Of these seven cities, five are hosting World Cup soccer matches.

The glorious celebration of journalism that is the Paul Foot Awards feat. the exceptionally worthy shortlist being celebrated by Ian Hislop and the winner, @petergeoghegan.bsky.social for Democracy For Sale’s brilliant work exposing Labour Together

It’s all kicking off in Richmond.

Rank 1 in a 143 year time series.

Let us assume that we have a can opener...

Executive function.

References to Palantir have been redacted from the Mandelson files on the grounds that they would be "prejudicial to UK national security or international relations"

As much fun for some, I imagine, as going to the dentist.

So how was school today love?

OK then. What time are the Mandelson Files (Round 2) released?

Peter and Jane’s Irish Setter Pat (And the ‘real’ Pat) Artist: HarryWingfield

“This is censorship... This is a demonstration that some of the worst abuses in our time are not confined to kings, emperors, governments … but to a class of companies that have assumed the sovereign affect, and seek to assert their power the same way that some of those despotic nation states do.”

"Someone, somewhere, has taken the decision to defund astrophysics research in the UK, but no-one seems quite sure who that was, or why." The latest on the impact of the catastrophic funding cuts to UK astrophysics, by me, in @natastron.nature.com 👩‍🔬🧪🔭 ✒️ www.nature.com/articles/s41...

i am counting 14 seconds between the first sign that the sprinklers are going off and the stadium DJ hitting play on "Umbrella." elite performance, that's why that DJ made it all the way to the WCWS

Support for Net Zero among MPs over time. From 81% support at the general election to 11%. That's quite the swing.

(1) that's illegal and (2) there should be a general prohibition on listening to people who flounce out of a political party the moment they don't get given a safe seat.

I haven't read the article - paywalled - but apparently the headline intimates something that's not in the article. This is *really* unfair as the inference from the headline can't be checked without payment. I imagine that's not great for her. And therefore very unfair.

Cancel culture. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

I’m in the quiet carriage. Man in his 50s watching sport with sound up. Group of men in their 40s/50s getting loudly drunk. Every child & teenager quiet/using headphones. It’s not: ‘Younger generation need to learn how to behave.’ It’s ‘People who should know better have forgotten.’

I.C.E. maintains a strict dress code for people seeking to visit their loved ones caged at Delaney Hall. It’s clear the strict rule is useful pretext to deny visitors entry. #ICE #DHS

No, @zackpolanski.bsky.social , you must *not* listen to Reform voters’ concerns. The opposite. You must challenge them. Fight them. Oppose them. Stand up for the truth and for what’s right. Don’t make the same mistake Labour did. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Top health official held shares in key children’s home operator - www.ft.com/content/710e... via @data.ft.com

PR PR.

Sunday youtu.be/wubkrBd3-gg?...

Trump posts an image of his “drone port” on top of the White House, which raises the question of who they’re planning to drone in and around DC

So. It's a rally then.

Is it nonpolitical if it's religious and MAGA is the religion.

If you're interested in the history of hip hop (and have an hour to spare), this is fantastic. youtu.be/m3YXyK-gWvc?...

So. Low growth model.

Here we go yet again.

subtle.

More of this please. A Danish pension fund has blacklisted #SpaceX, calling it grossly overvalued with catastrophic governance thenextweb.com/news/danish-...

He seems nice. www.lbc.co.uk/article/refo...

Amazing imaginative photography by Spanish duo Anna Devís and Daniel Rueda. TT: ClawClips

Your weekend watch! Watch the Friends of the Bodleian Annual Lecture featuring Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley’s Librarian, as he explores the deliberate destruction of knowledge throughout history and its urgent relevance today. https://youtu.be/TlKBAYH1KAc?si=whFJTfkNQAik4Ort

Quick update on what RFKJr has been doing with vaccines this year! RFKjr planned to slash the number of vaccines on the childhood vaccine schedule from 17 to 11 in USA…

Okay so I read the whole of the Pope's latest encyclical "Magnifica Humanitas", the one the internet is calling the AI Encyclical, but it's about a LOT more than that (of course it is, it's over 40,000 words). Here's a thread of quotes...

Maybe Noel Edmonds should take over. Would finally get an answer as to whether there's a deal or no deal.

A network of research centers that was well-positioned to respond to the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had its funding canceled last year by the Trump administration. My latest for @wired.com: www.wired.com/story/us-res...

And this is why Public Relations people exist.

We’ve hit a year and three weeks since the UK had a permanent National Statistician. My considered view is that this is Not Good.

Not good.

As of 27 May, a total of 906 suspected cases and 223 deaths among suspected cases have been reported in the #DRC. As of 29 May, a total of 134 confirmed cases, including nine in Uganda, with 18 deaths among the confirmed cases, have been reported across both countries. More: bit.ly/4wYz7jJ

Non-standard deviation.

Well, that plan (or lack of it) didn't work, did it.

Calling friends and colleagues in London, would be great to see you at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social

Just *look* at this www.ft.com/content/63ed...

These accidental and not-so accidental incursions test NATO's collective defence. Failure to respond proportionately invites both repetition and escalation - what's an accident now, may not be next time.

This is perhaps the thing that's annoyed me most about this government. They have had an opportunity to do something important AND in their political self-interest and instead chose to ignore it.