What on earth is the CDC playing at by appointing a vaccine skeptic, Dr. Ralph Lee Abraham as its second in command? He was utterly incompetent during COVID & hasn't improved since. I feel sorry for those living in the US with the current toxic Trump regime in place. US, alas, now stands for Unsafe

One of the great TV series of all time was called 'The Ascent of Man', a 13-part presentation by Dr. Jacob Bronowski. I have just re-read the book that accompanied the BBC series back in 1973. I enjoyed it half a century ago & it remains a timeless classic even now. It would make a superb present...

Russia shouldn't be allowed to win the war with Ukraine just because the impatient dealmaker-in-chief Trump needs a foreign policy success to bolster his claims for a Nobel Peace Prize. If the US won't stand up against Putin, Europe must do so, otherwise we're conceding that might is right. It isn't

Just been listening to an outstanding address on 'Britain in a Changing World' by Sir John Major at the LSE. I never rated him as a prime minister but like Gordon Brown he has become far more impressive out of office rather than in it. His views on the wretchedness of populism were superbly drawn

Appeasing Trump isn't the way to stop him from abusing his power. Bullies - and he is as big as they get - see weakness as inviting aggression. They see soft pedalling from opponents as a pathetic attitude they can exploit. Trying to be nice & cooperative just increases a bully's vindictiveness

Like millions of others apparently I've been watching the BBC TV series of Celebrity Traitors set in the Highlands of Scotland. I didn't imagine at the outset that I would get hooked on it but I did. Amazingly for such a talented bunch, the Faithful were utterly inept! Only Joe Marler saved the day!

I know that Stansted Airport & Ryanair get a lot of flak from travellers but I honestly think both have upped their game considerably in recent years. At one time I avoided both in favour of Gatwick & BA. Not any longer...

So glad that there was a massive turnout against Trump at the 'No Kings' protests across the US yesterday. Potus was furious & his responses to the millions who walked in parades against him was as crude, absurd & degrading as one might expect from an exceptionally unsavoury individual & his minions

If you want to hear a superb podcast on War, check out Prof William Hurst's new series Explorations on War from the Centre of Geopolitics at Cambridge University. Episode 1 is excellent ranging from Greek mythology to the present day & shows the multifaceted & changing nature of war through the ages

One of the most delightful things about being in the academic world is coming across young scholars who have real talent. We are so fortunate to have such enthusiastic & committed individuals in our Department of War Studies at King's College. Our students benefit greatly from being taught by them.

Pete Hegseth is not only a very unpleasant individual but also a tool & a blunt one at that. He's part of an administration that is full of incompetent & talentless people & led by a geriatric who is losing it big time. Where on earth does Trump find these assorted misfits? Bethpage Black?

At last Starmer has begun to attack both Farage & Reform. For once he has come across as a leader. Labour needed direction & a message of hope that could go out to the British electorate. We aren't gutless in the UK & we need to face the challenges that have arisen & overcome them. Let's be positive

For dramatic excitement & incredible nail biting viewing, the last day of the Ryder Cup was almost indescribable. Incredible golf was played under absolutely gut wrenching, adrenaline pumping circumstances. I had a sense it might be close but not that close. Fantastic entertainment. What a result!

Every day, seemingly, the news out of the US gets more bizarre & unfortunate. On multiple levels this administration is remarkably turbulent & unforgiving. How can anyone be against science, medicine & education in the way that it is? It almost defies belief. MAGA won't happen with these policies.

Keir Starmer, alas, is an accident waiting to happen. I don't see him ever being able to make himself relatable to others & isn't a patch on those who are natural communicators even if they are despicable. Labour & the UK needs Andy Burnham. I hope we get him. He'd present a real challenge to Reform

Unfortunately the more one reads of the disastrous policy of abandonment in Medicine at the US Department of Health under Kennedy, the more one can only shake one's head in bemusement. So much that this man has done is wrong & his benighted policies will have long term effects on US health provision

Easy to imagine the frustration building up in 10 Downing Street as the Labour government comes under the cosh yet again. Once more, it's self inflicted. Mandelson's appointment as British ambassador to Washington was always a risk since he carries significant personal baggage despite his abilities

I'm amazed at the productivity of those who record their scholarly views on Substack. Where do you all find the time, energy & commitment to do these regular & incisive reports? It's staggering! I'm also delighted with The Siren since it never ceases to take down Trump & his shoddy cabal. What joy!

One of the best stories of this troubled year happened at East Lake on Sunday when Tommy Fleetwood won the Tour Championship & FedEx Cup for his first victory on the PGA golf tour on his 164th attempt. Genuinely popular, he's seen victory snatched away from him so often in his career. Not this time!

Today is when the GCSE results came out for those UK teenagers who took them in May/June. Many will have done well & will be thrilled with their grades. Others, alas, despite working hard & revising steadily, won't have secured the grades they want. I always feel sad for those who are disappointed.

A daily joy of mine is reading the latest attack on Trump's wild economic policies by Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winner for Econs. Krugman has forgotten more economics than Trump & his cohort have ever known. Trump's often out of his depth when it comes to the interface of Econs theory & practice

I've just been listening to a fascinating podcast on Jensen Huang & his Nvidia company. Check out The Guardian's,Today in Focus,'The secrets of the world's richest company' with Tae Kim & Helen Pidd. It's a story that deserves to be listened to. Jensen Huang is a brilliant CEO - one of the best ever

Away from Trump for once, today I want to look at public opinion as expressed in inane text messages about players or coaches sent to the TV channels covering any sporting event. Why some of these moronic comments ever get to see the light of day is beyond me unless it's to infuriate the rest of us

Trump's dystopian universe has become a perilous nightmare for those who believe in democracy, equity, commonsense, decency & the rule of law. A vindictive Trump acts as if he is above the law & his MAGA base crassly endorses his preposterous claim. So where is American soft power now? In the gutter

I pity those who are trying to go down south to Italy, Slovenia & Croatia through Austria by car today. There are massive queues in several.places on the autobahns & as such it's likely to be nightmarish for both parents & kids. Patience is a virtue & much needed today because anger rises so easily

It's high time that the Democrats drained the MAGA Swamp. A more sordid mess could hardly be imagined than that conjured up by Trump & his hopelessly incompetent crowd of appalling enablers. Do any of these unsavoury characters have any moral conscience? If they did they should have already resigned

I love farmers markets. I would far rather buy fruit & veg & fish/meat from them than in supermarkets where you have no clue as to the amount of fertilisers that have been used in the growing process. Organic food grown in the local fields & lakes remind me forcefully of the countryside I grew up in

Just finished an hour long interview with a Korean TV channel from Seoul on the search for Korean independence after WWI. What a pleasure it was to work with my producer Nuri & her crew behind the scenes. It was part of the Hidden Stories series of diplomacy & its impact on international relations

I've just been watching the England team win their way - belatedly as always -into the final of the UEFA Women's Championship in Switzerland. What a team! They put their supporters through a nightmare of emotions before grabbing a victory at the very last! It's tremendous to see the support they get

Thankfully 1/6th of Trump's presidency has gone. I can't wait for the remainder of it to go! I don't want to know what he's thinking about everything. His posts reveal not his so-called fabled intelligence but his lack of it. His distorted view of the world shows a lack of morality & generosity. Ugh

I have never known a US presidency like this one! It's mind-blowing that so many politicos & businessmen both at home and abroad fear Trump's disapproval & jump to fall in with his whims. He's become the world's most powerful personality & he must love that feeling! Wheeling & dealing with toadies!

I meant to post this about 2 months ago but forgot! So now is the time to make up for that omission. I watched 'A Complete Unknown' a film based on Bob Dylan's early career with Timothée Chalamet in the title role. I thought it was great. It's exactly the sort of film I would watch again. Loved it!

It's clear that universities face real systemic problems currently with financing, student numbers, AI & political interference especially in the US. But unfortunately there is also a much darker side that is suffocating & springs from jealousy/envy as well as personality clashes among colleagues

Just spent the weekend in Budapest. What a beautiful city & one that has such a good vibe to it. It was full of young people having fun. What makes it even more attractive is that it rejects Orban overwhelmingly. I've always had a fascination with Hungary driven by sport, music & its courage in 1956

In beautiful Budapest. It is a total joy to see the city after teaching Hungarian history for over 40 years! Off to see the memorial to the heroes of the '56 Uprising. I have had a bond with Hungary that may have been forged through both sport & music & which has endured from my youngest days.

Why does anyone believe anything that comes out of the mouth of the current inhabitant of the Oval Office?Truth Social (a misnomer if ever there was one) is utterly unreliable & a wild distortion of the truth. Exaggeration & lies come thick & fast & yet the media still continues to lap it up. Weird!

On Midsummer's Night last Saturday I took myself off into the local woods beyond my Austrian village in a search for those magical little creatures with their beautiful white lights - the fireflies. They only appear in our woods for a few days in late June but they were there in profusion. What joy!

I tuned into Jon Stewart's podcast on Bsky this morning & loved his introduction about the incompetence of the real Donald. No wonder the dollar is tanking when little other than Trump's ego remains the same from day to day. Threats & abuse abound from the bullying dealmaker. He really is unsavoury

How any sane person can read & absorb the posts displayed on Truth Social & believe them is beyond me. Apart from the ridiculous lies, pompous distortions & sweeping exaggerations that appear on a daily basis, the mean-spirited way in which Trump treats Joe Biden is unconscionable & shameful

I've just listened to a fascinating talk given by an AI expert on the range of sophisticated tools used by university students to tackle their course assignments. It was mind blowing! We older profs are so out of it & nowhere near finding suitable assessment criteria to mark the work of our students

I've recently been watching the first two series of Yellowstone, the neo-Western film series that stars Kevin Costner. I missed it when it first came out, but I'm delighted to have been following it over the past fortnight. I don't care what the film critics may say about it, I've really enjoyed it!

I shouldn't have been astonished by the inane comments of Laura Loomer & others of the MAGA crowd about the new pontiff Leo XIV describing him as a Marxist. And yet I was! If these people are Christians they clearly haven't read The New Testament recently or understood the words of Christ. Pitiable!

Some urban myths can be dismissed immediately but some have a certain traction because they would be a welcome addition to our daily news. I heard the other day from a professional source that the new pope was a jazz trombonist who played concerts under the name Bobby Prev. Sadly, I wish it was true

Last Friday I suggested that the Opposition parties in Singapore might cause a surprise or two in the forthcoming General Election. How wrong I was! As a historian, I ought to have realised that my abilities as a discerning psephologist are about as flawed as most political scientists & so it proved

Fascinating general election in Singapore on Saturday pitting the People's Action Party (which has been in power since 1959) against the opposition. Despite what the Establishment media may say, this election may well spring a few surprises. Watch out for Pritam Singh & the Workers Party to do well

Accountability & the Trump administration are irreconcilable. Those in power in DC see any kind of intellectual output/oversight as a threat to them personally & their goals such is their insecurity. Trump lies through his teeth on a daily basis and the MAGA crowd laps it up as if it's gospel truth!

I know we need the best trade deal we can get from the US but I hate to see Starmer sucking up to Trump in the hope of getting him onside. Trump will play him like a violin in order to get what he wants from a waning power. Anglo-American relations might seem fool-proof until you try to improve them

I've just been listening to Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, on an excellent webinar with the Resolution Foundation about how to spend £100 billion wisely. This guy is outstandingly good & would make a great PM in future. His perceptive leadership of Manchester is truly inspiring. He's got it!

I hope the cardinals who can vote in the forthcoming Conclave will appoint a worthy successor to Pope Francis. I thought he was a wonderful pontiff - not just a beacon of hope to Catholics but to the whole world. He stood up for the poor & downtrodden & his humility was both apparent & touching

It's v.sad just how quickly a wonderful state primary/junior school in South London can fall away from its previous high standards to become almost unrecognisable to the parents. So much of the enthusiasm & spirit within the school was lost when the former dynamic head left. Thereafter apathy set in