like to have a supportive father who praises you, only to have both consistently turn on him is Promethean torture if Prometheus had deserved it.
November 22, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Elon Musk spending billions of dollars to buy a social network to replicate what it's like to have friends who like you, and an AI to replicate what it's like to have a supportive father who praises you, only to have both consistently turn on him is Promethean torture if Prometheus had deserved it.
Reposted by Amos
"Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance."
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Trans people could be barred from services based on appearance
The new code of practice on access to single-sex services cannot gain legal force until it gets sign-off from ministers.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 21, 2025 at 3:36 PM
"Trans people could be asked about whether they should be accessing single-sex services based on their physical appearance."
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
No. not "trans people". ANYONE. This moral panic leads inexorably to the policing of women based on their appearance deemed to be "unfeminine".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Bookmarking this one for future reference.
1/ What a Russian breaking of the ceasefire will look like, step by step.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
There are far better experts on this, but I was an Australian diplomat in Ukraine in 2014 so I've seen this play out up close.
So join me, brothers and sisters, as we count down to a fullscale re-invasion.
November 21, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Bookmarking this one for future reference.
Such a good point. Back in my teaching days, I used to think that if I were to ever run on a national platform, my education policy would be to do absolutely nothing for a year or two, just to let the dizzying array of policy initiatives bed in, before deciding what actually needs to change and how.
This is a clown-car government elected on a seriousness ticket iandunt.substack.com/p/a-clown-go...
November 21, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Such a good point. Back in my teaching days, I used to think that if I were to ever run on a national platform, my education policy would be to do absolutely nothing for a year or two, just to let the dizzying array of policy initiatives bed in, before deciding what actually needs to change and how.
Reposted by Amos
Maths Puzzles for Conspiracy Theorists.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
November 21, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Maths Puzzles for Conspiracy Theorists.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
One of the cartoons from my new book 'Physics for Cats'. In good bookshops now and online in English, French, German and Spanish editions.
Reposted by Amos
I’d like everyone responsible for Eat Out To Help Out to be made to work, masked, in a tiny galley kitchen for minimum wage in the full knowledge that they’re playing Russian Roulette with their health or their lives, while being yelled at by management working remotely or in ventilated offices.
The whole point of an inquiry is to learn lessons. Let’s hope we never have to, but in the event of another pandemic, we want to minimise deaths, disruptions, certainly the vast amount of fraud and corruption that emerged, nonsense like France being designated high risk, “eat out to help out”… /2
November 21, 2025 at 9:37 AM
I’d like everyone responsible for Eat Out To Help Out to be made to work, masked, in a tiny galley kitchen for minimum wage in the full knowledge that they’re playing Russian Roulette with their health or their lives, while being yelled at by management working remotely or in ventilated offices.
Reposted by Amos
Today seems an apposite moment to share this from another time and another place. Short🧵
November 21, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Today seems an apposite moment to share this from another time and another place. Short🧵
Mostly agree but I have used "purity test" myself; not to disparage morality but to object to people who require almost complete agreement on every policy area before (grudgingly) agreeing to work together. That's a recipe for being forever divided when we need to be building bridges.
This ties into my recent grumble about the phrases “virtue signalling”, “pearl-clutching” and “purity tests”: the notion that all expressions of moral principle or disapproval are just a performance to impress others - that morality itself is phoney
When they say Trump calling a reporter "piggy" is "just being honest," they are revealing a key feature of the reactionary mind: it believes, at a deep brainstem level, that *everyone* is awful & selfish & ugly on the inside. Everyone just suppresses it out of fear of social disapproval. Not Trump!
November 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Mostly agree but I have used "purity test" myself; not to disparage morality but to object to people who require almost complete agreement on every policy area before (grudgingly) agreeing to work together. That's a recipe for being forever divided when we need to be building bridges.
Reposted by Amos
Reposted by Amos
Michael Gove on claims of a bad culture in No. 10 during the pandemic:
"The business of govt can't be carried on in the manner of a Jane Austen novel".
As so often, this assumes that the macho, hyper-aggressive style of Cummings & co produces better decisions. All the evidence suggests the reverse
"The business of govt can't be carried on in the manner of a Jane Austen novel".
As so often, this assumes that the macho, hyper-aggressive style of Cummings & co produces better decisions. All the evidence suggests the reverse
November 21, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Michael Gove on claims of a bad culture in No. 10 during the pandemic:
"The business of govt can't be carried on in the manner of a Jane Austen novel".
As so often, this assumes that the macho, hyper-aggressive style of Cummings & co produces better decisions. All the evidence suggests the reverse
"The business of govt can't be carried on in the manner of a Jane Austen novel".
As so often, this assumes that the macho, hyper-aggressive style of Cummings & co produces better decisions. All the evidence suggests the reverse
Reposted by Amos
Remarkably simple solution. If you don't want the backing of the far-right for your immigration policy, or to have people point out that you have their backing, don't base your immigration policy on the far-right's rhetoric and ideology.
www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/shab...
www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/shab...
Shabana Mahmood hits out at Tommy Robinson’s backing of Labour’s migration policy
Shabana Mahmood has said she finds it “deeply offensive” when MPs quote Tommy Robinson at her in the Commons, after the far-right activist backed the government’s sweeping asylum reforms. Asked about ...
www.independent.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Remarkably simple solution. If you don't want the backing of the far-right for your immigration policy, or to have people point out that you have their backing, don't base your immigration policy on the far-right's rhetoric and ideology.
www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/shab...
www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/shab...
Reposted by Amos
Labour MP says only way to unite UK over immigration is by leaning into Reform narrative.
November 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Labour MP says only way to unite UK over immigration is by leaning into Reform narrative.
Reposted by Amos
Remembering the lead-up to the publication of the Mueller report, and how so many sincerely believed that would change *everything*.
November 20, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Remembering the lead-up to the publication of the Mueller report, and how so many sincerely believed that would change *everything*.
Reposted by Amos
I’m not a great political analyst, but I do feel Labour have made a tactical error by opting to be cunts.
November 18, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I’m not a great political analyst, but I do feel Labour have made a tactical error by opting to be cunts.
It's there some glitch in the @bsky.app Discovery feed?
I keep getting thirsty blokes posing topless. Nothing against those guys, I just don't want that content in my feed. I started by muting the ones I saw but they just keep coming*. I now block on sight but still get more.
I keep getting thirsty blokes posing topless. Nothing against those guys, I just don't want that content in my feed. I started by muting the ones I saw but they just keep coming*. I now block on sight but still get more.
November 18, 2025 at 7:23 PM
It's there some glitch in the @bsky.app Discovery feed?
I keep getting thirsty blokes posing topless. Nothing against those guys, I just don't want that content in my feed. I started by muting the ones I saw but they just keep coming*. I now block on sight but still get more.
I keep getting thirsty blokes posing topless. Nothing against those guys, I just don't want that content in my feed. I started by muting the ones I saw but they just keep coming*. I now block on sight but still get more.
The problem is that all the fire and fury is never actually about the numbers involved.
If net migration ever got down to zero, exactly the same people will be campaigning for net negative. The numbers are only ever a proxy for much darker intent.
If net migration ever got down to zero, exactly the same people will be campaigning for net negative. The numbers are only ever a proxy for much darker intent.
More accurate and rapidly updated migration statistics might help defuse a lot of polarisation and prevent a lot of bad knee jerk policy change - one argument for universal ID systems is they would facilitate this.
Net migration was 345,000 in 2024, the Office for National Statistics now estimates - 20% lower than its first estimate of 431,000: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopula.... The update includes much higher emigration of British citizens than previously thought.
November 18, 2025 at 7:06 PM
The problem is that all the fire and fury is never actually about the numbers involved.
If net migration ever got down to zero, exactly the same people will be campaigning for net negative. The numbers are only ever a proxy for much darker intent.
If net migration ever got down to zero, exactly the same people will be campaigning for net negative. The numbers are only ever a proxy for much darker intent.
This one especially will never not be funny.
2/3 I have made three of my cartoons into new, limited edition prints. You can get them now at www.tomgauld.com/shop
November 18, 2025 at 2:09 PM
This one especially will never not be funny.
Reposted by Amos
The asylum and refugee system is supposed to be about helping people. It’s unconscionable that the dialogue has flipped into using it to punish people.
November 18, 2025 at 1:06 PM
The asylum and refugee system is supposed to be about helping people. It’s unconscionable that the dialogue has flipped into using it to punish people.
You answered that pop-up question yesterday, @mrjamesob.bsky.social. That agony aunt column and a few of the carriers nailed it the day before you even asked!
November 18, 2025 at 10:08 AM
You answered that pop-up question yesterday, @mrjamesob.bsky.social. That agony aunt column and a few of the carriers nailed it the day before you even asked!
Reposted by Amos
In a spell-binding move, Reform run, cash-strapped, Kent County Council repaints the yellow 'Keep Clear' lines outside a school that closed 10 years ago
news.sky.com/story/reform...
news.sky.com/story/reform...
Reform council repaints road markings for school which closed in 2016
Kent County Council sold the disused school site to a government agency in March, but has repainted yellow zigzags and "School Keep Clear" warnings.
news.sky.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:25 AM
In a spell-binding move, Reform run, cash-strapped, Kent County Council repaints the yellow 'Keep Clear' lines outside a school that closed 10 years ago
news.sky.com/story/reform...
news.sky.com/story/reform...
Reposted by Amos
Coverage of the refugee proposals demonstrates why we have such a broken political system. Endless focus on left-wing anger and right-wing support. Basically nothing on whether the reforms will work. They will not, which is why we'll still be here having the same debate in three years.
November 18, 2025 at 8:41 AM
Coverage of the refugee proposals demonstrates why we have such a broken political system. Endless focus on left-wing anger and right-wing support. Basically nothing on whether the reforms will work. They will not, which is why we'll still be here having the same debate in three years.
Reposted by Amos
Labour has comprehensively trapped itself by agreeing to play entirely by their opponents’ rules.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
November 17, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Labour has comprehensively trapped itself by agreeing to play entirely by their opponents’ rules.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
The game is fixed so the only move that’s ever available is more and worse cruelty, while at the same time no level of cruelty will ever be enough to win.
A moral & political death-spiral.
Reposted by Amos
"Grok is designed to answer almost any question with a touch of wit and humor, while also providing helpful and insightful responses."
Also Grok:
Also Grok:
November 17, 2025 at 4:25 PM
"Grok is designed to answer almost any question with a touch of wit and humor, while also providing helpful and insightful responses."
Also Grok:
Also Grok:
This is gross.
I remember coming back into the UK when my ex-wife and my then step son were held back at passport control because they had different surnames.
It doesn't take much to explain but I can't imagine the horror of having to unexpectedly revisit the rape trauma every time that happens.
I remember coming back into the UK when my ex-wife and my then step son were held back at passport control because they had different surnames.
It doesn't take much to explain but I can't imagine the horror of having to unexpectedly revisit the rape trauma every time that happens.
"A five-year-old girl must keep the surname of the father who raped her mother, after a High Court judge upheld a ruling that it formed a key part of the child’s identity and heritage." [Times]
November 17, 2025 at 3:49 PM
This is gross.
I remember coming back into the UK when my ex-wife and my then step son were held back at passport control because they had different surnames.
It doesn't take much to explain but I can't imagine the horror of having to unexpectedly revisit the rape trauma every time that happens.
I remember coming back into the UK when my ex-wife and my then step son were held back at passport control because they had different surnames.
It doesn't take much to explain but I can't imagine the horror of having to unexpectedly revisit the rape trauma every time that happens.
Reposted by Amos
Agree. In practice the reason why it won't happen is what it would delegitimise is 'Labour's 2024 election campaign and subsequent strategic choices', which are increasingly IMO the tail that is wagging the dog.
I think the conventional wisdom that switching to PR, even explicitly to block Reform, would delegitimise the system is completely wrong. You would get buy-in from every other party, bar maybe the Tories, and it's historically the main reason electoral reform happens. www.jstor.org/stable/2585577
November 17, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Agree. In practice the reason why it won't happen is what it would delegitimise is 'Labour's 2024 election campaign and subsequent strategic choices', which are increasingly IMO the tail that is wagging the dog.