For years, MAGA partisans have employed various tactics to prevent the imminent pain of cognitive dissonance. Now Newsom is forcing them to see what Trump looks like without the distorting force field created by Trump’s showmanship: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

I just signed the Election Rigging Response Act to put Proposition 50 up for a vote on November 4th. The people of California will have the power to push back against Texas and any other state that obeys Donald Trump's demand to rig the next election.

The Louvre’s Entire Collection Goes Online: View and Download 480,00 Works of Art

“Maybe you agree — free speech and all that. But if you don’t, don’t try to explain the ugly stuff away.” “We know most of you are patriots. […] But Europeans in general, and Britons in particular, are hard-coded to laugh at your expense. We are punching up. Try not to take it personally”

“Nobody in Europe has spent the past week looking at their stock portfolio, wondering if they could still afford to send their kids to university.” “It is a place blessed with walkable cities, long life expectancies and vaccinated kids who do not need to be trained to dodge school shooters.”

Breaking news: Brussels has proposed buying weapons collectively on behalf of EU member states, in what would be a major shift in decision-making power in response to Donald Trump’s policies. www.ft.com/content/2914...

Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia will tomorrow permanently disconnect from Russia’s power grid. Russia can no longer use energy as a tool of blackmail. This is a victory for freedom and European unity.

Unusual day. General synopsis: Wake up to the Shipping Forecast. Have coffee to the Shipping Forecast. Have lunch to the Shipping Forecast. Go out for a walk in the sun (it's 🇨🇭) and return to the Shipping Forecast ... Actually perfect for January 1. Thank you BBCR4

A news story for the day, I think. Happy Christmas everyone.

Well the Commons Library have got us as close to a written constitution as we are going to be. Bless them - we are lucky to have them commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Night Owl on a Winter Eve Flight by Walter King Stone (1875-1949)

Look bringing back polio sounds bad. But it’s a small price to pay to get rid of pronouns in email signatures and black women in star wars.

Recommend this piece by @edwinheathcote.bsky.social on the closure of Smithfield. It is beautifully written and intelligent about what makes for vibrancy in a city on.ft.com/3ZeHMOL

Today, one European city is officially opening its new subway system. This is Greece's beautiful Thessaloniki. The metro system opens there after decades of delays. The initial proposal for a subway in Thessaloniki was made in 1918! @moschovidis.bsky.social

I read that the people of Gavle have once again erected the enormous straw goat they build every Xmas, only for it usually to be burned down, often in picturesque circumstances. This 2018 Foreign Desk Explainer for Monocle Radio introduces Gavle Goat lore. monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Orcas have started wearing dead salmon as hats again, just fyi www.iflscience.com/wearing-a-sa...

As a Brit living in mainland Europe during the #Brexit negotiations, I (along with other Brits like me, as well as EU citizens living in the UK) was deemed a “bargaining chip” by then-UK Prime Minister Theresa May. Now I am an EU citizen again, but I feel the UK needs Europe more than ever. #FBPE