@samibabble.bsky.social
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Me, aged 13: In the future we’ll have jetpacks.
Me, aged 55: No jetpack, mate, but we might need to get a certificate from the Author’s Guild to prove we’re human.
Me, aged 55: No jetpack, mate, but we might need to get a certificate from the Author’s Guild to prove we’re human.
March 21, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Me, aged 13: In the future we’ll have jetpacks.
Me, aged 55: No jetpack, mate, but we might need to get a certificate from the Author’s Guild to prove we’re human.
Me, aged 55: No jetpack, mate, but we might need to get a certificate from the Author’s Guild to prove we’re human.
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Favourite cabinet minister among Labour members is Ed Miliband, followed by Angela Rayner. The PM is 17th most popular and two ministers have a net negative rating: Liz Kendall and Rachel Reeves. Via Labour List labourlist.org/2025/03/cabi...
Cabinet league tables: LabourList-Survation poll on members’ favourites - LabourList
Ed Miliband is the most liked member of the Labour Cabinet among LabourList readers, a new poll can reveal.
labourlist.org
March 21, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Favourite cabinet minister among Labour members is Ed Miliband, followed by Angela Rayner. The PM is 17th most popular and two ministers have a net negative rating: Liz Kendall and Rachel Reeves. Via Labour List labourlist.org/2025/03/cabi...
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A hegemon that can be instantly mocked with missiles as Putin did last night is no hegemon.
Which is, of course, why Putin, being the street rat he is, did it: to show to the world that Trump and Musk have made the USA a state that can be openly and safely mocked.
Which is, of course, why Putin, being the street rat he is, did it: to show to the world that Trump and Musk have made the USA a state that can be openly and safely mocked.
March 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
A hegemon that can be instantly mocked with missiles as Putin did last night is no hegemon.
Which is, of course, why Putin, being the street rat he is, did it: to show to the world that Trump and Musk have made the USA a state that can be openly and safely mocked.
Which is, of course, why Putin, being the street rat he is, did it: to show to the world that Trump and Musk have made the USA a state that can be openly and safely mocked.
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When I wrote my camps book, people sometimes had difficulty understanding how concentration-camp regimes were proud of what they were doing and wanted attention for it, even as they also hoped to keep many aspects secret and terrorize vulnerable classes. Anyway, this is what that looks like.
Leavitt: "We are encouraging illegal immigrants to actively self-deport to maybe save themselves from being in one of these fun videos."
March 17, 2025 at 6:01 PM
When I wrote my camps book, people sometimes had difficulty understanding how concentration-camp regimes were proud of what they were doing and wanted attention for it, even as they also hoped to keep many aspects secret and terrorize vulnerable classes. Anyway, this is what that looks like.
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Keir Starmer to drive through welfare cuts for UK’s most severely disabled people, more than 600,000 benefit claimants could lose out on an average of £675 a month.
Awful, inhumane.
No cuts to corporate welfare, won't tax the rich.
People sacrificed to gods of neoliberalism.
Awful, inhumane.
No cuts to corporate welfare, won't tax the rich.
People sacrificed to gods of neoliberalism.
Starmer to drive through welfare cuts that could affect UK’s most severely disabled
PM faces backlash over plans to tighten eligibility, potentially leaving over 600,000 claimants £675 a month worse off
www.theguardian.com
March 17, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Keir Starmer to drive through welfare cuts for UK’s most severely disabled people, more than 600,000 benefit claimants could lose out on an average of £675 a month.
Awful, inhumane.
No cuts to corporate welfare, won't tax the rich.
People sacrificed to gods of neoliberalism.
Awful, inhumane.
No cuts to corporate welfare, won't tax the rich.
People sacrificed to gods of neoliberalism.
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US deports hundreds of Venezuelans "despite" court order.
Meaning, of course: "in breach of".
On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders.
Crisis point reached.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Meaning, of course: "in breach of".
On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders.
Crisis point reached.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans to El Salvador despite court order
Their arrival comes less than 24 hours after a federal judge blocked a law Trump planned to use for the deportations.
www.bbc.com
March 16, 2025 at 5:24 PM
US deports hundreds of Venezuelans "despite" court order.
Meaning, of course: "in breach of".
On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders.
Crisis point reached.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Meaning, of course: "in breach of".
On the face of it, it looks like there is now a full constitutional crisis in United States, in that the executive is now freely ignoring court orders.
Crisis point reached.
www.bbc.com/news/article...
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Privilege is working for an evil company that fucked up the world and helping them do so before leaving to publish a book about it that will sell loads and change nothing.
March 16, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Privilege is working for an evil company that fucked up the world and helping them do so before leaving to publish a book about it that will sell loads and change nothing.
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One thing that’s become very clear from media interviews about a possible Ukraine ceasefire last night and this morning – and not for the first time – is that the summary of what Putin said that is being fed to Western newsrooms in English is very different from what he actually said in Russian.
Surprised to see so many headlines from news outlets suggesting Putin has agreed to a ceasefire.
He’s done no such thing. He’s basically said he would do in theory, providing his conditions are met, on his terms. Which is just a variation on what he’s always said.
He’s done no such thing. He’s basically said he would do in theory, providing his conditions are met, on his terms. Which is just a variation on what he’s always said.
March 14, 2025 at 8:56 AM
One thing that’s become very clear from media interviews about a possible Ukraine ceasefire last night and this morning – and not for the first time – is that the summary of what Putin said that is being fed to Western newsrooms in English is very different from what he actually said in Russian.
Its not that ministers have seen some incredible use case for LLMs that we haven't. When they say it will revolutionize government they mean that maybe chat GPT will give them some original ideas. (It wont).
🚨 @newscientist.com SCOOP: I've exclusively obtained Peter Kyle's interactions with ChatGPT using FOI laws - in what I believe may be a world-first transparency release. The chatbot said "Lack of Government or Institutional Support" slowed UK AI adoption www.newscientist.com/article/2472...
Revealed: How the UK tech secretary uses ChatGPT for policy advice
New Scientist has used freedom of information laws to obtain the ChatGPT records of Peter Kyle, the UK's technology secretary, in what is believed to be a world-first use of such legislation
www.newscientist.com
March 13, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Its not that ministers have seen some incredible use case for LLMs that we haven't. When they say it will revolutionize government they mean that maybe chat GPT will give them some original ideas. (It wont).
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"Car dealership that disappears political dissidents" really does feel like the form America has been building to this whole time.
March 12, 2025 at 2:48 AM
"Car dealership that disappears political dissidents" really does feel like the form America has been building to this whole time.
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The DOD was taking climate change seriously when the rest of the US govt was still hamstrung by denialism. They were taking it seriously because of its implications for war-fighting. Which I found highly concerning given paucity of action elsewhere. But we are truly though the looking glass here.
There are too many examples of military operations that are successful or fail due to weather. It’s not like one of the jobs of the S2 is to brief weather and its impact on operations. We really are being led by a bunch of subpar GWOT officers who couldn’t make it pass CPT or MAJ.
March 10, 2025 at 1:06 PM
The DOD was taking climate change seriously when the rest of the US govt was still hamstrung by denialism. They were taking it seriously because of its implications for war-fighting. Which I found highly concerning given paucity of action elsewhere. But we are truly though the looking glass here.
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I believe history will record one of the great failings of opposition to fascism in our era was so many Leftists continuing to use media platforms inherently opposed to them & morally bankrupt like Substack, YouTube & fucking twitter. It’s just like waving a pathetic tiny protest sign in Congress.
I wrote this morning about samizdat - the underground press in the Soviet Union - and how it's up to us to build new systems of spreading information, especially if it’s small, local and offline. We can’t keep waiting on billionaires and donors and Mark Cuban to do something.
Conservative propaganda is top-down and liberal and leftist media is not. The more we say "liberal and leftist media" as if it's a thing any one entity can steer, the more we absolve ourselves of the responsibility to push back against the fascists.
March 8, 2025 at 9:01 AM
I believe history will record one of the great failings of opposition to fascism in our era was so many Leftists continuing to use media platforms inherently opposed to them & morally bankrupt like Substack, YouTube & fucking twitter. It’s just like waving a pathetic tiny protest sign in Congress.
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Maxar has cut off satellite imagery access to Ukraine, undoubtedly due to pressure from the U.S. government.
This means that not just classified, but commercially available unclassified intelligence products are being cut off.
I now fully expect Starlink to be next.
This means that not just classified, but commercially available unclassified intelligence products are being cut off.
I now fully expect Starlink to be next.
March 7, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Maxar has cut off satellite imagery access to Ukraine, undoubtedly due to pressure from the U.S. government.
This means that not just classified, but commercially available unclassified intelligence products are being cut off.
I now fully expect Starlink to be next.
This means that not just classified, but commercially available unclassified intelligence products are being cut off.
I now fully expect Starlink to be next.
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After the AfD's surge on Sunday, far right parties are the most voted-for of any grouping in Europe, for the first time in history: www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
February 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
After the AfD's surge on Sunday, far right parties are the most voted-for of any grouping in Europe, for the first time in history: www.economist.com/graphic-deta...
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They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists
Andrew Tate and brother leave Romania for US after travel ban lifted
Self-styled ‘misogynist influencer’ and brother Tristan had been banned from leaving Romania since December 2023
www.theguardian.com
February 27, 2025 at 4:09 PM
They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists
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Again, folks seem not to grasp how much this is a total collapse of the Constitutional order. A random private citizen is running the "Cabinet" meeting of POTUS & the Principal Officers of the Executive Departments, & going around unplugging large portions of the government. And we're all just 🤷♂️
This man is barely even a formal government employee, let alone elected or Senate-confirmed. A total failure of the Constitutional order, just broadcast & normalized by every major media outlet.
Elon Musk is now presiding over the cabinet meeting. They're not beating the co-president allegations. (And co-president might be putting it charitably for Trump.)
February 26, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Again, folks seem not to grasp how much this is a total collapse of the Constitutional order. A random private citizen is running the "Cabinet" meeting of POTUS & the Principal Officers of the Executive Departments, & going around unplugging large portions of the government. And we're all just 🤷♂️
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I don't think you can look at what is brewing in Washington right now and just assume that the US will still be a functioning geopolitical actor this time next year
February 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I don't think you can look at what is brewing in Washington right now and just assume that the US will still be a functioning geopolitical actor this time next year
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so much of the tech industry's right-wing turn has been because they believe that LLMs will free them from their employees, whom they hate.
I wonder how much of Elon’s fascism is driven by the fact that he fucking hates his employees. Like, SpaceX engineers might have some of the most liberal politics out of the industry, and I imagine it drives him mad.
February 24, 2025 at 7:04 AM
so much of the tech industry's right-wing turn has been because they believe that LLMs will free them from their employees, whom they hate.
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"Labour's cracking down on illegal immigration so now I'll vote for them" - the Labour Right fever dream for 25 years, never spoken by a single actual voter
February 8, 2025 at 6:56 AM
"Labour's cracking down on illegal immigration so now I'll vote for them" - the Labour Right fever dream for 25 years, never spoken by a single actual voter
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A harsh and highly critical analysis, but a fair summation of how poor Keir Starmer is at governing. He'll meekly allow the Labour Right to lead him off the cliff, all while blaming the left-wing of the party for his many failings.
Starmer's own team are briefing that their man is a useless waste of space.
The truth is Starmer did literally everything the Labour Right wanted him to do.
That's why his government is a disaster.
New post 👇
www.owenjones.news/p/keir-starm...
The truth is Starmer did literally everything the Labour Right wanted him to do.
That's why his government is a disaster.
New post 👇
www.owenjones.news/p/keir-starm...
February 3, 2025 at 10:39 AM
A harsh and highly critical analysis, but a fair summation of how poor Keir Starmer is at governing. He'll meekly allow the Labour Right to lead him off the cliff, all while blaming the left-wing of the party for his many failings.
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Ah damn it turns out this whole political system relies on false assumptions about how big of an asshole someone could be
February 1, 2025 at 6:06 AM
Ah damn it turns out this whole political system relies on false assumptions about how big of an asshole someone could be