Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺

PhD in linguistics, visiting professor, researcher, writer, editor, drone photographer, #LUFC fan, Brexit-opposing Yorkshireman who speaks Danish & Thai.

[Democratic Coalition @TheDemCoalition]

These quick thoughts by Michael Jochum on the disturbing reason Trump gets as much support as he does is a must-read 👇

I used to wonder how it was possible that Trump could have won in 2016, and then again in 2024, given how emotionally toxic and depraved he is.

I don’t wonder anymore. I think he won for that exact reason. Because he carried at least one broken shard to reflect the broken shards in millions of others.

If you’re a racist, you found your guy. If you’re a misogynist, you found your guy. If money is your only religion, you found your guy. If your heart is armored shut, you found your guy. If you mock the disabled, you found your guy. If intelligence makes you insecure, you found your guy. If you’re a sexual predator, you found your guy. If you trade in humiliation and conspiracy and filth, you found your guy.

If you’ve never done a single hour of emotional inventory, you found your guy. If you cheat, stiff contractors, bankrupt your obligations, and call it savvy, you found your guy. If you lie as easily as you breathe, you found your guy. If cruelty feels like strength, you found your guy. If white grievance is your comfort food, you found your guy. If your ego is a black hole no title can fill, you found your guy. If warmongering fuels your ego, you found your guy, If empathy feels like weakness and dominance feels like oxygen, you found your guy.

If he’d only carried one or two of these pathologies, he might have been dismissed as just another loud, damaged man. But he carried a buffet of them. That was the appeal. Millions could locate themselves somewhere in the wreckage. They didn’t have to agree with all of it. They just had to recognize a piece of themselves in it.

It was never really about him. It was about the validation. The absolution. The permission. He didn’t invent the resentment; he amplified it. He didn’t create the cruelty; he normalized it. He gave millions the intoxicating relief of hearing their ugliest impulses echoed back at rally volume.

Trump is a symptom. The deeper illness is collective. If there’s one sentence that defines his power, it’s this: “He says the things I’m thinking.”

And that’s the part that should chill us.

Because what does it say about us that so many were thinking those things? That tens of millions of Americans harbored resentments so deep, so seething, that they were simply waiting for a demagogue to baptize them as virtue? That after decades of supposed progress on race, gender, and equality, so many white men felt so threatened, so displaced, so furious, that cruelty became a political platform?

Maybe we were living in a fool’s paradise, mistaking silence for healing, politeness for progress.

Now the mask is off. Now we know.

And knowing is a far more dangerous place to stand.

– Michael Jochum, Not Just a Drummer: Reflections on Art, Politics, Dogs, and the Human Condition.

[Richard @ricwe123]

When the illusion finally shatters, what’s left isn’t just disappointment,it’s total embarrassment.
The man you invested your faith in wasn’t a savior at all, just an empty act stitched together with arrogance, noise, and relentless self-promotion.
All that confidence, all those grand promises, all the swagger,it collapses into something painfully small the moment it’s tested against reality.

There’s no hidden genius, no bold disruptor underneath it all.
Just a loud, impulsive figure flailing through responsibilities he clearly wasn’t equipped to handle, drowning incompetence in a flood of bluster.

In the end, what once looked like strength turns out to be nothing more than cheap theatrics.
Not leadership,just a gaudy performance.
A caricature.
A spectacle.
And the real sting isn’t that it was absurd,it’s realizing how long it took to admit you were taken in by his bullshit.

[Thai Enquirer @ThaiEnquirer]

Bank of Thailand Urges Lenders to Assist Borrowers Amid Rising Energy Costs

The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has urged financial institutions and regulated businesses to support borrowers affected by high energy prices and economic pressures from the war in the Middle East.

Measures include easing conditions on existing loans, such as interest-only payments, lower installments, or reduced interest rates, and providing new loans to boost liquidity, strengthen operations, and support energy-saving investments.

BoT highlighted that these measures should consider borrowers’ long-term repayment capacity, not just current cash flow, and stressed communication with borrowers and guarantors on the terms and outcomes.

Existing loans under these programs include hire-purchase and leasing for vehicles, car-title loans, and supervised personal loans. New lending can leverage initiatives like the SMEs Credit Boost and the SMEs Secure+ framework, which temporarily relaxes repayment assessment rules for SME borrowers with collateral.

#Thailand #Banks #สงครามตะวันออกกลาง #ช่วยเหลือลูกหนี้

[Bernie Sanders @BernieSanders]

One month after starting the war in Iran, this is the statement of the President of the United States on Easter Sunday.

These are the ravings of a dangerous and mentally unbalanced individual. Congress has got to act NOW. End this war.

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

Now this is Statesmanship:

‘Beginning Of A Harsh Reality’: Canada PM Mark Carney Speech On Trump, G... https://t.co/2K9occ1JU3

[Marco Foster @MarcoFoster_]

Kyle Kulinski on Donald Trump: “We absolutely need to fucking impeach him and get him out of there and then convict him. This motherfucker is completely and utterly unhinged. He’s creating the Fourth Reich. He’s as corrupt as corrupt can be. He’s immensely senile. He’s a psychopathic fascist war criminal rapist pedophile.”

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

This is brilliantly said by Brian Tyler Cohen regarding Trump’s letter to the Norwegian Prime Minister:

BOMBSHELL: Trump message to Norwegian leader STUNS THE WORLD https://t.co/foDHNj9OIm

[Community Notes & Violations @CNviolations]

😂😂

[Medievalists.net @Medievalists]

Capture that autumn magic—write in the October Très Riches Heures notebook. 🍂📔 https://t.co/vq19C7BQ7u #MedievalArt

[Gavin Newsom @GavinNewsom]

This aged well.

[Canada Hates Trump @AntiTrumpCanada]

In 2016, Marco Rubio warned us what Trump would do to America. Now he’s neck-deep in the very cesspool he described. The hypocrisy of these Republican motherfuckers is mind-numbing.

[Marc Owen Jones @marcowenjones]

I have every sympathy for the hostages in the Gaza, but not for the cognitive dissonance that prevents people from understanding that Israel blocking food means hostages can't eat either. Comprehending that means comprehending that Israel don't care about the hostages.

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

The dignity, mutual respect, eloquence, complexity of discourse demonstrated here stand in stark contrast to what we see today. Reagan’s contributions, especially, are so impressive >>Debate: Ronald Reagan and President Carter, 1980 https://t.co/jtK9m8fmFb

[Dr. M.F. Khan @Dr_TheHistories]

Neanderthal vs homo sapiens skull. They had larger brains than us. And were possibly smarter.

Here are some things they could do:

* Neanderthals created sophisticated stone tools, including hand axes, scrapers, and spear points. They used wooden spears to hunt large animals like mammoths and bison. They even made glue from birch bark to attach stone tools to wooden shafts.

* Neanderthals were skilled hunters who could take down large game. They worked together in groups to ambush and kill prey.
They had the strength and precision to butcher animals for meat, hides, and bones.

* Neanderthals could make and maintain fire, using it for warmth, cooking, and protection from predators. Fire also helped them process food, making it easier to digest.

* While some lived in caves, Neanderthals also built shelters from wood and animal hides. They adapted to harsh Ice Age climates by making protective dwellings.

* They used animal hides to make warm clothing, possibly by sewing with bone needles. This helped them survive in cold environments.

* While we don’t know exactly what their language sounded like, Neanderthals had the physical ability to speak. Their brains had regions associated with speech and language, similar to modern humans.

* Neanderthals buried their dead with care, sometimes including grave goods like tools or flowers. This suggests they had rituals and possibly believed in an afterlife.

* Neanderthals created jewelry from bones, shells, and animal teeth. They painted in caves, using red ochre and black pigments.
This suggests they had symbolic thinking and some form of culture.

* Fossil evidence shows Neanderthals cared for group members who had serious injuries or disabilities. Some survived for years despite severe wounds, suggesting social support.

* Neanderthals and Homo sapiens interbred when they met in Europe and Asia. Today, most non-African humans have about 1–2% Neanderthal DNA.

* Bonus: They Were Stronger Than Us. Neanderthals had stockier builds, thicker bones, and stronger muscles. Their grip strength and endurance were far greater than ours.

In short, Neanderthals weren’t just “cavemen”—they were intelligent, adaptable, and resourceful humans.

#drthehistories

[Graham Smyth @GrahamSmyth]

Leeds United are champions.

FT. Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Leeds United

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

@jk_rowling Correct, they’re not women; they’re trans women.

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

Why restrict this to ‘youth’ when many of us with decades-long work & family ties to EU saw our lives thrust into chaos under new Brexit rules? My children are EU residents but my right to visit them are now severely restricted. It’s a horrible situation no one benefits from.

[Liz Webster @LizWebsterSBF]

Britain already has youth agreements with Australia and 12 other countries, including New Zealand, South Korea, Iceland, Uruguay, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

BUT its EU phobia has seen years of dithering and delaying on allowing freedom to our youth to explore the continent next door.

Finally they look like they’re about to cave in but with a tweak to the name.

The entire country benefits from a return to full freedom of movement, but this govt’s commitment to Trump’s USA holds us back.

https://t.co/nfreDBOE0C

[Spencer Hakimian @SpencerHakimian]

By the way, the leaked pause news the other day was 100% intentional.

White House wanted to see how markets would react if/when they needed to excerise their put.

Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Bill Madden @maddenifico]

What was once unthinkable is happening. Rebublicans are abdicating power to Trump. This is what the Nazification of America looks like. Watch James Comer's embarrassing excuses as Republicans carry out a facsimile of the Enabling Act of 1933, which gave Hitler ultimate power.

[Dr. Alan Firth 🇩🇰🇬🇧🇪🇺 @alan_firth_]

@nigcharlesworth @RestIsPolitics @campbellclaret @RoryStewartUK Disagree