We really do need to underline this for people - because somehow the prevaling myth seems to be Russia is winning: the invasion of Ukraine has been the largest political, military and strategic blunder by a state since the Franco-Prussian war. Maybe greater Russia has lost on every concievable axis

Just found myself - after he saw the news - explaining the Epstein scandal to my 12-year-old. I gave a quick run down of what Epstein did, his arrest & death, and his links with Andrew M-W, Mandelson, etc. "And it goes further; he was friends with Trump." "*Of course* he was," he sighs dryly. Yup

This is absolutely insane. The sort of Kafka-esque nightmare you would find in a Philip K Dick book set far in the dystopian future. A window on America tumbling into autocracy. www.irishtimes.com/world/us/202...

The Game Rangers Association of Africa says more than 30 protected wildlife areas across the continent are now “severely affected” as armed extremists, separatists and organised crime groups expand in scale and sophistication. www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026...

Christ PayPal has churned out some d*ckheads fortune.com/2026/02/04/p...

Kermode on phenomenal form here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTyU...

so crazy to me that a woman asked trump if he has any words for epstein's victims and he said "you as a young woman should smile more." it will go nowhere bc republicans refuse to hold trump accountable, but it's still pretty crazy.

I want to laugh at it but sadly it’s true.

If this were ANY of us. ANY. OF. US in these pictures in this position in the home of convicted sex trafficker and paedophile at this time, our doors would be bashed down and we’d be forced into questioning. Anyone who isn’t livid that law enforcement isn’t doing anything is crazy.

The man behind donations of £200,000 to Reform is a church warden from Potters Bar, who just happens to work for a billionaire from Kazakhstan. But it's definitely not money laundering or interference in UK politics by a foreign national.

The [East] Room

Melania

Spain Dismantles Vast Narco-Fleet in Record Atlantic Drug Bust gcaptain.com/spain-disman... 30 boats seized. Hundreds of people arrested. No one had to bomb fishing boats and then turn around and bomb survivors.

Certainly, but if comms on environmental issues have taught us anything over the last few decades, it is that pushing manageable, incremental change gets you places that advocacy of a Big Shift ironically doesn't. I'll coin it here: "Ooblactivism", a non-Newtonian approach to environmental action.

🚨 "Advocates of Brexit, ought to apologise for taking us into a world where we are now entirely isolated. We cannot rely on the US. We've got a Russian aggressor on our doorstep. We're now out of the room when European decisions are taken." Closer relations with the EU are vital for our security.

The Algorithm put this scene in front of me this morning. I've had enough of rationalisation, of collaboration, of division. Something of this spirit of collective defiance against overweening power is needed with regard to this odious regime in Washington. #lamarseillaise youtu.be/cOeFhSzoTuc

Nazism & fascism are specifically rooted in early-20thC history & politics, and I do think it's shrill/anachronistic to call ppl 'nazis'. BUT neo-nazi 'blood & soil' ideology & sympathisers are v much alive & well. At v least these ppl are extremist authoritarian ideologues with a weird nazi fetish.

"So here’s a simple rule for Trump and his friends: if you don’t want to be called Nazis, stop hiring Nazis, quoting Nazis and posting Nazi imagery."

Very much worth your time and sharing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9EF...

"No."

This is a truly horrifying account of increasingly likely collapse of essential natural systems which would bring mass food shortages, price rises & global disorder. Commissioned from UK intelligence chiefs but scandalously suppressed by Govt, & sneaked out now while attention is elsewhere 👇

Fairly sure it’s unintentional, but the end date on this mug being sold by the Smithsonian does make it sound a little like they’re saying America dies in 2026…

Hannan's moment of realisation is like the ending of 'Behind the Curve'...

If you could give up one prize from your life's work to Donald Trump then what would it be?

🇫🇷President Emmanuel Macron on French leadership role in Ukraine: "Where Ukraine was overwhelmingly dependent on American intelligence capabilities a year ago, today two-thirds are provided by France. Two-thirds."

He does know that the Pilgrims arrived 405 years ago doesn't he...

"Whatever ICE is doing, it clearly isn’t just about enforcing immigration, it's about enforcing politics." "Trump is using immigration enforcement as 𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘳𝘦 to sell the base." Jon and Lewis react to the fatal ICE shooting in Minnesota.

Forensic analysis of objective video evidence. This is how you serve readers searching for clarity.

I understand the pressures on the BBC, but Radio 4's coverage of the Minneapolis shooting is an example of "bad balance". It's all "the Trump regime says she was a terrorist, but Democrats say it was murder". The BBC has the footage. It doesn't have to treat truth and falsehood as equally valid.

This seems like a spectacularly bad move in terms of international cooperation around key (real) threats such as climate breakdown & biodiversity loss, amongst others, but does anyone know what it actually means in practice if US withdraws from say IUCN? www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...

Donald Trump says America needs Greenland for national security – but that's not quite the truth. Lewis Goodall explains the real reasons behind the president's ambitions, and why he really wants to get his hands on the Danish territory www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/watc...

Après moi, le déluge and Donald: open.substack.com/pub/counselo...

Trump’s Greenland idea isn’t just absurd, it’s dangerous. It risks destroying NATO, empowers China and Russia, and drags the U.S. back toward 19th-century imperial thinking. We have to stop this, as I told @stephruhle.bsky.social

Just excellent and all they deserve. www.ft.com/content/ad94...

30 years ago they were like we have to ban song lyrics for the children but it’s full steam ahead for the here’s how to do drugs until you die machine

If you follow this argument through to its logical conclusion there should be a UK Government channel on pornhub.

checks out.

Donald Trump randomly bombing a neighbouring country and kidnapping its leader is a wild infringement of international law, and sets an insane precedent On top of that, as evil as Maduro is, all they've left so far is a vacuum that cartels can fill www.nytimes.com/live/2026/01...

Country 9 in global oil reserves has invaded country 1 and arrested its president. Country 7 is under sanctions and its refineries are being destroyed. Country 2 is facing off with country 6. And there are riots in country 3. But oil is only $60/bbl. Maybe oil is not as critical as it used to be?

I think you will find it is called a ‘special military operation’

lmao jfc

This @nytimes.com account of the Trump administration's chaotic & disastrous Ukraine policy is great journalism; but for European readers, it shd end any lingering idea that we cd rely on the US if Russia attacked us: no-one around Trump cares about European security. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I once opened a door for Charlton Heston.

Putin plays him every single time. Embarrassing.

It's deeply depressing that The Algorithm has decided - now I've hit the 2nd half of my 40s - that all I really need to be happy in life is tai chi & Jordan Peterson. An endless doom loop diet of dad-calisthenics and angry pseudo-philosophy to lower me gently down into a solipsistic torpor, forever.

Brexit freedom

ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries. Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves. "Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks. "No, guess he should've complied," agent says. Yakima, Washington

Yes, I know one isn't supposed to comment on people's appearance, but screw it; this is hardly punching down. Surely there does have to be a public conversation about how f*cking weird these people look, and what it probably says about their character and values?

This is the most insane thing that has ever been cast in metal. I can't wait for daily updates about how all this crap is dismantled again once a real human being is back in charge.