Ian W

Hegseth is such a dumb fuck.

In a safety-critical environment like that, if there is no natural light, surely there should be emergency lights of some sort.

Is he destroying his own in the process though? USA was already badly divided between MAGA and the rest, now MAGA is splitting over Epstein and this war. Not sure this policy is entirely wise from a domestic viewpoint, never mind any other considerations.

Christopher who? In May, a party founded eight years ago, with no record in national government and only eight MPs, will fight elections in Wales and Scotland, and for control of councils across England, with every chance of winning many of them. British politics is being reshaped by Reform UK. This is a result of Nigel Farage's personality and of Christopher Harborne's money - £9m, from a fortune amassed largely through cryptocurrency investments. The party would not be able to field candidates, run social media operations or door-to-door campaigns if it weren't for the Harborne war chest. There is a template for crypto-funded campaigning - in the US, where it is viewed as having led to securing crypto-friendly legislation and sweetheart deals to enrich crypto charlatans and undermine transparency and accountability in politics. Reform threatens to destroy the Conservatives as a party of government and divide communities, increasingly along ethnic lines and with overtly racist arguments. It also poses the most serious threat to Keir Starmer's government, Harborne lives in Thailand and owns a 12% stake in the Tether stablecoin. Little else is known about this intensely private man. Yet he can influence the course of politics, seemingly without either much of a business or life in the UK. It's a lot like overseas interference in British democracy. Didn't someone once say: "Take back control"?

From yesterday's Observer.

They probably also want officers with less intellectual tools for critiquing Hesgeth's ridiculous policies and behaviour.

Have you ever thought "maybe we should just have knocked the house down and started again"? 🤪

Maybe followed by some Emily Remler?

OMG get well soon. I had a similar experience on a work trip (I put it down to a blood pudding I'd eaten in Barcelona) - truly horrible.

As #ShitBirdPhotos go that's rather splendid - at least you can see there are lots of them in beautiful formation!

Maybe but I suspect with X users the proportion might be higher

Well HE thought the policies were good but he failed to check with his MPs before putting them forward.

Shutting down X in UK is not practically possible. Firstly Trump would go ballistic and impose ridiculous tariffs on UK exports and secondly people who wanted to use it would simply do so via VPN.

I have a holy grail to sell you...

Thanks for the link - that's great!

Bloody hell, glad your nephew is on the mend. Not sure how the keeping still bit is going to work out though.

Just thinking how smug the staff, alumni and students of Oxford University must be feeling just now having swerved a Mandelson chancellor.

The choice available in 2024 was not exactly inspiring though.

Can you spare a minute to help this campaign? Hold a Parliamentary Debate on Palantir’s Role in UK Defence, Security & Public Services

I've just signed this petition - please consider doing so too.
c.org/pzv8gthKTR

I think you'd get a lot of pushback from both companies and shareholders for this idea. I guess companies wouldn't want to have to deal with lots of offers to sell and shareholders want too be able to sell relatively easily and quickly.

There's nothing to stop companies buying their shares as long as the offer is made to all shareholders:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Share_r...
Stock markets are important for pension schemes that must be able to buy and sell shares easily so they can generate the income streams for their pensioners.

Even so you'd expect him to remember the attempt to buy a property in Rio.....
bsky.app/profile/dann...

Police assess reports of alleged misconduct after Mandelson emails published The peer is accused of passing on sensitive government information to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

BBC now saying police investigating
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

More I believe 😁

I'm clingning on to the first statement in your original post because for some reason I really like them (at least their first 7 albums).

Maybe yes but in a good way.
And Pearl of the Quarter is the best example of pedal steel I've ever heard.

Top use of dolt in the last skeet too!

Surely if you locked the relevant politicians in a room with no access to toilets, food or beer they would conclude the negotiations quite quickly.

A bird's-eye view of a former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp showing a wide dirt pathway flanked by parallel rows of barbed-wire fences. Groups of visitors walk along the path, surrounded by the remnants of brick structures and barracks, now reduced to foundations. Green grass contrasts with the somber history of the site, as the path leads toward a guard tower in the distance.

Auschwitz was at the end of a process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred gradually developed: from ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

... to achieve it, then progress on implementing the policy and then results.
(I realise it's a bit more complicated than that especially if extra funding is req'd).
Cabinet would also be the place where any conflicts with other departmental policies could be discussed and hopefully resolved.

Where should, say, health policy be devised if not in the DHSC? Surely No 10 can't do it?
Surely the PM should set very high level objectives for departments (approved by cabinet?) e.g. "reduce hospital waiting lists by 30%" and ministers should regularly report back to PM and cabinet on policy..1/2