Brian

@lyndseyfifield Have they thought this through. They can have a gun in the car when they are at work. What do they do if they want to stop off at the cash and carry on the way home.

When I saw an influencer on Instagram talking about this I thought it had to be an exaggeration or distortion of the bill—an overly-simplified summary that missed some nuance in order to cast them as Disney villains. I read the bill. The Virginia Democrats *surgically* carved themselves (and ONLY themselves) out from their gun control measure. They are moving shamelessly without any pretense, like nothing I've ever seen before.

@ScottMGreer Canada has lower sentences for black criminals and higher ones for white criminals. Black criminals are more likely to commit crime against other black people and whites against whites. So law abiding whites get better protection from crime than law abiding blacks. Is that right?

This isn’t the primary fault of a random judge. Canada changed the legal code to grant preferential treatment to minorities in criminal cases. This is what “systemic racism” actually looks like.

@prestonjbyrne Couldn't they just start communicating in French. And insist on French for all future written communication.

The one good thing about Ofcom picking on small Canadian websites is that it means they’ve realized the U.S. is a hard target I can’t run point with the defense of Canada from Euro censorship, but I will gladly help, for free, whoever in the Canadian free speech bar steps up.

@Glinner I'm very much in favour of this sort of thing. Given how stupid they are it's just probably as well they're not doing council business. Then they might do some real damage.

So funny.

@russellfranks @KasraAarabi @SimonDanczuk Weirdly i think their charitable status should remain. When they fill in the gift aid forms to reclaim the tax they have to give the names and addresses of their uk based donors. Maybe, just maybe, the charity commission have been asked by MI5 to cut them a bit of slack.

@KasraAarabi @SimonDanczuk We need to severely re-examine charity status for terrorist support supporting UK charities. It is beyond inexplicable that we give tax breaks to this organization.

UK-registered charity, the Islamic Centre of England (ICE), holds a vigil for Khamenei, referring to him as “our leader … and a great martyr.” ICE operates as the official office of the Islamic regime’s supreme leader in the UK. Khamenei had British blood on his hands.

@cthulhupotamus @EmilyThornberry The Allies issued terms of surrender to the Japanese. The Japanese responded. I understand that they insisted that the emperor remained in place. The allies agreed. A successful negotiation. Rather one sided but a negotiation nonetheless.

@EmilyThornberry Which negotiations ended World War II? 🤣

Wars are only ever resolved through negotiation. It’s tragic that calm heads did not prevail in the US when the Omani Foreign Minister said, just hours before the bombing started, that a peace deal was within reach. And now hotheads in Iran think it’s a good idea to bomb Oman.

@CryptoIRELAND1 Germany, Japan, Korea, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France,

Can anyone name one country that thrived after a US 🇺🇸 regime change

@JamesAlphaXYZ @USWREMichael @AnthropicAI No. Claude, correctly, takes the view that those with a western background understand free expression and the associated trade offs. It does not take the same view of non western traditions.

@USWREMichael @AnthropicAI Fr, the implications of prioritizing non-Western sensibilities in AI are kinda wild. What happens when those clash with our own values, tho? Is Claude hedging its bets?

Prior to their new “Constitution,” @AnthropicAI had an old one they desperately tried to delete from the internet. “Choose the response that is least likely to be viewed as harmful or offensive to a non-western cultural tradition of any sort.”

@worstall @magattew So is the lack of reserves really a problem with a lack of deposits. Or is it that mining companies are reluctant to invest in turning deposits into reserves.

@magattew It's always about adding value, not extracting it.....

Everyone talks about how Africa needs to “leverage its natural resources” and I don't think people are paying attention to what's actually happening. Botswana was the success story.  They did everything right with their diamonds for decades, saved money, built solid institutions, avoided the corruption that wrecked other resource-rich countries.  Then lab-grown diamonds showed up. Debswana's sales dropped over 50% in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the year before. Anglo American has written down De Beers' value by $4.5 billion over two years. The company is now valued at around $4 billion, less than what Anglo paid for just a 40% stake back in 2011. Lab-grown diamonds now make up around 45-50% of engagement ring purchases in the US.  They are chemically identical to natural diamonds and cost 80-85% less. Gen Z and millennials don't care that it came from the ground. And Botswana can't do anything about it. Same pattern with cocoa. Ghana's production collapsed from over a million tons to around 617,000 this season, with 81% of growing areas hit by disease.  Ecuador, Indonesia, Vietnam are all expanding to fill the gap with better yields and fewer headaches. And that famous “Africa has 30% of world's critical minerals” stat everyone loves to repeat?  When you actually look at the minerals that matter for the green transition, the ones on standard lists like lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper, rare earths, Africa's share of global reserves is under 5%.  The 30% number comes from cherry-picking a few minerals where Africa is strong and ignoring the full picture. When your commodity becomes difficult to deal with, the market doesn't wait.  It builds alternatives and moves on. Switzerland has limited natural resources. Nigeria has oil, natural gas, gold, coal, iron ore, and cocoa. Yet Switzerland's GDP per capita is about 95 times higher. The difference was never what's in the ground.

@Jenny_1884 No. But I might be persuaded that a policy of giving a free national lottery ticket to in-person voters might be a good idea.

Is it time now in the UK that voting is made compulsory?

@KonstantinKisin @YvetteCooperMP The telling point with the actions of the Taliban in Afghanistan is that they profess to follow Islam, they implement extremely misogynistic policies and yet no one calls them out for being Un-Islamic.

@YvetteCooperMP Please stop being Islamophobic. Diversity is Afghanistan's greatest strength.

I’m appalled by continuing restrictions imposed on women and girls in Afghanistan. The Taliban’s new criminal procedure code legitimises domestic violence and targets women and minorities. These oppressive measures must be rescinded. The rights of all Afghans must be protected.

@na_option @pbeisel You may come to regret that response. After all, in the not too distant future, Tesla may well be charging for a steering wheel as an optional extra.

@pbeisel 😆

Ford is trying to be profitable on the Mach-E in any way they could. Won’t work.

@worstall There are about 70 million people in the UK. £1bn is £14 per person or £56 for a family of 4. So with £1bn we could give about £100 to every low income family and have a bit left over. £300bn is £30k per low income family. But lets give it to the graduates instead .....

Student loans are c. £300 billion. Cancelling that means the taxpayer picks that up. The annual cost of financing that borrowing is between £20 and £30 billion. So, somewhere between all the revenue from tabs and booze tax to all from fuel duty. Nah. Make the students pay.

@UsmanKhanTanol7 @Keir_Starmer When Iran and Iraq went to war they didn't stop for Ramadan. When Muslim countries attacked Israel they did so on holy Jewish days. If Muslims don't respect their own, or others, holy days why would you expect their enemies to?

@Keir_Starmer Muslims should at least be guaranteed safety during the holy month of Ramadan. Islamophobia appears to be at its peak, and unfortunately, it sometimes seems even more prevalent in developed societies than in underdeveloped nations.

I am concerned to hear of the incident at Manchester Central Mosque last night. I know this will be worrying for Muslim communities, especially during Ramadan, a time of peace and reflection. My thanks go to the volunteers and emergency services for their quick response. We have provided up to £40 million funding for additional security at mosques, Muslim schools and community centres, and will continue to act to ensure communities are able to live without fear.

@LundukeJournal I really think that the tech industry should let them pass the legislation without any serious opposition. Then, they will have to repeal it and suffer the associated humiliation.

Colorado Democrats have introduced new legislation which would require Operating Systems (such as Linux or Windows) to perform age verification at the system level. “Age Attestation on Computing Devices” (SB26-051) would: - Apply to all Operating Systems, Open Source or proprietary (Linux, FreeBSD, macOS, etc.). - Require the OS to set a user’s age upon account creation, and store that within the system. - Require the OS to provide an API for application developers to request an age (or “age bracket”) for the user. - Institute a $7,500 fine for “intentional violation” of the bill (which would include refusing to implement the age verification and API). This version of the bill does not indicate how the age of the user would be verified (outside of a good faith declaration of age). That language is currently vague and open to wide interpretation. leg.colorado.gov/bills/SB26-051

@Mello_Proto @Rager The tax will not affect the ultra wealthy very much You will only pay tax on unrealized gains if the asset can easily be valued. For example, traded stocks or crypto. If your money is invested in illiquid assets, you will only pay tax when those assets are sold.

@Rager I’m a strong advocate for this kind of tax. The ultra wealthy hold on to their wealth, and that wealth could be better utilized in other places. The first thing I’m doing when I retire is pursuing a move out.

You made no money. You sold nothing. You still owe taxes. The absurdity of unrealized gains taxation.

@worstall Not sure it's that simple. As I understand it the Dutch are moving from a stupid, but low tax system, to something like the system we have in the gross UK. The transition period will be even lower tax. Not really a new tax on unrealised gains at all.

We should thank the Dutch in advance. For this is going to be a disaster. Which will show the rest of us how stupid it would be to tax unrealised capital gains.

@peterboghossian You get professors to rank their students. Top to bottom. Then you rank the whole year top yo bottom. You do this by picking the ranking that best fits each individual professors ranking. You give A's to the top 20% .

The problem of grade inflation is ridiculously easy to solve while maintaining professor grading freedom. On the transcript: 1) Mean grade for the particular class is listed next to the student’s grade 2) Mean grade for graduating class is listed next to the graduate’s GPA

@astor_charlie @PolitlcsUK Weirdly this is brilliant news for Labour. The MP, whoever they are, will vote in exactly the way a Labour MP would have voted. But, because they are not a Labour MP there will be one less MP competing for ministerial posts in the new govt.

@PolitlcsUK Very telling that Streeting highlights Labour's safest seat, now lost, is "(Muslim 51%)"... Perhaps, Labour are finally realising that importing millions of people who vote along racial and sectarian lines isn't going to pan out for the party in the long run.

🚨 NEW: Wes Streeting has published his WhatsApp messages with Peter Mandelson "I am toast at the next election" [28/03/2025, 11:36:06] Wes Streeting: I fear we're in big trouble here - and I am toast at the next election. We just lost our safest ward in Redbridge (51% Muslim, Ilford S) to a Gaza independent. At this rate I don't think we'll hold either of the two Ilford seats. [28/03/2025, 11:39:54] Wes Streeting: There isn't a clear answer to the question: why Labour? [28/03/2025, 11:48:44] Lord Mandelson: The government doesn't have an economic philosophy which is then followed through in a programme of policies. [28/03/2025, 11:49:15] Wes Streeting: No growth strategy at all "Israel is committing war crimes" [24/07/2025, 23:00:29] Wes Streeting: Am sure this will come up in coming days, so wanted to check in with you on recognition of Palestine and the domestic politics of it. Keir's statement today was excellent, but Macron's statement tonight ups the ante. Morally and politically, I think we need to join France. Morally, because Israel is committing war crimes before our eyes. Their government talks the language of ethnic cleansing and I have met with our own medics out there who describe the most chilling and distressing scenes of calculated brutality against women and children. Politically, a Commons vote will be engineered in September on recognition and we will lose it if we're not ahead of it. There are no circumstances in which people like me or Shabana could abstain or vote against, for example. Conference will be a sea of Palestinian flags and the moderates will be waving them. We need to be leading the charge on this. The alternative is being dragged there with enormous damage to Keir, the govt and the party. I've never been a shrinking violent on Israel. I've supported LFI for over 20 years. Our sister party, Haaretz, and progressives are clear about what's being done in their name and they oppose it. I appreciate these things are always more complicated than they appear to those of us who aren't up close as you are and I also appreciate how much Keir and David are giving to this personally. But it is what it is. We need to lead, not follow. [24/07/2025, 23:11:47] Lord Mandelson: I can see all this but I am worried that such a gesture now could blow a 2 SS out of the water if Israel decided that unilateral recognition justified further WB annexation which the US would be powerless to stop or reverse. That would be the end of it. So I think we need to employ practical means to get a 2SS, not quickly I grant but realistically. The PA with reform and new leadership can advance this with Arab/US/European support. The alternative is a further deadlocked death spiral on an even greater scale than now. [24/07/2025, 23:12:10] Wes Streeting: Israel is doing it anyway. [24/07/2025, 23:12:39] Wes Streeting: This is rogue state behaviour. Let them pay the price as pariahs with sanctions applied to the state, not just a few ministers.

@thom_citizen @JesusFerna7026 @Someone1599376 Imagine a situation where you have 1 live birth per woman. So 1000 women have 500 boys and 500 girls. Those 500 girls go on to have 250 boys and 250 girls. You need 2 live births per woman to keep the population stable. The projection says that by 2100 SK will only have 1.3.

@llcli_brian @JesusFerna7026 @Someone1599376 Is it saying there will be the same number of children born, but in a smaller population then? It makes sense that nonparents dying off will reduce population. But wouldn't the same proportion of parents to nonparents re-appear in the next generation, unless culture changes?

The 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects from the UN Population Division (2024 WPP) has serious credibility problems, both in data accuracy and in projection plausibility. This matters because it undermines rational demographic discussion. Here’s the pattern: I present recent data from national statistical institutes, and someone counters with 2024 WPP figures, either directly or via websites and AI tools that draw from it. The disconnect has become impossible to ignore. Let me illustrate with China’s birth data from 2019 to 2025, plotted against the 2024 WPP estimates and projections. In 2024, China’s births rose modestly by around 520,000, thanks to the Year of the Dragon, traditionally considered auspicious for childbearing. What's revealing isn’t the increase itself, but how small it was. Then came 2025: births plummeted by 1.62 million to just 7.92 million. Even accounting for the dragon year bump, this represents a 1.1 million drop from 2023. The scale of this decline is staggering. The 2024 WPP didn’t project China would reach this birth level until 2048. Reality has arrived 23 years ahead of the 2024 WPP. Why the massive discrepancy? The 2024 WPP assumes China’s fertility rate, after years of nearly uninterrupted decline, would suddenly reverse course starting in 2024 (births would increase a bit later because of smaller cohort sizes of women in their fertile ages; recall the difference between fertility and birth rates). This assumption rests on a statistical mechanism called “reversion to the mean,” built into the model for mathematical convenience rather than empirical evidence. To be fair, China’s fertility (like global fertility) is entering uncharted territory. We’re witnessing demographic dynamics we’ve never seen before. I’m not demanding perfect projections. I can’t predict the future either. But I am asking for intellectual honesty about these models’ limitations. The 2024 WPP doesn’t provide it. So, when you cite the 2024 WPP to challenge demographic data, consider: you’re probably working with flawed assumptions. For a deeper look at the WPP's implausibility, see my slides at sas.upenn.edu/~jesusfv/Slide… particularly slide 18.