I have a memory of staying overnight at a relative’s home as a young child. They had a mechanical clock that would chime every half hour, even in the middle of the night. I could not understand how they slept with this racket. It is genuinely baffling to me that for some people, it’s “just background noise” and they don’t even notice it unless you point it out.

Mark Carney is the most conservative Liberal I can remember. And is that Starmer? What the hell is this shit?

I have severe sensory sensitivities.

I can’t imagine how a proponent of capitalism can defend the idea of unpaid firefighters. They are one of the most important professions, with a lot of training required, and it’s hard work. They should be extremely well-compensated. Do you not want to have a large, happy force of firefighters ready to protect your capital at a moment’s notice?

But then again, since for most of the day there aren’t fires or accidents happening, I suppose the capitalist line is that “you aren’t paid to lean.”

It’s funny because modern theory texts exist, but they jumped straight to telling someone to read unedited, short-form text that can be published by anyone, with no citations or anything.

Now, nothing against 'zines; I have read some nice ones. But I consider them to be an art form, not theory. They are pure self-expression, often similar to poetry. This is not where I go to learn political theory…

Stubb, their president since 2024, is so chiselled, lithe and trim that he resembles a besuited whippet.

As I meet Stubb in his suite at the same London hotel, he is just as affable and courteous as before, sporting a pinstriped double-breasted suit cut to emphasise his height.

The writer needs to contain their thinly-veiled crush. Wow.

They don’t work for me either, so I will be expecting a regular dripfeed of goblin propaganda. Thank you for your service.

Is this real? /genuine

(Feel free to spolier the response to preserve the mystery for others)

If anyone covers their mouth when they sneeze on the bus here, it’s with their hand, which they then use to grab the bar…

Everyone has mentioned beans and rice but I will add a few other things.

Water. While this current crisis may not threaten the water supply, having a safe water source is very important for an emergency kit. A flat of bottled water is sufficient for the 72-hour kit that many governments promote having. In case of disasters with enough warning for preparation time, having water storage methods is also good. For longer-term periods, a way to purify water is important (but much more expensive).

Food storage. Your stored rice will not help you if it is eaten by mice or if it becomes a breeding ground for moths. Large food-safe plastic bins are good for things you have in large volumes like rice and flour. For things you will have in smaller quantities, I recommend mason jars of varying sizes. In general, these will help your food last longer and they also are much easier to dig through in a cupboard than a bunch of half-used plastic and paper sleeves of stuff. You can write on the jars with a permanent marker (label what is in it, and when it was purchased) and wash it off later with alcohol.

Diversify. Just rice and beans will get old quickly. Also stock up on oats, vital wheat gluten, peanut butter, etc, and things that can add flavour. Canned tomato products, spices, salt. And most importantly, learn to cook recipes that you enjoy with these ingredients, preferably ones that require minimal tools to make. Instead of thinking of it as “hoarding” for a disaster, think of it as having a well-stocked pantry.

Someone remembered the Reddit posts about using dryer lint as a firestarter and had a 💡 moment.

Western media: “Hereditary leadership is bad! Khamenei must not be allowed to lead Iran!!”

Also western media: “Look at all these wholesome 💯 protestors supporting the Shah’s son!!!”

Maybe clarify tone before accusing. Automatically assuming the worst intention behind a comment and reacting based on that makes online communities worse places.

Especially given the relative simplicity of the Shahed. It would not be difficult for the US to make copies with the resources they have.

Someone could make a new bot and we could ban the old one from posting

Every single “communist” I have met who is like this has been from a comfortable area of Europe. Curious.

You can often tell which products are actually worth the premium and which have inflated prices for brand reasons. Anything with stitching can have extremely different longevities depending on how much care was put into it, but there is of course a ceiling on how much labour can reasonably be put into one garment (thanks, Marx!) and thus there is a ceiling to what can be considered a reasonable price for a product.

But my favourite example of something that has absolutely no reason to be as expensive as it is is the humble Croc. A name-brand EVA clog sells for $50 — ten times the price of an identical product with no brand recognition shipped direct from the factory in China. Why? There is no skilled labour involved in the creation. There is no difference in the materials. These are machine-injected EVA.

In just twelve months, solar power’s share of Cuba’s electricity generation has tripled from 5.8 percent to over 20 percent, with 49 new solar parks now connected to the national grid. Wind energy, electric public transport and decentralised home solar systems are all expanding rapidly. The long-term goal is full energy sovereignty – complete independence from imported fossil fuels by 2050.

Whenever western powers give vague promises about reaching net zero by some given year, I don’t believe them, because they have no incentive to do so. But Cuba is sufficiently motivated, and now supported. I wish them luck and success in their transition. May they set the standard and embarrass the global north.

builds a soundproof room to keep out outside voices

makes the inside as reflective as possible

"How come I never hear any alternative opinions? -nions, -nions, -nions…"