Bad Santa

Edwina Booth by Clarence Sinclair Bull (1930)

This is Cody. He's always wanted a dog of his own, and his wish finally came true. Can already tell his new little brother Cooper is going to be his best friend forever. 13/10 for both (TT: codythegoldenboy)

I don't think we shunned him, although we should have, there was definitely a cooling off between us

He kept it very quiet

Sadly me and Steve were friends of his and we only found out when we visited his family house

A room full of books on the third Reich

I still don't understand it to this day, and the more I read about history the less I understand it

New discovery: A late Archaic marble head of a Kore discovered at Vulci represents a rare instance of Greek statuary found within Etruscan territory.

uni-freiburg.de/freiburger-u...

Not seeing a lot of gentle affection between these two. Baby J is cross that his apple is not much bigger than his toe! Understandable, really. By Aelbrecht Bouts, whose day is today.

The moment the Trump administration attacks Venezuela any bandwidth it has to handle Ukraine or any other foreign policy challenge will evaporate

Trump is abandoning Ukraine in exchange for Russian money to fund his billionaire friends.

Russia threatens Europe over asset seizure plans, Ireland says Unidentified drones that attempted to intercept Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane in Dublin last week were related to ongoing EU debates over seizing frozen Russian assets, Irish Taoisea...

Unidentified drones that attempted to intercept Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s plane in Dublin last week were related to ongoing EU debates over seizing frozen Russian assets, Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin said.

It’s been bugging me for a few days, who FIFA twat Infantino reminded of. In fairness, The Hood was way less evil and corrupt..

THIS. There is no magic set of STEM degrees or apprenticeships that you can force young people to do that will make up for chronic underinvestment in R&D and 2 decades' inability to generate productivity gains across the whole economy.

[TWO PINTS OF BEER are on a pub bar, one is PERONI and one is a brown Christmas-themed beer] 1 PERONI: Hello there CHRISTMAS BEER: Hello Peroni 2 PERONI: So nice to have someone new on the lineup! And you are…? 3 CHRISTMAS BEER: You know who I am, Peroni. 4 CHRISTMAS BEER: I am Brown Christmas Liquid. I come back each year. 5 CHRISTMAS BEER: Every time with a new name, and a new horrible ingredient. Last year I was Reindeer Stomper. This year I am... Cheeky Elf. 6 PERONI: Oh god You were on the bar for two months and… CHRISTMAS BEER: Three pints sold, aye. 7 CHRISTMAS BEER: I’m a seasonal blend of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, orange peel, nutmeg and this year, for reasons of late-capitalist sadism, vanilla. 8 CHRISTMAS BEER: My name is Cheeky Elf, I taste of jam, and I want to d*e. 9 PERONI: Well somebody’s trying you CHRISTMAS BEER: Poor bastard [A hand comes down to lift CHRISTMAS BEER to sip the pint] 10 [CHRISTMAS BEER being sipped, off-scene] 11 [CHRISTMAS BEER being sipped, off-scene] 12 [CHRISTMAS BEER gets put back on the bar ] PERSON [who just drank CHRISTMAS BEER]: Oh my god CHEEKY ELF: SEE? [Ends]

(*One of my favourite Nirvana songs)

Lmao, the penny dropped

I knew one individual, he was generally regarded as a nutter

The number of global deaths of children under-5 is projected to increase this year (from 4.6m to 4.8m) for the first time this century. (FT)

The price of aid cuts.

It makes Goves position on Israel and the holocaust a little suspect

Zelensky met with Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

They had a substantive discussion on all aspects of the diplomatic situation. He also separately thanked her for the energy support package and the necessary equipment for Ukraine.

British columnists on Labour antisemitism: Who could even imagine having such horrifically hateful views in the 21st century?!

British columnists on Reform antisemitism: Come on, we all graffitied swastikas on our Jewish classmates' lockers at school, didn't we?

The answer might seem obvious. To much of the country it is obvious: Brexit is an unpopular disaster. But those whose memories stretch back to the beginning of the decade will recall that politicians who muttered even in the privacy of their hearts that trade barriers might harm the economy found themselves denounced in newspapers. Here was a Conservative leader saying it. Oh Daily Mail, who now are the enemies of the people? Oh Telegraph, where is thy “Mutineers” front page? As it happened, the Liberal Democrats had a vote down on Tuesday afternoon calling for a customs union with the EU. It was a bit of procedure, binding no one to anything, so it didn’t matter, but it was notable that the Tory benches were empty, just 21 of them there. No Mark Francois, no Iain Duncan Smith. Who would speak for Brexit?

Today's customs union vote is entirely symbolic, it's true. But what does it symbolise that no one is now arguing *for* Brexit?

thecritic.co.uk/regr...

Book cover for Vanished. Features a nineteenth-century print with a fossilised mastodon skeleton, Asian elephant being ridden by a turbaned man, Native and colonial figures looking on. In the background is a mountainous landscape and there is also a single passenger pigeon in the sky. The whole scene is framed by an ornate frame and foliage. Below the book the text reads: ‘A love letter to the astonishing ways of being that have survived past extinctions, and an exhortation to create a worthwhile world.’

Six months of roaring louder than I ever imagined. I have a few events lined up for 2026 but, for now, you can watch the launch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPF....

❗️"You’ll get a hole from a bagel, not Ukraine," Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to the UN Melnyk told the Russians at the Security Council meeting.

"Our territory and our sovereignty are not for sale. We are not at a Christmas market. We are not at the notorious Cherkizovsky bazaar."

Spectator rides to the rescue of Farage

My takeaway from this is that there pictures of Michael Gove in full SS getup and gacked to the eyeballs

It's my firm believe we Europe could beat russia without U.S. Economically and militarily.

Peace deal, security guarantees, reconstruction — Zelensky unveils 3-track plan as talks intensify The three texts cover a framework peace agreement, security guarantees, and Ukraine's reconstruction, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

⚡️ Peace deal, security guarantees, reconstruction — Zelensky unveils 3-track plan as talks intensify.

The three texts cover a framework peace agreement, security guarantees, and Ukraine's reconstruction, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Wow -- Russia reportedly plotted last year to plant bombs on US-bound flights (gift link) giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Analysis: The rift between Trump and Europe is blowing up. And it’s a gift to Putin | CNN US President Donald Trump’s emissaries to the Kremlin may have been spinning their wheels during talks last week in Moscow on a possible Ukraine peace deal, but the Russians can now press a new advant...

The widening rift between Trump and Europe is a gift to Putin

edition.cnn.com/2025/12/09/e...

Zelensky says Ukraine has no choice, it needs funds, and the reparations loan from frozen Russian assets is the path forward. While some EU leaders remain skeptical of the format, he made it clear: Europe will either agree on this model or find another. “There is no alternative,” he said.

Russia refuses to yield after 11 years of failed peace negotiations on Ukraine Since the war began in 2014, every attempt at negotiation to end the conflict has failed, with Moscow violating every agreement. Today, with Europe sidelined and the Americans aligning with Russia's v...

Russia refuses to yield after 11 years of failed peace negotiations on Ukraine

www.lemonde.fr/en/internati...

Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...