Paolo Sandro

Sánchez’s principled stand against Trump matters. So does Merz’s silence Spain’s leader has taken a strong position in refusing the US demand to use Spanish bases to strike Iran. Europe should show solidarity in the face of Trump’s threats.

Pedro Sánchez has taken a strong position in refusing the US demand to use Spanish bases to strike Iran. Europe should show solidarity with Spain in the face of Donald Trump’s threats. https://bit.ly/4l7IYhs

Reports say that at least 26 Lebanese civilians were killed in this raid, by Israeli Air Force fire aimed to protect the troops.
Absolutely abhorrent.

Get ready to be annoyed when petrol prizes go up and a) a bunch of politicos declare the government's poll ratings have gone down because Starmer didn't go in with the US on Iran and b) a bunch of politicos who support the war blame the government for increased energy costs.

A pre-industrial society is less likely to be able to sustain a position as a functioning geopolitical actor

Shattering the Iranian state would probaby also destroy the economic foundations of Iranian society

Reporter: Did the US bomb an elementary school and kill 175 people? Trump: Based on what I’ve seen, it was done by Iran. Reporter: Is that true Mr. Hegseth? Hegseth: We’re investigating. Trump: It was done by Iran. They are very inaccurate with their munitions.

this is unspeakable

Dear UK, please send your aircraft carriers to Ukraine. We actually appreciate our allies.

Use of incendiary weapons to target military objectives in civilian populated areas is prohibited given their indiscriminate effects and causing unnecessary suffering even if Israeli hasn't signed up to CCW Protocol III

Yeah, today was more Italy good than England bad

Times

From January 23rd…

It’s Trump’s successors I wonder about. Even those with good intentions are going to spend decades trying to get back all that burned trust.

I joke about TBI standing for the Tony Blair Institute and Traumatic Brain Injury, but they are probably the only two groups who'd think "Blair, man with a good record on military intervention in the Middle East".

He has been attacking Allies all year, belittled their past war efforts, and did not engage in coalition building before the war. Then he whines when other sovereign countries refuse to join an ill-defined war.

It’s extremely striking how unbothered news coverage is that this war is clearly illegal both domestically and internationally.

Here’s hoping Trump’s historical role is not to facilitate the emergence of a Europe dominant by Reform UK, the AfD, the National Front, etc that would basically reflect the outcome of WWII if the America Firsters of the 1930s and 40s had gotten their way.

Afternoon view across sunlit countryside and blue sky

Bronze sculpture in front of me hedge. Lone cow visible on the hill in the background.

Evening view across fields and hills

Wedding yesterday at The Tree Church outside Martinborough. Really nice venue and the stunning outlook.

What AI skills need to be developed exactly? How to copy and paste a question prompt? How to write a more precise command or inquiry? How to better disguise and humanize the resulting AI essay?

These are hardly "critical" skills. And none of this is "education."

NEW, from me: A secret chapter of Cold War history, told here for the first time. A deep cover Soviet Bloc spy in America at the end of the Cold War. The shocking moves by a European intel chief. And the incredible CI chess games by FBI and CIA counterspies.

www.politico.com/news/magazin...

The asymmetry of the value placed on human life is so striking. Israel has a goal to recover 40-year-old remains; to do so, it invades a sovereign country, and the lives of 26 Lebanese are an afterthought. Their names not even worth printing in the New York Times.

We're gonna need a bigger supercomputer

The flip side of that. Italy are a proper rugby team. Watched them throw away what would have been a deserved win against SAF in the autumn. They are no longer the laughing stock.

Il Risorgimento Italiano!

"This is why the European Union has now suspended visa-free travel for US diplomats and officials..."

Wow, Italy!

Dopo 32 sconfitte, l’Italia ha vinto a rugby contro l’Inghilterra Per la prima volta: nel Sei Nazioni maschile, in una partita finita 23-18

Dopo 32 sconfitte, l’Italia ha vinto a rugby contro l’Inghilterra

WHAT JUST HAPPENED

Italy pile on misery for England
England lose to Italy for first time in Six Nations history
via Sky Sports News

Maybe the greatest day of Six Nations rugby ever? Remarkable. Forza Italia, forever 💙

This proposes a way of using AI agents to produce research. Ok. But this bit is a pipe dream: "And human scientists should retain authority over — and responsibility for — framing the question, validating the path and signing off on conclusions." Here's why...
/1