So the net impact of this war will have been to *lift* sanctions on Russia and Iran, having pushed oil prices through the roof.

"The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand"

no no, sectarianism is if the people you're being racist about have the temerity to vote against you afterwards

Line of the year in the new edition of The Economist: "Although President Donald Trump says he has “destroyed 100% of Iran’s Military Capability”, the 0% that remains is playing havoc with the global economy..."

Sometimes feels like we are in a big simulation to test just HOW big a warning sign some people need.

I say again that anyone who thinks Jews, or any minority group, are better off in a world where senior politicians feel comfortable with overt racism is an idiot of the highest order.

“I woke up this morning and thought: ‘No, please no…this has always been my Armageddon scenario, the one I didn’t want to happen.”

Keeled Skimmer for #libellente. Photo from Bystock Pools nature reserve in Devon in 2023. #Dragonfly #UKWidlife #invertebrates #beekoeverlibel

Compare this is Labour MPs and members who fought openly, publically and at often great personal cost against antisemitism in Labour. Just pathetic.

Remarkable story from Denmark's nat'l broadcaster. "When Danish soldiers were flown to Greenland in January...they brought explosives so they could destroy, among other things, the runways in Nuuk & Kangerlussuaq [to] prevent US mil aircraft from landing" www.dr.dk/nyheder/indl...

The Conservatives see Reform as mindset allies not as proper competitors. Consequently, Badenoch's occasional denunciations of Farage's mob don't resonate because of everything else she/Tories are saying. And opportunities like this get missed...

Wildlife traffickers selling protected animals on Facebook use coded language to evade moderation. Research by Bellingcat and @mongabay.com has identified nine groups, with more than 70,000 members combined, leading back to six profiles and one broker in Indonesia. www.bellingcat.com/news/2026/03...

Cuban Missile Crisis 2: Orange Man Boogaloo

Black-tailed Skimmer for #libellente. This one freshly emerged (when males & females have similar patterning) in late May last summer at Lower Moor. They're widespread in the UK. #dragonfly #UKWildlife #invertebrates #Gewoneoeverlibel

Ook op dag 19 van #libellente de #beekoeverlibel #libellen #dragonfly #keeledskimmer #nature #fotografie @libellenjan.bsky.social

Dag 19 van #libellente is voor de Oeverlibellen. #Gewoneoeverlibel man #libellen #dragonfly #nature #blacktailedskimmer #fotografie @libellenjan.bsky.social

Dag19 #libellente @libellenjan.bsky.social #oeverlibellen De gewone oeverlibel is een heel algemene soort die overal is aan te treffen, liefst langs waterkanten met wat kale plekken. Zit vaak te zonnen, ook op paaltjes, vuilnisbakken en zitbanken 😊. De andere oeverlibellen zijn schaarser.

Two UK species for #libellente today, the widespread Black-tailed Skimmer and the bog specialist Keeled Skimmer. The Netherlands have 3, but Southern Skimmer is never seen in the UK. #dragonfly #invertebrates

Today's newsletter. Cheery topic!

🚨🚨 #Spain takes victory lap as EU coalesces around #Sánchez’s anti-war position. Spanish FM José Manuel #Albares says the bloc is finally standing up in defense of the rules-based order and against “a unilateral war that is not our own.” 🧵 www.politico.eu/article/spai...

One of Labour's big problems right there: a whole bunch of MPs who are convinced that the only reason they won in 2024 and might hold on to their seats in 2028/9 is because they persuaded Reform-curious voters to back them. The research doesn't really support their belief. But hey, 'the doorstep'. 🙄

This is absolutely brilliant. Instigated by Gordon Brown, delivered today. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

You can tell your 'excursion' is going well when you need to ask Congress for three and a half times the annual defense budget of France to finish dotting the i's and crossing the t's.

Hats off to the UKHSA for this. A great example of what public investment can do to look after people. I wonder what would have happened if we had a British doge www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Kemi Badenoch appearing to back Timothy up without seeming to know what he'd said, then sending her spokesperson to say he'd said something totally different to what he said, which they'd probably dismiss as woke in other contexts, really rounded off this as a banner day for modern conservatism.

The crisis consists precisely in the fact that the old (Mr Pastry) is dying and the new (Matthew Kelly) cannot be born; in this interregnum a great variety of morbid symptoms (The Good Old Days) appear.

There was a period in the eighties were every show on TV featured helicopters. The news. Action shows. Game shows. EVERYTHING. Just helicopters. Helicopters, helicopters and helicopters. Broadcasting has been on a constant downward slide since then.

This gutter slime really needs to answer two questions: Firstly and most importantly: what is it to you if some people pray in Trafalgar Square? Secondly: *Christians* pray in public. Should they all leave the UK?

Outward-looking. Open-hearted. Uniquely London. Open Iftar brought Londoners of all backgrounds together to break bread and celebrate the values we hold in common.

STICK IT ON A FIVE POUND NOTE

Like you, as favourite of mine to photograph in flight too.

You'll never guess how Kemi 'Defending British values from domination by prayer' Badenoch voted on buffer zones outside of abortion clinics:

Great Crested Grebe Swineham Gravel Pits Wareham Dorset @harbourbirds.bsky.social @dorsetbirdclub.bsky.social @dorsetwildlife.bsky.social #birds

Tracey Jolliffe's delightful image of a hovering Common Kestrel was Monday's Photo of the Week:

Most Americans say their vote will be based on the cost of living, corruption, and foreign wars. But at this Atlantic staff meeting, they suspect the election will be about something else: pronouns.

Clearing up some confusion I've accidentally added to! Per posts from David Quantick and others, the mighty Pete Frame of rock family trees fame was said to have left us. However! Kris Needs, a longtime friend of Frame's, has confirmed he's very much still with us via this genius FB post.

Honestly, at this point, I'm quietly relieved when a prominent conservative figure doesn't appear to have spent much time thinking about us Jews.

#dragonflies day 18 Southern Migrant Hawker is a new breeding species in UK that is becoming more common. It resembles the Common Hawker but appears bluer and has a more colourful thorax.

Southern Migrant Hawker, July 2021, Canvey Island, Essex. A single ditch, much of it drying up in summer, which is a top spot for at least 3 of the less common UK #dragonfly species. #libellente #UKWildlife #invertebrates #zuidelijkeglazenmaker

Come for Adam’s question. Stay for a prime bit of “spokesperson who thinks that Judaism is just Christianity with a cliffhanger ending”.

I love how every single George Soros conspiracy theory is "and then, George gave 2 billion dollars to starving children. what a monster"

Wait until he sees Trafalgar Square during Christmas, Hanukkah, Holi, Lunar New Year, PRIDE, Vaisakhi and the passion of Jesus. Traflgar Square really is for everyone. Nick Timothy either knows that and is deliberately stirring up hatred or he isn’t that bright. Either way, he should do better.

Looking for a family of three who don’t like each other for Sunday’s family comedy show at the Arts Depot in Finchley

The Tory candidate in Gorton & Denton has written an 1,143 word piece about the campaign in which she doesn't manage to mention the result once. Also includes an early nomination for DHOTYA conservativehome.com/2026/03/18/c...

I have a joke about deliveries from Evri, but you wouldn’t get it.

Dag 18 van #libellente is voor de #Zuidelijkeglazenmaker. Nog maar 1 keer gezien aan de Kapittel duinen, Hoek van Holland in 2023 #libellen #dragonfly#nature @libellenjan.bsky.social

Starmer/Reeves EU policy: 2024 - reset, but within the red lines 2025 - strategic partnership, but within the red lines 2026 - dynamic alignment, but within the red lines And yet such slow progress, negligible economic dividend. I wonder why. What could the obstacle be?