If the USA hadn’t invaded a sovereign nation, kidnapped their leader (however despicable he is) and threatened a long standing ally, the worlds news agencies would be reporting today on the fifth anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol Building, surely it can’t be linked… 👀

When they ‘flood the zone’ you need someone mapping the flood. Fascinating site documenting actions, statements, and plans of the US administration that echo those of authoritarian regimes. Not sure the accuracy, but their analysis suggests acceleration. www.trumpactiontracker.info

2025 has broken historical climate records with provisional Met Office figures showing: 🌡️ warmest year on record for the UK 🌞 sunniest year on record for the UK 🌂 Below-average rainfall (90%)

The US’ attack on Europe’s freedom and quality of life has led to so many European accounts uncharacteristically reminding me how much better the continent and individual neighbours are on so many metrics. Safer, freer, healthier, culturally richer… 🎶 God bless the US’E’ 🎶

Ignoring the fact that Russia has repeatedly attacked the Ukrainian leadership, and that it appears to be actual ‘fake news’, the leader of a wartime enemy is a legitimate target that everyone involved should surely have expected?

As we approach the end of the year, 2025 is on track to be one of the UK’s warmest years on record, joining 2022 and 2023 in the top three warmest years. Find out more in our news release 👇 www.metoffice.gov.uk/about-us/new...

This dismaying regulation change will continue to drive women out of the military, harming readiness, retention, and recruitment. taskandpurpose.com/news/army-15...

The vulnerability of the Straight of Hormuz, and movement of one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas, seems like reason enough to supercharge the energy transition, electrify heat and transport, strip generation of fossil fuels and mitigate its relevance.

Now that’s what I call a Birthday Parade! Flamboyant costumes, banging tunes, swords, plumes, horses, solid silver drums, colours flying…. The Household Division keepin’ it real for over 270 years.

Nodded to in the Strategic Defence Review, but division is a national security risk. Yes there will always be disagreement on aims and approaches, but creating deliberate division, spreading disinformation or not taking down misinformation when identified is toxic to democracy…

To be in public office right now is to constantly ask yourself: How do I make sure I'm standing on the right side of history? There's a simple answer. The wrong side of history will always tell you to be afraid - the right side of history will always expect you to be brave.

I know the Conservatives need a story to separate them from Reform, but considering if it was not for the ECHR forcing change I would not have been able to serve my country for twenty years, I’ll not be voting for a party with leaving it in their manifesto.

Reactionaries hate universities because they create open-minded liberated people open.substack.com/pub/iandunt/...

Anyone who thinks it wise to relax the pressure on Net Zero initiatives and incentives just hasn’t realised how far ahead China already is, from EVs to global lead in solar PV installation. Taking our foot off the metaphorical throttle would just hand our industry to others for a generation.

China is the world’s largest single greenhouse gas emitter. But now, for the first time, there’s been a shift: The country’s greenhouse gas emissions have actually fallen even as energy demand went up. Learn more: voxdotcom.visitlink.me/9HROrY

While speaking to the West Point graduating class, Trump said, "No one wanted to join the military under Biden". Everyone in that graduating class started their training during the Biden administration. Donald Trump is an idiot.

Lady Hale, formerly the Nation’s most senior Judge, makes an important point. In the rush to act, well meaning and disingenuous alike, people make overly cautious or overly bold changes based on a highly technical and limited judgement, both doing harm. After every ruling ask has anything changed.

“You can’t handle the truth!” Amazing that US Naval Academy graduates are teaming up with an Annapolis indie bookstore to enable Midshipmen access to books their library banned. Junior leaders who might’ve walked past these books on the shelves could end up owning copies. wtop.com/maryland/202...

‘London’s magnetic appeal continues to draw a global audience, from students and entrepreneurs to tourists and corporate titans,’ One thing I’ve noticed recently is more of us running us down, but when someone actually compares us we’re still pretty great.

"At first, our intelligence analysts didn’t fully understand the dynamics. We couldn’t figure out why women were now involved in this al Qaeda network of death." Women helped answer it. Which is to say, involving women saved American and Iraqi lives.

Anyone throwing the TLA DEI about doesn’t understand how inclusive workplaces & services are regulated in Britain. I’d advise all new councillors to actually read the Equality Act, including their Public Sector Equality Duty, that they have no power to change, and sort the bins.

If those talking down the energy transition and Net Zero adaptation were Victorians there wouldn’t have been an Industrial Revolution. Some proper modern day Luddites talking with confidence on science and engineering they don’t understand.

Senior officials say personnel cuts across the Defense Dept. will delay plans to hire at least 1,000 more civilians to help prevent sexual assault, suicides and behavior problems within the military. But officials insist the programs aimed at addressing sexual misconduct so far aren’t affected:

Oh what now…

When will @democrats.org start wearing blue MAGA hats, without irony? Made in America of course.

So the US DoD has abolished its internal offices for future gazing. Of course there are companies that could step in and do similar work for a fee, but it really seems the current administration wants to strip their own capabilities back to those of much less capable forces.

All current academy leaders should read this. And most of them should be ashamed. Stand up for what is right. If someone tells you Maya Angelou is too whatever. Say no. It's not. Demand a direct order, signed, to remove each individual book. Don't become the face of compliance.

So the Trump administration are saying that unless Europe accepts their plan to help Russia they'll...help Russia. If you're trying to get people to do what you want, it generally helps if your carrot is different from your stick.

The kids are alright….

Donald Trump is dismantling the foundations of American science—and in turn jeopardizing the AI boom he purports to champion, writes Matteo Wong:

Undermining a subordinate’s ability to talk truth to power, something that’s difficult in even the most professional of cultures, isn’t a sign of credible leadership. I fear it will take the US military a generation to get over its undermining of command for the cult of personality.

Fascinating to see behind the scenes defence diplomacy and planning that is the daily business of the Ministry of Defence, as a strategic military headquarters, exposed publicly from time to time, we don’t bring anywhere near enough tanks, but we do lead.

I thought this one was pretty timely. #RadioFreeAmerica

Dozens of federal employees tell WIRED that Trump's federal return to office order has resulted in chaos (including bad Wi-Fi and no toilet paper), with productivity plummeting and public services suffering.

Leading Democrats on the House Armed Services Committee are demanding the Navy “immediately” put a stop to the removal of books from the service’s academy library after officials pulled hundreds of titles promoting diversity, equity and inclusion from the collection. Read more:

I do hope that all the Civil Servants working on a Trade deal with the US have been switched to bolster the team working on one with the EU. Recent treatment of Canada and Mexico shows it doesn’t matter how good a deal we get with the US, it won’t be upheld, so it can be amazing and worthless.

Still true: “Some people seem to think Trump's playing chess, when most of the time the staff are just trying to stop him from eating the pieces."

Once trained, military officers will control the legal use of force by their teams, often under considerable pressure in unusual environments. If anyone needs their cultural & ethical understanding challenging it’s those in military academies. Diverse reading for the win. apnews.com/article/navy...

Not a single Bond villain ever thought to destroy the world using import tariffs.

It’s difficult to find graphing paper here, but our data indicates that the US Tariff on our island is causing their stock market to be shaped just like our biggest cliff. Impeccable

If Donald Trump believed he could persuade Vladimir Putin to sign up to a ceasefire in Ukraine, he is learning the hard way: Russia is interested in peace, but only on its terms.

UK: Brexit is the biggest act of economic self harm any country will ever perform USA: Hold my beer...

ChatGPT consumes so much water and energy each week that it could power entire countries for YEARS and folk act like you told them to kill their selves cause you want them to write their own emails and not to steal art. 😂

Laura Loomer got the NSA chief fired—someone she’s almost certainly never even met. The guy’s a four-star general with three master’s degrees and over three decades of military service. It’s genuinely hard to believe this is real life.

I don’t know know what a good trade deal with the US looks like, but I know that the current Administration can’t be trusted to honour any deal, so we should just quietly stop negotiating with them, switch fire to repairing trade with the EU. Come back to the US when they can be trusted.

It’s all about the timing…

A lot went down last night—here’s a quick catch-up. Trump says tariffs will strengthen U.S. manufacturing, but just before announcing them, his administration cut support for centers that help American firms do exactly that. Make it make sense.

Ignoring climate change in intelligence analysis creates blind spots that put Americans at risk.

Whilst percentages are a pretty arbitrary way of measuring effective Defence spending, but holding nations to the 2% they agreed to is reasonable. Demanding they spend 5% when you spend 3.4% is just another chip away at your credibility.

They may have worn their best suits, but did they say thank you?