Nutcracker

🚨🚨"It is not a peace plan. It is a proposal that weakens Ukraine and divides America from Europe, preparing the way for a larger war in the future. In the meantime, it benefits unnamed Russian and American investors, at the expense of everyone else." Excellent piece by @anneapplebaum.bsky.social:

Just 2 or 3 for me; not sure what the official Lawn Tennis Association figure for here is, but probably more than that 👍

Prolonged heatwave devastates Italian Lesser Kestrel colony The events in 2021 highlight the concerning impacts of climate change in the Mediterranean.

Fears have been expressed for Lesser Kestrel populations in the Mediterranean after an intense heatwave killed the majority of chicks at an Italian colony:

Right wing populism was anything but the gravy train that the Brexiteers were pushing. Like it could have been anything else but snake oil

Like everyone else is saying, should be a gift, not a loan!

Making Russia pay: the EU’s plan to rebuild Ukraine A proposal to loan Ukraine billions in frozen Russian assets has split members of the EU on the right course of action

No less than €180 billion in frozen Russian assets are dispersed across the European Union.

The EU plan would be to deploy €140 billion (£122bn) of these assets as a zero-interest “reparations loan” to Ukraine, providing Ukraine with urgently needed resources.

Better, found the original, by Uli Westphal:

www.uliwestphal.de/elephas-anth...

From the coolguides community on Reddit: The evolution of the elephant depiction in art throughout the middle ages up to the age of enlightenment. Explore this post and more from the coolguides community

Someone did a chart of evolving elephant illustration - some of them are grotesque! Copies of copies of copies by people who had never seen one, only read badly written descriptions 😆

Found it:
www.reddit.com/r/coolguides...

🚨🚨 New report!

Brexit has cost our economy 6 to 8% of GDP.

That equates to circa £66billion in lost tax revenue.

A mere hour's cycle ride, if done vertically upwards, would take you outside the breathable atmosphere. And outside virtually all our weather systems. Yes, it's thin. Very thin.

Trump essentially said loyalty to the Constitution is punishable by death. Those are dangerous words coming from the President of the United States, but I’m not going to be intimidated.

BREAKING NEWS: Trump's latest authoritarian attempt to persecute his political opponents has failed.

A judge dismissed the cases against James Comey & Letitia James after finding the prosecutor was illegally appointed.

This is a victory for the American people & the rule of law.

Notice how thin and tiny our atmosphere is?

Climate change is going to push global food inflation to extreme highs over the coming decade.

Most people don’t realise how precarious most of agriculture globally is right now.

Elephant and camels from "The Travels of Marco Polo", c. 1350 (via wikipedia) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Marco_Polo_traveling.JPG

Their elephants were often quite, 'interesting' 😆

From "The Travels of Marco Polo", c. 1350 (via wikipedia)

Looks good for Jack Snipe 👍

So:

One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
.....

Please compose the remaining lines up to 229 😂

After eating 8,125 eels per year, he ended up getting called Rotbert.

Looks like the rot had set in.

😁

* Don't buy American food, it's not safe.

* If you have to, only buy organic.

* Don't buy American food, it's not safe.

* If you have to, only buy organic.

One is stylish, and the other is . . . stamenish? 🤔😆

EPA just approved new ‘forever chemical’ pesticides for use on food - The Boston Globe The agency approved two new pesticides that will be used on vegetables such as romaine lettuce, broccoli, and potatoes.

The American wipeout continues unabated 🤷🏻

Tiverton council votes to declare Boxing Day hunt 'unwelcome' The motion says

"A town council has passed a motion to say a Boxing Day hunt was not welcome to go through its community."

Well done, Tiverton council.

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

Is there anything we can do to alleviate flash floods in the West Midlands Experts say housebuilding and concrete drives are making floods worse, but that there are things we can do.

Made large and rapid cuts to carbon emissions two decades ago?

www.bbc.com/news/article...

Well, this makes cheerful reading: assessing the economic cost of Brexit. In their almost understated conclusion: "In the case of Brexit, there was a substantial economic impact
on the United Kingdom"

siepr.stanford.edu/publications...

A peregrine perched on a rocky crag with autumnal woodland in the background.

The first specific, National Park-wide survey of peregrine falcons in 20 years has revealed a continuing downward trend in numbers.

Read more here ➡️ https://bit.ly/44jcee0

📷 Fergus Gill

Hen Harrier found dead in Northumberland National Park with shotgun damage to satellite tag This is a blog about one of those dead Hen Harriers for whom we’ve been waiting over a year for Natural England to confirm the cause of death. A Hen Harrier (photo by Pete Walkden) The young …

Hen Harrier found dead in Northumberland National Park with shotgun damage to satellite tag raptorpersecutionuk.org/2025/11/24/h...

Tim Davie misled audience about the BBC’s supposed leftwing agenda | Good Law Project Speaking at a book festival, the former director general suggested the BBC newsroom was full of BLM T-shirts and Kamala mugs. But that’s fake news.

"The former BBC director general Tim Davie misled the public in suggesting BBC news reporters had a leftwing political agenda, Good Law Project can reveal." goodlaw.social/vyyj

Need to be frozen for about a century to bring them into line with European rail pricing . . .

Rail fares to be frozen in England next year - BBC News Regulated fares, which include season tickets and off-peak returns, will not see annual price rises for the first time in 30 years, the government announces.

A rail fare freeze until 2027 is a win for travellers and the climate. We know skipping flights isn’t always easy, but cheaper rail makes low-carbon travel way more accessible. Slower journeys = less stress, smaller footprints.
#ClimateAction www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...