Nostr notes by Reg

We're currently living in a time of Schrödinger's ...

2026-07-15T09:05:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…y2g3
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We're currently living in a time of Schrödinger's Russia, where leftwingers in the West are routinely criticised for being 'Vatniks', tankies and communists for mentioning US interference in pre-war Ukraine, while Russia itself is a post-democratic, oligarch-run, imperialist state that has much in common with the USA under Trump's second term.

RE: https://mastodon.social/@DrALJONES/116888919044255689 Things ...

2026-07-09T08:04:26Z

RE: https://mastodon.social/@DrALJONES/116888919044255689

Things that really shouldn't need saying.....
nostr:note10psx6dpp8u3gq5f4ymy9yjukgj4z4kjenj6fsdvg4teq4wa3jr4svlz5nf

Nostr event nevent1qqsxa32qufwwhcawfk9uymshlrc49ay5dkwf6htg8rwxzlqp5zqz4fszyrztmapgdec8uk46928hrw5zmerl4w2r7cemnvuer2ju5l0nkadrsf926gv

2026-06-25T07:27:50Z

RE: https://flipboard.com/@independent/politics-3e8prsldz/-/a-vblVJxxTTuWjVu1wQzIn5w%3Aa%3A1855170754-%2F0

The country famous for trying to bomb other countries back to the stone age is now inflicting medieval religious practices on it's next generation.

"Texas is poised to mandate Bible stories as required reading for over 5 million public school students, a move that has reignited a fierce national debate over widening efforts across the U.S. to introduce more religion into classrooms."

quoting
note1c9q…aew9

Texas Bible mandate sparks outrage as 5.5 million students face new classroom rules
[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-bible-stories-public-schools-donald-trump-mandate-b3002720.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub ](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/texas-bible-stories-public-schools-donald-trump-mandate-b3002720.html?utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub )

Posted into politics [@politics-Independent](https://flipboard.com/@independent/politics-3e8prsldz )

Agreed. Decent in the sense that he wanted to be a Tory.

2026-06-22T12:55:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…g567
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Agreed. Decent in the sense that he wanted to be a Tory.

Dw, you've got Andy Burnham's awkward evasiveness to look ...

2026-06-22T10:58:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…gu6f
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Dw, you've got Andy Burnham's awkward evasiveness to look forward to when our notatall biased journalists question him closely about Gaza and the details of his carefully worded 'people run' services.

Burnham is still refusing to acknowledge a genocide, but he is ...

2026-06-09T16:36:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…cq7n
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Burnham is still refusing to acknowledge a genocide, but he is seemingly less servile to the Israeli cause than Starmer.

Unfortunately this might be simple electioneering at this point, because he's still a member of LFI and he also promised to prioritise a visit Israel had he become Labour leader in 2015.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/how-andy-burnham-stood-starmer-over-israel-and-could-now-reshape-uk-foreign-policy

Nostr event nevent1qqs9srp30k3wzmxln0a767z3zt259mu02hapu5rrm5ujfl8dvcwetkqzyrztmapgdec8uk46928hrw5zmerl4w2r7cemnvuer2ju5l0nkadrsme0erv

2026-06-09T07:24:16Z

RE: https://flipboard.com/@independent/uk-crime-news-dstf1id8z/-/a-E_J07GgiQNCOlouJ7ZQDSA%3Aa%3A1855170754-%2F0

What could possibly go wrong?
nostr:note1hefysqrhrueshvu9p24xkdvp2lz072l3025jmkh64grjx3srwhvsmccanp

The biggest threat to the Green surge is Labour and the briefcase ...

2026-06-02T10:12:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…4pp6
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The biggest threat to the Green surge is Labour and the briefcase managerialism of centrist sensibles.

Antisemitism claims will undoubtedly be thrown at the Greens if only because afaik it's the only party that doesn't have a discreet 'friends of' faction (Reform/Restore both do)....although how that ties in with the pay-triotism and British nationalism of the other parties is hard to say.

Totts (npub1n5t…hrcm) rooftopjaxx 🏴‍☠️ 🎏🇮🇷 (npub1jze…nce0)

I'm certainly no expert on the Chinese economy but I ...

2026-06-01T14:56:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…ysuv
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I'm certainly no expert on the Chinese economy but I don't think China is capitalist in the same way that Western countries are capitalist. It's more of a country that does some capitalism than a capitalist country.

Ha! agreed. I do have some sympathy with the Mises and Hayek free ...

2026-06-01T10:03:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…f2wc
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Ha! agreed.

I do have some sympathy with the Mises and Hayek free market crowd in the sense that they tend to be opposed to cronyism and monopoly, but their purist take on free market capitalism demands some naive assumptions about coercion and govt's being controlled by Statist actors rather than capitalist billionaires and media moguls.

AKingsbury (npub182r…pm8s) @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

And neither do liberals and sensible centrists have a right to ...

2026-05-29T09:28:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…sqdm
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And neither do liberals and sensible centrists have a right to impose Thatcherite economics on left-wingers.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Just wait until they connect the new data centres.

2026-05-28T15:37:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…v02k
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Just wait until they connect the new data centres.

Lots of people rightly pointing out that Thatcher and Blair sold ...

2026-05-26T08:21:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…h49f
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Lots of people rightly pointing out that Thatcher and Blair sold off or crushed much of our manufacturing sector, but worth considering that the French have just produced their own fork of linux and kicked Microshite into touch, whch is something that Britain could and should absolutely do.

.....accepting here that Westminster is completely under the boot of US big tech.

Perhaps they're just testing the waters? @npub195f…nqyg

2026-05-21T10:55:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…5saz
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Perhaps they're just testing the waters?

Benoît Jones (npub195f…nqyg)

I do hope not. I've noticed a few half-hearted attempts to ...

2026-05-19T10:29:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…s5ga
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I do hope not.

I've noticed a few half-hearted attempts to stir generational conflict in recent years, but the simple fact is that boomers are *not* the beneficiaries of any special privilege so much as predatory financial practices have actively denied younger generations an opportunity to own their own homes and live a peaceful retirement.

Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (npub10zx…uuel) MarjorieR (npub154p…gwly)

I think this, together with the fall in home ownership is the key ...

2026-05-19T09:56:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…vtrl
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I think this, together with the fall in home ownership is the key issue. Boomers were effectively the last recipients of the post-war liberal consensus, and that generation's pensions and property now represents one of the largest pots of capital owned by ordinary people that has yet to be trickled up. I get the impression that financiers are lining up to take advantage.

Adam Jacobs 🇺🇦 (npub10zx…uuel) MarjorieR (npub154p…gwly)

If I understand it correctly, it's also the full state ...

2026-05-19T07:54:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…g0xm
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If I understand it correctly, it's also the full state pension that not everyone will necessarily receive unless they've paid full stamp?

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

The minimum pension here is very minimal and doesn't even ...

2026-05-19T07:36:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…utrw
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The minimum pension here is very minimal and doesn't even include a car.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Yes, Labour and the Libs are obviously better than Reform, but ...

2026-05-13T09:37:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…cpq2
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Yes, Labour and the Libs are obviously better than Reform, but unless they offer something beyond the status quo they'll struggle to gain the votes they need and will inevitably split the vote.

I'm increasingly concerned that RefUK will be elected to govt regardless and the only question will be the degree of dubious tactics, smears and bias that get them there.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Labour are currently standing in the way of progressive politics. ...

2026-05-13T09:10:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…dwt6
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Labour are currently standing in the way of progressive politics.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

RE: https://mastodon.me.uk/@PoliceStateUK/116560772217365855 The ...

2026-05-12T09:27:00Z

RE: https://mastodon.me.uk/@PoliceStateUK/116560772217365855

The attrition rate among elected representatives of Reform UK is enormous, and with hundreds of new councillors elected last week we can look forward to countless Reform reps being arrested, sacked or simply walking out on their positions when they realise how hopelessly out of their depth they are.

This is not a serious party.

quoting
note1j9m…8su5

"With hundreds more seats in English local government and a sizeable presence in Scotland and Wales, #ReformUK has an unprecedented opportunity to convince people it is a genuine contender for power."

#UKPol

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/12/nigel-farage-reform-election-results-politics

The Greens aren't strong enough yet, but history shows that ...

2026-05-08T15:31:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…gfg0
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The Greens aren't strong enough *yet*, but history shows that the Labour Party took a number of years of building support before finally becoming the opposition (even if the Libs did hang around to scupper elections for the Tories afterwards). I'd guess that the Greens will do the same.

Trade Union support would go quite a long way to achieving this, as would sensible legislation on political funding and media bias, especially political advertising on SM.....

Labour centrists are going to go to town on the GPEW and use them ...

2026-05-08T10:56:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…u7zy
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Labour centrists are going to go to town on the GPEW and use them as an excuse for RefUK's success.

GMB this morning captioned this as a 'pause', which ...

2026-05-01T08:57:48Z

In reply to nevent1q…mq6v
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GMB this morning captioned this as a 'pause', which suggests that they know that an outright ban would be hard to justify and hugely unpopular.

I have no doubt that any pause would be treated as a permanent ban.

He's 100% correct for every single iteration of ...

2026-04-29T11:56:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…pgtq
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He's 100% correct for every single iteration of mildy-regulated capitalism to date, to include the latest 'neoliberal' release.

Capitalism is simply systematised theft and imperialism.

Pedestriansfirst (npub19ue…4ssw)

I suspect that there's a lot of political and financial ...

2026-04-24T08:17:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…5taj
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I suspect that there's a lot of political and financial pressure to adopt US corporate technology generally and AI is a big part of that because of the huge investments.

It's a big gamble.

HarriettMB (npub1s2u…42jv) @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

"AI's original sin" is a wonderful phrase, but I ...

2026-04-17T09:07:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…6muy
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"AI's original sin" is a wonderful phrase, but I suspect the free pass given to Western AI companies is more an indicator of the degree to which US Big Tech companies have become a tool for geopolitical influence and surveillance.

Allowing US Big Tech platforms, AI and social media applications to have free rein in sovereign states is the 21st century equivalent of hosting US military bases.

....on a slight tangent, this SM trend seems to mirror the ...

2026-04-02T13:56:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…f08p
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....on a slight tangent, this SM trend seems to mirror the Palestine Action protests, where those protesting (and being arrested) were predominantly pensioners who didn't have to worry about losing their livelihoods as a result of being identified or arrested during protests.

Are we now going to see pensioners lead the social media commentary on contentious issues that working people are too scared to interact with?

The numbers of lurkers on SM have always been pretty high, but I ...

2026-04-02T13:51:12Z

In reply to nevent1q…sulj
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The numbers of lurkers on SM have always been pretty high, but I wonder how much of this latest shift relates to 'age' (ID) verification, doxxing or police involvement following contentious social media activity?

I'd genuinely like to think that ppl have decided that US Corporate SM is evil and manipulative and refuse to participate, but it seemsmore likely that people are now worried that posting on SM might have repercussions.

......

I suppose the question is to what degree our MPs are aware of the ...

2026-04-02T10:05:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…3698
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I suppose the question is to what degree our MPs are aware of the global geopolitical implications, and by extension whether they themselves are conflicted.

Running a country using software and infrastructure provided by a foreign government raises some serious questions about national sovereignty.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

I've heard variations of this said before and while it might ...

2026-04-02T08:10:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…hmz9
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I've heard variations of this said before and while it might be a neat political deflection it completely misses the point.

MPs are mostly, sometimes laughably ignorant of technology but you'd hope that they'd make an effort to keep up with some of the more obvious technical trends and public sentiment.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Yes, it's slightly reminiscent of Tony Cameron's Syrian ...

2026-04-02T07:53:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…syzt
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Yes, it's slightly reminiscent of Tony Cameron's Syrian adventure in that sense, except that Parliament hasn't been given an opportunity to refuse.

Dragged is a good word to describe the UK's involvement currently, but how much of that is down to coercion from the US and Israel or UK acquiescence under the political cover of 'not getting involved' is hard to say.

Major Denis Bloodnok (npub1dz7…nj48)

A cynic might wonder whether Starmer has cleared this closer ...

2026-04-01T17:55:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…n3xv
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A cynic might wonder whether Starmer has cleared this closer European partnership with his handlers in Washington and Tel Aviv.

...than the rest of the dominantly centrist PLP that didn't ...

2026-03-27T14:19:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…n0w5
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...than the rest of the dominantly centrist PLP that didn't like 'Red Ed' Miliband when he was leader because he was 'too left wing'!

If Labour want to win back their supporters on the left then they are going to have to adopt more left-wing policies, and a token social democrat in a party of economic liberals is not going to convince anyone, much less those who switched to the Greens after Polanski adopted the Corbyn-style policy platform that Labour sees as a 'catastrophe'.

Gaby Hinslif seems to be spinning more centrist optimism here ...

2026-03-27T14:12:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…sz8s
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Gaby Hinslif seems to be spinning more centrist optimism here while still refusing to accept Labour's, and particularly Labour's centrist faction's part in its own downfall.

She's desperately claiming that Corbyn's leadership was a 'catastrophe' (with more supporters and votes than centrist Labour could ever hope for), while pretending that Miliband's popularity amongst ex-Labour voters on the left is because he's an intellectual rather than because he's more left-wing...

I'm not sure anyone thought that an aerial war alone would ...

2026-03-27T13:38:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…haq2
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I'm not sure anyone thought that an aerial war alone would force regime change, but it's notable that while the US is sending ground troops to the Middle East, Israel is reporting that the IDF is stretched beyond capacity.

If the US commits to an long and ugly ground war in Iran while Israel concentrates on using its army to grow its own borders in Lebanon then people in the USA are going to get very vocal very quickly.

....some might consider that to be check mate, but the USA has ...

2026-03-20T12:48:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…nnzk
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....some might consider that to be check mate, but the USA has literal nuclear options to reset the board.

That's a neat summary, and with respect to your OP, the US ...

2026-03-20T12:46:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…h0m2
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That's a neat summary, and with respect to your OP, the US remains entirely dependent on fossil fuels because it's position in the world is entirely dependent on the PetroDollar, which in a world where energy is no longer limited to or most efficiently-derived from fossil fuels could mean that the US remains geopolitically dependent on last century energy.

....and in Trump's words, the 'need' to grow their ...

2026-03-20T11:29:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…vjg7
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....and in Trump's words, the 'need' to grow their geopolitical and economic empire to compete with China and the BRICS.

Whether it's too little too late remains to be seen, but Europe (if not necessarily the UK) may be well placed to play the role of Kingmaker.

I don't think this is limited to energy, because China seems ...

2026-03-20T11:27:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…xj79
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I don't think this is limited to energy, because China seems to have positioned itself as the natural successor to the USA by taking the lead in manufacturing, engineering, supply chains and by extension the global reserve currency. Up until relatively recently it seemed that their ascendancy would be a matter of natural succession.

The US pivot to gaining greater control over global trade, land, resources and supply routes seems to be a belated recognition of this....

Anything that challenges the economic orthodoxy of the last forty ...

2026-03-18T08:52:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…hgcm
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Anything that challenges the economic orthodoxy of the last forty years is an affront to both of their careers because they've both been complicit.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Yes, and Marxism was both preceded and influenced by the Chartist ...

2026-03-17T13:37:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…nvz3
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Yes, and Marxism was both preceded and influenced by the Chartist movement, which itself has parallels with the Levellers.

It's arguable that given the hugely negative and defensive rhetoric that surrounds Marxism, socialism and communism, a modernised Chartist movement could be seen as a less-contentious political model for reform.

book_dragon (npub16ns…5aea) Herefordrob (npub120h…s6zt)

I think that better regulation might have prevented the situation ...

2026-03-17T11:02:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…3jcw
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I think that better regulation might have prevented the situation reaching the current point, but govt has been playing catchup for a long time, and rather than addressing emerging concerns they've become mired in trying to regulate things that have already evolved into something else.

Localising power and decision-making would break the lobbyists' strangle hold on central govt and allow for new structures of control to develop.

book_dragon (npub16ns…5aea) @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

The entire world would be a better place if the good people of ...

2026-03-17T10:41:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…9fzg
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The entire world would be a better place if the good people of the US replaced their corporately-owned parties and politicians with something that wasn't entirely owned by billionaires.

Agree completely. Change cannot come from the top down when the ...

2026-03-17T10:34:30Z

In reply to nevent1q…jfkc
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Agree completely. Change cannot come from the top down when the top has been captured by lobbyists and foreign investment.

Herefordrob (npub120h…s6zt) @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

With hindsight it seems that privatisation, deregulation and ...

2026-03-17T10:00:20Z

In reply to nevent1q…s2dv
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With hindsight it seems that privatisation, deregulation and political capture were essential for preparing and maintaining a green field in which developing technology could be deployed without scrutiny.

This is a world war with potentially disastrous consequences for ...

2026-03-16T08:27:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…6jmg
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This is a world war with potentially disastrous consequences for everyone involved.

The UK and Europe should steer well clear.

https://united24media.com/latest-news/iran-officially-confirms-military-support-from-russia-and-china-in-war-against-the-us-16882

Hard to disagree given the current fetish for religious crusades, ...

2026-03-11T10:10:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…f29r
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Hard to disagree given the current fetish for religious crusades, but without wanting to be contrary I'd suggest that it's at least as important for political leaders to imagine the future, especially given climate projections.

We seems to be caught in a millennia-old doom loop of imperialism, wars, famine and exploitation and all history can teach us is what to expect from the next stage without any indication of the velocity required to exit the loop.

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@LeftistLawyer/116202888309076038 ...

2026-03-10T13:27:37Z

RE: https://kolektiva.social/@LeftistLawyer/116202888309076038

How much do you trust your own, democratically-elected govt?

2026 edition.

quoting
note1lca…f8j5

If a terrorist attack happens on U.S. soil, who do you think will be responsible?

The West as a whole is long-overdue a public debate on the ...

2026-03-09T09:37:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…pwpg
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The West as a whole is long-overdue a public debate on the incestuous relationship between politics and finance and the degree to which our democratic choices can be compromised by embedded financial systems.

Other ways of working are clearly possible, if not necessarily easy to navigate, but too many politicians have spent too long accepting the TINA mantra and claiming to be grownups for supporting a broken status quo.

....the concern here is that the authoritarian right that wants ...

2026-03-05T18:24:39Z

In reply to nevent1q…yd3z
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....the concern here is that the authoritarian right that wants to re-establish the cruel hierarchies of previous ages and crush any opposition now has every tool they could wish for at their disposal to do just that.

A European-centred counter movement would have to tear down those technological defences aswell as the hierarchies that built them.

Ha! I suppose so, although any 21st century social democracy ...

2026-03-05T18:20:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…2aju
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Ha! I suppose so, although any 21st century social democracy would be unlike anything we've had before because of the p2p nature of the modern world.

The technological advancements of the last 20 years are no longer just being used to improve people's lives, because we've entered a 'papers please' era of digital surveillance, manipulation and exclusion that any Euro-social democracy would need to destroy and rebuild.

Yes. With respect to our conversation elsewhere on Western ...

2026-03-05T18:11:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…cxgl
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Yes.

With respect to our conversation elsewhere on Western hierarchies, this may even amount to compromising on some form of modern European communism to counter the threat of fascism and topple the hierarchies that have started to reimpose themselves since fall of the USSR.

If this is, or even could be the case then there's also no ...

2026-03-05T18:02:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…d5xp
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If this is, or even could be the case then there's also no guarantee that a re-popularised left wing can make a substantive difference within the boundaries of the existing system, because any change will be countered by an authoritarian response to kill any dissent before it threatens the re-established status quo....as we've seen recently in the USA.

Steve Woods (npub1prm…a9wj)

Agree completely, although I'm also slightly perturbed by the ...

2026-03-05T17:55:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…whs3
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Agree completely, although I'm also slightly perturbed by the implications of that conclusion.

Westerners generally want to believe that Western democracy is a basically decent system because for the lifetimes of most living people it has been. The world since the 1980s however has seen the West steadily descend to the same levels of privilege, inequality, exploitation and imperialism that defined the West in previous eras with no guarantee that the trend won't continue

Steve Woods (npub1prm…a9wj)

.....or maybe just fail quicker?

2026-03-05T17:14:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…7uf9
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.....or maybe just fail quicker?

I've pondered elsewhere on here whether Europe is currently ...

2026-03-05T17:13:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…q2uf
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I've pondered elsewhere on here whether Europe is currently cast in the role of geopolitical kingmaker.

If European leaders...or actually European citizens, switch their allegiance away from US/Israel and refuse to honour US-inspired trading sanctions then the US will fail.

I suppose it's arguable in that sense that the Normans ...

2026-03-05T11:24:38Z

In reply to nevent1q…cjaw
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I suppose it's arguable in that sense that the Normans established a hierarchical gangster state in 1066, and the Americans established a successor in the US in the 18th century. If corruption is allowed to continue over the course of centuries then it becomes Established tradition by default.

The only time that western democracy has worked for all westerners was during the post-ww2 period when communism presented an existential threat to the established hierarchy.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

I suspect that there's a lot more public climate concern than ...

2026-03-05T10:00:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…fkv8
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I suspect that there's a lot more public climate concern than Western political leaders and media typically present, and if global geopolitics develops into a polar choice between clean energy and fossil fuels then the US could very easily be caught on the wrong side of history.

Some might say that it would be an apt end of a US empire waging war on the back of 3000 year old man-made 'prophesies'.

... The final irony may yet turn out to be that the US becomes ...

2026-03-05T09:41:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…teu4
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...

The final irony may yet turn out to be that the US becomes dependent on what it knows (monopolising oil and gas to support the PetroDollar) at the same time as China flips to renewables and nuclear power and no longer needs them.

Some of the rhetoric from the US suggests a grudging acceptance ...

2026-03-05T09:37:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…6qx6
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Some of the rhetoric from the US suggests a grudging acceptance that they've already lost their economic and technical hegemony to China on too many fronts to seriously compete *unless* they use force to quickly co-opt equivalent resources and supply chains to match what China's built over the past couple of decades.

That Trump is threatening long-term allies and talking about how the US 'needs' to own Greenland, Canada, Cuba, Venezuela, .... all makes sense in this respect.

...

I think Gaby might be being a tad hopeful there.

2026-03-02T18:38:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…408r
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I think Gaby might be being a tad hopeful there.

The US backed far right seems to run on a platform that combines ...

2026-03-02T15:27:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…t2nw
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The US backed far right seems to run on a platform that combines Judeo-Christo-fascism and spitting anti-socialism

People in the UK meanwhile are for the most part religiously ambivalent and were never subject to the anti-socialist propaganda that's routinely imposed on the average American.

Throw in the sickly, hyper-Americanised flagshagging and 'pay-triotism' and the average British RefUK voter is about as British as Texas.

Claire McNab (npub1ryu…myy0)

Nostr event nevent1qqspfd4ctjvrwj307z0aprtvy8906ym6sa27sp8dc7aglx4e3k9337qzyrztmapgdec8uk46928hrw5zmerl4w2r7cemnvuer2ju5l0nkadrsemv040

2026-02-26T18:13:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…6vfg
_________________________

A post-American internet built on FOSS and secure open standards ...

2026-02-26T17:57:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…8a0t
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A post-American internet built on FOSS and secure open standards is a wonderful end state, but it's surprising that countries haven't (yet) worked on limiting their exposure to predatory US tech by adopting existing and scalable solutions from China.

There's a sanctions problem obviously, and I'm sure that the predatory issues can be applied to Chinese tech too, but as a shorter-term mitigation to US tech monopoly it's still an option.

Not sure it's a proper term really, but I've been ...

2026-02-26T16:29:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…yh92
_________________________

Not sure it's a proper term really, but I've been repeatedly struck by the excessive amounts of micro-accounting and reporting activity that goes on inside most organisations in the name of improvement and efficiency.

Hyper-accountancy is a diagnostic feature of a profit-led, ...

2026-02-26T10:09:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…ghjr
_________________________

Hyper-accountancy is a diagnostic feature of a profit-led, over-financialised economy?

The NHS might be an exceptional example, but the modern business ...

2026-02-26T09:02:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…436c
_________________________

The NHS might be an exceptional example, but the modern business approach to Taylor-style productivity improvement seems to involve as much, if not more resource being directed at the collection and measurement of productivity data as the resource dedicated to productive work.

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/return-taylorism

Maybe any person who steps into a public space wearing Meta's ...

2026-02-25T08:40:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…gjcs
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Maybe any person who steps into a public space wearing Meta's surveillance glasses should be immediately arrested for stalking?

Citizen arrests would be acceptable.

Sensible centrists are still convinced that everyone will return ...

2026-02-23T15:00:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…95l8
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Sensible centrists are still convinced that everyone will return to Labour on the GE to 'keep RefUK out' (the Macron triangulation).

US corporate social media is a tool for data collection, ...

2026-02-23T08:50:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…e0w2
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US corporate social media is a tool for data collection, propaganda and regime change, and the response of the American govt to China-owned TikTok ought to be taken as a warning to European govts.

Gender equality is one thing but class equality is another thing ...

2026-02-20T10:57:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…gggf
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Gender equality is one thing but class equality is another thing altogether.

Antonia Romeo comes from the exact same privately educated in exclusive schools and Oxbridge route as all the boys in the club.

This could be anecdotal, but outside of the traditional ...

2026-02-20T08:51:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…8wdv
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This could be anecdotal, but outside of the traditional middle-class professions (doctor, lawyer, banker etc) there seems to have been a decline in the value of Chartered and professional membership institutions in favour of commercial certification schemes that require regular, paid-for re-certification.

Seems plausible. There also seems to be an increase in the number ...

2026-02-17T17:47:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…fqzw
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Seems plausible. There also seems to be an increase in the number of over 50s and 60s taking on the minimum wage starter jobs to tide them over until their pensions kick in.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

I greatly appreciate the puzzling opportunity. Certainly no ...

2026-02-17T09:57:06Z

In reply to nevent1q…9el4
_________________________

I greatly appreciate the puzzling opportunity.

Certainly no pedantry intended (:

MarjorieR (npub154p…gwly) Nini (npub1tyj…nlxm)

Cryptic posting for crossword enthusiasts 😃 @npub1tyj…nlxm ...

2026-02-17T09:52:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…exd6
_________________________

Cryptic posting for crossword enthusiasts 😃

Nini (npub1tyj…nlxm) @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

reliance? Better than Wordle 🙃 @npub12pw…zvxn

2026-02-17T09:41:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…adpl
_________________________

reliance?

Better than Wordle 🙃

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Agree, but suspect the architects of this would view it from ...

2026-02-17T09:31:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…p5p6
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Agree, but suspect the architects of this would view it from another angle: Why provoke a national riot by privatising the NHS when the NHS can be hollowed out to become a vehicle for managing contracts with private healthcare companies?

Politicians can even promise more money to be invested in healthcare without upsetting the free market status quo.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

It might be reasonable for now, but the UK surely has far greater ...

2026-02-13T18:14:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…eum6
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It might be reasonable for now, but the UK surely has far greater potential capacity for wind generation than France?

The govt has become the political wing of the financial services ...

2026-02-11T09:52:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…ukn5
_________________________

The govt has become the political wing of the financial services sector.

Foreign influence and regime change are uncomfortable topics in ...

2026-02-10T09:38:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…38tn
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Foreign influence and regime change are uncomfortable topics in the UK...unless we're talking about Russia, in which case it's perfectly acceptable.

To what extent should people like Farage and Tice be considered foreign agents? Tommy Robinson with his curiously American evangelical Judeo-Christianity is another obvious import.

There's a powerful political lobby that wants the UK to ...

2026-02-10T09:28:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…d5v0
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There's a powerful political lobby that wants the UK to become more like the US, and all the indications are that it's not home-grown.

This exactly. Data and information are the means of production ...

2026-02-06T16:00:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…zsyr
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This exactly. Data and information are the means of production and control for the twenty first century, and over the last fifty years the traditional frameworks for information management and dissemination have been systematically torn down, renamed and rebuilt inside a handful of corporately-owned walled gardens.

The consolation for those of us who have been thanklessly pointing this out for decades is that people no longer think we're insane.

Deity level unlocked 🙃

2026-01-30T18:09:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…gnfl
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Deity level unlocked 🙃

Suspect that Starmer isn't suffering from a hostile media so ...

2026-01-30T16:18:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…en30
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Suspect that Starmer isn't suffering from a hostile media so much as he's missing the left-wing support that he wanted rid of. The best that Labour-friendly journalists can come up with is variations on 'Starmer's not so bad really'.

There seems to be a number of Starmer apologists writing articles ...

2026-01-30T12:06:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…z48q
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There seems to be a number of Starmer apologists writing articles currently, no doubt to assuage the grief of sensible centrists who have seen their dream ripped to shreds by the realisation that handing everything over to private corporations run by billionaires wasn't such a good idea afterall.

The contentious claim in this article is that people were content to leave it to the professional politicians and their focus groups, when in reality we were made politically homeless.

This was inevitable given the West's four decade subservience ...

2026-01-29T15:29:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…puld
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This was inevitable given the West's four decade subservience to free market capitalist ideology.

It's notable that the Austrian cheerleaders who spent thirty years saying that this could never happen with 'pure' free markets have now spent the last ten years coming to terms with the fact that their entrepreneurial Gods of the 20th century have turned into the tyrannical feudal Lords of the 21st.

That's a good point, altho I suppose perverse incentives ...

2026-01-28T11:11:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…3umj
_________________________

That's a good point, altho I suppose perverse incentives exist anyway, with the main difference being that people who are unlikely to live much beyond 65 currently never receive their SP at all.

The most annoying aspect of this is that we could and arguably should all be working far less hours and years than we do, and in the 60s and 70s people were led to believe that automation and technological advances would create a leisure society. Neoliberalism ended the dream.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Variable retirement age would be the obvious answer, but like so ...

2026-01-28T09:56:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…jewa
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Variable retirement age would be the obvious answer, but like so many other things it would be open to political influence and additional health and social care costs.

The NHS already promotes health checks for the over-fifties, so allowing medical professionals to prescribe earlier retirement dates would be an extension of the existing medical leave regime for workers.

Labour have a proprietorial attitude towards left-wing voters, ...

2026-01-27T09:39:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…x74m
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Labour have a proprietorial attitude towards left-wing voters, and even though Labour don't have particularly left-wing policies and have stated openly that they don't want the 'fleas' in their midst, they're too arrogant to stand aside for the greater good.

Getting rid of Ofwat, even with the excuse of rationalising ...

2026-01-26T10:57:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…8xmw
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Getting rid of Ofwat, even with the excuse of rationalising regulatory bodies is still capitulation to the industry's demands for lighter regulation to encourage foreign investment.

When will the govt accept that appeasement will not fix a fundamentally broken system?

Capitalists go on (and on and on) about their rewards being ...

2026-01-22T09:11:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…qnkq
_________________________

Capitalists go on (and on and on) about their rewards being justified by their financial risk, but there is no risk associated with operating essential national infrastructure because the govt will always bail them out while customers have no choice.

Keeping these firms in private hands is a victory for ideology over common sense.

This might sound a trifle cynical, but I'm not convinced that ...

2026-01-21T11:38:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…rc67
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This might sound a trifle cynical, but I'm not convinced that most politicians want to do the bidding of the electorate so much as broker compromise that the electorate will tolerate.

Too often we've seen unpopular policies enacted that the political opposition has criticised but not actually reversed when they have the opportunity.

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

Many, many people in the tech sector have been talking about the ...

2026-01-20T11:55:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…ld78
_________________________

Many, many people in the tech sector have been talking about the potential problems of US-dependency for years (and told to be quiet), but while Europe has been slow to build its own platforms to reduce the dependency, there is a ready-made alternative to US Big Tech in China....which Europe has heavily sanctioned and won't deal with for concerns about national security.

Is it time for a rethink?

It could easily happen here under a RefUK government because ...

2026-01-19T09:35:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…x2y9
_________________________

It could easily happen here under a RefUK government because RefUK and the other far-right parties in Europe are part of the same US MAGA franchise.

The frustrating part is that it could still be stopped, but only if centrists and liberals accept that unless they adopt left-wing economic reforms and controls on foreign social media and political investment, a MAGA-style govt in the UK is inevitable.

There'll be more before the next election no doubt, but they ...

2026-01-16T13:34:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…ugyc
_________________________

There'll be more before the next election no doubt, but they all seem to exhibit the same sort of.....sliminess that sets them apart from the effete grubbiness that people usually associate with Tory MPs.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/01/tracked-the-tories-defecting-to-reform

Why burst their respective bubbles after this much time has ...

2026-01-02T19:03:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…0sta
_________________________

Why burst their respective bubbles after this much time has passed?

Claire McNab (npub1ryu…myy0)

I've just posted something vaguely related to ...

2026-01-02T15:59:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…22qv
_________________________

I've just posted something vaguely related to @ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn). There is genuine and long worn antagonism against London for both good and not-so-good reasons, and much of it is founded on a cultural dislike for London, Parliament, the King, bankers and being on the receiving end of laws from London.

The fact that antagonism exists and has deep roots makes it easy to sow division, and we should be watchful of foreign interventions along with the rest of Europe.
https://www.aljazeera.com/video/pinch-point/2025/12/17/aje-onl-pp-the-great-replacement-v2-161225

I know for a fact that there are many British people who ...

2026-01-02T15:41:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…y5vx
_________________________

I know for a fact that there are many British people who genuinely hate London with a passion, just as there are many people in London who consider anyone from outside the city to be a foreigner....and there are some valid and long-standing reasons for both of those views.

Personally I consider both London and the rest of the southeast to be part of Western France 😉

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)

https://nationalpost.com/news/fox-news-issues-rare-on-air-apology-one-week-after-guest-claims-u-k-city-birmingham-totally-muslim

..natural transport hub, while infrastructure intended for ...

2026-01-02T15:30:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…tuz8
_________________________

..natural transport hub, while infrastructure intended for elsewhere in the country miraculously gets built in London, such as the millennium dome, Wembley reboot, any airport expansion, ...).

Also worth remembering that in the 70s London was declining while cities like Manchester and Birmingham were catching up in terms of both share of national income and population, which makes London's revival something of a product of Thatcher's financialisation of the economy

@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us has moved (npub12pw…zvxn)