Daniel Oppenheimer
@danielopp.bsky.social
Charity COO and non-exec
Requiring good English fine, but B2 is absurdly high. A B1 speaker of a language would appear to most people as "fluent" in the context of a normal real-world interaction.
October 14, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Requiring good English fine, but B2 is absurdly high. A B1 speaker of a language would appear to most people as "fluent" in the context of a normal real-world interaction.
Another reason why PM attacking him from the left is a problem for him - he has to try to tack back towards the centre (ha ha) which in turn makes it easier to outflank him on the right.
October 1, 2025 at 11:03 AM
Another reason why PM attacking him from the left is a problem for him - he has to try to tack back towards the centre (ha ha) which in turn makes it easier to outflank him on the right.
Hence I don't really buy that the Govt were too "scared" to respond earlier and have now had some sort of massive "change in strategy". Oppositions have to work very very hard to get noticed at all. Govts can pick their moment.
October 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Hence I don't really buy that the Govt were too "scared" to respond earlier and have now had some sort of massive "change in strategy". Oppositions have to work very very hard to get noticed at all. Govts can pick their moment.
Professional politics watchers clearly think this speed of response is super-important - it's a constant refrain on Bluesky. But honestly, will your average voter have noticed? I doubt it.
September 26, 2025 at 12:57 PM
Professional politics watchers clearly think this speed of response is super-important - it's a constant refrain on Bluesky. But honestly, will your average voter have noticed? I doubt it.
My pet hate is journos saying "x calls into question Starmer's judgement" where "judgement" effectively means "ability to identify an approach with no risks or downsides"
September 13, 2025 at 3:44 PM
My pet hate is journos saying "x calls into question Starmer's judgement" where "judgement" effectively means "ability to identify an approach with no risks or downsides"
So true and bizarrely rarely said. People know nothing about the Empire and it's not taught in schools, I suspect for the simple reason that it would be fantastically difficult to teach. Victorian politics is super-complicated AND you'd have to talk about the colonies as well.
August 27, 2025 at 8:32 AM
So true and bizarrely rarely said. People know nothing about the Empire and it's not taught in schools, I suspect for the simple reason that it would be fantastically difficult to teach. Victorian politics is super-complicated AND you'd have to talk about the colonies as well.
Thanks for sharing this - I was amazed & disappointed by the normally excellent FT's reporting of this as a "win" for Trump, esp that they entirely failed to report the important fact that the EU "promises" to buy US goods are worthless and meaningless. Can't understand why they took this line.
July 30, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Thanks for sharing this - I was amazed & disappointed by the normally excellent FT's reporting of this as a "win" for Trump, esp that they entirely failed to report the important fact that the EU "promises" to buy US goods are worthless and meaningless. Can't understand why they took this line.
Such a great exercise to do. I used to make this argument to people but used to be over five years rather than two....
June 11, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Such a great exercise to do. I used to make this argument to people but used to be over five years rather than two....
So true. Pick date X in recentish history, and then ask oneself if the world at X+5 was predictable at the time. Never is.
April 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
So true. Pick date X in recentish history, and then ask oneself if the world at X+5 was predictable at the time. Never is.
Brings back memories of Prague in 1990 - in theory restaurants were ludicrously cheap but you could never actually find a spare seat to eat the food. Rationing by availability instead of price!
April 16, 2025 at 10:59 AM
Brings back memories of Prague in 1990 - in theory restaurants were ludicrously cheap but you could never actually find a spare seat to eat the food. Rationing by availability instead of price!
ha ha very much identify (son in this case - but exactly the same result). Am already booking the recycling collections.
April 16, 2025 at 7:04 AM
ha ha very much identify (son in this case - but exactly the same result). Am already booking the recycling collections.
There have been a bunch of (excellent) 90 minute films recently - A Real Pain, September 5th, My Old Ass, Last Breath, and now this.
March 14, 2025 at 2:16 PM
There have been a bunch of (excellent) 90 minute films recently - A Real Pain, September 5th, My Old Ass, Last Breath, and now this.
Exactly. And even including measures known by then to have no health benefits (eg banning 3 people from meeting outside, in Jan 2021) because they "sent a message".
March 12, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Exactly. And even including measures known by then to have no health benefits (eg banning 3 people from meeting outside, in Jan 2021) because they "sent a message".
It was also that lockdowns became coded "health" ie NHS ie progressive, whereas opening things coded "capitalism" ie bad. Quite mad but real. Also some Fabian snobbery on the left about "you just want to open up so you can go to the pub"
March 12, 2025 at 12:47 PM
It was also that lockdowns became coded "health" ie NHS ie progressive, whereas opening things coded "capitalism" ie bad. Quite mad but real. Also some Fabian snobbery on the left about "you just want to open up so you can go to the pub"
Right but the "pardon" meant he was *considered for release* by a Parole Board ten months early. As it was reported at least, the Board had in theory the power to say "no sorry no pardon for you lad". Quite different surely.
January 29, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Right but the "pardon" meant he was *considered for release* by a Parole Board ten months early. As it was reported at least, the Board had in theory the power to say "no sorry no pardon for you lad". Quite different surely.
having electoral boundaries drawn by politicians is a pretty major although subtle flaw. But I don't know if that is Constitutional in origin. Also presidential power of pardon IS obviously wrong.
January 29, 2025 at 11:15 AM
having electoral boundaries drawn by politicians is a pretty major although subtle flaw. But I don't know if that is Constitutional in origin. Also presidential power of pardon IS obviously wrong.
Perfect example. Virtually 100% about her being "in trouble". And that is absolutely a choice by Politico. Would have been perfectly possible to say "but actually this is nonsense really because..." and explain why. www.politico.eu/newsletter/l...
Rachel Reeves’ sticky wicket
Presented by Goldman Sachs By STEFAN BOSCIA with BETHANY DAWSON PRESENTED BY Send tips here | Subscribe for free | Listen to Playbook and view in your browser Good Tuesday morning. This is Stefan B…
www.politico.eu
January 27, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Perfect example. Virtually 100% about her being "in trouble". And that is absolutely a choice by Politico. Would have been perfectly possible to say "but actually this is nonsense really because..." and explain why. www.politico.eu/newsletter/l...
isn't CGI the obvious analogy? It gets used a certain amount, but it hasn't replaced actually filming things, and people are quite rude about it when there's "too much" of it in a film.
January 24, 2025 at 12:43 PM
isn't CGI the obvious analogy? It gets used a certain amount, but it hasn't replaced actually filming things, and people are quite rude about it when there's "too much" of it in a film.
It's the problem with the "oh just set tough overall savings targets and tell managers to get on with it" approach to cost reduction. Maintenance always gets it in the neck bc the consequences come later.
January 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
It's the problem with the "oh just set tough overall savings targets and tell managers to get on with it" approach to cost reduction. Maintenance always gets it in the neck bc the consequences come later.
There's certainly a cultural barrier - I'd say Brits are more coy about talking about salary than many other cultures. But that is kind of an argument for doing this!
January 13, 2025 at 11:08 AM
There's certainly a cultural barrier - I'd say Brits are more coy about talking about salary than many other cultures. But that is kind of an argument for doing this!
The World Service is good but the whole point of it is that it puts UK in its proper perspective globally ie not much UK news so may not be what you're after.
January 7, 2025 at 10:49 AM
The World Service is good but the whole point of it is that it puts UK in its proper perspective globally ie not much UK news so may not be what you're after.
Baffled by what people are thinking when they move so negatively on Starmer in the space of TWO MONTHS. Not least because most people don't think that much about politics. It can't be non-scandals about free clothes.
December 13, 2024 at 10:51 AM
Baffled by what people are thinking when they move so negatively on Starmer in the space of TWO MONTHS. Not least because most people don't think that much about politics. It can't be non-scandals about free clothes.
Agree. It is literally meaningless. Hell, the first cut of annual GDP is pretty much meaningless these days.
December 13, 2024 at 10:35 AM
Agree. It is literally meaningless. Hell, the first cut of annual GDP is pretty much meaningless these days.
Actually having a modest Christmas party paid for by the department would be, on a rational basis, a good use of public funds (£ cost v morale benefit). And is of course completely impossible bc potential headlines.
December 10, 2024 at 1:14 PM
Actually having a modest Christmas party paid for by the department would be, on a rational basis, a good use of public funds (£ cost v morale benefit). And is of course completely impossible bc potential headlines.
RMT only. ASLEF still going ahead no?
November 1, 2024 at 2:35 PM
RMT only. ASLEF still going ahead no?