Jacek Olender
@jacekolender.bsky.social
Heritage scientist, conservator, and philosopher. Local pub bore. European in the land of the free.
🇪🇺 🇵🇱&🇬🇧❤️🇺🇦
Views mine alone, unless they are yours too. Then we can be friends.
Vannevar Bush stan account.
(He/him) ↙️↙️↙️
🇪🇺 🇵🇱&🇬🇧❤️🇺🇦
Views mine alone, unless they are yours too. Then we can be friends.
Vannevar Bush stan account.
(He/him) ↙️↙️↙️
Reposted by Jacek Olender
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 PM
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
It's all so supine and pathologically risk averse. A government trying to survive day to day, too scared to take the kindness of big decisive action which would repair the country and win an election. An unbelievable wasted opportunity.
November 26, 2025 at 5:57 PM
It's all so supine and pathologically risk averse. A government trying to survive day to day, too scared to take the kindness of big decisive action which would repair the country and win an election. An unbelievable wasted opportunity.
Where's my WHCA Biden Old crowd at?
"A death-haunted Trump is fed a steady stream of AI-generated news and polls while he focuses 100% of his efforts on building a ballroom that would dwarf the rest of the White House while navigating a series of accellerating and hidden health crises" is my take on the current situation.
November 26, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Where's my WHCA Biden Old crowd at?
Reposted by Jacek Olender
so now, having destroyed our economy, wreaked our national finances, gutted our public services, all in the name of chasing anti-immigrant, what does this new government choose to do?
chase anti-immigrant sentiment
chase anti-immigrant sentiment
November 26, 2025 at 12:53 PM
so now, having destroyed our economy, wreaked our national finances, gutted our public services, all in the name of chasing anti-immigrant, what does this new government choose to do?
chase anti-immigrant sentiment
chase anti-immigrant sentiment
Reposted by Jacek Olender
Yes. Classic abuse enabler dynamic where fighting back against the abuse becomes a retroactive justification for it bsky.app/profile/turn...
I’ve seen absolutely nothing and Biden was proven 100% right.
They even claimed Trump was going to use that to justify pardoning people, which has become only far more laughable with who Trump has pardoned
They even claimed Trump was going to use that to justify pardoning people, which has become only far more laughable with who Trump has pardoned
November 26, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Yes. Classic abuse enabler dynamic where fighting back against the abuse becomes a retroactive justification for it bsky.app/profile/turn...
Reposted by Jacek Olender
“The chatbot tells you to kill yourself because you violated the TOS” is fucking diabolical.
Why does this company exist.
Why does this company exist.
November 26, 2025 at 12:56 AM
“The chatbot tells you to kill yourself because you violated the TOS” is fucking diabolical.
Why does this company exist.
Why does this company exist.
Oh yeah. In academia a horizontal move from the UK to the US now equals an immediate raise of 25-30% in real terms.
This of course might change as the competition to be The Most Racist Country(TM) heats up between the two.
This of course might change as the competition to be The Most Racist Country(TM) heats up between the two.
when I had a look the other day out of curiosity the Guardian US paid editors about twice what the Guardian UK does.
November 25, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Oh yeah. In academia a horizontal move from the UK to the US now equals an immediate raise of 25-30% in real terms.
This of course might change as the competition to be The Most Racist Country(TM) heats up between the two.
This of course might change as the competition to be The Most Racist Country(TM) heats up between the two.
Hey @lucympowell.bsky.social (since no one else from the leadership or the dcms select committee is here), is the government going to do anything about it or you will just go on being even more racist and dithering on everything else?
NEWS --> BBC confirms to me that they did edit a line out of historian @rutgerbregman.com's speech. It called Trump "the most openly corrupt president in US history."
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
BBC also confirms this was done on the advice of lawyers. So Trump's threats worked.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2036...
Trump’s Fury at BBC Gets Unnerving Results with Pro-MAGA Edit Stunner
First, British Broadcasting Corporation execs resigned after Trump complained about a segment. Now the BBC edited out a line from a historian that was critical of Trump. Where does this end?
newrepublic.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Hey @lucympowell.bsky.social (since no one else from the leadership or the dcms select committee is here), is the government going to do anything about it or you will just go on being even more racist and dithering on everything else?
Hey @michaelscherer.bsky.social is the jury still out on RFK being a psycho crank?
Breaking News: The CDC quietly appointed Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham, who has been critical of vaccines, as its second in command. During the Covid pandemic, he promoted discredited treatments like ivermectin and, as Louisiana’s surgeon general, halted the state’s mass vaccination campaign.
C.D.C. Quietly Appoints Doctor Critical of Vaccines as Second in Command
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham promoted discredited treatments like ivermectin and, as Louisiana’s surgeon general, halted the state’s mass vaccination campaign.
trib.al
November 25, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Hey @michaelscherer.bsky.social is the jury still out on RFK being a psycho crank?
Absolute joke of a government.
When can you declare an emergency over?
The 5p “emergency” petrol tax cut was introduced in March 2022, to offset a spike in prices
They are now about 30p down on that month, & about 50p down on the absolute peak
The 5p “emergency” petrol tax cut was introduced in March 2022, to offset a spike in prices
They are now about 30p down on that month, & about 50p down on the absolute peak
November 25, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Absolute joke of a government.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
My pre-budget take for the LSE Politics blog is up:
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Wealth tax and looser fiscal rules won’t save the Budget | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The narrative on the left that a wealth tax and looser fiscal rules would solve the Chancellor's 2025 Budget headaches has got out of hand.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 25, 2025 at 4:05 PM
My pre-budget take for the LSE Politics blog is up:
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Reposted by Jacek Olender
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
November 25, 2025 at 1:55 PM
First Secretary of Defense you could defeat by painting a tunnel on the side of a boulder.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture.
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
Another day, another Green MP defending persecuted motorists.
Heathrow expansion is probably not the best idea, Gatwick has more space, though would need better rail connection. But the M25 disruption is such a dumb argument.
Heathrow expansion is probably not the best idea, Gatwick has more space, though would need better rail connection. But the M25 disruption is such a dumb argument.
Just pathetically in Heathrow’s pocket, Govt backs the airport’s own climate-wrecking expansion plan, the one that requires moving (!) the M25.
Aviation bosses and frequent flyers causing everyone else’s daily lives tons of miserable disruption. Ridiculous!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Aviation bosses and frequent flyers causing everyone else’s daily lives tons of miserable disruption. Ridiculous!
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Heathrow's plan for longer third runway chosen by government
Under the selected plan, the runway would be up to 3.5km long and require a new road tunnel under the airport.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 12:49 PM
Another day, another Green MP defending persecuted motorists.
Heathrow expansion is probably not the best idea, Gatwick has more space, though would need better rail connection. But the M25 disruption is such a dumb argument.
Heathrow expansion is probably not the best idea, Gatwick has more space, though would need better rail connection. But the M25 disruption is such a dumb argument.
If equivocation over genocidal eugenicists was an olympic sport, Atlantic staff would collect all the top spots.
Another puff piece from completely broken media establishment. Pathetic does not begin to describe it.
Another puff piece from completely broken media establishment. Pathetic does not begin to describe it.
“The entire purpose of science is to search for existential truths,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told me. “It’s not subjective. It should be objective. I believe science is a place where you can find unity if you can get a conversation going.” www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Why Is Robert F. Kennedy Jr. So Convinced He’s Right?
How an outsider, once ignored by the public-health establishment, became the most powerful man in science
www.theatlantic.com
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 AM
If equivocation over genocidal eugenicists was an olympic sport, Atlantic staff would collect all the top spots.
Another puff piece from completely broken media establishment. Pathetic does not begin to describe it.
Another puff piece from completely broken media establishment. Pathetic does not begin to describe it.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Fifteen Years
xkcd.com
November 25, 2025 at 1:58 AM
i’m not crying you’re crying
xkcd: Fifteen Years
xkcd: Fifteen Years
Yeah, British public are majority morons. We knew that already.
With Rachel Reeves reportedly set to apply a new tax on tuition fees paid by overseas students, most Britons support such a move at the previously mooted level of 6%
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
November 24, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Yeah, British public are majority morons. We knew that already.
...and that's why I fund and vote for every nominee of a government that tries to subjugate them to a neo-stalinist regime.
(I know putinism is no stalinism, but even if it was, Kaine would vote all the same anyway).
(I know putinism is no stalinism, but even if it was, Kaine would vote all the same anyway).
93 years ago, Stalin instituted a man-made famine in Ukraine to break its resistance to Soviet occupation, killing millions. Now, Putin’s war and weaponization of hunger once again threaten Ukrainians' survival. We honor the victims of Stalin's famine by supporting Ukraine today.
November 24, 2025 at 2:24 PM
...and that's why I fund and vote for every nominee of a government that tries to subjugate them to a neo-stalinist regime.
(I know putinism is no stalinism, but even if it was, Kaine would vote all the same anyway).
(I know putinism is no stalinism, but even if it was, Kaine would vote all the same anyway).
Once again, I think @ekskursje.bsky.social 's (iirc that was the term coiner) term "large stupidity collider" to describe the internet should garner a wider popularity.
I sometimes think there's something about the internet, and the way it helps you locate a bunch of people who'll validate any ludicrous shit you happen to think or do, that lies at the root of most of these pathologies. Like, it leads to conspiracism and naziism but also...
November 24, 2025 at 12:39 PM
Once again, I think @ekskursje.bsky.social 's (iirc that was the term coiner) term "large stupidity collider" to describe the internet should garner a wider popularity.
This tinfoil hat crankery is literally Vought a rebours.
November 24, 2025 at 4:07 AM
This tinfoil hat crankery is literally Vought a rebours.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
November 23, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Twitter accounts are based in Russia. BlueSky accounts are based in homes with, frankly, too many books, plants, obsolete cables, and pieces of rustic pottery, that could do with a bit of a tidying up, to be honest.
There is something funny in the American Airlines app that whenever I open it, it requires an update and then immediately crashes after that update.
November 23, 2025 at 6:02 PM
There is something funny in the American Airlines app that whenever I open it, it requires an update and then immediately crashes after that update.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Reposted by Jacek Olender
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 21, 2025 at 5:01 PM
About that exclusive, "closed-to-press" MAHA summit last week with RFK and JD Vance: I got in.
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Here's what I saw. 🧵 🧪
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Many men
Many, many, many, many men
Wish death 'pon me
Lord, I don't cry no more
Don't look to the sky no more
Have mercy on me
Many, many, many, many men
Wish death 'pon me
Lord, I don't cry no more
Don't look to the sky no more
Have mercy on me
November 23, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Many men
Many, many, many, many men
Wish death 'pon me
Lord, I don't cry no more
Don't look to the sky no more
Have mercy on me
Many, many, many, many men
Wish death 'pon me
Lord, I don't cry no more
Don't look to the sky no more
Have mercy on me