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jrf2024.bsky.social

@jrf2024.bsky.social
88 followers 453 following 19 posts
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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RiotGrlErin @riotgrlerin.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
it took bruce willis 130 minutes to realize he was a ghost and you expect men to notice a haircut.
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Gwdihŵ 🦉 @youwouldknow.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
I can’t fault Vance’s mum for preferring drugs to him tbh
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The Onion @theonion.com · 28/02/2025
Supporters Praise Trump For Upholding Traditional American Value Of Supporting Murderous Dictators For Political Gain
Supporters Praise Trump For Upholding Traditional American Value Of Supporting Murderous Dictators For Political Gain
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Mike Scollins @mikescollins.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Wish I were one of Elon's kids so I'd never see him again
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Best for Britain @bestforbritain.org · 24/02/2025
Today marks three years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Donald Trump could learn a lot about leadership from Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“I do not want my picture in your offices: the president is not an idol, an icon or a portrait. Hang your kids’ photos instead, and look at them each time you are making a decision.”
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Sir Michael Take CBE @sirmichaeltake.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
Yesterday my wife Bunty & I had Liz Truss around for a boozy lunch after her successful American visit. We’ve known Liz for many years. After eating, Liz did her usual rendition of ‘Knees Up Mother Brown’ & showed us her musk. She then fell over, blamed the deep state & exited.❤️
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Brendan Paddy @bjpaddy.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
Shocked to discover that the nakedly self-interested catastrophising around this change that was given so much coverage in some parts of the media has proven to be completely unfounded www.heraldscotland.com/news/2494254...
heraldscotland.com
Private school pupils in Edinburgh not flooding to state school despite VAT hike
Edinburgh's state schools have not been flooded with children moving from private education despite concerns over the UK Government's VAT hike.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
So many questions arising - perhaps most of all - why do successive UK governments establish deregulation initiatives without learning why previous ones did not deliver? My answer - because we fail to understand the drivers for regulation. bsky.app/profile/caru...
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 18/02/2025
An AirBnB cofounder is joining Elon Musk’s team of treasonous rats. A very good reason to stop using AirBnB. www.newsweek.com/airbnb-joe-g...
newsweek.com
Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia joins growing DOGE team under Elon Musk
Joe Gebbia is the latest tech guru to join Elon Musk's growing team of staffers within DOGE.
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CarolineJMolloy @carolinejmolloy.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
As Wes Streeting trumpets the role of the private sector in “saving the NHS”, it’s worth remembering what happened the only time a whole NHS hospital was handed to the private sector to run. The care failings - gaining the worst CQC rating ever - were *chilling* (& barely reported at the time):
Circle's medical services were found to be delivering "poor emotional and physical care which was not safe or caring... people were not treated with dignity and respect... some patients were afraid of certain nursing staff'".
Some of the examples witnessed by the
CQC in their two-day inspection were chilling
"We heard the staff member say to the patient 'don't misbehave, you know what happens when you misbehave'. We later asked the patient what they thought the staff member meant by this; the patient became withdrawn and was unable to
provide us with an answer."
"A patient on Apple Tree Ward, who required support during the night to go to the toilet told us that staff were 'often too busy'. They said 'they tell me to go in my bed and they will change me when they have time'."after they were seen in A&E, they then waited far too long - up to 12 hours - to be admitted to hospital. On this measure (so-called 'trolley waits') Hinchingbrooke had one in 5 patients waiting between 4 and 12 hours, compared to a national average of only one in 20 patients.
So much for key targets.
And whilst waiting in A&E, an unusually high number of patients (double the national average) left before being seen, fed up of waiting - and presumably unimpressed by the waiting-management computer system Circle had boasted was modelled on the Argos tills. (Circle's senior management team had been hired from Argos, Avon, Faberge, Tesco and fashion-website Asos, bragged Ali Parsa in an article entitled
"Government should not be running hospitals").Dangerously sloppy procedures were everywhere at privately-run
Hinchingbrooke, the inspectors found.
Incomplete patient notes, missing care plans, infected catheters, unwashed hands, broken clinical guidelines. Fluids were repeatedly out of reach of patients despite the inspectors' intervention. On other wards, call bells were placed out of reach. Diabetic patients were left without food. Patients missed vital medication rounds. Lifesaving resuscitation equipment was not checked regularly.
Many post-surgical patients were waiting over 30 minutes for a response to a call bell (Circle's own figures claimed the maximum wait was 8 minutes).
Many patients were being moved between wards in the middle of the night.
"One patient on the acute surgical and trauma ward said that they had been on seven wards in the first three days of admission, and had been moved at 12.45am, 3am and 5am on different days."The CQC was keen not to blame the permanent staff themselves - though it did note an over-reliance on bank and
agency staff (a problem Circle repeatedly promised to fix) who were involved in many of the most worrying failings. "All nursing staff told us the trust had difficulty recruiting and retaining staff... one nurse told inspectors "we can't keep staff".
The report reflects the recent staff survey which found morale amongst the lowest in the country.
Staff told the CQC that shortages also meant little time for training. For example, "Staff at ward level were not competent in caring for people at the end of their life, because they had not received the training required to enable them to undertake this role."
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Encyclopaedia Britannica @britannica.com · 12/02/2025
Encyclopædia Britannica will continue to use ‘Gulf of Mexico’ for a few reasons: -We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S. -The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous. 🧵⬇️
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Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
🚨Media disinformation bulletin: James Price, writing in City AM, writes that "Net zero is making Britain colder, poorer and less productive". Quick🧵
A City AM headline with a photo of UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband, which reads "Net zero is making Britain colder, poorer and less productive"
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Angry People in Local Newspapers @apiln.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Thus the Lord came among his disciples, and sayeth “I’m popping into town, anybody want anything?”; and the lads put their heads together and asked for pie. “Jesus Christ,” sayeth the Lord, “that means going to Wigan”. And so the Lord came unto Wigan.
wigantoday.net
There was much mirth and surprise as a Jesus lookalike was spotted walking the streets of Wigan
There were double-takes aplenty as Wigan shoppers and motorists sighted a Jesus Christ lookalike in the town centre.
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Paul Krugman @pkrugman.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
On those new Trump tariffs: I don't think people realize how narrow they are. They're ugly and stupid, but also arguably an attempt to save face after he lost his nerve on broad tariffs
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John Pearce @johnpearce650.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
UK copyright law consultation ‘fixed’ in favour of AI firms, peer says
Exclusive: Beeban Kidron says plans will lead to ‘wholesale’ transfer of wealth from creative industries to tech sector
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Fun fact: the tax exemption on red diesel (46p x 5bn litres) comes to a subsidy larger than all of the reliefs we throw at Film, TV and Video games, and about three times the entire Innovate UK budget!
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Michael Shallcross @michaelshallcross.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Imho it's preposterous to suggest the devil would talk like this
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
Mm, yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Mean it
Get down

Woo-hoo
Ah, yeah
Get on down
Oh, yeah
Mm
Bum, ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Bum, ba-bum, bum, bum, ba-bum
Bum, dum, bum, bum, ba-dum, da
Yeah
Ah, yeah
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
Terrific newsletter this morning by @georginaq.bsky.social on 'using AI to fix potholes'. I learnt a lot, both about the specific policy and also about potholes - and it is genuinely a really fascinating read: (first 300 clicks free, then you have to register or subscribe)
on.ft.com
AI can help fix potholes, but we need to get basics right first
[FREE TO READ] Successful innovation abounds but a centralised approach to roll out tech across local government is required
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Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
NEW @motherjones.com: An analysis found Elon's cybertrucks are deadlier than infamous the Ford Pintos, which were the subject of a famous @motherjones.com cover story that prompted a federal investigation. Cybertrucks have had 5 known fatalities in just 1 year. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Report: Elon's cybertrucks are deadlier than infamous Ford Pintos
It's just the latest reason to be skeptical of the car's safety record.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 09/02/2025
When is a fine not a fine? When it is levied on England's water companies. Aug 2024: OFWAT announced £168m fine on 3 companies. ZERO Paid. Dec 2024: £18m fine on Thames Water for paying unjustified dividends. ZERO Paid. Regulatory indulgence emboldens companies, encourages more abuses.
leftfootforward.org
The water industry shows how the state indulges corporations to the detriment of society
Since 1989, water companies have been the subject of over 1,100 criminal convictions, but governments are content for them to control the industry.
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Chris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 07/02/2025
If I told you that the Bank of England upgraded its growth forecasts yesterday, would you believe me? It did.... i HAvE nOt gOne CRazY - honest This is a hill I am prepared to die on - the BoE and others (all central banks, IMF, OECD etc etc) report their "forecasts" in a terrible way 🧵
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Chris Giles @chrisgiles.ft.com · 07/02/2025
Because the negative headlines and reporting is not wrong. It is exactly what the BoE published. It just happens to be a really useless number. And always better to look at the levels chart END OF RANT - I apologise
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Praṇay Manocha @pranman.com · 07/02/2025
Yvette Cooper's office issued an undisclosed order last month requiring blanket capability to view fully encrypted material, not merely assistance in cracking specific accounts. According to the Washington Post, such an order is unprecedented in major democracies. Gift article 🔗 wapo.st/4k2AF5Z
wapo.st
U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts
Secret order requires blanket access to protected cloud backups around the world, which if implemented would undermine Apple’s privacy pledge to its users.
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Stats for Lefties 🍉🏳️‍⚧️ @leftiestats.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
🗳️ What voting system do Brits prefer? 🟡 Proportional: 49% 🔵 First-past-the-post: 26% Via YouGov, 22-23 January 2025
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Who Targets Me @whotargets.me · 07/02/2025
All the recent ad targeting data for the main German parties can be found here (aggregated across hundreds of active pages): favstats.github.io/de25/detaile...
favstats.github.io
Detailed Targeting – CampAIgn Tracker
How do political parties chase your vote, what do they want to keep hidden, and how much money do they spend on it? In the lead-up to the elections, we monitor political microtargeting.
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Not sure I've ever nodded along to a post as much as I've just done to this by Jamie Bartlett (and did you know there are more than thirty of the bloody things across the UK, as well as all the fake QR codes?). open.substack.com/pub/jamiejba...
open.substack.com
What parking apps tell us about the UK
Our relation with technology still needs work
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Ultimately it matters not if your constitution is written or unwritten or codified or uncodified… …once those in power do not recognise political or legal rules higher than their own personal or partisan advantage it is constitutional ‘game over’. Constitutions need constitutionalism, most of all.
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John Simpson @johnsimpsonnews.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
The Geneva Convention (which the US has ratified) forbids the permanent and forcible removal of citizens from their homes.
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Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 04/02/2025
Rich, I tells ya! Rich! thecritic.co.uk/you-...
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Joseph Fink, we're going to win @planetoffinks.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
I'm glad that America is doing real classic end of empire stuff. A king who is visibly losing his mind declaring a war based on a dream he had. Greedy courtiers feuding over access to the treasury. Some looks are timeless.
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David Honig @dbhonig.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
Trump is a One-Dimensional Negotiator I'm going to get a little wonky and write about Donald Trump and negotiations. For those who don't know, I'm an adjunct professor at Indiana University - Robert H. McKinney School of Law and I teach negotiations. Okay, here goes.
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JWexTheSpa @jwsidders.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
UK 10-year gilt yields end January lower than they were at the end of December. This will not be reported by any of the newspaper commentators or TV news reporters who were braying for the government’s blood three weeks ago.
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Saigonbond @ogsaigonbond.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
bsky.app/profile/greg...
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Jason Koebler @jasonkoebler.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
"Everything I say leaks," Zuckerberg says in leaked meeting audio. "It sucks" www.404media.co/zuckerberg-s...
404media.co
Zuckerberg Says 'Everything I Say Leaks' in Leaked Meeting Audio
"There are a bunch of things that I think are value-destroying for me to talk about, so I’m not going to talk about those."
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
England's water industry promises £22bn environmental investment, funded by rising bills. Previous promises? Customers already paid for years. Companies didn't invest, paid dividends, dumped sewage. Why pay again? Soon water will cost more than energy. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Water industry promises £22bn of environmental investment, funded by rising bills
The Environment Agency has secured a commitment to carry out 24,000 actions over the next five years
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Animal Photo Reference Repository @animalphotorefs.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references. Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.
animal-photo-references.com
Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository
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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
It is remarkable that for all the edgelord shit they still talk in these euphemisms. It’s so incredibly cowardly. Also Italy was famously unified in the 19th century after being conquered and reconquered, italian is the opposite of a timeless ethnic identity bsky.app/profile/thes...
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Elon Musk has posed as a champion of those poor bereaved families in Southport but the killer watched a violent video just before his killing spree *on X* and Musk is refusing to take it down despite numerous official requests from UK & Australian authorities www.ft.com/content/3c89...
ft.com
X refuses to remove stabbing video watched by Southport killer
Axel Rudakubana was able to view Australian clip before murdering three young children despite pleas from authorities
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Draculosity Jones: Ghost Skeleton @brainmage.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
I've built a machine that can be Confidently Wrong. It can also make pictures that all look a bit the same, as well as make a video of you kissing any celebrity or person you know. In payment, I'd like to boil the world's oceans dry, & steal all literature. For some reason, my head is not on a spike
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Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
OpenAI refuse to disclose the source of its training set. But I figured I'd try to find out if the strikebreaking AI tool the management used to replace journalists' labour was based on our journalism stolen from us by OpenAI by giving ChatGPT the following prompt...
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David Fisman. @dfisman.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
A new preprint from our group. It’s possible to accurately predict critical care occupancy from sars-2 at a two week lag using what should be readily available data: cases, test numbers, average age of cases and vaccine coverage. www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
medrxiv.org
Derivation and Validation of a Point-based Forecasting Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Critical Care Occupancy
Background: The requirement for critical care in even a modest fraction of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals made ICU resources an important societal chokepoint during the recent pandemic. We developed ...
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
We dig deeper than usual into how exactly individuals react to hearing welfare benefits might go to minorities and immigrants. We find four really interesting things, two that give you reason for pessimism, one for optimism and on which you can decide on yourselves 🧵
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Ryan Reads and Writes 📚✨ @ryanreadsandwrites.me · 21/01/2025
I have a big ask. My 9yo son is autistic and he’s been raising a betta fish he named Kevin. Yesterday He asked if he could “share a photo of Kevin with the whole world“. I don’t know if this will work, but a dad’s gotta try. Like and share if that’s your thing. Kevin says hi! 🐟👋
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RiotGrlErin @riotgrlerin.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
movies that i think danny devito should have been in: thread
The Zombieland movie poster_ with danny devito as Little Rock.
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Cold War Steve @coldwarsteve.bsky.social · 21/01/2025
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YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 21/01/2025
More Britons would rather have the EU than the US as Britain's closest trading partner The EU: 53% (+2 from 2 Mar 2020) The US: 21% (+4) Neither: 7% (-3) yougov.co.uk/topics/inter...
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Warren Oates @warrenoates1.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
The Labour government have published their review of Johnson's New Hospital Programme which promised 40 new hospitals by 2030. The basic finding: "To put it simply - there were not 40 of them, they were not all new and many were not even hospitals." www.gov.uk/government/p...
gov.uk
New Hospital Programme: plan for implementation
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 21/01/2025
A discovery: Beavers in Norfolk improved water quality by 84% compared to nearby control sites. Their dams act as natural filters, helping restore one of England's rare chalk streams. Could this be a game-changer ? Stephen McNair reports 🏞️🦫 #Conservation #WaterQuality #pollution
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Could beavers really rescue Norfolk’s threatened chalk streams?
Norfolk’s river Glaven is one of our rare chalk streams, and the site of an interesting experiment in environmental restoration.
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