Richard at UKverified
@ukverified.bsky.social
I don't claim the past was better but progress isn't what it used to be with inequality, poverty and political disillusionment on the rise.
Interests: Politics, news and current affairs.
Interests: Politics, news and current affairs.
When AI has replaced entry level jobs who will then fill the jobs in the next level up when they become vacant... further advances in AI or inexperienced entrants?
Presumably, the former process will stop at the C-suite?
fortune.com/2025/12/16/a...
Presumably, the former process will stop at the C-suite?
fortune.com/2025/12/16/a...
fortune.com
December 21, 2025 at 12:31 PM
When AI has replaced entry level jobs who will then fill the jobs in the next level up when they become vacant... further advances in AI or inexperienced entrants?
Presumably, the former process will stop at the C-suite?
fortune.com/2025/12/16/a...
Presumably, the former process will stop at the C-suite?
fortune.com/2025/12/16/a...
Another open secret is why essay cheating persists. Universities are heavily dependent on overseas student fees, while high grades boost institutional status, rankings and course demand.
However, is this good for higher education, students or wider society?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
However, is this good for higher education, students or wider society?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Essay cheating at universities an 'open secret' despite new law
An essay mill owner says he's made millions, while an ex-lecturer says he quit due to rife cheating.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 17, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Another open secret is why essay cheating persists. Universities are heavily dependent on overseas student fees, while high grades boost institutional status, rankings and course demand.
However, is this good for higher education, students or wider society?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
However, is this good for higher education, students or wider society?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"In France, the mental health of young people has deteriorated in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic."
The pandemic damaged the future of a generation.
www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
The pandemic damaged the future of a generation.
www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
France in focus - Mental health crisis reaches new lows for French teens
In France, the mental health of young people has deteriorated in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic. In this edition, we met several young people suffering from mental health strug...
www.france24.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"In France, the mental health of young people has deteriorated in recent years, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic."
The pandemic damaged the future of a generation.
www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
The pandemic damaged the future of a generation.
www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/...
Ukraine: A peace deal based on a piece of the action for those both in Russia and America who are negotiating the deal.
"bribery disguised as peace, it normalises conquest as a viable investment strategy."
pdjukes.substack.com/p/bribery-di...
"bribery disguised as peace, it normalises conquest as a viable investment strategy."
pdjukes.substack.com/p/bribery-di...
Bribery Disguised as Peace: From the Mariupol Plan to the Witkoff Deal
Manafort, Giuliani, Gill and now Witkoff all acted as enforcers for Putin’s protection racket. If the West accepts bribery disguised as peace, it normalises conquest as a viable investment strategy
pdjukes.substack.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Ukraine: A peace deal based on a piece of the action for those both in Russia and America who are negotiating the deal.
"bribery disguised as peace, it normalises conquest as a viable investment strategy."
pdjukes.substack.com/p/bribery-di...
"bribery disguised as peace, it normalises conquest as a viable investment strategy."
pdjukes.substack.com/p/bribery-di...
Donald Trump's tariffs: A majority of Americans don't understand what they actually are.
December 2, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Donald Trump's tariffs: A majority of Americans don't understand what they actually are.
A rail fare freeze: Like the Fuel Duty Freeze it would be a 'hostage to fortune' on future Budgets. It is a political gimmick not sensible economics. Little wonder the tax system is in a mess when Chancellors play politics and not managing the government's finances.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Rail fares to be frozen in England next year
Regulated fares, which include season tickets and off-peak returns, will not see annual price rises for the first time in 30 years, the government announces.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:55 AM
A rail fare freeze: Like the Fuel Duty Freeze it would be a 'hostage to fortune' on future Budgets. It is a political gimmick not sensible economics. Little wonder the tax system is in a mess when Chancellors play politics and not managing the government's finances.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Offshore Gambling Companies: Tax expert Dan Neidle discovers a possible Brexit Benefit.
Sky Bet's offshoring activities. "This kind of approach would be prohibited by EU law if we were still a member of the EU; but of course we are not."
taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/11/18/s...
Sky Bet's offshoring activities. "This kind of approach would be prohibited by EU law if we were still a member of the EU; but of course we are not."
taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/11/18/s...
Betting on tax avoidance - is Sky Bet avoiding £55m tax per year?
ITV News has just broadcast an investigation: gambling company Sky Bet has migrated its business to Malta to avoid around £55m of tax each year. We provided technical support for the investigation…
taxpolicy.org.uk
November 23, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Offshore Gambling Companies: Tax expert Dan Neidle discovers a possible Brexit Benefit.
Sky Bet's offshoring activities. "This kind of approach would be prohibited by EU law if we were still a member of the EU; but of course we are not."
taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/11/18/s...
Sky Bet's offshoring activities. "This kind of approach would be prohibited by EU law if we were still a member of the EU; but of course we are not."
taxpolicy.org.uk/2025/11/18/s...
The Epstein Files: Include "In 2018, internal briefings on Bannon’s efforts to build a European alliance of right-wing parties – which named Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orban and Nigel Farage – were circulated to Epstein as part of a shared email thread."
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/17/j...
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/17/j...
Jeffrey Epstein Had Access to Trump's Inner Circle, While Working With Steve Bannon
Emails and text messages reveal Jeffrey Epstein had a direct line into Donald Trump’s inner circle while Bannon worked to rehabilitate him in the hours before his arrest
bylinetimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
The Epstein Files: Include "In 2018, internal briefings on Bannon’s efforts to build a European alliance of right-wing parties – which named Matteo Salvini, Viktor Orban and Nigel Farage – were circulated to Epstein as part of a shared email thread."
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/17/j...
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/17/j...
Covid Inquiry - Government no stars: Chairwoman of the inquiry, former judge Baroness Hallett, said the UK's response could be summarised as "too little, too late".
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Covid inquiry: Lockdown could have been avoided and other key findings
The long-awaited report is published into how well or badly the government handled the Covid pandemic.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Covid Inquiry - Government no stars: Chairwoman of the inquiry, former judge Baroness Hallett, said the UK's response could be summarised as "too little, too late".
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"This change in what people eat is fuelled by powerful global corporations who generate huge profits by prioritising ultra-processed products, supported by extensive marketing and political lobbying to stop effective public health policies to support healthy eating"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Ultra-processed food is global health threat, experts warn
It is increasing our risk of a range of chronic diseases, including obesity and depression, a major review says.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 8:48 AM
"This change in what people eat is fuelled by powerful global corporations who generate huge profits by prioritising ultra-processed products, supported by extensive marketing and political lobbying to stop effective public health policies to support healthy eating"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The BBC and Gaza: “Day after day, I saw the world’s most influential newsroom bend under political pressure,”
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Inside the BBC’s Gaza Fiasco • EQUATOR
How the world’s most trusted media organisation fell apart
www.equator.org
November 19, 2025 at 8:13 PM
The BBC and Gaza: “Day after day, I saw the world’s most influential newsroom bend under political pressure,”
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Were it not for regulation and regulations that are enforced then consumers would find themselves regularly done over by business.
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Hotel adverts banned by watchdog over misleadingly cheap rooms
Ads for Hilton, Travelodge, Booking.com and Accor are banned by the Advertising Standards Authority.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 10:27 AM
Were it not for regulation and regulations that are enforced then consumers would find themselves regularly done over by business.
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Lord Mandelson: Kensington and Chelsea Council open a leak inquiry.
#ukpolitics
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Council investigating Lord Mandelson for peeing in the street
Lord Mandelson was caught urinating in public while waiting for a late-night Uber after visiting George Osborne's home in Notting Hill, west London, last week. But he now faces a potential fine.
www.dailymail.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Lord Mandelson: Kensington and Chelsea Council open a leak inquiry.
#ukpolitics
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
#ukpolitics
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Gaza: The border agents told them they had been detained because they posed a “national security threat to Canada.”
Richard Falk is 95 and his wife is 71 nonetheless in this crazy world they are deemed a security risk.
countercurrents.org/2025/11/the-...
Richard Falk is 95 and his wife is 71 nonetheless in this crazy world they are deemed a security risk.
countercurrents.org/2025/11/the-...
The Interrogation of Richard Falk: When Speaking Truth Becomes a “National Security Threat” | Countercurrents
Author’s Note I wrote this essay to show what really happened when Richard Falk and Hilal Elver were detained at the Canadian border — and to explore what it reveals about power, accountability…
countercurrents.org
November 18, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Gaza: The border agents told them they had been detained because they posed a “national security threat to Canada.”
Richard Falk is 95 and his wife is 71 nonetheless in this crazy world they are deemed a security risk.
countercurrents.org/2025/11/the-...
Richard Falk is 95 and his wife is 71 nonetheless in this crazy world they are deemed a security risk.
countercurrents.org/2025/11/the-...
Rotten Boroughs: "Michael Situ has resigned as the Cabinet Member for Housing at Southwark Council - the same borough where Chancellor Rachel Reeves broke renting rules."
#ukpolitics
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
#ukpolitics
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
London housing boss quits over Rachel Reeves-esque landlord licence mistake
Southwark Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing, Michael Situ, admitted he did not obtain the correct permissions to let out his Peckham properties
www.standard.co.uk
November 17, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Rotten Boroughs: "Michael Situ has resigned as the Cabinet Member for Housing at Southwark Council - the same borough where Chancellor Rachel Reeves broke renting rules."
#ukpolitics
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
#ukpolitics
www.standard.co.uk/news/politic...
November 17, 2025 at 9:17 AM
When extremists gain power then bad things happen. A shocking tale of the treatment that some young women were subject to in Franco's Spain.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Patronato: My mum was a 17-year-old free spirit in Franco's Spain - so she was locked up and put in a coma
Marina's mother was held against her will in a convent in 1960s Spain under Franco's regime.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 16, 2025 at 6:21 PM
When extremists gain power then bad things happen. A shocking tale of the treatment that some young women were subject to in Franco's Spain.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sir Robbie Gibb, "An analogy would be a fixer for Gordon Brown nominating Tony Blair’s chief spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, for a seat on the BBC board. Imagine the furore"... from those fulminating
#ukpolitics
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
#ukpolitics
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
The real threat to BBC impartiality
The BBC has suffered a week of mistakes, resignations and the threat of a $1bn lawsuit. But the biggest risks of bias are in the boardroom, not the ne...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Sir Robbie Gibb, "An analogy would be a fixer for Gordon Brown nominating Tony Blair’s chief spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, for a seat on the BBC board. Imagine the furore"... from those fulminating
#ukpolitics
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
#ukpolitics
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/media/...
Dieselgate: This time the 'dirty diesels' are Ford diesel cars sold between 2018 and 2018. Profit always takes precedence over standards and regulations. Whatever businesses might claim always remember that the bottom line is profit.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
About 1m Ford diesel cars sold in UK with defective emissions controls, court told
Ford denies having created ‘defeat devices’ in legal action on behalf of 1.6 million owners against five carmakers
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Dieselgate: This time the 'dirty diesels' are Ford diesel cars sold between 2018 and 2018. Profit always takes precedence over standards and regulations. Whatever businesses might claim always remember that the bottom line is profit.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins.
A plan the international community should have nothing to do with.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
A plan the international community should have nothing to do with.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
US military planning for divided Gaza with ‘green zone’ secured by international and Israeli troops
Exclusive: Almost all Palestinians have been displaced to ‘red zone’ where no reconstruction is planned
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:27 PM
The US is planning for the long-term division of Gaza into a “green zone” under Israeli and international military control, where reconstruction would start, and a “red zone” to be left in ruins.
A plan the international community should have nothing to do with.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
A plan the international community should have nothing to do with.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard on Thames Water, “What is the government doing letting a bunch of people run the largest water utility in the country and behave this way?”
What indeed?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
What indeed?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Thames Water tried to make MP pay its legal fees of up to £1,400 an hour
Exclusive: Charlie Maynard accuses the utility of ‘retaliation’ over his push for government to gain control of company
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard on Thames Water, “What is the government doing letting a bunch of people run the largest water utility in the country and behave this way?”
What indeed?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
What indeed?
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Watch out, watch out, there's a scam about. Indeed, as there's a multitude of them out there with these being just the latest.
northeastbylines.co.uk/business/ban...
northeastbylines.co.uk/business/ban...
Banking, Lidl and other recent scams
A range of current scams to watch for
northeastbylines.co.uk
November 15, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Watch out, watch out, there's a scam about. Indeed, as there's a multitude of them out there with these being just the latest.
northeastbylines.co.uk/business/ban...
northeastbylines.co.uk/business/ban...
"Tim Davie’s predecessor as BBC director general [Tony Hall] is leading calls to end political appointments to the broadcaster’s board amid concerns over the influence of Robbie Gibb."
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
Ex-BBC boss leads calls for end to political appointments to board
Tony Hall urges government to bolster BBC’s independence as MPs and union seek Robbie Gibb’s removal from board
www.theguardian.com
November 15, 2025 at 10:41 AM
"Tim Davie’s predecessor as BBC director general [Tony Hall] is leading calls to end political appointments to the broadcaster’s board amid concerns over the influence of Robbie Gibb."
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
2024 - "what we got was a complacent general election campaign focusing entirely on the faults of the incumbents and a series of hostages to fortune on tax that have left the new government hobbled ever since."
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/14/l...
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/14/l...
Labour's Biggest Problem Is Not a Lack of Leadership but a Lack of Ideas
Until Keir Starmer's party decides what it really stands for, the question of who leads them will remain a hollow one, argues Adam Bienkov
bylinetimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:36 PM
2024 - "what we got was a complacent general election campaign focusing entirely on the faults of the incumbents and a series of hostages to fortune on tax that have left the new government hobbled ever since."
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/14/l...
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/14/l...