Brendan Halpin
@bthalpin.bsky.social
Refugee from ex-Twitter, mostly at @bthalpin@mastodon.social
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
After a UK group making the effort to get the evidence against this man, one of our judges (you know who already) gave the offender a reduction because the offender says he sorry.
Jailed for a mere 2.5 years for grooming (what he thought was) a 9 year old girl, sending her videos of herself masturbating, telling her he wanted to take her away overnight. Making upskirting videos, collecting child sex abuse images.
Guess who the judge is. Go on, just guess.
Guess who the judge is. Go on, just guess.
Teacher (33) jailed for highly sexualised online conversations with girls
Dublin man Niall Ganley (33) was caught as a result of a sting operation by a UK based vigilante group
www.irishtimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:18 AM
After a UK group making the effort to get the evidence against this man, one of our judges (you know who already) gave the offender a reduction because the offender says he sorry.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
I don't know how anybody could argue "the only black person I've ever seen who looks like he's in blackface" is anything close to a defensible way to argue or disagree - from Graham Linehan. This "black man looks like blackface" comment is v obvs not trying to make a criticism of Femi's views.
November 14, 2025 at 12:34 AM
I don't know how anybody could argue "the only black person I've ever seen who looks like he's in blackface" is anything close to a defensible way to argue or disagree - from Graham Linehan. This "black man looks like blackface" comment is v obvs not trying to make a criticism of Femi's views.
Headless chickens.
Absolute bombshell report in the FT tonight that Reeves has effectively ripped up her entire Budget and abandoning plans to raise income tax.
Means a lot of disparate, smaller measures now on the table.
Just yesterday morning I was told they were desperate to avoid that.
Means a lot of disparate, smaller measures now on the table.
Just yesterday morning I was told they were desperate to avoid that.
November 14, 2025 at 1:08 AM
Headless chickens.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
Elaine Buckley at RTE is absolutely brilliant at them - every time I see a really classy, emotive one, I text her, and almost always, she's the person behind it.
November 13, 2025 at 11:23 PM
Elaine Buckley at RTE is absolutely brilliant at them - every time I see a really classy, emotive one, I text her, and almost always, she's the person behind it.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
My main takeaway of the whole Epstein thing is that women, on a very fundamental level, still don‘t really matter.
November 13, 2025 at 8:38 PM
My main takeaway of the whole Epstein thing is that women, on a very fundamental level, still don‘t really matter.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
Vance channelling his inner Simon Harris
JD Vance: "A lot of young people are saying housing is way too expensive. Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who were taking houses that ought by right go to American citizens."
November 13, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Vance channelling his inner Simon Harris
I suspect this is bullshit. Machine learning, data-informed and well-calibrated prediction, fine, but if in the current climate you say it's "AI" people are expected to become immediately credulous.
And if you need that to happen, you're flogging bullshit.
And if you need that to happen, you're flogging bullshit.
New AI tool could cut wasted efforts to transplant organs by 60%
New AI tool could cut wasted efforts to transplant organs by 60%
Machine learning model predicts whether donor is likely to die within the timeframe that liver remains viable
Doctors have developed an AI tool that could reduce wasted efforts to transplant organs by 60%.
Thousands of patients worldwide are waiting for a potentially life-saving donor, and more candidates are stuck on waiting lists than there are available organs. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I suspect this is bullshit. Machine learning, data-informed and well-calibrated prediction, fine, but if in the current climate you say it's "AI" people are expected to become immediately credulous.
And if you need that to happen, you're flogging bullshit.
And if you need that to happen, you're flogging bullshit.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
turns out Larry Summers really was a raging sub-literate misogynist creep this entire time, who could have known
November 13, 2025 at 4:31 PM
turns out Larry Summers really was a raging sub-literate misogynist creep this entire time, who could have known
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
It is journalistic malpractice to be within a city block of Vance and not read him this tweet through a bullhorn
November 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM
It is journalistic malpractice to be within a city block of Vance and not read him this tweet through a bullhorn
A joy, a treasure trove of reputation-ruining details, even for people whose reputations were pretty poor. Larry "more idiots more geniuses" I'm looking at you, for instance. You come out of this looking like more of the former than the latter.
The newly-released documents show communication between Jeffrey Epstein and numerous high profile individuals, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, and former White House senior counselor Steve Bannon.
November 13, 2025 at 6:57 PM
A joy, a treasure trove of reputation-ruining details, even for people whose reputations were pretty poor. Larry "more idiots more geniuses" I'm looking at you, for instance. You come out of this looking like more of the former than the latter.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
I'm thinking of posting some Johnny Cash lyrics, can anyone point me to how I export my data first, just in case?
November 13, 2025 at 5:26 PM
I'm thinking of posting some Johnny Cash lyrics, can anyone point me to how I export my data first, just in case?
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
The dog ate my jobless and inflation homework!
November 13, 2025 at 5:45 PM
The dog ate my jobless and inflation homework!
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
The world's most honest conference ad image
The @royalstatsoc.bsky.social annual international conference is now on bluesky and looking forward to our conference in Bournemouth next September: rss.org.uk/training-eve... #RSS2026conf
November 13, 2025 at 5:49 PM
The world's most honest conference ad image
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
All quotes from this meeting are basically the same.
That's bad scripting, councillors, you can surely do better with your pre-meeting meetings in the wee party rooms.
Anyway, that's it, meeting over, bugger off.
That's bad scripting, councillors, you can surely do better with your pre-meeting meetings in the wee party rooms.
Anyway, that's it, meeting over, bugger off.
a person is standing in front of a wind turbine in a field .
ALT: a person is standing in front of a wind turbine in a field .
media.tenor.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:17 PM
All quotes from this meeting are basically the same.
That's bad scripting, councillors, you can surely do better with your pre-meeting meetings in the wee party rooms.
Anyway, that's it, meeting over, bugger off.
That's bad scripting, councillors, you can surely do better with your pre-meeting meetings in the wee party rooms.
Anyway, that's it, meeting over, bugger off.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
too complicated imo. how about “ever notice how the people complaining about cancel culture are pedophiles?”
November 13, 2025 at 2:17 PM
too complicated imo. how about “ever notice how the people complaining about cancel culture are pedophiles?”
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
I think the banal answer is: he’s very rich and powerful and good at networking and this how people act around very rich and powerful people.
November 13, 2025 at 3:52 AM
I think the banal answer is: he’s very rich and powerful and good at networking and this how people act around very rich and powerful people.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
In the same week a news hurricane engulfs the BBC in the UK, the NYT: hold my beer.
To be fair, I believe the NYT deserves a shitstorm: it does brilliant journalism. It’s also untransparent & unaccountable
To be fair, I believe the NYT deserves a shitstorm: it does brilliant journalism. It’s also untransparent & unaccountable
To recap: Jeffrey Epstein offered a NY Times reporter photos taken in Epstein's kitchen of Donald Trump and girls in bikinis *and* implored the NYT reporter to put this information in the public discourse in 2015
What did the NY Times editors know about this offer?
What did the NY Times editors know about this offer?
“would you like photos of donald and girls in bikinis in my kitchen?” -Jeffrey Epstein
November 13, 2025 at 9:56 AM
In the same week a news hurricane engulfs the BBC in the UK, the NYT: hold my beer.
To be fair, I believe the NYT deserves a shitstorm: it does brilliant journalism. It’s also untransparent & unaccountable
To be fair, I believe the NYT deserves a shitstorm: it does brilliant journalism. It’s also untransparent & unaccountable
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
Conjecture: If the Vietnam War draft is any guide, most of those exiting the US will go to Canada and an order of magnitude fewer to Europe. In this case, there's also US private industry which will probably soak up most wavering early career folk.
And the academic exodus continues www.utoronto.ca/news/new-con...
New constellation of academic stars headed to U of T
In a “big win for Canada,” the University of Toronto is further strengthening its academic ranks with three top researchers from U.S. universities whose work ranges from the search for new planets to ...
www.utoronto.ca
November 13, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Conjecture: If the Vietnam War draft is any guide, most of those exiting the US will go to Canada and an order of magnitude fewer to Europe. In this case, there's also US private industry which will probably soak up most wavering early career folk.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
I don’t know at this point if there is enough evident to say “the New York Times, institutionally, was a co-conspirator with Epstein” but it’s basically beyond doubt at this point that at least one employee of the paper were co-conspirators and used their position at the paper to help affect that
Fall 2017: Then-NYT reporter literally warning Epstein that someone is "digging around again."
![From:
Thomas Jr., Landon
Sent:
9/27/2017 2:47:47 PM
To:
Subject:
Got another call from Connelly..
Importance:
High
Jeffrey Epstein [jeevacation@gmail.com]
He is digging around again -- not clear if its another book/or expanded paperback version. Was asking me all sorts of questions about why you hired Ken Starr. I told him I had no idea - I think he is doing some Trump-related digging too.
Anyway, for what its worth...
Landon Thomas, Jr.
Financial Reporter
New York Times
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/t/landon_ir thomas/index.h
tml](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:36eqtmzysqf7wsslczw4uxcd/bafkreia6463yzmb2suqn5rbfslvtta667av3ryynaetbsl7x6tniezyawu@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 12:11 AM
I don’t know at this point if there is enough evident to say “the New York Times, institutionally, was a co-conspirator with Epstein” but it’s basically beyond doubt at this point that at least one employee of the paper were co-conspirators and used their position at the paper to help affect that
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
And this is why the arts should be taught in schools.
The account owner of @sarahkendzior.bsky.social was suspended for 72 hours for expressing a desire to shoot the author of an article. The post, made 11/10, stated: "I want to shoot the author of this article just to watch him die." 1/2
November 13, 2025 at 12:50 AM
And this is why the arts should be taught in schools.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
A man has been found guilty of writing a stream of consciousness novel. He is about to start a 4 year sentence.
November 12, 2025 at 7:37 PM
A man has been found guilty of writing a stream of consciousness novel. He is about to start a 4 year sentence.
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
Voilà qui suppose la même unanimité qu'il y avait pour mettre fin à l' Apartheid . On s'honorerait à la construire aujourd'hui, car elle est loin d'exister. Malgré l'urgence 🚨🚨🚨 www.humanite.fr/monde/boycot...
« Si cela a fonctionné avec l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud, alors cela peut marcher avec Israël » : face au génocide à Gaza, Hania compte sur le boycott - L'Humanité
Pour cette Madrilène d’origine palestinienne, couper toute relation avec Israël reste l’un des moyens les plus efficaces pour lutter efficacement contre les politiques génocidaires v...
www.humanite.fr
November 12, 2025 at 9:43 PM
Voilà qui suppose la même unanimité qu'il y avait pour mettre fin à l' Apartheid . On s'honorerait à la construire aujourd'hui, car elle est loin d'exister. Malgré l'urgence 🚨🚨🚨 www.humanite.fr/monde/boycot...
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
If Finkelstein had an ounce of courage/moral fibre, he'd attack Dan Hannan and Michael Gove for this sub-BNP racism published yesterday in the Specator.
bsky.app/profile/pete...
bsky.app/profile/pete...
Spectator running a piece by Daniel Hannan which leans heavily into the inferred idea that you're not necessarily British if you come from a migrant background, even if you were born and brought up here.
November 12, 2025 at 6:27 PM
If Finkelstein had an ounce of courage/moral fibre, he'd attack Dan Hannan and Michael Gove for this sub-BNP racism published yesterday in the Specator.
bsky.app/profile/pete...
bsky.app/profile/pete...
Reposted by Brendan Halpin
My priors about Summers are unshifted
Insights from Larry Summers
"I observed that half the IQ In world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population..."
"I observed that half the IQ In world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population..."
November 12, 2025 at 8:53 PM
My priors about Summers are unshifted