War. War never changes.

De Gaulle would in your quote tweets, Talleyrand in your replies, and Mitterrand in your DMs.

I have an idea for an updated version of A Muppet’s Christmas Carol

Not only is this obviously a better system for mayoralties, but also… …might break the logjam in thinking where else electoral reform could be good idea. You know. The place with the big clock 🕰️ 👀

Oh my god it happened again

Fun fact: she was really into the Albanian separatist movement in Kosovo before she got married.

It’s a very odd show. Structured like a series of “tough questions” and differing views but the only vaguely oppositional guest they’ve had on recently was Hasan Piker, who was obviously selected on the grounds that he’s a moron with a foot perpetually in his mouth

If you're wondering what this endorsement is worth, ask yourself why Robinson has never run in an election. Aside from confusion about what name would be on the ballot

Lemon specifically. Picking on relative unknowns is the smart way. Arresting Don Lemon is what you do when the network TV obsessed boss demands you do something stupid because he recognises the name

15 minute cities is the ultimate example of how you can't predict, and shouldn't bother anticipating, when the unhinged or the malicious will take issue with your innocuous local public policy

Outstanding outfits. From left to right: straight off the set of Morse, 1950s rocker, regular 2020s guy, and actual Blackshirt.

A fun thought experiment is imagining the UK voting system is SNTV and seeing if any party has the institutional capacity to co-ordinate their vote efficiently. Guess would be all terrible but *maybe* whoever had the better local machines and/or really good social media microtargeting would win.

A lesser noticed part of what's going on is agencies having to sub in for each other, partially or entirely, when someone says no. Ditto having to get Border Patrol to do ICE jobs because the former, somehow, is even less concerned with the rule of law.

Recently spotted on my campus. Although it’s rarely top of mind for students of this generation as it was five years ago, Brexit is a millstone around the neck of Reform and the Tories alike for under-25s. They lost that argument hard and irrecoverably 2016-2020.

I am saddened to hear of the passing of Lord Wallace. Jim was a lovely man who welcomed me to his home in Orkney, and with whom I drank too much whisky several times, while putting the world to rights. Jim's wise reflections on being a minister: www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/ministers-re...

To have to eat one book could be considered unfortunate, to have to eat two looks like carelessness

A sneak preview of the Melania movie

My Centre is a unique place to do a PhD in Philosophy, because you can be in constant contact with experts in veterinary medicine, psychology, zoology and policy and be part of a team united by a shared interest in animal minds. We now have our 1st ever PhD scholarship: www.lse.ac.uk/sentience/phd

New personal piece: Why does regulation often feel so toothless? The news is full of businesses behaving badly and seeming to get off very lightly. Why? As someone who used to work for a regulator, I wanted to set out some of the very simple reasons regulators struggle…

Enjoyed this, especially the link to 1900s yellow journalism. Would only add that (as in this great photo) the other old-world thing about Shirley is the aesthetic of 1970s shoe-leather journalist. Sticking a camera in someone's face was a classic post-Watergate thing, often justified but often not.

Just *miles* from your doorstep, hundreds of politicians are preparing to overturn a vote. The government calls it "the Parliament Act". But a more alarmist name would be a "a century-old Act" that's "rarely used".

Fascinating from @robfordmancs.bsky.social. I don't think I realised how much this seat is the perfect microcosm for the strategic issues facing every party. As Rob points out, every outcome will have (likely outsized) narrative effects. The cog which turns the wheel?

Haven't seen the Melania doc directed by Brett Ratner yet, so I won't rush to judgement until several months ago when I first heard there was going to be a Melania doc directed by Brett Ratner.

The most bizarre thing about these polls is like 1/3rd of people don't rate themselves against the rodent option. I assume what people mean is they couldn't bring themselves to stomp the boot down for moral reasons, not that the rat literally wins.

Not all heroes wear capes

These guys are cracking

I’m standing for UCU NEC again!! Last time I missed out by 12 votes, and am keen to do a bit better this time around. My election statement is in the thread below. If you have questions about what I stand for and why you should vote for me, just ask and I’ll do my best to answer. Please vote!

Well this just screams "we're confident in the current leadership" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

And this was all just because a guy didn't want to pay his rent

A useful pressure point on this Supreme Court might be to start the ball rolling on some 2nd amendment cases, seeing as the 4th, 14th, and even the 1st don’t seem particularly important to them rn

Just yesterday he said this deal was totally fine

Although in some ways - given NATO exists because the US was convinced (and partially tricked) by a British socialist who made his career in union organising - it's surprising you don't encounter this attitude more.

Is this the Gumtree version of getting the hostage to hold up today's newspaper as proof of life?

Share a photograph of mountains that you've taken (Waterton, Alberta, Canada)

Took this one last month from Obergurgl looking south towards the Dolomites catching the setting sun

Share a photograph of a mountain that you’ve taken (Pico do Arieiro, Madeira - a place I think about almost daily)

Share a photograph of mountains that you've taken (Innsbruck, Austria)

Carney's recent remarks accepted, worth noting that some parts of the international rules-based order are very real. Ask Rodrigo Duterte at his new residence in the UN Detention Unit.

Another fascinating aspect: 68% (13 out of 19 states) on the Board are Muslim-majority. By population >90% of people represented by these leaders live in those states. Why? Because - despite the US right's, eh, attitude to Islam - for various reasons it correlates globally with autocratic states.

Yeah. A big part of the pretty bad TNG season 1 was a) they were literally reusing CG assets from the TOS movies and b) incessant meddling from a senile Gene Roddenberry. But they didn’t have to succeed big for it to overcome those issues and become much better later. This won’t get that chance.

They have some relevant experience

Oh yeah? Tell that to 19th century Texas

"No, Mr Bond. I expect your tariff wall to die."

I hate to break it to people but this is not true. Former members of the SS were mostly not prosecuted for anything, formed an official post-war political lobby and publishing house, and many went on to have careers in the FRG's military and (particularly) the police force.

You know who else was Scandinavian? The Normans.

I know we all had fun with that paper on civil war a week ago. But the US genuinely is the only developed democracy with multiple heavily armed quasi-military groups responsible to different executives.

Me getting nervous when a student is taking an apparently near-verbatim transcript of my lectures