Ed Wilson

Oh god...

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This is why I write so much about pavement parking

Record of the items on BBC Radio 4 Today on 5 March 2026

@bbcr4today #AsItHappened Thursday 5 March 2026

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A leader with a rounded personality would be refreshing.

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A nationalised water system would still have to work for decades, and use huge amounts of our money, to begin to make the system work.

But never mind. Iran's completely running out of water.

See also Shabana Mahmood's claim to be unable to control UK borders.

Only connect

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By stealth, but also very deliberately.

Imagine, or don't, a 15th century 13-year-old having a baby... to be discussed on In Our Time.

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"a big part of" rather than "exactly". Other forces did come in.

It's a passable metaphor, but it started wilting with its first quote yesterday.

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If the government doesn't offer a spokesweevil, the opposition gets the big slot.

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Tolkien did not have "goons", Kemi Badenoch.

Your "punching bag" stuff is deranged.

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As far as I know the US Department of Defense has not yet been renamed the Department of War, but Trump and Hegseth are happy to use nicknames.

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I can't type fast enough (Nick Robinson is a bit faster) to counter Badenoch's bollocks.

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Very bad quoting of nuclear war strategy.

Somebody, please, take Badenoch a long, long way away.

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Badenoch: We used to be a powerful force in that region.

Brace, brace.

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Epic Furry

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Text of an email Shabana Mahmood talks about control of the UK's borders, and all the media seem to agree that it's a problem. In what way is the UK unable to control its borders? Everybody who enters this country does so with a visa or some form of visa waiver. Except those who come in small boats across the English Channel, who are taken in and processed by British officials. Or those arriving by private jet - a problem which the police only seem to have noticed as a result of the Epstein affair. There might be other issues, like private yachts. What "control of the border" actually seems to mean is "immigration", which is basically under government control. It's an illogical, misleading and political presentation. Next time you interview Ms Mahmood, could you ask her exactly what she feels she can't control? Ed Wilson

Email just sent to today @ bbc . co . uk

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From my rather obsessive study of Diego Garcia I'm working out that the runways are already some way above the pre-existing land, but a lot of concrete on top of a lot of coral doesn't sound like a long term plan.

Global sea levels have been underestimated due to poor modelling, research suggests Analysis shows average levels are 30cm higher than thought, and up to 150cm in south-east Asia and Indo-Pacific

Sea levels around the world have been underestimated due to inaccurate modelling, with research suggesting ocean levels are far higher than previously understood.

www.theguardian.com/environment/...

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Quite right, Emma Barnett, there should be some urgency.

There should also be some grasp of context and history. That's your job.

And now you ask "what's the worst you've seen?", because the tabloid instinct is hard to shrug off.

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There are ways to find out, and check...

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If you say "adult social care" to me, Emma Barnett, I think of the carer I'll see later this morning, and the council employee who rang me yesterday.

I told her what wasn't going right in the process.

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The ship is just out of refit, and until a couple of days ago was intended to be deployed in the north Atlantic. Apparently.

It's probably complicated, but #R4Today seeks out the simplistic.

Will somebody ask what the Iranian warship was doing in the area of Sri Lanka?

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But also trying to drive Iranians and others out of their countries.

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Of course. In 2024 I repeatedly cited US polls showing that many people thought both of them were too old for the job.

There will come a time when other countries stop producing babies to solve our problems.

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That's a fair point, but it has nothing to do with "control of the borders" when it actually means "too many immigrants".

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