We live in an era of massive viral misinformation – politicalbetting.com
We live in an era of massive viral misinformation – politicalbetting.com
Misinformation about Andy Burnham's wife is now the most viral political story in the UK. How does a rumour that started in a local Facebook group in January 2022 become national misinformation?Here's the anatomy of an online rumour.
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Setting VAT at a level that would replace all other taxes seem like something to look at. (I'm sure it has been looked at)
Some facts that should be known to anyone who lives in New York, but may not be known to those distant from the city and state: Both have had serious scandals in recent years, connected to those "maintream" Democrats. And so on.
Will current New York Mayor Mamdani be part of a future scandal list? I wouldn't bet against that possibility.
And I think it nearly certain that some of his appointees will be.
The recent shift in New York politics should not be interpreted entirely in ideological terms.
Surely Facebook, X and the like are just for children and fuckwits.
Close to £100,000 is way too high we should follow the european approach of have it from £10,000 or so upwards.
(And so have an account, but don't post. Alas if you want Omnium wisdom it's PB. Poor PB!)
Is that before or after their peak of the Laffer Curve?
Arguing a percentage point either way is neither here nor there. It is the cliff edges in the tax system that whack rates up to around 100% that distort behavior.
Exactly as forecast by theory.
I'm doubtful that she does have a simple sincere belief but (a) I'm a tolerant and understanding person and (b) it's none of my business what she does believe. I would give her the benefit of any irrelevant doubt if only Forbes was equally tolerant and understanding of other people's different but sincere beliefs.
Then she goes and signs up with a bunch of nativist ideologues, many of them actual frauds, who wouldn't recognise a Judeo-Christian value if it bit them in the ass.
Our laws should be much simpler, and that applies to everything. If you could have one tax law then it'd be fantastic. I guess Moses worked out a similar thing.
Lab 27
Reform 26
Con 19
LD 11
Green 11
With no leader mentioned:
Reform 27
Lab 23
Con 20
Green 13
LD 11
https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/labour-lead-reform-with-burnham-as-pm-new-poll-shows-4500466
How do you think HMRC would cope with that?
There's also the eternal question of why "I want to drive my Brum Brum" works so well as a gateway into conspiratorial nonsense.
I see the odd bit of local news which can be useful.
Maybe this confirms your theory!
Plus there is currently a consultation on making direct debit the only way to pay PAYE and VAT.
I've been automating processes now for 30+ years, it's way easier than it used to be even 2 years ago.
When I ran a small business having to do quarterly books for VAT ensured that my books were up to date. And ensured a living for those like my daughter who ran small accounting business had a steady stream of clients.
Given the software that's available today I don't understand the problem.
Unless, of course, the trader is on the fiddle!
‘ Greens forced to return £1,500 donation from their own leader Zack Polanski... because he wasn't on the electoral register’
https://x.com/dailymail/status/2070519681086054795?s=61
I keep LinkedIn, deeply reluctantly, for professional purposes, and I reactivate IG when I go to the States to show immigration I have some online presence but, otherwise, social media can kiss my fat arse.
A few years ago,it was great for keeping up with old friends, seeing what’s on locally and getting an idea of live events and local news. It was invaluable
Now it’s virtually unusable. My feed is mainly ads and suggesting groups to join or follow. Very little is friends or local events now.
Seems light for brutally attacking an officer of the law.
If only he’d misgendered her on Twitter it would be a ten stretch in the Scrubs.
The change would plenty of leadtime and training so I would be looking at doing it after the next election to start in 2031 for those with a turnover over £50,000 and then reduce it in 2032.
Central Durham (well my daughter) also has a power cut - some people won't be having Fish tonight from Bells
Don’t know you in Darlo but also lightning now.
You’re very literal 😂
Occasionally on fb you get really odd groups and posts but if you scroll straight past they stop appearing, sometimes you can be unlucky if you are scrolling and have to stop to sneeze and fb thinks you were interested as you paused but again, block the posts or just scroll in future and they stop coming.
Resolution Foundation estimates gross increase in tax revenue of £2bn for a reduction to £30k
Normal people my age who still use social media use Instagram. No one in their 30s or younger is active on Facebook, except maybe for their marketplace. It is deeply uncool and aimed at people in their 50s+ who were latecomers to it but never moved on.
In any case, I don't think it really matters what type of algorithmic social media you use. It's like debating the pros and cons of heroin, cocaine or meth. All of them are addictive garbage that are best avoided.
https://www.holyrood.com/news/view,kate-forbes-christian-viewpoints-being-squeezed-out-of-uk-politics
On assisted dying, she said: “One prominent campaigner railed against undeclared personal religious beliefs… in the debate and dismissed arguments from those who were guided by faith. But nobody demands that of anybody subscribing to the new faith, the new ideologies and the new philosophies of our day.
“Their moral framework, their basis of decision-making, is accepted without question, as though anybody who is free of the burden of an inner conscience grounded in historical truths is unbiased and unprejudiced.
“Those who hold to those truths – those truths that have birthed such great freedoms and liberties across the ages – are excluded by default.”
Still sweltering here in rural Derbyshire - I'm reminded of the horrible heat of 2022 which made me decide to quit working and embark on a spell of masterly inactivity at which I seem to be most adept.
On topic, there are plenty of people here it seems who, seemingly unable to put forward an argument themselves, reach for Twitter, Bluesky or wherever to make the point for them.
We also have the emerging "I'm seeing on Twitter" or "There are rumours on social media" which further spreads the ordure of misinformation and disinformation. It doesn't surprise me Gaunt is involved - he's no friend of Labour - but there are plenty of others who peddle misinformation or disinformation and if there are legal consequences, the political damage has been done.
I suspect history will show the one thing linking the downfalls of Johnson, Truss and Starmer will be the undermining by social media. It's a form of corrosive, unaccountable opposition which damages political discourse and debate.
It's not that misinformation or disinformation represents the dissemination of actual falsehoods - that would be wrong. What we see instead is parts of the truth, spun to create a narrative which is often damaging rather than the whole truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T59a3maXZ0
YouTuber Chris Spargo interviews the Prime Minister about crisps etc.
Here's hoping we don't get similar for July and August.
Its how the firms would cope with it that is another question.
‘ BREAKING: Donald Trump's former national security adviser John Bolton has pleaded guilty to mishandling classified documents.’
https://x.com/skynews/status/2070517397316894992?s=61
As for LinkedIn, god no.
https://x.com/kent_police/status/2070190719336165751?s=61
Hard to tell in today's America if that is as he is guilty, or if it is a malicious prosecution.
“The West will 'pay a heavy price' if people betray Judeo-Christian heritage”
Frankly that Judeo-Christian heritage pish can take a flying jump.
https://x.com/mariemacklin/status/2070391519509455255?s=61&t=LYVEHh2mqFy1oUJAdCfe-Q
In this case any reason to doubt that ?
https://showyourstripes.info/c/europe/unitedkingdom/all/
Nobody argues that killing people is bad, nobody argues that you shouldn't rob people. Etc, etc.
And the greatest base of all of the religions is the trumpeting of the unarguable.
...pleaded guilty Friday to improperly retaining sensitive materials in “diary-like” entries after leaving the White House.
Bolton, 77, admitted to one count of retaining national defense information during a federal court hearing in Greenbelt, Md.
“I am, your honor,” he told the judge when asked if he was guilty. “I’m sorry for it.”..
If the full Jack Smith indictment of Trump ever sees the light of day, you can compare that with Trump's far more serious violation of the statute.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1kgzelxjywo
You never know...
https://www.bostonherald.com/2026/06/06/trumps-inner-circle-subpoenaed-by-bbc-in-us-libel-lawsuit/
..Kevin O’Brien, a former federal prosecutor and defense attorney who isn’t involved in the case, said the BBC strategy appears to be a “smart tactic” to refocus the dispute back onto Trump’s conduct and the events of Jan. 6.
“Of course, enforcing 47 subpoenas, with all those depositions and motions to compel, is an expensive proposition, and time-consuming too,” he said.
The subpoenas reveal that the BBC is building its defense in part around an argument that Trump’s conduct that day wasn’t far off from what the misleading edit suggested and therefore was not “materially false.”
That’s one of several arguments the BBC is making for why the case should be tossed. The BBC also pointed to the findings for Special Counsel Jack Smith, who investigated Trump’s alleged election interference and his role in the riot. The news outlet cited a portion of Smith’s report that said his office “determined that there were reasonable arguments to be made that Mr. Trump’s Ellipse Speech incited the violence at the Capitol on January 6.”
Smith ultimately charged Trump with multiple crimes surrounding his alleged effort to overturn the result of the election. The Justice Department dropped the case after Trump won reelection in 2024, citing a standing policy against prosecuting a sitting president...
Yes, things have changed now; for example my great-grandson has had no naming ceremony.
Read about plea bargaining in America.
#AntiPeaceProcess
In the words of All Saints. Never Ever.
Every day’s a school day.
But I expect Bolton probably did it, it's just that usually people get away with such things.
And on the potential point of imposing values on others, well, if a law is passed or not passed, one side will have imposed their change/status quo on the other, regardless of what drove their view.
America is notorious for this.
Remarkable anyone could have never ever heard of it before.
So, we must be due an intervention from his two mates in the Whitehouse.
Ukraine =Allies
2026 = 1944
HMRC would have to register at least as many companies and sole traders again for VAT, then they'd have to chase up missed returns and non-payment which I'd suggest would be at a higher rate sub £90k turnover.
On their side that is mostly automated. It is the traders having to do the work, not them.
They just have to sit back and take the money.
Still 30 in garden in shade.
Ailbhe Rea
@PronouncedAlva
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New: Andy Burnham will become prime minister on Monday 20 July if there is no contest.
@WarMonitor3
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2h
Russians are panicking in Crimea there is a 30 mile traffic jam to get out of the peninsula.
https://x.com/WarMonitor3
Donald Trump has threatened to impose a 100% import tariff on the UK over its digital services tax on American social media firms.
The US president also said it would supercede Britain's existing trade deal.
Mr Trump had previously raised the spectre of such a move unless Britain dropped the 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies.
The tax targets companies whose worldwide revenues from digital activities exceed £500m, with more than £25m of the revenue from UK users.
Posting on his Truth Social social media platform, Mr Trump said "Numerous European Countries have been discussing the imminent implementation of a Digital Services Tax on American Companies. Some of these Countries are close to actually doing this.
Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% TARIFF on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America.
This TARIFF will supersede Trade Deals made with the Country, whether implemented, signed, or not. Additionally, the 100% TARIFF will be immediately imposed, if they proceed."
It suggests there are large numbers of people who don’t think VAT is a mad tax dreamed up by drunks in Brussels to hurt poor people that we should have ditched first thing in January 2020.