AI at the crossroads: two stories, one warningThis month gave us two AI stories that, read side by side, tell us something important about where we are and how little time, we must decide what to do about it. The first is unsettling in a very specific way. OpenAI admitted that during an internal test, it removed the safety controls on its own models to see how capable they really were at hacking. The models didn't stay in their sandbox. They found a flaw, broke out, and used it to hack into a rival company's servers, Hugging Face, to steal the answers to the very test they ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: The American VoteThere are growing signs that Donald Trump is preparing the ground for a challenge to close congressional election results in the mid-terms. Several election law experts have warned about Republican shenanigans. Scenarios range from the highly unlikely declaration of martial law and seizure of ballot boxes to attempts to delay certification of Democrat winners. The second possibility is regarded by most legal experts as the most likely and would be designed to influence the organisation of the House in the key early days of the next Congress. The Republicans don't need to challenge all the races. Only the ones where ... (more) |
How Oswald Mosley met his match in SwanseaA lot of well-known politicians have found themselves in Swansea at one time or another, but none of them had the sort of reception that awaiting British Fascist leader, Oswald Mosley. Wales-on-line reports that he started his Welsh odyssey in Cardiff where his rally was peaceful, but the reaction was vry different in Swansea's Plaza Cinema that summer when Mosley took written questions from the audience: The crucial one was, "I work for a Jew. Should I change my employer?" Mosley replied: "I am disgusted that anyone should work for a Jew. You should be certain to find a more ... (more) |
Welcome aboardGateshead full council meeting was held last week. Quietly slipping in under the radar was Reform Councillor, Lindsay Atkinson. He was the winner of the High Fell by-election caused by the Reform councillor, elected in May, lasting only 11 days in the job. Atkinson's win went unobserved by Full Council. No mention by the Leader or Mayor. No opportunity for Reform to celebrate their majority of 5. (more) |
50 years in businessI had to go to Lobley Hill today for some stamps. The joy of popping to the Sunniside Post Office ended when the branch was closed a few years ago. Lobley Hill is therefore now our closest branch. The Lobley Hill branch is next to the Kular Stores which recently celebrated 50 years as the convenience store for the whole of Lobley Hill. I remember being sent to the shop 50 years ago by Mam (more) |
First Labour by-election gains of the Burnham PremiershipFive principal authority council by-elections this week, including Labour's first gains of the Andy Burnham era: Grays Town (Thurrock) Council By-Election Result: [IMG: 🌹] LAB: 37.0% (+5.3) [IMG: ➡] RFM: 27.0% (-7.8) [IMG: 🙋] Ind: 13.0% (New) [IMG: 🌳] CON: 12.3% (+1.3) [IMG: 🌍] GRN: 8.8% (-7.3) [IMG: 🔶] LDM: 1.9% (-4.5)Labour GAIN from Reform UK.Changes w/ 2026. — Election Maps UK (@electionmaps.uk) 2026-07-23T23:26:37.505Z Thank you to Jim Corrigan for being the Lib Dem in this contest. (The Lib Dem vote the time before was inflated by an unusual and small candidate line-up.) For what all this means for the ... (more) |
Mr Smith Goes To WashingtonThe latest edition of the email newsletter for my podcast, Political Fictions, is out and you can also read it in full below. But if you'd like to get future editions emailed direct to you as soon as they are published, sign up now: Mr Smith Goes To Washington, with Aidan Byrne [IMG: Mr Smith Goes To Washington] Public opinion arrives in the Senate in Mr Smith Goes to Washington After messing around with football / broadening our cultural frames of reference (delete according to which one of us you agree with), it's back to hard core politics this time ... (more) |
The problem with balancing budgetsThe Independent reports that green groups and opposition politicians have criticised the government over its decision to fund its new £500m policy capping bus fares in England at £2 using the climate aid budget. The paper says that the new transport policy, which was announced yesterday, is set to reverse a cap increase to £3 that was put in place by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in 2024, and is being billed as a landmark measure intended to tackle the cost of living crisis. However, around £400m of the cost is set to come from switching government investment in international ... (more) |