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Steve

@bergerof.london
39 followers 61 following 67 posts

Tech, ecommerce, web dev, tech writing, food, drink, London, board games, computer games, philosophy, ethics, cycling, baking. All round elaborate hoax.

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Reposted by Steve
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)
You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Many years ago, I wrote down this bit of a speech Obama gave to an audience in Silicon Valley. Because it absolutely NAILED the difference between government and business.
The final thing I’ll say is that government will never run the way Silicon Valley runs because, by definition, democracy is messy. This is a big, diverse country with a lot of interests and a lot of disparate points of view. And part of government’s job, by the way, is dealing with problems that nobody else wants to deal with.

So sometimes I talk to CEOs, they come in and they start telling me about leadership, and here’s how we do things. And I say, well, if all I was doing was making a widget or producing an app, and I didn’t have to worry about whether poor people could afford the widget, or I didn’t have to worry about whether the app had some unintended consequences then I think those suggestions are terrific.

That's not, by the way, to say that there aren't huge efficiencies and improvements that have to be made.

But the reason I say this is sometimes we get, I think, in the scientific community, the tech community, the entrepreneurial community, the sense of we just have to blow up the system, or create this parallel society and culture because government is inherently wrecked.

No, it's not inherently wrecked; it's just government has to care for, for example, veterans who come home. That's not on your balance sheet, that's on our collective balance sheet, because we have a sacred duty to take care of those veterans. And that's hard and it's messy, and we're building up legacy systems that we can't just blow up.
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 19/08/2026
This stopped me in my tracks. An independent study by @qmul.bsky.social has found that after ULEZ was introduced, children’s lungs grew faster in Central London and have now caught up with children outside of the capital. Incredible.
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Steve @bergerof.london · 14/08/2026
Was that a legitimate use of that system because I would say no
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Alec Muffett @alecmuffett.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
"…end to-end-encrypt it, *properly*." alecmuffett.com/alecm/e2e-pr...
alecmuffett.com
A Civil Society Glossary and Primer for End-to-End Encryption Policy in 2022
The goal of this report is for the early material to build a robust and hopefully clear understanding of end-to-end encryption.
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Steve @bergerof.london · 20/07/2026
Making working with AI slightly more tolerable by instructing it to be a little more English
A screenshot of a response from an AI system that says "Working for 32s" and then "Fair cop, mate." with the rest of the response cropped out
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Steve @bergerof.london · 17/07/2026
I think instead of a Very Serious Match for the third-place playoff which no one takes seriously, they should just have a bunch of silly football-related games: keepy-up contest, nutmegging contest, football tennis, etc
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404 Media @404media.co · 09/07/2026
“Creators deserve credit, compensation, and consent. If that's not on the table, the crawlers can stay the fuck off Patreon," CEO Jack Conte wrote on Thursday.
404media.co
Patreon Blocks Crawlers From Stealing Creators' Work for AI Training
“Creators deserve credit, compensation, and consent. If that's not on the table, the crawlers can stay the fuck off Patreon," CEO Jack Conte wrote on Thursday.
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Damien Owens @damienowens.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Back on the other site, years ago, there was a thread about the most pretentious thing people had ever overheard. Someone said they witnessed a guy at an ice cream van asking for 'two Magna'.
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actioncookbook @actioncookbook.com · 22/06/2026
ME: okay, kiddo, I hope you have a great week at sumer camp! KID: don't you mean "summer" camp? UR-NAMMU: construction of the great ziggurat begins at first light ME: your counselor seems nice
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The Conversation UK @uk.theconversation.com · 15/06/2026
Many people may think Australia’s ban is a success, with nearly 5 million social media accounts deactivated, removed or restricted. But the reality couldn’t be further from the truth.
tcnv.link
Australia has already banned social media for under 16s – here’s what the UK can learn from the experience
Since its launch on 10 December 2025, Australian media has been filled with stories of children remaining on social media platforms.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
The hospitality industry wants their VAT cut to 10%. It will cost £12bn Who benefits? ❌ The smallest most vulnerable businesses? Nope. 45% get nothing. ❌ Consumers? Nope - prices won't fall. ✅ Nearly half the cash goes straight to large chains. McDonald's gets £400m. 🧵:
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 24/05/2026
I realise that this isn't a hill worth dying on but "enshittification", once upon a time, had a very specific and useful meaning, it didn't mean "thing used to be good: now thing bad", I know it's a fight we've all lost but still
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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 13/05/2026
Big news for Londoners this summer 👇🏽 Weekend Hopper = one fare for bus and tram journeys all day (25 July - 31 Aug).
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Steve @bergerof.london · 13/05/2026
Human flesh #SavedYouAClick
A screenshot of a news headline from Esquire that says "The cravings returned when he stopped taking Ozempic. For food – and something more."
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Robert Shrimsley @robertshrimsley.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
A small point from the Mandelson/Robbins saga. Refom and many Tories argue for a civil service than can be more easily bent to the will and whims of their elected political masters. This is precisely what happened here.
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now featured in the criterion collection @anem0ne.net · 17/02/2026
www.tiktok.com/t/ZP89Ev7Uv/
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Steve @bergerof.london · 15/04/2026
Well that's a powerful choice of contraction for the Guardian
A screenshot from The Guardian website linking to a news story with a headline that says, "‘This craving to go viral is tiresome’: the artists who’re sick of the pressure to promote on social media" next to a picture of Stewart Lee performing in furry costume on stage in 2022
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Steve @bergerof.london · 09/04/2026
“The President was unavailable for comment as he was playing golf at his weekend home in the Vatican”
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Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 21/03/2026
For several months, people have been wondering why Reform hasn't declared any crypto donations, despite Nigel Farage saying they'd received some Now @theobserveruk.bsky.social can reveal why...
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Steve @bergerof.london · 21/03/2026
Joy from finally discovering that a slight chirping coming from my bike was because the mechanic overtightened a jockey wheel
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Doug Madory @eldomador.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
On Feb-4, @Starlink disabled terminals in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine that weren't on Ukrainian Ministry of Defense's approved list. We saw a 75% drop in Starlink traffic to Ukraine as a result. 🤯 www.politico.com/news/2026/02...
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Ed Newton-Rex @ednewtonrex.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
The House of Lords Digital & Communications Committee just published their report on AI, copyright & the creative industries, and their conclusions could not be clearer. 🧵 1/5
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Steve @bergerof.london · 06/03/2026
Incredibly inconsiderate of the developers of Mewgenics and Slay The Spire 2 to release their games at the same time
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Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
This, combined with "vice signaling" (taking pride in antisocial behavior) has given us the reign of the Stupid Asshole, something most people are against, but can only be remedied if we're not too polite to talk about it
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CNN @cnn.com · 20/02/2026
Most days, the UK's top newspapers have a wide range of photos gracing their front pages. But on Friday, every image topping the British front pages was identical.
cnn.com
‘The photo gods were on my side.’ How that astonishing image of Andrew was captured | CNN
Most days, the country’s top newspapers have a wide range of photos gracing their front pages. But on Friday, every image topping the British front pages was identical.
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Waffle 🧇 @wafflecut.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
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Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 08/02/2026
Hate-filled fake videos about London are everywhere. We've obtained a recording of a TikToker confessing to secretly filming Londoners in their homes for clicks. He says it's not political. He just wants to make money from far-right anger. Read what he says: www.londoncentric.media/p/london-tik...
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Steve @bergerof.london · 08/02/2026
“Progressive but reactionary” is essentially the reason why I left the Green Party. So many people who want green things but completely unwilling to face the reality of them
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lauren @lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com · 30/01/2026
telling my adorable daughter i'm not putting the drawing she made on the fridge because it's toddlerslop
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Steve @bergerof.london · 28/01/2026
I love the fun new deduction game Evri have introduced. They deliver your item to a random property in the area and then send you a low quality photo. With that photo, you then have to deduce where it is and hope the person hasn't opened it yet. The prize is your item!
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Steve @bergerof.london · 25/01/2026
Today I saw Cirque du Soleil for like the eighth time and I love it so much. Just so blown away with what these superhuman people can do with their bodies. What a great experience, every time.
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Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai @lorenzofb.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
NEW: Microsoft handed the FBI the recovery keys to decrypt the hard drives of three laptops encrypted with BitLocker. BitLocker is enabled by default in modern Windows laptops, but Microsoft also prompts users to upload the recovery keys to the company's cloud, which opens up this possibility.
techcrunch.com
Microsoft gave FBI a set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops: reports | TechCrunch
The FBI served Microsoft a warrant requesting encryption recovery keys to decrypt the hard drives of people involved in an alleged fraud case in Guam.
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 21/01/2026
we hear so much about trans people from the British press yet so rarely hear from them - I'm really pleased this piece was commissioned, and will also be in the physical paper: www.thenewworld.co.uk/marie-le-con...
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 21/01/2026
The New World asked me to speak to some British trans women about what life has been like for them over the past few years - here's what they had to say, in their own words: www.thenewworld.co.uk/marie-le-con...
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Steve @bergerof.london · 19/01/2026
Having been inspired by an interview I saw with Jimmy Wales recently, I have edited my first Wikipedia articles. And they are both about two related obscure legal things. And, necroing an old procedure of mine, I also chose a username based on what I last ate.
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Steve @bergerof.london · 13/01/2026
I love the Broadband dance. BT: Your contract is ending soon. Me: Charge me what you charge new customers and I'll stay. BT: We can't do that, it's only for new customers. Me: Sky are charging the same as you, so if you don't match it, I'll go to them. BT: Soz Me: See you in 18 months
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Kenny Logins @kennylogins.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Tilmon Edwards
@tilmonedwards.com
I have 3 axioms that help me decide when to talk to people I disagree with:

1. To debate a subject is to concede that the subject is debatable.

2. To reason with a person is to concede that the person is reasonable.

3. To ask for evidence of a claim is to concede that the claim might be true.
May 5, 2023 at 10:45 AM
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Good interview in the paper, this. I think Sadiq is right: London 'needs' to be less successful than it is for a bunch of political arguments here in the UK to work, hence the fictions being invented about it:
ft.com
Populists attack London because it is ‘progressive and successful’, says Sadiq Khan
Rightwing attacks on one of the world’s most visited cities at odds with reality, says mayor
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Sarah Churchwell @sarahchurchwell.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Also we've fetishized "debate” in these spaces as some kind of civic good, when what matters is competence, trust, shared purpose. Medicine, engineering, boardrooms aren’t organized around debate or requirements of false balance. We've poisoned public discourse by insisting it be adversarial.
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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 12/12/2025
100% agree. Ironically, this is the only version of "broken windows" that actually makes any sense, because it has to do with the individual behavior of one person going from getting away with small crimes to getting away with big crimes, instead of being some vague theory about general contagion.
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Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
Australia just recorded zero cervical cancer cases in women under 25 for the first time since records began in 1982. The amazing result of HPV vaccination.
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David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
This is such a good article btw - I really buy this as a theory of contemporary US politics
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Steve @bergerof.london · 30/09/2025
Absolutely wild that he gives a long speech talking about Britain, governing, policies, people, and more, and yet the BBC's editorial team is "but how does this affect Farage, the protagonist of reality?". Absolutely obsessed.
A screenshot from the BBC website that with a picture of Keir Starmer speaking at a conference, with the headline: "Live. Farage doesn't like Britain, Starmer says in speech to Labour conference"
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furby hancock @furbyhancock.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
Too late, Batman. Once this Tylenol floods the city's water supply, my wiki won't run out of editors ever again
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Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 08/09/2025
“I’m strong and I want to have like fifty kids and a farm” of course you do. You’re twelve. “I don’t want to eat vegetables I think steak and French fries is the only meal” hell yeah homie you’re twelve. “Maybe if there’s crime we should just send the army” bless your heart my twelve year old buddy
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Patrick Cosmos @veryimportant.lawyer · 08/09/2025
working on a new unified theory of american reality i'm calling "everyone is twelve now"
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