Ruth Dawkins

If anyone is friends with any Georgian air traffic controllers, buy them a nice bottle of wine. As guardians of pretty much the only narrow gap still available between Europe and Asia that avoids both Iran, the Gulf, Ukraine and Russia, they are under some substantial pressure.

A screenshot of the Polymarket website showing a prediction market titled "Nuclear weapon detonation by...?" under the Geopolitics and Ukraine categories. The market displays three betting options with their current probabilities and "Buy Yes" or "Buy No" prices: "March 31" at 5%, "June 30" at 12%, and "Before 2027" at 22%. The total trading volume shown is over $843,000.

Polymarket has created a betting market on the use of nuclear weapons. Everyone involved in this should be put in prison for life.

Photo shows a pretty silver and pinky-orange sunrise, with trees silhouetted in the foreground

Morning.

How did it go??

😳😳😳

And 9 times out of 10 that someone is Bret Stephens!

The only reason I am not drinking every night is because even one glass makes me feel like crap for about three days and the world is bad enough without adding a permanent migraine and alcohol-induced anxiety into the mix 😂

Sarah Vaci is a "gender critical" artist who set out 4 years ago this month to create 100 portraits of "female detransitioners." To date, worldwide, she hasn't even found 100 to take part in her project, and at her current rate, it will take her 10 to 15 years to finish.

Why is this important? 1/

white circle in a blue background and the words "It's Monday! What are you reading?" in the circle

It's Monday again and today I'm reading "Monk and Robot" by Becky Chambers

What book(s) are you reading this week?

💙📚 #BookSky #AmReading #MondayReads #TBR

alt text in images please

Morning. A good week for reading and staying offline, I reckon 😵‍💫 I’m reading All God’s Children Need Travelling Shoes by Maya Angelou.

Screenshot of text: First, it’s a mistake to say that Trump got America into war on Saturday. What he did was respond to a war that Iran has been waging against the United States since 1979.

Cool hey did anything happen *before* 1979 between the United States and Iran

❤️❤️❤️

The whole thing has now all been referred on to the right place. So impressed by their fast and caring response ❤️🙏🏻

Just want to give a shout out to COTA (Council on the Ageing Tasmania). I had a concern about an elderly neighbour and emailed them with an enquiry because I didn’t know where else to go. They replied to the first email within 10 minutes & sent a second within the hour requesting more info.

BREAKING: Keir Starmer says the U.K. has given the US permission to use British bases to launch strikes on Iran

Iran has a great many Mandelas and Walesas. Most of them are in a prison that Israel bombed back in July.

The idea that Israel wants a Middle Eastern Mandela is genuinely ludicrous. They have Marwan Barghouti locked in a dungeon.

Ahh thanks Rob. I agree, take all the joy you can wherever you can just now 😵‍💫

I have tea & chocolate: ready to start a day of prep for my Wed appearance at the UKGov Science, Information and Technology select committee.

I'll be making the case for the economic and scientific benefits of funding (not cutting) UK astronomy. Keen to hear your Sunday thoughts on the matter!🔭⚛️🎢👩‍🔬

a circular hard enamel pin that says "It's Dr actually" in dark metal text on a white enamel background. It is also shown glowing in the dark

it's dr actually pins in nonbinary, trans, agender, genderqueer, genderfluid, bigender, intersex, lgbtq, lesbian, black, white, hot pink, purple, dark green, light green, light blue, and light pink colours

Very excited to announce the new pin in my "It's Dr, Actually" collection: Glow in the dark!! 😍🧪
canopyrobin.etsy.com/listing/1841...

The acts of defiance can be big or small. Painting over a bigoted piece of graffiti. Running a youth club for refugees in an area that mostly loathes them. Wearing a rainbow flag in an anti-queer neighbourhood.
These acts all accumulate towards something better, I have seen that in action.

🤞🏻

The Guardian US editorial team A list of editorial team members working for the Guardian in the US

Yes! Great idea - US Staff list is here :) www.theguardian.com/info/2014/oc...

Barbara Speed & Kirsty Major are deputy comment Ed’s and general email is opinion.editors@theguardian.com - best of luck to him!

I’m in Aus & I’ve written for them here but I think he’s in the UK so I would prob check out the Opinion/Comment editor and email them (there’s a standard format for Guardian eds that’s pretty easy to work out) but then also copy in the opinion@ email address that will be regularly checked.

Guardian.

I wrote an editorial of about 1000 words on the Khamenei assassination and the history of this type of operations. If you know any outlet that would be interested, let me know. I can also expand/cut the piece.