"Dried out 'prune' of a rocker"

We thought it’d be interesting to go back through past squabbles and see whose arguments might have more weight, based on updated news.

Labour’s Immigration Whitepaper: Alister felt it was harsh and was opposed to phasing out care workers and reducing post-work rights for int’l students. While Meridyth didn’t agree with the govt’s approach, she did think the high immigration volume needed addressing.

✅ Alister may have a point, given the latest net migration numbers falling to 431,000 in 2024. Will Labour’s latest proposal be updated as a result?

To Blame or Not to Blame Roblox: Meridyth was shocked when Roblox’s CEO took no accountability for “bad actors” on its platform. But Alister felt that they were making strides to improve its safeguarding measures.

✅ Meridyth has a right to be concerned. A recent report showed despite claims that under-13s can’t DM outside of games, adults and children were still able to interact due to ineffective age verification checks. And a 10yo’s account was also exposed to a hotel room with a female gyrating on the bed. And there’s more, a lawsuit claiming Roblox has been secretly tracking children’s data without consent.

Jaguar’s Rebrand: Woke or Broke? Alister hated the rebrand launched last Nov for its Type 00 model, saying it was a stark departure from its heritage. Meridyth didn’t mind the rebrand to address its dismal sales and perhaps a departure is exactly what was needed.

⏳ The jury’s still out. Alister has shared that Jaguar is now looking for a new creative agency, but they’ve denied it’s because of the brand controversy. Also, its continued slow sales shouldn’t be used as a gauge, Meridyth believes, since no new cars are being made until Type 00 launches in 2026.

🍺 A lack of cheers. Since last year the UK has lost 136 breweries. Small independent breweries are struggling badly, by being unable to access and sell into 60% of pubs, even within 40 miles of them! Less choice for customers and harder for breweries to survive.

🏰 Do the crime, do the time. Or not. To address overcrowding in prisons, the Independent Sentencing Review made some bold recos — relying on community based sentencing (fines, treatment options, probation, etc), reducing custodial sentences after 1/3 time-served for good behaviour, and even allowing sex offenders to opt for chemical castration for early release.

💰️ Picking up the bill. Taxpayers are set to incur a loss of £10.2bn. With the upcoming final sale of the govt’s NatWest shares from the 2008 bailout, we’re finally learning exactly what that is costing the country. Yikes!

🛬 We knew you’d crawl back eventually. The highest ever number of Americans want to be British. Nearly 2,000 applications for citizenship from the Yanks have come in since the start of the year. Either we’re that great or Trump is that bad. (Alister: Meridyth, as an American expat, what do you think? Meridyth: No comment.)

Good news… for breathing a sigh of relief, after North Korea’s failed launch of a 5,000-tonne warship. Bad news… for Trump, as the EU stuck a 30-yr deal with Greenland to extract anorthosite - a valuable mineral used to produce aluminium for aircraft, vehicles, and defence.

🚘️ What Musk? It seems Trump has removed any mention of Elon Musk from his posts on Truth Social. Pressure is mounting with polling for Elon performing extremely poorly. Even Republican insiders are saying that Elon is “finished, done, gone.”

🪖 Suspended talks. UK-Israeli relations are under threat after the UK suspended negotiations for a new free trade deal. The UK’s response comes after Israel’s ministers’ calls to “purify Gaza” and its continued block of much needed, humanitarian aide.

🧬 How bad could it be? Pharma company Regeneron is buying 23andMe for £256m, including the 15 million genetic samples - aka YOUR genetic samples. This is one of the largest collections of consumer genetic data ever assembled. While it’s intended to help develop new drugs, there are some serious privacy concerns.

🌑 Switching off. Almost 50% of 16 to 21 year olds would rather live in a world where the internet does not exist. It goes on to say that almost 70% feel worse about themselves after being on social media too. So make sure you prioritise some IRL interactions!

⚖️ Obesity in kids. Speaking of little ones, a third of British 5 to 9 year olds are on a path to obesity by 2050. For our 10 to 14 year olds, around 40% could be obese in a couple of decades. (Meridyth: Personally, I don’t think digital screen addiction helps matters.)

🛩️ “Slave ship seating”. Remember that failed concept for standing seats on airlines back in 2010? It’s back with version 2.0. Nothing confirmed, but it’s rumoured to be coming to skies near us by next year. Claiming comfortable designs, that groin seatbelt doesn’t look too inviting.

🚃 £20,000 ticket. A new Channel 5 show about “fare dodgers” featured an individual being arrested after racking up £20,000 in avoided fares. Whilst it’s a huge amount to have stolen, it does raise questions about the cost of train travel in the UK!

💻️ Computer says no. A new study has found that AI can be more persuasive than humans in debates! It makes you pause, knowing it could be creating confirmation bias. And of course, scammers are already using AI to figure out better ways to access our bank accounts. So stay sceptical!

By Meridyth

🚨 **Rant Warning!** With the global economy teetering, can someone please explain to me why people continue to buy the most ridiculous items?

Example 1 - Movies aside, Gwyneth Paltrow’s new age wellness brand Goop is pretty high on my ridiculous scale. The retailer’s recent sold-out item was a limited-edition, scratch & sniff, vinyl record for $96. It supposedly smells like Paltrow’s private parts. Seriously… WTF? And what’s more, the smell was inspired by a $700 sold-out Goop candle actually called, “This Smells Like My Vag***” (edited for innocent eyes). 🤦🏻‍♀️

Example 2 - A man bought a $640 limited-edition “Inauguration First Lady” watch, an officially licensed POTUS timepiece, for his wife. (Don’t get me started on Trump using his position to make a killing.) First off, the watch was made in China, ironically! But more importantly, the “T” in “TRUMP” was missing from the watch face, leaving “RUMP” instead. 🤦🏻‍♀️

It does make me feel a bit better that closer to home, there are saner minds - like these shoppers who bawked at the £10 price tag of a 145g Lindt Dubai Style Chocolate Bar at Tescos. 👏

But seriously, what is going on in the world?!?!?

So rant over… and now I turn your attention to something clever and cool.

Just when you thought lectures were monotone and boring, this professor thought of a fun way to keep his students engaged.

philosophyofaphysicist

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While I don’t think it reinforced his actual maths lesson, I give major props for keeping his students on their toes!

Whew, you made it!

It’s another bank holiday with rain forecasted for most of the country, in typical UK fashion. Stay dry and join us again next week!

Alister & Meridyth