Reposted by SamScram
📝 New article on Our World in Data: A 73% average decline in wildlife populations: an overview of the 2026 Living Planet Index report.
The 2026 Living Planet Index report is published today. As with previous additions, it can make for a depressing read.
The 2026 Living Planet Index report is published today. As with previous additions, it can make for a depressing read.
October 8, 2026 at 8:05 AM
📝 New article on Our World in Data: A 73% average decline in wildlife populations: an overview of the 2026 Living Planet Index report.
The 2026 Living Planet Index report is published today. As with previous additions, it can make for a depressing read.
The 2026 Living Planet Index report is published today. As with previous additions, it can make for a depressing read.
Reposted by SamScram
Man who won’t give his employees piss breaks claims many piss breaks on the horizon
October 8, 2026 at 4:38 PM
Man who won’t give his employees piss breaks claims many piss breaks on the horizon
Reposted by SamScram
The more I think about it, the more I realise how many problems you'd create by the combination of abolishing stamp duty and allowing unlimited exemption from inheritance tax for housing.
You'd get a massive demand for "upsizing", putting all your wealth into housing, to avoid inheritance tax.
You'd get a massive demand for "upsizing", putting all your wealth into housing, to avoid inheritance tax.
October 8, 2026 at 1:24 PM
The more I think about it, the more I realise how many problems you'd create by the combination of abolishing stamp duty and allowing unlimited exemption from inheritance tax for housing.
You'd get a massive demand for "upsizing", putting all your wealth into housing, to avoid inheritance tax.
You'd get a massive demand for "upsizing", putting all your wealth into housing, to avoid inheritance tax.
Reposted by SamScram
Kemi Badenoch wants to exempt the family home from inheritance tax.
But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT.
That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing.
A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.
But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT.
That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing.
A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.
October 8, 2026 at 11:54 AM
Kemi Badenoch wants to exempt the family home from inheritance tax.
But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT.
That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing.
A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.
But that creates a perverse incentive for elderly people to *upsize* to save IHT.
That could double the cost of the policy, and push £100bn+ from savings into housing.
A 🧵 on bad tax cuts.
Reposted by SamScram
This is a good illustration of how so much of AI theft isn't indirect (ie, data sucked into a model to train the chatbot) - it's actually **direct** copying, but *enabled* by GenAI.
Of course it is: chatbots absolutely suck at creating good, new stuff.
Of course it is: chatbots absolutely suck at creating good, new stuff.
October 6, 2026 at 5:02 PM
This is a good illustration of how so much of AI theft isn't indirect (ie, data sucked into a model to train the chatbot) - it's actually **direct** copying, but *enabled* by GenAI.
Of course it is: chatbots absolutely suck at creating good, new stuff.
Of course it is: chatbots absolutely suck at creating good, new stuff.
Reposted by SamScram
Reposted by SamScram
Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
I discovered via an FOI request that DEFRA’s commitment in the National Adaptation Programme to run a “wildfire risk programme” since 2023 “was not brought into effect”.
#ClimateCrisis
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
I discovered via an FOI request that DEFRA’s commitment in the National Adaptation Programme to run a “wildfire risk programme” since 2023 “was not brought into effect”.
#ClimateCrisis
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
FOI request shows wildfire risk scheme scrapped, as data highlights many fire services lack proper protective gear
www.theguardian.com
October 4, 2026 at 9:11 AM
Revealed: Government quietly dropped plan to prepare England for wildfires
I discovered via an FOI request that DEFRA’s commitment in the National Adaptation Programme to run a “wildfire risk programme” since 2023 “was not brought into effect”.
#ClimateCrisis
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
I discovered via an FOI request that DEFRA’s commitment in the National Adaptation Programme to run a “wildfire risk programme” since 2023 “was not brought into effect”.
#ClimateCrisis
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
Reposted by SamScram
When they talk about reducing red tape, remember this image.
October 5, 2026 at 10:32 AM
When they talk about reducing red tape, remember this image.
Reposted by SamScram
Well, there we go again with the limits on UK trade policy imposed by the need to be nice to major partners. Reports that the UK will impose tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles, which will please both EU and US but not the UK consumer... www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Britain expected to impose tariffs on Chinese electric cars
Ministers are ready to match the EU’s 45 per cent levy to avoid pain of Made in Europe proposals
www.thetimes.com
October 5, 2026 at 5:52 AM
Well, there we go again with the limits on UK trade policy imposed by the need to be nice to major partners. Reports that the UK will impose tariffs on Chinese Electric Vehicles, which will please both EU and US but not the UK consumer... www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
Reposted by SamScram
Americans are relearning the lesson we learned during the Gilded Age of the late 1890s, when robber barons ran the government and the economy for their own benefit: Oligarchy is incompatible with the common good.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
October 2, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Americans are relearning the lesson we learned during the Gilded Age of the late 1890s, when robber barons ran the government and the economy for their own benefit: Oligarchy is incompatible with the common good.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
I'm hopeful we'll respond with a new progressive movement.
Reposted by SamScram
Overheard a well-heeled man in Sainsbury's earlier telling his wife "I can't believe he got 15 years for that and what did the Rochdale Grooming gangs get?"
Wish I had this to hand... (turns out he had weapons too)
Casual legal experts. The worst kind.
Wish I had this to hand... (turns out he had weapons too)
Casual legal experts. The worst kind.
October 2, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Overheard a well-heeled man in Sainsbury's earlier telling his wife "I can't believe he got 15 years for that and what did the Rochdale Grooming gangs get?"
Wish I had this to hand... (turns out he had weapons too)
Casual legal experts. The worst kind.
Wish I had this to hand... (turns out he had weapons too)
Casual legal experts. The worst kind.
Reposted by SamScram
Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.
October 2, 2026 at 3:04 PM
Today, 8 years ago, my friend, Saudi Journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered.
Reposted by SamScram
BBC re-running their headlines from 3 years ago when Sunak released 10,000 prisoners early over 6 months....oh wait, no, that went off without a media fuss.
Labour are releasing up to 5,000 early over a year - due to Tory failure to build prison capacity. They only built 36 net new places a year.
Labour are releasing up to 5,000 early over a year - due to Tory failure to build prison capacity. They only built 36 net new places a year.
October 1, 2026 at 10:22 AM
BBC re-running their headlines from 3 years ago when Sunak released 10,000 prisoners early over 6 months....oh wait, no, that went off without a media fuss.
Labour are releasing up to 5,000 early over a year - due to Tory failure to build prison capacity. They only built 36 net new places a year.
Labour are releasing up to 5,000 early over a year - due to Tory failure to build prison capacity. They only built 36 net new places a year.
Reposted by SamScram
Avg GDP growth 1945-79: 2.8%
Since then: 1.6%
And this apparently "broken, economically stagnant" basket case kept its AAA status right through the Winter of Discontent
We lost it under Cameron, and it fell again under May, then Johnson, and then Truss: i.e. the whole time Clarke was in govt
Since then: 1.6%
And this apparently "broken, economically stagnant" basket case kept its AAA status right through the Winter of Discontent
We lost it under Cameron, and it fell again under May, then Johnson, and then Truss: i.e. the whole time Clarke was in govt
October 1, 2026 at 12:13 PM
Avg GDP growth 1945-79: 2.8%
Since then: 1.6%
And this apparently "broken, economically stagnant" basket case kept its AAA status right through the Winter of Discontent
We lost it under Cameron, and it fell again under May, then Johnson, and then Truss: i.e. the whole time Clarke was in govt
Since then: 1.6%
And this apparently "broken, economically stagnant" basket case kept its AAA status right through the Winter of Discontent
We lost it under Cameron, and it fell again under May, then Johnson, and then Truss: i.e. the whole time Clarke was in govt
Reposted by SamScram
Time to join the Pheasants’ Revolt…
DEFRA have launched a Call for Evidence on the environmental & animal welfare impacts of the gamebird industry.
If you care about this, PLEASE submit evidence - this @wildjustice.bsky.social blog tells you how:
wildjustice.org.uk/defras-call-...
DEFRA have launched a Call for Evidence on the environmental & animal welfare impacts of the gamebird industry.
If you care about this, PLEASE submit evidence - this @wildjustice.bsky.social blog tells you how:
wildjustice.org.uk/defras-call-...
Defra’s Call for Evidence on gamebird releases; what exactly is it asking for? – Wild Justice
wildjustice.org.uk
September 30, 2026 at 8:42 AM
Time to join the Pheasants’ Revolt…
DEFRA have launched a Call for Evidence on the environmental & animal welfare impacts of the gamebird industry.
If you care about this, PLEASE submit evidence - this @wildjustice.bsky.social blog tells you how:
wildjustice.org.uk/defras-call-...
DEFRA have launched a Call for Evidence on the environmental & animal welfare impacts of the gamebird industry.
If you care about this, PLEASE submit evidence - this @wildjustice.bsky.social blog tells you how:
wildjustice.org.uk/defras-call-...
Reposted by SamScram
This is your semi-regular reminder that pensioner poverty:
a) is real
b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and
c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
a) is real
b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and
c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
September 30, 2026 at 12:47 PM
This is your semi-regular reminder that pensioner poverty:
a) is real
b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and
c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
a) is real
b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and
c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
🙄
New UK gas and oil projects are a ‘no-brainer’, says EDF boss: Developing North Sea fields does not contradict net zero goals, according to Simone Rossi New oil and gas projects are a “no-brainer” that pose “no contradiction” to the net zero agenda, according to the head of EDF Energy. Si...
New UK gas and oil projects are a ‘no-brainer’, says EDF boss
New UK gas and oil projects are a ‘no-brainer’, says EDF boss: Developing North Sea fields does not contradict net zero goals, according to Simone Rossi New oil and gas projects are a “no-brainer” that pose “no contradiction” to the net zero agenda, according to the head of EDF Energy. Si...
www.theguardian.com
September 30, 2026 at 4:41 PM
🙄
Reposted by SamScram
And still there are those cold blooded enough to deny there's a genocide going on?
September 27, 2026 at 9:39 PM
And still there are those cold blooded enough to deny there's a genocide going on?
Reposted by SamScram
Unfortunately it is only possible for a peron to ride two horses - in this case representing the needs of the unions and the public - until they diverge.
Re-industrialisation is an example of a point of divergence.
Re-industrialisation is an example of a point of divergence.
September 28, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Unfortunately it is only possible for a peron to ride two horses - in this case representing the needs of the unions and the public - until they diverge.
Re-industrialisation is an example of a point of divergence.
Re-industrialisation is an example of a point of divergence.
Reposted by SamScram
The drought has not gone away in much of England. In fact, it's getting worse. September has been pretty dry, October won't start much better. If things don't change, we are heading towards a below average winter of rainfall. That would be a catastrophe dwarfing all others. Enjoy your weekend 😬
September 26, 2026 at 8:42 AM
The drought has not gone away in much of England. In fact, it's getting worse. September has been pretty dry, October won't start much better. If things don't change, we are heading towards a below average winter of rainfall. That would be a catastrophe dwarfing all others. Enjoy your weekend 😬
Reposted by SamScram
When farms stop yielding, hunger does not knock — it breaks the door.
Across the Horn of Africa, soils that once fed nations are turning barren.
This is not “bad weather.”
This is climate change rewriting our food systems in real time.
Across the Horn of Africa, soils that once fed nations are turning barren.
This is not “bad weather.”
This is climate change rewriting our food systems in real time.
September 26, 2026 at 2:11 AM
When farms stop yielding, hunger does not knock — it breaks the door.
Across the Horn of Africa, soils that once fed nations are turning barren.
This is not “bad weather.”
This is climate change rewriting our food systems in real time.
Across the Horn of Africa, soils that once fed nations are turning barren.
This is not “bad weather.”
This is climate change rewriting our food systems in real time.
Reposted by SamScram
Enormous drop in oil demand this year due to Trump's war in Iran.
As predicted, he has accidentally accelerated the green transition (with, of course, a very heavy and deadly cost in how it's happened) www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...
As predicted, he has accidentally accelerated the green transition (with, of course, a very heavy and deadly cost in how it's happened) www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...
Analysis: Global fossil-fuel emissions set to fall in 2026 amid Hormuz crisis - Carbon Brief
Global fossil-fuel emissions are set to fall by in 2026 amid the fallout from the Hormuz crisis, according to Carbon Brief analysis.
www.carbonbrief.org
September 17, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Enormous drop in oil demand this year due to Trump's war in Iran.
As predicted, he has accidentally accelerated the green transition (with, of course, a very heavy and deadly cost in how it's happened) www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...
As predicted, he has accidentally accelerated the green transition (with, of course, a very heavy and deadly cost in how it's happened) www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-glo...
Reposted by SamScram
It's all on you, members of the British public, to solve the climate crisis, and I'm giving you 43p each to do so.
![Headline: British people understand the climate crisis threat. Today I’m empowering them to tackle it - Andy Burnham
[Photo of Andy Burnham, a middle aged white man with brown hair wearing a black shirt]
Subhead: With nearly £30m of funding, I’m giving communities power over local energy. They know the gravity of global heating, and they want to be part of the solution](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:dkc2vofr64wix56v7mdttnvd/bafkreiel4j3ypmpbswbj734nh5jav2lud52w4q6muopdsxnrodwji3vyri)
September 17, 2026 at 5:51 PM
It's all on you, members of the British public, to solve the climate crisis, and I'm giving you 43p each to do so.
Reposted by SamScram
As Ben Delo's record £36m Reform donation is headline news, I can't emphasise enough that the media ought to be reporting on Delo's heinous funding of antisemitic conspiracy theorists in the High Court – anonymous contributors to the horrifying neo-Nazi account shown below. bsky.app/profile/luke...
September 12, 2026 at 6:06 AM
As Ben Delo's record £36m Reform donation is headline news, I can't emphasise enough that the media ought to be reporting on Delo's heinous funding of antisemitic conspiracy theorists in the High Court – anonymous contributors to the horrifying neo-Nazi account shown below. bsky.app/profile/luke...