M.B. Drapier
@mbdrapier.bsky.social
A jumped-up egg. I can neither confirm nor deny that I am the Queen of the May.
The second half of The Road to Wigan Pier is to a large extent about this mentality and kind of guy.
December 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
The second half of The Road to Wigan Pier is to a large extent about this mentality and kind of guy.
See also www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f... .
Second Thoughts on James Burnham | The Orwell Foundation
"It is curious that in all his talk about the struggle for power, Burnham never stops to ask why people want power."
www.orwellfoundation.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:27 PM
See also www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f... .
Mom & Dad
YouTube video by Frank Zappa - Topic
youtu.be
November 30, 2025 at 6:10 AM
How old was the exploit? If it was something lying around from the late ‘90s-early ‘00s then that’s not so esoteric.
November 29, 2025 at 3:42 AM
How old was the exploit? If it was something lying around from the late ‘90s-early ‘00s then that’s not so esoteric.
But they’ve thought of that: that’s why the claim is that Biden was unaware of the documents signed in his name, or mentally incompetent to approve their signing, not simply that autopen signings are invalid. Still nonsense of course, but a different kind of nonsense.
November 29, 2025 at 3:28 AM
But they’ve thought of that: that’s why the claim is that Biden was unaware of the documents signed in his name, or mentally incompetent to approve their signing, not simply that autopen signings are invalid. Still nonsense of course, but a different kind of nonsense.
To be fair, they’ve thought of that. Trump was quite careful to claim that Biden was unaware or mentally incompetent when those documents were signed, not simply that they were autopen jobs. Still a nonsense argument of course, but a different species of nonsense.
November 29, 2025 at 3:24 AM
To be fair, they’ve thought of that. Trump was quite careful to claim that Biden was unaware or mentally incompetent when those documents were signed, not simply that they were autopen jobs. Still a nonsense argument of course, but a different species of nonsense.
An inward-facing clique with an ethos semi-detached from broader society; a truculent "épater les normies" attitude mixed with an empty and self-serving pragmatism: it sometimes feels a bit as if classic-era Living Marxism has formed the latest British government.
November 28, 2025 at 12:44 PM
The media revered Greenwald after the Snowden leak, @agraybee.bsky.social? I’m not sure about that: ISTR there was considerable tension between him and the Guardian about the handling of the material, for instance?
November 28, 2025 at 12:40 PM
The media revered Greenwald after the Snowden leak, @agraybee.bsky.social? I’m not sure about that: ISTR there was considerable tension between him and the Guardian about the handling of the material, for instance?
Farage will get control of the UK’s security services, for a start. Even vehemently anti-Reform people in Britain haven’t really started to think about what that might lead to, AFAICT.
November 27, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Farage will get control of the UK’s security services, for a start. Even vehemently anti-Reform people in Britain haven’t really started to think about what that might lead to, AFAICT.
After all, what is there that Musk both a) would actually want to spend even $100bn on and b) couldn’t just order Tesla or SpaceX to do? He probably doesn’t want to fund USAID *or* build a giant pleasure palace. So it’s moving money from one pocket to another … unless it’s to frontrun creditors.
November 27, 2025 at 11:36 PM
After all, what is there that Musk both a) would actually want to spend even $100bn on and b) couldn’t just order Tesla or SpaceX to do? He probably doesn’t want to fund USAID *or* build a giant pleasure palace. So it’s moving money from one pocket to another … unless it’s to frontrun creditors.
This is where the $1tn US salary payment is intended to come in, surely? If Musk can get a large enough cash warchest, held free and clear in his own name, then he can recycle it back into rescue packages for his companies, or into management-led buyouts at deep discounts once they go bankrupt.
November 27, 2025 at 2:57 PM
This is where the $1tn US salary payment is intended to come in, surely? If Musk can get a large enough cash warchest, held free and clear in his own name, then he can recycle it back into rescue packages for his companies, or into management-led buyouts at deep discounts once they go bankrupt.
I’m pretty happy to assume that it’s a plagiarism machine that just guesses and bullshits; but since it’s superhumanly good at guessing and bullshitting there’s undeniable utility in that!
November 27, 2025 at 3:34 AM
I’m pretty happy to assume that it’s a plagiarism machine that just guesses and bullshits; but since it’s superhumanly good at guessing and bullshitting there’s undeniable utility in that!
And if the people above you with the P&L responsibility are in fact the ones yelling loudest for more, more AI usage, why would you choose to stand in their way?
November 26, 2025 at 6:51 PM
And if the people above you with the P&L responsibility are in fact the ones yelling loudest for more, more AI usage, why would you choose to stand in their way?
See if you can do it as a @horsedisc.bsky.social collab.
November 26, 2025 at 6:47 PM
See if you can do it as a @horsedisc.bsky.social collab.
Reposted by M.B. Drapier
Transcript:
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co/episodes/the...
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co/episodes/the...
Hard Drugs | Transcript: The history of vaccines
Before vaccines became routine, they were risky experiments. In this episode, Jacob and Saloni travel back to the world of smallpox, cowpox, and cow-based “vaccine farms” to see how scientists stum...
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co
November 26, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Transcript:
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co/episodes/the...
harddrugs.worksinprogress.co/episodes/the...
We were promised flying scooters.
November 26, 2025 at 1:10 PM
We were promised flying scooters.
A necessary evil.
November 25, 2025 at 8:12 AM
A necessary evil.
Surely a deep-cover Brass Eye windup.
November 25, 2025 at 1:23 AM
Surely a deep-cover Brass Eye windup.
I mean, it sounds as if a morality crackdown by fire-and-brimstone conservative mullahs straight out of Riyadh would be a significant net improvement in Helmand.
November 24, 2025 at 2:55 PM
I mean, it sounds as if a morality crackdown by fire-and-brimstone conservative mullahs straight out of Riyadh would be a significant net improvement in Helmand.
Ironically this this is an area where the US’ national politics resembles the UK’s: witness the Republican base’s forelock-tugging toward Mister Trump and the Democrats’ generations-old urge to bend the knee to a fine Harvard man on a white horse.
November 22, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Ironically this this is an area where the US’ national politics resembles the UK’s: witness the Republican base’s forelock-tugging toward Mister Trump and the Democrats’ generations-old urge to bend the knee to a fine Harvard man on a white horse.
How could you forget the birth rate?
November 22, 2025 at 11:40 AM
How could you forget the birth rate?