@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

Wen

@[email protected]

I am a climber, runner (with a Collie), cyclist and swimmer. I was running a small (but perfectly formed) analytics company now employee owned to mark my retirement. Commute between the Highlands and The Borders, campaign for Scottish independence, bake bread and occasionally dabble in bad art.

I winge about a lot - the environment, bad governance and stupidity but do try to provide a wee bit of evidence and highlight good news.

Languages : English, German, Gaelic, Pashtu, Spanish, Italian

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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Showing the dug how it is done

Five sheep follow a black and white cat along a road, all in line
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

A small change, but welcome. Now let us cap all political donations to, say 1/12 of the median income in the UK. Buying politics and politicians is a staple of British politics (at least for , the and ). It makes a mockery of our so called . Why should the ‘Health Secretary' () require hundreds of thousands of pound in donations from private health care companies?

http://archive.today/2026.02.11-221658/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/labour-ban-foreign-party-donors-hfn83z003

From the linked article, a graphic with a hand reaching into a ballot box with a poe of tokens, presumably money in different coulis surrounding it, the text reads Labour to ban foreign party donors unless they make money in UK Elections bill proposes tight cap on overseas donations as well as lowering voting age to 16 and other electoral changes new
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@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

If you're interested in the disclosure of documents to the House of Commons related to Peter Mandelson’s appointment as His Majesty’s Ambassador to the USA, @DAG sets out quite what a break with precedent this is, why the Govt. is likely now to be particularly worried about losing control of the release of papers, and why this represents a major political development in the affair.

As always DAG is clear & on point; a must read, this evening!


https://emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reasons-why-the-mandelson-disclosure

Wen ,
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @BashStKid Thank you for that explanation.

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

It is not going to end well. Orwell (sorry but he was on the ball so to speak) got it right.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/07/jd-vance-boos-winter-olympics

If a US administration figure is booed at the Olympics, or a World Cup match, will American domestic broadcasts simply mute or avoid mentioning the crowd audio? If so, what happens when the world feed, or a foreign broadcaster, shows something else entirely? What happens when 40,000 phones in the stadium upload their own version in real time?

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

So, a company too small to have to file accounts in the UK manages to find £200k to donate to Reform?

More evidence that the funding of political parties (or limited companies that pretend to be so) needs drastic reform. Foreign interference, be that through social media or money bedevils British politics. The dominant parties in parliament are too reliant on funny money to be prepared to do anything about it.

http://archive.today/2026.01.31-201146/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/churchwarden-linked-to-foreign-born-billionaire-is-behind-200k-reform-gift-j06pb7w82

From the linked article. A photo of the supposed donor alongside one of Farage from the linked article. Text includes Churchwarden linked to foreign-born billionaire is behind £200k Reform gift The man whose firm made the donations will not discuss where the money came from, nor his ties to wealthy Farage allies who may not hold citizenship A churchwarden from Potters Bar who works for the family of a highly secretive, Kazakhstan-born billionaire can be revealed as the man behind £200,000 of donations to Reform UK. John Richard Simpson is a 59-year-old conveyancer whose parish website describes him as an “experienced” and “dedicated” Anglican lay leader. He is the owner of Interior Architecture Landscape Limited, which made seven payments to Nigel Farage’s party last summer. The firm, which was originally owned via a trust in the British Virgin Islands, is so small it does not have to file professionally audited accounts. It did not display any contact details until recently and was almost wound up by HMRC after a tax dispute last year. Simpson, known locally as Bill, “does conveyancing, but is not a fully qualified solicitor”, according to a Facebook post by a neighbour in the Hertfordshire town. There is no evidence he has any background in interior design. He has no known political affiliation or background in activism.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Thw saner of you might have avoided mention of ‘Malania - the Movie’ but I did - just to spare you the pain.

The Times has been outdoing even it’s normally craven self to ‘big it up’. Murdoch obviously owes biggly - or should that be giggly?.

The ‘news’ report is shite, but I did love one of the comments from someone who fact checked their ‘journalism’

http://archive.today/2026.01.28-220611/https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/melania-trump-movie-ticket-sales-pf6s5f0tk

Not using Amazon for anything I won't even see a trailer

And someone fact checking the report I was a bit sceptical of this: "In Georgetown, a wealthy part of Washington favoured by politicians and journalists, two thirds of tickets have been sold for the 6.30pm showing on Saturday at the AMC Cinema — suggesting many in the US capital are eager to watch the movie" So I clicked into the Georgetown AMC Cinema website. It's one of those 14 screen multiplexes. Melania is not in the main auditorium, it's in one with 68 seats. The 6.30pm showing has sold 46 tickets. For the other showings on Saturday's opening of this blockbuster the following number of seats have been sold: 1pm - 9 3.45pm - 17 9.15pm - 17 10.15pm - 0 So, in total 89 tickets sold, on opening day, across 5 screenings. These figures suggest quite a few things but that "many in the US capital are eager to watch the movie" is not one of them.

And someone fact checking the report I was a bit sceptical of this: "In Georgetown, a wealthy part of Washington favoured by politicians and journalists, two thirds of tickets have been sold for the 6.30pm showing on Saturday at the AMC Cinema — suggesting many in the US capital are eager to watch the movie" So I clicked into the Georgetown AMC Cinema website. It's one of those 14 screen multiplexes. Melania is not in the main auditorium, it's in one with 68 seats. The 6.30pm showing has sold 46 tickets. For the other showings on Saturday's opening of this blockbuster the following number of seats have been sold: 1pm - 9 3.45pm - 17 9.15pm - 17 10.15pm - 0 So, in total 89 tickets sold, on opening day, across 5 screenings. These figures suggest quite a few things but that "many in the US capital are eager to watch the movie" is not one of them.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

I can imagine the conversations within the .

‘We need to approve another data centre’
‘Why’
‘Oh and and keeping tech companies happy and other things, mumble mumble’
‘What about water and power requirements’
‘Who cares, if Londoners complain we will ship it in from or ’
‘Fine’
‘What about assessments?’
‘Screw them, we have avoided them in the past’

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/23/uk_gov_dc/

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

‘Europeans have to understand that it’s over’: historian Robert Kagan on Trump’s coming ‘dictatorship’ and the end of the western alliance

https://www.thenerve.news/p/robert-kagan-carole-cadwalladr-europe-wake-up-trump-dictatorship-russia-white-supremacy-keir-starmer

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

HMRC - incompetent, uncaring and they don’t even care who knows….

The revelations come just weeks after it emerged that at least 63% of those who had their child benefit stopped were in fact still living in the UK and had not emigrated, as inferred by incomplete Home Office data used in the crackdown.

I suspect not a wrist will even be slapped. Anyone remember Windrush and the Home Office? Similar story and outcome.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/12/hmrc-risk-child-benefit-fraud-crackdown

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

An occasional look at the propaganda

The Times’ ‘Scottish’ section is a continuous diatribe about the country. They don’t even bother talking about food or the landscape, and never business or the positives (many) in our country. Notable here was the performance of the SNHS, university fees or other socially useful services (including bus and train transport) - a small percentage of England’s. That 24% is very selective

http://archive.today/2025.12.30-194939/https://www.thetimes.com/money/tax/article/scotland-living-property-tax-2rv6smxx

From the article, a graphic with a pile of coins, a Scottish emblem and a plaid in the background. Text reads The tartan tax: why it costs £24,000 more to live in Scotland Differences between the taxation systems on either side of the border with England can add up to a tidy sum Scotland and England have a long history of fallouts, and tax remains one of the topics they can’t agree on. Many taxes in Scotland are devolved, meaning their rates are set and collected by the Scottish government rather than HM Revenue & Customs, so the side of the border you live on can have an enormous impact on your tax bill. The difference in income tax and stamp duty alone could cost a family nearly £24,000.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

The BBC - now kowtowing to Downing St pressure (again). You have to see what they say about the SNP and Scotland

https://www.thenational.scot/news/25740929.bbc-bans-journalists-saying-us-kidnapped-venezuelas-maduro/

From the linked article, photographs of BBC centre and Trump side by side with the text BBC 'bans' journalists from saying US 'kidnapped' Venezuela's Maduro THE BBC has told its reporters not to use the word “kidnapped” when describing the US government’s allegedly illegal abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. The directive was revealed by The National contributor Owen Jones, who said it had been passed to him by a member of BBC staff. BBC journalists have been banned from describing the kidnapped Venezuelan leader as having been kidnapped. The BBC News Editor has sent this to BBC journalists. pic.twitter.com/jn9qQZkVAH — Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) January 5, 2026 It read: “As discussed in the Nine [a daily 9am meeting of BBC staff] to ensure clarity and consistency in our reporting, please follow these guidelines when describing the recent events in Venezuela: “‘Captured’ – Please attribute this to the US description of the operation. Example: ‘The US said Maduro was captured during the operation.’ “‘Seized’ – Acceptable for use in our own reporting where appropriate. “Avoid using ‘Kidnapped’.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

The Monroe doctrine rethought for the age of the orange goon

Cartoon Two panels in the first Rooselvelt is when carryon g large stick and towing a warship into the Caribbean with the caption ;speak softly and carry a large stick’, in the second Trunp with a golf stick and the caption ‘speak bilgy and pick a soft quarry’
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

A January date for trial - this will be an interesting test for the UK Maladministration’s unwise and over broad definition of terrorism,…

https://www.thenational.scot/news/25721716.scottish-activist-appear-court-palestine-action-terror-charge/

From the article, a photograph of the Glasgow Shettif court with the title Prominent Scottish activist to appear in court over Palestine Action terror charge
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

More good news for the shortest day

In July Helsinki marked an entire year without a single traffic death. The Finnish capital, which has a population of 690,000, achieved the feat through lower speed limits, improved street design and investing in pedestrian and cycling infrastructure. More than half of Helsinki’s streets have a speed limit of 30km/h (18-19mph) and roads have been narrowed with trees.

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Just a reminder that defending the Jury system by quoting Magna Carta is misguided. There are much better examples in more modern England.

http://archive.today/2025.12.14-000850/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/magna-carta-didnt-promise-jury-trials-but-so-what-6mhvfhc55

Garnier does however somewhat overplay his hand glossing over who has been mainly responsible in breaking the justice system, but then he would say that wouldn’t he?

From the linked article, text reads EDWARD GARNIER Juries are a bedrock of Britain, but not because of Magna Carta David Lammy has undoubtedly got it wrong, the former solicitor-general writes, but let’s not strain the history Edward Garnier Sunday December 14 2025, 12.01am GMT, The Sunday Times The justice secretary says access to jury trial is to be restricted because that will break the backlog and enable justice to be done more quickly. Unfortunately, David Lammy is not the first justice secretary to answer the wrong question, nor to answer the wrong question wrongly. He is not a noted student of the law, nor is his reputation for consistency and concentration well known. Recently he was a champion of the jury system as one of the bedrocks of our democracy. But that was then; now he plays a different, if discordant, tune. Meanwhile, the legal and constitutional historians are dusting off Magna Carta to add fuel to their fury about the justice secretary’s attack on the centuries-old right to trial by jury. Lammy has unquestionably come up with the wrong, or a partial, answer to the wrong question, but we are straining history if we base our criticism on Magna Carta.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Confiscating not freezing Russia’s assets to enable Ukraine to defend itself - the way to go

http://archive.today/2025.12.13-152211/https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/frozen-russian-assets-ukraine-europe-pszvw77g0

The linked article a photo of Zelinski, Starmer, Mazr and Macron in front of No 10. Text reads BILL BROWDER Using frozen Russian assets will tip the balance of war. Europe must act new When I first called for the seizure of €210bn to fund Ukraine’s defence, officials said I had lost my mind. Now, it’s the only way to preserve European security
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Glasgow, tolerance and Farage

A picture that smashes Nigel Farage’s fear-mongering

https://archive.is/20251209181756/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/picture-smashes-nigel-farage-fear-mongering-27fjs5jff#selection-1531.0-1531.52

From the article Was this proof that Nigel Farage had a point? Last weekend the Reform UK leader used a speech in Scotland to warn that one in three children in Glasgow did not have English as their first language. This, he said, amounted to the “cultural smashing” of the city. The photograph, a Farage supporter might argue, was an illustration of what he was talking about. This, so the logic might go, was typical of Glasgow in 2025. A city suddenly swamped by foreigners with foreign ways and foreign tongues. A city where not even our playparks were safe from an alien influx. Except, no. This picture was taken by an amateur photographer, Eric Watt, in Maxwell Park in May 1974, more than half a century ago. The brown kids playing on that roundabout would be in their late fifties now, many with children of their own, maybe grandchildren too.

From the article Was this proof that Nigel Farage had a point? Last weekend the Reform UK leader used a speech in Scotland to warn that one in three children in Glasgow did not have English as their first language. This, he said, amounted to the “cultural smashing” of the city. The photograph, a Farage supporter might argue, was an illustration of what he was talking about. This, so the logic might go, was typical of Glasgow in 2025. A city suddenly swamped by foreigners with foreign ways and foreign tongues. A city where not even our playparks were safe from an alien influx. Except, no. This picture was taken by an amateur photographer, Eric Watt, in Maxwell Park in May 1974, more than half a century ago. The brown kids playing on that roundabout would be in their late fifties now, many with children of their own, maybe grandchildren too.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Oh dear - it is almost as though many Labour MPs couldn’t give a Toss about the ‘whip’

https://archive.is/20251209215710/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/eu-customs-union-brexit-86hxwc7m8

From the linked article. Starmer is photographed with Lammy in the background and the text MPs defy whip on Brexit with vote for UK rejoining customs union The ‘advisory’ Liberal Democrat bill passed the Commons with a majority of one More than a dozen Labour MPs have defied the party whips and voted in favour of the UK rejoining a customs union with the European Union. The group, which included Dame Meg Hillier, the influential chair of the Treasury select committee, backed the Liberal Democrat motion in the Commons despite calls from party managers to abstain from the vote. As a result, the Liberal Democrat Ten-Minute Rule Bill passed the Commons with a majority of one, after the deputy Speaker cast the deciding vote in its favour.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

The BBC responds to Farage bait

https://archive.is/20251205153445/https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/politics/we-dont-remember-making-a-sitcom-called-hitler-was-right-says-bbc-20251205262504

Frmn the lined spoof, Dad’s army photograph and the text We don't remember making a sitcom called 'Hitler Was Right', says BBC THE BBC has searched its archives but cannot find any trace of an offensive 1970s sitcom about how much better life would be if Hitler had won the war. After Reform leader Nigel Farage defended himself against charges of schoolboy racism by pointing to It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, the BBC looked for popular 1970s sitcoms about farcical shenanigans under cheerful Nazi rule but came back empty-handed. A spokesman said: “We were spuriously accused of bias by a frothing right-winger so we naturally assumed we were guilty, because that’s the BBC way. “But going through our 1970s sitcom output, we certainly found sexism. Homosexuality was treated in a manner most light-hearted. There was more than a little blackface, and you would not believe the size tits had to be before we deemed them funny.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

My photograph of the day

A swan who was found wandering along the M1 is given a lift home (photograph attributed to the Highways Agency)

A Highways safety officer looks at the camera, behind him a swan is safely buckled in the back of his car
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Sunday afternoon/early evening run

A lovely day, but oh how fast it becomes dark at this time of year.

22k, 1.3 track and 1/3 road. On a last descent I managed to bash something and now home and relaxing I suspect that tomorrow is going to be rather quieter than the dug would like. Memo to self - ‘don't come down that way in a hurry!’ Reply ‘sorry, i’ts just too much fun’. Knee ‘bloody amateur’.

The sun is beginning to drop behind the western hills in a blue almost cloudless sky, Ruberslaw rises in the distance towards the left of the photograph above the green fields
Almost home and the sun is really getting low, looking down the burn that leads to the cottage

Almost home and the sun is really getting low, looking down the burn that leads to the cottage
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

There may be many reasons to criticise the budget, but I have to say my heart really went out to these people…

£2M home and a £2M rental and still they can’t afford it.

http://archive.today/2025.11.27-132642/https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/property-home/article/mansion-tax-affects-our-plans-to-buy-a-retirement-pad-l55krz8r7

And (second attachment) the concerns that Times readers are assumed to have

A screenshot of stories about tax

A screenshot of stories about tax
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@GetCarter@mastodonapp.uk avatar GetCarter , to random
Wen ,
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

@GetCarter @christineburns Could be worse. They might have been pissing on it or worse.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

Have arrived home to find that Rachel Reeves Autumn Budget was so comprehensively trailed in the last few days that for the most part there's not much to say, that's not already been said.... other than rather than revealing a strategic vision it looks a but more like the fiscal equivalent of scrambling around for small change (or in some cases perhaps notes) in jars & drawers around the house.....

But as the dust settles I'll posy on anything that pops up that was not expected

Wen ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 @wood5y So that will be a tactical approach then 🤣

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

I understand that the BEEB have dun bad - a stupid move, but damages? What reputation does the fecker have to defend?

From the linked article, Photo of Trump with the text Trump threatens to sue BBC for $1 billion over Panorama speech edit Samir Shah, the corporation’s chair, apologises for the ‘error of judgment’ — but goes on the defensive after Tim Davie’s resignation President Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion over a “doctored” speech as senior figures within the ­corporation remained defiant over the crisis. The corporation’s chairman, Samir Shah, apologised on Monday for the ­“error of judgment” in a Panorama documentary which aired last year and has led to the resignation of Tim Davie, the director-general, and Deborah Turness, chief executive of news. Shah said that there had been more than 500 complaints about the ­programme, which gave the impression that Trump made a “direct call for ­violent action” because two separate sections of his speech before the ­Capitol riots on January 6, 2021, were spliced together.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

It has been a hard day and I won’t allow him to bring real sheep into the house.

A collie relaxes, sheep shoved over the side of the sofa while trying to get me to play with him

A collie relaxes, sheep shoved over the side of the sofa while trying to get me to play with him
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

When they get rattled, Labour seem to lose any common sense. Proscription for the SNP (and probably Plaid) to follow?

‘Healy didn’t only agree, but went further, declaring that “the continuation of the Scottish Nationalist Government in Scotland is a threat to our security”.

Later, he refused to use the same language about the Chinese Government.’

https://bylinetimes.com/2025/11/06/the-snp-isnt-a-threat-to-the-security-of-any-nation-i-want-to-be-part-of/

Wen OP ,
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

@HarriettMB I expect the Murrell trial to be kept alive at least as far as the May elections. Every little helps. On the broader front, Labour are terrified of Reform while at the same time thinking that there is little thy can do at the moment about Plaid or the SNP and in England the Greens will be a problem for them. IMO that is at least in part a reflection of a party whose raison d'être was achieving power with no clear idea of what to do with it.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

The media coverage of Celebrity Traitors & the desire to see the programme as indicative of the Zeitgeist as well the gulf in trust between politicians & celebrities is all very well but perhaps more than anything else reveals the self-obsession of the media with itself;

the pages spent discussing & analysing CT could have been spent on real news - but that of course would require (more) expensive actual reporting & investigations... whereas this only requires an armchair & a TV

Wen ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 You forget about the obligatory stiff whisky!

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

So, I wonder what sort of (untraceable) phone calls were made between people at No.10 & Rachel Reeves letting agents, to encourage them to blame some who has now left their firm for the licensing mistake on Reeves family home rental?

Call me cynical but there seems to be a world of difference to how Angela Rayner's troubles were 'dealt' with & how Reeves have played out; it almost like the no.10 goons wanted rid of Rayner, but have been more forthright in protecting Reeves?

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@ChrisMayLA6 @patrickhadfield @Photo55 How long do you give Powell? Or maybe McSweeney et al have shot their bolt?

Wen ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 @patrickhadfield @Photo55 Yes, although I think that rudderless as well as listless might be more appropriate. Just think, massive majority, Reform doing well in polls but evidence mounting of a combination of treason and incompetence growing, Greens doing well, especially with the under 50sTories in total disarray, Your Party a joke and Labour still find the time to squabble while there is a great deal that needs to be down.

Wen ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 @iaruffell @patrickhadfield @Photo55 Metaphors always do when push comes to absurdum 🤭

Wen ,
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@ChrisMayLA6 @iaruffell @riggbeck @patrickhadfield @Photo55 One assumes that a wee isolated Scottish isle will be their salvation.

Well worked for anthrax, suggested for migrants and far away from London and the SE

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Ella Baron cartoon - woke science

Trump stands in front od the image of a hurricane (from above) screening woke into the void
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Credibility gaps and trust

The problem Keir is that people don’t believe you. And they look at the loonier side of politics and realise that even if you are not in power for long enough to extend the scope of digital IDs, the next party to rule from the depts of Westminster probably will. And one way or the other, living monsters such as and will be very happy to aid and abet them.

http://archive.today/2025.10.23-192058/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/digital-ids-nhs-keir-starmer-7wdxs8kqw

From the linked article. A man in a Guido Fawkes mask holds up two placards marked ‘No to Digital ID’ with the text Britons will never need digital ID for NHS, says Starmer The prime minister plays down fears surrounding his plans with assurances it will never be mandatory but will ‘cut the faff’ of modern life new Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor Thursday October 23 2025, 8.00pm BST, The Times A protester in a Guy Fawkes mask holds up signs saying "NO TO DIGITAL ID" during a protest against government plans for digital IDs. Hundreds marched through London last weekend in a demonstration against plans for digital ID GUY CORBISHLEY/ALAMY Sir Keir Starmer has pledged that digital ID will never be a requirement of access to the NHS and would only ever be mandatory for checks on the right to work. Having pitched digital ID as a means of dealing with illegal immigration, the prime minister now seeks to sell the scheme as a way to “cut the faff”, by making people’s lives easier by speeding up identity checks and saving money on administration.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Well Keir, that got you out of another foul mess of your own making. But deeply saddened? A bit too gushing. Even Netanyahu was not expecting you to go that far. I assume that Labour Friends of Israel and Lawyers for Israel who love insisting that anything critical of Israel is by definition antisemitic, who have seized on the labelling of racist violent thugs as jewish are delighted. It is not a good look.

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/oct/20/maccabi-tel-aviv-to-decline-any-tickets-offered-for-aston-villa-game

@Daojoan@mastodon.social avatar Daojoan , to random

Nonfiction tells you what to think.

Fiction trains you how to think.

https://youtu.be/18z_vlbdjQA?si=JS_-jRf9iY43IcTV

Wen ,
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@Daojoan No, some non fiction does. Other non fiction presents evidence and facts allowing a discerning reader to make up there own minds.

Not to denigrate decent, imaginative fiction which can spur your imagination regarding what is worth thinking about before it has happened.

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Britains first commercial (albeit small scale) experiment with rice in the Fens.

I wonder how well it will deal with brackish water?

From the article, A woman stands in water examining some of the rice plants being grown in the fens Text reads Farm produces Britain’s first rice crop in fight against erosion Oxwillow Farm in the Fens is testing ways to stop the landscape’s soil blowing away, while climate change makes it harder to grow typical crops At Oxwillow Farm near Ely in Cambridgeshire, Craig Taylor is preparing to harvest what is thought to be Britain’s first crop of rice. He believes that his four small paddy fields, containing risotto, sushi and basmati rice, may hold the answer to a problem that has bedevilled his family for generations. For 400 years, ever since the Cambridgeshire Fens were drained for agriculture, the area’s rich, peaty soil has been slowly disappearing into thin air. Blown by the wind, the peat has released carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change. Over three metres of soil has disappeared, and less than 60cm now remains, threatening the viability of an area that produces over a third of the country’s vegetables.
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@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

So the Corbyn/Sultana new Left party has hit a bump in the road, with its two principals having a pop at each in public... however, whether the 700,000 would be politically homeless if the nascent party stumbles feels like its a statement written before the election of Zac Polanski as Green Party leader... my guess is we'll see a concerted effort by Polanski to offer solace to the 'your party' supporters & a new (political) home...

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/sep/18/apparent-your-party-implosion-leaves-big-political-vacancy-on-the-left

Wen ,
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@epistatacadam @ChrisMayLA6 Yes, and remember the Scottish Greens are not a branch party of the English party.

I am still surprised so many commentators assume that the U.K. is synonymous with England.

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

I see that Trump is being welcomed with heartwarming pictures, projected onto Windsor Castle.

Apparently 4 people were arrested for something or other.

A photograph of P. Andrew and Epstein projected onto the castle

A photograph of P. Andrew and Epstein projected onto the castle
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Palestine Action - a misguided proscription

I can agree wholeheartedly with the editorial. Criminal damage could have been dealt with using existing laws. An unforced error.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/sep/15/the-guardian-view-on-palestine-action-the-ban-on-gaza-activists-must-be-overturned

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar ChrisMayLA6 , to random

Aha, I see Keir Starmer & co have been drinking the financial services Kool Aid;

they're trumpeting £1.25bn worth of investment in UK financial services firms by US corporations;

if you want the UK to continue being an offshore financial centre with an outsized financial services sector, that distorts the UK's domestic economy, then all well & good....

But for the UK's 'real' economy this is mostly counter-productive given the problems of financialisation of UK business!


h/t FT

Wen ,
@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 London since Thatcher has had an obsession with the finance ‘business’, seeking the optimisation of GDP rather than the health and wealth of the rest of the country.

Continuity Thatcher carries on.

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

UK Government has lost the plot if it’s criminalising this T-shirt

If we criminalise a message that says, in essence, “stop genocide”, we have lost the plot. The proper response is not a charge sheet but a recommitment to the principle that in a democracy, words – however uncomfortable – are met with words, not handcuffs.

http://archive.today/2025.08.31-084129/https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25428977.uk-government-lost-plot-criminalising-t-shirt/

Aletter from Peter Macari that lays out the argument

Screenwriter Paul Laverty pictured wearing a 'Genocide in Palestine, time to take action' T-shirt in Edinburgh
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

‘It’s a disaster’ drought measure to suck water from River Wharfe met with anger

England has not invested in water storage and the environment is taking the pain while overseas companies extract the profits from underinvestment and profits move overseas. But still Westminster fails to act and protects the organisations leaching from the English public

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/aug/26/its-a-disaster-drought-measure-to-suck-water-from-river-wharfe-met-with-anger

@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Paul Laverty: Why I'm wearing this T-shirt to my Edinburgh events

http://archive.today/2025.08.13-174246/https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25387930.paul-laverty-wearing-t-shirt-edinburgh-events/ (archive)

8 protesters wearing various t-shirts condemning the proscription of Palestine Action
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Police arrest 466 at Palestine Action protest, beating poll tax record

Hundreds openly flouted terrorism law banning the group, including an 89-year-old Jewish refugee and a former Guantanamo Bay inmate

http://archive.today/2025.08.09-205507/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/palestine-action-protests-march-5jgf7q6q8
(archive)

Photo: Lee Pethick 79 is carries away under arrest.
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@Wen@mastodon.scot avatar Wen , to random

Government ‘influencers’

‘Lord’ Walney, a lobbyist for Israel, weapons manufacturers and the oil industry is urging the government/police to up the ante on protests over the banning of Palestine Action. Who would have thought it? One assumes those organisations protesting against fossil fuel companies will be next on the proscription path.

http://archive.today/2025.08.07-210743/https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/palestine-action-uk-met-police-bg8zx6sjq

From the article - reads ‘However, Lord Walney, the government's former adviser on political violence and disruption, warned that the charges announced by the Met were not enough to deter people from showing support and solidarity with the group. He told The Times: "This action from the Met sends a welcome signal that there are consequences for Gaza activists if they are lured into support for a proscribed organisation by Palestine Action ring leaders, but three charges on their own may well be insufficient to deter the current attempt to overwhelm the criminal justice system." Warning about Saturday's protest, he added: "There's a clear attempt by sympathisers of Palestine Action to try to overwhelm the criminal justice system by luring as many people as possible to this mass protest. "Many young. people, students and lots of people across the system risk getting duped by ringleaders of Palestine Action who are telling them 'don't worry you won't get charged even if you get arrested'. That's a terrible message to send out. "The slowness of this process is actually increasing the scale of the problem and that is something to which the attorney-general should have a view.”’

From the article - reads ‘However, Lord Walney, the government's former adviser on political violence and disruption, warned that the charges announced by the Met were not enough to deter people from showing support and solidarity with the group. He told The Times: "This action from the Met sends a welcome signal that there are consequences for Gaza activists if they are lured into support for a proscribed organisation by Palestine Action ring leaders, but three charges on their own may well be insufficient to deter the current attempt to overwhelm the criminal justice system." Warning about Saturday's protest, he added: "There's a clear attempt by sympathisers of Palestine Action to try to overwhelm the criminal justice system by luring as many people as possible to this mass protest. "Many young. people, students and lots of people across the system risk getting duped by ringleaders of Palestine Action who are telling them 'don't worry you won't get charged even if you get arrested'. That's a terrible message to send out. "The slowness of this process is actually increasing the scale of the problem and that is something to which the attorney-general should have a view.”’
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