In Jerusalem once, my Israeli taxi driver heard that I was then a journalist and asked if I wanted to stop off at the Mount of Olives so I could do something unmentionable to Cap'n Bob's grave. He'd had so many requests from British hacks that he just assumed it was a key ritual.

The more you read about this whole thing, the more batshit - and potentially highly damaging to Trump himself - the whole thing looks.

Who the fuck does Trump think he is to tell people like this that they need to let the Russians walk back in.

Danny Dyer's holiday park show on Sky is, somehow, brilliant.

"It’s intriguing to note that investors’ worries that AI hyperscalers will win too much might actually bork the financing of AI’s commercial rollout."

My [British] university had several hundred people studying BAs in American Studies. Dozens of other British universities were similar. Now mostly gone.

ANTHROPIC HAS NO INTENTION TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON MILITARY USAGE, SOURCE SAYS ...

I share the scepticism about the Restore figure. I have no such scepticism about the 1% for Your Party (also prompted).

If Czechia and Romania can afford fast jets, then Ireland - with an economy twice the size of those two - can also afford them. Alternatively it could face up to geopolitical realities and join NATO.

This sets things out commendably clearly. Most signif imho, even with two carrier groups in the region the maximum length of a US air blitz on Iran is about a week. ‘Crisis of his own making’: Donald Trump weighs another war with Iran - www.ft.com/content/0408... via @FT

This 2018 data on the stark contrast in the pattern of a self-selecting online open survey and public opinion is reflected in other self-selecting filters: phone-ins, online debates, MPs postbags - and so is one driver of elite misperceptions of actual public attitudes

Met Police confirm Peter Mandelson has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

"Donald Trump is honest and trustworthy" Disagree: 70% Agree: 29% Ipsos / Feb 17, 2026

Congratulations to Canada on earning sole hosting rights to the 2026 World Cup. bsky.app/profile/ship...

Disappointed to learn that El Mencho's nickname was not earned by the fact he was widely considered to be a mensch.

People say Spurs are unlucky. But actually, this season, they're extremely lucky that Burnley and Wolves have been destined to take up two of the relegation places since before the clocks went back. They'd be potentially doomed with vaguely adequate teams below them.

And, frankly, you wouldn't bet against them. Two carrier groups or not.

Would pay good money for a Portuguese novel setting out a nightmare future where agreeable bits of that country have been completely over-run by Anglo-American writers suffering repeated cheese dreams.

German, French and Polish intelligence agencies come out less well. They did not believe Putin would do it. Bruno Kahl, the chief of Germany’s BND foreign intelligence service seemed to continue to believe this the night before the invasion when he arrived in Kyiv for meetings the next day

Aide Wearily Begins 5th Explanation Of Why Trump Can’t Pardon Prince Andrew https://theonion.com/aide-wearily-begins-5th-explanation-of-why-trump-cant-pardon-prince-andrew/

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Written like a parent explaining to a five year old why they can't stay up until midnight every night.

Is he reminiscing about Studio 54 again?

It's all about black people, always has been. Him and his ilk can't process the fact London is not like what they saw in "Mary Poppins".

Trump looks like a loser.

Congratulations on your appointments to the Supreme Court to Pam Bondi, Rudi Giuliani, that weird Kraken woman and Lionel Hutz.

Mike Johnson right now has locked himself inside a bank vault, wearing noise cancelling headphones, a black ski mask over his face.

we go live to Heard Island:

The Andrew stuff and the SCOTUS ruling just confirm my view that the mid-17th century never really ended.

Again, it feels insane how little attention is being paid to this. The build up to Iraq was months long, in the open, full public debate. This stuff is currently below Toy Story 5 on the BBC website.

Also - publish the Jerk Chicken recipe from Strangers' and coin it from royalties.

The Times: "Thursday’s events represent a far bigger crisis for the royal family than the abdication of 1936." I mean, that's just not true. For "the royal family" as it might refer to the wider Windsor clan it might be true. But let's not confuse that with the monarchy.

Everyone else: now we have to buy the expensive racks FFS.

UEFA should secede from FIFA.

Seismic moment for the idea of "a royal family" I reckon, not so much for the monarchy. If the monarchy survived the Abdication Crisis it can survive this.

If you've got a history book at home, take it out, throw it in the bin – it's worthless. The history books will now have to be rewritten.

I AM ONCE AGAIN PLEADING WITH THOSE ADVOCATING 21ST CENTURY GAULLISM FOR EUROPE TO CONSIDER DE GAULLE'S DISTINCTLY MUNICHOIS ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE USSR.

Moving search from an approach that privileges reliability to one which only cares about plausibility may be one of the greatest reversals in human knowledge since the renaissance.

Vulcan Street, Leeds, 1975, by Peter Mitchell, one of the great 20th century photographers (he had various jobs including lorry driving while taking pictures). The man is Eric Massheder.

Latest data point in "America no longer has an actual foreign policy, merely a set of urgings".

I think Ed Davey has actually played a bit of a blinder. If his intention is - as it should be - to hang to seats like Esher&Walton and perhaps take what remains of the Tory Party in more prosperous bits of the Home Counties then he's doing exactly what he should be.

SINCLAIR BLOODY ARMSTRONG #bristolcity

I do feel that Restore etc are disadvantaged by the English language. We just don't have the vocabulary to describe what they are getting at which means they are getting tied up in knots. If they were German, then they'd be able to use terms like "Volk" and "völkisch" which hit the spot.

Always look at the commissioner. But gosh.

Wholly in favour of this as long as it also applies to Eton, Westminster etc.

Quick look at X to check in on just how utterly batshit old acquaintances have become. Answer? Very. But this is the top news story today, according to its super-clever AI.

Nobody - except maybe some Saudis - is going to buy your GMC Yukons. I mean, I rented one on holiday last year. But it felt like renting a horse would have done in about 1930.

I think it's wrong to describe the World Service as "soft power". It's actually "info power". And these days that's a very hard form of power indeed.

Cracking game Rangers Vs Hearts.