South Africa should feel deeply uncomfortable with the moral position taken by cooperation with Russia and Iran. The USA foreign policy is also problematic today. So, is it time to dust off and reimagine the Non-Aligned Movement?

Seized assets from an alleged drug kingpin. I see this and think of the massive personal risk and social harm that was incurred to accumulate this collection of meaningless chattels, and multiples thereof. Some evolutionary mechanism gone awry in us as a species. We're just stupid dopamine machines

If you think about it, Golden Brown is also a song about how best to prepare onions.

Nice to see the opening credits on Pluribus stripped right down. Classy.

There is a charming little Indian Cafe on Alma road in #Sidcup. #IndianCafeSidcup. The have amazing chai tea and chicken puffs. Go support them!

Americans must be so sick of how weird their president is, how weird their administration is. Makes me thankful for the relative normality of the Stamer administration.

@london.gov.uk it is so common to see groups of young men walking around with their faces covered. It's intimidating and clearly not benign. Why can't policing be more proactive on this?

Decided to pop into a fine restaurant in London Bridge, turns out the queue is 3-4 months. But it's cool, they have an app.

Morning everyone.

Spumoni > Neapolitan

Shot, chaser Young men more likely to vote Green than Reform. Young men second most progressive group of any demographic. Combined right-wing vote barely bigger than Green vote alone for young men

Ok, so Lib Dems, Labour and Greens need to form a coalition.... like immediately. And they need to implement ranked choice or PR. Have a referendum. Anything but first past the post. Then the normal political process can resume.... @libdems.org.uk @teamlabouruk.bsky.social @greenparty.org.uk

Flying through Mitch and Webb Are Not Helping.... I really miss sketch shows!

Is there anything purer or more joyful than The Muppet Movie (1979)? #Film

Failure to address the unsustainability of the triple lock pension is pure political cowardice.

I don't care for films that slowly tilt the camera around so that the sky is upside down in order to show that everything is a bit woo woo. Feels like a lazy cinematography trick at this point.

Really sorry to see the Sidcup Storyteller struggling, it's a great asset to the high street. I hope the new owners consider putting in air conditioning and maybe more oldy woldy cinema decor (red velvet etc.) www.newsshopper.co.uk/news/2533054...

Have just spent a happy hour in the Kelham Island Museum. Came out more convinced than ever that western industrial policy is failing long term. As an economist my bias is towards free trade and market access, but somewhere in this formula you need to protect your industrial base.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... This policy is so dumb, like mathematically. The sooner some party has the courage to walk it back, or at least water it down, the better.

My local surgery literally switches off the webform after working hours. It's mad.

Watched Nosferatu. Bryan from the Horror Movie Club podcast had this weird take that there is something Wes Anderson-like about Eggers. His attention to detail, meticulous style etc. I think I agree.

What ever happened to the mosquito lazers?

Ok, so I'm not saying Bo Burnham's 2021 album Inside was the best album of the year, but it was the most zietgeisty. Perfectly captured the cultural spasm that gripped us in the covid years.

This is the way. Consensus seeking politics, by design.

I spent the morning looking for a Cure song that was stuck in my head. Turned out the song was 'I Love You' by Fontaine's D.C.

Richard Dreyfuss in American Graffiti.... perfect casting. Perfect.

First time guesting on a sci-fi podcast! I really enjoyed revisiting Vonnegut and chatting with Seth. Thanks @hugospodcast.com

Astérix et Ozempix

Scavengers Reign is amazing. Quiet, trippy stuff.

Who do I speak to to get The OA finished?

This is excessive, far short of the kind of mistakes you are expect people to fall on their swords over. gizmodo.com/worldcon-202...

#1 Gambling shops are such a social scourge in the UK. What are councils even thinking letting them pop up on our high streets everywhere. Asleep at the wheel.

America is solidly in our, “Scream ourselves to sleep, shit ourselves awake” era.

I blame George W. Bush. He softened America up to the idea that we could have someone stupid in the White House and things would still function.

1) Fox News is for real not showing stock-market ticker during this week's collapse. 2) Its economic news is "strong jobs report." 3) Every time I've checked in today, the coverage has been "illegal immigrants committing new crimes." This is state propaganda, on a par with North Korea or PRC.

I feel the lyrics to rock-a -bye baby are really quite unnecessarily dark.

Have just watched Mystic Pizza and Moonstruck. Now starting Steel Magnolias. Am I depressed?

Did we just get perfidious Albioned?

Sudetenland. Etc.

Must admit....Robert Paxton pretty much nailed it in 2004.

M&S Belgian Milk Chocolate drink. There's nothing else quite like it. What sinful alchemy can explain it?

First past the post is a catastrophe waiting to happen. It could usher in a government that the majority of Britons loathe. Ranked choice voting. Now is the time.

I think now would be a great time for Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour to push through voting reform, specifically ranked choice choice voting.

I'm just finishing Player Piano by Vonnegut... sorry I sat on this novel for so long. It's a fantastic piece and could sit alongside Huxley's Brave New World. Also... it deserves another look in the LLM era. So very relevant.

Dear Santa...who is this 15 rated film for, exactly?

The Departed is a superior film to Infernal Affairs and has a better ending.

If you have not discovered this yet, may I introduce you to Seth Heasley's Hugo's There. This is hands down my favourite sci-fi podcast and the latest episode does an overview of military sci-fi.... including the holy trinity of Starship Troopers, Forever War and Old Man's War. Give him a follow.

Watched The Beaver last night. A very moving film and I think quite underrated.

Sidcup Starbucks. Bad Feng Shui? Just me?