Rob Borley

@MiltonicMindset @PalantirTech Amen to that!

23. Companies should not be publishing manifestos on how our societies should operate and function. The act of private companies attempting to take on the role of government and/or policy construction should be seen as a threat to national security and the Western way of life. Unless Palantir or others are willing to accept direct democratic oversight and accountability, they should remain entirely outside of the realm of policy formation or decision-making. We are a freedom-loving people with values, principles, and rights that are not gifted to us by government, or corporations, or narcissistic drug addicts suffering from god complexes. If corporations will not or cannot understand this, and stand in support of fundamental Western values (free speech, privacy, individual liberty, etc.) they should be broken up or temporarily nationalised in order to bring them back under direct democratic accountability and control, and until new laws and/or constitutional amendments can be made to protect free citizens from infringements on their god-given rights.

Because we get asked a lot. The Technological Republic, in brief. 1. Silicon Valley owes a moral debt to the country that made its rise possible. The engineering elite of Silicon Valley has an affirmative obligation to participate in the defense of the nation. 2. We must rebel against the tyranny of the apps. Is the iPhone our greatest creative if not crowning achievement as a civilization? The object has changed our lives, but it may also now be limiting and constraining our sense of the possible. 3. Free email is not enough. The decadence of a culture or civilization, and indeed its ruling class, will be forgiven only if that culture is capable of delivering economic growth and security for the public. 4. The limits of soft power, of soaring rhetoric alone, have been exposed. The ability of free and democratic societies to prevail requires something more than moral appeal. It requires hard power, and hard power in this century will be built on software. 5. The question is not whether A.I. weapons will be built; it is who will build them and for what purpose. Our adversaries will not pause to indulge in theatrical debates about the merits of developing technologies with critical military and national security applications. They will proceed. 6. National service should be a universal duty. We should, as a society, seriously consider moving away from an all-volunteer force and only fight the next war if everyone shares in the risk and the cost. 7. If a U.S. Marine asks for a better rifle, we should build it; and the same goes for software. We should as a country be capable of continuing a debate about the appropriateness of military action abroad while remaining unflinching in our commitment to those we have asked to step into harm’s way. 8. Public servants need not be our priests. Any business that compensated its employees in the way that the federal government compensates public servants would struggle to survive. 9. We should show far more grace towards those who have subjected themselves to public life. The eradication of any space for forgiveness—a jettisoning of any tolerance for the complexities and contradictions of the human psyche—may leave us with a cast of characters at the helm we will grow to regret. 10. The psychologization of modern politics is leading us astray. Those who look to the political arena to nourish their soul and sense of self, who rely too heavily on their internal life finding expression in people they may never meet, will be left disappointed. 11. Our society has grown too eager to hasten, and is often gleeful at, the demise of its enemies. The vanquishing of an opponent is a moment to pause, not rejoice. 12. The atomic age is ending. One age of deterrence, the atomic age, is ending, and a new era of deterrence built on A.I. is set to begin. 13. No other country in the history of the world has advanced progressive values more than this one. The United States is far from perfect. But it is easy to forget how much more opportunity exists in this country for those who are not hereditary elites than in any other nation on the planet. 14. American power has made possible an extraordinarily long peace. Too many have forgotten or perhaps take for granted that nearly a century of some version of peace has prevailed in the world without a great power military conflict. At least three generations — billions of people and their children and now grandchildren — have never known a world war. 15. The postwar neutering of Germany and Japan must be undone. The defanging of Germany was an overcorrection for which Europe is now paying a heavy price. A similar and highly theatrical commitment to Japanese pacifism will, if maintained, also threaten to shift the balance of power in Asia. 16. We should applaud those who attempt to build where the market has failed to act. The culture almost snickers at Musk’s interest in grand narrative, as if billionaires ought to simply stay in their lane of enriching themselves . . . . Any curiosity or genuine interest in the value of what he has created is essentially dismissed, or perhaps lurks from beneath a thinly veiled scorn. 17. Silicon Valley must play a role in addressing violent crime. Many politicians across the United States have essentially shrugged when it comes to violent crime, abandoning any serious efforts to address the problem or take on any risk with their constituencies or donors in coming up with solutions and experiments in what should be a desperate bid to save lives. 18. The ruthless exposure of the private lives of public figures drives far too much talent away from government service. The public arena—and the shallow and petty assaults against those who dare to do something other than enrich themselves—has become so unforgiving that the republic is left with a significant roster of ineffectual, empty vessels whose ambition one would forgive if there were any genuine belief structure lurking within. 19. The caution in public life that we unwittingly encourage is corrosive. Those who say nothing wrong often say nothing much at all. 20. The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted. The elite’s intolerance of religious belief is perhaps one of the most telling signs that its political project constitutes a less open intellectual movement than many within it would claim. 21. Some cultures have produced vital advances; others remain dysfunctional and regressive. All cultures are now equal. Criticism and value judgments are forbidden. Yet this new dogma glosses over the fact that certain cultures and indeed subcultures . . . have produced wonders. Others have proven middling, and worse, regressive and harmful. 22. We must resist the shallow temptation of a vacant and hollow pluralism. We, in America and more broadly the West, have for the past half century resisted defining national cultures in the name of inclusivity. But inclusion into what? Excerpts from the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West, by Alexander C. Karp & Nicholas W. Zamiska techrepublicbook.com

@BristolCity We’re back in the usual cycle of good runs and bad runs. We’re on a bad run and when we rally again we will be mid table at best. I’m forgetting about the playoffs. The only fun we’ll get this year is a game with a premier league club in the FA cup and a free scarf.

Gerhard Struber's post-match thoughts. 💭

@LeeHarris All Trump bluster and diversion as usual. Will just fizzle out as will all the other decrying idiotic nonsense that people like this person (whoever Lee Harris is) spout about the BBC.

BREAKING: Trump CONFIRMS he will be filing a lawsuit against the BBC "probably this afternoon/tomorrow morning". I want Trump to financially destroy the BBC so comprehensively that it can't survive in its current form. Absolutely wonderful news. Trump is NOT backing down! 🔥

@SkyGroup can someone offer some assistance with issues I’ve had with Sky. I don’t use Facebook companies and phone and live chat customers support has been hopeless. I’ve cancelled my account and TV service as a result.

@SkyHelpTeam my experience with Sky this year has driven me away. Possibly the worse customer experience of 2025. Amazes me when the company should actually care about customer retention with so much competition these days.

@implausibleblog This is total nonsense. She is talking out of her backside.

Liz Truss on Fox News supporting Trump suing the BBC "There are lots of people in Britain who are cheering President Trump on and want him to sue the BBC" "Because they're a huge problem: they've lied, they've cheated, they've fiddled with footage" "Both in the case of President Trump but also covering up what's happening in Britain, whether it's mass migration, our economic problems, they are always bias towards the left" "And the British taxpayer has to pay for all of this fake news" "There is a lot of excitement against Conservatives in Britain that President Trump is actually taking the BBC on" Fox News, "Do you think an apology from the BBC is enough?" Liz Truss, "No I don't because they ke"ep doing it again and again" "They have painted a completely false picture of President Trump in Britain over a number of years" "They've done the same thing about Conservatives in our country" "And I believe the organisation needs to be defunded" "And as well as suing the BBC, I think it would be fantastic is President Trump were to encourage stopping the British taxpayer funding" "Fake news is damaging the countries reputation" "I mean the BBC used to be the paragon of journalism across the world, it was respected. It's now become a laughing stock and it needs to be put out of it's misery"

@benonwine Milk

Settle a debate. What do you call this?

Apple iPhone 14 Pro – 256GB – Deep Purple (Unlocked, eSIM‑Only) bristol.craigslist.org/mob/d/cheltenh…

#JeremyVine You are missing the point and singing to Trump’s tune. He’s simply flooding media with nonsense so everyone is looking in the wrong direction. He is burying his corruption and self enrichment. His plan is to create a Trump dynasty of power and wealth. Pure corruption

@Picadeltrans Please follow me back so I can message you. I would like to book your services

Truth & Lies youtu.be/_R19bBpUw-U?si… Musk should watch this. He might learn something. RT or also tweet this link to him… @elonmusk

@Tesla @TeslaOwnersUK Stopped at a @TeslaCharging Supercharger at Donnington Manor Hotel to charge my car. Got a £100 fine from ParkingEye for using it. No prominent signs, no warnings via the car/app. Tesla, is this the 'charging experience’ you're offering? #EV #Teslafail

@MissChris_hist What was the painting question?

#whowantstobeamillionaire #historyteacher #stuartsunday The answer is C

another point to secure our comfy mid table slumber #BRCSHW #bristolcity

We should be taking 3 points from Wednesday at home #BRCSHW #BristolCity

First half was promising, now we're right off the boil #bristolcity #BRCSHW

@Matt_Pinner Idris, but if not, Tom Holland for sure.

Who should be the next James Bond?

Time to get some new material, Donald.

@RachelReevesMP Stop continually blaming the Tory’s and get on with your job. We all know how badly they messed up but listening to you constantly blather, moan and point rather than figure it out doesn’t gain anyone’s support or trust.

We are under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited from the Conservatives after more than a decade of low growth and a £22 billion black hole in the public finances. That’s why we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations of our economy.

@TeslaOwnersUK @TeslaOwnersUK for sure this is FUD, but it is real. It is happening. My 2019 Tesla will be out of warranty soon and has the potential to be written off by a second HV failure.

@TeslaOwnersUK What happens when this fails out of Warranty? £20k for a new battery anyone? The car will be a write off. Tesla don’t sell remanufactured batteries. I wonder why? No worries, get an extended HVB warranty? In UK they do not exist, neither does insurance against HV battery failure

Remember to check the facts and ignore the FUD. 200k Miles 3&Y retain battery capacity of 85%