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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1h

Struck me here that, no matter what critria anyone applies to listing prime ministers of the UK, the only 100% guarantee is this: whatever position mean 'worst', Liz Truss will occupy it. We have our one certain datapoint. Quite the acheivement in it's own way.
Unless Mr Hypnotoad gets in, anyway.

Reposted by Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity.

Andy Diggle @andydiggle.bsky.social · 10h

"I'm allowed."

What happens when a spoiled brat never hears the word no.

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ouinne @ouinne.bsky.social · 10h

The only correct take on a fundamentally anti-human technology.

Screenshot of David Simon interview
SHAPIRO: OK, so you've spent your career creating television without Al, and I could imagine today you thinking, boy, I wish I had had that tool to solve those thorny problems...
SIMON: What?
SHAPIRO: ...Or saying...
SIMON: You imagine that?
SHAPIRO: ...Boy, if that had existed, it would have screwed me over.
SIMON: I don't think Al can remotely challenge what writers do at a fundamentally creative level.
SHAPIRO: But if you're trying to transition from scene five to scene six, and you're stuck with that transition, you could imagine plugging that portion of the script into an Al and say, give me 10 ideas for how to transition this.
SIMON: I'd rather put a gun in my mouth.

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The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 10h

I think that's not good, but I'm no expert. 🫠

Prof. Eliot Jacobson @climatecasino.net · 11h

My latest animation of the global surface temperature anomaly, 1851 - 2025 (current through September).

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ae @aelkus.bsky.social · 14h

Social media is very effective at creating sin-eaters. A sin-eater is different from an ephemeral main-character. It's a recurring "well would you look at that guy" person you see screenshotted on your feed constantly, who is meant to stand in for the evils of some larger group you dislike

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Molly Templeton @mollytempleton.com · 11h

oh, bless whoever made this

Is Portland Burning?

No. See real-time Portland cameras, PulsePoint incidents, and sourced fact checks.

isportlandburning.com

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 11h

So, One Battle After Another is excellent.

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Holly Boson @fireh9lly.bsky.social · 17h

This combined with Bloomberg posting this terrifying graph convinced me to withdraw all the money in my stocks and shares ISA. I'm giving it a few months

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 20h

There are many whose high positions rest primarily upon an ability to show authority that they can tow the line above all else, and any observer of the direction of travel of university politics - including much of student poltics - over the last few decades has found it all sadly predictable.

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 20h

UK universities offered to monitor students’ social media for arms firms, emails show

Loughborough, Heriot-Watt and Glasgow corresponded with companies concerned about campus protests Universities in the UK reassured arms companies they would monitor students’ chat groups and social media accounts after firms raised concerns about campus protests, according to internal emails. One university said it would conduct “active monitoring of social media” for any evidence of plans to demonstrate against Rolls-Royce at a careers fair. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 20h

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 20h

Brings to mind one of those ridiculous student conversations where we were discussing our families and someone said "isn't it remarkable how so many of us are descended from people who *survived* the trenches?"
Which also links a little bit to what I'm grumping about here:
bsky.app/profile/robe...

Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 3d

Living in a city that was already old when the Vikings arrived, you often hear the same bullshit about the quality of old buildings and how they've lasted. But folks rare notice the maintenance (some being continuously rebuilt for many 100's of years), the adaptations, and most importanly, THE GAPS.

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John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 21h

When you could code silly quizzes on Facebook, it was FULL of "what would you be in medieval times?!" etc.

I made one that nearly always answered "died as a child", "died in childbirth", "lived and died as a servant"

People got SUPER mad with it.

Everyone assumes they'll be at the top of the tree

William Carruthers @williamcarruthers.bsky.social · 21h

The subtext of ‘we should be more like Dubai’, beyond the obvious racism, is ‘I should have a servant’.

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NBC News @nbcnews.com · 22h

The tiny scraps of plastic were found in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain responsible for processing smell.

Microplastics found in the human brain

The tiny scraps of plastic were found in the olfactory bulb, the part of the brain responsible for processing smell.

nbcnews.to

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

This is another one of those things isn't it? That I didn't know were related. Well.

The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 1d

Marmaduke, six, is reported to have been the subject of near constant vocal stimming by Ellie Mulligan, 32. In response, Marmaduke concealed a microphone within his floofy orange trousers, and he is now rich beyond his wildest dreams.

Cat records chart-topping album of autistic owner’s little songs

A cat has become one of the world’s best-selling musical artists overnight, after secretly recording his owner while she sang about him. Marmaduke, six, is reported to have been the subject of near…

thedailytism.com

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

Yup

The Daily Tism @thedailytism.com · 1d

Bernard said: “It’s on my list. The problem is I now can’t find my list. It’s probably in one of these 47 notebooks. I’ll have a look for it – right after I finish this level of Farm Heroes Saga.”

Autistic woman will definitely book ADHD assessment at some point

An autistic woman unsure if she also has ADHD has announced plans to try to get assessed at some vague, indeterminate point in the future. Emma Bernard, 34, who exhibits a lot of ADHD traits, is…

thedailytism.com

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Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 1d

the most delightful version of logging on to see what news you've missed

Dr Ramsdell, whose phone had been on airplane mode when the Nobel committee tried to call him, told the BBC's Newshour Programme that his first response when his wife said, "You've won the Nobel prize" was: "I did not."

To which Ms O'Neill replied that she had 200 text messages that suggested he had.

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

I have no time for the idea - no matter what political stance held or claimed - that we can re-brand nationalism and utilise it 'for a good cause'. To use it or its symbols is to empower and endorse some version of it, and it is nothing but poison. Fuck nationalism; no exceptions. And fuck flags.

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MiMi Aye @meemalee.bsky.social · 1d

A whole bunch of us have grown up in the UK knowing to flee in the other direction if we spot this flag anywhere. We’re not going to pause to see if there are stickers stuck below them.

And if they’re stuck elsewhere, we will not get close enough to see the text - again, we’re just going to leg it.

Billy Bragg @billybragg.bsky.social · 3d

Free stickers suitable for flag-bearing lampposts. Send a large A4 envelope with a 1st class large stamp to me at Bragg Office, PO Box 6830 Bridport DT6 9BH and I’ll send you a sheet. #ReclaimtheFlag 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🇬🇧

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

Agreed.
But I suspect this wont to do it.
To do that it's going to have to recruit externally - i.e. those who would otherwise go to more reliable sources use his instead. He's only recruiting internally.
This is why chatGPT et al are more worrying - they're not so tainted. They're gathering souls.

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Reposted by Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity.

OG_zuul @ghostofzuul.bsky.social · 1d

Texas national guard arriving in Chicago. these dudes don't even know how to hold their weapons. dude in the middle could easily shoot the dude to his left while improperly carrying his rifle.

this is amateur hour. ppl are going to die.

screenshot of a story from abc News in the picture from the article the Texas national guard is shown arriving in Illinois. 3 guardsmen are walking together. the one in the middle has his rifle pointed at the soldier to his left

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Reposted by Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity.

Celestial M Weasel @celestialweasel.bsky.social · 1d

Also...
New council offices were built in the early 80s
Rumour had it that
A) there was a nuclear shelter in the basement (true)
B) that in the event of nuclear war the people who would go into it were local councillors and school dinner ladies with the aim of repopulating the county (unlikely)

The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 1d

Fence #26 will be a special on all things print, and in tribute to the storied history of the UK gutter press, our letters page wants your GOSSIP & SCANDAL.

So, we're asking you all: what was the most scandalous (true or false) bit of gossip that dominated your school or neighbourhood growing up?

A photo of assembled paparazzi waiting to snap your shame for the scandal sheets.

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Ian Martin @ianmartin.bsky.social · 1d

Or at least until tomorrow when there’ll be something worse.

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 1d

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

Ah shit

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 1d

Dolly Parton's sister is asking fans to "pray with me" amid the country music icon's health issues

Dolly Parton’s Sister Says ‘I Was Up All Night Praying’ Amid Country Icon’s Health Issues and Asks Fans to ‘Pray With Me’

Dolly Parton's sister Frieda is asking fans of the Queen of Country to "pray with me" amid Dolly's continued health struggles.

variety.com

Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

I think I see a solution to this and all similar future issues. But it involves being brave, level-headed and explaining things to people who really like flags.

Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 1d

Keir Starmer says the government is in talks with the EU about steel tariffs amid reports that Europe is about to introduce massive 50% tariffs on steel from outside the bloc, including from the UK

www.itv.com/news/2025-10...

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Rob Burton, once and future non-existent entity. @robertsburton.bsky.social · 1d

The previous Tory gov and Brexit have cut deep, hideous wounds into UK higher education. Reform want to kill it stone dead. Now Badenough is marking it as an enemy.
We might want to consider very carefully why the right so often see certain people knowing certain things as objectionable.

Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 1d

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls, reports Patrick Jack #edusky
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/badenochs-number-caps-plan-would-cut-100000-university-places