to me, a layup sensible AI regulation is "do not allow the AI agent to make phone calls for any reason"

"Christian nationalism" in the UK is essentially a post-religious identity. Unlike the evangelical right in the US, it has no theological content, does not require belief in God & demands no moral or religious commitment. It reduces Christianity to a cultural "heritage" to be "defended" from Islam

Public executions were not abolished out of tenderness towards the criminal. They were abolished because of the effect on the people watching, and the dangers of making human death a source of commercial entertainment. Here's Charles Dickens in The Times, after witnessing an execution in 1849.

What a weird world we live in - Ukraine hits a data centre deep in Russia - Irish twitter users see racist posts about IPAS centres in Offaly fall off a cliff

for some reason I just recalled this spectacularly inept piece of work

Unsurprisingly, I think Christabel is right! I think this is a point that Labour urgently needs to grasp. I think and lot of people in the Burnhamverse do get this, but it's far from universal.

RIP Chris Wickham. Unlike so many historians who emphasise particularities and contingencies, he was the master of constructing grand, coherent, beautifully rendered worlds out of his evidence. This, from his 2021 Past and Present essay, is a masterpiece of historical writing.

but who will speak for the social democrats

The Guardian | Culture | REVIEW: Visionary creator brings wit and charm to sparkling adaptation of beloved classic ⭐⭐⭐☆☆

I accidentally spent £17,700 on 400 subscriptions to the LRB for Home Office staff and now the Life in the UK test is asking applicants to rank Derek Jarman films from most to least emotionally resonant?

My post-industrial techno act - mainly comprising the clattering of keypads, the hiss of the coffee machine, and the Teams notification sound - has been wrongfully non-platformed by many of Manchester's so-called "forward-thinking" music venues

(not understanding anything): yannis varoufakis is jarvis cocker's wife

The posture of Knowingness which is quick to assert that actually there is no sense things are getting worse when the state livestreams an execution because it's analogous to cop killings of the past is very stupid. You can and should notice changes.

Sort of wonder how tankies can still sustain their stance of “Russia is the victim of western aggression” when Trump clearly wants Russia to win and happily enables Putin’s genocidal aims towards Ukraine.

Should the British government be on a website whose owner uses it to call for the executions of British journalists? Might be an interesting one to put to any ministers coming up for interviews?

As I always say to my students (sometimes with this specific example) you really need to think about the size of the effect and not just the sign. “Do rich people move in response to tax increases?” is not the right question for policy. The right question is, *how much* do they move?

Exclusive polling reveals residents rejected the Greens in order "not to undermine the Labour government"