Collateral Thinking retweeted
Irish government expenditure has basically doubled in the last 10-12 years. But has anything it delivers doubled in quality? Speed of delivery or any other meaningful metric? If you believe 'yes' then comment, if not retweet and see if anybody else knows.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Urgent:
Iranian kickboxer is going to be hanged very soon after supreme court ruling!
I beg everyone: listen to his brother’s voice in this video and help us stop the Islamic Republic from executing him.
Benyamin Naghdi, is only 26-year-old, and he is a champion from Shiraz.
min wanted only one thing: a free Iran. He also says that for every person the Islamic Republic kills, others will rise to continue their path.
The regime wants these voices to disappear. It wants to silence Benyamin forever.
Please be his voice. Be his family’s voice. Before it’s too late.
Call your leaders to demand Islamic Republic to stop killing him.
#SaveBenyamin
#StopExecutionsInIran
Iranian kickboxer is going to be hanged very soon after supreme court ruling!
I beg everyone: listen to his brother’s voice in this video and help us stop the Islamic Republic from executing him.
Benyamin Naghdi, is only 26-year-old, and he is a champion from Shiraz.
min wanted only one thing: a free Iran. He also says that for every person the Islamic Republic kills, others will rise to continue their path.
The regime wants these voices to disappear. It wants to silence Benyamin forever.
Please be his voice. Be his family’s voice. Before it’s too late.
Call your leaders to demand Islamic Republic to stop killing him.
#SaveBenyamin
#StopExecutionsInIran
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
To whom it may concern and to everyone else as well,
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RT @irishpatriot91: North/Northern Ireland, County Tyrone!
I’m sharing this because of another failure by institutions inside this count…
I’m sharing this because of another failure by institutions inside this count…
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Male lizard holding up his girlfriend so she can take a nap.
Even lizards know how to treat their partners right.
Even lizards know how to treat their partners right.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Dan O’Brien is absolutely right. Ireland’s hard-working families and businesses are being hammered by crisis-era taxes that were never unwound, even as revenues have tripled and the public payroll and social spending have exploded by tens of billions with precious little to show for it in services or value for money.
This is fiscal madness dressed up as “fairness.” It’s time we, who are gouged for it, stopped accepting it. We must fight, and fight hard, for serious, structural tax cuts in Ireland now; lower rates, real reform, and an end to the tax-and-spend culture that is holding Ireland back. Enough is enough.
This is fiscal madness dressed up as “fairness.” It’s time we, who are gouged for it, stopped accepting it. We must fight, and fight hard, for serious, structural tax cuts in Ireland now; lower rates, real reform, and an end to the tax-and-spend culture that is holding Ireland back. Enough is enough.
Cut income tax - today's @thecurrency column.
Punitive personal taxes were introduced in Ireland 18 years ago to address a fiscal crisis that is long over.
Last year the government took in almost €45 billion in personal income taxes, up from €15 billion in 2010.
How has it crease (yes, that's a trebling) of income tax, USC and PRSI revenues?
Annual social expenditure rose by €25 billion 2015-2025, when the economy was growing strongly.
Having kept the lid on public sector pay from 2008-2016, when it stood at around €20 billion, it has since soared by €16 billion to €36 billion last year.
What scrutiny there is of government spending is too focused on one-offs (hospitals and bike sheds). There is little examination of annual recurring spending, of almost €50 billion on social spending and the €36 billion spent on the public service pay bill. Both rise by additional billions every year, as does almost every other spending line.
Ireland badly needs a Taxpayers' Alliance, because politicians are certainly not standing up for taxpayers. Across the political spectrum, parties all want ever more spending. None is calling for fundamental reform of one of the most punitive personal tax regimes in the world (ranked second worst in the OECD by the Tax Foundation).
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RT @JaneidyEve: Please support my video for the Grok Imagine contest, which ends tomorrow Feb 6 —$1 MILLION IS ON THE LINE!!
-If I win, I…
-If I win, I…
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
oh hi, if I win the $1 Million 𝕏 Top Article Prize, I will become best friends with everyone who reposted me before January 28 at 11:11 p.m. CT.
I'm keeping a list of the nice people who reposted before that specific time, y'all will be invited to a tacos cookout party if I ur attention to this matter. — EJ 𝕏♡𝕏♡
I'm keeping a list of the nice people who reposted before that specific time, y'all will be invited to a tacos cookout party if I ur attention to this matter. — EJ 𝕏♡𝕏♡
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
💔I admit that I never imagined the depth of sacrifice Iranians are capable of.
Milad Hassan Zadeh, a 17-year-old boy, left a farewell note for his family before heading out to protest.
I’m sharing his words because that was his own request, to make sure his voice would be his wish is honored.
“I’m heading out to the protests. If I am killed, or if I am arrested, know that I chose to live with honor and dignity.
If I am meant to die, then it is better that I die on the path of courage and honor.
Whatever happens to me, I want the news to spread like an explosion, so that I become a model for the rest of my generation. January 2, 2026, signed by Milad Hassan Zadeh.”
Milad Hassan Zadeh, a 17-year-old boy, left a farewell note for his family before heading out to protest.
I’m sharing his words because that was his own request, to make sure his voice would be his wish is honored.
“I’m heading out to the protests. If I am killed, or if I am arrested, know that I chose to live with honor and dignity.
If I am meant to die, then it is better that I die on the path of courage and honor.
Whatever happens to me, I want the news to spread like an explosion, so that I become a model for the rest of my generation. January 2, 2026, signed by Milad Hassan Zadeh.”
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Share this to save his life.
If you make him famous, the Iranian regime might not execute him tomorrow.
#ErfanSoltani
If you make him famous, the Iranian regime might not execute him tomorrow.
#ErfanSoltani
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
We can say a quiet prayer for the people of Iran before we go to sleep….or when we wake up. They need it. 🪽❤️🔥
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Calling on all activists and allies: KEEP POSTING EVERYTHING FROM IRAN.
Tag @realDonaldTrump.
President Trump — this is your moment.
Speak directly to the people of Iran.
From the Oval Office.
And speak to the transitional leadership of the revolution, @officialrezapahlavi.
⸻
•A near-total internet blackout is in effect.
•Millions are in the streets, day and night.
•This is a nationwide uprising, unprecedented in scale.
•Electricity and phone lines are down, hospitals can’t call for backup — yet the people are lighting up the streets themselves.
•The regime is running out of forces and is importing proxy militias from Iraq and Lebanon — and still, the people do not retreat.
Iranians stand with courage, discipline, and unity.
⸻
THE WORLD MUST ACT — NOW
The people vastly outnumber the regime.
If the world looks away, mass atrocities will follow.
International pressure is not interference — it is protection.
Reports continue of entire cities liberated, including large parts of Lorestan.
⸻
THE TRUTH IS GETTING OUT
Citizen journalists are risking their lives because no international media is on the ground.
They are the eyes of the world.
For urgent updates: @iranintltv | @nufdiran | @pahlavicomms
⸻
MESSAGE TO OUR FRONTLINE
To the people on the ground and the revolutionary networks inside Iran:
You are prepared.
You are organized.
You are making history.
The world is watching — in awe of your bravery and heroism.
Help is on the way.
Continue what you already know how to do:
reclaim street after street, square after square, cities, provinces, all the way to the final stage:
Entering every ministry of the Ayatollah occupation and reclaiming it for the people of Iran.
This is not chaos.
This is a liberation movement.
And nothing —NOTHING— can stop a nation of lions and lionesses from being FREE.
Tag @realDonaldTrump.
President Trump — this is your moment.
Speak directly to the people of Iran.
From the Oval Office.
And speak to the transitional leadership of the revolution, @officialrezapahlavi.
⸻
•A near-total internet blackout is in effect.
•Millions are in the streets, day and night.
•This is a nationwide uprising, unprecedented in scale.
•Electricity and phone lines are down, hospitals can’t call for backup — yet the people are lighting up the streets themselves.
•The regime is running out of forces and is importing proxy militias from Iraq and Lebanon — and still, the people do not retreat.
Iranians stand with courage, discipline, and unity.
⸻
THE WORLD MUST ACT — NOW
The people vastly outnumber the regime.
If the world looks away, mass atrocities will follow.
International pressure is not interference — it is protection.
Reports continue of entire cities liberated, including large parts of Lorestan.
⸻
THE TRUTH IS GETTING OUT
Citizen journalists are risking their lives because no international media is on the ground.
They are the eyes of the world.
For urgent updates: @iranintltv | @nufdiran | @pahlavicomms
⸻
MESSAGE TO OUR FRONTLINE
To the people on the ground and the revolutionary networks inside Iran:
You are prepared.
You are organized.
You are making history.
The world is watching — in awe of your bravery and heroism.
Help is on the way.
Continue what you already know how to do:
reclaim street after street, square after square, cities, provinces, all the way to the final stage:
Entering every ministry of the Ayatollah occupation and reclaiming it for the people of Iran.
This is not chaos.
This is a liberation movement.
And nothing —NOTHING— can stop a nation of lions and lionesses from being FREE.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
🇪🇺 OPINION: X SURGES PAST EUROPEAN CENSORS AS €120 MILLION FINE BACKFIRES
The European Union thought it could rein in X with a €120 million fine, about $130 million, but instead it made the world’s only true free speech platform unstoppable.
The penalty, bogusly issued under t, accused X of misleading blue checkmark sales, poor ad transparency, and blocking researcher access to public data.
What was meant as punishment became fuel.
People rushed to X for what they can’t find elsewhere: unfiltered conversation and raw, unedited news.
It’s what Elon calls the “digital town square,” and the more the EU tried to control speech, the louder that town square became.
Within days, X shot to the number one free news app across all 27 EU countries, topping Apple and Google charts from Germany and France to Malta and Luxembourg.
It crushed BBC News, Le Monde, and CNN in both downloads and engagement.
The backlash turned into a movement.
Users flocked to X because it feels real, human, and alive, while legacy media sounds sterilized by bureaucracy.
The EU’s heavy hand only exposed its fear of open conversation.
X doesn’t just survive censorship, it thrives on it.
Every attempt to silence it only spreads the flame of free speech further.
The European Union thought it could rein in X with a €120 million fine, about $130 million, but instead it made the world’s only true free speech platform unstoppable.
The penalty, bogusly issued under t, accused X of misleading blue checkmark sales, poor ad transparency, and blocking researcher access to public data.
What was meant as punishment became fuel.
People rushed to X for what they can’t find elsewhere: unfiltered conversation and raw, unedited news.
It’s what Elon calls the “digital town square,” and the more the EU tried to control speech, the louder that town square became.
Within days, X shot to the number one free news app across all 27 EU countries, topping Apple and Google charts from Germany and France to Malta and Luxembourg.
It crushed BBC News, Le Monde, and CNN in both downloads and engagement.
The backlash turned into a movement.
Users flocked to X because it feels real, human, and alive, while legacy media sounds sterilized by bureaucracy.
The EU’s heavy hand only exposed its fear of open conversation.
X doesn’t just survive censorship, it thrives on it.
Every attempt to silence it only spreads the flame of free speech further.
Dissolve the EU and return power to the people
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
🇪🇺 WHO ELECTED THEM? NO ONE. THE EU IS RULED BY A BUREAUCRATIC MACHINE, NOT DEMOCRACY
Call it what it is: the European Commission is not democratic. It’s not even close.
While Brussels lectures the world about democratic values and the rule of law, the truth is that the real by people no one ever voted for. Not once. Not directly. Not democratically.
Yes, Europeans get to vote for Members of the European Parliament every 5 years. But here’s the dirty little secret: the Parliament can’t even propose laws.
It just votes on the ones handed down by the Commission, a group of appointed officials selected behind closed doors through political horse-trading, party deals, and elite negotiations. No public oversight. No transparency. No accountability.
Once in power, the Commission effectively runs the EU. It controls the legislative agenda. It shapes policy for 450 million people. It drafts the laws. It sets the tone. The Parliament, the only body with even a thin layer of democratic legitimacy becomes little more than a rubber stamp.
And citizens? They’re just spectators.
No say in who writes the laws. No say in who leads the Commission. No way to remove them when they fail. They can vote, yes, and then they can sit back and watch while unelected technocrats run the show.
The European Union is a democracy in name only. A stage play. A managed illusion.
And more people are starting to wake up to it, especially as they realize they’re not voting for leaders. They’re voting for figureheads. The real decisions are being made in smoke-filled rooms by people who never once faced the electorate.
If the EU wants to survive, it needs to stop pretending and start reforming.
Because people are tired of being ruled by a flag they didn’t choose and a Commission they didn’t elect.
And that frustration? It’s growing.
Call it what it is: the European Commission is not democratic. It’s not even close.
While Brussels lectures the world about democratic values and the rule of law, the truth is that the real by people no one ever voted for. Not once. Not directly. Not democratically.
Yes, Europeans get to vote for Members of the European Parliament every 5 years. But here’s the dirty little secret: the Parliament can’t even propose laws.
It just votes on the ones handed down by the Commission, a group of appointed officials selected behind closed doors through political horse-trading, party deals, and elite negotiations. No public oversight. No transparency. No accountability.
Once in power, the Commission effectively runs the EU. It controls the legislative agenda. It shapes policy for 450 million people. It drafts the laws. It sets the tone. The Parliament, the only body with even a thin layer of democratic legitimacy becomes little more than a rubber stamp.
And citizens? They’re just spectators.
No say in who writes the laws. No say in who leads the Commission. No way to remove them when they fail. They can vote, yes, and then they can sit back and watch while unelected technocrats run the show.
The European Union is a democracy in name only. A stage play. A managed illusion.
And more people are starting to wake up to it, especially as they realize they’re not voting for leaders. They’re voting for figureheads. The real decisions are being made in smoke-filled rooms by people who never once faced the electorate.
If the EU wants to survive, it needs to stop pretending and start reforming.
Because people are tired of being ruled by a flag they didn’t choose and a Commission they didn’t elect.
And that frustration? It’s growing.
The EU Commission should be disbanded in favor of an elected body and the EU President should be directly elected.
The current system is rule by bureaucracy, not democracy.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
The EU Commission should be disbanded in favor of an elected body and the EU President should be directly elected.
The current system is rule by bureaucracy, not democracy.
The current system is rule by bureaucracy, not democracy.
🇪🇺 So good to see the world wake up to the terrors of the European Commission
I hope all the attention helps European people via their country's governments force the European Union to reform and redesign its structure to one that's actually democratic
No indirect appointment of corrupt cronies but actual democracy close to the people
It also makes no sense to have 720 members of the European Parliament, it's simply too much and makes it too inefficient
The real cancer rotting the EU from within though is the European Commission which should be disbanded and replaced with a democratic body
FYI the European Commission consists of 32,000 paid civil servants and all it does it create laws that nobody agrees with
Europeans, you should keep posting about the terrors of the European Commission and vote parties into power in your country that can put real pressure on the EU to change and reform
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
THE UK IS A POLICE STATE
"There is no law anymore in the UK. The law is just a tool of Government control now"
Listen to this horrific story from Katie Hopkins
Interviewed UNDER CAUTION by the Police for a joke she made on her own stage show about herself because it was nce
She was WARNED by the Police off the record not to tell the world what happened
She's releasing this in America in the hope it doesn't come back to her legally in the UK
"There is no law anymore in the UK. The law is just a tool of Government control now"
Listen to this horrific story from Katie Hopkins
Interviewed UNDER CAUTION by the Police for a joke she made on her own stage show about herself because it was nce
She was WARNED by the Police off the record not to tell the world what happened
She's releasing this in America in the hope it doesn't come back to her legally in the UK
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
From @WSJopinion: It’s rare for a single policy move to create so much economic self-sabotage and diplomatic harm in one stroke, but Europe is succeeding. The European Commission proves its critics right by fining Elon Musk’s social platform.
on.wsj.com/4poPnGn
on.wsj.com/4poPnGn
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
🇪🇺 Telegram sent this message to all its users in France regarding Chat Control. People must know the names of those who try to steal their freedoms:
Today, the European Union nearly banned your right to privacy. It was set to vote on a law that would force apps to scan every private message, turning everyone’s phone into a spying tool.
France led the push for this authoritarian law. Both former and current Interior Ministers, Bruno Retailleau and Laurent Nuñez, supported it. Last March, they declared that police should see French citizens’ private messages. The Republicans and Macron’s Renaissance group voted for it.
Such measures are supposed to “fight crime”, but their real target is regular people. It wouldn’t stop criminals — they could just use VPNs or special websites to hide. Officials’ and police messages wouldn’t be scanned either, since the law conveniently exempts them from surveillance. Only YOU — ordinary citizens — would face the danger of your private messages and photos being compromised.
Today, we defended privacy: Germany’s sudden stand saved our rights. But freedoms are still threatened. While French leaders push for total access to private messages, the basic rights of French people — and all Europeans — remain in danger.
Today, the European Union nearly banned your right to privacy. It was set to vote on a law that would force apps to scan every private message, turning everyone’s phone into a spying tool.
France led the push for this authoritarian law. Both former and current Interior Ministers, Bruno Retailleau and Laurent Nuñez, supported it. Last March, they declared that police should see French citizens’ private messages. The Republicans and Macron’s Renaissance group voted for it.
Such measures are supposed to “fight crime”, but their real target is regular people. It wouldn’t stop criminals — they could just use VPNs or special websites to hide. Officials’ and police messages wouldn’t be scanned either, since the law conveniently exempts them from surveillance. Only YOU — ordinary citizens — would face the danger of your private messages and photos being compromised.
Today, we defended privacy: Germany’s sudden stand saved our rights. But freedoms are still threatened. While French leaders push for total access to private messages, the basic rights of French people — and all Europeans — remain in danger.
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Collateral Thinking retweeted
Rest in peace, Patricia Routledge 🙏🏻
In memory of her, I encourage everyone to read these words of hers from February last year.
Whether young or old, you're bound to get something out of it.
*****
"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often ry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolour painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
I’m writing this to tell you something simple:
Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.
Let these years ahead be your TREASURE YEARS.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.
With love and gentleness,
Patricia Routledge
*****
Once more, rest in peace. 🤍
In memory of her, I encourage everyone to read these words of hers from February last year.
Whether young or old, you're bound to get something out of it.
*****
"I’ll be turning 95 this coming Monday. In my younger years, I was often ry that I wasn’t quite good enough, that no one would cast me again, that I wouldn’t live up to my mother’s hopes. But these days begin in peace, and end in gratitude.
My life didn’t quite take shape until my forties. I had worked steadily — on provincial stages, in radio plays, in West End productions — but I often felt adrift, as though I was searching for a home within myself that I hadn’t quite found.
At 50, I accepted a television role that many would later associate me with — Hyacinth Bucket, of Keeping Up Appearances. I thought it would be a small part in a little series. I never imagined that it would take me into people’s living rooms and hearts around the world. And truthfully, that role taught me to accept my own quirks. It healed something in me.
At 60, I began learning Italian — not for work, but so I could sing opera in its native language. I also learned how to live alone without feeling lonely. I read poetry aloud each evening, not to perfect my diction, but to quiet my soul.
At 70, I returned to the Shakespearean stage — something I once believed I had aged out of. But this time, I had nothing to prove. I stood on those boards with stillness, and audiences felt that. I was no longer performing. I was simply being.
At 80, I took up watercolour painting. I painted flowers from my garden, old hats from my youth, and faces I remembered from the London Underground. Each painting was a quiet memory made visible.
Now, at 95, I write letters by hand. I’m learning to bake rye bread. I still breathe deeply every morning. I still adore laughter — though I no longer try to make anyone laugh. I love the quiet more than ever.
I’m writing this to tell you something simple:
Growing older is not the closing act. It can be the most exquisite chapter — if you let yourself bloom again.
Let these years ahead be your TREASURE YEARS.
You don’t need to be famous. You don’t need to be flawless.
You only need to show up — fully — for the life that is still yours.
With love and gentleness,
Patricia Routledge
*****
Once more, rest in peace. 🤍
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