It's incredible how people can change their minds when you threaten to turn off the gravy train.
"When you've got'em by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow."
aljazeera.com/economy/2025/2/2โฆ
US president says he expects Ukrainian leader to sign agreement to jointly develop natural resources on Friday.Al Jazeera
This happens under #Labour, and nobody says a word. If it had happened under a #Conservative government, the press and TV news would be screaming, "Tories attack the NHS!" remember, children, it's not about what you like but who you like.
independent.co.uk/news/health/โฆ
Wes Streeting said there must now be a โnew relationshipโ between the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS EnglandMillie Cooke (The Independent)
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: My graphics card has stopped working.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: We'll reinstall the driver.
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: That didn't work.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: Hang on, how are you getting a desktop?
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: The one screen works but not the other.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: So the card is working?
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: I kicked the cable, and now the one screen doesn't work.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: So reinstalling the driver was pointless, you may have damaged the port.
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: I'll buy another card from Amazon.
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: Umm? OK.
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: I fitted the new card, and that doesn't work either!
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: What?
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: Only one screen works!
๐ฆ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐: I'm coming to you tomorrow, I'll need to physically see it.
๐๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ: It's working now.
I bet he'd pulled the cable out of the monitor, or he hadn't pushed the cable in enough. ๐ ๐คฆ๐
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Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson tells The Mirror the rollout of free breakfast clubs will soon begin to help struggling families and kids held back by scarring impact of povertyThe Mirror
People really need to understand what's going on. Zelenskyy's offer of resignation is worthless! The whole reason for Russia's invasion of #Ukraine is to stop Ukraine from joining the EU! Zelenskyy, to Putin, is probably irrelevant. His reason for invading is to ensure a buffer zone between Russia and the European allies.
Putin is the aggressor and possibly a dictator, but Zelenskyy is a trouble maker imo.
theguardian.com/world/2025/febโฆ
Ukrainian president says US military aid was a โgrantโ rather than a debt but adds that he wants Trump to be โon our sideโLuke Harding (The Guardian)
That's not a very good example. Churchill came to power eight months after the war was declared and was given the push the moment the war was won. He spent most of his time begging other countries, especially America, to join in. "Come on in, the wars lovely."
Churchill was lucky that Roosevelt agreed to defeat Germany first rather than the country that had attacked them.
There's no nobility in death, just death.
Churchill warned about Hitler for years but the Tories listened to those who said Mr. Hitler was 'a sound fellow' we could trust. He came to power when events proved he'd been right all along.
Winston made very dodgy decisions before WW2. He set the British Army on striking miners, the example Maggie followed with the police, right after giving them a big pay rise.
You mean the NUM that took money from Gadaffi? Miners who terrorised their own community, some of whom were simply trying to survive. Bussing in 5000 men at Orgreave is not a strike; it's a declaration of war.
Anyway
You and I grew up in a world where we were indoctrinated with the view that the Communists, aka the Russians, were evil and wanted to destroy us all. We were told that while the UK and France could lob a couple of ICBMs at Smolensk, it was the Americans who truly kept us safe in our beds. I'd far rather have the US and Russia friends than at each other's throats.
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I'm not convinced Europe will ever treat us as equals or treat us fairly, for that matter. I'm gobsmacked that people are willing to hand over their country to Brussels so that they can glide through customs for two weeks in Ibiza.
I asked many people at the time of the vote why they believed so firmly that the European Union was good for Britain. None of them gave me very good reasons; they all seemed to have pretty unimportant personal benefits, such as the ability to take Benji the dog with them or work abroad while retaining British citizenship. Until, of course, Brussels does away with that, and we all become EU citizens.
I did vote to remain, mainly because I hoped the referendum may have given the EU a wake-up call to the extent they changed their disrespectful attitude. I never imagined that we would actually leave. It'll be at least twenty years before they allow us back, and even if they did, I guarantee they would punish us because France, for example, is very vindictive.
Alternative fรผr Deutschland projected to finish second in federal election with about 20% of the voteAshifa Kassam (The Guardian)
Oh no!
mastodon.org.uk is down.
I've been reading a book!
๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฝ
Processes how the brain distinguishes between "us" and "them" in social contexts. A key brain region involved in this is the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), which plays a role in social cognition, including distinguishing between in-groups and out-groups.
๐๐บ๐๐ด๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐ฎ: Involved in emotional reactions and threat detection, often more active when perceiving out-group members.
๐๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ (๐๐๐): Helps regulate conflict and bias between in-groups and out-groups.
๐ง๐ฒ๐บ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐ท๐๐ป๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป (๐ง๐ฃ๐): Important for perspective-taking and understanding social differences.
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Are we really going to send British troops to shoot Russians? I mean, it's a nice sabre-rattling gesture, but do we really want to risk starting a full-blown war? I wonder what Russian mothers or the Russian people will think when their sons are shot by 3 Para or whichever regiments we send?
theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/fโฆ
It is understood to be the first time the PM has been explicit about sending British peacekeepers to UkraineNadeem Badshah (The Guardian)
I have no qualms about legitimate, legal entry immigration. The more taxpayers, the merrier, in my book. I have no time or patience for illegals.
I'm not sure if I can draw my line in the sand any firmer.
Amazing! Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, three years on, and suddenly, Europe can get off its arse and look like they're doing something. This has nothing to do with peace, defeating the Russians or potentially brokering a deal and everything to do with "Whose in charge!"
Europe, including the UK, is an utter joke! They all want American money, troops and support, yet when America decides it's time to stop the squabbling, everyone starts throwing a tantrum.
#ukraine #PresidentTrump
โOur army alone is not enough, we need your support,โ Ukraineโs president tells Munich security conferenceHamish Mackay (The Guardian)
It's nice to see #Labour getting their spuds kicked for a change.
#politics
theguardian.com/politics/2025/โฆ
Chancellor and PM insist there was no wrongdoing after claims she was investigated for alleged misuse of expensesAletha Adu (The Guardian)
The publicity-shy comicโs on-stage outbursts have shocked fans of his โeverymanโ image. But he has long been a divisive characterLiam Kelly (The Telegraph)
The US and Russia leaders spoke over the phone after Trump said Nato membership for Ukraine is unlikely.Bernd Debusmann Jr, at the White House, and Mike Wendling (BBC News)
Guilty by association or just as bad?
Sadly, at the moment, the Guardian doesn't say what he's supposed to have said.
Quote: "A government source told PA News: โOliver Ryanโs remarks were unacceptable and deeply disappointing.""
So much for #Labour cleaning up the sleaze in politics.
theguardian.com/politics/2025/โฆ
Burnley MP Oliver Ryan has already apologised for his own comments in wake of Andrew Gwynneโs suspensionPeter Walker (The Guardian)
@realDonaldTrump needs to threaten to pull US troops out of Europe. That'll shit'em up. ๐คฃ
politico.eu/article/eu-slams-dโฆ
In a first jab at the White House, Ursula von der Leyen and Antรณnio Costa said the U.S. presidentโs move to target the International Criminal Court undermines global justice.Aitor Hernรกndez-Morales (POLITICO)
Before I say anything, let me make one thing clear: ๐ โค๏ธ ๐ฌ.๐.๐.
This is yet another reason why Opensource and Linux are not more mainstream. I've been playing ALPHA 27 for a few days now. The only thing is, I'm playing on a Windows machine! According to the attached post, if you want it (On Linux), compile it yourself. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
One thing that annoys me about the Internet is the volume of keyboard warriors who proclaim themselves to be the champions of morals and "Doing the right thing" Yet when Labour announces a third runway, a deafening silence descends regarding Climate Change.
๐๐๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ ๐ฃ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐:
๐ซ If Heathrow's total airport emissions (Scope 3 included) are around 20 million tonnes COโe per year, and the two runways handle all flight activity, A single runway could account for roughly 10 million tonnes COโe per year (very rough estimate). Thus increasing the total to 30 Million tonnes.๐ฌ
If the Conservatives had announced this, the web would have gone into meltdown!
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpql1wโฆ
Heathrow airport's expansion and a Bank of England bullion shortage feature in Thursday's papers.BBC News
Dunno where you're getting the idea the left is silent about it, I've seen constant mockery disgust and alarm. The very post above yours in my timeline is linking to the Guardian [ theguardian.com/commentisfree/โฆ ]. Even the Guardian!
I agree it'll probably just waste billions and then get cancelled before completion.
Our rivers, our wildlife, the air we breathe: the government is sacrificing all to the insatiable god of GDP โ and mocking our objections, says Guardian columnist George MonbiotGeorge Monbiot (The Guardian)
And I have discovered a new level of stupidity for IT Support.
A guy calls saying he cannot receive emails from a contact in India, and the emails are going to spam.
๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ: "It's not in spam; it's the other one."
๐ ๐ฒ: "Junk folder?"
๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ: "That's the one, but it's not in there."
๐ ๐ฒ: "Wait, do you mean our quarantine?"
๐๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ฟ: "Yes."
๐ ๐ฒ: "OK, send us the email address, and we will have a look."
He promptly sends a phone screenshot of the IM conversation with the guy in India who has attached a photo of his desktop with his rejection message (and his email address). The phone screenshot is too small to read, let alone the picture from the IM conversation.
JUST GIVE US THE BLOODY EMAIL ADDRESS!
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There's the story I've told a few times before.
We used to use another program for remote support, I forget its name now but it began with A and had a red icon.
So one of the lads got this woman to download it and run the executable.
๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ: "Right, can you see that red icon on your desktop? Click on that, please."
๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป: "There's no red icon."
๐ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง "๐๐ฉ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด๐ฏ'๐ต. ๐๐ฉ ๐บ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ด."
๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ: "OK, What DO you have on your desktop?"
๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป: "I've got a mouse, a keyboard, my coffee mug....."
I shit you not.
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The Royal College of Nursing details harrowing cases from more than 5,000 nurses across the UK.Nick Triggle (BBC News)
Episode to be broadcast at 9pm tonight (Monday, January 13)By Stephen Briggs (Peterborough Telegraph)
Pastry giant Greggs has yet again hiked up its prices, with the nation's favourite sausage roll now costing ยฃ1.30 at most sites across the country.ยwww.expressandstar.com
Metaโs lurch to the Right tees social media giant up for a clash with WestminsterMatthew Field (The Telegraph)
The government will be hoping the plans - with promises of billions of pounds and thousands of jobs - can help stymie the claims they are mismanaging the economy and stunting growth in the UK.Tim Baker (Sky News)
Hold on a minute, @HastingsDirect, how do I know I'm not entitled? I mean, you sent me an email saying that if, as I do, pay by instalments, you'll pay not only the higher rate difference but interest, too. I mean, you even list the date I renewed!
So are you saying not only did you 'mistakenly' overcharge, but you've now mistakenly offered a refund? Are you sure you haven't made another mistake, and I should be refunded?
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Forty minutes of light, sugar-coating snow this morning. The roads are just wet now.
People are driving like there are ten-foot drifts, and the road surface is like Streatham ice rink. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ
We will never win another war; we're weak and feckless. 
#UKSnow
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๐๐ข๐๐: "I'm so glad you're back at work today!"
๐๐: "I'm so glad I'm back at work today!"
๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ ๐ก๐ฒ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ
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Now that the dust has settled, #CastleCannon was incredibly underwhelmed with the final Gavin & Stacey. The cast seemed to be working extra hard to create comedy; it didn't come across naturally. The 'party' that led to Smithy oversleeping was a prime example, with the cast acting like they were having a good time rather than looking like they were having a good time. Pam (Alison Steadman) seemed wooden in her (stressed) performances, plus it didn't help that many loved characters were missing. Yeah, yeah. I know Doris is dead in real life.
Favourite bits:
Nessa - Mouth organ
Pete & Dawn
Gwen - Who's coming down the stairs?
Other than that, for me, meh.
#Shrug
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Just stop for a second, put down that nice coffee you're drinking in your secure Western country and think for a minute. Russia believes Ukraine is full of terrorists; Ukraine kills one of Russia's Generals on Russian soil in a bomb attack. Doesn't that sound like a terrorist attack to you? It's undoubtedly an assassination of foreign soil. Imagine if the roles were reversed and it was a Ukrainian General blown up; I bet you'd be ranting and raving then.
telegraph.co.uk/world-news/202โฆ
A man arrested over the killing of a senior Russian general in Moscow was offered $100,000 by Ukraine, authorities have claimed.The Telegraph
Campaigners say they were not properly informed of a pension age rise to bring them in line with men.Kevin Peachey (BBC News)
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Piggo
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