ralphhickman.bsky.social
@ralphhickman.bsky.social
Try and be nice to people, avoid eating sugar, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live in peace and harmony with people...
In reality this is NOT " banning under 16s from social media" but rather requiring a handful of companies to apply age verification on social media accounts.

If you can insist upon the latter why not go further and look at ways to make their services more responsible?
January 23, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Very little is known about the Lobby brothers - there are several books but I think largely based upon hearsay?

William Lobb, I think, also credited with introducing the Monkey Puzzle Tree to the UK... He shot down the cones in Chile!
January 23, 2026 at 10:30 AM
My guess is that the saplings were advertised (mail order?) in the 1860 editions of the "Gardeners' Chronicle" (co-founded by Paxton in the 1840s).
January 23, 2026 at 7:55 AM
And when you look up directions you should be able to choose horse back as mode of travel!
January 21, 2026 at 8:40 AM
And start to back RMB as a Reserve Currency?

Heck the World's turning upside down!!
January 19, 2026 at 6:23 PM
And it seems the way of turning it off may not be so obvious?

"To remove Copilot from the Outlook app, head to Settings -> General -> Privacy and data -> Privacy settings and toggle off the “Turn on experiences that analyze your content” switch"
January 19, 2026 at 4:37 PM
"Accountable" to Parliament means Ministers today have to sit in HoC or HoL

But Farage could build himself a US-style administration? Parliament just a Legislature?

While I think an overhaul of our governance is needed - just NOT by Farage!

www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/lo...
Ministers in the Lords – their role and scrutiny | Institute for Government
Ministers in the Lords have the same fundamental role as their counterparts in the Commons.
www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk
January 19, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Yes, but I think I read something to suggest Farage would look to the US model - appointing "cabinet ministers" from outside Parliament - essentially a US-administration style.

These Tory defectors hoping for an influential position could be rather disappointed!

And God help the rest of us.
January 19, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Technically of course it won't be a "ban on under 16s using social media" - the Australian law requires age-verification for you to be over 16 to access certain social media.

And presumably users have to have accounts there anyway.

I think access to read-only media (such as on YouTube) unaffected
January 18, 2026 at 10:25 AM
And Liechtenstein...?
January 18, 2026 at 8:52 AM
Well worth watching IMHO:
youtu.be/ARpDixerNyA?...
How the Government Spent £1,286,400,000,000 of Your Taxes Last Year
YouTube video by Damien Talks Money
youtu.be
January 17, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Braverman's husband, Rael, was reported to have QUIT Reform last July over Reform members attacking Suella over the Afghan data leaks from her time as Home Secretary.

Doin' the Hokey Cokey....

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/rae...
Rael Braverman quits Reform following attacks on Suella
Rael Braverman has resigned from Reform UK after party members took aim at his wife Suella following the news of the Afghan data leak.
www.thelondoneconomic.com
January 17, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Though note 1895-1945 Taiwan was part of the Japanese Empire.. so has been separate from the Chinese mainland government for the last 130 years....
January 17, 2026 at 7:43 PM
TBH: it'd be more helpful if they'd only included some diagrams.
January 16, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Leaving his speech on the printer wasn't the only thing Jenrick did!
January 16, 2026 at 10:42 AM
And come February 2nd these people disappear completely! Thank goodness!
January 16, 2026 at 10:23 AM