The Secret Service isn't claiming it foiled any plot targeting the UN General Assembly. Just that a big collection of SIMs (probably used for fraud) could have *potentially* disrupted NYC cell service. The SIMs were in a *35 MILE* radius of the UN. These headlines are all pretty egregiously wrong:

“Even for Donald Trump, this was not normal. It was not normal for the UN General Assembly. It was not usual for any world leader, elected or not – dictators usually take decades to lose contact with reality in the way Trump appeared to have done today.”

Opinion | Even for Donald Trump, this was not normal. It was not normal for the UN General Assembly. It was not usual for any world leader, elected or not – dictators usually take decades to lose contact with reality 🖋 @jamesrball.com Read more: trib.al/K1of3kD

“Even for Donald Trump, this was not normal. It was not normal for the UN General Assembly. It was not usual for any world leader, elected or not – dictators usually take decades to lose contact with reality in the way Trump appeared to have done today.”

“Trump spoke for about 45 minutes more, in a rambling series of comments that lost contact entirely with reality. After criticising the UN for not giving him the contract to build their HQ—the floors are terrazzo, not marble, he tutted—Trump launched into a series of full-on conspiracy theories.”

The Lost Films of Hollywood 2026 calendar kickstarter is now live! Please consider backing this project so we can make it happen: Contains 13 original pieces by @quantick.bsky.social and myself. www.kickstarter.com/projects/dav...

How it started // How it’s going

"'You have to have thick skin to work here, and even then it doesn't feel good,' a former worker said. They said they quit this year over concerns about the amount of CSAM they encountered."

I think we're actually all sleeping on the fact that the Lib Dems 'only' polling at their GE level is a very good result for them, they usually collapse in midterm because they don't get much attention.

The UN is routinely addressed by absolute dictators who rule their nations entirely by fiat. They are usually more in touch with reality (and with the room) than Donald Trump is here. This is truly, deeply bizarre.

Trump’s speech to the UN – which is surely one for the ages – was supposed to be no longer than 15 minutes, btw. He’s now 50 minutes in.

Trying to keep across two speeches at once. Currently I’m listening to Ed Davey but looking at Lula. I occasionally swap over.

It's like hearing Donald Trump get subtweeted by Deidre Rashid.

I was told foreign aid is bad

Nigel Farage pulled his speech forward three hours when he realised Reform party conference was being overshadowed by a cabinet reshuffle. Ed Davey is late to speak at the Lib Dem conference. But Donald Trump is due to speak at the UN in…seven minutes.

Hang on, they want networks to meet *in their own time* but still want to have signoff on all events? That’s proper “pick one” territory. Also I’m not sure war on the civil service really goes with the vibes of this government, tbh.

When a typo in your Google search leads to new and exciting philosophical positions

Research on the structural elements of disinformation campaigns or the disinformation-related harms is not censorship.

I hear endlessly (including right now on the radio) that “the new consensus” is that Covid was “almost certainly” caused by a lab leak. This might be a political “consensus”, led by the same White House that says tylenol caused autism. But it’s not the scientific one.

The NYT liveblog on the autism press conference is a fascinating read -- largely because it's written by health reporters and not political reporters. Look at how direct and appropriately shocked these posts are! www.nytimes.com/live/2025/09...

“There is no hard data to suggest that this “singularity” moment will occur. It is a speculative belief, essentially in a digital god that we are building ourselves.” newhumanist.org.uk/articles/645...

The even more unbelievable crime fact (which I learned relatively recently) is that burglary has fallen by more than 90% since the 1990s. Did anyone notice? Nope. Does anyone believe it? Nope. But is is true? It is!

OK, we got the Antifa "order," and it's weak. It cites no specific laws. I imagine, this was the drafting process: Boss: Quick, Trump said something, what can we do? Lawyer: Basically nothing, other than enforce laws? Boss: Hmm. Well, make it sound like something, OK? Lawyer: I'll ... try?

AP doing a significantly better job headlining / summarising this than several of the outlets they supply.

Trump is -11 approval on *immigration*.

This is essentially the end, at least for now, of the US government as a credible source of health information. That’s bad in any circumstances, but…if we get hit with another pandemic in the near future, god help us all.

Notable that Trump hadn’t even learned the pronunciation of “acetaminophen” (the generic US name for paracetamol) before he made this major statement on its supposed link to autism.

God, the *pressure* on that monologue. I guess on one level his job’s pretty safe now, but it’s surely going to be the most attention (and audience?) for a late-night monologue this century..?

Bonus fact: I drank entirely non-alcoholic beers

An interesting message of welcome from a cabinet minister against the backdrop of today’s headlines.

**This is an automated response.** Hi there, If I don’t get back to this email/message/post in a timely manner, then I have probably been raptured. If you’re reading this, then you didn’t. Sorry about that. If I reply shortly, I didn’t either :( Good luck for the end times! All the best, James

Removal protections are gone. Humphrey's Executor is overruled in all but name by the Shadow Docket. Rest in peace to the Presidency, and long live the Monarchy.

Does Tylenol cause autism? (A comprehensive neuroscientific response to the recent US govt report) [Summary] No, of course not! What's wrong with you? [Full answer] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-[1/237]

Okay we're there.

I’m not sure it reflects all that well on Mason that the most aggressive interview he’s managed with a politician in quite some time is in defence of his own journalism. It’s also a fairly extraordinary attack to make in response to a fairly mild critique. Not sure his judgment on the money here.

Fun story this morning. I spoke with Curtis Evans, the retired Marine in the viral photo below who took part in the anti-ICE protest at Broadview. He's a thoughtful guy, well read and with a dry sense of humor. Story @taskandpurpose.com taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-...

"What a brutal irony: the bullet that killed Charlie Kirk was also a colossal adrenaline shot to the movement he served. Galvanised by grief, it has replenished its insurgent spirit. In place of the president’s tired, orange features, it has a new face that will never get old."

Favourite (I’m British, get over it) detail: Trump is holding his cards the wrong way around.

The Reform Party policy of abolition of indefinite leave to remain is supported by 3% of the public

Amazing news. Alaa pardoned after, this time, six years in prison and a lifetime fighting for freedoms in Egypt. What an inspiration. This would be a good time to grab his book, "You have not yet been defeated": what it takes to fight oppression. #freealaa fitzcarraldoeditions.com/books/you-ha...

The @washingtonpost.com story on Tylenol & autism leaves out a MAJOR 2.5M sibling-controlled study of children in Denmark, which "found no evidence that acetaminophen use during pregnancy was associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD or intellectual disability." jamanetwork.com/journals/jam...

Sadiq Khan on Farage’s plan today - “Thousands of Londoners have indefinite leave to remain. They have legal rights and are our friends, neighbours and colleagues, contributing hugely to our city. “Threatening to deport people living and working here legally is unacceptable.”

This week’s Nimby Watch is on the councillors of West Oxfordshire, who rejected a solar farm because they felt batteries were unproven and scary technology – presumably while carrying lithium batteries just inches from their vitals. Live now on @capx.co capx.co/nimby-watch-...

Well no, he wouldn’t, because these days he’s about as funny as a fungal nail disease.

The cat is being especially louche this lunchtime.

Reform hold a press conference every Monday, for which they trail a policy announcement in that morning’s papers. Given Monday is a slow news day, that often means they lead the papers – and so the breakfast shows, and so they set the agenda for the week. It’s a good trick, but easy to counter!

The Labour Party has a tradition of antiracism campaigning. It’s supposed to be in the party’s DNA. That they cannot say it’s just straightforwardly wrong to alarm families who choose Britain to live, work and raise children in is a total moral failure.

Farage: "All over the world, you apply for a work visa - that visa is for you. Not to bring your family... That is how a normal work visa works." Entirely untrue. Most work visas allow dependents, including in countries that the UK competes with for labour - US, Canada, Australia and 27 EU states.

The sentiments in Keir Starmer’s editorial in yesterday’s Sun are broadly good. But it’s 2025, not 1995. Even pensioners are overwhelmingly online and on social. Where’s the 21st century comms strategy? Where’s the video? And where’s the urgency?

I wrote about the Zizians – a death cult of sorts, which radicalised followers into suicide or murder, inspired partly by veganism, party by their trans identities (and the backlash to those), but mostly by bizarre rationalist thought experiments. newhumanist.org.uk/articles/645...