Usagi
@usagi3939.bsky.social
Trainee business analyst (final written exam complete, one interview to go); researcher. There'll be a lot of chat about EVs and national/international security.
I mix cocktails better than I cook dinner.
I mix cocktails better than I cook dinner.
Not sure if it's already a thing in the private sector but certainly for the public sector/civil service, I'd like to see more relevant training for AI uptake to complement the generic e-learning concerning ethical interfaces and legal data handling responsibilities. www.thetimes.com/article/3bed...
November 30, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Not sure if it's already a thing in the private sector but certainly for the public sector/civil service, I'd like to see more relevant training for AI uptake to complement the generic e-learning concerning ethical interfaces and legal data handling responsibilities. www.thetimes.com/article/3bed...
I don't think i'm being hyperbolic to say that all the talk of fierce deregulation in this country gives me the chills because of events like Grenfell. Add this story from Hong Kong to that equation. www.thetimes.com/article/dff3...
November 27, 2025 at 12:23 PM
I don't think i'm being hyperbolic to say that all the talk of fierce deregulation in this country gives me the chills because of events like Grenfell. Add this story from Hong Kong to that equation. www.thetimes.com/article/dff3...
How much of a tool do you have to be to tie up two of your elites to support the nepotism of your boss.
Cheese!
Cheese!
November 27, 2025 at 6:53 AM
How much of a tool do you have to be to tie up two of your elites to support the nepotism of your boss.
Cheese!
Cheese!
Not the greatest point of the budget but presumably added costs to retailers/e-commerce will be passed onto consumers along with loss of de minimis when that comes in.
November 26, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Not the greatest point of the budget but presumably added costs to retailers/e-commerce will be passed onto consumers along with loss of de minimis when that comes in.
VED - particularly with its introduction for EVs this FY - isn't hypothecated for roads maintenance, nor for EV infrastructure.
questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
November 26, 2025 at 1:28 PM
VED - particularly with its introduction for EVs this FY - isn't hypothecated for roads maintenance, nor for EV infrastructure.
questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-ques...
Extension of the EV grant won't only counter the effect of a pay-per-mile scheme. It's also to promote extended domestic take-up of greener, OZEV compliant vehicles, and to persuade motorists to favour home brands over Chinese marques like BYD. www.thetimes.com/article/121a...
November 26, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Extension of the EV grant won't only counter the effect of a pay-per-mile scheme. It's also to promote extended domestic take-up of greener, OZEV compliant vehicles, and to persuade motorists to favour home brands over Chinese marques like BYD. www.thetimes.com/article/121a...
"Mayors will be able to spend the revenue raised from the measure on anything that 'supports local economic growth', and will not be limited on services tourists use."
I must say, I have my reservations. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
I must say, I have my reservations. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
November 26, 2025 at 9:27 AM
"Mayors will be able to spend the revenue raised from the measure on anything that 'supports local economic growth', and will not be limited on services tourists use."
I must say, I have my reservations. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
I must say, I have my reservations. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09...
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Neat little walk through the origins of the Laffer curve, with its lessons for contemporary governments on behavioural Incentivisation through balanced taxation.
November 25, 2025 at 6:59 AM
Neat little walk through the origins of the Laffer curve, with its lessons for contemporary governments on behavioural Incentivisation through balanced taxation.
Even taking into account the revelation that Professor Murphy's research on repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang region of China had been muted, the failure to recognise basic legislative parameters of the NSA 2023, or indeed any form of complicity in HSA, is mind-boggling.
November 24, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Even taking into account the revelation that Professor Murphy's research on repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang region of China had been muted, the failure to recognise basic legislative parameters of the NSA 2023, or indeed any form of complicity in HSA, is mind-boggling.
This story blew my mind yesterday. I think there are principles around national security and engagement with foreign entities that need to be developed further within academic environments to promote understanding of why this communication is a red flag.
www.thetimes.com/article/383b...
www.thetimes.com/article/383b...
November 24, 2025 at 11:29 AM
This story blew my mind yesterday. I think there are principles around national security and engagement with foreign entities that need to be developed further within academic environments to promote understanding of why this communication is a red flag.
www.thetimes.com/article/383b...
www.thetimes.com/article/383b...
Because the last attempt to convince the PLP that living within our means was a worthwhile endeavour went so well, it's worth trying again with bells on. www.thetimes.com/article/204a...
November 24, 2025 at 8:34 AM
Because the last attempt to convince the PLP that living within our means was a worthwhile endeavour went so well, it's worth trying again with bells on. www.thetimes.com/article/204a...
Colour me very sceptical. www.thetimes.com/article/a6ca...
November 24, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Colour me very sceptical. www.thetimes.com/article/a6ca...
Between this and Reform's general economic incompetence, the Conservatives might have a field day. www.thetimes.com/article/760c...
November 24, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Between this and Reform's general economic incompetence, the Conservatives might have a field day. www.thetimes.com/article/760c...
There's a lot to be said for coralling subjects of interest into one open location and - given recent stories of repressed research in British
universities on topics such as modern slavery in China - an embassy is hardly the most convenient route for exhorting CCP control.
universities on topics such as modern slavery in China - an embassy is hardly the most convenient route for exhorting CCP control.
November 24, 2025 at 7:17 AM
There's a lot to be said for coralling subjects of interest into one open location and - given recent stories of repressed research in British
universities on topics such as modern slavery in China - an embassy is hardly the most convenient route for exhorting CCP control.
universities on topics such as modern slavery in China - an embassy is hardly the most convenient route for exhorting CCP control.
Trump's capitulation to Russian advances is hardly going to put a stop to future incursions on independent nations. At least with China we have a nod towards a defined timeline.
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
November 22, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Trump's capitulation to Russian advances is hardly going to put a stop to future incursions on independent nations. At least with China we have a nod towards a defined timeline.
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
Let's not forget that particular invasion began on the pretext of similar military exercises which now surround Taiwan's Kinmen Island, off the coast of the Chinese mainland.
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
November 22, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Let's not forget that particular invasion began on the pretext of similar military exercises which now surround Taiwan's Kinmen Island, off the coast of the Chinese mainland.
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
www.thetimes.com/article/0f8c...
Personally looking forward to the day Trump is forced to eat his words when faced with trade blockades around Taiwan when the latter is invaded by China.
www.thetimes.com/article/010e...
www.thetimes.com/article/010e...
November 22, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Personally looking forward to the day Trump is forced to eat his words when faced with trade blockades around Taiwan when the latter is invaded by China.
www.thetimes.com/article/010e...
www.thetimes.com/article/010e...
"Certainly, when I read in The Wall Street Journal that “the fates of the world’s biggest semiconductor and cloud companies — and vast swathes of the US economy — [are tied] to OpenAI, essentially making it too big to fail”, I have only one response:"
November 22, 2025 at 9:46 AM
"Certainly, when I read in The Wall Street Journal that “the fates of the world’s biggest semiconductor and cloud companies — and vast swathes of the US economy — [are tied] to OpenAI, essentially making it too big to fail”, I have only one response:"
The rest of that piece is magnificent in covering off all bases - for example, cheaper Chinese alternatives such as DeepSeek driving US rivals towards the faint high-pitched whine of desperation in pushing circular financing for a hegemonic open feast.
November 22, 2025 at 9:45 AM
The rest of that piece is magnificent in covering off all bases - for example, cheaper Chinese alternatives such as DeepSeek driving US rivals towards the faint high-pitched whine of desperation in pushing circular financing for a hegemonic open feast.
This part is, to a business analyst, teeth-grittingly painful. It's just business change 101.
November 22, 2025 at 9:39 AM
This part is, to a business analyst, teeth-grittingly painful. It's just business change 101.
Which brings me back to the excellent recommendations from RUSI's Centre for Finance and Security, which included enabling the Electoral Commission to gain the power to aggregate "smurfed" donations in order to trace provenance. www.ft.com/content/c01c...
November 21, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Which brings me back to the excellent recommendations from RUSI's Centre for Finance and Security, which included enabling the Electoral Commission to gain the power to aggregate "smurfed" donations in order to trace provenance. www.ft.com/content/c01c...
All that being said, unless practical measures are put in place via the Elections Bill to give the Electoral Commission more teeth, provenance obfuscation will probably continue around crypto donations, particularly in this pre-campaign cycle period of less scrutiny. www.ft.com/content/c01c...
November 21, 2025 at 4:35 PM
All that being said, unless practical measures are put in place via the Elections Bill to give the Electoral Commission more teeth, provenance obfuscation will probably continue around crypto donations, particularly in this pre-campaign cycle period of less scrutiny. www.ft.com/content/c01c...
Check this due diligence against the afore-mentioned obfuscation capabilities for crypto, however, and you can see why RUSI published this excellent piece a few weeks ago advocating against use of simplistic KYC/diligence checks usually deployed in the fiat currency sector www.ft.com/content/c01c...
November 21, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Check this due diligence against the afore-mentioned obfuscation capabilities for crypto, however, and you can see why RUSI published this excellent piece a few weeks ago advocating against use of simplistic KYC/diligence checks usually deployed in the fiat currency sector www.ft.com/content/c01c...