Brandolini’s Law (also known as the bullshit asymmetry principle):

The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.

H/t @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social

When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵

I feel Andrew's frustration. What he fails to realise is that only the UK can decide this. Him, pushing for the EU giving way, in order that the UK may change their position re rejoining is fantastical. Stop thinking about what we lost (past) but what we can gain through membership (future).

RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES.

They’re rewriting history.

Gaining trust in 'government' is going to take a long time. All stemmed from 2016 Brexit. No trust invites Farage to tiptoe into No 10.

The difficulty that the Home Secretary has is that nobody, since 2016, trusts politicians to be honest. We are distrusting her decision to make PA a proscribed gp. None of us know who to trust anymore.

The Home Secretary says that she proscribed 'Palestine Action' as a 'Terrorist Organisation' due to information that the public cannot be party to yet. This obsifuction has led to more support for 'Palestine Action'.

The stories of older people and people with disabilities being arrested for passively holding up placards supporting 'Palestine Action' are beyond our comprehension about what is fair and just. Ridiculous! We might think. These are clearly not terrorists.
Some thoughts:

I had been an immigrant in France for 5 yrs before the 2012 Olympic opening ceremony. I was blown away with pride about being british on that evening. Within 4 yrs to now, it was like none of it ever mattered. Doubt I'll feel proud of being british in the same way again; sad and a felt loss.

RFK Jr. in interview with Scripps News: ‘Trusting the experts is not science’ HHS Secretary RFK Jr. sat down with Scripps News for a wide-ranging interview, discussing mRNA vaccine funding policy changes and a recent shooting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

1. "'Trusting the experts is not a feature of either a science or democracy," Kennedy said."

It's literally a vital feature of both science and of representative democracy.

I've written a fair bit about trust in expertise as a vital mechanism in the collective epistemology of science.

I've read the replies so far.....

It depends whether you are looking for a sofa for occasional use vs one for frequent use.

LBC for the first.
For the 2nd, you need to actually sit on the sofa... Maison de Monde or even IKEA.

BUT is overpriced.

It is a very good joke! I can explain why but will wait for @columnist.bsky.social to do a better job explaining than me.

Lol... I so understand your post!!!

Or believe 'children'.....

James o brien using unfamiliar words in the english language just makes him sounds elitist.

I don't think that that is his intention.

@mrjamesob.bsky.social and listeners....

Can we stop with words, JoB, that nobody ever uses in modern english. 'Quidity'. Nobody uses that word, yet you used it 4 times. You explained the meaning the 1st time u used it, tbf. Just stop though!

I have read the comments on this thread. Very drole. The point about that tree is what it mean't to people. It wasn't just a tree to some people.

The sentencing of 3yrs is excessive, imo, but if the justice system found it to be malicious, I'm not sure what the judge could have done, under UK Law.

Bah, that's nothing.

Speaking as a farmer's daughter with my whole family being in farming. Rewilding will only work if it is profitable for small / med farms. Like set-aside. Pay these farmers to rewild but the moment it becomes unprofitable, farmers will find better use of their land financially. Farming is a business

Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice

BREAKING: Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the health dept, charging that recent decisions limiting access to vaccines were unscientific and harmful to the public.
(Gift link)

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/07/h...

I disagree. Farmers are financially astute, they often have to adapt & diversify. Farming is a business, if rewilding made sense financially, they would absolutely do it. There is little production comp betw small / med farmers. Perhaps may be more true with the large landowners w/ tenant farmers?

I support 'Palestine Action'

Pls re bskweet

Please explain to me how the UK has reached centre right. It's so depressing. Why did anybody vote for Labour?

I am an immigrant. I didn't flee my birth country. I didn't take a boat. My country wasn't at war. I wasn't scared for my life. I wasn't a refugee. I am Priviledged.

Please, have some compassion to those less fortuanate than me.

Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning Drowning is not the violent, splashing call for help that most people expect.

Thanks for the reminder @janemunday.bsky.social. Every summer, I repost this article DROWNING DOES NOT LOOK LIKE DROWNING. To date, I know of FOUR kids who were saved after someone who'd clicked on the link learnt how to spot actual drowning. Take time to read and pass on.

slate.com/technology/2...

Love getting totally annihilated.... so will definitely be doing this!

Cartoon by Stephen Collins for the Guardian, here's the script: [Scene is the inside of a SOUP. Some CARROTS and BITS OF BROCCOLI are floating around and a STOCK CUBE and a BAY LEAF have just been dropped in.]  1 STOCK CUBE: Alright lads - this is Bay Leaf. My colleague from the spice rack. 2 BROCCOLI: Hi Bay Leaf BAY LEAF: Yuh yuh hi 3 CARROTS: You up for getting proper blended with us later, Bay Leaf? BAY LEAF: Nuh mate, getting scooped out before soup stage. 4 CARROTS: Oh! So… you’re not being eaten then? BAY LEAF: Eaten! Haha 5 BAY LEAF: Not allowed mate. I’m afraid I’m a lil’ bit *toooo intense*... 6 BAY LEAF: Just here for the flavour hit. Special forces, y’know. That’s why there’s just one of me. 7 BAY LEAF: Over-deploy and you’d have this whole soup stiiinking of bay leaf… 8 BAY LEAF: You might wanna stand back actually. This place is about to get preeetty bay leafy... 9 [Silent pause] 10 CARROTS: Are you doing something BAY LEAF: Sure am mate. 11 BAY LEAF: Suuuuure am. 12 BAY LEAF [Getting scooped out by chef’s spoon]: You need training to perceive it. CARROTS: OK

I’m convinced this is how a bay leaf would talk

Melons

So while the USA citizens are protesting in huge numbers against the Trump administaration, the 250th Anniversary of the USA military is happening, with soldiers ambling along infront of nobody looking. Great look USA!