Thought it was about time I worked out what's going on... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curling

I regularly see people wondering how it's possible that there are so many musicians and writers and film makers and artists from a tiny nation like Iceland. And the answer is really simple: State funding for art education and artists. I literally get a salary from the government to write books.

X is absolutely cooking the brains of the entire political class that remains on there. The ones who think they're immune are probably the most affected.

Cartoon

Chris Wormald’s exit as cabinet secretary should lead to more radical change at the centre @hannahkeenan.bsky.social tells why the appointment of a new cabinet secretary is the right time to split the role from head of the civil service www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/chri...

"This should be a better Green Book. How it plays out in the country and in practice is still to be seen. For that, we need more than just changes to the rules of the game" www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article...

The totality of direct taxes in the UK is progressive; the very richest pay more than five times more in income tax than the poorest. In contrast, Council Tax remains strongly regressive, absorbing only about 1 per cent of income at the very top, against nearly 5 per cent at the very bottom.

Theme of the day: www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Accidentally pushing a pull door at first is a completely understandable mistake. It’s that second, angrier push that tells the world who you really are

Interesting question from Steve Richards here - can the media cope with a government moving slightly to the left? (That question is covered in the first 12 minutes btw. And you know the answer) open.spotify.com/episode/1y4J...

Jesse Jackson appeared on Sesame Street in 1973. During his appearance, he led a group of children in reciting his well-known poem “I Am Somebody,” a message focused on self-worth and empowerment The segment became one of the most memorable celebrity appearances from the early seasons of the show.

Not sure if this is for me, but fyi...

Great column by @stephenkb.bsky.social as.ft.com/r/c6c5771c-9... Perhaps we should all be banned from social media

Franzi Schimmer captured this Grizzly bear in Brooks Falls, Alaska just floating along, tippy-tapping down the river, browsing the salmon. Prior to hibernation, up to 40% of a bear's body mass is fat, which is less dense than water (~0.9 g/cm^2), so the murder-monster is also a floaty-boaty.

A cathartic burst of irritation from me about the overuse of hyperbole open.substack.com/pub/gileswil...

This is the last thing you have to do before you finish your degree in physics.

Good thread here (this post is from near the end).

Powerful stuff.

Epstein Files "contain disturbing & credible evidence of systematic & large-scale sexual abuse, trafficking & exploitation of women & girls & could amt to sexual slavery, reproductive violence, enforced disappearance, torture, inhuman/degrading treatment & femicide" www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

😂 Private Eye - spot on as always

The entire UK diplomatic budget is about £1.4 billion a year. That’s pretty much precisely 0.1% of government spending. BBC World Service is about £0.25 billion (it should be higher), or 0.02%. These are rounding errors on rounding errors. Double each and public expenditure wouldn’t twitch. Mad.

I love getting new information that makes me go, "OOOoooOOOOoohhhh"

Legislation designed to strengthen the electoral system against foreign interference contains exploitable loopholes, the Electoral Commission has warned Vijay Rangarajan tells @theobserveruk.bsky.social that the bill as drafted lacks “protection against oligarchs" observer.co.uk/news/politic...

The messages between the far-right former Trump adviser Steve Bannon and the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein reveal how Bannon worked with Boris Johnson and Farage to “overthrow” Theresa May at the height of the 2018 Brexit crisis in the UK bylinetimes.com/2026/02/16/b...

Who had the most contact with Jeffrey Epstein in the final decade of his life? In the years after he pled guilty to soliciting sex from a minor, he maintained consistent contact with a vast network of rich and powerful figures. Our data team analysed 1.4m emails to map their relationships

Fantastic to see my Mini Switzerland idea covered by the BBC. It captures so many people’s imaginations because it’s both obvious, simple and yet - from where we are today - unspeakably radical. Please share! www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This is a great idea - #IntegratedTransport is such an obvious win (and the loss of it was a consequence of bus deregulation)

I have a couple of questions about Alt Text. 1) If I post a screenshot of text, is it helpful to readers if I capture that text in the Alt Text, or do your screen readers do that for you? 2) If it is helpful, are there any good tools for me to capture that text, other than Gemini or CoPilot AI?

“Penalise” those women who don’t have enough babies. FFS

It's galling to contemplate but I really think you have to admit that Musk buying X was an unqualified victory. It can't be exaggerated just how much prominent journalists, pundits, business type, etc. mistake the vibe on X for "how the country is feeling."

FWIW, after 2+ decades in 🇬🇧 diplomacy my settled view is that BBCWS is *the* (not *a*) vital element of British soft power and the continued attacks on its funding are nothing short of barbaric and self defeating.

Hopefully Europe takes the right lessons from this...? youtu.be/UMzBif0Es7g?...

Add your own punchline... www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

For the very first time, I am hoping that Liz Truss will work her very own special brand of magic.

NASA announced a week ago that fatty acids found in Martian soil appear to have been formed by something other than known natural processes. Investigation is still underway, but yes, this could mean evidence of past life on Mars. science.nasa.gov/blogs/scienc...

So apparently you can build a Tesla Cybertruck that does not have those awful gaps between body panels! :-) news.err.ee/1609937465/e...

“THESEUS: Why investigate, study, devise ten thousand technologies yet you do not know this one thing and cannot grasp it: how to teach a mindless man to think.” ~ Anne Carson, Grief Lessons: Four Plays by Euripides

In an incredibly dark time for politics and politicians, it’s just immensely refreshing to see someone who clearly believes he can bring joy and hope to others during his time in office. It’s such a rare thing.

Surprising - hadn't heard this before...

Somehow I had missed these... (Still maddening after all these years)

Ukraine is ready to offer Russia a ceasefire if they hold elections Zelensky said.

📣 New today: How to activate the agency of citizens. 📣 A post exploring methods for activating citizenship, using a case study of the Citizen First model developed by @publiclife.bsky.social and currently running in the Liverpool City Region. 1/n medium.com/@jamestplunk...

Yesterday: we exposed the terrifying extent of corporate capture in British politics Three Labour select committee chairs came out calling for urgent action in response Today: Labour government's Elections Bill lands. Does almost *nothing* to tackle any of the issues we exposed. 🤦

At the launch of Unsung Britain, Ruth Curtice reflected on the root causes of the loss of trust in politics ⤵️

🚢 | For the first time, a carefully curated selection of artefacts from the Titanic is on display in a quietly powerful, intimate setting where it all began, Albion House, the former headquarters of the White Star Line in Liverpool.

Disgraceful

Thames Water spend around 30% of your bill on interest covering the debt mountain that was accumulated when it was looted under MacQuarrie a decade ago. That's just the will of the market.