Alistair Barrie
@alistairbarrie.com
Comedian, allegedly. Latest special 'Woke in Progress' out now on ITVX: www.alistairbarrie.com
Hm. A private members club for people who want to sexualise kids. Has a certain ‘ring’ to it, no?
Not sure how much more violence Trump needs to distract from his own ring, but I do wonder if this isn’t, & I say this deeply uneasily, a good time for Grok to get brushed under the Oval Office carpet.
Not sure how much more violence Trump needs to distract from his own ring, but I do wonder if this isn’t, & I say this deeply uneasily, a good time for Grok to get brushed under the Oval Office carpet.
January 11, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Hm. A private members club for people who want to sexualise kids. Has a certain ‘ring’ to it, no?
Not sure how much more violence Trump needs to distract from his own ring, but I do wonder if this isn’t, & I say this deeply uneasily, a good time for Grok to get brushed under the Oval Office carpet.
Not sure how much more violence Trump needs to distract from his own ring, but I do wonder if this isn’t, & I say this deeply uneasily, a good time for Grok to get brushed under the Oval Office carpet.
Pretty sure my preference for BlueSky over X doesn’t have any bearing on that. What is undeniable is echo chambers on the right have been weaponised (especially X) in a way a platform with no algorithim can’t be.
All for confronting confirmation bias, but that is different from shared opinions.
All for confronting confirmation bias, but that is different from shared opinions.
January 11, 2026 at 9:15 AM
Pretty sure my preference for BlueSky over X doesn’t have any bearing on that. What is undeniable is echo chambers on the right have been weaponised (especially X) in a way a platform with no algorithim can’t be.
All for confronting confirmation bias, but that is different from shared opinions.
All for confronting confirmation bias, but that is different from shared opinions.
I can’t believe Trump got to the Primaries, let alone the nomination.
I stood in Trump Tower in 1989 & knew he was rotten to the core then. But I am not American.
He won by a whisker in ‘16 when the polls were way off.
Was pretty sure he’d win in ‘24 cos Democrats screwed their own democracy.
I stood in Trump Tower in 1989 & knew he was rotten to the core then. But I am not American.
He won by a whisker in ‘16 when the polls were way off.
Was pretty sure he’d win in ‘24 cos Democrats screwed their own democracy.
January 11, 2026 at 9:07 AM
I can’t believe Trump got to the Primaries, let alone the nomination.
I stood in Trump Tower in 1989 & knew he was rotten to the core then. But I am not American.
He won by a whisker in ‘16 when the polls were way off.
Was pretty sure he’d win in ‘24 cos Democrats screwed their own democracy.
I stood in Trump Tower in 1989 & knew he was rotten to the core then. But I am not American.
He won by a whisker in ‘16 when the polls were way off.
Was pretty sure he’d win in ‘24 cos Democrats screwed their own democracy.
I’d heard about it so wanted to just see how crazy it was. So the comedy came as a very happy surprise, which is obviously the best kind. 👍👍👍
January 11, 2026 at 9:02 AM
I’d heard about it so wanted to just see how crazy it was. So the comedy came as a very happy surprise, which is obviously the best kind. 👍👍👍
I doubt they’ll go for a third impeachment until they have the numbers to ensure they don’t lose a third time. Which they will not have.
January 11, 2026 at 8:54 AM
I doubt they’ll go for a third impeachment until they have the numbers to ensure they don’t lose a third time. Which they will not have.
That doesn’t alter the fact that an ‘echo chamber’ can still be a place of meaningful, truthful and impassioned debate.
There is a world of difference between a meeting of vaguely like-minded souls and a platform run by & for the benefit of one elderly, corrupt & insane old man.
There is a world of difference between a meeting of vaguely like-minded souls and a platform run by & for the benefit of one elderly, corrupt & insane old man.
January 11, 2026 at 8:47 AM
That doesn’t alter the fact that an ‘echo chamber’ can still be a place of meaningful, truthful and impassioned debate.
There is a world of difference between a meeting of vaguely like-minded souls and a platform run by & for the benefit of one elderly, corrupt & insane old man.
There is a world of difference between a meeting of vaguely like-minded souls and a platform run by & for the benefit of one elderly, corrupt & insane old man.
Why would his enablers remove a useful idiot who is simply becoming more idiotic and more useful to their project?
Trump proved he was unfit for office decades before he even considered running for it. The time to stop him has long gone and a lot of the damage already done.
Trump proved he was unfit for office decades before he even considered running for it. The time to stop him has long gone and a lot of the damage already done.
January 11, 2026 at 8:41 AM
Why would his enablers remove a useful idiot who is simply becoming more idiotic and more useful to their project?
Trump proved he was unfit for office decades before he even considered running for it. The time to stop him has long gone and a lot of the damage already done.
Trump proved he was unfit for office decades before he even considered running for it. The time to stop him has long gone and a lot of the damage already done.
Agreed. I haven’t had nearly as many political disputes though. Very happy to engage in debate. I find bad actors tend to reveal themselves very quickly - I really don’t have the time/inclination to engage.
I block A LOT quicker than I used to. They just want a rise I’m not inclined to give them.
I block A LOT quicker than I used to. They just want a rise I’m not inclined to give them.
January 11, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Agreed. I haven’t had nearly as many political disputes though. Very happy to engage in debate. I find bad actors tend to reveal themselves very quickly - I really don’t have the time/inclination to engage.
I block A LOT quicker than I used to. They just want a rise I’m not inclined to give them.
I block A LOT quicker than I used to. They just want a rise I’m not inclined to give them.
Syria this morning. You can’t deny he’s really ramping it up for ‘26.
January 11, 2026 at 8:24 AM
Syria this morning. You can’t deny he’s really ramping it up for ‘26.
Every time I end up in an A&E I’m torn impossibly between sympathy for the patients and sympathy for the staff. It must be hell on earth to be doing your best to help a whole range of desperate people in need of urgent medical help without the resources. The only thing worse is to be one of them.
January 11, 2026 at 8:23 AM
Every time I end up in an A&E I’m torn impossibly between sympathy for the patients and sympathy for the staff. It must be hell on earth to be doing your best to help a whole range of desperate people in need of urgent medical help without the resources. The only thing worse is to be one of them.
Oh I did. Very quickly.
January 11, 2026 at 12:08 AM
Oh I did. Very quickly.
Reposted by Alistair Barrie
A few tips for a more pleasurable experience here…
Curate your own feed by who you follow but also don’t hesitate to block anyone who is rude or upsets you. Bluesky’s ‘nuclear block’ will remove them from your mentions so your followers will benefit too.
Curate your own feed by who you follow but also don’t hesitate to block anyone who is rude or upsets you. Bluesky’s ‘nuclear block’ will remove them from your mentions so your followers will benefit too.
January 10, 2026 at 6:40 PM
A few tips for a more pleasurable experience here…
Curate your own feed by who you follow but also don’t hesitate to block anyone who is rude or upsets you. Bluesky’s ‘nuclear block’ will remove them from your mentions so your followers will benefit too.
Curate your own feed by who you follow but also don’t hesitate to block anyone who is rude or upsets you. Bluesky’s ‘nuclear block’ will remove them from your mentions so your followers will benefit too.
It’s a f*cking dreadful take.
“If I jump in the shark infested water with lumps of meat attached to me I might get eaten, but if I don’t the sharks will still go hunting,” is pretty much the line.
F*ck the sharks.
“If I jump in the shark infested water with lumps of meat attached to me I might get eaten, but if I don’t the sharks will still go hunting,” is pretty much the line.
F*ck the sharks.
January 11, 2026 at 12:04 AM
It’s a f*cking dreadful take.
“If I jump in the shark infested water with lumps of meat attached to me I might get eaten, but if I don’t the sharks will still go hunting,” is pretty much the line.
F*ck the sharks.
“If I jump in the shark infested water with lumps of meat attached to me I might get eaten, but if I don’t the sharks will still go hunting,” is pretty much the line.
F*ck the sharks.
Reposted by Alistair Barrie
(Also, there is another fundamental difference in the two ‘echo chambers’. X has an algorithm manipulated by a fascist. BlueSky doesn’t have an algorithm. There is a huge difference between a community of like minded individuals, & one constantly being fed red meat to appeal to its baser instincts.)
January 10, 2026 at 1:48 PM
(Also, there is another fundamental difference in the two ‘echo chambers’. X has an algorithm manipulated by a fascist. BlueSky doesn’t have an algorithm. There is a huge difference between a community of like minded individuals, & one constantly being fed red meat to appeal to its baser instincts.)
I once blurted out “ ‘Naked’ is the best film ever made!” to Mike Leigh outside a Kings Cross Pub and he looked genuinely (and I think to be fair, understandably) alarmed.
January 10, 2026 at 11:55 PM
I once blurted out “ ‘Naked’ is the best film ever made!” to Mike Leigh outside a Kings Cross Pub and he looked genuinely (and I think to be fair, understandably) alarmed.
There are very good reasons the man who invented the internet has said the algorithm should be made illegal.
I’m very hopeful one day it will, but watch those billionaires kick, scream & spend sizeable portions of their fortunes trying to prevent it.
I’m very hopeful one day it will, but watch those billionaires kick, scream & spend sizeable portions of their fortunes trying to prevent it.
January 10, 2026 at 11:50 PM
There are very good reasons the man who invented the internet has said the algorithm should be made illegal.
I’m very hopeful one day it will, but watch those billionaires kick, scream & spend sizeable portions of their fortunes trying to prevent it.
I’m very hopeful one day it will, but watch those billionaires kick, scream & spend sizeable portions of their fortunes trying to prevent it.
If you think 'X is probably the most non-partisan platform', I'd say that makes you either stark raving mad, a bad actor, or both. And anonymous. What a surprise.
You can tell some things are changing. Blocking A LOT more here in 2026. With impunity.
You can tell some things are changing. Blocking A LOT more here in 2026. With impunity.
January 10, 2026 at 11:22 PM
If you think 'X is probably the most non-partisan platform', I'd say that makes you either stark raving mad, a bad actor, or both. And anonymous. What a surprise.
You can tell some things are changing. Blocking A LOT more here in 2026. With impunity.
You can tell some things are changing. Blocking A LOT more here in 2026. With impunity.
I'm in the UK. And I agree.
January 10, 2026 at 11:11 PM
I'm in the UK. And I agree.
Here has no algorithim. BIG difference.
January 10, 2026 at 11:09 PM
Here has no algorithim. BIG difference.
The only thing I disagree with there is your assessment of my optimism.
January 10, 2026 at 11:08 PM
The only thing I disagree with there is your assessment of my optimism.
My country is not in great shape either, but I'm not sure why you think it's America.
January 10, 2026 at 11:06 PM
My country is not in great shape either, but I'm not sure why you think it's America.
Trump's criminal record makes Nixon look like someone who was unlucky to get caught speeding.
January 10, 2026 at 11:05 PM
Trump's criminal record makes Nixon look like someone who was unlucky to get caught speeding.
Hope. Springs. Eternal.
January 10, 2026 at 11:02 PM
Hope. Springs. Eternal.