Pinned
Going to challenge myself to write one mini essay a week on a range of issues. Some I will know about, some I will iterate over the course of the note.
Anything in particular you would want to see?
Sam
12.4K posts
Sam
@Discoplomacy
Work on geotectonics + emerging tech + China. Ian Dunross disciple. Care deeply about Britain’s place in the world. Great Man Theory maximalist.
- These thieves are scum and contribute significantly to making this city feel unsafe. Their behaviour pushes U.K. further into low trust society. Cannot express politely how draconian we should be when it comes to punishing them.📽️ WATCH: Cracking down on London’s phone thieves. With 1,000 stolen devices recovered and 230 arrests made, @metpoliceuk is tackling a £50m-a-year black market to make streets safer 👇
00:00 - Excellent maiden speech by new MP @YuanfenYang. Particularly poignant bit: "I fundamentally believe that our democracy is worth fighting for...I was born in China in 1990, a country without the right to vote."
00:00 - <5:30am, wake up <deep breaths <open British papers <“Chancellor pleased with 0.000001% growth” <“Minister gets basic arithmetic wrong” <“Tony Blair wants Digital IDs” <“Civil Servant briefed against by No10” <“Govt sells Scotland to Turkey” <will it ever change, anon?> 5:30am, wake up > stare at ceiling for 10 minutes, steeling myself > roll on to my side, taking deep breaths > it’s going to be ok > one final deep breaths, pick up my phone > open the FT UK section > resist urge to scream and throw phone at wall > will it ever change, anon?
- Another big day for Nick, 30 ans. “Ask not what your country can do for you, but who you can pay for in your country to do nothing at all.”Tuesday’s @guardian front page: Reeves paves way for tax-raising budget with ‘tough choices’ talk theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/n…
- The COO of Britain's entire Ministry of Defence will be paid less than a Jane Street intern
- “The economy is going just fine, thank you very much. btw I spend a large chunk of the year living in southern France”Recent UK economic history being rewritten to suit current political agendas. So let’s set out some facts. Britain’s real GDP grew by 18.7% from the end of 2010 (Q4 2010) to the end of 2019 (Q4 2019). In other words the UK economy grew by almost a fifth in real terms in the
- Sam Altman took the UK's Tech Secretary Peter Kyle out for a £30 meal in April.
- Good use of two years of Arabic language training.🇬🇧🇧🇸 Mrs Smita Rossetti has been appointed British High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas
- The “handover” of the Chagos Islands today marks the most calamitous foreign policy decision Britain has made in some time. Represents thinking from a bygone era: a time of ‘Cool Britannia’, the 90s, and global norms. That era is dead. The new era will punish this decision.
- Downing Street has just reshuffled its only Mandarin-speaking Foreign Office Minister off her Indo-Pacific brief. West was highly respected among key partners, and able to converse in the same language with many others.It's been an honour to serve as Under-SecretaryofState for the Indo Pacific. The UK has a vital role promoting international cooperation & working towards shared goals of peace & prosperity. I wish my successor the best & look foward to continuing to represent my constituents.
- UK STAND TALL Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang described the UK’s artificial intelligence talent as the “envy of the world.”
- Britain has invested £1bn in Nigerian healthcare over the last 20 years. The results? • Under-5 mortality ↓45% • Infant mortality ↓37% • Neonatal mortality ↓15% Estimated 75,500 children's lives saved.
- “JPMorgan Chase, a bank, says that the cost of its technologists in Glasgow is closer to that in India than Texas.” I’ve heard Americans say more than once that the U.K. is on track to become a nation of call centres. This is not great.
