Josh retweeted
We are now back to a spring 2025 moment with Trump turning forcefully against Ukraine and towards Russia. Intelligence still flowing but this aggressive language suggests we could see more & more US coercion of Ukraine in weeks ahead. Meanwhile Congress has allowed itself to be utterly neutered as Trump shreds Graham bill & others.
My decision on Russia is a very simple one. I am in the process of negotiating Peace in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and don’t want to do anything that will drive, foolishly, Russia away from the bargaining table. Great progress is being made, and that includes current hostage negotiations! Signing that document at this time will do that, and I can sign it later, or any time that I want! Perhaps more importantly, Russia is doing very little, if anything, to help the Islamic Republic of Iran, compared to what they could be doing, and I want to keep it that way, and will, unless stupid people get in the way. Lastly, Zelenskyy is using Diesel Refineries in Russia as a target, knowing that these attacks are seriously hurting the world diesel markets, including those in the United States. Farmers, ranchers, and businesses of all kinds are suffering greatly from this, but Russia is, nevertheless, sending, at a low price, millions of barrels of diesel to the World. Zelenskyy doesn’t care, and frankly, with all of the money that Europe is famously giving him, and that Crooked Joe Biden gave him in the past, he doesn’t want to end this war, and probably never did. He could have made a better deal two years ago than he can now. His country is in shambles, a large portion of his land is lost, his oceans and seas are gone, and his male population is low, wounded, and/or dead. I WANT THIS WAR END! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP
( TS: Oct 18 2026, 4:36 PM ET )
Josh retweeted
I'm glad they're taking steps but "watch videos quietly" is an unbelievably terrible form of messaging.
I can already see how this goes:
- "Can you use headphones please?"
- "No, I'm watching videos quietly like the sign says"
- "But I can hear it, it's annoying"
- "I don't care, it's quiet"
Genuinely can't believe they've fumbled this so badly. It's an official acceptance that antisocial behaviour is ok, and therefore could actually be worse than the current situation.
It should say 'don't play videos out loud', that's much clearer and better.
Josh retweeted
"Declined Services"
When are we, as a modern and civilized society, going to decide that letting these people rot in the street is horrifically inhumane and that involuntary commitment and/or rehab is the most ethical path forward. These people need us and we've failed them.
Josh retweeted
To give an indication of the problem here's a chart of 12 government agencies around the world and numbers of applications / appeals / complaints etc...
The dotted grey line is when ChatGPT was invented.
On the substack this week...
I looked at how states are being increasingly overwhelmed with AI written slop. It's gumming up every process. Britain is particularly vulnerable.
How bad has it got and what can we do about it?
samf.substack.com/p/drowning…
Josh retweeted
Guy who thinks images of widespread rioting in France will lead voters to demand more generous school funding.
Josh retweeted
The reaction to mass unrest in France in 1968 was a pretty resounding victory for the right.
🫨
From @Telegraph: "There are more seven-year-olds on disability benefits than 50-year-olds". With that kind of stat on the go, I don't think it is possible to deny that there is a problem with welfare in the UK.
Josh retweeted
Totally insane to behave this way toward American journalists, but of course it’s not *better* when it happens to Palestinian civilians.
Josh retweeted
Zack Polanski now close to Keir Starmer levels of unpopularity with voters at large
Josh retweeted
Musing on the level of ice-cold narcissism that it must take to watch a man being savaged by a tiger and think, "But what if it was me, and I was stronger than it, and it liked me?"
xitter.cf/TrumpTruthOnX/status/2…
Josh retweeted
NEW: How the push to ban data centre construction in Britain is based on sloppy research.
One paper widely cited in the media and by the Green Party contains multiple howlers:
- It claims that a single data centre will be responsible for 8% of the East of England's water shortfall. This is wrong by a factor of almost 100.
- It suggests data centres are to blame for England's predicted 5bn litre daily water shortfall. Yet under the most water-hungry assumptions, new data centres would account for less than 3% of it. Under more realistic assumptions, it's just 0.5%.
- It compares global AI water withdrawals with British household water consumption. But these are completely different things. Most withdrawn water is returned to its source. The comparison exaggerates AI's water footprint by around ten times.
- It repeatedly uses worst-case estimates of data centre water consumption, ignoring that many data centres use little or no water for cooling. One of its sources is literally titled Overestimating AI's water footprint.
The real cause of Britain's water shortages isn't data centres. It's our failure to build reservoirs.
samdumitriu.com/p/will-data-…
Josh retweeted
There is not a chip shortage, there is an AFFORDABLE chip shortage. Making enough chips for everyone would only enrich the chip companies.
Josh retweeted
The Shadow Chancellor doesn’t understand his own policy - it will give people a massive incentive not to downsize (and even to upsize). If you’re in a £2m home and want to downsize to a £1m house you won’t if Tory plans increase your IHT bill by £400,000 if you do so
Josh retweeted
🔴 Trump backstabs Zelensky for five minutes of midterm relief
telegraph.co.uk/us/politics/…
Josh retweeted
This misunderstands incentive effects.
Someone with a £2m house who downsizes to a £1m house will, under the Tories' new IHT policy, *increase* their estate's IHT by £400k.
A powerful incentive not to downsize.
Josh retweeted
One of the most annoying things about socialists: they often don't understand that people respond to incentives.
One of the best things about the Conservative Party: it does.
Or at least it did, seven days ago (in "The Right Way"):
