Gedempte Burgwal, Chinatown, The Hague.
14.02.2026 18:01 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0@jonesatwork.bsky.social
Consulting analyst. Polymetis. Organised crime & Security. Complexity, networks, systems.
Gedempte Burgwal, Chinatown, The Hague.
14.02.2026 18:01 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I went to Dordrecht.
11.02.2026 19:56 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0In agreeing plans for a new Chinese mega-embassy, our govt has prioritised economic expediency over national security, its primary duty. Whilst some sinologists doubt this was the right hill to fight on, the decision displays weakness and will lead to increased Chinese espionage in UK and Europe.
20.01.2026 17:06 β π 20 π 9 π¬ 0 π 0SOC ACE researcher Matthew Redhead interviewed by journalist Gordon Corera for BBC Radio4 documentary Playing Spies. Petty criminals and serious organised crime are now being used as tools of spycraft & state threats. Broadcast Sunday 30 November. Listen to it www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
03.12.2025 16:25 β π 3 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0Classic.
www.nu.nl/binnenland/6...
16 Horsepower: Wayfaring stranger
open.spotify.com/track/485bjP...
open.spotify.com/track/4hAeEK...
One of the best versions of this favourite. Ties with #16Horsepower for 1st spot. Link to 16Horsepower in the next post.
A young woman without head scarf is lighting a cigarette with flame from a burning photo of ayatollah Khamenei. Iran.
Surely a contender for 'photo of the year'
09.01.2026 14:02 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Bankje in Den Haag met op de armleuning de tekst "Hier is niks".
@alleenslimmemensen.bsky.social
08.01.2026 23:54 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0.And this one. Heartbreaking. The Two-Headed Calf by Laura Gilpin 1977. The illustrated version is by Adam Tots (I think).
16.10.2025 17:59 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Vooral boerenzwaluwen - Hirundo rustica - en tientallen huiszwaluwen - Delichon urbicum - zitten zij aan zij op een schrikdraad aan weerskanten van een sloot tussen de weilanden. Op afstand lijkt het of er een zwart-witte slinger langs de sloot hangt.
#VandaagGemaakt in de Drentse #natuur. De trek van veel soorten #vogels is volop aan de gang. Ik zag vanochtend heel wat boerenzwaluwen - Hirundo rustica - en huiszwaluwen - Delichon urbicum - even pauzeren. πͺΆ
13.09.2025 11:33 β π 71 π 7 π¬ 10 π 0In Sweden, social security fraud has reached a level, where it is now a national security threat. Enormous sums of Swedish tax payers' money are secreted abroad, partly at the behest of or for the benefit of foreign (state) actors.
18.08.2025 11:52 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0I have long held the opinion that all legislation (and treaties) should be red teamed by 'criminal' red teamers. And then decide if the pros still outweigh the cons, incl the costs of enforcement.
18.08.2025 11:36 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0βCryptocurrency, once just a niche financial curiosity, is now at the forefront of economic warfare,β argue Adam Zarazinski and Bruno Faviero.
18.08.2025 10:00 β π 11 π 5 π¬ 0 π 0A famous American university president once said that unis shouldnβt be engaged in making ideas safe for students, but in making students safe for ideas.
18.08.2025 11:08 β π 12 π 3 π¬ 1 π 0And I am guessing that TBML makes good use of rules and legislation that were intended to properly regulate licit trade. But that is a hypothesis.
18.08.2025 11:12 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Another example, also from the Netherlands, is the change in legislation that allowed online gambling & betting, including gambling platforms from abroad. No prizes for guessing how that turned out.
18.08.2025 11:08 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0The motivation, if I recall correctly, was 'cutting back red tape', but you will understand the consequences.
18.08.2025 11:06 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Every system will be gamed.
Example 1: The Dutch Central Bank is responsible for supervising trust offices (CSPs) in The Netherlands. A no. of years ago, this legal obligation was altered, and the potentially problematic off-shoring business was removed from supervision.
Claude Shannon said: Content is irrelevant to the problem of engineering. I.e. a channel/mode fit for transferring money or value is fit for the transfer of illicit money. Any measure to facilitate licit trade & finance will likely ease illicit trade & finance. 1/2
18.08.2025 11:00 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0Policies/legislation intended to solve one issue/problem, of which the 2nd order effect is, however, that it enables illicit finance and moneylaundering. Red teaming legislation.
18.08.2025 09:30 β π 1 π 0 π¬ 1 π 01. "'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.
βDer Politikwissenschaftler Carlo Masala befΓΌrchtet verheerende Konsequenzen fΓΌr die Ukraine, sollte Russland im Zuge von FriedensgesprΓ€chen auf einer Abtretung des gesamten Donbass im Osten des Landes bestehenβ.
www.t-online.de/nachrichten/...
Example: Former PM of Dagestan gets run over by a car and killed. Little to no information on who hit him or how it happened.
Very specific information on the car that ran him over.
ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%90%...
I did, and it was worth it. The engineering mindset helps a lot. I like the way you think.
17.08.2025 09:32 β π 0 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0Paintings by Simon Palmer
Fantastic!
IT'S HAPPENING FOLKS!
My Valleys book is being printed!
Design by
@seanrees.bsky.social
Print by
WithPrint
Paper by
GF Smith
And a few photos by me!
Can't to get these in the post to you all!
Op deze dag in 2005 overleed Marten Toonder, de geestelijk vader van Ollie B. Bommel en Tom Poes. Hij schreef prachtige verhalen waarin onze samenleving kritisch beschouwd wordt. Ook geniale neologismen die nog altijd gebruikt worden als denkraam, minkukel, bovenbaas en dorknoper
27.07.2025 19:26 β π 105 π 14 π¬ 8 π 0