The UK was already floundering

'Economically naive, ignorant and at times stupid': Labour blasted as UK hurtles towards recession

Britain faces a painful bout of stagflation and even recession as business is battered by soaring costs stemming from the Iran war on top of Labour's tax hikes.

In a bleak report, S&P Global said its index of activity among UK services firms crashed to an 11-month low of 50.5 last month...

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has warned that Britain faces ‘significant’ economic challenges as a result of the conflict in the Middle East.

But analysts said the UK was already floundering before the war erupted – with recent official figures showing the economy was no bigger in January than it was in June last year.

Clive Black, an analyst at City broker Shore Capital, said: ‘An economically naive, ignorant and at times stupid UK Government will soon be blaming international affairs for a potential recession that exposes its poor policymaking.’

It's not news of course, we already know this absurdly ideological government is floundering when it comes to carrying out its economic role. Everyone who pays attention to these issues knows it and also knows the main political actors will continue to blame international affairs.

Yet Polanski's Greens would be worse.

Strewth.

How to build the wrong reputation

The biggest car heist in history: How 1,000 Volvos went missing

Half a century ago Volvo shipped 1,000 cars to North Korea. The Swedish Export Credit Agency is still sending reminders to pay the bill.

In 1966 Volvo launched the 144 series. The timeless design, safety features and classic Volvo practicality made it a best seller. Over the next eight years, 523,808 models were produced, making it Volvo’s biggest volume model by some margin.

The 144 attracted admirers across the globe, including in North Korea. At the time, Sweden was one of the few countries to have established diplomatic relations with the state – and some Swedish companies saw both a potential export opportunity and a means to cement that relationship.

Some of the 144s acquired by North Korea are still running, many as taxis, though likely somewhat roughly, given limited access to parts.

Reputations are easily acquired but not so easily erased -

North Korea courts Chinese private investors for Pyongyang commercial complex

Ministry of External Economic Affairs leads effort to secure goods and foreign currency through private Chinese capital, as legal risks give investors pause

Chinese investor reaction has been mixed. Some view North Korea as an untapped market with significant upside, but others are urging caution, citing policy uncertainty and a lack of institutional stability.

The Disney Touch

Fury in France as 930-year-old cathedral turned into 'concrete UFO' in 'architectural massacre'

A 930-year-old cathedral in France has sparked fury after its facade was replaced by a massive concrete structure.

A 450-tonne concrete gallery has been added to the Saint-Maurice Cathedral in Angers - which has been compared to a UFO.

Source

Tidying the Shed

I've been tidying the shed this morning. It's really a brick extension to the garage which looks as if it was originally used as a small workshop. We call it the shed and use it for shed-type storage such as garden tools, lawn mower, strimmer, paint tins, general tools, electric drills, wellies, bits of wood and so on.

Anyhow I've been finding out how many useless and/or hopelessly corroded bits and bobs accumulate in sheds. I knew of course, but tidying the shed always seems to hammer home the relationship between sheds and stuff which might have been useful one day but never is.

I'll resume operations after a well deserved cup of tea.

Defence readiness bill isn't ready

Defence readiness bill won’t be ready for another year

A bill to put Britain’s industries on a war footing has reportedly been delayed by a year.

The Defence Readiness Bill, which would require key industries to prepare their workforce in the event of a conflict, was set to be laid before Parliament in this year’s King’s Speech.

The legislation, which was recommended by the Strategic Defence Review, would also have included provisions to make energy networks and railways a military priority.

Lord Coaker, the defence minister, said last year the bill would be introduced at the beginning of 2026.

A chap is bound to wonder if Mad Ed Miliband is involved in "provisions to make energy networks and railways a military priority." 

Oh well, there is no need to worry about things like that, the paperwork isn't ready yet.

 

The European Commission and fact-checking experts

Mercosur, climate and immigration: the hoaxes targeting rural Europe

The European Commission and fact-checking experts have identified a growing wave of disinformation targeting rural areas and the agri-food sector across the continent, with campaigns exploiting the controversy surrounding the EU-Mercosur trade deal, climate skepticism and anti-immigration sentiment.

Sources from the Iberian Digital Media Observatory (Iberifier) and the European Commission's services confirmed to EFE the existence of coordinated campaigns aimed at rural populations. Russia is cited as one of the identified sources, though not the only one, and the motivations remain difficult to pinpoint.

The European Commission and fact-checking experts eh? Can't they do better than telling us it was the Russians what done it? 

Damaging the way you think

Damning study reveals how ChatGPT is damaging the way you think

Scientists are sounding the alarm on a tool used by millions worldwide after finding it sends people into a 'delusion spiral' of destructive thinking.

A pair of studies by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Stanford revealed that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google's Gemini regularly provide overly agreeable answers, doing more harm than good.

Specifically, when people asked questions or described situations in which their beliefs or actions were incorrect, harmful, deceptive or unethical, the AI replies were still 49 percent more likely to agree with the user and encourage their delusions as being the correct viewpoint compared to responses from other people.


So what's new here? We've been aware of the echo chamber effect forever, so have the media, celebrities and politicians. The political effects can be disastrous, we know that too, leading to all kinds of mischief endorsed by high level echo chambers and their delusion spirals of destructive thinking.

Our destruction of course, not theirs.