“I don’t know anything about it” says Trump of persecution of Jerome Powell, yet he had stated he would "fire his ass" if not for legal hurdles; threatened to sue him for "incompetence" over building renovation costs; & publicly labeled him “grossly incompetent” www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Trump said today of @ilhanmn.bsky.social @repilhan.bsky.social “She comes here and she tells us about our constitution … I guess she’s she’s a total scam artist.” There is only one scam artist involved, which is putting it lightly, but history will not be fooled www.theguardian.com/us-news/live...

Never heard of term ‘Perdify’ before but it seems a war crime under Geneva Conventions Article 37 “to kill, injure or capture an adversary by resort to perfidy.” Legal question now I guess is if US is classed as being ‘at war’ with Venezuelan drug traffickers www.theguardian.com/law/2026/jan...

Q: “I can’t fathom why anyone with even half a brain would believe in god. God? I mean, really?” A: “…95% of physicists who won the Nobel Prize in the 20th century believed in a god. Perhaps it is the atheists who use half a brain…” www.theredhandfiles.com/50-questions...

Will believe it when I finally see any new Birmingham-Manchester rail link (or resurrection of Transpennine Northern Powerhouse Rail / High Speed 3). So many promises and false starts before, so let’s see… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Anthony Waddle “can’t just be willy-nilly slapping genes into frogs” to stave off the chytrid fungus but his Frog Saunas, immunisation and (innovative but controversial) synthetic biology of organisms “edited” by introduction or deletion of genetic material offers a scalable, multi-species solution.

Drill Baby Drill exploitation of Venezuela Oil projected at 13% of Carbon Budget to keep to 1.5C limit. All this whilst in conspiratorial denial of global warming & shunning of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Reviews of ‘Head North’ read very well & any study on historic neglect of northern regions with persuasive ideas for renewal has my support. Only thing is, I would find it hard to usurp Stuart Maconie’s excellent ‘Pies & Prejudice: In Search of the North’ as my fave www.penguin.co.uk/books/389325...

“He's a serious f****r", was the unvarnished view of one Reform figure about the party's latest high-profile recruit” reports Sky News? Sums up the true calibre of that Party’s faithful then - or maybe they were ironically misquoting Churchill’s infamous ethnic slur news.sky.com/story/how-re...

“Calling this ‘peace’ is rhetorical laundering. It turns bombings into ‘operations,’ abductions into ‘law enforcement,’ and domination into ‘stability.’ The goal isn’t to avoid conflict—it’s to avoid responsibility.” mjfree.substack.com/p/world-on-f...

⭐ Reimagining leadership in the environment sector ⭐ Join us for a webinar on 29 January 2026 with Common Purpose and Makani Cambridge, who have been leading efforts to rethink leadership in the environment sector. Register now: esmeefairbairn.org.uk/latest-news/...

6-days to go to deadline for Senior Development Manager post at @riverflies.bsky.social as hosted by @freshwaterbio.bsky.social

Gallium a critical but non-rare earth mineral that U.S is currently 100% import-reliant on, primarily from China. Now focusing on domestic recovery from industrial waste and international partnerships, notably with Australia, to secure supply for defense and technology.

Ex Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi defects to Reform UK? www.bbc.co.uk/news Given Dulwich College signed open letter from Farage schoolmates on his inherent racism & mayoral candidate Chris Parry’s recent offence to Deputy PM David Lammy, I hope Iraqi-born Zahawi knows and trusts his new bed fellows.

Last April Trump launched attacks on Federal Reserve & threatening to fire chairman Jerome Powell unless interest rates were slashed. He chickened out after financial markets tumbled. Lets see what happens now, but suspect yet more evidence of his T.A.C.O syndrome www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Venezuela opposition leader, María Corina Machado, now says she wants to dedicate / share her Nobel Peace Prize (i.e. which cannot be revoked, shared or transferred) to Donald Trump. The World has gone mad trying to appease this lunatic Emperor & his new clothes www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Hoping U.S restrictions on 1/3 of routine childhood vaccines (& respiratory syncytial virus shots now recommended just for high-risk babies) prove Trump & vaccine critic health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr correct, but what are chances the rest of world is wrong? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Right to Swim movement featured on BBC Countryfile and all for it. But suggest, like fishermen pay both annual or day fishing fees to landowner/fishing societies plus annual Environment Agency Rod Licences, that wild swimmers in rivers contribute too www.outdoorswimmingsociety.com/a-right-to-s...

Travelled a long way (excitedly) last year to fish Bintry Mill Trout Fishery on Norfolk's river Wensum. Was offered superb chalk stream dry fly & nymph fishing for brown trout but all I found was heavily overgrown, nutrient-rich, silted-up stream impeded by weir & watermill and devoid of gravel beds

“…Trump making clear that he has no plans to back down from a growing list of foreign entanglements, while the White House tries to assure voters that the president is delivering on promises to make life more affordable.”

“….The information that Trump was so eager to release actually preceded additional information revealing a sluggish economy in his first year, despite inheriting vigorous growth from former President Joe Biden”.

Interesting but ironic seeing Rungwe Kingdon co-founder of Pangolin foundry on BBC Breakfast talk of casting huge Desert Shield/Storm bronze due for Washington install soon as water feature. ‘Captain America’ protective shield & world unity of 1991 Gulf War now in bits. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A march that drew thousands in Minneapolis has ended. Protesters called for justice for Renee Good, the woman shot and killed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross. They also demanded ICE leave the city. 📸: Alex Kormann and Elizabeth Flores

Guessing if you like the fishing-comedy dynamic of Bob Mortimer & Paul Whitehouse BBC @GoneFishingTVShow you will love #EelandStribling ‘Comedians on the Fly’ YouTube channel youtube.com/watch?v=dXjD...

Martin Roemers wonderful exhibition/book Homo Mobilis asks “what does a vehicle tell us about status, culture and personal identity?” Photographs from around the world always taken against a white background - drivers and their cars, trucks, motorcycles & hand carts www.panos.co.uk/photography-...

To understand Greenland importance forget GIUK gap security & focus on race for Rare Earth Elements like at LKAB iron ore mine at Kiruna, Sweden & fact “China controls 85% of the final processing of light rare earths and it controls 100% of the heavy rare earths” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Forget a ‘No Joy January’ of tea-totalism . Can’t resist the last if my Jura single malt in a hip flask for Tatton Park watching the Fallow Deer. (and of course in congratulations of nearby Macclesfield FC win in the FACup 3-rd round v Crystal Palace today!!)

You can’t beat early round FACup 1:0 to the Silkmen with a goal by captain courageous Paul Dawson just before halftime. You couldn’t make it up any better! www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...

Always loved Dan Walker & Football Focus at FACup lower divisions. Lost its way recently but let’s see how very capable Mark Chapman gets on as 6th tier Macclesfield FC take on holders Crystal Palace. Moving start with Wayne Rooney and brother interview re Ethan McLeod www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Wasn’t familiar with @news.sky.com long-form interviews but this of @zackpolanski.bsky.social by Political Correspondent Alexandra Rogers in Calais is excellent. ‘Hope not Hate’ message comes through well - as does party’s growing support - but also need for more substance to Green economic policy

Small man (hands) syndrome and Napoleon Complex revisited? “History shows that periods marked by rising debt, military overreach, and political improvisation tend to spill directly into global markets” investorsdaily.co.uk/geopolitics/...

How to protect your finances and avoid any imminent tech meltdown and bubble of AI Armageddon? My advice, take ownership yourself & keep informed. Also read ‘cup-half-empty’ Bill Bonner in Moneyweek or Investors Daily as his fearmongery will temper all complacency www.theguardian.com/money/2026/j...

I was happy on Twitter from 2009 racking up 10k posts, but transition into X was a step too far for me. Happy to have boycotted it entirely since on moral principles. Ofcom censorship of it, in absence of undertaking for more ethical self-regulation, seems sadly needed www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

In federal Crans-Montana canton of Valais, annual fire safety checks are managed by Mayor dept - but only 40 of 128 bars checked 2025. Yet Switzerland (with highest wealth per adult worldwide) Federal Council has loosened restrictions on other building controls! Madness www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Greens are open to anti-Farage pact with Labour but hoping that this wouldn’t stop this battle royale of a political face off. More dramatic WWE ring craft than UFL sluggery am imagining.

Loving the @jimmoir1.bsky.social bug colour wheel. Would love a freshwater invertebrate one, but difficult in largely olive monochromes

Ideologue-in-chief Stephen Miller said real world...”is governed by strength that is governed by force that is governed by power”. But in philosophy, true strength & power is largely inner mastery & self-control not an ability to dominate external events or others theconversation.com/stephen-mill...

Only true public inquiry is appropriate now. Suspect like Grenfell Tower final report, tragedy was result of "decades of failure" of multiple people & organisations showing various degrees of incompetence dishonesty & systemic de-prioritization of safety over cost www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Loving my first intro to Skye Newman care of BBC World Service news just now open.spotify.com/album/0bGffr...

“buying is possible but I think we are knocking on an open door” Err doesnt U.S-Greenland Defense Agreement Article II already cover NATO defense ( incl. future Golden Dome & GIUK Gap)? Elephant in room is they need to compete with China dominance of critical Rare Earth Elements (REEs) extraction.

After joyfully watching brilliant Mexican film Radical 2 days running now, I was inspired to read Wired article that informed it - & then on to Sugata Mitra & his Indian ‘Hole in the Wall’ experiment. Will cherish his inspiring TEDX talk alongside that of Sir Ken Robinson youtube.com/watch?v=VGF3...

Guided by his moral compass?

Benedict Cumberbat and lots more uplifting views to reboot our hope and sad view of current world affairs…. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Donald Trump is quoted saying “I don’t need international law” and that his power is limited only by his “own morality”. So presumably this is his unique blend of moral nihilism serving "God and mammon” where nothing is right or wrong and morality does not exist? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

I am not sure in these risks of pushing world back to the age of empires. More like fast-forward it to a fantasy nightmare controlled by an evil wannabe Galactic Emperor as new Sith & supported by Darth Vance & Hegseth, his supreme commander of war & the Imperial fleet www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Renee Good homicide “occurred just a few miles from where in 2020, Minneapolis police killed George Floyd during an attempted arrest, setting off nationwide Black Lives Matters protests”. Hoping similar public movement reacts to manipulated Newspeak of Homeland Security www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

@zackpolanski.bsky.social Appreciate your wonderful recital of Zephaniah’s ‘The British Poem’ is abridged edit, but it a big error to have omitted “Afghans, Spanish, Turkish, Kurdish, Japanese” line. To discover such editorial manipulation, even done in good faith, has spoiled impact for me, sorry.

Was happy reading of the rewilding of Matthew Zipple behavioral ecologist at Cornell University who releases lab mice into a lush green field. Then read his conclusion more research should include extra preclinical testing on animals living outside of lab conditions! Sad defector.com/what-a-week-...

Salford Council must put right this terrible act: Chaim Ferster’s son told BBC on his death in 2017 his fear of people forgetting the Holocaust, which was why he spent much time giving lectures to schools & colleges. See - My Voice: Chaim Ferster: A story of two violins www.jstor.org/stable/jj.20...