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Laughingjohn

@laughing-john.bsky.social
271 followers 620 following 582 posts

Programming, dotnet, C#, music, indie, history, archaeology, nature & animals esp dogs. F1 and WHU. Art, photography and books. Soft spot for Wales. 💙 💚 ⚒️

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Reposted by Laughingjohn
Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 16h
"I should just point out that we don't have any Lib Dems on the panel as they only have 71 MPs, but Suella Braverman is here because Reform have 8 MPs"
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
UK law firm partners collect record pay, up to £2.5m per equity partner. Partners treated as self-employed. Firms don't pay employer national insurance (ENI) on profit taken by partners. £150k ENI dodged for every £1m profit shared. Public purse deprived. Must end this tax perk. archive.ph/vJCIj
ft.com
Top UK law firm partners take home record pay
Spate of listings in Hong Kong boosted IPO work and related transactions
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Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“Brexit was a huge loss both for the British people and for the European project as a whole. If the United Kingdom were to make such a decision, Spain would welcome it with open arms and once again embrace our friends in Britain.” - President Sánchez
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The Bear @bearlypolitics.co.uk · 01/10/2026
Bad news, everyone - Brexit has apparently caused the entire United Kingdom to detach from Europe and drift several thousand miles west. We are now slowly approaching Newfoundland. Can someone please let Eurostar now there might be some issues.
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Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I still worry about the safety of this woman in Crowborough.
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Howard Barrett @howardbarrett.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Not forgetting Hannan’s famous assertion that “of course we won’t be leaving the single market or customs union”. Somewhat cynical, as in brass neck, drawing a salary and now pension as a Euro MP for 21 years to then coengineer Brexit.
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Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
🔴 We asked Tony Blair's think tank about charging businesses £500k for political access at party conferences and why one of its sponsor's logos disappeared after our reporting last week on TBI's alleged cash for access scheme This is what they said
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Elaine Burke @elaineburke.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Astoundingly, not a headline from The Onion.
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Chris Wade-Evans @cwadeevans.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Palantir are fucking evil and should be nowhere near our government, police or health care.
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Alan Rew @alanrew.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
@philsturgeon.com FYI www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Half a million trees to be planted in England in three years, says government
Exclusive: Environment secretary Angela Eagle to make pledge as part of efforts to protect against extreme weather
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Emily Gorcenski @emily.gorcen.ski · 28/09/2026
Here’s the most incredible story you’ll read today. A small plane with four people aboard crashes in a field. Another pilot witnesses it. That pilot happens to be flying a bunch of skydivers. They offer to jump to assist, are given permission. The skydivers happen to be EMTs. Everyone survives.
wisn.com
Skydivers alert emergency crews, assist after plane crashes near East Troy airport
Four people were aboard the single-engine plane when it went down in a cornfield near Carvers School Road in East Troy at about 1:30 p.m.
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Luxury retailers want taxpayers to fund a 20% tax break for foreign tourists. They paid consultancy Cebr to claim this will raise £2.6bn for the UK. That convinced Sadiq Khan and Kemi Badenoch. But it's false: a free lunch. Four basic errors mask a £600m loss. Thread:
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Swiss private equity firm and UK investor buy 1,570-bed student accommodation. Another sector taken over by PE, loaded with debt, high rents, profiteering. Rents outstrip govt maintenance loans. No UK tax charged on dividends paid to foreign investors.
living.insidehousing.co.uk
Swiss private equity firm and UK investor buy 1,570-bed student housing portfolio
A Swiss private equity firm and UK investor have bought a 1,570-bed student housing portfolio for £165m.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Private equity controlled TalkTalk, UK's 4th largest broadband provider, facing administration. Loaded with debt by PE, asset-stripped, low investment, poor service. PE control of essential services damages economy and national security. Neoliberals eye a bailout.
lbc.co.uk
National security concerns as broadband giant TalkTalk 'could go into administration within days' | LBC
Security officials are warning that the Ministry of Defence could be impacted if the telecom provider goes under
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Heather B @heatcb.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
PE ruins everything part 963 Honestly there really needs to be curbs on PE buying up essential services. It’s bad enough PE bringing restaurants and shops to their knees but this should be regulated against.
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Matthew Todd @matthewtodd.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
‘Not acting on climate change means a certain World War in the lifetime of anybody born from now on.’ Scientists explain that climate change is a far bigger threat than governments are telling you:
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Adam Chapman @adamchapman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
And #CrapColourisation of the day too: London trams (like the buses), were red and - at this point in time - cream.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 27/09/2026
Just for once I'd like one of these "why I quit Britain" pieces to say "I hate poor people and I want to keep all my money, it's all miiiiiine, screw you guys"
static.klipy.com
Mr Rogers' Unexpected Response
ALT: Mr Rogers' Unexpected Response
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Liberty @libertyhq.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Privacy isn't a privilege; it’s a human right. That’s why we’re exposing hidden threats to privacy, challenging attempts to weaken encryption, and campaigning for stronger privacy safeguards. Support our work:
crowdfunder.co.uk
Protect Our Personal Data
Our right to privacy is under threat. Help Liberty defend personal data security, expose hidden misuse and fight for stronger safeguards.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
There’s no excuse for being Camilla Tominey.
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Laughingjohn @laughing-john.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
We updated the nuget libraries our software uses after the company that bought us out sent us a 'security scan'. We had an issue with one of the libraries and when I looked at the cve number mentioned, it was for a different library and the version it suggested we upgrade to doesn't exist. Fuck #ai
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Jamie Smart @jamiesmart.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Can’t eat a sandwich until you subscribe to sandwiches. Can’t eat today’s sandwich until it has applied daily sandwich updates. Sandwich now has adverts even though you paid for ad-free sandwich. Can pay again to have less sandwich adverts. Now you can eat the sandwich, but it’s smaller.
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Rachel Salvidge @rachelsalvidge.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“My husband, mum, sister, father and neighbours died of cancer. I have cancer in my head and a tumour in my spine.” She doesn’t want to be named but wants her story told. For years she ate food from an allotment by a chemicals company. We tested her blood substack.com/@watershedinve…
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This says everything about the capitalist corporations that used to be British universities. Just obscene www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
Backlash as Indian oil heir made professor of sustainability by Newcastle University
Role for Anant Ambani, son of India’s richest person, who also runs a controversial mega-zoo, met with incredulity
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Dr Susan Greaney @suegreaney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Walked the ramparts of enormous Uley Bury hillfort, Gloucestershire, at the weekend. Lovely views and a whole series of hollow ways in the area - perhaps some date back to the Iron Age? #HillfortsWednesday
Photo of grass covered ramparts of the hillfort, with a pathway leading along what was once a ditch.Hollow way, sunken footpath with lush green ferns growing on the steep side banks, and trees reaching up to the sunlight.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 23/09/2026
Haven't seen a better AI explainer than this one (even if it somewhat overstates the AI safety stuff) www.instagram.com/reel/Ddlt1kR...
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Doug Parr @dougparr.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Objections to giant water- and energy-guzzling datacentres are holding back Britain, says ex-politician-for-hire whose job it is to get datacentres built www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
OpenAI’s George Osborne says datacentre nimbys holding back Britain
Former chancellor, now senior figure at OpenAI, says UK needs datacentres to maintain ‘sovereignty’ over AI tech
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Andrew Thatcher @andythatcher1.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Good work Battersea!
Battersea Dog and Cat billboard titled with The only borders we care about. And three images of a border collie
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Tax Justice UK @taxjusticeuk.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Our politics, as well as our economy have been captured by the super-rich. That’s why we should set a hard cap on political donations. Once again though, winning this common sense policy is often painted as unworkable & unachievable. Here's why we know that's nonsense... 🧵 1/6
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Vet prescription fees capped at £21 under rule changes. Doesn't deal with the real problems. Control of vet services by private equity, local monopolies. Profiteering High charges for treatment PE has overlapping interest in insurance and pet medicines.
bbc.co.uk
Vet prescription fees to be capped under rule changes
Vets must also tell clients if cheaper medicine is available online as part of the rule updates which surgeries have the coming months to bring in.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
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The Doom That Came to Aram @rawfishandbeer.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Monday is new comic day around these parts. the comic: mandatoryrollercoaster.com/post/8283867... subscribe: patreon.com/mandatoryrollercoaster
a Mandatory Roller Coaster comic:

"Look! Look! It's alive!"

"It's a calculator"

"No no no - look! It can do complex equations! Do you know what 562 x 39 is?"

"No"

"Neither do I! It's smarter than both of us! Another couple years and this thing will be doing fractions! We definitely need to restructure the entire economy around it."
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Laughingjohn @laughing-john.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"If we extend personhood to these climate-shredding, water-chugging AI models, their personhood will demand the sacrifice of animals, the natural world, and our own wellbeing."
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AgonyFlips @agonyflips.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
When you're ticked off and a friend sends you something to make you feel better. 🐑🔊
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Stephen Kinsella @stephenstroud.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Thanks. I gave an interview on that Chris Rokos story last week. It’s very unlikely that much of the £300 million was his personal tax so it will still be collected from his businesses. Another non-story made up by the tax avoidance industry. 
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Reform Party UK Exposed @reformexposed.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
‘Captured by crypto’: Fears grow over Farage’s threat to Bank of England independence – and the economy www.thenerve.news/p/nigel-fara...
thenerve.news
‘Captured by crypto’: Fears grow over Farage’s threat to Bank of England independence – and the economy
Reform's biggest donor holds a direct stake in an industry the Bank regulates. A crossbench peer is calling for powers to block a Trump-style influence grab at the top of the institution, writes Ian…
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Gaia Vince @wanderinggaia.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sad about Trailfinders
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Laughingjohn @laughing-john.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Fixed that story about Sir Jim Ratcliffe on the BBC.
Picture of man smiling with tea-mug. Headline reads: "Non-Billionaire who actually lives in the UK and pays its taxes says he has lost confidence in the super-rich", with sub-header: 'One of Britain's taxpayers says he has lost confidence in billionaires, describing them as "on the take"".
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...
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katie @supermathskid.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I really need a job, if anybody knows of somewhere looking to hire a good writer with connections in scientific academia and a few random folks in government please lemme know
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
In May of 1940 there was a mass panic in Britain - stirred up by the tabloid press - about 'fighting aged men' who had come to Britain as 'refugees' posing a threat to the women and children of this country - and essentially forming a 'fifth column' that could, at any moment rise up against everyone
static.klipy.com
WW2 Soldiers in Croatia: Ivan Janjic Storefront
ALT: WW2 Soldiers in Croatia: Ivan Janjic Storefront
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Dr Julia Grace Patterson @jujuliagrace.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Argh!!! Tom Watson! Palantir! 🚨 www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
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B heard media 💚🇵🇸 @bheardmedia.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Patient data from five GP surgeries in England is being fed into the NHS’s Palantir-built data platform, pushing the US firm’s reach beyond its initial remit of hospital operations into local surgeries. An internal NHS note seen by the FT called it a “significant milestone”. 🤔
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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
On Question Time Danny Kruger just explained that our crypto billionaire donors will "get absolutely nothing" in return for their donations. In unrelated news, we plan to cut capital gains tax on crypto assets from 24% to 10% and set up a Bank of England Bitcoin Reserve Fund.
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Bonkers Economics @martinwhitlock.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Look at this image: the tiny red sliver is all the physical cash in the UK, the notes and coins. The huge blue chunk? That's all invented. Numbers typed into a computer. No gold, no salt, no intrinsic value. Just trust. Watch the full story: youtu.be/E8ksSB699OI
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Liberty @libertyhq.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Today is the first hearing of our legal challenge against the UK Government’s attempts to break encryption We’re at the Investigatory Powers Tribunal alongside @privacyinternational.org and Apple to find out how our cases will be managed
Liberty's experts meet outside of court before today's Investigatory Powers Tribunal hearing
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Joel Morris @gralefrit.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Brilliant. And in that same lovely back-footed Scandi-English key as Norsemen, which is blissful.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Byline Times has identified seven Reform councillors who are listed as members of the masked anti-migrant groups bylinetimes.com/2026/09/16/t...
bylinetimes.com
The Reform Councillors Embedded in Britain’s Masked 'Patriot' Anti-Migrant Network
A Reform councillor and campaign co-ordinater urged his followers to join and support the masked group
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