Sign in

James Milner-Smyth

@jamesms.bsky.social
624 followers 972 following 18 posts

All things TV and cinema technology. Husband, Centrist Dad and European. #FBPE #StillEuropean Twitter was/am @JMilnerSmyth Jamesms@mastodon.social

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
So finally we know what “Brexit benefit” actually means.. A £5million payment to Farage. Our country is now deeply divided, poorer, unhappier, less influential, less secure, less welcoming and less democratic… But Farage is a multimillionaire. What a fucking disgrace.
26756237
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
We are not allowed solar panels on roof: conservation area. Sheds grey area. The limited outlay means would be prepared to install and take down if forced. If had more money would go battery and inverter with nighttime charging rate on Octopus.
000
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Annoyances: An 800w balcony system may generate more than used in June, but not get credit for feeding it to the grid. Shifting things like washing machine to midday would help. Also phone app may not give as much useful information about usage. More money on a smart wifi meter.
100
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Right now it is still wrong to buy a micro inverter from City Plumbing for £100, 2x450w panels for £85 each and some wiring and hardware for another £50. No installation costs, no spark. But if you have south facing balcony or shed in the southern half of the UK I’d stand by my payback estimate.
110
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Your system is the ideal. I was responding to those who either cannot install such a system or cannot afford it but still would like to make an effort towards it. Up till now regulations and safety have mandated (rightly) professional installation with concomitant costs.
100
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
With changes in wiring regulations coming up, German style balcony solar that you plug in with no electrician will be coming to the centre aisle at Aldi soon. Limited to 800w but a few hundred quid outlay that will save that same amount in a year may be possible.
210
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Can see the day where an exec has a moment: “We’re now paying thousands a month to a USA tech company and there’s no one around to make me coffee. Couldn’t we get a couple of juniors to do the simple stuff?”
010
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
While at intermediate school my daughter wrote a fantasy book and my son made stop motion Lego movies. After a few years at secondary they create nothing but know a lot of grammar terminology I’ve never heard.
000
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
George Conway ⚖️🇺🇸 @gtconway.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
23894441862
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
He's an enemy of liberty and a friend to tyrants.
55974250
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Private Eye Magazine @privateeyenews.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Hungary: Orban loses historic election The new Private Eye is out now.
A photo of the front cover of issue 1673 of Private Eye magazine, with the caption “on shelves now.”
The main headline reads “HUNGARY: ORBAN LOSES HISTORIC ELECTION.” The central image shows Viktor Orbán standing on stage alongside JD Vance, both raising their arms in front of a cheering crowd with Hungarian and US flags in the background. A speech bubble reads, “Who says America can’t achieve regime change?”
A strapline at the bottom reads “HUGE TRIUMPH FOR MAGA (SURELY MAGYAR? ED.).”
10662206
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Liz Webster 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧🇪🇺 @lizwebster.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
🆘 Need some urgent help on this Rejoin EU poll. Vote and RT ✅ www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
61190179
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
EXPOSED: How Viktor Orbán Bankrolled the Network Around Reform UK As Hungary’s Prime Minister suffers a historic electoral defeat, Byline Times maps out how his government’s funding arm channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds into organisations at the heart of Britain’s hard right.
bylinetimes.com
EXPOSED: How Viktor Orbán Bankrolled the Network Around Reform UK
As Hungary’s Prime Minister suffers a historic electoral defeat, Byline Times maps out how his government’s funding arm channelled hundreds of thousands of pounds into organisations at the heart of Britain’s hard right.
19412270
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
This doesn’t seem hyperbolic now
223100712039
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 04/04/2026
Genuine question. Do mini marshmallows have VAT on them? As I’d think they were definitely more of an ingredient in hot chocolate and baking than a sweet treat to be eaten with the fingers?
000
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Luca @lucagalletti.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
Pure happiness ❤️
304102961476
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Paul Carnahan @pacarnahan.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
This week, Brexit finally killed our family business. We cleared out our warehouse, handed back the keys, paid the final bills and said goodbye to our last employee. What was once a thriving firm died a slow, sad death, all thanks to Farage, Johnson and the gullible idiots they conned. 1/18
14436951750
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/03/2026
Vets and their private equity owners get a light ride from UK regulator. Price lists won't stop exploitative practices Six companies control the market. PE has built local monopolies, must be broken-up, limits on what it can own, prices must be controlled controlled. archive.ph/AmNsr
ft.com
Vets and their private equity owners get a light ride from British competition watchdog
The six biggest veterinary groups control 60% of £6.7bn market — and they can keep getting bigger
20262116
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Good Law Project @goodlawproject.org · 29/03/2026
New York’s public hospitals dropped Palantir this week. Is it time the NHS did the same? www.theguardian.com/technology/2026…
theguardian.com
New York City hospitals drop Palantir as controversial AI firm expands in UK
The decision follows activist pressure as Palantir faces growing scrutiny over NHS and UK government deals
17807375
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Here is a quick masterclass on how to maintain a blatant lie even when directly confronted with the truth.
85492188
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Robin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 12/03/2026
I swear, if the British diverted just a little bit of the time and energy they spend discussing the likes of TV baking shows, animals on bank notes, Wagatha Christie and the weather then it would be the richest most dynamic country in the world.
1610016
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
A tax barrister sued me personally for £8m for libel after we linked him to a tax avoidance scheme. Today the High Court struck out the claim, granted summary judgment, and ruled it was a SLAPP. The judgment is highly critical.
721694320
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Lee Savage @leesavage.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Hello darkness my old friend...
501538217
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
020
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Ciaran Martin @ciaranm.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
This happily ruined my evening stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app
stirring-fox-7e1fab.netlify.app
Allister Heath Headline Generator
6202
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
there's a nugget here which helps to explain Brown's character and why he was so incensed by the allegations against Mandelson from their time in office
30738229
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Esheru @esherukweku.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
This is what’s destroying our country
39740
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
An essential precondition for authoritarianism is the neutering of sources of real news.
20657177
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The BBC - for all its flaws - remains the greatest news and broadcasting service in the world. It is everything Donald Trump and his cabal of nasty little nobodies will never be and we need to defend it.
53571127
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Adam Bienkov @adambienkov.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
The BBC's senior leadership resigning en masse over one dodgy edit in one programme, simply because the right wing press demands it, tells you everything you need to know about where the power really lies in that relationship
963021724
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
We are so far through the looking glass that the man who tried to overthrow an election becomes president, the people who attacked the Capitol are turned into martyrs, & it's the BBC that gets punished - cheered on by the worst news outlets in the UK & the two most dishonest politicians of our age.
9664266
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 09/11/2025
See what’s happening. A Trumpist US media company has taken over Channel 5. Another US company is gunning for ITV. Our social media is saturated by Musk’s calls for civil war in the UK. The BBC is the last thing standing, and Trump/Johnson are trying to bring it down
24538265
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Kraut @derparrot.bsky.social · 19/07/2025
I just realised something reading the news this morning. Britain's average per capital income is now at 40 600 euros per year. Which means if they rejoin the E.U they would qualify for development funds. We'd be spending the next 10 years sending money to London to rebuild from the Brexit damage.
11680206
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD @elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
A new study shows that a lobbying group for the private health insurance industry used Meta platforms to sow doubt about universal healthcare. Their tactics are familiar. They are those used by the tobacco industry to convince people their products were safe and everyone else was lying.
journals.plos.org
Generating opposition to universal health care policies in the United States: An analysis of private health industry advertising on Meta platforms
In 2019, the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future (PAHCF), a private health industry lobby group, launched a campaign across Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram) to generate opposition to univ...
10380177
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Daniel Pietersen @pietersender.bsky.social · 09/07/2025
I’m no expert but I would’ve got a person to do it.
A BBC news headline which says “Penguin says it did “all necessary due diligence” with The Salt Path
15156041036
James Milner-Smyth @jamesms.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
It has a ring of truth to it…
000
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Grace @graceldn.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Guys I need to share this Amazon review of Veet Cream cos I don’t know who to talk to about it to…
4036183
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Michael Havard @michaelhavard.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Some people have been screaming this for a very long time.
02012
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Allison Gill @muellershewrote.com · 08/04/2025
NEW: The Supreme Court took 6 months to decide immunity, but just 6 days to effectively strip the rest of us of due process. My latest: www.muellershewrote.com/p/the-corrup...
muellershewrote.com
The Corrupt Supreme Court Strikes Again
The Supreme Court took 6 months to decide immunity, but just 6 days to effectively strip the rest of us of due process.
776249959737
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Phillips OBrien @phillipspobrien.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
The British government doesn’t get it. Brexit was the first step in the populist crapshow that has weakened Europe as a whole vis a vis Trump and Putin. Reducing the harm of Brexit is the first step to Europe recovering
731593332
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
John Lipponen 🇫🇮 🇦🇹 @lippoenen.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
411531
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Wow who could’ve guessed that this would happen It’s almost as if USAID was a pillar of American soft power and influence in the world It’s almost as if it was entirely predictable that America’s adversaries would work to fill the void left by USAID’s destruction
Haley Britzky @halbritz

AFRICOM commander Gen. Langley tells senators that China is "trying to replicate" USAID programs in Africa as the US scales back USAID.

"They're trying to use that as an extension of the Belt and Road Initiative to gain favor by the African countries," Langley said.
921343059229
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Thames Water names US private equity (PE) group KKR as preferred bidder. Worst possible outcome. Water industry woes started with PE. PE business model: profiteering, asset-stripping, low investment, staff/wage cuts, tax dodging. Govt must reject PE takeover. Must nationalise.
theguardian.com
Thames Water names US private equity group KKR as preferred bidder
KKR expected to acquire stake worth £4bn as UK’s biggest water supplier tries to stave off nationalisation
45631311
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 31/03/2025
Angela Rayner should get a red phone on her desk, and every time there's a story like this she should post a video of herself phoning the council and overruling them.
1529844
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
I learned this week that you can put our troops' lives in danger, compromise our national security, and violate the Espionage Act. And the government will do nothing. But if you write an editorial for your school newspaper that Trump doesn't like, you will be abducted on the street and disappeared.
21088583428
Reposted by James Milner-Smyth
Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
Ukraine was just knifed in the back. Essential reading on yesterday's deal open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
open.substack.com
Ukraine Was Just Knifed In The Back
And The Ukrainians Know It
37563276