Thérèse
@tiggertherese.bsky.social
European, veg grower, archaic surfer, economist & extremely appalled ex-central banker.
RT ≠ endorsement. I may not entirely agree with all my own views either.
https://mastodon.social/@tiggertherese
https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/784397322696509320
RT ≠ endorsement. I may not entirely agree with all my own views either.
https://mastodon.social/@tiggertherese
https://pixelfed.social/i/web/profile/784397322696509320
Pinned
Reposted by Thérèse
BBC headline utterly failing. ‘The saga of a £165m rail line that keeps causing travel chaos’
It’s not the rail line that “keeps causing travel chaos” its the shifting climate with more prolonged and intense rainfall and more frequent storms leading to landslips and the sea wall being washed out.
It’s not the rail line that “keeps causing travel chaos” its the shifting climate with more prolonged and intense rainfall and more frequent storms leading to landslips and the sea wall being washed out.
February 15, 2026 at 11:49 PM
BBC headline utterly failing. ‘The saga of a £165m rail line that keeps causing travel chaos’
It’s not the rail line that “keeps causing travel chaos” its the shifting climate with more prolonged and intense rainfall and more frequent storms leading to landslips and the sea wall being washed out.
It’s not the rail line that “keeps causing travel chaos” its the shifting climate with more prolonged and intense rainfall and more frequent storms leading to landslips and the sea wall being washed out.
Reposted by Thérèse
I saw someone use the acronym 'ai;dr' and I can see I'm going to be using it a lot
February 15, 2026 at 10:30 PM
I saw someone use the acronym 'ai;dr' and I can see I'm going to be using it a lot
Reposted by Thérèse
It does not take any especial brand of genius to understand that if you have no moral standards and don't care about breaking the law, you can accumulate wealth and power in a way that people who are morally and ethically upright cannot.
February 15, 2026 at 7:58 PM
It does not take any especial brand of genius to understand that if you have no moral standards and don't care about breaking the law, you can accumulate wealth and power in a way that people who are morally and ethically upright cannot.
Reposted by Thérèse
Relatedly: a lot of people use the term "millionaire" as short hand for "wealthy person" when that really isn't the case any more. 18% of U.S. households (including mine) have a paper net worth over $1 million. Using "millionaire" in conjunction with people like Elon Musk minimizes Musk's influence.
February 15, 2026 at 8:15 PM
Relatedly: a lot of people use the term "millionaire" as short hand for "wealthy person" when that really isn't the case any more. 18% of U.S. households (including mine) have a paper net worth over $1 million. Using "millionaire" in conjunction with people like Elon Musk minimizes Musk's influence.
Reposted by Thérèse
As somebody who has worked on Wall Street for the last 19 years, I promise you that a lot of people who are insanely rich - not just average millionaires, people with true wealth - are dumb as dog shit, but just have no morals and know ways to make tons of money by not caring about hurting people.
Dumb and evil are not mutually exclusive and Elon is not a genius, or even an above average thinker. I have dealt with enough of these people directly to see their stupidity in action, not just reading about it on this website.
I am once again begging liberals to understand the difference between dumb (which they are not) and evil (which they are).
Do people like Elizabeth truly not grasp this? You are *paid to observe people*!!! How much more do you need to see?
Do people like Elizabeth truly not grasp this? You are *paid to observe people*!!! How much more do you need to see?
February 15, 2026 at 8:05 PM
As somebody who has worked on Wall Street for the last 19 years, I promise you that a lot of people who are insanely rich - not just average millionaires, people with true wealth - are dumb as dog shit, but just have no morals and know ways to make tons of money by not caring about hurting people.
Reposted by Thérèse
This is the Gov looking for your input on the BBC. It takes a while to complete (15/20 mins) but it’s pretty comprehensive and covers most aspects.
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Britain’s Story: The Next Chapter - BBC Royal Charter Review, Green Paper and public consultation
www.gov.uk
February 15, 2026 at 6:19 PM
This is the Gov looking for your input on the BBC. It takes a while to complete (15/20 mins) but it’s pretty comprehensive and covers most aspects.
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Please share. I’m surprised many people haven’t seen it yet.
www.gov.uk/government/c...
Reposted by Thérèse
The Dawlish - Teignmouth railway line feels like the absolute front line of climate adaptation in Britain (a test we are not passing so far).
And yet somehow, somehow, this article manages to go in-depth on the problems with the line without mentioning the climate once. The sea is literally higher!
And yet somehow, somehow, this article manages to go in-depth on the problems with the line without mentioning the climate once. The sea is literally higher!
Fresh fears for South West's rail link in Dawlish after storms
Taxpayer money has flowed into fixing the rail line connecting Cornwall with the rest of the UK - but the elements have other ideas.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 15, 2026 at 8:27 PM
The Dawlish - Teignmouth railway line feels like the absolute front line of climate adaptation in Britain (a test we are not passing so far).
And yet somehow, somehow, this article manages to go in-depth on the problems with the line without mentioning the climate once. The sea is literally higher!
And yet somehow, somehow, this article manages to go in-depth on the problems with the line without mentioning the climate once. The sea is literally higher!
Reposted by Thérèse
The "weird" thing worked for Harris and Walz until the sensibles put Walz back in his box. Crazy that Labour haven't learned the lesson here.
This is why the govts failure to use their bully pulpit to constantly paint Reform as unpatriotic, pro-Trump, anti-Ukraine, weird misogynistic racists is such a catastrophic failure. These people are very open to being convinced!
Speaking to them many don’t really have more faith in Reform than any other party, don’t see Farage as messiah, do worry a Reform Government could be like Trump’s admin (which is v unpopular & top barrier to voting reform). They just think we may have to give something else a try
February 15, 2026 at 8:31 PM
The "weird" thing worked for Harris and Walz until the sensibles put Walz back in his box. Crazy that Labour haven't learned the lesson here.
Reposted by Thérèse
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 8:05 PM
I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.
Reposted by Thérèse
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial
Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported
www.theguardian.com
February 15, 2026 at 3:40 PM
And another bites the dust?
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Thérèse
Oh, Daily Mail, never let history get in the way of a dramatic headline.
“Will Andrew become the first royal to go to prison?”
The Tower of London would like a word.
“Will Andrew become the first royal to go to prison?”
The Tower of London would like a word.
February 15, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Oh, Daily Mail, never let history get in the way of a dramatic headline.
“Will Andrew become the first royal to go to prison?”
The Tower of London would like a word.
“Will Andrew become the first royal to go to prison?”
The Tower of London would like a word.
Reposted by Thérèse
Well driverless vehicles can only plausibly work if people and bikes aren't allowed on the road. Otherwise you just stand in front of them and the entire system breaks.
Politics London discussing driverless taxis casually referring to “jaywalking pedestrians”.
Jaywalking is not a thing in UK law.
Transport for London and Government had better not be asleep at the wheel on this.
Jaywalking is not a thing in UK law.
Transport for London and Government had better not be asleep at the wheel on this.
February 15, 2026 at 5:04 PM
Well driverless vehicles can only plausibly work if people and bikes aren't allowed on the road. Otherwise you just stand in front of them and the entire system breaks.
Reposted by Thérèse
It's unchartered, but we can see the terrain: the territory ahead includes masked secret police taking people to concentration camps but not new vaccines. That's our reward for a system in which fewer than 20 people, all of them deranged and malicious, control over $3 trillion.
The pace at which US wealth concentration is rising is simply staggering
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
The concentration of AI wealth into the hands of a few tech barons + plutocratic capture ==> unchartered territory
February 15, 2026 at 3:19 PM
It's unchartered, but we can see the terrain: the territory ahead includes masked secret police taking people to concentration camps but not new vaccines. That's our reward for a system in which fewer than 20 people, all of them deranged and malicious, control over $3 trillion.
Reposted by Thérèse
One of the morals of the Epstein story is that when governments stop funding research, foreign aid, and the arts, the void is filled with billionaires who use nonprofits as vehicles for political intrigue.
February 15, 2026 at 1:32 PM
One of the morals of the Epstein story is that when governments stop funding research, foreign aid, and the arts, the void is filled with billionaires who use nonprofits as vehicles for political intrigue.
It's not just timing. Andrew MW leaked confidential material like a sieve - just like Mandelson.
Neither of them had any respect for the law/confidentiality.
Neither of them had any respect for the law/confidentiality.
Sometimes the Epstein Files appal simply by a revelation of timings. The MoS emailed the incendiary photo of Andrew with Virginia Giuffre on 26/2/2011, via his Press Sec, on agreed terms, strictly for ‘his eyes only’.
61 minutes later, he sent it to Epstein.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
61 minutes later, he sent it to Epstein.
(www.justice.gov/epstein/file...)
February 15, 2026 at 5:40 PM
It's not just timing. Andrew MW leaked confidential material like a sieve - just like Mandelson.
Neither of them had any respect for the law/confidentiality.
Neither of them had any respect for the law/confidentiality.
Reposted by Thérèse
Same guy would complain bitterly if the EP did actually elect the Commission directly.
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski just schooled Czech Deputy Prime Minister Petr Macinka into accepting that the European Union operates as a democracy.
Populists have nowhere to hide when met with hard facts.
An extraordinary exchange. Well worth a watch.
Populists have nowhere to hide when met with hard facts.
An extraordinary exchange. Well worth a watch.
February 15, 2026 at 4:06 PM
Same guy would complain bitterly if the EP did actually elect the Commission directly.
Reposted by Thérèse
The first episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was originally broadcast on this day in 1973.
February 15, 2026 at 4:07 PM
The first episode of Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em was originally broadcast on this day in 1973.
Reposted by Thérèse
some past “multicultural economic zones” you may recall include the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire.
while all of these had significant problems “no one will die to defend them” was memorably not among them
while all of these had significant problems “no one will die to defend them” was memorably not among them
1/3 What Musk is really referring to here is, of course “race” - that construct that served to define the hierarchies of wealth & power structured by modern colonialism. Like other far right racists though, he uses the word “culture” as a seemingly less pernicious synonym.
February 15, 2026 at 3:58 PM
some past “multicultural economic zones” you may recall include the Roman Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the British Empire.
while all of these had significant problems “no one will die to defend them” was memorably not among them
while all of these had significant problems “no one will die to defend them” was memorably not among them
Reposted by Thérèse
Extraordinary scenes in southern France, where the Garonne river “est sortie de son lit” - here at La Reole, a point on the Canal entre deux Mers route from Bordeaux to the Med, river levels are *nine and a half metres* higher than normal!
Inondations : la crue généralisée dépasse tous les records
Samedi 14 février, la Gironde et le Lot-et-Garonne sont en alerte rouge pour crues, tandis que 14 autres départements sont en vigilance orange. Une situation inédite qui inquiète, et qui risque de se ...
www.franceinfo.fr
February 15, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Extraordinary scenes in southern France, where the Garonne river “est sortie de son lit” - here at La Reole, a point on the Canal entre deux Mers route from Bordeaux to the Med, river levels are *nine and a half metres* higher than normal!
Reposted by Thérèse
Imagine being so "patriotic" that you protest the Royal National Lifeboat Institute for saving lives.
Racist morons fuelled by hate.
Racist morons fuelled by hate.
February 15, 2026 at 8:29 AM
Imagine being so "patriotic" that you protest the Royal National Lifeboat Institute for saving lives.
Racist morons fuelled by hate.
Racist morons fuelled by hate.
Reposted by Thérèse
VIDEO: 🇸🇳 Surfing entices Senegalese girls back to school
Senegal's primary school completion rate was just 60% for girls and 55% for boys in 2022, according to the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
Senegal's primary school completion rate was just 60% for girls and 55% for boys in 2022, according to the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
February 15, 2026 at 4:17 PM
VIDEO: 🇸🇳 Surfing entices Senegalese girls back to school
Senegal's primary school completion rate was just 60% for girls and 55% for boys in 2022, according to the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
Senegal's primary school completion rate was just 60% for girls and 55% for boys in 2022, according to the UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa
Reposted by Thérèse
15 years ago today I arrived on Downing Street in a cage.
I've seen off Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and I'm still going strong.
Only two Prime Ministers have ever done longer stints here: William Pitt the Younger and Sir Robert Walpole.
Bill and Bob - I'm coming for you...
(Photos AP)
I've seen off Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and I'm still going strong.
Only two Prime Ministers have ever done longer stints here: William Pitt the Younger and Sir Robert Walpole.
Bill and Bob - I'm coming for you...
(Photos AP)
February 15, 2026 at 11:07 AM
15 years ago today I arrived on Downing Street in a cage.
I've seen off Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and I'm still going strong.
Only two Prime Ministers have ever done longer stints here: William Pitt the Younger and Sir Robert Walpole.
Bill and Bob - I'm coming for you...
(Photos AP)
I've seen off Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak and I'm still going strong.
Only two Prime Ministers have ever done longer stints here: William Pitt the Younger and Sir Robert Walpole.
Bill and Bob - I'm coming for you...
(Photos AP)
Reposted by Thérèse
I rang in sick for work, not because I was ill, but because our cat, who has never once given me a second of affection, fell asleep tucked into my lap. There was no way I was moving anywhere.
February 15, 2026 at 4:20 PM
I rang in sick for work, not because I was ill, but because our cat, who has never once given me a second of affection, fell asleep tucked into my lap. There was no way I was moving anywhere.