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William Simon

@wgsimon.com
172 followers 930 following 0 posts

Pigeons, backgammon, mathematics.

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Reposted by William Simon
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 04/06/2026
Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience, the physicist Alan Lightman writes: “The question is: What are we to make of the fantastically improbable fact of our existence, our moment of life?”
bit.ly
The Ordinary Miracle of Existing
Being alive at all is the most extraordinary stroke of good luck any of us will ever experience.
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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Left: Henry Nowak's father, "We do not want his death used to create further division hated or tension" Right: GB News presenter Matt Goodwin, "I think it's anti white racism"
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Huw C. Davies @huwcdavies.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Got to be one of the most inflammatory statements ever broadcast on the BBC, let alone a current affairs show. Apparently, there’s a ‘regime’ that for ‘30 years’ has been operating against the interests of whites.
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Joel @snufkinlib.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
trying to play peekaboo with my child but he's a European diplomat: me: where'd daddy go? baby: we must articulate a post-daddy vision of strategic autonomy me: peekaboo! baby: my historic relationship with my father is stable despite recent troubles
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
1/ Disruptions mean countries will rush to exit US-led oil order Worst case scenario for oil companies (best for rest of us) is that people permanently shift...what they call “demand destruction“ i.e short term pain but Long: Iran war will accelerate ongoing STRUCTURAL shift to solar+EVs+batteries
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TW @twesq.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
I’ve found it’s more visually appealing to just paste in his head at the inflection points
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
Congress could stop Trump’s tariff policy at a stroke. This story is ultimately not about presidential power, but about congressional weakness.
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David Henig @davidheniguk.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
Also would be good if more people could be blunt - the US hasn't lost out from globalisation, nor the UK. We may have managed our domestic distribution badly, and done lots of other things wrong, but comparatively we're rich.
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 05/04/2025
my HORRIFYING cartoon for this week’s @theguardian.com books
Title: Modern Folk horrors of the British Isles 

Five images of various characters:

A coven of murderous witches...
Who play loud youtube videos on public transport.

An ancient malevolent demon... 
With a three-hour podcast interviewing entrepreneurs.

A flock of bloodthirsty ravens...
Who think absolutely everything is "Woke". 

A primordial shambling beast... 
Wearing a "Make albion great again" baseball cap. 

A mob of satanic villagers... 
Who give bad reviews to books they haven't read.
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
The key is to realise that the tariffs do not make any sense, rather than to strain to find an explanatory model. We are dealing with logic-free and evidence-free policy-making. A knowledge of fantasy literature is at least as helpful here as an understanding of commerce and trade.
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
“by the art of painting [we] make … a sort of man-made dream produced for those who are awake.” Plato, The Sophist. Love the idea of man made dreams produced for those are awake. Let’s start with that.
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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
The ‘can machines do creative writing’ thing is mostly a distraction from the use of the machines to go through text and images to cancel grants and put people on deportation lists
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David L @dlynch.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The previous FT piece on this topic from December (linked to in JBM article) had the most jaw-dropping para:
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
My Trade Secrets today. Two theories on Trump's tariff chaos: 1. It's a cunning and deliberate discombobulation of trading partners. 2. It's a shambles from an administration full of clashing motives, wrongheaded ideas and a capricious boss. Guess what? I'm going with 2. First 300 clicks free.
on.ft.com
Donald Trump’s coercion descends into chaos
[FREE TO READ] The US’s tariff policy evokes bafflement as well as fear
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ChrisO_wiki @chriso-wiki.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
1/ Out of 12,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine, only two have been captured alive. They have recently been telling their stories to American and South Korean journalists, providing a unique perspective on the war. ⬇️
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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
There has been a lot of chatter today about Zelenskyy's meeting with Trump, some regarding this moment when White House correspondent Brian Glenn asked if the Ukrainian president plans to wear a suit. I want to address idea in this thread. 🧵
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Richard Morris @ahistoryinart.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
'The Doll's School.' (1900) At the time he painted this work Walter Osborne was coming into his own stylistically. He died at the age of 43 and during his lifetime many of his paintings remained unsold. Ironically, his work now sells for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
'The Doll's School.' (1900) At the time he painted this work Walter Osborne was coming into his own stylistically. He died at the age of 43 and during his lifetime many of his paintings remained unsold. Ironically, his work now sells for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Just in case people have forgotten, Trump has an abiding hatred of Zelensky for refusing to pursue Biden and his son, Hunter in an investigation Trump wanted opened in Ukraine, as he thought it would help Trump’s 2020 Presidential run. What you see now is spite
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Henry Morris @mrhenrymorris.substack.com · 10/02/2025
I just wrote a quick bit about 'genuinely contributing.' (This time with a working link) mrhenrymorris.substack.com/p/genuinely-...
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castle @castlecrypts.bsky.social · 23/09/2023
i bought this very beautiful onion a little while ago and i was struck by how perfectly round it was. it turned out to be exactly 1 pound heavy
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
What's being described here is akin to a coup
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Arieh Kovler @ariehkovler.com · 02/02/2025
Musk's cronies tried to to gain access to classified USAID data. USAID Director of Security John Voorhees security said no. The Musk people threatened to call in the US Marshals and take the data at gunpoint. They still said no. edition.cnn.com/2025/02/02/p...
edition.cnn.com
Senior USAID security officials put on leave after refusing Musk’s DOGE access to agency systems | CNN Politics
Two top security officials at the US Agency for International Development were put on administrative leave Saturday night after refusing to allow officials from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Ef...
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
In particular, the Brexity folks who claimed to be all about the Commonwealth are nowhere to be seen. More generally, anyone who claims to support free trade but also supports Trump should never be taken seriously ever again.
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Mark Cuban @mcuban.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Just have to say that the $Trump meme coin is a gift to all of us who are not fans of his. It’s just a matter of time until a lot of people lose money from this. I’m a crypto fan. This is not crypto any more than Madoff was just buying and selling shares of stock
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Brian Klaas @brianklaas.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
On his orders, his henchmen murdered my former colleague and chopped up his body with a bone saw.
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Sarah Murphy @13sarahmurphy.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
“In truth, none of Trump's promises to the American people can be met in a world failing to deal with climate change.” A good, if understated, letter in The Times about the barrelling menace of Trump and his ruinous “Drill, baby, drill!” tyranny.
Sir, William Hague rightly highlights the omissions in President Trump's first-day blitz
"It's what Trump won't do that is worrying", Jan 20). The most egregious is climate change. There is a bizarre reference in Trump's speech to the damage done in the Carolinas by Hurricane Helene, and by the storm-driven wildfires around Los Angeles:
"Some of the wealthiest individuals in our country... don't have a home any longer.
That's interesting." He then promises a new dash for oil and gas, and has withdrawn from the Paris agreement. This is reaching for petrol while watching your house burn.In truth, none of Trump's promises to the American people can be met in a world failing to deal with climate change. Migration will surge, whatever defences Trump constructs. Economic stresses will intensify, with renewed reliance on volatile hydrocarbon energy markets. Any sugar rush from a hydrocarbon renaissance will empower the dictators and potentates who control much of the global supply.
Climate failure will impoverish us all and make our tinderbox world yet more insecure.
We must now work with those in the US and elsewhere who understand the imperative of bringing the age of fossil energy to the earliest possible end.

Kim Darroch, British ambassador to the US 2016-19; John Ashton, UK climate change envoy 2006-12
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Charlotte Garden @charlottegarden.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
An embarrassment of riches
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
I used to scratch my head as to how they all allowed the world to go to hell in a handbasket in the 1930s and why not enough was done to prevent it. We all know now.
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Zoe Gardner @zoejardiniere.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
The Greens, the LibDems, Plaid Cymru, all did better at the last election than ever. They all have very good, progressive immigration policies. Nobody has a clue what they are though. The media only GAF about anti-migrant politics.
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Oisin Coghlan @oisinc.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
This from @carolecadwalla.bsky.social is insightful and alarming. broligarchy.substack.com/p/total-info...
broligarchy.substack.com
Total information collapse
It's started. And it's only going to accelerate from here.
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ncg213.bsky.social @ncg213.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
A view from PNG
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Anonymous @opcanary.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Amazon to pay Trump admin at least $40 Million, laundered as documentary about Melania Trump. #opCanary
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Chica Marx @mckenziewark.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
Pippa Garner has passed. A truly unique artist.
artnews.com
Pippa Garner, Inventive Artist Who Satirized Consumerism, Dies at 82
Pippa Garner, an artist who satirized consumerism and used her own body as her canvas, has died at 82.
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Nina Willburger @drnwillburger.bsky.social · 02/01/2025
A very stylish #Roman woman's shoe with a decorative pattern punched into the leather. Found in 1907 in a well in the  civilian settlement of the Saalburg fort. The damp environment preserved the shoe in a good condition. Dating 2nd c. AD 📷 Römerkastell Saalburg 🏺 AncientBluesky #archaeology
A close-up of a single leather shoe with a decorative pattern of holes of different sizes and shapes (e.g circles, triangles).
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Julie (unprofessional) @juliebalt.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
Post by songofsaraneth

every time i ask people if they do any new years resolutions its all ooooo i dont like making them bc i fail or ohhhhh no i couldnt keep up wiht that and then when they ask me and i tell them about Pasta Quest (i am eating as many different pasta shapes as possible in the space of a year) or when i did Fruit Adventures (every time i saw a fruit i had never eaten before id get one and eat it and read the wikipedia article about it) theyre like hang on i forgot you can make Fun Ones i want a fun one
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Toby Nangle @tobyn.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
🚨 On Tues I wrote in MainFT about UK pension tax relief. People got v cross. So today, here’s a @alphaville.ft.com piece on *every single other* tax relief. on.ft.com/3P1IjyS
on.ft.com
A big, broad view of British tax
Some charts showing all the taxes and all the tax reliefs
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 21/10/2023
Spare some love today for Collingwood. The other Admiral at Trafalgar. Proud northerner. Hater of flogging. Legit brilliant commander and Nelson's trusted right hand. First into battle on Royal Sovereign. Took charge after Nelson was sniped and saved the British Fleet. Here's HIS Trafalgar... /1 🧵
Painting of a middle-aged Collingwood in blue admirals jacket, resting his had on his chin.
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 28/11/2024
My Trade Secrets today. Nobody. Knows. Anything. This week's narrative twists in econ/trade Trumpland (Wall St-friendly Scott Bessent nominated to Treasury but then huge Canada/Mexico tariffs) show the unpredictability involved. (The tariffs might not work anyway.) 🧵follows 1/n on.ft.com/3AZIZBG
on.ft.com
The contradictions of Trumponomics over tariffs lie exposed
[FREE TO READ] This week is a sobering reminder of the uncertainties of US policy to come
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Dave Earley @earleyedition.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Traffic from Bluesky's @bsky.app to @theguardian.com is already 2x that of Threads In its first week on the platform & with 300k followers, Bluesky traffic from @theguardian.com posts is already higher than it was from TwX in any week in 2024, where the account had 10.8m followers, but🧵
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Clare Hudson @chudso.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Roman finds display from Combretovium in Coddenham church, Suffolk #roman #archaeology #ancientbluesky
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John Burn-Murdoch @jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 19/11/2024
Despite a massive head start, BlueSky has now overtaken Threads in the US 👇
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Ben Barclay @benbarclay.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
Today’s constitutional continues with a visit to a great exhibition of medieval Islamic ceramics from Granada.
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Tommy Siegel @tommysiegel.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
bird sounds
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Tom Gauld @tomgauld.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
@theguardian.com is on Bluesky now…
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Retro Computers @retrocomps.bsky.social · 16/11/2024
Miss Deluxe Paint? Steffest has reimpleented it in Javascript, for easy pixel art animation, used by id Software and LucasArts alike. Come on back and draw like it's 1989!
stef.be
DPaint.js
stef.be
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Theo Sanderson @theo.io · 12/11/2024
I had a try at making this bsky-follow-finder.theo.io Enter your handle and it will find people followed by lots of the people you follow (but not you)
bsky-follow-finder.theo.io
Bluesky Follower's Followers Who You don't
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John Crace @mrjohncrace.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Hello everyone. I am now on this platform for social media. Do please repost this message so that more people can find me!
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Pippa Crerar @pippacrerar.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Big news from Guardian Towers this morning... The Guardian has announced it will no longer post content on Elon Musk’s X from official accounts. (I'm staying put - for now - as feel it's important to at least try to retain some balance there). www.theguardian.com/media/2024/n...
theguardian.com
Guardian will no longer post on Elon Musk’s X from its official accounts
Platform’s coverage of US election crystallised longstanding concerns about its content, says Guardian
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Ryan Mac 🙃 @rmac.bsky.social · 08/11/2024
Kind of wild to live in a system that allows one man to spend a couple hundred million dollars to elect his favored political candidate and then see the free market reward him with tens of billions of dollars in net worth www.forbes.com/sites/dereks...
forbes.com
Tesla Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap—Musk Becomes $300 Billion Man After Trump Win
Shares of the Musk-led EV firm are up almost 30% since Tuesday as investors responded aggressively to the Musk-backed Trump’s victory.
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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 24/10/2024
This is HMS Fidelity. Built in Liverpool in 1920. Served as a Royal Navy commando and covert action ship during WW2. I think Fidelity might be unique among WW2 Royal Navy combat vessels. Her First Officer was a woman: the absolutely fascinating Lt Cdr (effective) Madeleine Barclay. /1
black and white photo of a single stack, run down naval vessel.
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