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Borners

@borners.bsky.social

360 followers 360 following 3.4K posts

Transit Costs Project Researcher 英国基進主義者 (English state buildingism...its better in the Sino-Japanese). Profile banner is Himeji's city plan on just 6 A4 pages, profile pic is Nagasawa Ryosetsu's picture of Crane (the virtuous man) staring at your soul.

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 15d

This is Himeji city's current city plan (western edge of Kansai's urban belt, 500,000 people, giant original castle). On 6 sides of A4. If you can't do that, you're planning system is probably not very good.
(For more on this ask for my dissertation on Himeji's transit oriented development)

Reposted by Borners

Micheál Keane @aexia.bsky.social · 8h

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (2023)

Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 8h

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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 7h

Excellent article. With a very grim chart.

on.ft.com/4odeaMH UK consumers curb spending more than anywhere else in G7

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 11h

www.youtube.com/watch?v=myS1...

The Simpsons - Homer's Sandwich

YouTube video by AreaEightyNine

www.youtube.com

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 11h

Its also why the smarter ones (Hayek, Friedman etc) just shoot from the side-lines while staying away from actual governance.

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 11h

Rozelle is essential reading on China (or failing that Youtube-ing).
Its why to troll I call China "mega-Serbia".

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 11h

Its amazing how similar that it is to classic revolutionary socialism of pre-1917.

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 14h

I've never met a Libertarian who didn't believe in the redemptive power of state coercion to order society as they would wish it.

"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 21h

So the absolute insane stupidity of this is the idea that he could set up a theocratic state and also get a 'significantly smaller government.'

The folks on the authoritarian right do really seem to be believe there is a secret government liberalizer ray they can just switch off to change society.

Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 23h

Ross Douthat treats this guy like they're having some deep conversation about the relationship of Christianity and the government, but the dude is a garden-variety dull, shallow, hateful, worthless bigot with nothing interesting to say, just endless riffs on "God hates everything/everyone I do."

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Paul Nadeau @pauljnadeau.bsky.social · 1d

My glass-half empty view is that personalities overestimate their own leverage to overreach on coalition building and legislative priorities, devolving into party infighting, undermining the potential to take action on public priorities, and cycling through least-common-denominator governments

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Paul Nadeau @pauljnadeau.bsky.social · 1d

My glass half-full view of what comes next for Japan's politics is that minority rule forces parties to come together pragmatically issue-by-issue, passing solutions that are closer to public priorities and therefore more legitimate, a little like Ishiba's experience: clumsy, but functional

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 15h

Again current government. But actually doing something more than scapegoating/ordering people to solve their problems for them, then caving in to live a another day.
The UK is slow-burn state collapse, everybody is a gambling populist.

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

Anything by Scott Rozelle of "Invisible China" is worth reading.

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 1d

it's a good day to read about how the two stories of the Chinese economy - a booming tech sector and stagnant growth - are really the same story.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...

China’s Tech Obsession Is Weighing Down Its Economy

A decade of cutting-edge investment hasn’t translated into growth.

foreignpolicy.com

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BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 1d

it's a good day to read about how the two stories of the Chinese economy - a booming tech sector and stagnant growth - are really the same story.

foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/10/c...

China’s Tech Obsession Is Weighing Down Its Economy

A decade of cutting-edge investment hasn’t translated into growth.

foreignpolicy.com

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

The global record of Green Party especially in the British Isles is that "whatever happens I want property prices to go up".

Also killing the PRS sector worked sooo well in the 1970's its why the UK had the worst housing stock/affordability in W.Europe outside Ireland.

Nearly Legal @nearlylegal.co.uk · 1d

Why, you might ask, as a housing lawyer have I not commented on the Green Party's new policy to end the private rented sector? Simple answer - it is mad. I'm all in favour of largely ending the PRS, but their policy is simply, practically, mad. Bring back an owl for everybody and then we are talking

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

This is very much just the US.

FYI in the UK the current government's economic plan is basically "Faragism but slower". Its supposed to be "grown up", but at best its Tween.

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

1. Too clever by half.
2. The electoral system means the 35-40% of Brexit nihilists control the HoC. No dice without electoral reform.
3. If Brexit is bad then have referendum on SM membership or go home.
4. Another attempt by Labour to scapegoat and not admit how much this mess is their fault.

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

This strikes me as a pretty major Brexit shift from Starmer.

Perhaps the beginning of 'Brexit is sh1t and has caused real economic damage'.

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

This strikes me as a pretty major Brexit shift from Starmer.

Perhaps the beginning of 'Brexit is sh1t and has caused real economic damage'.

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

There are only 3 Japanese politicians who have sense of dress style, Koizumi Senior, Aso and Renho. That's it.

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

Following @tobiasharris.bsky.social suggestion, I read Ishiba's Statement on WW2. I hadn't realised just how anti-revisionist he was. Maruyama Masao? Minobe, Saito incidents, the 1931 media frenzy the timebomb of the Meiji constitution.
japan.kantei.go.jp/content/0001...

japan.kantei.go.jp

Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

Aso managing to get the LDP out power not once but twice would really be something to see.

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

This in the season with "I'll eat/love you depressed girl-Mermaid Yuri anime"
(But I loove my Yuri trash, who am I to judge).

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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 1d

I'm wrapping up the case study of Bologna's 1970s - 1990s traffic plans, and I think that there are three main overarching policy takeaways:

- a strong initial vision, which is both simple and sophisticated;
- incrementalism, but with strong commitment over time.
- total pragmatism;

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Levi McLaughlin @levimclaughlin.bsky.social · 1d

Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

Finally starting to do triage on a collapsing market. Reducing "affordable housing" from insane (50%) to absurd (35%) is worth billions, as is moving to stupid (15-20%).
www.ft.com/content/8437...

Keir Starmer orders planning bill rewrite in bid to get Budget boost

UK ministers working through weekend to agree amendments meant to speed up big infrastructure projects and housing schemes

www.ft.com

Reposted by Borners

Senator Scott Wiener @scottwiener.bsky.social · 1d

MAJOR NEWS: @GavinNewsom signed SB 79, my bill allowing more housing near public transit — rail, subway, rapid bus.

It’s a huge step for housing in California. It’ll create more homes, strengthen our transit systems & reduce traffic & carbon emissions.

Thank you, Governor!

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Borners @borners.bsky.social · 1d

Also issue in the UK. Nobody writes for the Guardian "25% VAT and primary residence CGT". It's the photo negative of tax-cut maniacs who imagine away Pensions/Healthcare.

Daniel Knowles @dlknowles.bsky.social · 1d

Related to this is the belief that we could have a Scandi welfare state *without middle class people paying more in taxes*, and billionaires stop it, which goes alongside the Nimby belief that everyone could have a lovely cheap well-located home without building any more if it weren't for landlords

William B. Fuckley @opinionhaver.bsky.social · 1d

Lot of people confidently missing the point in the replies to this: if every cent of Elon musks net wealth was liquid, which it isn’t, that’s not even enough money to run the govt for two weeks. The problem less that they have money, and more how they use that money in destabilizing ways.