Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@rhib

Welsh. Mum & Nain. She/her. Retired criminology lecturer/researcher. Bookworm. Here mainly to indulge a lifelong fascination with US politics.

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Bluesky

¿Es tu perfil?Reclámalo y rhib.dirty.social es tuyo.Reclamar perfil

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 1d

The Corruption Presidency. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

“Trump has openly rejected restraints on presidential conflicts of interests and is using the powers of the presidency, both real and imagined, to financially benefit his and his family’s business interests on an unprecedented level,” said Larry Noble, a former general counsel at the Federal Election Commission who now teaches law at American University. “In just the first year of this term, he reported his business holdings earned over $2bn.”

Noble added: “While Trump’s second term is less than half over, it already looks like the most openly corrupt administration in our history.

“Whether you’re a foreign country, a company or an individual who wants the government to approve a business deal, stop an investigation or just be a friend when you need a favor, the message is that this is a pay to play administration.”

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 5d

The US "...political ecosystem has been utterly and completely corrupted by money. This covers everything from political campaigns to how Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress and senior administration officials operate."

The measure of the quality of a society is the degree to which it prioritizes aiding and uplifting the most vulnerable among them. This too has benefits to a nation as a whole. It makes it more resilient. It increases the number of people who can contribute to its future. It establishes the society as a moral leader.

Currently, because of the corrupting influence of money in our society, our “democracy” does not serve all the people. It serves those who control politicians' lives and dictate their futures—in other words, the rich and powerful.

This has a corrosive effect, however. It leads to division. It leads to people not trusting our institutions. It leads to the embrace of any alternative view that promises change because those who are in power have simply not delivered what the people had every right to expect.

The reason Mencher argued we should follow the money is that it is the source of power and the driving force behind what happens in the lives of the people. He also felt that if people understood how it was flowing and to whom, it would give the people the power they need to rise up and demand changes.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 5d

X is a right-wing exploitative cesspit. "The analysis underlines that US rightwing actors are seeking to influence the UK and boost their position on X in moments of disorder..." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Imran Ahmed, the chief executive of the Centre for Countering Digital Hate, said the data demonstrated that X had become “a weapon of choice” for hostile foreign actors seeking to manipulate shocking and divisive content.

Their goal, he added, was “to amplify local tragedies and crises, intensify racist narratives, and incite violence in communities they have never set foot in and to whom they have no real connection.”

Dr Julia Ebner, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue and the University of Oxford, said flashpoint episodes such as in Southampton and Belfast had become “strategic events” for far-right actors seeking to amplify and exploit them.

“They are using the UK as a negative example, smearing the UK to promote their own narratives of western civilisational decay or social collapse,” Ebner said. “But the other purpose is to influence UK politics, and European politics more widely,” using crisis moments to “promote a strong, strengthened far-right wave across the world”.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 11d

Share someone who looks stylish wearing shorts.

Freddie Mercury onstage wearing his popcorn shorts.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 16d

Ticket for the first gig I went to - T. Rex, at Cardiff Capitol theatre, 21.10.71.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 19d

What's that you say? A mere 83 years old today? 🙇🏻‍♀️ Happy birthday Mick Jagger!

Composite of 12 black and white images (1960s-70s) of Mick Jagger

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· 25d

Share someone who looks stylish wearing a hat.

Image of Marilyn Monroe in large, floppy-brimmed hat.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jul 14

Oh...

Post by @keithedwards on X.
Photograph of the newly-drained Reflecting Pool, revealing tyre mark damage.
Caption reads "BREAKING: Trump drained the reflecting pool and it DID reveal damage...tire marks."

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jul 9

He’s so completely and utterly delusional 😏

Text accompanying image of Trump and Erdogan shaking hands: “Prioritizing America First foreign policy.
Thanks to President Donald J. Trump's bold leadership on the world stage, America is back and more respected than ever before.”

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 28

No shit, Sherlock 🙄

"“We brought back technical specialists and they hunt for failure points before a part ever reaches the plant floor.”

Ford had been increasingly relying on AI-driven inspection systems to streamline production and address quality control issues, however the firm acknowledged that AI lacked the nuanced judgement when it came to complex problems.

After rehiring experienced engineers, Ford experienced a marked improvement in its quality standards."

"The company said it would not abandon its use of AI, but plans to now use it in conjunction with human oversight and experience.

“Artificial intelligence is a fantastic tool, but it’s only as good as the information you use to train it,” said Charles Poon, Ford’s vice president of vehicle hardware engineering.

“Over prior years, we didn’t pay as much attention as we should have to the experience of our most knowledgeable engineers that have been with us through many product cycles.

“Mistakenly, we thought that by just introducing artificial intelligence and ingesting the design requirements that we had, that that would produce a high-quality product.”"

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 26

Album cover, Prince & the New Power Generation, "Diamonds and Pearls"

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 20

"Some Like It Hot"

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 15

Screenshot of post on X by Tim Miller: "“Michelle Obama is a man” shouted on the White House lawn in a ring sponsored by Bud Light only available on Larry Ellison’s Paramount Plus. What a way to celebrate America 250 and the twilight of liberal democracy. "

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 2

T. Rex, 1971. Less than a quid (and for a circle seat!). Those were the days *sigh*

Pic of my ticket for the T. Tex gig, 21.10.1971. Cost 60p (dress circle seat!)

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 1

🤔 Donald and Bibi apparently have rather different recollections of their conversation…

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Jun 1

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 26

Trump has “brought America to this point because of his ego and his incompetence…”

the war is now almost certain to end with Tehran’s theocrats firmly in power, and with a stronger chokehold both on their own people and on the international economy than they had three months ago.

Not only is Trump incoherently staggering to defeat, he now risks signing on to an agreement that could be far worse than anything Obama negotiated with Iran a decade ago.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 25

Trump, dealmaker par excellence 🙄 "So, Iran receives its assets in return for restoring the prewar status quo." www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Instead, the US has apparently had to promise to unfreeze billions of Iranian assets upfront, handing them over to a regime that is more hardline than the one that entered the war. In return, the strait of Hormuz will gradually be reopened and commercial traffic will return to prewar levels, releasing the chokehold on the world economy.
So, Iran receives its assets in return for restoring the prewar status quo. The amount of assets and the timing of their dispersal may turn on the concessions it gives on the nuclear file, especially its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. It was disagreement on this that triggered one of the last-minute hitches that held up a deal on Sunday, since Iran is insisting the nuclear talks cannot start with such inbuilt commitments.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 13

Here's my daughter (many moons ago!) deep in conversation with my parents' dog, Luna ❤️

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 13

US District Judge Colleen McMahon sees the DOGE insanity for what it was 👏

Those two operatives—Justin Fox and Nate Cavanaugh—had zero government experience. They chose which grants to kill by feeding them into ChatGPT and asking, “Does the following relate at all to DEI?” They never told the chatbot what DEI meant—diversity, equity, and inclusion.

So ChatGPT guessed. An anthology of Holocaust literature written by Jewish writers—DEI. Cut. Holocaust education at Seton Hall University—DEI. Cut. Research on HIV in American prisons—DEI. Cut.

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 10

CD cover - "The Last Waltz" (The Band; dir. Martin Scorcese)

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 8

Delighted that Plaid have done so well in today's Senedd election - but at the same time, deeply disappointed that so many have voted for Reform and all that they stand for 😞

Image showing Senedd (Welsh Parliament) election results (96 of 96 seats).
Plaid Cymru - 43
Reform - 34
Labour - 9
Conservative - 7
Green - 2
Lib Dem - 1

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 4

On the same day…

Screenshot of post by @phillewis.bsky.social: “The Trump administration is closing the office responsible for investigating misconduct and abuse in the immigration detention system, per an email obtained by HuffPost”

Screenshot of post by @adamkinziger.substack.com: “A new report this morning revealed historic levels abuse by ICE against detainees. And the government was documenting it all.”

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· May 3

WSJ’s Alex Ward is saying it isn’t an actual “escort” that’s being provided…

President Trump did not announce an escort mission just now, US
officials say.
Project Freedom, earlier called the Maritime Freedom Construct, is a coordination cell.
It'll tell US-flagged ships and others the safe lanes to navigate the Strait of Hormuz (aka no mines, etc.)

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Apr 15

This is excellent news.

Tweet from the UK Prime Minister announcing that Britain is rejoining Erasmus+

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Apr 15

White Noise, “An Electric Storm”

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Apr 15

Good. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"It is not our war, a lot of pressure has been applied to me to take a different course and that pressure included what happened last night."

"I'm not going to change my mind, I'm not going to yield, it is not in our national interest to join this war and we will not do so. I know where I stand."

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Apr 14

Trump and the concepts of "a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan" are not acquainted. Which, if Starmer sticks to his guns, means direct UK military involvement in the conflict will not happen 👏

Sir Keir has repeatedly ruled out direct UK military involvement in the conflict.

In his interview with the BBC, he said: "My decision has been very clearly that whatever the pressure - and there's been some considerable pressure - we're not getting dragged into the war.

"That's not in our national interest, because I'm not going to act unless there's a clear, lawful basis and a clear thought-through plan."

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Mar 28

😳 What *does* he look like 😬 (And the less said about the moustache the better)

Rhi B 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿@rhib· Mar 27

Concise and accurate summary from S.V. Date www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/trump-...