Perhaps the BBC could settle with Trump by inviting him to appear as a guest on Desert Island Discs? It would certainly appeal to his narcissistic ego

Interesting to see so many great British patriots right now begging an American president to bankrupt one of Britain’s last remaining truly national institutions.

🐾💛 It’s DOUBLE VOTE WEEKEND ! 💛🐾 Please vote for Dog Desk Animal Action CIC here: mygivingcircle.org/dog-desk-ani... Your free vote counts twice, and if you’re able to donate, every £1 gives us even more votes! Thank you for supporting our animals! #AnimalRescue #VoteToHelp

Hmm. Henry Hill on Sky's Press Preview claimed ownership of a £2m house today doesn't make the owner rich. His premise is that the house may have been purchased for just £80k in 1990. If true that amounts to an avg house price rise of 9.63% pa over 35 yrs, well above the avg rate of inflation?

#ArtistFave15 #MusicChallenge #MusicSky I have chosen Tom Petty, ranked 15 to 1 11/15 - #1 Free Fallin' He left the good girl and his heart in Reseda. The song is his confession, forever haunted by the heart he left behind. www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcgE...

My latest.

Top tip for bloggers: Say what you're gonna say. Say it. Say that you've said it. The first stricture is important because unless you tell your reader what your hypothesis is, the middle part where you present the evidence to confirm your hypothesis will resemble random ramblings

For all the media scaremongering on tax rises, a small reminder of how it was with tax cutting Tories, from just last year ......

@oldtrotter.bsky.social Finally rec'd a copy of Healey's The Time of My Life! Am looking forward to a good read

What He said....

Look at wind power go!

Good morning to a fabulous #Foxfriday! Did you know that foxes are highly important for the eco system? They help control populations of small mammals like rodents and reduce the spread of Lyme disease by preying on mice. And they are so pretty. [📷 Nikon D5600 f/5,6 1/50 300mm ISO3200] #foxoftheday

Has anyone tried turning the government off and back on again?

Is AI making job recruitment less meritocratic? We're getting some v interesting research studies on this question now, and the news is... not good. @jburnmurdoch.ft.com & I dive in, in the latest edition of our newsletter The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/e5b7...

Breaking: Chris Mason of the BBC reports that Starmer said boo to a goose. In other news, the Third World War has broken out

Yes I know all economists love a policy trilemma. But what we have now is a simple dilemma: you can pay attention to political reporters; or you can have intelligent economic policy. Choose one.

Top Tip for the BBC: Invite Trump on to Desert Island Discs. Use the opportunity to flatter the man baby's ego by telling him that he will be the bigliest star they've ever had and that no one will have heard anything like it before. Ever. Since time began. Every one will say so.

"Imagine our lives without storytelling. I mean, it would be bleak". Peak BBC middle-classness. Imagine our lives without food. Or shelter. Or healthcare. Now THAT would be truly bleak and is the experience of millions of people across the world.

Excellent!

Breaking! That AI recruitment algorithm revealed: Q: Did the candidate attend a fee-paying school?: A: No. Action: Send out a rejection letter wishing the candidate luck in their future career; A: Yes. Action: Proceed with application to the next stage

Intelligent question: what, if any, social democratic policies might rejuvenate the economy & defeat the far right? Stupid question: should Streeting replace Starmer? The fact that the political class are discussing one rather than the other is the problem.

My post yesterday on the $Ibn Trump legal threat against the BBC has been picked up by newspapers around the world. It would appear few had gone through the letter and spotted that, well, it contained no evidence in support of its claims of damage. >

What kind of board member does his best to magnify BBC’s exposure to financial and reputational harm for partisan political goals? Gibb is unfit to serve and should be forced out by ministers. No organization should have to accommodate wreckers. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...

Impartiality versus objectivity:# Imagine the BBC has two guests arguing over the nature of the earth. One guest holds the earth is flat, the other claims it's a sphere. An impartial BBC would give both arguments equal value.👀 An objective BBC would dismiss the claim of the flat-earther.

Impartiality versus objectivity:# Imagine the BBC has two guests arguing over the nature of the earth. One guest holds the earth is flat, the other claims it's a sphere. An impartial BBC would give both arguments equal value.👀 An objective BBC would dismiss the claim of the flat-earther.

NEW A close look at Trump's $1 billion claim against the BBC The litigation letter is weak, but his underlying practical position is not weak By me: emptycity.substack.com/p/a-close-lo... (Substack) (Non-Substack link to follow.)

This a big deal: "China’s carbon dioxide emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months" China's economy has grown by ~5% in the last year, so this comprehensively debunks the idea (again) that emissions are tied to growth. So yes, faster progress needed, but this is how you turn the corner.

‘I once planned to sue the bbc for suggesting I encouraged an insurrection the time I encouraged an insurrection on live tv’

Labour timidity in defending the BBC is a great shame, but explicable. To defend them here you have to point out that notwithstanding the unfortunate edit Trump *did* incite the riots, having falsely claimed the election was fraudulent, and later lauding and pardoning the rioters.

On the one hand it’s useful to have a reasoned and measured debate on the perceived bias inherent in BBC news, on the other hand Donald Trump is a cunt.

Good luck with that! Trump will need to prove damage - pretty hard to do that given the scale of his election victory! The BBC should contest it vigorously should Trump be stupid enough to commence proceedings

Strewth cobber!

"You, like Nigel Farage, are simply lying about what the ONS says." I somewhat lost my patience with Reform Councillor Bill Piper here.. (from about 1h 27 min in) www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

"Borrowing means the govt is bequeathing debt to our kids and grand kids" said a shadow minister. But if the borrowed proceeds are spent on creating long-lived assets eg, school buildings, roads, new hospitals, etc then those assets will also benefit our kids/grand kids. BBC, please point this out!

Dear BBC: providing more frequent and deeper serious analysis could provide a pathway to averting accusations of bias So instead of regurgitating the Daily Express's report on food price reductions that Brexit would produce, you should have marshalled expertise to investigate and report the facts

Telegraph journalist leaning into the Trump narrative. On a point of detail, the BBC is a public service, not a state, broadcaster.

The bond markets have a simplistic, misplaced view on welfare cuts ... #CareNotCuts www.theguardian.com/business/202...

cc @oldtrotter.bsky.social @chrisdillow.bsky.social @francescoppola.bsky.social @jdportes.bsky.social @flipchartrick.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/neilscho...

The passport office has verified my ID. DVLA has verified my ID. My bank has verified my ID. HMRC has verified my ID. The local authority has verified my ID. But under the new rules Companies House can't verify my ID, maybe because I haven't used credit for a long time. Or because they are useless!

@flipchartrick.bsky.social Hi Rick, You recently reported that you had succeeded in having your identity verified by Companies House. I am having incomprehensible difficulty in verifying my ID using the on-line/Post Office route. Do you have any tips?

1984 Knockin' on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run your life? Spirit (1970)

Some intelligent commentary on crime and punishment! No knuckle-dragger is David Allen-Green!

It's interesting how the BBC describes the desolate and flattened landscape that is Gaza as "this is what a warzone looks like"

Looks like China will displace the USA as the world's superpower. So much for MAGA

I suspect this news tilts Frost away from becoming a prospective parliamentary candidate.

In a similar vein, the Orkney Islands produce an excess of electricity from wind, wave and tide power.

The government has promised 14,000 new or refurbished prison spaces by 2031, of which 2,400 had already been delivered by May 2025. Here’s the facts for anyone interested. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/...