James Bottomley
@jamesbottomley.bsky.social
UK-based older project consultant guy with history in both public and private sectors. Enjoys chatting about politics, society, culture, etc. Spent time in many countries, including working in the US, so moderately familiar with other lands.
Reposted by James Bottomley
I'll be on Politics Live from 1115 today, on BBC 2. Do tune in if you can. Usual mayhem expected.
November 12, 2025 at 10:17 AM
I'll be on Politics Live from 1115 today, on BBC 2. Do tune in if you can. Usual mayhem expected.
Blairite targets, the sadistic response of government to every problem, makes the public think something is happening, plus a bonus of causing more pain and harassment to overworked staff struggling amidst chronic underfunding. Now with added toxic AI.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
All schools in England to be given AI-generated pupil attendance targets
Unions decry move, saying it will put more pressure on headteachers without tackling absence from classrooms
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Blairite targets, the sadistic response of government to every problem, makes the public think something is happening, plus a bonus of causing more pain and harassment to overworked staff struggling amidst chronic underfunding. Now with added toxic AI.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by James Bottomley
Newsom at the Brazil UN Climate Summit:
"I come here with humility, mindful that the Trump Administration has abandoned any sense of responsibility. It's an abomination. A disgrace.
But California has a different state of mind. A different quality of imagination. And is a stable partner..."
"I come here with humility, mindful that the Trump Administration has abandoned any sense of responsibility. It's an abomination. A disgrace.
But California has a different state of mind. A different quality of imagination. And is a stable partner..."
November 11, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Newsom at the Brazil UN Climate Summit:
"I come here with humility, mindful that the Trump Administration has abandoned any sense of responsibility. It's an abomination. A disgrace.
But California has a different state of mind. A different quality of imagination. And is a stable partner..."
"I come here with humility, mindful that the Trump Administration has abandoned any sense of responsibility. It's an abomination. A disgrace.
But California has a different state of mind. A different quality of imagination. And is a stable partner..."
Russia's new frontline bot soldiers are ready for live deployment at the front.
Russia's 1st humanoid robot was revealed today. A bit like a mobik, it fell over as if shot and our efforts at hiding the disaster convinced no one.
November 11, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Russia's new frontline bot soldiers are ready for live deployment at the front.
The so-called 'independent' report of bias submitted to the BBC board was actually the work of incredibly bigoted right wing ultras with long histories of serving Trump, Brexit and other nefarious right wing causes.
In part 2 of my @bylinetimes.bsky.social investigation, I reveal how the 'BBC bias' memo - written by a Trump-aligned lobbyist whose firm was paid up to a million by pro-Trump donor tech giants - was politically biased and reliant on pro-Trump partisan sources bylinetimes.com/2025/11/11/p...
The Pro-Trump Bias of the 'Neutral' Sources in the Leaked BBC 'Prescott Dossier'
Byline Times’ analysis of key sources in the memo about the BBC’s alleged ‘progressive bias’ shows it relied on highly partisan right-wing, Trump-aligned organisations
bylinetimes.com
November 11, 2025 at 4:15 PM
The so-called 'independent' report of bias submitted to the BBC board was actually the work of incredibly bigoted right wing ultras with long histories of serving Trump, Brexit and other nefarious right wing causes.
American law in action.
Donald Trump’s demand for a billion dollars from the BBC comes from a local Florida law firm. It was sent to the wrong address, and the writer didn’t know what ‘salacious’ really means: ‘Due to their salacious nature, the fabricated statements that were aired by the BBC…’
November 11, 2025 at 10:05 AM
American law in action.
Reposted by James Bottomley
Whole fucking thing makes me sick to my stomach. An abject fucking liar, a man who lies as easily as he fucking breathes, threatening an organisation which strives for truthfulness. And plastic patriots like the Mail and Farage urging him on. Jackels.
November 11, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Whole fucking thing makes me sick to my stomach. An abject fucking liar, a man who lies as easily as he fucking breathes, threatening an organisation which strives for truthfulness. And plastic patriots like the Mail and Farage urging him on. Jackels.
Reposted by James Bottomley
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …
November 10, 2025 at 5:44 AM
Once every 20 years or so, the director-general of the BBC is forced to resign for being insufficiently rightwing. Alastair Milne in 1987. Greg Dyke in 2004. Tim Davie in 2025. The great irony is that the BBC was in all cases profoundly biased towards established power. But just not biased enough …
Reposted by James Bottomley
I've always felt that Johnson and Farage put self-interest over the national interest - hence their dallying with Putin and his oligarchs. But directly colluding with a foreign government to take down the BBC feels like an act of supreme treachery
November 10, 2025 at 5:50 PM
I've always felt that Johnson and Farage put self-interest over the national interest - hence their dallying with Putin and his oligarchs. But directly colluding with a foreign government to take down the BBC feels like an act of supreme treachery
".... the sheer number of attacks and their increasingly wild nature ... are a product of a political and media establishment rattled by a party that’s growing fast and willing to say the unsayable: that our country has been hijacked by ... the super-wealthy."
-- Zack Polanski
-- Zack Polanski
November 10, 2025 at 12:07 PM
".... the sheer number of attacks and their increasingly wild nature ... are a product of a political and media establishment rattled by a party that’s growing fast and willing to say the unsayable: that our country has been hijacked by ... the super-wealthy."
-- Zack Polanski
-- Zack Polanski
Reading the Mail comments this morning, it's striking how much the Mail's audience buy into the mad theory that the BBC is a haven of lefties. The underlying logic is that the BBC is not sufficiently or blatantly racist. That's enough for the Mail to convince its tame sheeple of this insane theory.
November 10, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reading the Mail comments this morning, it's striking how much the Mail's audience buy into the mad theory that the BBC is a haven of lefties. The underlying logic is that the BBC is not sufficiently or blatantly racist. That's enough for the Mail to convince its tame sheeple of this insane theory.
Object to government plans to build AI datacentres using... AI.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
AI-powered nimbyism could grind UK planning system to a halt, experts warn
Tools that help people scan applications and find grounds for objection have potential to hit government’s housebuilding plans
www.theguardian.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Object to government plans to build AI datacentres using... AI.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
You couldn't make up this level of government stupidity. Overhead wires as far as Wigston but not into Leicester. Lol.
Govt scraps all electrification investment. Midland Main Line to stay forever diesel Leicester Nottingham Derby Sheffield. Hugely embarrassing and inexplicable
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
www.ft.com/content/5ecd...
UK transport secretary says full electrification of railways ‘not affordable right now’
Heidi Alexander says focus will be on other projects such as HS2
www.ft.com
November 9, 2025 at 11:31 AM
You couldn't make up this level of government stupidity. Overhead wires as far as Wigston but not into Leicester. Lol.
Derbyshire Doge. Reform are spending £5m on consultants to tell them where to save money. 😂
The Reform UK DOGE lie.
Derbyshire Council’s Reform cabinet meeting on Thursday 13 November has a little surprise.
Members are being asked to approve measures to employ outside consultants a transformation and efficiency programme. The cost of this? Up to £5 million.
Derbyshire Council’s Reform cabinet meeting on Thursday 13 November has a little surprise.
Members are being asked to approve measures to employ outside consultants a transformation and efficiency programme. The cost of this? Up to £5 million.
November 9, 2025 at 7:41 AM
Derbyshire Doge. Reform are spending £5m on consultants to tell them where to save money. 😂
Reposted by James Bottomley
England facing drastic measures due to extreme drought next year.
Country surrounded by water has water shortages.
2024: 1trn litre of lost to leaks.
Sewage dumped in rivers for 4m hours.
No new reservoirs.
Investment neglected, £85bn paid in dividend.
Record high water bills.
People fleeced.
Country surrounded by water has water shortages.
2024: 1trn litre of lost to leaks.
Sewage dumped in rivers for 4m hours.
No new reservoirs.
Investment neglected, £85bn paid in dividend.
Record high water bills.
People fleeced.
England facing drastic measures due to extreme drought next year
Government and water companies are devising emergency plans for worst water shortage in decades
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:06 AM
England facing drastic measures due to extreme drought next year.
Country surrounded by water has water shortages.
2024: 1trn litre of lost to leaks.
Sewage dumped in rivers for 4m hours.
No new reservoirs.
Investment neglected, £85bn paid in dividend.
Record high water bills.
People fleeced.
Country surrounded by water has water shortages.
2024: 1trn litre of lost to leaks.
Sewage dumped in rivers for 4m hours.
No new reservoirs.
Investment neglected, £85bn paid in dividend.
Record high water bills.
People fleeced.
Clip shows very clearly the extraordinary levels of racism amongst DHS operatives and the attitudes they have to lawful authority. Trump and his MAGA circle have created an internal Stasi of the far right, opposed to the rule of law.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU-j...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU-j...
ICE agent erupts after black officer stops him for DUI
YouTube video by The Independent
www.youtube.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Clip shows very clearly the extraordinary levels of racism amongst DHS operatives and the attitudes they have to lawful authority. Trump and his MAGA circle have created an internal Stasi of the far right, opposed to the rule of law.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU-j...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU-j...
Time for Lavrov to start avoiding high windows.
❗️According to The Moscow Times, Lavrov lost his popularity with Putin after he failed to organize a summit between Putin and Trump in Budapest. Trump soon imposed tough sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, the first since his return to the White House.
November 6, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Time for Lavrov to start avoiding high windows.
The 'Palestine Action backed by Iran' story was a total fabrication, concocted by the PR firm for Elbit systems.
November 5, 2025 at 5:20 PM
The 'Palestine Action backed by Iran' story was a total fabrication, concocted by the PR firm for Elbit systems.
Roblox - offering global commercial exploitation of children's labour and mental health, 24/7, on a tablet near you. Zero ethics and no moral inhibitions are part of the deal. Your children enter at their peril.
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
My chilling week on Roblox: sexually assaulted and shat on as a child avatar roaming the online world
In seven days my young alter ego is cyberbullied and attacked while exploring clubs, casinos and horror games, all with parental controls in place. Is the platform safe for children – or an ‘X-rated p...
www.theguardian.com
November 5, 2025 at 3:44 PM
Roblox - offering global commercial exploitation of children's labour and mental health, 24/7, on a tablet near you. Zero ethics and no moral inhibitions are part of the deal. Your children enter at their peril.
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/games/2025/n...
The Mail are well aware of what they are and what they do.
School pupils are to be taught how to tackle conspiracy theories, spot 'fake news' & root out misinformation. The Daily Mail, ajudged by Wikipedia to be an unreliable new source, is furious. You don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to work out why.
November 5, 2025 at 9:22 AM
The Mail are well aware of what they are and what they do.
Everyday life at Trump headquarters.
Guests cheer on women dancing for them at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
This is the same group of people that gets offended by NFL halftime shows.
This is the same group of people that gets offended by NFL halftime shows.
November 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Everyday life at Trump headquarters.
Terrible news. Buyers of superyachts are 'just browsing' at this UK boat show and sales of the £1m+ boats are severely depressed. Not so of course in the US and the many tax havens, where business continues to roar along.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
‘It’s brutal, they feel very attacked’: budget uncertainty hits Southampton boat show
Rising prices and uncertainty over Rachel Reeves’s tax plans means this year many superyacht buyers are just browsing
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Terrible news. Buyers of superyachts are 'just browsing' at this UK boat show and sales of the £1m+ boats are severely depressed. Not so of course in the US and the many tax havens, where business continues to roar along.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Whilst the HMRC are busy persecuting entirely innocent recipients of child benefit for the crime of going on holiday abroad, a different department is busy handing out tax refunds to scammers and then hassling the person the refund was actually owed to.
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
HMRC gave a refund from my tax account to fraudster making repayment claim
I was in credit but HMRC handed £2,500 over to someone impersonating me on the phone, and says I’m in debt
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Whilst the HMRC are busy persecuting entirely innocent recipients of child benefit for the crime of going on holiday abroad, a different department is busy handing out tax refunds to scammers and then hassling the person the refund was actually owed to.
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/money/2025/n...
The universe is stranger than we normally think.
Image of the Sun.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
Taken at night.
Not looking up at sky but down through 8000 miles of rock to the other side of the Earth.
Not with light but neutrinos.
November 1, 2025 at 11:38 AM
The universe is stranger than we normally think.
There have been or two bright spots like Caerphilly that showed voters may reject Farage at times, but overall, Reform are gaining roughly in line with their high polling figures.
% of Seats Successfully Defended by Each Party:
🔶 LDM: 93% (26/28)
🌍 GRN: 67% (6/9)
➡️ RFM: 50% (4/8)
🌹 LAB: 28% (13/47)
🌳 CON: 27% (9/33)
🏘️ Localists: 0% (0/9)
🔶 LDM: 93% (26/28)
🌍 GRN: 67% (6/9)
➡️ RFM: 50% (4/8)
🌹 LAB: 28% (13/47)
🌳 CON: 27% (9/33)
🏘️ Localists: 0% (0/9)
Aggregate Result of the 145 Council By-Elections (for 148 Seats) since the 2025 Local Elections:
RFM: 51 (+43)
LDM: 45 (+17)
CON: 16 (-17)
LAB: 13 (-34)
GRN: 11 (+2)
Ind: 6 (-4)
Local: 3 (-6)
SNP: 2 (-1)
PLC: 1 (=)
Explore: electionmaps.uk/byelections-...
RFM: 51 (+43)
LDM: 45 (+17)
CON: 16 (-17)
LAB: 13 (-34)
GRN: 11 (+2)
Ind: 6 (-4)
Local: 3 (-6)
SNP: 2 (-1)
PLC: 1 (=)
Explore: electionmaps.uk/byelections-...
October 31, 2025 at 1:55 PM
There have been or two bright spots like Caerphilly that showed voters may reject Farage at times, but overall, Reform are gaining roughly in line with their high polling figures.