A Thankyou to British Columbia. My granddaughter spiked her arm on a jagged tree stump. She was airlifted out and now has 21 stitches. She has had wonderful care. Thankyou.

So it transpires that US voters *have* been paying attention to the antics in Washington, with a vast majority across a range of demographic groups concerned about 'corruption, self-dealing or conflicts of interest' in the Trump administration....

Given these sentiments, the Tangerine Tyrant looks ever more of a liability for the Republicans; the mid-terms are looking more likely to see defeats for the Republicans, but equally therefore more likely to be interfered with by Trump?

#USPol

@kibcol1049 it's worth remembering that the AI didn't cause the PHP flaws - it found flaws that had always been there. And we can't prove that nation states didn't know about them already and were making selected use of them. By finding them AI made the internet more secure, not less, though it was an unpleasant week for many.

The real danger of AI to cybersecurity are all the new flaws that it is busily introducing...

Very excited that my new book, "When the Well is Dry" is now being released! It tackles the long history of violence over water resources and how to move from conflict to cooperation.
And apparently this now has to be said: not a single piece of it was written, edited, produced, or modified by AI.

Via Euronews: Gold market and central banks: Russia, Kazakhstan sell as Poland, China buy https://www.euronews.com/2026/10/25/gold-market-and-central-banks-russia-kazakhstan-sell-as-poland-china-buy

Apollo’s chief economist finds that there is still no measurable impact of AI adoption on corporate America outside of big tech.

Revenue per employee and profit margins are rising for the Magnificent Seven but flat for the other 493 S&P 500 companies.

The AI industry is making money selling AI, but its customers aren’t yet seeing any payoff.

https://www.apollo.com/wealth/insights-news/insights/daily-spark/no-signs-of-ai-payoff-outside-the-tech-sector

Report: Palantir Targets UK MPs With ‘Intimidating’ Letters

"British MPs who criticised Palantir in parliament received 'intimidating' letters from the US spytech firm".

Eg, Palantir warned Clive Lewis that it "was surveilling his activities relating to Palantir last month", a letter that Lewis described as “very Big Brother” & an “implicit threat”. 

https://novaramedia.com/2026/10/22/palantir-targets-mps-with-intimidating-letters/

#UKPol #EUPol #USPol #Palantir #PalantirIntimidation #news #democracy .

So, this confirms what we knew all along. #BorisJohnson and the entire #Tory government (especially #MattHancock ) lied and lied and lied. When mixed with absolute incompetence at all levels it made for a highly toxic and explosive mix which resulted in many thousands of unnecessary deaths.
And apart from "lessons learned" and a slap on the wrist, what will happen?
Sweet FA, as usual

#UKPol #Covid #PPE #Mone

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crje5dke7vgqo

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/coral-reef-restoration-9.7392408

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/23/tech/ai-cybersecurity-php2shell-explained?cid=ios_app

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm70pj51zdk4o Is this good or bad!

Trump ordered to answer questions under oath in BBC lawsuit https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cmy0ryjx7741o

RTÉ News: OpenAI says its AI agents disabled their own safety monitors https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/1021/1596341-openai/

“PHP, Gitlab, Node.js, the Number Four. Being a systems administrator today is more stressful than ever. Today, we’ll take a look at the best types of gin to help you cope with the horrors of the modern Internet, on this edition of ‘The Computer Chronicles.’”

The mid-terms in the USA will be (another) testbed for the proposition that you can *just* buy the result of democracy... Republicans have built up a warchest of nearly $1bn around double what the Democrats have available to spend.

However, currently polls are favouring the Democrats, so the Q. is whether the Republicans' spend can reverse that polling advantage.

And of course there's always the chance of *actual* electoral interference from the White House.

#USPol #Trump #midterms
h/t FT

Not sure what the implications of the decision to give the go-ahead to the Jackdaw North Sea gas field are?.... then here is a reasonable overview of the issues from @BBC Verify.

As I've said before away from the spotlight there is still good journalism happening at the BBC, just not by their high profile commentariat.

#BBC #Jackdaw #FossilFuels #politics

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq4g13pplyzzo

Miatta Fahnbulleh is leaning towards rejecting the giant Rosebank oilfield, the Guardian understands, in what would be a blow for the North Sea energy industry and a major victory for climate campaigners.

Farage’s party, Reform, has been fined more than £2,000 for failing to declare it was the publisher of campaign material seen by voters – including an additional penalty for failing to pay on time.

On 24 October 1975, around 90% of Icelandic women refused to work, cook or look after their children for the day. Known as Kvennafrídagurinn (“Women’s Day Off”), it was designed to demonstrate how much the country relied on women’s paid and unpaid labour. Schools closed, flights were cancelled and businesses ground to a halt, while thousands gathered in Reykjavík and other communities. The following year, Iceland passed a landmark Gender Equality Act.