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Duncan Smith

@dnmns.bsky.social
331 followers 122 following 288 posts

Software engineering, mountaineering, cycling, making things.

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Reposted by Duncan Smith
Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 3h
I think the other countries should refuse that meeting How to build distrust and try and play favourites.
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#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
*The thing I like least about modern AI, among many things not to like *The lack of happy enthusiasm *The tech investors, coders, mathematicians, the people who know it best, they chew their fingernails till they bleed *Even the YouTube "techoptimists" chasing clicks and eyeballs look haunted
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Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 27/09/2026
It’s time for the crackdown on peaceful protest to end. Ask your MP to be there for the screening of The Line We Crossed in Parliament: thelinewecrossed.com/parliament
thelinewecrossed.com
Invite your MP: The Line We Crossed in Parliament
An evening of film clips and panel discussion in the Houses of Parliament on 26 October 2026, hosted by Clive Lewis MP. Add your name and we'll invite your MP.
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The Register @theregister.com · 27/09/2026
Big AI's content problem: Take the work, keep the money
theregister.com
Big AI's content problem: Take the work, keep the money
The more we learn about how AI does business, the more unfair it looks
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Edward Tissiman @edtiss.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Could be glorious. Instead, 22 cars parked for free, generating next to no customers and getting in the way of disabled parking and commercial loading. All but one of these cars was parked illegally anyway.
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Michael ᚋᚔᚉᚆᚓᚐᚂ @baoigheallain.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
What relevance has her bike's battery got to this report? You haven't told us if the 4x4 that hit her is petrol or diesel. You haven't told us if it had a driver. Are you trying to provoke fear of e-bikes now?
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Illia Ponomarenko @ioponomarenko.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
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Carl T. Bergstrom @carlbergstrom.com · 26/09/2026
Does my Speak-n-Spell feel pain when I type O-U-C-H? The jury is out. Philosophers and neuroscientists say that's fucking stupid, but I called a guy from the Center for Pretending that Household Electronics Are Sentient and he said there's no way to know for sure.
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Andy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵 @threadinburgh.scot · 13/09/2026
📣 Important PSA! 📽️ I'll be screening and talking about the wonderful 1951 short film "The Singing Street" on next 2 weekends. 📅 19th & 20th, 10AM, Abbeyhill School with Colony of Artists 📆 26th, 12 Noon, Norton Park Centre with Doors Open Day 🎫 Free, unticketed, arrive early to avoid disappointment
A little poster for the event with some stills from the film and the dates and places. "“A WONDERFUL PICTURE OF EDINBURGH – as true perhaps as has ever been put on the screen” The Scotsman"
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Robert Wright @reporterrwright.ft.com · 25/09/2026
I see a lot of people complaining about the undoubtedly stressful conditions at present on London's roads. But I see few people complaining about motor vehicles. Yet in the last 24 hours three vulnerable road users have died after being hit by people driving motor vehicles.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Brexit and Trump have combined to be an absolute disaster for UK food and drink exports. Deficit worst in a quarter of a century and sales have plummeted ever since we left the single market
ft.com
Brexit and Donald Trump’s tariffs push UK’s food and drink trade deficit to £21bn
In the first half of 2026, the sector’s export volumes fell 11.7% to hit their third-lowest level on record
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“Between 2019 and 2025, export volumes slumped 31 per cent as Brexit added border checks and trade complexity, pushing up costs for businesses” … and threatening our food security. Why TF would *anyone* want this for our businesses and our country? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Brexit and Donald Trump’s tariffs push UK’s food and drink trade deficit to £21bn
In the first half of 2026, the sector’s export volumes fell 11.7% to hit their third-lowest level on record
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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
1/ Russia has the United States over a (diesel) barrel, says Russian analyst Igor Dimitriev. He says that the Kremlin is telling the West that "if you don't hand Ukraine over to us, a global [fuel] crisis will erupt that you won't be able to dig yourselves out of". ⬇️
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Kameron Hurley @kameronhurley.com · 24/09/2026
Reading that while the "official" unemployment rate is 4.1%, the true rate of unemployment - folks who have given up looking for work or not making living wage - is 24.9%. Which, while def feeling way more on par with vibes, makes me wonder how the fuck anyone is surviving www.lisep.org/tru
lisep.org
LISEP Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity
LISEP’s mission is to help achieve shared economic prosperity for all Americans, particularly for middle- and low-income families. Our focus is fact-based economic and policy research.
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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
And, as someone whose labour (all my books published pre 2021) was stolen, I took that personally
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sarah jeong @sarahjeong.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
lol my flight got diverted because of a medical emergency and they landed us in reykjavik in the middle of the night and deplaned us and sent us through passport control and then the crew vanished and then british airways sent us links to book an overnight hotel room but for a hotel at heathrow
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Andy Arthur💃🏰⚓🦌 Threadinburgh 🧵 @threadinburgh.scot · 23/09/2026
In an environment of so many organisations turning to AI slop for their graphic design, *this* is how you do it. Be more cathedral. 🕍👏🏼
Advert from Edinburgh Minute: "Freelance graphic designer - 'St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral is searching for a freelance graphic designer to work with on a regular, long-term basis, for various print and digital media across the year (esp. summer and Christmas), including posters, flyers, and digital assets. "
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Nigel Bagshaw @nigelbagshaw.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
The only reasonable response to a climate crisis. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Edinburgh Airport to expand terminal in £500m investment plan
The project includes new gates and aircraft stands, an expanded check-in hall and departure lounge, with new food and retail areas.
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Ken Tremendous @kentremendous.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
By the time this merger ruins HBO, destroys WB, gets 5,000 people fired, moves production overseas, and guts the quality of the movies the new studio makes, most people will have forgotten how fast the AGs caved and how little they got in this deal. Writers will not.
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Dreadnought Holiday @dreadships.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
You can see from the photo that boat's tipped too far right
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Owler Nook @owlernook.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A reminder that transport is the largest producer of UK greenhouse gas emissions, and that fuel duty is currently the main leverage government has to get people to switch to EVs. Reducing fuel duty is not good policy.
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Caw Yar Bluff @j-leslie3k.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
"the big advantage that the Russians have is the one provided by the USA—which is doing nothing to help Ukraine in this vital area, and indeed is stringing the Ukrainians along and leaving them exposed."
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Swathes of UK economy are owned by foreign investors. No tax is deducted from billions paid to them in dividends. USA, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden have a dividend withholding tax for foreign investors. UK could do the same, generate billions. Why are super-rich privileged?
leftfootforward.org
Here’s how the chancellor can raise the billions needed to improve the quality of life of millions
Prem Sikka is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and the University of Sheffield, a Labour member of the House of Lords, and Contributing Editor at Left Foot Forward. Mi...
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Once again: this shit is not compatible with democracy. Not for Reform. Not for Labour. Not for any party. It has to stop, and the thread below spells out my idea for how to do that. Tell your MP. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
UK politics increasingly funded by billionaires as mega-donations surge
Exclusive: A total £179m has been donated by wealthy individuals since 2019, research reveals
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Hoodlum 🇺🇸 @nothoodlum.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Obama: “Imagine if I had pulled Fox News’ credentials from the White House press corps. You’re laughing, but this is what’s happening. It’s unimaginable that the same parties that are silent right now would have tolerated behavior like that from me.” Clip courtesy @meidastouch.com
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👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 18/09/2026
if you EVER get called for a meeting and they say “don’t bring a union rep” bring a union rep
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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 17/09/2026
“A senior executive at Microsoft said A.I. systems built on the work of others will be seen as ‘an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions’ and possibly the greatest robbery of labor in human history, according to court documents unredacted Thursday in an ongoing Manhattan lawsuit.”
orlandosentinel.com
Docs in A.I. copyright suit reveal startling admission by Microsoft exec over ‘astonishing theft’
The admission appeared in a newly unredacted filing in the landmark copyright infringement legal battle playing out between newspapers like the Orlando Sentinel and tech companies Microsoft and OpenAI...
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Dr Julia Grace Patterson @jujuliagrace.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This doesn’t surprise me at all. Which is pretty terrible, when you think about it 🚨 Article link: www.theguardian.com/politics/202... jujuliagrace.substack.com
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Glenn Fleishman @glennf.com · 17/09/2026
For myself and with clients over the last couple of weeks, we've been dealing with the way tax is collected in the EU, a new customs fee, and my realization that U.S. small businesses probably can't afford to sell to EU residents anymore.
glog.glennf.com
U.S. small biz can’t ship to the EU anymore
The EU’s latest extra customs fee adds to shipping costs and the overhead for VAT collection, making it unaffordable or impossible for smaller U.S. businesses to sell to EU customers.
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Ruth Watson @ruthwatson.eurosky.social · 17/09/2026
Domestic terrorists breach peace with threatening behaviour against life-saving heroes #RNLI
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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Any lives lost due to this closure should be laid firmly at the feet of the far-right agitators who caused this. The way in which anti-asylum activists are putting more and more people at risk should be a wake up call that it is time to genuinely combat them, rather than pandering to their ideology.
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rain-singer.bsky.social @rain-singer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
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#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
*Oh, is that so? Do the Chinese know that? How about the Russians and the North Koreans? *Or the Iranians, maybe. After having their government liquidated, they're hip to the downsides of having your own security cameras hacked and turned against you
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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
The people running these companies believe that climate change could kill us all by the end of the decade. This is not a fringe worry. Publicly, many executives soften their language to sound reasonable, but privately, the fear is real. No other industry poses this level of danger to civilization.
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Ben Sowton @bensowton.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Putin would do to Ukraine what Netanyahu has done to Gaza if he could. No question
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
“.. With Saudi oil now blockaded, Americans are about to discover why maintaining stability in the Middle East and not handing it to a consortium of Russia and Iran was always important.” @jayinkyiv.bsky.social
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#BruceSterling @bruces.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
*Russia is planting deniable gray-war bombs on the planet's undersea data-cables, and they're probably not the only ones, either. #ethnonational #deglobalize
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Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 11/09/2026
Just did a quick look around and I don't see very many headlines about the President of the US making people pledge allegiance to him personally while telling everyone to commit election fraud and "cheat like hell" to support his party. Seems like it should be a story?
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hammancheez but spooky @hammancheez.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
every healthcare ceo must be overjoyed that drones can now facially recognize them and follow them through a crowd
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bluevoter24.bsky.social @bluevoter24.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I'd like to point out that this is all standard operating procedure for the GOP. #politics #fascism
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Charlie Stross @cstross.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
While this *might* be relatively innocent tinfoil-hattery, it could also be an amazingly cost-effective example of asymmetric warfare (target the most gullible minds with a conspiracy theory that gives them an incentive to vandalize transport infrastructure).
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The Edinburgh Reporter @edinreporter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Local MSP asks for meeting with Flynn over Winchburgh station Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scotland and Lothians West, has asked for a meeting with Transport Secretary, Stephen Flynn, to find out whether or not The Scottish Government will provide funding for a new railway station in Winchburgh…
theedinburghreporter.co.uk
Local MSP asks for meeting with Flynn over Winchburgh station
Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scotland and Lothians West, has asked for a meeting with Transport Secretary, Stephen Flynn, to find out whether or not The Scottish Government will provide funding for a new railway station in Winchburgh this year. In June in the Holyrood Chamber Mr Flynn told Ms Young that the construction of a station would be the responsibility of West Lothian Council and Winchburgh Developments but that The Scottish Government would “engage with them” in that process. West Lothian Council and Winchburgh Developments have since secured planning permission and are now waiting for The Scottish Government to commit the necessary funding.
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Roland Pierik @roleo.eurosky.social · 08/09/2026
The number of cases of cervical cancer reported in Scotland among women given the HPV vaccine at 12-13 years of age is now zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. Zero. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
No cervical cancer cases in fully HPV-vaccinated women in Scotland
A study published by Public Health Scotland finds that the HPV vaccine is "highly effective".
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👻 🎃 🦇 Bela Lughosti's Dad 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸 @belalugosisdad.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The cops were telling us three days ago that this was spontaneous.
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Dan Douglas @dandouglas.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
this is just so absurd: - no license - no insurance - twocked car - drunk - blind …12-month driving ban (???????)
bbc.co.uk
Blind Huddersfield man sentenced for 150-mile drive while drunk
Anthony Hall, 50, took his partner's car and drove at night from Huddersfield to near Carlisle.
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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Even leaving any politics at all aside: as general rule, no state can allow a group of masked men to be able to close down critical infrastructure. This is basic stuff.
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Rich @hoxtonrich.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Potentially a huge change which could deal with the significant problem of dangerous illegal e-motorbikes. It is a disgrace the food courier apps have been allowed to wash their hands of rider safety whilst trapping them in an exploitative precarious time-critical income model.
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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
See this chart? Workers’ share of the nation’s income is at the lowest it’s been since records began in 1947. Corporate profits’ share, on the other hand, is the highest it’s been since 1950. This is why we must build back worker power.
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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.
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