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Last Notes

2026-06-01 07:42:23 UTC

Friends & colleagues, I have been advised that my instance has been over-run with Russian chatbots & so this afternoon will be transferring to a new instance.
As a result later today (and possibly into tomorrow) there will be a hiatus in posting while I work my way through the transfer protocol.
I will post from the new instance when the transfer is complete - you should find there is no need for you to do anything if you want to continue following my posts.
More on this later
#mastodon

2026-05-31 12:48:38 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…8ptd
yes, the very wealthy, for whom US healthcare is world class....

2026-05-30 07:26:06 UTC

Just in case you thought the lamentable case of teenage rapists escaping prison was an isolated case of apparent disregard for the (lifetime of) harm done to their victims; The Guardian has found three more cases in the North East of England.
This emphasis (again) that there is something wrong in how the justice system tis weighing the plight of the victims in rapes against the 'damage' to the future of the young male attackers!
#SexualAssault #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/teenage-boys-rape-sentencing-youth-courts

2026-05-30 07:17:07 UTC

As we ponder the implications of Alan Milburn's report on youth employment & education, might the Dutch have a better way.
One of its key elements is the value put on technical education; of course, the UK has a perfectly workable technical & vocational education sector, but Further Education has been starved of funds for decades reducing it to a shadow of what it could be.
Certainly the UK's higher Education crisis is clear, but its FE crisis is even worse!
#workers
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/29/netherlands-britain-youth-jobs-crisis

2026-05-28 05:20:02 UTC

A key element of the crisis engulfing universities is the breakdown in community between the academic staff & the managerial cadre (badly) running their institutions.
As Stefan Collini says: 'Members of the academic staff cease to be regarded as colleagues whose co-operation should be solicited; instead, they are treated as a disaffected workforce liable to make trouble if given a hint of the cuts being prepared by the senior management team'!
#universities #politics
https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v48/n10/stefan-collini/squadrons-of-pigs

2026-05-25 17:13:46 UTC

To the sceptics among us the rash of prospective Initial Public Offerings from AI-related enterprises reflect not so much confidence in the future of AI & related technologies bit rather the actions of a group of promoters looking to cash out while the market is booming, searching for the fools to buy them....
(its said every speculative market needs fools; if you don't know who they are then its likely you; but watch out, booms only run until the last fool has invested!)
#AI #investment

2026-05-20 17:15:17 UTC

The problem of trying to conduct policy by briefing the media is all too clear clear in the immediate reversal on a putative 'deal' to relax some supermarket regulations in return for voluntary procedures-capping;
Now, the Treasury now saying they were never going to announce such measure tomorrow anyway.....
Whatever one thinks of the policy itself this sort of cack-handedness does nothing to support confidence in the Govt.'s grip on economic policy!
#politics #supermarkets
h/t FT

2026-05-19 12:53:54 UTC

As @nprofile…udtr [puts it (in a discussion we've been having about pensions in my timeline):
'In hindsight it's easy to see that Thatcherism was basically a heist'.....
This observation, tells us a lot about both the roots of our current problems & the parallels with now more obvious right populist grifters.
#politics

2026-05-19 06:10:19 UTC

For Andrew Malkinson, whose life was ruined by (as finally proved) a wrongful conviction, the fight for compensation for this life changing damage continues.
It seems like the Inquiry into his wrongful conviction will find both Greater Manchester Police (first) and the Criminal Cases Review Commission (later) made crucial mistakes that caused him to lose 20 years of freedom, so his case for compensation should be strong.
But how do you compensate for that?
#politics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c74r1x7dj8go

2026-05-17 18:26:55 UTC

Whatever you think about the levels of profitability in the UK's economy, one thing is clear voters are vastly over-estimating how much firms make in profits.... but perhaps most telling (in this misunderstanding of what is going on) is the apparent perception that the NHS makes a profit (although there is a chance respondents didn't properly understand the Q.?).
(And of course this was carried out by the right wing Inst. for Economic Affairs, no doubt to prove a point!)
#economics #business
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/591/318/023/277/570/original/8aa16f671765fac5.png

2026-05-16 21:46:42 UTC

Ahmed Najar argues:
'Criticism of Russia is not treated as hatred towards Russians. Opposition to American wars is not automatically framed as hostility towards Americans as a people. Protest against the Chinese government is not assumed to be anti-Chinese racism.
Only when it comes to Israel does this distinction repeatedly collapse.
That collapse carries consequences'
#politics
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/5/16/britain-is-losing-the-ability-to-tell-anti-semitism-from-dissent

2026-05-16 08:38:14 UTC

And so we now have a Govt. defying the will of Parliament by denying access to key documents in the case of Peter Mandelson's (shall we say) mishandled vetting for his role in Washington.
While this may seem a technical issue around one (albeit quite consequential) political development, actually it demonstrates once again, how little interest those at the centre of the Labour Part actually have in democracy!
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/15/peter-mandelson-vetting-file-withheld-isc

2026-05-16 08:23:20 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…d8x0 @nprofile…kfcf
Well, certainly you can join campaigns for voting reform & shifts in the regulation of the media, perhaps support a political party that seems to challenge the preconceptions (perhaps the GPEW?)... but part of the problem with politics is individual acts seldom carry much weight unless as part of a coordinated more collective action (hence this answer focussing on existing campaigns)...

2026-05-16 08:01:16 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…kfcf @nprofile…d8x0
Yes, a really good book; sat on my recommendations for reading for my economics for non-economists UG course for sometime (before I retired)

2026-05-16 07:21:31 UTC

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@nprofile…d8x0
We essentially have two choices:
cut our cloth accordingly - accept our global position and organise our political economy accordingly; or,
seek out strategies that can underpin world class sectors (such as universities) while accelerating areas where we can be world class (green energy perhaps).
There is some move on the latter but the current plight of the university sector is indicative of the underlying problem with our political class' views on what matters.

2026-05-16 07:18:50 UTC

Well, well, well, as the Tangerine Tyrant has stoked volatility in financial markets through his 'policies' and actions, regulatory filings in the US indicate that the volume of market trades on his behalf have expanded considerably (to take advantage of the volatility one must presume);
given other signs of extensive insider trading from the administration & its associates, we might best take the Trump Org.'s statement (quoted by the FT) about these trades with a pinch of salt!
#USPol
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/583/028/483/835/398/original/a8f127bf276baa06.png

2026-05-16 07:12:11 UTC

The key problem of British politics is how to manage a country where the population expects a higher standard of living than its increasingly second league status can provide.
In one way or another we all suffer from a form of post-imperial, post-industrial entitled hubris.
The world has moved on leaving the UK with pockets of excellence dwarfed by sectors are far from world class.
Few politicians understand this or have a good plan to escape our predicament (if there is one?).
#politics

2026-05-15 05:51:32 UTC

Having visited The Music is Black exhibition on a recent (rare) trip to London I completely agree with this positive & enthusiastic review - it is a great experience (anchored in, as I posted about a couple of weeks ago, an immersive soundscape that responds to where you are in the exhibition). Well worth the trip to Stratford.
#museums #music #London
https://theconversation.com/the-music-is-black-a-british-story-its-little-wonder-this-emotional-exhibition-took-over-four-years-to-complete-282780

2026-05-14 21:10:32 UTC

If the rich are the most dangerous minority, it also needs to be said (as Steve Keen does) that:
'The most dangerous sincere believers on this planet are not religious extremists, but mainstream economists. They will destroy capitalism, precisely because they falsely believe that it is indestructible'!
However, for those of us brought up on Karl Marx, the idea that capitalism has within it the seed(s) of its own destruction (here in the guise of economists) is hardly news.....
#economics

2026-05-13 20:22:14 UTC

Keir Starmer vs. Wes Streeting is about as politically interesting as two bald men fighting over a comb.... its a classic bit of change but no change, and suggests the Labour Party is clueless about why people are abandoning them.
Then the (more interesting) Q. is how would Andy Burnham vs. Wes Streeting play out, if Streeting gets past an increasingly truculent Starmer?
Or perhaps Burnham wouldn't have the appetite for a second leadership challenge in this Parliament?
#politics #LabourParty

2026-05-12 05:49:51 UTC

One way to be clear about the geographic wealth inequality in the UK is to look at inheritance tax receipts (remembering that only about 5% of estates pay IHT at all).
What we see is that such wealth is skewed towards London & SE England, which is no surprise but what perhaps is, is that across the London region IHT tax receipts were higher than totals for Scotland & Wales, together!
No wonder the rich were quietly backing the Farmers 'farm tax' protests!
#politics #wealth #inequality
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/560/024/450/279/060/original/6fc401a6a48c8032.png

2026-05-12 05:38:22 UTC

Since 1945, British Steel has been nationalised (1949), privatised (or had nationalisation 'reversed') (1952), nationalised (1967), privatised (1988), followed by a period of a succession of new owners from around the world... and now the Labour Party is going to (re)nationalise
To say, the UK has not got a clear idea how best to maintain a functioning steel industry is an understatement.... although the global commercial environment *doesn't* make it easy, to be fair.
#steel #economics

2026-05-12 05:27:08 UTC

The problem that Keir Starmer (as other challenged leaders always have) is when they commit to future actions that their critics have demanded previously, the Q. is always 'if you believed this was the way to go, why didn't you do it before?'.
While of course political pressure is intended to change politicians' direction, the suspicion must be when they commit to change under pressure that such a commitment will be jettisoned once things quiet down... and here Starmer has form.
#politics

2026-05-10 16:58:00 UTC

At a rally in London today to protest against anti-semitism, the Fascist Frog (who you will recall has been accused of anti-semtiism when he was younger) was invited as ReformUK Ltd's representative & excluded the Green Party of England & Wales (and its leader Zack Polanski).
As the GPEW observed:
'It does feel like the world is upside down when Reform are invited to be part of an initiative to tackle antisemitism but the Green Party — and its Jewish leader — aren’t'!
#politics
h/t FT

2026-05-10 10:27:51 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…6ptc @nprofile…yt30
But I think that is entirely legitimate - what I hate is the idea that not voting is political apathy - often it can be a reasoned judgment about the system itself

2026-05-10 10:20:28 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…sqrc
aha, well that is of course a classic Q.: as has been said often - whoever you vote for the Govt. gets in

2026-05-10 08:26:19 UTC

If, like David Aaronovitch (The Observer), you are wondering about neither the Green Party of England & Wales or ReformUK Ltd mentioning social care in their pitches for local council votes (although candidates may have mentioned it outside the national media coverage), then you might want to ask yourself a simple Q.:
who would you trust more with the welfare of a loved one?
Zack Polanski or the Fascist Frog?
For me its seems pretty obvious but then again I like Polanski's pitch.
#politics

2026-05-10 08:06:26 UTC

The NHS effectively subsidises private health care by picking up the pieces when patients become too ill for the private clinics/hospitals to deal with.
The Centre for Health & the Public Interest finds up to 6,000 patients a year are transferred from private to NHS facilities due to complications (& these are only the direct transfers, not those after treatment) costing the NHS at least £250m a year.
The NHS should be (at the very least) paid for these 'rescues'!
#health #NHS
h/t Observer

2026-05-10 07:31:29 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…yt30
Except of course one of the core 'rights' of democracy is the right not to vote...

2026-05-10 07:21:37 UTC

Before we take at face value much of the commentary this weekend on the continuing political ascendance of the Facist Frog & ReformUK Ltd, its worth just putting their vote in the local elections in some context.
As many have noted even with their success ReformUK Ltd still on control a very small proportion of *all* local councils, but its also worth noting than less than 10% of eligible voters cast a vote from the Frog & his associates.
#politics #ReformUK
h/t Dan Södergren/LinkenIn
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/549/064/064/045/052/original/1fcefb772ecb3352.jpeg

2026-05-09 08:26:32 UTC

Why is reported sexual harassment of students higher at prestigious universities (measured by required A-level entry grades) than at those requiring lower levels of A-level achievement?
As Jo Grady (UCU) points out, it is these universities that funnel many people into top jobs leading to the possibility that 'top' universities' inability to halt such harassment of students normalises this among senior staff across the country as they progress their careers?
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/may/08/sexual-harassment-statistics-england-top-universities-analysis

2026-05-09 07:20:08 UTC

Two obvious trends from Thursday's elections:
The Fascist Frog & ReformUK Ltd have gained most in areas where the Brexit vote was most evident;
The Green Party of England & Wales has done best where voters are younger.
(Given that the Brexit vote itself was quite strongly age-determined a decade ago, we might conclude that the GPEW is in a better demographic position than Reform?)
#politics #Brexit
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/543/382/374/226/447/original/1f2e02ecd5d7195d.png
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/543/385/804/522/544/original/95838f2624d63fe2.png

2026-05-07 10:16:41 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…9cre
Agreed; its shocking yet (now in the UK) some how all too predictable

2026-05-07 09:35:41 UTC

This week I've been mainly reading, no. 302.
qntm's There is no Anti-Memetics Division (2025) is the oddest SciFi book I've read in a long time. Its a compelling tale of the socially destructive impact of memes & the organisation (the Anti-Mimetics Division) that fights their corrosive impact on society. Its a triumph of imagination with the loss & regaining of memory being central to the story. Really weird, but a great read. Highly recommended.
#SciFi #books #memes @nprofile…55t7

2026-05-07 06:06:09 UTC

The Home Office Kafka tribute act continues, stranding the mother of a baby with dual nationality in Austria, as her case does not qualify for emergency documents to allow her to travel home.
You just wonder what sort of people work at the Home Office; are they inculcated once they arrive, or does it attract the vindictive proceduralists who delight in saying 'no' to reasonable attempts to resolve problems cause by byzantine regulation(s)?
#HomeOffice #politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/06/scottish-mum-stuck-in-spain-after-baby-falls-foul-of-uk-dual-nationality-rules

2026-05-06 21:26:22 UTC

The Trustees Savings Bank started out helping workers manage their wages & survived as a form of community-based banking even after a range independent (regional) networks merged into a single TSB in the 1980s.
But then the rot set in with a share listing in 1985, merger with Lloyds in 1995 and then being spun off as a 'normal' bank to fulfil an EU requirement; leaving it to be picked up by Santander who are now dumping the brand!
RIP TSB... once a workers' bank!
#banking #workers
h/t FT

2026-05-06 17:50:44 UTC

Here's Aditya Chakrabortty on why the claim that the Govt. are the 'adults in the room' has proved as vacuous & corrosive as many of us always thought it was.... its the sort of political (and technocratic) 'leadership' that condescends to voters & patronises them, while failing to appreciate what is actually happening outside the Westminster Village, assuming that our political class knows the answers & we should leave them to get on with it...
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/06/labour-wipeout-adults-in-the-room-con-job-keir-starmer-elections
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/528/880/177/549/869/original/3b315f3279294b5c.png

2026-05-06 13:41:32 UTC

For those of us who have been arguing that the UK's (pretty clear) economic decline *is* reversible, here is @nprofile…3yrk examining some of the key arguments that are made for recent economic decline.
He concludes that while there may be weak (but still evident) reasons to agree with Andy Burnham's four horsemen of UK decline: deindustrialisation, privatisation, austerity & Brexit, it is the latter where the evidence is most clear cut!
#Brexit #economics #UK #politics
https://mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2026/05/uk-decline-and-stylised-empirical-facts.html

2026-05-06 06:06:53 UTC

More enshitification:
There' s growing use of Cloudfare's verification services (checking whether you are a human & not a bot);
and while i understand the desire to limit bot access to sites, it's just one more aspect of using the world wide web that has been corrupted by big tech & its 'innovations';
its another bit of friction that adds to the frustration of trying to get things done on a system that is slowly becoming slower & more annoying to use.
#enshitification #internet #technology

2026-05-06 05:46:00 UTC

Over half of children's care providers are owned by private equity or sovereign wealth funds;
last year expenditure rose by around 20% partly due to an increase in service use; partly due to price rises;
as utilisation of services is driven by local authorities' legal requirements, the providers have found a stream of income that is not dependent on 'market conditions' but rather is driven by diagnosis & rising recognition of need.
No wonder such investments are popular.
#politics
h/t FT

2026-05-06 05:38:48 UTC

Is Keir Starmer becoming the Joe Biden of British politics?
His blocking of attempts to replace him, despite the likely drubbing Labour will receive in tomorrow's local elections, and his falling personal popularity, might repeat Biden's unwillingness to give way until it was too late to allow a democratic recovery for his party.
One might also argue that Labour still has time to recover the democratic initiative but Starmer's blocking also makes things easier for rival parties!
#politics

2026-05-06 05:16:37 UTC

Olivia Palmer argues 'obesity' is a word that gets in the way of public health policy:
'The real barriers [to good health] are a food system engineered for overconsumption, a built environment designed for sedentary living, a commercial ecosystem that profits from both the problem & the proposed solution, and a political economy that makes structural reform expensive and individual blame cheap'.
Rather 'obesity' policy still focusses on blaming individuals!
#health
https://oliviapalmerhealth.substack.com/p/obesity-prevention-isnt-failing-its

2026-05-05 07:12:38 UTC

Q. is the condoning housing crisis, with in quantity & quality dimensions behind the falling (albeit self-reported) healthy years of life data?
Certainly, the UK's housing stock is often doing little for physical health while the ability to secure reasonable housing is having a major impact on many people's mental health.
Sorting out the housing problem(s) would like have massive positive knock on effects on health & social wellbeing.
#housing #politics
https://theconversation.com/how-britains-housing-crisis-contributes-to-its-declining-healthy-life-expectancy-281605

2026-05-05 05:35:02 UTC

Hmmm.... Peter Thiel (well known AI-related Right-winger) is investing $140mn in Panthalassa and its ocean energy technology (which uses the bobbing motion of waves to force water through a turbine to produce electricity) as a new source of energy for data centres.
Given the UK's obvious interest(s) in tidal & water power, this looks like an investment to watch, even if the involvement of Thiel might will make many people gag.....
#RenewableEnergy #Waves #energy
h/t FT

2026-05-04 10:23:24 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…6ptc
Hmmm.... I'm not so sure that's what the history of bond defaults would tell us.... especially where capitalist states have inflated their way out of their obligations & corporations have abused bankruptcy laws to avoid their debt obligations.

2026-05-04 05:47:29 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…kpdm
Hmmm.... maybe a bit early to reach that conclusion - we're a couple of years out from a general election

2026-05-04 05:38:01 UTC

Commentary on the bond market (traders) claims Gilts' yields (the price of servicing public debt) may rise if Labour's prospective losses in this week's local elections prompt either a shift to the Left (in fiscal terms) or a change of leadership (or both).
'Threats' of adverse market reaction by traders to shifts in fiscal policy are really aimed at the Green Party of England & Wales, suggesting Zack Polanski needs a clear bond market strategy to deal with such pressure.
#BondMarkets #Greens

2026-05-03 16:13:40 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…vt7u
What is the most extraordinary thing is having seen the first term, a large tranche of US voters look on & said 'yup, we need more of that'!

2026-05-03 16:08:04 UTC

The world of the Tangerine Tyrant:
The war on Iran has halted, meaning he doesn't need to seek Congressional approval (at 60 days after it s start);
The war will continue, until Iran has 'paid the price' for its past wrong doing;
The war has raised oil prices, but he is blocking all on-shore wind farm projects citing 'national security' concerns;
He thinks he is the most powerful leader in the world, but is destroying the 'soft power' US domination has been built on for decades.
#politics

2026-05-03 08:57:59 UTC

Any Iranians (still) hoping that the Tangerine Tyrant might 'save' them, need only look at how the US recent involvement has played out in Venezuela to know that the only people likely to be 'saved' are the ruling elite (who will likely stay in power) whose control is needed to ensure that the oil business can be captures & exploited by allies of the President.
Trump has explicitly said he wants to repeat his Venezuelan 'model'...
#Iran #Venezuela #oil #trump

2026-05-03 08:49:31 UTC

More from James Timpson:
'Eighty per cent of offending is reoffending... We’ve got to get better at helping people not go back into the system. Probation is where the heavy lifting of the justice system is done. There are 90,000 people in prison in England & Wales and a quarter of a million people [on] probation'.
But perhaps probation is too late? Might more investment in 'rehabilitation' (education/training) in prison underpin efforts in probation better?
#prison #politics
h/t Observer

2026-05-03 07:25:48 UTC

The Tangerine Tyrant has decided to punish the Germans for their (lack of) support for the US/Israeli attacks on Iran by (over the next 12 months) removing 5,000 US military personal from Germany and cancelling a Biden-era planned deployment of defensive weapon systems.
While the trop removals may be made up by new arrivals should Trump waver, but the cancelled deployment looks more like one more aspect of the US withdrawal from NATO commitments & involvement.
#Trump #NATO
h/t FT

2026-05-02 17:24:33 UTC

We're often told that the public debt ratio to GDP, and its breaching of 100% of GDP is a major political issue; the sort of signal that suggest fiscal management is not going well for a Govt.
So what if we know that such debt levels are (of course) subject to revisions as better data arrives, and that actually UK public debt has remained in the region of 95% for the last four years even if initial estimates sometimes have it as over 100%.
Perhaps we should be less concerned?
#PublicFinances
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/506/123/892/064/025/original/a7c5c9f068225c2e.png

2026-05-02 09:42:39 UTC

- reply

@nprofile…84ur
OK, we can disagree; but his record in national politics is not that great... but I guess we'll find out one way or the other

2026-05-02 08:58:50 UTC

It seems to me to be a pity that Andy Burnham still feels drawn to national politics after making much of his dedication to the role of Mayor of Manchester.
In a less centralised political economy, we might expect leaders to revel in their regional bases & be committed to making (in this case) Manchester even more of a success.
Sadly, the siren call of Westminster seems to be calling to Burnham; many in Manchester will be disappointed at this shift in his priorities.
#Manchester `#politics

2026-05-02 08:51:18 UTC

The United Nations reports that the social media environment has become increasingly toxic & hostile to women. As the report concludes:
'Gender rights rollback is both enabled & exacerbated by technologies which – by design – amplify misogynistic hate speech for profit'...
The Q, is what can be done; it is anti-democratic for Govt.s to shrug & claim that Big Tech needs to sort out its own mess... we're waaaay beyond that being a viable solution!
#SocialMedia #gender
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/may/01/un-warns-women-in-public-life-face-increasingly-sophisticated-online-violence

2026-05-02 07:57:29 UTC

After the stabbings in Golders Green Jonathan Freedland asks whether some racial minorities are outside calls for an end to racism.
As always, this comes down to whether one can separate criticism of Israeli state actions from the lives of Jewish diaspora elsewhere.
For other countries this doesn't appear so hard (we've seen few if any Americans attacked over the years due to US actions) so why does it continue to be an issue for Jewish people?
#Israel #antisemitism
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/01/antisemitism-racism-jews-britain

2026-05-02 07:27:54 UTC

Zack Polanski may be learning a lesson on why, as a leader of a popular challenger party, retweeting 'in haste' is not the best approach to buttressing his political profile.
Certainly, the Labour Party (Keir Starmer in particular) are looking for excuses to criticise Polanski, so he needs to not make unforced errors like this (although who cannot also say they've never re-posted in haste?).
For the GPEW the political environment is becoming less forgiving.
#politics
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/01/keir-starmer-condemns-zack-polanski-sharing-post-criticising-police-golders-green-stabbings

2026-05-02 07:03:38 UTC

Before I get started, I wanted to mention the best thing I experienced on my respite trip down to my old stomping ground of London.
You'll be unsurprised that I visited the Black Music exhibition at the V&A East. It was an amazing experience; fully immersive with a curated soundtrack that responds to the items you're looking at.
This exhibition will profoundly change the way music exhibits are curated in the future; highly recommended!
#music #museums #BlackBritish
https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/the-music-is-black-a-british-story

2026-04-26 07:49:49 UTC

There are at least two problems with calls for Keir Starmer to make rejoining the EU a priority:
1. its not just us deciding the UK wants to rejoin, we have to negotiate that with an EU that remains sceptical/unconvinced of the UK's commitment to the EU mission;
2. its framed as a way of combating the surge in support for the Green Party of England & Wales; but this repeats the problem of Brexit - seeing EU membership through the lens of domestic political rivalries.
#politics #EU Brexit

2026-04-26 06:42:27 UTC

Many of us here have been recently speculating on the medium-term (and on-going) political economic pivot away from the USA (in part prompted by the actions of the Court of the Tangerine Tyrant).
This, implicitly also included a decline in importance of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency.... but, looking at 'eurodollars' - dollars created off-shore by non-US banks' credit creation operations - what we see is little sign of a decline... (as yet) interesting?
#economics #currencies
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/469/623/255/243/116/original/e6d2ea9309054393.png

2026-04-25 07:25:53 UTC

More evidence of the impact of budgetary pressures & poor workforce planning in the NHS on the health of patients.
Advanced practitioners (mostly nurses) are a valuable & important element of the health service but thrusting them into situations for which their training & skills may be insufficient via 'doctor substitution' is dangerous for patients & also abusive of those staff expected to 'act up' into doctors' roles.
This is not a good way to proceed!
#health #NHS
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/apr/25/safety-fears-as-uk-hospitals-use-nurses-to-cover-for-doctors-due-to-shortage-of-medics

2026-04-24 14:51:10 UTC

You'll have read (or heard) today a lot of invective about the House of Lords role in obstructing the Assisted Dying Bill; certainly, many people are concerned that the un-elected element of our governing structure has obstructed a legal measure passed by the democratic lower house.
However, as Prof. Mark Elliott argues its not quite as simple as that (not least due to the character of the original bill).
His balanced view is worth a read.
#AssistedDying #politics
https://publiclawforeveryone.com/2026/04/24/the-fall-of-the-terminally-ill-adults-end-of-life-bill-a-constitutional-outrage/

2026-04-24 09:08:15 UTC

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@nprofile…6ptc
yes, that's a fair observation both in theory & in my own experience....

2026-04-24 05:52:28 UTC

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@nprofile…l5m6
Its a good Q; primary I'd say, workers are being sacrificed on the altar of (claimed) productivity gains.... and this reflects (as indicated by an earlier posts today) that Govt.s misunderstand where the productivity problems lie - not with workers, but with management & the deficiencies of the 'care economy'

2026-04-24 05:37:47 UTC

As you know I think much of the UK's economic doldrums are caused by rubbish management; both in the sense of not being very good at it, and specifically the managerial mindset that workers are a cost to be reduced, not the organisation's key asset that needs to be invested in.
Two charts from the FT reinforce that argument (albeit only via correlation)... at the very same time that more people are mangers than workers, our productivity gains have stagnated.
#workers #managers #productivity
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/458/049/660/427/262/original/47330465899f7a81.png
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/458/059/200/096/656/original/4b08dcff3ca9a0f3.png

2026-04-24 05:24:51 UTC

Both Meta & Microsoft have said they're shedding staff explicitly to free up cash flow to invest in AI;
on one level this is unemployment linked to technology, but its a bit different from *actual* technological unemployment - the latter sees people losing jobs due to the deployment of technology to do their jobs. Microsoft & Meta on the other hand are sacking people to take a (bigger) punt on a business strategy that is yet to prove its transformation of productivity.
#AI #workers
h/t FT

2026-04-24 05:06:15 UTC

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@nprofile…cc7k
Well, some have managed it fleetingly I suppose.... but in general yes, I can see your point

2026-04-23 05:59:09 UTC

Despite concerns across the NHS about using Palantir to deal with confidential records, it now looks like the Police in London (hardly a trusted institution in the first place) are looking to contract with Palantir for AI to 'aid' criminal investigations...
Given the rubbish-in-rubbish-out character of such work, introducing AI of a particularly contentious sort seems likely to compound mistrust of the capital's police force, solidifying police prejudice(s).
#palantir
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/22/met-police-talks-palantir-ai-tech-criminal-investigations-automate-intelligence

2026-04-23 05:44:19 UTC

The complex environment of benefits involves all sorts of perverse incentives, but here's one that is both stark & (up until now seemingly) under-recognised:
for 16-17 year olds living at home, an apprenticeship (which is part of Govt. attempts to get young people into work or training) results in their families losing a chunk of benefits as they become 'independent workers' not children for benefits purposes.... disincentivizing them from training!
#benefits #poverty
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/apr/23/apprenticeship-penalty-poorer-uk-families-benefits-young-people-quit-training

2026-04-23 05:23:23 UTC

Will the current (and ongoing) economic impact of the US/Israeli attacks on Iran, undermine China's export strategy?
There's already some evidence of re-direction of exports as part of the ongoing pivot away from US markets, but if rising energy prices continue to dampen demand China may start to have major problem exporting its 'overproduction'.
If so, deflationary pressure(s) in China may worsen compounding low domestic consumption & shifting China nearer to recession?
#China
h/t FT

2026-04-22 20:28:15 UTC

It increasingly looks like the UK is about to have a PM without moral authority & unable to coral MPs into supporting his (and party's) legislative agenda (such as it is) while remaining in post because no-one seems willing to challenge for the party leadership in the current circumstances...
I'm not sure whether its a good advert for democracy (because he *is* being held to account despite scapegoating others), or a bad one (as the mechanisms of governance are clogged up)?
#politics #UK

2026-04-22 05:18:39 UTC

It now seems that since the start of its blockade, while the US Navy has boarded two ships in the Strait of Hormuz, and turned back nearly 30 ships from passing through the strait, at least 19 have exited the Gulf while another 15 have entered the Gulf heading towards Iran since the start of the 'blockade'... suggesting, that the US Navy has insufficient resources to maintain an effective blockade (or that the US' blockade is more performative than real?).
#StraitOfHormuz #Iran
h/t FT

2026-04-22 05:10:56 UTC

Here' some context to the slight drop in UK unemployment reported yesterday. Across the OECD the UK's unemployment rate is just above the overall (aggregated) rate for the whole of the OECD.
So, while the unemployment rate remains too high (from a welfare standpoint) given the international context the UK is hardly an outlier on this indicator, even if in other areas from productivity to investment the UK's is a lot further from commonplace performance.
#workers #unemployment #economics
https://cdn.masto.host/zirkus/media_attachments/files/116/446/607/915/204/065/original/493fc2a89bddadf3.jpeg

2026-04-21 21:02:51 UTC

Will the solution to the Strait of Hormuz be an acceptance of Iran's right to impose a toll *provided* they split it with Oman?
And will the Tangerine Tyrant be willing to let such a settlement be part of peace deal without trying to snag some of the fee for the USA?
And, if that money is used for Iranian reconstruction would that be something that would push a ceasefire into a peace deal?
Or are we just going to see more escalation between two powers unwilling to back down?
#Iran #politics

2026-04-21 06:13:31 UTC

Hmmm.... reading this account of 'poly-employment' I started to wonder whether at least part of the issue of economic inactivity is linked to (lets call it) 'job hoarding' by some younger workers as a strategy to deal with the continuing cost of living crisis (and astronomical rent/accommodation costs).
Its hardly their fault, but suggests why there may be less young people in work than there are jobs.... and why young workers are often stressed!
#economics #workers
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn89n9exl11o

2026-04-21 06:05:40 UTC

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@nprofile…0qnq
Yes, I think the analogy is instructive if not comprehensive - but O'Connor's powerful point I think is on the link between regulatory action & social norms - which has been vey evident in the realm of smoking

2026-04-21 05:36:21 UTC

Sarah O'Connor (FT) suggests the best way of framing the uses, danger & regulation of social media may be to look at the history of smoking; a gradual tightening of regulatory limits on smoking has (especially among the middle-class) led to radical reductions of tobacco use.
We're already seeing the start of such moves with the interest in banning young people from using social media due to the (increasingly recognised) harms it causes; Will be interesting to see if she's right.
#SocialMedia

2026-04-21 05:24:31 UTC

Today Ed Miliband will set out how he's going to shift the way renewable energy enters the wholesale markets as a way fo trying to reduce the impact of the gas price on the UK's energy market.... not least to reduce overall prices.
However, in a fudge that will be unwelcome by many, rather than formally severing the link to gas prices, he's looking to encourage renewable generators to take out 'contracts for difference' in competition with gas suppliers...
Q. is: will it work?
#energy
h/t FT

2026-04-20 17:08:25 UTC

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@nprofile…sqrc @nprofile…ynng
Well, in a capitalist system, we would expect everything in one way or another to relate to capital as that is the organising logic of the system.....

2026-04-20 15:26:31 UTC

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@nprofile…sqrc @nprofile…ynng
War can be 'useful' in that it destroys (old) capital & allows for fast re-development (in certain circumstances); not so good for workers of course as they are often over-represented in fatalities.... so not sure it would be seen as an employment scheme... although (as I have discussed previously in this timeline) military Keynesianism can be a useful stimulus mechanism if conflict is avoided but defence is ramped up

2026-04-20 11:36:36 UTC

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@nprofile…sqrc @nprofile…ynng
Indeed, Keynes uses this example as a way that money can be fed into the economy via employment

2026-04-20 09:09:31 UTC

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@nprofile…sqrc @nprofile…ynng
Well, much of the effect of economic activity is felt through the labour market (in a capitalist system), so while one can have economic planning the ignores jobs, this would be partial at best; jobs are the way that (some of) the fruits of economic development are delivered to society through what Keynes referred to as 'effective demand' - workers sending their wages in the 'real' economy & the multiplier effect of that money being then respent & respent as a cycle

2026-04-20 08:27:22 UTC

This week I have mainly been reading, no. 297.
Nicola Barker's social satire TonyInterruptor (2025) is a short but sweet tale of the impact (via social media & the social interactions of its various protagonists) of a heckle at a free jazz concert. It's knowing & razor sharp, skewering various contemporary cultural tropes & behaviours. I often find such satires fail to satisfy, but this is completely different; powerfully caustic & hilarious. A joy to read.
#books #culture #jazz @nprofile…55t7

2026-04-20 05:22:35 UTC

And so the Strait of Hormuz is once again 'closed' as the US fires on, boards & seizes an Iranian vessel... marking another step that seems to be aimed at getting the Iranians to accept the 'deal' offered by the Tangerine Tyrant and not really a prompt to any sort of negotiation.
This is (as one might expect) the diplomacy of the bully & hardly like to end with a long-tern & sustained peace in the region.
Its unlikely to be a good week....
#Iran #MiddleEast
h/t FT

2026-04-19 21:26:13 UTC

So another mass shooting in the USA (in Louisiana) and no doubt we'll hear a range of US politicians saying their hearts & prayers go out to the victims, but offering nothing in the way of a resolution for this problem.... because they claim no-one has found a way to limit gun use while not impeding political freedoms.... that is, apart from most other developed countries.
Gun violence in the USA is not a natural phenomenon, its the result of political choice(s)!
#GunViolence #USPol
h/t FT

2026-04-19 21:19:14 UTC

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@nprofile…6ptc
I agree; this is the dangerous place that out political class have got us; a very real (and reasonable) suspicion of the 'establishment's use of the system to their advantage has prompted support for those who point this out (even if they do so in bad faith).... interestingly in the UK, the Green Party of England & Wales has linked this position to a green agenda as opposed to a nationalist one, with at the moment what looks like some success

2026-04-19 11:06:28 UTC

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@nprofile…lvrg
The key political economic problem for the UK is we've a political class that has been coopted & captured by (what many would call) the capital class, but which we might better term: the corporate interest.
While our political class accept the notion that what is good for corporations is good for the UK, we will not find a route to regulatory reform - rather we need a capitalism that balances the need & interests of all economic classes better; which in my view is possible
2/2

2026-04-19 11:03:58 UTC

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@nprofile…lvrg
Well, you're right I have thought a lot about this over the years, and the key really is a much better regulatory state - I am sympathetic to John Braithwaite's ideas on regulatory capitalism - but also think that the key issue for the UK is linked to how the state focusses on economic success (which is largely related to financial services & corporate interests)...
here's a link (a bit academic I'm afraid):
http://johnbraithwaite.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Regulatory-Capitalism-How-it.pdf
1/2

2026-04-19 10:51:17 UTC

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@nprofile…6ptc
You'd find a lot of agreement in the UK with that clearly stated description.

2026-04-19 08:18:46 UTC

Gaining a lot less coverage than the World Economic Foundation's annual shindig in Davos, next week in Oxford the annual Skoll World Forum focusses on the idea of social entrepreneurship (not least the B-Corp movement) to look at how capitalism might be done differently.
While this will be of little interest to those of you who think capitalism is the problem, for reformists who see a range of capitalist models, this might be something to look at?
#capitalism
https://skoll.org/skoll-world-forum/

2026-04-19 06:25:04 UTC

A (long) Sunday read:
In the UK around 8% of all passenger kilometres travelled is by rail, the rest is by road (including buses); In Japan its nearly 28% by rail.
What have the Japanese done to keep this high(er) share of rail use. In short, they have returned to a model of regulation that looks much more like how the railways were bought into mass use in C19th; Japan's geography may also play a role but there's much of interest in this analysis.
#railways #politics
https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-japan-has-such-good-railways/

2026-04-18 20:08:05 UTC

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@nprofile…faju
Trains however?

2026-04-18 17:12:51 UTC

There are growing suspicion (set out here some weeks ago & now gaining traction in the mainstream media) that people close to the Tangerine Tyrant are using insider knowledge to place bets on political actions/developments....
Are are we surprised?.... of course not; the Court of the Tangerine Tyrant is only out for itself & is seeking to maximise the financial returns of the Tyrant's remaining time in the White House.
#politics #betting #corruption
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/iran-war-bets-ethics-concerns

2026-04-18 17:03:17 UTC

Turkey is looking to revive a land route from Baku to the Mediterranean as a way of avoiding trade passing through the Strait of Hormuz... of course the Tangerine Tyrant has also suggested such a thing, but as it would actually pass across Turkey, they seem more likely to deliver such a trade alternative than Trump's geo-fantasy.
It's not a short-term solution but might be regarded as drawing Iran's sting in the medium term over trade routes?
#Trade #Iran #StraitOfHormuz #Turkey
h/t FT

2026-04-18 10:24:20 UTC

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@nprofile…6ptc
Hmmm.... I ithnk @nprofile…sqrc is right on the Iranian regime seeing this as a potential (less exposing?) defence alternative to nuclear capability.
How this plays out for ordinary Iranians is another matter altogether

2026-04-18 09:04:10 UTC

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@nprofile…sqrc
But even so, now that the Iranians know they have this 'weapon' to hand, and regime will have its back pocket

2026-04-18 08:42:57 UTC

For years the Iranian regime threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if it was attacked.... so the (unintended) consequence of the US/Israeli attacks on Iran, was firstly to force the Iranians to make good on that threat, but once having done so, to realise quite how effective a geopolitical 'weapon' it is....
So the Tangerine Tyrant has willed closure of the Strait into existence & it seems unlikely the Iranians will be as reticent to use closure as they may have been in the past.
#Iran

2026-04-18 08:34:30 UTC

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@nprofile…rc8f
Agreed, and this is where he seems to lack the skills (interest?) required

2026-04-18 08:07:08 UTC

As Johnathan Freedland notes, Keir Starmer was once a well-respected human right lawyer; for all the advice he will be getting to change (if he survives the Mandelson vetting crisis), he might be better advised to return to the mind-set & practices that served him well in legal practice.
As Freedland suggests, if he had retained that lawyerly approach, many of his recent troubles might not have overcome him (although he has other faults, of course).
#KeirStarmer
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/17/peter-mandelson-keir-starmer-lawyer-prime-minister