This is the famous painting Red Balloon (German: Roter Ballon), created in 1922 by the Swiss-German artist Paul Klee.

I’m sure many have drawn attention to the advice given by the Oracle of Delphi to King Croesus of Lydia, that if he should send an army against the Persians, he would destroy a mighty empire. Just not in the way he hoped

hmm

Scheherazade, having failed to keep the Dow above 50,000, was summarily deposed of the next morning.

Ukrainian artist, Elena Yurchenko

@publicradionerd.bsky.social Has Snoops seen this?

I know this has circulated with alacrity recently, so you may have already seen it, but if you haven't... WOW BOY HOWDY it's the most useful thing. Thank you cardcatalogforlife.substack.com -- this is a very very very helpful public service: cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

It's interesting how The Daily Wire attacks the idea that gender is a performance when their sets are all about gender performance. Look at the aesthetics here — the cigars and crystal decanter with Japanese whiskey, the black dress shirt, the tight suit with two-toned double monks and tie bar ...

There is a wise old saying in litigation that if you are "surprised" at what your opponent is doing, then you are in the wrong job. You may be disappointed by what an opponent does, but you should never ever be surprised. Trump is "surprised" by Iran's response to being attacked.

8 March: Trump tells UK not to send ships to the Gulf as "We don't need people that join Wars after we've already won". 14 March: Trump asks UK to "send ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat". It's a tragedy that so many lives hang on the whims of this angry child.

That's a throwback! Remember this? www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-t...

How the women farmers of Burgenand marched to Women's day. 'We don't want to be second class people' March 8th, 1929, Vienna.

@rolandmcs.bsky.social Allister Heath Headline Generator, input= "Axel Springer", fifth iteration: "If Axel Springer is allowed to triumph, the British dream is officially dead" -- Allister Heath, The Telegraph

@paddybriggs.bsky.social @davidcolquhoun.bsky.social In case you haven't seen this

Interesting idea from David Howarth on “how to become a republic”. Abolishing the Lord Chancellor turned out to more complicated than people thought - to the extent that we still have one David’s idea for the monarch is simpler - keep all the same functions, just have them done by someone else

The inconvenient TRUTH about social media. History happens to catch up with you in the end #TrumpTheWarCriminal and your ILLEGAL #TrumpsEpsteinWar.

As someone whose mother had dementia and whose father had MS, I found this by Ros Taylor (@rostaylor.bsky.social?) particularly resonant.

Got to love a leading question. You could ask Trump if Starmer's policy is the result of wicked elves climbing down the No10 chimneys and get this answer.

Reform are in denial about why they lost by 12% in Gorton & Denton (60% white, 80% UK-born) after losing by 11% in Caerphilly (98% white, 98% UK-born) to Plaid Cyrmu Both seats unusual in seeing more people vote than at last Welsh Senedd/last GE: more voters turned out to stop Reform than supoort

Just your regularly scheduled share of this masterpiece by @tomgauld.bsky.social

You'd think Reform would be delighted that a white, working class plumber got elected and they beat the metropolitan elite university lecturer.

Hillary Clinton’s Opening Statement in front of the House Oversight Committee.

Oh no. There goes my productivity.

would love to be a fly on the wall in Reform HQ this morning www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Farage : "Nobody voted for the Boriswave" List of Tory defects who voted for the Boriswave : Robert Jenrick Danny Kruger Andrew Rosindell Lee Anderson Suella Braverman (Lords Amendment) Nadine Dorries Nadhim Zahawi David Jones Lia Nici Jonathan Gullis Andrea Jenkyns 1/5

Every political call for a public inquiry is an admission that the political mechanisms of accountability failed in real time.

"I was probably most at home, in all of these Tory leaders I worked for, with IDS, in the 2003 era. So, I’ve been hoping for a return to IDS all these years, but I found that in Nigel – he is my IDS.” Better, as they say, to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.

A lot of people have asked what this opinion means: Are ICE tactics likely to change because of the court's holding in this case? So let's talk for a minute about what the court is doing.

@publicradionerd.bsky.social Danny Blanchflower: The great fallacy is [football] is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. [It] is about glory, it is about doing things in style & with a flourish, about going out & beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom. 1/2

@publicradionerd.bsky.social @davidcolquhoun.bsky.social !

Free Dutch therapy! My view during a walk:

Since February 15th is coming up, a friendly reminder that mouthy women get stuff done even way back in the day: constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this... #belva #lockwood #women #lawyers ⚖️♀️

@fotoole.bsky.social is really interesting on this weird psychological quirk of citizens of former colonial powers imagining themselves colonized. I highly recommend his analysis.

Morning.

@tds153.bsky.social In the White House Family Theater (demolished with the rest of the East Wing): Trump also screened Sunset Boulevard, one of his favorite films, on multiple occasions. Apparently those without even a microgram of good taste, might (by chance?) have some good taste?

Watching My Cousin Vinny, for reasons. Oh my god…Marisa Tomei. Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne knocking it out of the park and she steals every scene she’s in.

She thinks she's Vetinari.

Something magnificent about Kemi Badenoch's self-confidence, and her claim that the Mandelson affair is entirely down to her asking questions at PMQs. Like a toddler who thinks their plastic steering wheel is controlling the car.

Louis Armstrong, Paris, c. 1934

Badenoch accuses Starmer of making his problems 'somebody else's fault'. From a party that has turned the 'someone else's fault' doctrine into an art form. bsky.app/profile/rola...

PSA. David Thacker is on with Juliet Stevenson and Trevor Eve, remembering their A Doll's House - and then BBC Four is broadcasting A Doll's House. Tonight at 10pm.

Presumably Refukker Farage thinks his support for Mandelson becoming US ambassador and his offer to work with him on a UK/US trade deal were also 'serious misjudgements'? 🤔

Saw the RSC touring production of A Constant Wife this week. Somerset Maugham is a (now) much underrated playwright, but what made this production special is an outstanding central performance - one of the best I have seen in a stage comedy - by Kara Tointon. Catch it on tour if you can.

My favourite was in the Mail (IIRC) many moons ago: something along the lines of "Should gypsies be allowed to claim £10,000 per week in benefits." I think we got that up to about 94% "yes".

@publicradionerd.bsky.social "A more strident elections bill...was introduced by Bryan Steil, a Republican...[his] legislation would outlaw ranked-choice voting... So much for states' rights? "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors"

The test for whether sufficient Epstein documents have been disclosed is simple. Do the documents so far disclosed explain the prosecutorial decisions and defense decisions, and any court decisions? If not, there is a gap between what has been disclosed and what was before court and the parties.