Chris Smith
@spyhistorian.bsky.social
Historian. Spies, signals intelligence, Second World War. Social and Cultural history. History of humour. Insults = 🚫
There is a scene in Baldur's Gate 2 when you're on the Mage Sphere and the gnome dudes turn out to be cannibals.
November 23, 2025 at 10:59 AM
There is a scene in Baldur's Gate 2 when you're on the Mage Sphere and the gnome dudes turn out to be cannibals.
Oh, Will, sweetheart... we do know who killed JFK. It was Lee Harvey Oswald.
November 23, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Oh, Will, sweetheart... we do know who killed JFK. It was Lee Harvey Oswald.
Rep. Sylvester Turner died on 5 March 2025. It took until 4 November to hold a special election. This did not produce an outright winner so the run-off if 31 January. And how long to get sworn in? How can it take the better part of a year to hold and install representatives?
November 22, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Rep. Sylvester Turner died on 5 March 2025. It took until 4 November to hold a special election. This did not produce an outright winner so the run-off if 31 January. And how long to get sworn in? How can it take the better part of a year to hold and install representatives?
Or suspect what goes on? It absolutely does and likely more than most would realise, even those who appreciate the point.
November 21, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Or suspect what goes on? It absolutely does and likely more than most would realise, even those who appreciate the point.
Indeed, but the joke speaks to something that is real but is typically unsuspecting - the volume of intelligence gathering that actually goes on.
November 21, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Indeed, but the joke speaks to something that is real but is typically unsuspecting - the volume of intelligence gathering that actually goes on.
I doubt very many at all are, but very likely all the major parties will have individuals, whether they realise or not, who will have been cultivated as sources of intelligence.
November 21, 2025 at 10:01 PM
I doubt very many at all are, but very likely all the major parties will have individuals, whether they realise or not, who will have been cultivated as sources of intelligence.
I think they'd rather not admit they've been using them right the entire time. All major powers and probably most minor ones collect intelligence and use embassies of hubs to do so. Britain does it.
November 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
I think they'd rather not admit they've been using them right the entire time. All major powers and probably most minor ones collect intelligence and use embassies of hubs to do so. Britain does it.
More like the railway bubble.
November 21, 2025 at 7:31 PM
More like the railway bubble.
A 1% tax on "wealth" above £10m is a pretty meaningless pledge: what exactly are they taxing and how? And I doubt it is realistic, wealth taxes on stock trading are pretty low. Why not a CTG above 24%? Higher stamp duty on valuable property? Higher dividend taxes?
November 21, 2025 at 4:37 PM
A 1% tax on "wealth" above £10m is a pretty meaningless pledge: what exactly are they taxing and how? And I doubt it is realistic, wealth taxes on stock trading are pretty low. Why not a CTG above 24%? Higher stamp duty on valuable property? Higher dividend taxes?
The issue is about how you tax wealth more generally as this does not differentiate between illiquid assets and liquid assets. The latter are easy to tax, the former difficult. Property accounts for around 40% of "wealth" in the UK, 30% in pensions, and 10% in physical wealth. Liquid assets just 14%
November 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
The issue is about how you tax wealth more generally as this does not differentiate between illiquid assets and liquid assets. The latter are easy to tax, the former difficult. Property accounts for around 40% of "wealth" in the UK, 30% in pensions, and 10% in physical wealth. Liquid assets just 14%
I keep on meaning to since the first album. Never got round to it.
November 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM
I keep on meaning to since the first album. Never got round to it.
Are you seriously incapable of not being able to distinguish between cash wealth and single asset wealth, despite having it repeatedly explained to you in the simplest terms?
November 21, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Are you seriously incapable of not being able to distinguish between cash wealth and single asset wealth, despite having it repeatedly explained to you in the simplest terms?
You kids are going to ensure we get a Farage government. What you are proposing is electoral poison and discredits the left because you don't understand what wealth is.
November 21, 2025 at 12:37 PM
You kids are going to ensure we get a Farage government. What you are proposing is electoral poison and discredits the left because you don't understand what wealth is.
So you think cash poor people have £10k lying around above their usual outgoings just because their home has risen in value? You're delusional and clearly have no real grasp of reality outside of your bubble.
November 21, 2025 at 12:34 PM
So you think cash poor people have £10k lying around above their usual outgoings just because their home has risen in value? You're delusional and clearly have no real grasp of reality outside of your bubble.
Seriously? The *asset*, the *wealth* proposed to be taxed, is the *property* and the amount to be determined based on the value of that property. That massively inflated property value, vastly above earnings, is the sole source of many individuals' wealth.
November 21, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Seriously? The *asset*, the *wealth* proposed to be taxed, is the *property* and the amount to be determined based on the value of that property. That massively inflated property value, vastly above earnings, is the sole source of many individuals' wealth.
*sigh*. I don't see why you struggle to find this difficult to follow. Perhaps you would better follow it via a graph? Perhaps finger painting?
November 21, 2025 at 12:13 PM
*sigh*. I don't see why you struggle to find this difficult to follow. Perhaps you would better follow it via a graph? Perhaps finger painting?
You just said they have to pay, like everyone else. What do you think that means in practice? How else are they going to pay it?
You get cause and effect, right?
You get cause and effect, right?
November 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM
You just said they have to pay, like everyone else. What do you think that means in practice? How else are they going to pay it?
You get cause and effect, right?
You get cause and effect, right?
And the point is they don't *have* more. They have an asset that has a notional value dependent on what the market is doing at a given time.
November 21, 2025 at 12:02 PM
And the point is they don't *have* more. They have an asset that has a notional value dependent on what the market is doing at a given time.
If you think that any party, Green, Labour or othersise, is going to win an election on a platform of forcing grandmas out of their homes of 50 years because she can't afford to pay a wealth tax on her one valuable asset, then you're living in a fantasy. It isn't going to happen.
November 21, 2025 at 12:00 PM
If you think that any party, Green, Labour or othersise, is going to win an election on a platform of forcing grandmas out of their homes of 50 years because she can't afford to pay a wealth tax on her one valuable asset, then you're living in a fantasy. It isn't going to happen.
Well, clearly, it is exactly what we are talking about - a wealth tax on assets. In this case, the hypothetical individual has considerable wealth in the form of a single, extremely valuable asset. They are wealthy because their property has risen in value because of the house price bubble.
November 21, 2025 at 10:52 AM
Well, clearly, it is exactly what we are talking about - a wealth tax on assets. In this case, the hypothetical individual has considerable wealth in the form of a single, extremely valuable asset. They are wealthy because their property has risen in value because of the house price bubble.