Tracey

In what way does Trump and Putin deciding how to divide up Ukraine differ from Stalin and Hitler deciding how to divide up Poland? (Before Hitler’s betrayal of the pact, of course)

Yep, no heatwave here. Just the threat of lots of rain

Me too and what’s more infuriating is it’s close by but we’re not a priority. They’d rather wait until all new houses being built have it .

Morning Thingummies

How is this even possible? We have a desperate shortage of GPs, patients are waiting weeks for a GP appointment yet fully qualified GPs can’t get work. Surely this needs fixing urgently

www.gponline.com/huge-rise-gp...

I don’t trust either of them on any soil. Much prefer Zelenskyy to be safe as they’ve nothing credible to offer.

Map with red arrows showing UKR drones

Huge Ukrainian drone attack on South-West Russia.

#explodey

But does she look like a woman who had a fling with the incredible hulks ex wife.
Not going to be anyone left at Fox News at this rate.

Quite. And anybody who wants to go back to the good old days when London was less crowded, whiter and poorer should listen to Down in the Tube Station at Midnight (released when I was 12 and it terrified me).

Donald J. Trump & + @realDonaldTrump I am pleased to announce that I am nominating Tammy Bruce, a Great Patriot, Television Personality, and Bestselling Author, as our next Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador. Since the beginning of my Second Term, Tammy has been serving with distinction as Spokesperson of the State Department, where she did a fantastic job. Tammy Bruce will represent our Country brilliantly at the United Nations. Congratulations Tammy!

TV entertainer, radio host and inexplicably ambassador to the UN.

Trump has turned the US government into a joke administration of half-assed amateurs. Job done.

Europe rallies around Ukraine as Zelensky rejects Trump's plan for 'land swaps' Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelensky urged Donald Trump to beware of being misled by Vladimir Putin when the pair meet in Alaska on Friday

Europe rallies around Ukraine as Zelensky rejects Trump's plan for 'land swaps'

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Trump administration seeking $1 billion settlement from UCLA | CNN Politics The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, CNN has exclusively learned, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher ed...

And now UCLA. edition.cnn.com/2025/08/08/p...

This might be aimed at asylum seekers, but in approach and language - especially the parts about the safely of his daughters and not wanting newly-arrived immigrants as neighbours - it’s pretty much indistinguishable from the BNP-style open racism of the 70s and 80s.

TV set with Big Brother eye and people in t-shirts sitting on the floor

A group of men and women stormed the stage of the Israeli version of Big Brother wearing shirts reading: Let’s get out of Gaza.

THE STEADY STATE August 9, 2025 An Open Letter to the Men and Women of the FBI from The Steady State Expressing Support and Alarm Over Politicization and Retribution - A Purge We write to you as former members of the U.S. intelligence, diplomatic, defense, and national security communities-veterans of service to both Republican and Democratic administrations. We are The Steady State, a nonpartisan group of professionals who have served in the CIA, FBI, State Department, Department of Defense, NSA, DHS, and the uniformed military. Together, we have spent our careers upholding the Constitution and defending the United States from foreign and domestic threats. We have worked across the globe—at embassies, forward operating bases, and conflict zones- -as well as here at home, in Washington, D.C. and in field offices across the country. Some of us sat across the table from foreign intelligence services, some led counterterrorism operations or nuclear nonproliferation programs, while others negotiated treaties or built coalitions in defense of democracy. Whatever the mission, one constant was our respect for—and reliance on—the integrity, professionalism, and independence of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Together, we helped keep America safe from espionage, terrorism, and transnational crime. Together, we ensured that more than a dozen presidents had the best intelligence and analysis available to make decisions that shaped the outcome of the Cold War and safeguarded American interests around the world. It is from that shared legacy of service that we now write in deep concern and solidarity. The recent removals of seasoned FBI leaders—most notably Agents Brian Driscoll, Michael Feinberg, Walter Giardina—are not isolated personnel matters. They appear part of a broader campaign to dismantle the FBI's long-standing independence and recast it as a tool of political loyalty. That such dismissals are reportedly tied to perceived personal disloyalty to former President …

We have seen these dynamics abroad-leaders who demand loyalty from security services not to the law, but to themselves. These regimes do not end well. The FBI has long been a bulwark against such corruption: an institution where rule of law and civil iberties are held in balance with the demands of national security. Its independence is not a bureaucratic feature; it is a democratic necessity. To our friends and colleagues in the Bureau, past and present: we recognize the pressure you are under. We honor your service and the sacrifices you've made— quietly, honorably, often without recognition. And we want you to know: we stand with you. Your integrity matters. Your courage matters. The nation is watching, and will be inspired by the FBI. And history will remember. With respect, gratitude, and resolve, The Members of The Steady State

A group of former national security and FBI officials have issued a warning about Trump trying to turn the FBI into his own private force, CBS reports.

Stylised aerial view looking down at an area divided in two by a sort of conceptual diagonal with a small quaint village in the bottom right segment and a modern motorway system on the left

The modern world in old Ladybird books.
"Our roads are being improved in every way" (1966)

Artist: Ronald Lampitt
(Our Land in the Making)

Headline: How Jeremy Clarkson is keeping farm running after poor harvest?

Is the answer: "He's worth £85 million, and literally wrote in his Times column that he only bought his farm to avoid tax, while making even more money by exploiting continuously rising food prices"?

GBNews getting shown on the Trump network will please Putin

Trump shows off to the Azerbaijan dictator a section in the White House dedicated to Trump 2028 merch, as they discuss Trump unlawfully pursuing another term

Yikes. Definitely out of my price range 😮

Right to Buy discounts have cost taxpayers £200 billion since days of Thatcher A report from the Common Wealth think tank shows the 1.9 million council homes sold in England since 1980 are now worth £430 billion

Right to Buy discounts have cost taxpayers £200 billion since days of Thatcher
www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

🌿☕Pears are going well🍐🍐🍐

What did the Romans ever do for us 🤷introducing pear to Britain for a start, along with over 50 other plants like fig, grape, apple, cherry, plum, damson, mulberry, date, olive, cucumber, celery, seeds, lentils, pine nut, almond, walnut, sesame, coriander, dill & fennel 🌿

When you fire all the women and minorities from top jobs, and you will only hire white men who are willing to grovel to you on TV, turns out it's hard to fill out a government and you have to make your toadies take multiple jobs. A list:

1/4

I haven’t had much success with them either. I lost one last winter but the two that survived haven’t produced many flowers.

Discovered a new (to me) fun quirk of English law: if you are convicted of treason, you are banned for life from voting in parliamentary elections, but can still vote in local elections.

I have a couple of these in the garden. Didn’t realise they don’t produce speckled leaves after the first year. The pink ones are my favourite.

I run a small charity, Action on Armed Violence, with ‘Google News’ status, so our articles get good visibility.

If you’re a postgrad researcher in conflict, human rights in war, or related fields, and you have work that only two people have read but deserves more, I’d love to see it....

Never go full Taliban

Prize crossword No 29,769 Prize crossword No 29,769

If anyone has even the slightest interest in a cryptic crossword, have a go at today's Brendan in the Guardian. It's not too hard, but it is utterly magnificent in its creativity and execution
www.theguardian.com/crosswords/p...