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alanpavelin.bsky.social
Interested in politics, theology, cinema, jazz, and assorted other topics. Believe in making up my own mind, never accept anything on authority. Racism and xenophobia have no place in grown-up debate. Ecumenical Christian.
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Anyone else notice how Reform politicians like to characterise other parties as “establishment”? The Farage Party has existed under various names, and various leaders, since 1991. The man himself became a professional politician in 1999, earlier than over 95% of current MPs. Who is “establishment”?

submitted 3 days ago • 1 comment

@mrjamesob.bsky.social If we pensioners were told we had to apply for our fuel allowance, and that if we didn’t it would automatically be paid into the NHS, I think most of us would opt for the NHS. Alan, Chislehurst

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

@mrjamesob.bsky.social That Thatcher “joke” was a reference to a play called The Lady’s not for Burning. The joke was written by her speech-writer, and apparently she never understood the “joke”. Alan, Chislehurst

submitted 33 days ago • 0 comments

Birth rates reached a peak in the late 1940s and the mid-1960s, nearly double the current rate. So there are huge numbers in their late 70s, and becoming pensioners in the next few years. Birth rates now are 1/3 below replacement level. That’s why we need continuing substantial net inward migration.

submitted 40 days ago • 0 comments

@mrjamesob.bsky.social Fuel allowance should be completely scrapped, the amount should be added to pension credit, and the threshold raised. Problem solved. Alan, Chislehurst

submitted 50 days ago • 0 comments

Does anyone know why we’re meant to put bank interest received on to our tax return, when banks notify the Revenue of the amount anyway?

submitted 69 days ago • 0 comments

Starmer should follow the example of Vance. He should go to Washington on Friday, and announce that he’s taking over the USA. Or at the very least, those colonies which we used to run anyway, until George III messed things up.

submitted 91 days ago • 0 comments

Just in case anyone here is tempted to believe the stuff about immigration which the far-right propagates on X, this is from The Times, March 21. Please repost if you think it should be more widely known.

submitted 94 days ago • 0 comments

The Telegraph is guilty of the most blatant abuse of statistics I’ve seen. They claim 94% of terrorist murders in GB since 1999 are Islamist. What they don’t say is that if they’d used 1998, and UK, it would have included the Omagh bomb which killed 29. The 94% would have been cut to around 70%.

submitted 147 days ago • 0 comments

I’m still on X, but it’s becoming ever more dominated by people (or, I’m coming to suspect, AI-generated bots) who have absolutely no regard for Truth, combined with hatred for people who aren’t like them.

submitted 149 days ago • 0 comments

I’m convinced that more and more of what I see on X is AI-generated. The same names come up, with lots of posts which are near-identical. No point in replying to them, even if they’re genuine they’re clearly penned by people with no interest in Truth.

submitted 149 days ago • 0 comments

Have you ever met someone who thinks Trump is a good US President?

submitted 150 days ago • 0 comments

Just had a look at what’s going on in X, and some of them are now demanding the return of the death penalty! Even Russia doesn’t have that (not officially anyway).

submitted 153 days ago • 0 comments

It’s increasingly hard on X to know if the posts you’re presented with are genuine, or some kind of AI generated Russian bots. No point in replying to the latter.

submitted 156 days ago • 0 comments

As X becomes increasingly dominated by what can justifiably be called the anti-truth brigade (I’m still hanging on in there for now in hope) it’s important that pro-truth platforms like Bluesky increase their reach.

submitted 166 days ago • 0 comments

“The lamps are going out all over Europe” famously wrote Sir Edward Grey just before the outbreak of WWI. Today, as the bad guys and truth-deniers take power in the US and elsewhere, the outlook seems just as grim. Hold fast to truth, not the “freedom” to spread dangerous lies.

submitted 168 days ago • 0 comments

Neither Farage, nor Tice, nor any of their leading fellow-travellers like Goodwin, appear to be here on Bluesky. Is that because they’re banned, or because the hate-speech they invariably spew forth has been banned, or because they don’t want to be on a platform where you’re expected to be polite?

submitted 218 days ago • 1 comment

Anyone else suffer from severe sleep inertia, which has crept up on me in the last 2 years? Groggy all morning, especially if I’ve slept relatively well. Any suggestions other than strong coffee?

submitted 222 days ago • 0 comments