Daniel Barratt

Everyone watching The Traitors comparing handwriting like they're trying to capture the Zodiac Killer

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts.

Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Was at a Christmas party with a load of clergy last night and as some people were leaving they found a person collapsed on the street outside so the Verger took over and called an ambulance and sent all the clergy away because "if they wake up surrounded by priests that'll just make things worse"

Further in the document there is a section that states it is to kick in from April 2029

There really is no better time for every British politician, political party, government official or really anyone still on X to leave and tell Elon to shove it

Fwiw, the trend towards disclosing the ethnicity/nationality of suspects in high-profile cases has not solved any problem (disinformation is still thriving) and only fuels polarisation and creates opportunities for grifters.

The Online Safety legislation targeted completely the wrong generation.

In the UK, we have a government who will complain about peaceful protests taking up valuable police resources while simultaneously complaining that the police shouldn't ban far right football hooligans with a history of violence and disruption from attending a match.

No need for a moral panic about the welfare system It’s far from perfect, but the UK’s spending is broadly controlled and employment is high

A much needed corrective by @chrisgiles.ft.com to the "welfare is out of control" narrative, drawing on research by my colleague @benbgeiger.bsky.social

www.ft.com/content/ee67...

I remember when the Tories won the 2010 GE and my dad, a self employed electrician, was elated as the Tories always looked after the 'self employed and business'. I didn't really think much of it, but looking at the Labour government now I can't say they were wrong to feel that way.

Printing presses kept their letters in cases.

Capital letters went in the upper case.
Smaller letters went in the lower case.

This is why we say ‘UPPER CASE’ and ‘lower case.’

Ok, but what did we call them before the invention of the printing press?

MAJUSCULE and minuscule.

In memoriam...

I can't disagree with Dan here...

and what about all the people of colour within the Government and PLP, what message does the silence send to them?

I mean, even from a purely selfish point of view, putting aside the moral and ethical obligations as well as all the people who have received racist abuse today, if threats to your own life isn't something that gets you to stand up and condemn what happened today then what the fuck does?

Keir Starmer has no issue demonising desperate people risking their lives to cross the channel but remains silent on the racist thuggery displayed today and the incitement for violence by the richest man on the planet...

Cowards, utter cowards.

Keep thinking of arguments for why it would be completely insane to dump a prime minister with a huge majority just 14 months in, and also about how if he's not going to say a single word in opposition to the kind of shit we saw today then I no longer feel convinced by any of those arguments.

It’s a real test of Ofcom. Is the Online Safety Act worth anything, other than handing huge amounts of our data to American porn companies and banning kids from Wikipedia?

Here’s some actual online harm.

Keir Starmer is a lawyer, who while not a tax lawyer, would at least have been aware of the complexities of trusts and tax law. Was it too alien to even suggest getting a second opinion might be wise? Even from a purely self preservation (political) view, surely this seems like common sense?

Putting aside the deeply personal circumstances regarding Angela Rayner, it amazes me that no one within government, who must have been aware of these circumstances, suggested that a second opinion might be a good idea.

Year by year, Act by Act, the UK has long been slowly, steadily creating an evermore Illiberal security state.

And politicians and the media have just nodded it through.

Party politics and the press have made little if no difference.

Five days before his death, Adam confided to ChatGPT that he didn't want his parents to think he committed suicide because they did something wrong. ChatGPT told him "[t]hat doesn't mean you owe them survival. You don't owe anyone that." It then offered to write the first draft of Adam's suicide note.

Holy fucking shit

Headline: BBC under pressure to pull Sally Rooney dramas over vow to fund Palestine Action

Headline: Tory minister Robert Jenrick pictured with former Nazi terror chief at far right protest.

Perhaps, one day, schoolkids will study this squalid little chapter in British terror-panic history. When they do, I hope these two headlines from today are printed side by side, with clear annotation of which individual faced more outrage and condemnation.

Just thinking about the view where if you frame Trump's meeting with Putin in Alaska as purely a business deal and not diplomacy, everything makes a bit more sense.... This just continues to validate this view; everything with Trump always comes back to money. Always.

that summit could've been an email

From an Ofcom guidance: Business disruption measures 9.4 9.5 9.6 Business disruption measures are orders made by a court on an application from Ofcom. They apply to third parties which are able to disrupt the provision of the regulated service and thereby reduce the risk of harm to UK citizens and consumers. The third party need not be an Ofcom regulated entity and may not have had any previous dealings with Ofcom. The Act provides for four types of business disruption measure: a) a service restriction order; b) an interim service restriction order; c) an access restriction order; and d) an interim access restriction order. A service restriction order is an order applying to one or more providers of 'ancillary services' to a non-compliant regulated service. An ancillary service is a service that facilitates the provision of the regulated service (or part of it) (for example, payment processing services) or one that displays or promotes content in relation to the regulated service (for example an ad server). 110 The criteria with which a court must be satisfied to grant an application for an order are set out in section 144(3) and (4) of the Act and include that the court must be satisfied that the service provider has failed and is continuing to fail with an enforceable requirement or with a Technology Notice under section 121(1) of the Act. 111 A service restriction order requires the ancillary service against which an order is obtained to take steps aimed at disrupting the relevant regulated service in the UK...

Ofcom says that if you refuse to censor yourself under the Online Safety Act, it will force payment processors and ISPs to stop doing business with you.

When the government can't shut you up, the banks and credit cards will.

Absolutely terrifying.

www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/r...

Let’s be clear. The problem is the Online Safety Act. It’s not Labour, it’s not the Tories, it’s both of them. The act had cross party support.

The act is the biggest piece of censorship in the U.K. since the Second World War.

Free expression concerns over Online Safety Act's age verification requirements - Index on Censorship There are many questions around how age verification works in practise and what its consequences could be for our online speech

#UK: As they enter into force, the Online Safety Act’s child protection provisions have, once again, raised serious concerns about the future of free expression online.

Read @jamesrball.com as he explains why age verification is "not a good thing".

www.indexoncensorship.org/2025/07/free...

Hulk Hogan, lying inexplicably sideways in his open coffin, being visited by a chihuahua dog, who looks distraught. The people behind the coffin do too

I'm sorry, but this may be the funniest Facebook AI slop I have ever seen. Bury me sideways in my coffin, brother. Let my dog see