Simon Rae-Scott
@simonraescott.bsky.social
Developer of business models and solutions across materials and information technologies and inveterate opponent of the slide into Fascism in the UK, the EU & the US.
Appalling case from Sir Alan Moses, 1st IPSOchair, for not pursuing Leveson 2 on R4 Today. It's not a call for "Legislating in tears". Nor is the price of a free press, the frequent outrage of our press monstering our citizens. Malevolence of the powerful in a mannered voice is still Malevolence.
December 11, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Appalling case from Sir Alan Moses, 1st IPSOchair, for not pursuing Leveson 2 on R4 Today. It's not a call for "Legislating in tears". Nor is the price of a free press, the frequent outrage of our press monstering our citizens. Malevolence of the powerful in a mannered voice is still Malevolence.
"Press barons can meet the prime minister, but the people who have suffered at the hands of them can't." It is the moment to demand the PM commits to the manifesto promise for Leveson 2 and restarts the inquiry that can hold the press barons to account. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/do...
Don’t bow down to media billionaires: protect victims!
Madeleine McCann’s parents, the families of Hillsborough victims, and Caroline Flack’s mum all know what it is like to be targeted by an intrusive press. That’s why over 30 high-profile victims wrote ...
you.38degrees.org.uk
December 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
"Press barons can meet the prime minister, but the people who have suffered at the hands of them can't." It is the moment to demand the PM commits to the manifesto promise for Leveson 2 and restarts the inquiry that can hold the press barons to account. you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/do...
Pre-mortem for ChatGPT and AI generally: open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Three years on, ChatGPT still isn't what it was cracked up to be – and it probably never will be
A skeptic’s pre-mortem
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Pre-mortem for ChatGPT and AI generally: open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Anything but a Brexit benefit then that we made this agreement independent of EU action to contain the Trump administration's tariff pressures on key economic sectors such as pharmaceuticals. Our historical UK-US links may have enabled it to happen quickly but we're "Back of the Queue" in reality.
December 4, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Anything but a Brexit benefit then that we made this agreement independent of EU action to contain the Trump administration's tariff pressures on key economic sectors such as pharmaceuticals. Our historical UK-US links may have enabled it to happen quickly but we're "Back of the Queue" in reality.
For those wondering whether AI is just a damp squib behind the trillion dollar investment bubble now about to burst: "Three years on, ChatGPT still isn't what it was cracked up to be – and it probably never will be…" open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Three years on, ChatGPT still isn't what it was cracked up to be – and it probably never will be
A skeptic’s pre-mortem
open.substack.com
December 4, 2025 at 12:05 AM
For those wondering whether AI is just a damp squib behind the trillion dollar investment bubble now about to burst: "Three years on, ChatGPT still isn't what it was cracked up to be – and it probably never will be…" open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
So the Lords think it's acceptable to inflict an Unfair Dismissal on a worker simply because she or he is a new member of staff. Be clear that this is nothing to do with a probationary period – it's just a licence to bad employers to transgress for a six month period. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Labour ditches day-one protection from unfair dismissal in U-turn
The right will now be introduced after six months, in a breach of Labour's election manifesto.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 28, 2025 at 8:51 AM
So the Lords think it's acceptable to inflict an Unfair Dismissal on a worker simply because she or he is a new member of staff. Be clear that this is nothing to do with a probationary period – it's just a licence to bad employers to transgress for a six month period. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
News on Ukraine is depressing enough this weekend without having to listen to Jonny Dymond trumpeting Russian talking points to Ukraine's Arseniy Petrovych and cravenly failing to challenge Trump apologist K T McFarland. Sanity came from Bronwen Maddox and Ian Bremmer. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
BBC Radio 4 - The World This Weekend
Radio 4's look at the week's big stories from both home and around the world.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 3:17 PM
News on Ukraine is depressing enough this weekend without having to listen to Jonny Dymond trumpeting Russian talking points to Ukraine's Arseniy Petrovych and cravenly failing to challenge Trump apologist K T McFarland. Sanity came from Bronwen Maddox and Ian Bremmer. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...
Johnson – responsible for a catastrophic failure of focus and decision making in spite of all the evidence sent by suffering nations ahead of the arrival of Covid-19 in the UK. 38º is proposing one form of sanction. Many will prefer legal redress for his failures in office as PM. 38d.gs/bojo_all_df
Sign the petition: Strip Boris Johnson of his annual former PM allowance
23,000. That's how many deaths can be blamed on Boris Johnson's chaotic Covid decisions and delays. Enough is enough, he must be stripped of his annual £115,000 handout. Sign the petition today:
38d.gs
November 21, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Johnson – responsible for a catastrophic failure of focus and decision making in spite of all the evidence sent by suffering nations ahead of the arrival of Covid-19 in the UK. 38º is proposing one form of sanction. Many will prefer legal redress for his failures in office as PM. 38d.gs/bojo_all_df
Before we pile in to condemn Gill, Farage's MEP deputy in the EP, let's not forget those Tory connections to Russians, not least Johnson as Foreign Secretary in 2018 leaving a NATO meeting to join the KGB's Alexander Lebedev at his villa in Italy alone – sans security. news.sky.com/story/boris-...
'Unthinkable' that Boris Johnson met ex-KGB agent Alexander Lebedev alone after Salisbury poisonings, Yvette Cooper says
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tells Sky News it was "irresponsible" and "unthinkable" that Mr Johnson, who was then foreign secretary, would have such an encounter without officials being presen...
news.sky.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Before we pile in to condemn Gill, Farage's MEP deputy in the EP, let's not forget those Tory connections to Russians, not least Johnson as Foreign Secretary in 2018 leaving a NATO meeting to join the KGB's Alexander Lebedev at his villa in Italy alone – sans security. news.sky.com/story/boris-...
Shabana Mahmood going full fascist in her proposed treatment of refugees seeking asylum needs to be a moment of deep shame for the country and most especially for this Labour government. The chance of my ever voting Labour again hangs in the balance. I expect MPs and Ministers to express outrage.
November 17, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Shabana Mahmood going full fascist in her proposed treatment of refugees seeking asylum needs to be a moment of deep shame for the country and most especially for this Labour government. The chance of my ever voting Labour again hangs in the balance. I expect MPs and Ministers to express outrage.
Great analysis of the current BBC imbroglio – 'Cannons to the right of them, cannons…' etc. – by Alan Rusbridger in Prospect Magazine: "Who, bluntly, would you trust more to be impartial on the Middle East—Robbie Gibb, Michael Prescott or Lyse Doucet?" www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
The BBC has bigger impartiality problems than its coverage of Trump
It is the BBC’s entire governance structure–rather than individual stories–that should cause most concern
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Great analysis of the current BBC imbroglio – 'Cannons to the right of them, cannons…' etc. – by Alan Rusbridger in Prospect Magazine: "Who, bluntly, would you trust more to be impartial on the Middle East—Robbie Gibb, Michael Prescott or Lyse Doucet?" www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
BBC R4: A very grown up Desert Island Discs this morning with the Photographer Sally Mann – very much "The Poet's Eye" – a difficult and emotional listen as she talks about her exploration of life, death and transfiguration and her journey from growing up in the Deep South – the art to fight for.
November 14, 2025 at 10:17 AM
BBC R4: A very grown up Desert Island Discs this morning with the Photographer Sally Mann – very much "The Poet's Eye" – a difficult and emotional listen as she talks about her exploration of life, death and transfiguration and her journey from growing up in the Deep South – the art to fight for.
Timely intervention from John Swinney reported by the BBC – “If the BBC wants to be viewed as an impartial organisation that's authoritative, that reflects the independence of commentary, then I think Robbie Gibb's position is untenable." www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Trump threatens legal action against BBC as chair apologises for 'error of judgement' on speech edit
The BBC says it will respond
www.bbc.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Timely intervention from John Swinney reported by the BBC – “If the BBC wants to be viewed as an impartial organisation that's authoritative, that reflects the independence of commentary, then I think Robbie Gibb's position is untenable." www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cd...
Infuriating to hear Nick Robinson's Today programme dissection of BBC travails over the its Panorama programme on what a second Trump term might mean. Seems this is a final fling of Boris Johnson's appointee Robbie Gibb, in post to hold the Brexiter 'Through the Looking Glass' view of impartiality.
November 10, 2025 at 9:47 AM
Infuriating to hear Nick Robinson's Today programme dissection of BBC travails over the its Panorama programme on what a second Trump term might mean. Seems this is a final fling of Boris Johnson's appointee Robbie Gibb, in post to hold the Brexiter 'Through the Looking Glass' view of impartiality.
The new Affinity vector, pixel & design 'all in one' app – Free, Forever AND, in the Canva tab, "We don't use your AI generated creativity to train our AI!" Somebody's been listening in the UK to the issues of Privacy, IP & IoT & the abuses of corporate AI overreach. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsd...
What's New in Affinity 3.0? 10 New Features You Need to See!
YouTube video by Kru Mark Tutorials
www.youtube.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:59 PM
The new Affinity vector, pixel & design 'all in one' app – Free, Forever AND, in the Canva tab, "We don't use your AI generated creativity to train our AI!" Somebody's been listening in the UK to the issues of Privacy, IP & IoT & the abuses of corporate AI overreach. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSsd...
How extraordinary is that we are pouring sewage into our most significant fresh water lake? Wanton vandalism driven by venality would be too kind a description. It's more than time to act against the directors of our privatised water companies. c.org/QRcvrLrvBF
We Can Make an Impact.
Make it a crime to discharge sewage in Windermere
c.org
November 2, 2025 at 12:15 PM
How extraordinary is that we are pouring sewage into our most significant fresh water lake? Wanton vandalism driven by venality would be too kind a description. It's more than time to act against the directors of our privatised water companies. c.org/QRcvrLrvBF
The missing arm of NHS healthcare provision. Millions struggle to access affordable NHS dental care. I’ve signed 38 Degrees’ petition demanding Keir Starmer properly funds NHS dentistry now, will you join me? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/fu...
Save NHS dentistry now!
I just signed the 38 Degrees petition calling on the Government to properly fund NHS dentistry. Millions of us are still struggling to access affordable dental care, so now the Government needs to stu...
you.38degrees.org.uk
October 30, 2025 at 12:42 PM
The missing arm of NHS healthcare provision. Millions struggle to access affordable NHS dental care. I’ve signed 38 Degrees’ petition demanding Keir Starmer properly funds NHS dentistry now, will you join me? you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/fu...
So Epstein's File has a former PM, perhaps UK, raping Virginia Guiffre when she was 18 – that's between August 2001 and August 2002. That puts the only male "former" PM realistically in the frame as Major 58/9; Callaghan 80+. A minister more likely? Major's Cabinets: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_...
Second Major ministry - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
October 25, 2025 at 8:29 PM
So Epstein's File has a former PM, perhaps UK, raping Virginia Guiffre when she was 18 – that's between August 2001 and August 2002. That puts the only male "former" PM realistically in the frame as Major 58/9; Callaghan 80+. A minister more likely? Major's Cabinets: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_...
Tahoe Woes – macOS 26 Contacts App. An inestimable advantage of Contacts to date is that you could copy text into a Contacts card from any documents and then into others as plain text. Genius. Now text copied from Contacts is a) White and b) styled as System Regular. Invisible till selected. Doh!
October 24, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Tahoe Woes – macOS 26 Contacts App. An inestimable advantage of Contacts to date is that you could copy text into a Contacts card from any documents and then into others as plain text. Genius. Now text copied from Contacts is a) White and b) styled as System Regular. Invisible till selected. Doh!
Seems the Rosebank Oilfield is back on the agenda for the UK Government with another application from Equinor. It's your moment to make sure the oil and gas stays in the ground and that we stay focused on the green agenda. Decision time: Tell Keir to #StopRosebank
actionnetwork.org/forms/the-go...
actionnetwork.org/forms/the-go...
Decision time: Tell Keir to #StopRosebank
This is the moment we've been building towards: it's final decision time for the UK Government. Equinor is trying to get the new Rosebank oil field re-approved. It's up to us all to convince the Gover...
actionnetwork.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Seems the Rosebank Oilfield is back on the agenda for the UK Government with another application from Equinor. It's your moment to make sure the oil and gas stays in the ground and that we stay focused on the green agenda. Decision time: Tell Keir to #StopRosebank
actionnetwork.org/forms/the-go...
actionnetwork.org/forms/the-go...
I agree with this petition: many pension age workers keeping London and themselves functioning, need to travel at peak times – morning and evening – and frequently for very little money. The Freedom Pass and its benefit to these workers is part of making London work, heart and soul.
c.org/RqZZLctm98
c.org/RqZZLctm98
We Can Make an Impact.
Reinstate 24 hour usage of FREEDOM PASS
c.org
October 22, 2025 at 3:29 PM
I agree with this petition: many pension age workers keeping London and themselves functioning, need to travel at peak times – morning and evening – and frequently for very little money. The Freedom Pass and its benefit to these workers is part of making London work, heart and soul.
c.org/RqZZLctm98
c.org/RqZZLctm98
I've just signed this petition to address a missing provision we might all have assumed was in place already – defibrillators and trained staff on every UK flight. The value of constant vigilance to check we're actually up to speed. c.org/KhM8w84Bmm
We Can Make an Impact.
No flights without AEDs: mandate defibrillators for all UK airlines
c.org
October 18, 2025 at 10:33 AM
I've just signed this petition to address a missing provision we might all have assumed was in place already – defibrillators and trained staff on every UK flight. The value of constant vigilance to check we're actually up to speed. c.org/KhM8w84Bmm
Phew – one funny joke on BBC R4’s ‘The News Quiz': in response to the idea that we might have a future cognoscent NHS, “The trouble with that argument is that the NHS uses Windows 95”. Perhaps Stephen Bush?
October 17, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Phew – one funny joke on BBC R4’s ‘The News Quiz': in response to the idea that we might have a future cognoscent NHS, “The trouble with that argument is that the NHS uses Windows 95”. Perhaps Stephen Bush?
Not feeling great. Checked the NHS for C19 symptoms and found this: "You can catch it by breathing in these [exhaled] droplets, or by touching surfaces covered in them". WTF? Is this to save Johnson & Harries' skins? It's airborne and just when will we go for Clean Air? www.nhs.uk/conditions/c...
October 15, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Not feeling great. Checked the NHS for C19 symptoms and found this: "You can catch it by breathing in these [exhaled] droplets, or by touching surfaces covered in them". WTF? Is this to save Johnson & Harries' skins? It's airborne and just when will we go for Clean Air? www.nhs.uk/conditions/c...
Yet more performative nonsense from Shabana Mahmood in regard to immigrant visas. Literacy in Perl or Python might be a more meaningful qualification. Anything can be learned by a student with initiative which all those who make it here – in spite of HMG – have in spades. www.gov.uk/government/n...
Migrants will be required to pass A Level standard of English
Migrants will be required to pass tough new English language requirements under a law introduced in Parliament today.
www.gov.uk
October 14, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Yet more performative nonsense from Shabana Mahmood in regard to immigrant visas. Literacy in Perl or Python might be a more meaningful qualification. Anything can be learned by a student with initiative which all those who make it here – in spite of HMG – have in spades. www.gov.uk/government/n...