Ally Green
@allygreen.bsky.social
Climber, cyclist, critical materials specialist. Likes gardening. Big fan of night trains. May very occasionally write about metals and the energy transition. Based near Toulouse, France.
Pinned
Ally Green
@allygreen.bsky.social
· Nov 19
I’m on a starter pack! Many thanks to @sostheneung.bsky.social and to any new followers interested in critical minerals. I specialise in platinum group metals w/ a particular interest in mining (& hence some crossover interest in nickel and copper).
Tomorrow my son starts the internship that is the last stage of his French engineering diploma. For me it’s the end of seven expensive years supporting one or both kids through their studies. I’m going climbing in Greece to celebrate, not sure what I will do after that, but working less is the plan!
February 15, 2026 at 7:26 PM
Tomorrow my son starts the internship that is the last stage of his French engineering diploma. For me it’s the end of seven expensive years supporting one or both kids through their studies. I’m going climbing in Greece to celebrate, not sure what I will do after that, but working less is the plan!
Reposted by Ally Green
Hello!
I’m Gail, a one woman business, based in #Manchester
My online shop is full of bold & colourful prints, homewares, cards and t-shirts.
Have a look gailmyerscough.co.uk
I’m Gail, a one woman business, based in #Manchester
My online shop is full of bold & colourful prints, homewares, cards and t-shirts.
Have a look gailmyerscough.co.uk
February 14, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Hello!
I’m Gail, a one woman business, based in #Manchester
My online shop is full of bold & colourful prints, homewares, cards and t-shirts.
Have a look gailmyerscough.co.uk
I’m Gail, a one woman business, based in #Manchester
My online shop is full of bold & colourful prints, homewares, cards and t-shirts.
Have a look gailmyerscough.co.uk
@ironeconomist.bsky.social makes good points here (on new passport rules for entering UK).
Can see potential for edge cases in the other direction, eg people without a right to a UK passport who are refused entry on a foreign passport because they ‘look too British’.
Can see potential for edge cases in the other direction, eg people without a right to a UK passport who are refused entry on a foreign passport because they ‘look too British’.
That’s wild tbh. There are (tens of?) millions of dual and tri nationals who only hold a passport in one of their nationalities because their links to the other are tenuous at best.
February 14, 2026 at 8:45 AM
@ironeconomist.bsky.social makes good points here (on new passport rules for entering UK).
Can see potential for edge cases in the other direction, eg people without a right to a UK passport who are refused entry on a foreign passport because they ‘look too British’.
Can see potential for edge cases in the other direction, eg people without a right to a UK passport who are refused entry on a foreign passport because they ‘look too British’.
Do yourself a favour and watch this video. Amazing content.
“I’ve reviewed over 50 sticky toffee puddings” is an incredibly powerful way to begin a video
February 11, 2026 at 7:42 PM
Do yourself a favour and watch this video. Amazing content.
Medley of various types of sprouting broccoli from my garden. So pretty!
February 11, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Medley of various types of sprouting broccoli from my garden. So pretty!
Lots of talk about hybrid working today. This is … really not true of large private businesses, though ofc it depends on the sector and the specific job roles. Since COVID, online collaboration tools have improved and have made working in geographically distributed teams much easier.
You’re being facetious, but there’s several obvious answers: they put specialist functions and teams together in specific country offices, so people mostly work with colleagues nearby. They fly people around the world. Talk to people in multinational and they’ll say how awful cross-country work is.
February 11, 2026 at 12:09 PM
Lots of talk about hybrid working today. This is … really not true of large private businesses, though ofc it depends on the sector and the specific job roles. Since COVID, online collaboration tools have improved and have made working in geographically distributed teams much easier.
Igloo latest. More than a month later it's still standing! -10c today, no wonder Ruby the dog looks unimpressed.
bsky.app/profile/ally...
bsky.app/profile/ally...
February 10, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Igloo latest. More than a month later it's still standing! -10c today, no wonder Ruby the dog looks unimpressed.
bsky.app/profile/ally...
bsky.app/profile/ally...
Reposted by Ally Green
Having spent most of my working life in transport policy, this is the essential truth that so many people - including politicians with responsibility for transport decisions - don’t or won’t get.
To reduce congestion, you reduce capacity and reduce speed. The empirical evidence is overwhelming.
To reduce congestion, you reduce capacity and reduce speed. The empirical evidence is overwhelming.
If you widen that highway
you won’t reduce emissions
or congestion.
What you WILL do
is spend a lot of public money
to induce even more cars
emitting even more GHGs and pollution
in the same or worse congestion
with people still demanding that you widen the highway.
Period.
you won’t reduce emissions
or congestion.
What you WILL do
is spend a lot of public money
to induce even more cars
emitting even more GHGs and pollution
in the same or worse congestion
with people still demanding that you widen the highway.
Period.
February 10, 2026 at 8:11 AM
Having spent most of my working life in transport policy, this is the essential truth that so many people - including politicians with responsibility for transport decisions - don’t or won’t get.
To reduce congestion, you reduce capacity and reduce speed. The empirical evidence is overwhelming.
To reduce congestion, you reduce capacity and reduce speed. The empirical evidence is overwhelming.
This is an interesting read.
But things are changing, slowly. I'm no longer the only car-free person in my team at work. And neither of my kids (nor many of their peers) seem interested in driving at all.
But things are changing, slowly. I'm no longer the only car-free person in my team at work. And neither of my kids (nor many of their peers) seem interested in driving at all.
Lose thoughts from today:
Every well-designed bike lane, every frequent bus route and every pedestrian plaza represents a small erosion of the power of the automobile.
Power never surrenders willingly.
Especially not patriarchal dominance.
Let´s discuss!
medium.com/@backoffice_...
Every well-designed bike lane, every frequent bus route and every pedestrian plaza represents a small erosion of the power of the automobile.
Power never surrenders willingly.
Especially not patriarchal dominance.
Let´s discuss!
medium.com/@backoffice_...
From Fossil Patriarchy to Electric Technofascism: Why Automotive Violence Won’t End with EVs.
How the car-centric system perpetuates patriarchal violence — and why the electric transition threatens to make it worse.
medium.com
February 8, 2026 at 12:24 PM
This is an interesting read.
But things are changing, slowly. I'm no longer the only car-free person in my team at work. And neither of my kids (nor many of their peers) seem interested in driving at all.
But things are changing, slowly. I'm no longer the only car-free person in my team at work. And neither of my kids (nor many of their peers) seem interested in driving at all.
Having had a surprisingly good experience on UK trains this week, now having a rather shit one on French trains: TGV to Toulouse is running 20 mins late, which means I will miss the last train home, which leaves at 19h45 (on a Saturday night 🤐).
January 31, 2026 at 5:38 PM
Having had a surprisingly good experience on UK trains this week, now having a rather shit one on French trains: TGV to Toulouse is running 20 mins late, which means I will miss the last train home, which leaves at 19h45 (on a Saturday night 🤐).
I accidentally chose a name for my daughter that is quite ‘posh-coded’: she never met a single person with her name until she started moving in Paris intelligentsia circles. This year 50% of the new doctorantes at her Paris école doctorale have the same first name as her 🤣
was directly inspired by briefly dating a v posh Tory in my twenties and at some point, when he was off to some birthday party, going "have fun with the Tarquins!" and that's when he revealed he knew not one but two of them
January 31, 2026 at 5:18 PM
I accidentally chose a name for my daughter that is quite ‘posh-coded’: she never met a single person with her name until she started moving in Paris intelligentsia circles. This year 50% of the new doctorantes at her Paris école doctorale have the same first name as her 🤣
Asked the AI feature on one of our expensive corporate research subscriptions to summarize available data on an obscure mining project: it gave me a very neat summary of the prefeasibility study - of a completely different project in another country 💩
January 30, 2026 at 4:01 PM
Asked the AI feature on one of our expensive corporate research subscriptions to summarize available data on an obscure mining project: it gave me a very neat summary of the prefeasibility study - of a completely different project in another country 💩
I am as Green as can be (in name and politics) but for the reasons James gives, Polanski is an absolute red line for me wrt voting for UK Greens, only crossable if required to prevent a Reform win (unlikely in my consistency).
It's telling how Green people keep trying to twist what Polanski did with Thypnoboobs stuff because it is entirely indefensible and speaks hugely to his character.
It's a puff piece. He is directly quoted saying his hypnosis can have a physical effect. He's lying to vulnerable women for publicity.
It's a puff piece. He is directly quoted saying his hypnosis can have a physical effect. He's lying to vulnerable women for publicity.
He never claimed...
weird because here he is directly quoted *literally doing that*. And he's never said he was misquoted - he's said he disowned the comments immediately but never did so on his website etc (he just noted how much attention they've got
weird because here he is directly quoted *literally doing that*. And he's never said he was misquoted - he's said he disowned the comments immediately but never did so on his website etc (he just noted how much attention they've got
January 29, 2026 at 11:16 AM
I am as Green as can be (in name and politics) but for the reasons James gives, Polanski is an absolute red line for me wrt voting for UK Greens, only crossable if required to prevent a Reform win (unlikely in my consistency).
Very true in industry - in my experience largely because because most over 50s in senior management have at best very superficial computer skills.
Nothing has highlighted just how technically illiterate the senior business management and political classes are right now as the whole AI thing.
Just an entire generation of "leaders" incapable of spotting a bad sales pitch because of some woo woo tech words that sound cool.
Just an entire generation of "leaders" incapable of spotting a bad sales pitch because of some woo woo tech words that sound cool.
We want to make sure tutoring isn't the preserve of a lucky few, but accessible to every child who needs it.
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
AI can help us do that.
Safe, personalised, one-to-one learning support to help every child achieve and thrive.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...
January 29, 2026 at 11:06 AM
Very true in industry - in my experience largely because because most over 50s in senior management have at best very superficial computer skills.
Reposted by Ally Green
On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
This was a minor story on London news this morning - but suspect is a real cautionary (and alarming) tale of an older man getting radicalised online.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Sidcup man convicted aover explosive attack on Ulez camera
Kevin Rees's homemade bomb caused damage to vehicles and property including a child's bedroom.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 29, 2026 at 9:43 AM
On almost everything – fraud, polarisation, radicalisation, misinformation – evidence suggests that over 60s are in much more urgent need of online protection and education than teenagers.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
But that issue gets zero political attention, and is a total non-starter. Nothing good will come of it.
Reposted by Ally Green
The TACO cycle:
Markets want to price in TACO. But TACO only works if Trump sees stocks tank.
So we get a loop: Trump does things → nothing happens (markets already priced in TACO) → that emboldens him to do more → until markets start to think he might not TACO → stocks fall → TACO is restored.
Markets want to price in TACO. But TACO only works if Trump sees stocks tank.
So we get a loop: Trump does things → nothing happens (markets already priced in TACO) → that emboldens him to do more → until markets start to think he might not TACO → stocks fall → TACO is restored.
January 21, 2026 at 7:48 PM
The TACO cycle:
Markets want to price in TACO. But TACO only works if Trump sees stocks tank.
So we get a loop: Trump does things → nothing happens (markets already priced in TACO) → that emboldens him to do more → until markets start to think he might not TACO → stocks fall → TACO is restored.
Markets want to price in TACO. But TACO only works if Trump sees stocks tank.
So we get a loop: Trump does things → nothing happens (markets already priced in TACO) → that emboldens him to do more → until markets start to think he might not TACO → stocks fall → TACO is restored.
What really made me laugh about the @musicologyduck.bsky.social thread were all the replies from non-bus-riding Americans doubting that this could possibly be happening. Most people who use buses regularly will have experienced a bus driver going loco at some point!
January 20, 2026 at 7:33 PM
What really made me laugh about the @musicologyduck.bsky.social thread were all the replies from non-bus-riding Americans doubting that this could possibly be happening. Most people who use buses regularly will have experienced a bus driver going loco at some point!
Igloo my son & girlfriend built at New Year is still standing! (Uppsala, Sweden, featuring a guest spot by Ruby Dog).
January 12, 2026 at 2:08 PM
Igloo my son & girlfriend built at New Year is still standing! (Uppsala, Sweden, featuring a guest spot by Ruby Dog).
Reposted by Ally Green
The Grok "response" really does sum up Starmer's government:
The inability to make even a very simple decision
A complete lack of morality
Incoherent and contradictory rhetoric
Shifting the responsibility to someone else
SpAds running policy for their benefit
Eventual reversal of policy
The inability to make even a very simple decision
A complete lack of morality
Incoherent and contradictory rhetoric
Shifting the responsibility to someone else
SpAds running policy for their benefit
Eventual reversal of policy
January 9, 2026 at 8:19 AM
The Grok "response" really does sum up Starmer's government:
The inability to make even a very simple decision
A complete lack of morality
Incoherent and contradictory rhetoric
Shifting the responsibility to someone else
SpAds running policy for their benefit
Eventual reversal of policy
The inability to make even a very simple decision
A complete lack of morality
Incoherent and contradictory rhetoric
Shifting the responsibility to someone else
SpAds running policy for their benefit
Eventual reversal of policy
No shit eh @suecowley.bsky.social
Exclusive: Labour's support has collapsed among school & college staff, according to a poll carried out for UK's biggest education union NEU
NEU general sec @danielkebedeneu.bsky.social tells me conditions have worsened for teachers since Labour took power
NEU general sec @danielkebedeneu.bsky.social tells me conditions have worsened for teachers since Labour took power
Support For Labour Has Collapsed Among Teachers, Union Poll Shows
Exclusive: Labour's support has collapsed among school and college staff, according to a poll carried out on behalf of the country's biggest educat...
www.politicshome.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:46 PM
No shit eh @suecowley.bsky.social
My train was supposed to leave at 13h47 and we are still in Toulouse. Already eaten my consolation cookies. Gonna be a long journey home.
January 6, 2026 at 2:29 PM
My train was supposed to leave at 13h47 and we are still in Toulouse. Already eaten my consolation cookies. Gonna be a long journey home.
It's a very high bar but tempted to say this is the second stupidest British government of my lifetime and it unfortunately has a much longer shelf life than the stupidest one.
extremely cool and good that the govt is making significant decisions based on obviously made up "facts" that they are too stupid to realise are made up
January 5, 2026 at 8:47 PM
It's a very high bar but tempted to say this is the second stupidest British government of my lifetime and it unfortunately has a much longer shelf life than the stupidest one.
Reposted by Ally Green
The premises... that this is anything to do with being a cop [the pardon of Honduras' ex President! Trying to coerce Ukraine! operation having no legal basis in US!]... that Trump is part of what the rest of us understand as 'Western civilization'.
January 3, 2026 at 11:32 AM
The premises... that this is anything to do with being a cop [the pardon of Honduras' ex President! Trying to coerce Ukraine! operation having no legal basis in US!]... that Trump is part of what the rest of us understand as 'Western civilization'.
This is all very well, but why haven’t British parliamentarians and members of government taken any formal action against X, as several of their French counterparts have done?
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
January 2, 2026 at 9:56 PM
This is all very well, but why haven’t British parliamentarians and members of government taken any formal action against X, as several of their French counterparts have done?
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
At least some French politicians seem to be taking appropriate action over CSAM and non-consensual sexual images on X.
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
France to investigate deepfakes of women stripped naked by Grok
Hundreds of women and teenagers have reported their photos published on social media have been “undressed” by Grok.
www.politico.eu
January 2, 2026 at 9:11 PM
At least some French politicians seem to be taking appropriate action over CSAM and non-consensual sexual images on X.
www.politico.eu/article/fran...
www.politico.eu/article/fran...