Adrian Norris

Some of them arrived hidden in lorries. Like the Kurdish consultant orthopaedic surgeon who used to be my neighbour in London.

What utter nonsense. RFK is a crank whose wilful stupidity will kill thousands of people. Everyone with a platform like yours needs to repeat that continuously, not publish false equivalency nonsense to appease the lunatic anti-science fringe.

The ECJ will overrule the Conseil constitutionnel’s decision. The EU approved use of acetamiprid following scientific advice from the EFSA. No new scientific evidence has been presented, and Fleur Breteau’s claim of a link to cancer - while emotionally understandable - isn’t supported by evidence.

In the interview with Attal, Rory Stewart came across as ignorant about French politics. Nobody can be expert in everything, but UK politicians tend to be far more interested in the minutiae of US politics than in our European neighbours. He was also arrogant and rude. It was not his finest hour.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

George Orwell, 1984

Congratulations!

Ending Cooperative Agreements’ Funding to Princeton University On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick announced that nearly $4 million in funding is ending to Princeton University after a detailed, careful, and thorough review of the...

Get this: Commerce is slashing $ to Princeton's world-renowned climate research b/c modeling changes to Earth systems is "contributing to a phenomenon known as 'climate anxiety,' which has increased significantly among America’s youth."

No research, no problem! www.commerce.gov/news/press-r...

The EU tariff varies from 10% to 50%, presumably because Trump didn’t know that various French overseas territories are legally part of France.
Martinique (France): 10%
St Pierre et Miquelon (France): 50%

Trump Gaza looks like transvestite heaven. 👇

Trump Gaza looks like drag queen heaven! 😳

It’s not short-term sustainable according to this 2014 report, written by authors who would know. https://basicint.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/trident_commission_finalreport.pdf

So glad I’m not! Reading extracts is bad enough.

Can I bet one Trump coin on “never will”? 😟

Trump knows that coverage of tomorrow’s madcap Executive Orders will ensure there’s no more coverage of this scam.

Last time, with a cheap Samsung laser printer, it was cheaper to buy a new printer than to buy new toner. ☹️

Thanks for the update. It’s a subject that is too complex for a private member’s bill. There are compelling arguments for and against, but it needed wider consultation, better communication and probably better drafting. A lot of vulnerable people are feeling worried today, hopefully unnecessarily.

Indeed, the spaces flourish for everyone who is active enough to be able to walk a reasonable distance. But some very elderly or infirm people need to be dropped off right outside where they want to go, and pedestrianisation means they can no longer visit shops and restaurants they used to enjoy.

News headlines on the website of France’s largest commercial TV channel:

1. Pelicot rape trial.
2. Ukraine war.

and…

3. Results of the Miss France general knowledge quiz. 🤯

(If you’re wondering, Miss Picardy won.)

I'm quite glad to have a roof over my head tonight. Stay warm, and good luck in the ice tomorrow morning.

Grands Montets ski area opening 22 November

Good to see you here. 👍

“⛷️ writer too”

Looks like you may have something to write about very soon! They’re forecasting ~100cm of snow between tomorrow and Friday, and planning to open the Grands Montets on Saturday. Fingers crossed!

The one that has the grey tick of an official government account (even though it isn't official yet) and 1.7M followers.

No sign of that on DOGE's twitter feed.

Only verified users on X can send a DM to the account. So:
a) The DOGE team will be made up of 100% blue tick Elon fans 🫣, and
b) You can only apply for these (presumably) civil service DOGE jobs if you first pay a fee to the head of DOGE.

We are through the looking glass.

I think Cummings believed that OneWeb satellites could be adapted to be a cheap alternative to the EU’s Galileo constellation. The deal was then pushed through without proper technical due diligence.

The weather this afternoon was so beautiful that I had to enjoy it from the air. Some pictures from the Beaujolais hills near Lyon in the late afternoon sun, a rather grainy shot of Mont Blanc from 100 miles away, and a picture of my rather old and rather slow rented aeroplane.

Thank you for this much needed laugh:

“It’s interesting to ponder what might have been the right crisis for Johnson’s skillset. A warning letter from Vladimir Putin sent in Latin? The capital under siege from horny housewives? A global baby shortage?”

It's interesting to compare Rishi Sunak's view of Boris Johnson, expressed at the Conservative Party virtual conference in 2020, with Patrick Vallance's notes from around the same time:

They look amazing! Seeing your pictures reminds me that I live 5 minutes walk from a similar shop, which I haven’t visited since yesterday. I think I can hear a lemon tart calling to me! 🐷

Two of the nicest things about living where I do in France: the short walk along the banks of the Saône to the patisserie, and the delightful things I find when I arrive there! 🐷

I’ll take a look! Currently I see this in the middle of my iPad screen…