Nero or Trump, you decide.

Dean Martin, born Dino Paul Crocetti, son of Italian immigrant Gaetano Crocetti Frank Sinatra, son of Italian immigrants Antonino Sinatra and Natalina Garavanta Merry Christmas to everyone except Stephen Miller and his enablers and handlers

I’ve been to see Avatar part 3 “The Disappointment” so you don’t have to! - it’s long. Too long by about 3 hours or one decent toilet break (I’m old enough to remember intermissions in films!)

😂😂

Major update to our map of Anglo-Saxon London... we've now added etymologies for each place name, so you can find out what your bit of London used to be called.... and why londonist.substack.com/p/mapping-an...

Tone deaf Tin ear

That the bystander who tackled the shooter in Sydney was the son of Syrian refugee is an inconvenient truth to the Far Right.

This is excellent - both in laying bare the paucity of Farage’s ideals and of the man himself

At worst, three more years of this plonker. At best, the midterms will mean he’ll lose the House and become a lame duck. Although the 22nd Amendment will effectively mean he’s a lame duck www.bbc.com/news/article...

Not just Trump tho - it’ll mean Democratic Presidents will have the same power. The US will oscillate between ever increasing extremes of supposed independent ‘experts’.

Right wingers: "Farage was merely a child, a baby almost" Also right wingers: "Shamina Begum knew exactly what she was doing"

The depth of the Shadow Cabinet is best seen in the floundering of the Shadow Home Secretary on R4 Today programme. Drowning in a puddle.

More of these ‘defections’ may raise the Tory party median IQ and make them electable again

This, this, and thrice this! The opportunity to fundamentally reform council tax, business rates, and stamp duty and to change VAT to spur growth by removing the cliff edge; are but two that could have made it tax system more progressive and fairer.

Persuasive letter on populism as a cognitive short-cut in the @financialtimes.com

Call a public inquiry into Russian influence on UK politics & democracy petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

Having a great first day as the OBR's website manager. Got all of the content queued up as a scheduled post, ready for a big day, but all of the work is done now. Now before I put my feet up, time to take a big gulp of water and check the latest news.

“Release The Kracken” of 2025

Indeed!

Glad that someone has finally taken responsibility for the appalling assault on democracy that was the Jan. 6 insurrection. Slightly confused that it's the Director-General of the BBC, but what do I know?

Currently reading book three of the Farseer series - Assassin’s Quest. It’s a wonderful book, so well written; but damn there are times your heart breaks for the characters!

Even I thought this was one of mine!

What was meant to be a five mile walk turned into a seven near eight mile hike. Absolutely have earned our roast later.

NEW. PLEASE READ. A landmark case which every NHS Board, nurse and midwife, and HR staff member should learn from. All credit to the Board for such an honest statement. And to Evonne Hunt, Chief Nurse

Elections in the Netherlands yesterday. Not all votes have been counted yet. First place is currently a tie with I kid you not: 1984 votes difference between the social liberal party D66, and far right party PVV. 1984 votes difference. The universe truly has a dark sense of humor.

If JD says free speech in the UK is under threat, someone show him this. news.sky.com/story/britis...

The amount of wealth owned by the wealthiest Americans was $46 trillion in 2024. ‘The Second Estate’ was the term used for the aristocracy in pre-revolutionary France, they were completely exempt from paying taxes. The US has created its own Second Estate

Starmer’s plan to combat NHS racism will not work www.hsj.co.uk/health-inequ...

Today we celebrate the Festival of Lights — a reminder that light triumphs over darkness, hope over despair, and knowledge over ignorance. In a diverse UK, Diwali shines as a moment of unity, reflection, and gratitude. Wishing everyone celebrating a joyful and bright Diwali!

The sooner Labour recognise and start saying this, the better news.sky.com/story/brexit...

If this Labour government had even the scintilla of any political nous it would now be showing pictures of some of those the Conservatives and Reform claim they'll deport. From the famous sports players to the people who keep public services running.

Middle age feeling of accomplishment #274 Successful planting of 150 odd tulip, narcissi, and daffodil bulbs while lamb slowly cooks for lunch. Both palms could be better tho…

Tacos anyone? www.cnn.com/2025/10/12/b...

We’ve seen this before - many he wants to rename Washington as Trumpania?

You have to scroll almost to the bottom of Sky News app to find this report. It would be interesting to see a compare and contrast on the placement and duration of stories of attacks or sexual violence, versus the number of court cases. news.sky.com/story/hudder...

You know that thing about a frog being slowly boiled and not realising it? Can we change 'boiled' to 'radicalised'?

I say this with the bluntness it requires: they will get people murdered if this continues. This is not just populism anymore either: it’s completely unhinged and a deliberate choice that does endanger lives. I am not saying this lightly at all.

Behold - my Venn diagram of a 2025 Zack Polanski supporter and a 2019 Jeremy Corbyn supporter.

OK, let's take this seriously. I had an odd half an hour and via Apple Books had a quick look at the three claims I knew most about - two re the post-Brexit bilateral preferential trade agreements replicated from the EU versions and one about cheaper bananas. All are wrong or wildly implausible. 1/n

I’ve just seen a clip of a guy following deployed troops in DC playing the Imperial March - chapeau Sir - that’s a level of genius satire

Pretty sure this is going to win in the Best Deepthroat category at next year’s AVN Awards

"Erupt across UK" is a crazily inaccurate ITV news headline for a patchy smattering of protests eg 150-250 people in Orpington, Horley & Cheshunt; a peak yesterday 300 in Mold; & outnumbered by counterprotests in Liverpool, Bristol and Perth ITV should report accurately, not invent "erupts"

An excellent read

I'll never get over Richard Briers being 40, doing a well paid, secure design job, making fun toys, being married to a 29 year old creative, devoted sexpot, living in a large suburban London home with a massive garden and thinking everything is rubbish at the start of A Good Life

Just in time for TACO Tuesday www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

That’s not Elrond That’s Agent Smith!! Don’t trust him Mumble

Kemi Bad-Enoch and her party accusing the Govt of political posturing over Palestine is the height of hypocrisy - Robert Jenrick and fare dodgers ring a bell Kemi?

Operation "Do Anything Except Release the Epstein Files" continues apace