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Richard Woodcock

@zedwally.bsky.social

Old ex-academic, musician, crosswords, curious. https://unclewallyandunclesteve.bandcamp.com

190 Followers  |  307 Following  |  233 Posts  |  Joined: 29.08.2024  |  1.9835

Latest posts by zedwally.bsky.social on Bluesky

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Letter of the day (in the Times)

11.08.2025 08:00 β€” πŸ‘ 6105    πŸ” 2417    πŸ’¬ 120    πŸ“Œ 140

And just like that Trump is backing to blaming Ukraine for being attacked.

His anti-Russia period lasted maybe a month.

11.08.2025 17:25 β€” πŸ‘ 435    πŸ” 126    πŸ’¬ 57    πŸ“Œ 8

Just watching Trump's press conference. Words fail me.

11.08.2025 15:54 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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What Does Palantir Actually Do? Palantir is often called a data broker, a data miner, or a giant database of personal information. In reality, it’s none of theseβ€”but even former employees struggle to explain it.

Fascinating piece from Wired magazine about Palantir. www.wired.com/story/palant...

11.08.2025 11:29 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Oh, terrific..

08.08.2025 20:03 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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New one finished!

07.08.2025 10:39 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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This Chip will Self-Destruct The U.S. wants to track the location of every AI microchip. And it also wants the power to remotely shut them down. Can the rest of the world stomach the risks?

Fascinating post from Miles Kellerman: open.substack.com/pub/mileskel...

01.08.2025 12:08 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – first trailer released The highly anticipated sequel to 1984’s seminal comedy sees the band reunite for a farewell show with appearances from Elton John, Questlove and Paul McCartney The first trailer for the long-awaited sequel to This Is Spinal Tap has been released, showcasing the venerable rockers’ supposed last hurrah in a film called Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Spinal Tap II reunites Nigel Tufnel, David St Hubbins and Derek Smalls (played by Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer) as they get together for a final concert, more than 40 years after the 1984 mockumentary that made their name. In between, Spinal Tap released the album Break Like the Wind in 1992, appeared on The Simpsons, played the Live Earth charity concert in 2007 and Glastonbury in 2009. Continue reading...

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues – first trailer released

25.07.2025 00:44 β€” πŸ‘ 208    πŸ” 58    πŸ’¬ 8    πŸ“Œ 34
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Oh!(Times 21st July)

21.07.2025 20:38 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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🧡Introducing the Trump Action Tracker website!

Today I’m launching www.trumpactiontracker.info - a live, searchable list of authoritarian‑style actions from Trump’s second term (over 740 actions so far). 1/14

21.07.2025 20:56 β€” πŸ‘ 2151    πŸ” 1159    πŸ’¬ 108    πŸ“Œ 124
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The Enshittification of American Power First Google and Facebook, then the world. Under Trump 2.0, US statecraft is starting to mimic the worst tendencies of Big Tech.

1. @abenewman.bsky.social and I have a new piece in @wired.com on the enshittification of American power. It repurposes arguments from our book, Underground Empire amzn.to/3PbIyqX , and Cory Doctorow's idea of enshittification to explain how the Trump administration is trying to remake the world.

15.07.2025 12:40 β€” πŸ‘ 471    πŸ” 200    πŸ’¬ 15    πŸ“Œ 25

It's looking like it could all end up down the toilet for #Masterchef..

19.07.2025 11:50 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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β€˜Just Asking Questions’ Got No Answers About Epstein Right-wing internet personalities have a lot to learn from the mainstream media that they decry.

this @helenlewis.bsky.social lede: β€œDefending mainstream journalism these days is about as appealing as doing PR for syphilis. Nonetheless, here I am.”

18.07.2025 20:14 β€” πŸ‘ 45    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 1

@lner.co.uk how about installing some decent microphones for the staff in your inter-city trains to use? The ones on this train sound worse than a 1960s end-of-the-pier show.

18.07.2025 13:43 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

#ketech see if you can persuade LNER to install some decent microphones for their staff announcements. There's no point in having snazzy displays when the sound is like a 1950s working men's club!

18.07.2025 13:24 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

What a game!!!

17.07.2025 21:50 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I think Labour just lost my vote.

17.07.2025 17:37 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Reinstate the Four Suspended Labour MPs The decision to suspend the whip from four MPs for opposing cuts to welfare payments for disabled people is wrong. Sign the petition to demand their reinstatement and a better future for Labour:

actionnetwork.org/petitions/re...

16.07.2025 22:52 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Princess Kate and Paul Mescal among stars at Wimbledon finals Princess Kate and Paul Mescal were among the famous faces in the royal box for the final day of the tennis championship.

Another pointless, stupid celebrity loop (which I'm just amplifying..) BBC News - In pictures: Royals and A-listers grace Wimbledon finals
www.bbc.com/news/article...

13.07.2025 22:59 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Our broken voting system First Past The Post simply doesn’t work in a world of multi-party politics. Please help us change things by emailing your MP today.

First Past The Post simply doesn’t work in a world of multi-party politics. Please help us change things by emailing your MP today.

secure.unlockdemocracy.org.uk/page/174419/...

11.07.2025 11:20 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

This review has energy, but relies entirely on context, not content.

09.07.2025 08:22 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Chief Rabbi says 'vile Jew-hatred at Glastonbury' a 'national shame' Sir Ephraim Mirvis hit out after Bob Vylan's controversial performance at Glastonbury was aired by BBC.

Personally, I'd reserve overheated rhetoric like "national shame" for our (and the international community's) failure to take action to halt systematic war crimes and the deliberate murder of starving civilians, not what some rappers said at a music festival.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

01.07.2025 08:30 β€” πŸ‘ 992    πŸ” 256    πŸ’¬ 72    πŸ“Œ 31

Spot on from Robin Lustig about the Bob Vylan fuss: substack.com/home/post/p-...

01.07.2025 09:42 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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I think the government and the BBC need to develop a sense of proportion - quickly.

30.06.2025 17:28 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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If only there were half the outrage over Israeli soldiers shooting starving people queuing for food as there has been towards some rappers mouthing off at Glastonbury, we'd be in a very different place

30.06.2025 07:27 β€” πŸ‘ 2642    πŸ” 917    πŸ’¬ 90    πŸ“Œ 70

Correct. If we want to charge them with various trespass and criminal damage type things, knock yourself out. But they obviously aren't terrorists.

29.06.2025 17:57 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Save Square Chapel for the people Square Chapel has a strong history of supporting community events and professional performances and is a popular venue in the local community.  Square Chapel was a popular arts centre with good ...

This cause is close to my heart - please sign: www.megaphone.org.uk/petitions/sa...

28.06.2025 18:06 β€” πŸ‘ 0    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

I'm afraid we're some way through the looking glass now.

26.06.2025 08:54 β€” πŸ‘ 2    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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New Texas law requires Ten Commandments to be displayed in classrooms Governor Greg Abott signs bill into law but challenge expected from critics who consider it unconstitutional

Seeing a lot of outrage about this – and rightly so.

Meanwhile, in the UK: ALL state schools are legally required to hold daily acts of collective worship. Prayer is not education. Religion should be taught objectively e.g. 'This is what Christians believe.'

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

24.06.2025 15:07 β€” πŸ‘ 74    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 5    πŸ“Œ 2
Molly Tilston and The Ceasefire Choir CEASEFIRE
YouTube video by Molly Tilston Molly Tilston and The Ceasefire Choir CEASEFIRE

I didn't post a link to this before - please listen and donate if you can. music.youtube.com/watch?v=ByZP...

www.justgiving.com/page/theceas...

22.06.2025 12:54 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

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