Alan Smith
@mralanjohnsmith.bsky.social
[Something vaguely political but non-committal]
[Own views disclaimer]
He/him
[Own views disclaimer]
He/him
Reposted by Alan Smith
When I see there's a radio drama by Katie Hims I know I will like it.
I started writing to explain why, then deleted it because the explanation wouldn't do the first sentence justice.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I started writing to explain why, then deleted it because the explanation wouldn't do the first sentence justice.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Secrets and Lies - Shirley's Party - BBC Sounds
By Katie Hims. An uplifting play about crisps, vodka martinis, and no more secrets.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 5, 2025 at 10:38 PM
When I see there's a radio drama by Katie Hims I know I will like it.
I started writing to explain why, then deleted it because the explanation wouldn't do the first sentence justice.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
I started writing to explain why, then deleted it because the explanation wouldn't do the first sentence justice.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
It's now official US policy to 'cultivate' far right organisations, parties or people to change the political direction of European countries. That means CIA-led 'active measures' against our democracies. The USA is currently our enemy. (See second post for the quote.)
The Trump administration released its latest National Security Strategy--and one thing that can be said is that there is no more pretending. It’s a plan to weaken European unity, to make Europe MAGA, to force Europe to take economic dictation by the USA…. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
The New US National Security Strategy
Trump Says Openly That the US Wants to Dominate Europe and Make it MAGA
open.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:52 PM
It's now official US policy to 'cultivate' far right organisations, parties or people to change the political direction of European countries. That means CIA-led 'active measures' against our democracies. The USA is currently our enemy. (See second post for the quote.)
The biggest thing I am taking from this is it's another example of a European military seemingly unable to tackle Russian-directed drones in their vicinity. If they can't be shot down (because the bullets will land somewhere!) then probably every military position needs some interceptor drones.
Christ on a cracker — these seemingly hostile drones only missed Zelensky’s plane because he was unexpectedly early www.thejournal.ie/drones-dubli...
Four unidentified military-style drones breached no-fly zone to target Zelenskyy's arrival in Dublin
Gardaí are investigating whether the drones took off from land in Dublin or from an undetected ship.
www.thejournal.ie
December 5, 2025 at 11:51 AM
The biggest thing I am taking from this is it's another example of a European military seemingly unable to tackle Russian-directed drones in their vicinity. If they can't be shot down (because the bullets will land somewhere!) then probably every military position needs some interceptor drones.
I think Trump's USA is an enemy to Europe. The extents to which it acts in our interests is incidental. (Such as allowing European countries to buy US weapons for Ukraine.) Trump's interest is Russian money.
Two days after Witkoff and Kushner met Putin, the Treasury Department partially suspended sanctions on Russia announced last October
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
www.france24.com/en/live-news...
Trump envoys press plan with Ukraine as sanctions eased on Russia
President Donald Trump's envoys were to meet Thursday with Ukrainian negotiators for the third time in two weeks to press his plan to end the war as his administration eased economic pressure on Russi...
www.france24.com
December 5, 2025 at 11:19 AM
I think Trump's USA is an enemy to Europe. The extents to which it acts in our interests is incidental. (Such as allowing European countries to buy US weapons for Ukraine.) Trump's interest is Russian money.
I often reflect on part of an interview I heard with a former anti-abortion radical activist. He explained the addiction of confrontation at demonstrations. The endorphins of the confrontation combined with the feelings of virtue and solidarity. US ICE agents will have this addiction now.
December 5, 2025 at 10:34 AM
I often reflect on part of an interview I heard with a former anti-abortion radical activist. He explained the addiction of confrontation at demonstrations. The endorphins of the confrontation combined with the feelings of virtue and solidarity. US ICE agents will have this addiction now.
Reposted by Alan Smith
Who knew one page could contain quite so much? Zooming in on the overhead spreads in This Slavery graphic novel is full of surprises…
December 5, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Who knew one page could contain quite so much? Zooming in on the overhead spreads in This Slavery graphic novel is full of surprises…
Putin is stealing Ukrainian children to turn them into Ukraine-hating Russian soldiers. Trump wants to give him more of Ukraine, which will enable him to steal more children.
Russia Systematically Abducts Ukrainian Children – US Congressional Hearing Russia is systematically abducting Ukrainian children, changing their names, forcing them to forget their language, relocating them to Russian families and institutions, and stripping them of their roots. 1/4
December 5, 2025 at 12:11 AM
Putin is stealing Ukrainian children to turn them into Ukraine-hating Russian soldiers. Trump wants to give him more of Ukraine, which will enable him to steal more children.
Cruel people don't see the satire or sadness, they only see the power of the cruel characters. See also Starship Troopers and a whole lot of war films.
DOJ's newest recruitment ad features Judge Dredd, the comic satire about the dangers of lawless policing and authoritarian power
December 4, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Cruel people don't see the satire or sadness, they only see the power of the cruel characters. See also Starship Troopers and a whole lot of war films.
The people of the world need to take down SpaceX and anything else controlled by that insane neo-Nazi who wants to move the special rich people to Mars and leave the Earth to fall into ruins provided it can supply the Mars colony. Keep him away from anything important to our planet or population.
Humankind has launch more satellites in the past four years (2021 - 2025) than in the previous seven decades.
75% of the currently active satellites belong to a single operator (SpaceX).
75% of the currently active satellites belong to a single operator (SpaceX).
December 4, 2025 at 10:59 PM
The people of the world need to take down SpaceX and anything else controlled by that insane neo-Nazi who wants to move the special rich people to Mars and leave the Earth to fall into ruins provided it can supply the Mars colony. Keep him away from anything important to our planet or population.
There are so many elephants in the room there is no space for the people. It's just elephants now. The people may as well go and do something else.
December 3, 2025 at 9:39 AM
There are so many elephants in the room there is no space for the people. It's just elephants now. The people may as well go and do something else.
Reposted by Alan Smith
“Effective immediately, 100 will now be 5,100 and—I’m reading off the official statistics from my people—500 will be 25,500,” said Trump
Trump Announces 5,000% Increase In All Numbers
WASHINGTON—Touting his latest executive order as a historic win for the U.S. economy, President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was mandating a 5,000% increase in all numbers nationwide. “Effect...
theonion.com
December 3, 2025 at 12:30 AM
“Effective immediately, 100 will now be 5,100 and—I’m reading off the official statistics from my people—500 will be 25,500,” said Trump
I have resorted to telling Facebook that I don't care how they choose to categorise a popular film from the 1980s. (I may be grumpy.)
(The image shows Google search trends for the novel idea that "Die Hard is a Christmas movie".)
(The image shows Google search trends for the novel idea that "Die Hard is a Christmas movie".)
December 3, 2025 at 12:26 AM
I have resorted to telling Facebook that I don't care how they choose to categorise a popular film from the 1980s. (I may be grumpy.)
(The image shows Google search trends for the novel idea that "Die Hard is a Christmas movie".)
(The image shows Google search trends for the novel idea that "Die Hard is a Christmas movie".)
If Pete Hegseth did give the order to “kill everybody” on the boat, as reported and now denied, to now blame the people who carried out his order is cowardice and a level of treachery that surely the US armed forces can't be expected to live with
"the combat decisions he has made" is the key phrase here -- Hegseth is making it clear he's distancing himself from the strike
December 2, 2025 at 7:53 AM
If Pete Hegseth did give the order to “kill everybody” on the boat, as reported and now denied, to now blame the people who carried out his order is cowardice and a level of treachery that surely the US armed forces can't be expected to live with
Reposted by Alan Smith
For context the 'Middle England' referred to here is the 0.5% of households living in homes worth more than £2 million
November 30, 2025 at 10:27 PM
For context the 'Middle England' referred to here is the 0.5% of households living in homes worth more than £2 million
Reposted by Alan Smith
There’s probably a group chat where the Nazis from different agency‘s social media teams brag to each other. “haha so this has a Straussian hidden meaning of embracing the confederacy but the stupid libs will look crazy if they point it out”
They're not hiding it, folks—straight up neo-Nazi advertising, from the font to the language to the 11 stars for the Confederacy. Then you have the DHS openly using white nationalist language of "remigrate", which means ethnic cleansing.
This is who MAGA is now.
This is who MAGA is now.
November 30, 2025 at 8:14 AM
There’s probably a group chat where the Nazis from different agency‘s social media teams brag to each other. “haha so this has a Straussian hidden meaning of embracing the confederacy but the stupid libs will look crazy if they point it out”
I guess Nigel Farage's party and some of the Tories will oppose this. Purely of cost grounds, they will say ...
There you go.
Parliament will now consider debate on calls for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
Parliament will now consider debate on calls for a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy
November 29, 2025 at 11:35 PM
I guess Nigel Farage's party and some of the Tories will oppose this. Purely of cost grounds, they will say ...
Reposted by Alan Smith
“A European intelligence agency distributed a hard-copy report in a manila envelope to some of the continent’s most senior national security officials...inside were details of the commercial and economic plans the US had been pursuing with Russia, including jointly mining rare earths in the Arctic.”
November 29, 2025 at 6:01 AM
“A European intelligence agency distributed a hard-copy report in a manila envelope to some of the continent’s most senior national security officials...inside were details of the commercial and economic plans the US had been pursuing with Russia, including jointly mining rare earths in the Arctic.”
This makes sense. So much of what senior managers are rewarded for producing is meaningless word salad, which is very much in LLM AI's lane.
Also prompts the question: Would replacing the C Suite and the upper management doing that 57% with LLM driven chat bots actually cause any harm? And would the harm it causes be cheaper than the salaries?
A study by Dayforce shows 87% of executives use AI for work, compared to 57% of managers and just 27% of employees.
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
I think this explains the massive disconnect we see in how CEOs talk about AI versus everyone else. It also raises the question of how useful it truly is for frontline work?
November 29, 2025 at 11:14 PM
This makes sense. So much of what senior managers are rewarded for producing is meaningless word salad, which is very much in LLM AI's lane.
Have military orders been reduced to mere sentencing mitigation under the fascist Trump administration? (Although, Trump would no doubt pardon them.)
Former US military lawyers speak out:
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
"The Former JAGs Working Group unanimously considers both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both."
Statement on Media Reports of Pentagon “No Quarter” Orders in Caribbean Boat Strikes
1/2
November 29, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Have military orders been reduced to mere sentencing mitigation under the fascist Trump administration? (Although, Trump would no doubt pardon them.)
At a time when people are already split into very different understandings of the world around them, many believing absolute fantasies created by malign actors, these tools will help cement those fantasies as realities.
Nano Banana Pro also seems to be good at moving the camera when recreating images, which can add a false sense of authenticity to sets of images, for example:
November 27, 2025 at 9:01 AM
At a time when people are already split into very different understandings of the world around them, many believing absolute fantasies created by malign actors, these tools will help cement those fantasies as realities.
I found this interesting. Not because the Guardian wants to use one paragraph to swipe at Your Party, but as a human story of people trying to navigate how to make good political change amid the inevitable internal problems of organisations.
Inside the rise and fall of Podemos: ‘We believed we had a stake in the future’
Inside the rise and fall of Podemos: ‘We believed we had a stake in the future’
The long read: The leftist party exploded out of Spain’s anti-austerity protests in 2011 and upended Spain’s entrenched two-party system. I was instantly captivated – and for the next decade, I worked for the party. But I ended up quitting politics in disappointment. What happened?
www.theguardian.com
November 27, 2025 at 8:55 AM
I found this interesting. Not because the Guardian wants to use one paragraph to swipe at Your Party, but as a human story of people trying to navigate how to make good political change amid the inevitable internal problems of organisations.
Here's a video rattling through the songs of our gig with InCORdis youtu.be/t0M-S-FkX6w?...
My favourite song is us all together at about 12 minutes. (Ay Carmela)
My favourite song is us all together at about 12 minutes. (Ay Carmela)
2025 INCORDIS i COMMONERS CHOIR
YouTube video by IgnasiSegon1
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Here's a video rattling through the songs of our gig with InCORdis youtu.be/t0M-S-FkX6w?...
My favourite song is us all together at about 12 minutes. (Ay Carmela)
My favourite song is us all together at about 12 minutes. (Ay Carmela)
Reposted by Alan Smith
Great to see the word “gobshite” in a headline. Streets ahead of the too twee “cockwomble”.
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
Anger as 'gobshite' climbs Laois Christmas Tree - News - Laois Nationalist
Anger as 'gobshite' climbs Laois Christmas Tree - News - Laois Nationalist
www.laois-nationalist.ie
November 24, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Great to see the word “gobshite” in a headline. Streets ahead of the too twee “cockwomble”.
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪
“over-reliance on Earth”
I guess a fair reflection of Musk's views by Grok. Earth is pretty important to me, if I'm honest. I think we probably shouldn't strip it of anything of value then leave it to burn and go off and live on a space base on an inhospitable planet.
I guess a fair reflection of Musk's views by Grok. Earth is pretty important to me, if I'm honest. I think we probably shouldn't strip it of anything of value then leave it to burn and go off and live on a space base on an inhospitable planet.
I asked grok who was the better role model for humanity, Jesus Christ or Elon Musk. GUESS WHAT.
November 21, 2025 at 11:55 AM
“over-reliance on Earth”
I guess a fair reflection of Musk's views by Grok. Earth is pretty important to me, if I'm honest. I think we probably shouldn't strip it of anything of value then leave it to burn and go off and live on a space base on an inhospitable planet.
I guess a fair reflection of Musk's views by Grok. Earth is pretty important to me, if I'm honest. I think we probably shouldn't strip it of anything of value then leave it to burn and go off and live on a space base on an inhospitable planet.