God damn, how did he UK populace become the Alabama of the EU? What happened over there?
this post was submitted on 16 Mar 2026
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I always like to say that the US kept all the really shitty bit of being British.
Thatcher, but it also happened elsewhere under different names, and the New Labour response to it. And then technology outstripping the intellect of politicians.
Basically the introduction of private industry deep into government became commonplace under Thatcher. Blair didn't roll it back, and transitioned labour into a party that also invited private money. It was a transformation spearheaded by one Peter Mandelson. You may know him from such hits as "My best friend is Epstein" and "I was a US ambassador".
He seems to be the the introduction conduit for companies like Palantir into government.
1970s. I wasn't alive then so I don't know what it was, probably something mi5 put in the water. But since then over 50% of all turkeys that can be bothered to vote, have chosen a pro-xmas candidate.
I think they are all lifelong believers since the get-rich-quick schemes initiated by “the city” and hutch prices. They’re all landlords with shares in the grain market, and this constant feed of grain down their gullets has turned them into plump idiots. Many of them even don’t even care we’re getting close to Xmas any more, there are even Xmas cultists
People in power making dangerous decisions about things they don’t understand. Recipe for a Good Time. For someone, anyway.
What could go wrong giving one unhinged billionaire access the the collective intelligence of multiple sovereign nations.
And it’s not like they can claim they didn’t know. Guy’s been ranting about the Antichrist all over the planet for long enough for word to get out!
Damn. The security (theater) obsessed Far-Right Labour government wouldn't be kicking the barn door open to a foreign government's mass surveillance company for any kind of insidious reason, you think?
Nah, i fully believe they just don’t have a clue. I mean, what’s the hypothesis here, that they’re deliberately trying to fight the Antichrist alongside Thiel?
A podcast i listen to had, a few months ago, a story where a minister who was waxing lyrical about the benefits of AI and was asked something basic like about hallucinations or something and they literally never heard of them. Had no clue what the questioner was talking about
I think that’s the level that basically all politicians understand technology at
a minister who was waxing lyrical about the benefits of AI and was asked something basic like about hallucinations or something and they literally never heard of them
"I don't know about this thing that runs counter to my policy. I've never heard of it. I'll have to look into it."
Pretty standard politician-speech for "Sit down and shut up, I don't want to talk about this".
Maybe the minister sincerely hadn't heard of AI hallucinations. Or maybe they were just being coy. Either way, the new information isn't going to shape their decision because they're not governing based on information provided by the general public. They've got a coterie of lobbyists and partisan insiders who have already made the choice on their behalf.
The point is that at every turn the UK government and politicians in general have demonstrated an absolute lack of understanding of technology
I wouldn’t be in the slightest bit surprised if they genuinely didn’t understand the threat that Thiel poses
That's the story that gets told. But in an economy in which technology is increasingly designed to be hostile to the public, this appears to be a case of them doing exactly what they intended.
I think there's a real possibility that Palantir's capacities are heavily overstated. Historically, the real hazard presented by these panopticons is False Positives. Hobbling your nation's ability to do any kind of productive enterprise because you've surrounded yourself with the illusion of threatening behavior.
But even in this scenario, you're still left with the evil/stupid conundrum. If your MPs are just getting paid off to make excuses, insisting that they lack understanding misses the point. They vote the same way even if they do.
I’m not insisting on anything, I’m just saying that Hanlon’s Razor is always worth bearing in mind
No fucking shit