Jon Maiden

Infographic: Peter Thiel and detail of Palantir’s contracts with UK government departments, agencies and authorities. Where the amount is unknown, the contract has not been included in the overall £672m+ spend. The bulk of the contracts are post 2018, the Olympics contract dates back to 2012 and some work with unreleased dates could be earlier. Design: Lynsey Irvine

NEW Nerve investigation reveals extent of Palantir's enmeshment in UK state operations

Peter Thiel's surveillance company has deals with government bodies amounting to at least £670m – inc. £15m contract with nuclear weapons agency

By @carolecadwalla.bsky.social Charlie Young & Max Colbert

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Five mind-blowing facts about what the UK looks like New research reveals, in greater detail than ever, just how the UK's land is used.

I checked for you. Mlungu is broadly correct - it's about even (but more if you exclude gardens). There really is plenty of land. Space is not the issue. See
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-4190...

Only Man Utd could spend £70m on a new striker and then only trust him enough to be their tenth penalty taker 🤦

You were one of the main cheerleaders for this strategy, Ian. At least own your complicity in it rather than attempting to rewrite history now the strategy has failed, like it so obviously would.

That's exactly what I'm focusing on now too - just making a difference in my own way where I can. Like you say, it's all that can keep us sane in this crazy world. Hope you're doing well generally though :)

It's a really grim situation all-round - which is why I've largely disengaged with politics and lost hope of it as a vehicle for positive change. I just see evil people doing evil things almost everywhere I look - with many of them sitting on our own cabinet benches. Very sad times 😥

The problem is though, many of those western 'democracies' are part of that creeping fascism.

The UK is actively participating in a genocide, we are at the centre of the global corruption network, and we have the most draconian anti-protest laws in the world.

We're every bit a part of the problem.

Steve Reed: include public ownership as an option in your independent commission on the water sector. | We Own It Steve Reed must put public ownership back on the table.

🚨 The Environment Secretary has banned the water sector review from even considering public ownership as a solution to the crisis.

If enough people show this is unacceptable, we could force a U-turn.

Please sign the @we-own-it.bsky.social petition below 👇

weownit.org.uk/act-now/stev...

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Four hours later and still no one willing to even attempt to defend this shameful government 😂

I mean, it's worth watching if for no other reason than the perennially sublime Gary Oldman! It's a good piece of filmmaking though - just a shame that it does help to perpetuate the Churchill myth somewhat.

Ironically Otto has a book called Fake History which goes into detail on the "Churchill myth". He's certainly not the person, we've been encouraged to idolise through the endless books and films amplifying his myth and legend.

PS hope Charley is doing well (we used to play footie together).

I've sadly come to the same conclusion. All other disappointments aside, genocide enabling is a gateway criteria. It doesn't matter about "keeping the Tories out" etc - you simply cannot vote for any party that helps facilitate genocide. So voting Labour is not even a considerable option for me now.

I'm still furious about the lies she wrote in her correspondence about Gaza and the ceasefire votes - as are many other local constituents. She has one of the safest seats in the country, but I'll be doing everything I can to reduce, and hopefully overturn, that majority at the next election.

Haigh is a pathological liar and a genocide enabler (and also my local MP). She really doesn't deserve our support or sympathy - she deserves to be ousted from power as promptly as possible.

This was a really interesting read - much more insightful than many similar lists of this nature. Thanks for the useful reflection :)

PS Happy 40th and welcome to the club!

The media's framing of UBI is so frustrating.

UBI would not be paid for people "to do nothing".

It would be paid so people can do anything!

1. Get out in the hills and have a rest.
2. Relax knowing running my business will be less pressured.
3. Start another social enterprise knowing I'd got the financial security to commit to it.
4. Volunteer more and support new social entrepreneurs more.

Please consider adding @nowthenmag.bsky.social. It's an excellent independent local news source.

Donald Trump has made $60bn overnight by launching his own cryptocurrency. A financial asset that didn’t exist yesterday now represents 90% of his net worth.

But worse than his naked profiteering... anyone in the world can deposit money into the President's bank account, and this cannot be traced.

Eh?! I've no idea what you're talking about - but you've clearly misunderstood this post!

Humanity

My 'bounce back theory' offering a glimmer of hope in these dark times:

The world may well need to hit rock bottom before there's a big enough collective awakening for things to materially improve.

Trump could take the world to rock bottom sooner, so we can bounce back quicker and higher.

Any responsible government would be transitioning to a steady-state economy where energy and resource use are reduced to levels that are within ecological limits...

...and where the goal of maximising economic output is replaced by the goal of maximising quality of life.

But all this is to ignore the fact that pursuing economic growth on a finite planet in the middle of a climate emergency is not just deeply irresponsible, it's also terrible economics.

The long term costs of dealing with climate change will FAR outweigh the short term costs of preventing it.

"Growth is our priority!" say Labour.

Yet the latest figures show a 0.1% growth rate - and this is presented as good news for the government!

Austerity doesn't work. It never has worked, and it never will work.

You cannot cut your way to growth. For that, you need a national investment strategy.

If it's even possible, I think my hatred of this awful man is even more intense than towards previous Tory PMs.

Why? Because he's meant to be one of the good guys - so his actions feel particularly treacherous.

Keir Starmer says AI will "double UK productivity within 5 years".

He believes carbon capture is the answer to the climate crisis.

He vocally supports and facilitates genocide.

He is delusional, he is immoral and he is beholden to corporate interests.

He is quite simply unfit for power.

It's not that the Tories "trashed the rules" - it's that the rules don't work.

"Austerity" will never achieve financial stability because it's simply a smokescreen to transfer wealth from poor to rich.