First law of 21st century political discourse is to not get trapped into justifications of mockery. Just have fun

This is clearly an AI-generated image

When I think about how much I despise Australia it does make me wonder about people who go into battle for countries they have barely visited www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07...

There are probably only a few days left for Penny Sharpe to save the corridor through Pine Creek that’s essential for the long term survival of these koalas. knittingnannas.org/2026/07/13/a...

come on man he looks fantastic

People seem to like this but I gotta be honest, I think we could steer clear of primeval Germanic blood in our well wishes

Putin: Look hoss we gotta do it Trump: yeah I get that. have you seen the ballroom

You don’t have to have kids. If you do you should teach them how to shit

Thought experiment: what meaningful consequence would befall a Democratic lawmaker who greeted the news about Lindsey Graham with a resolute silence

Compare how Trump wrote about one of his most sycophantic, slavish, and important political allies, and how he memorialized Regis Philbin:

Ro Khanna hitting all the esdential points here, especially in immediately drawing attention to the everyday experience of Palestinians www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

Israel detains US Congressman Ro Khanna with M4s America paid for 90min blockade in the ruins they built “Ally” points taxpayer guns at lawmakers Occupation comes for us next The Cabal funds both sides WIGWAG #IsraelDetainedKhanna G

I think this is true but trivial. If you actually listen to these guys they pretty openly articulate a quite detailed set of beliefs about how conforming to an ideal physiognomy elevates them in a “natural” social hierarchy. But they also present this as esoteric knowledge that most men don’t share

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Aid worker who organised World Cup screenings in Gaza killed in Israeli strike

A disintegrating Specials were part of the sound of July 1981 as unrest flared up in Handsworth, Toxteth, Southall, Moss Side, Hyson Green & Brixton, as Ghost Town hit #1 45 years ago today, writes Wrongtom ‘Ghost Town’, ‘At The Club’ & Britain’s Summer of Discontent #LongRead buff.ly/yZfso9u

In my experience working class people are perforce highly attuned to the semiotics of tattoos

Israel says they have tried to avoid this. Is there any other evidence that Israel has tried to avoid this? Conversely, is there any evidence that Israel tried to kill as many Gazan civilians as time would permit?

Somali school in Minn. faces threats after Trump posts clip of kindergartners www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

I see Ann Widdecombe has died. When she was Home Secretary I showed her round Drake Hall womens’s prison. There was a pregnant woman on a bed in the early stages of Labour and she asked the prison officers why she wasn’t handcuffed to the bed. That’s the kind of woman she was.

Very pleased to learn that this photo of mine has been shortlisted in the 2026 Australian Photography Awards. Magnetite in waiting. Piles of magnetite (against a backdrop of a rusty red roof) waiting to be loaded onto a ship at the Whyalla steelworks.

Both The Guardian and Times Higher Education are highlighting the devastating effects that closing our modern languages courses will have on the UK and the midlands. A similar argument can be made for every one of our courses on the chopping block. www.timeshighereducation.com/news/cold-sp...

They burned it. They did it early to avoid being stopped. And note that the police arrived, ‘were goaded’, and then left. Last year they burned a replica of a boat full of refugees. Now they burned a replica mosque. Calls for mass murder, out in the open.

Vox pops produce anti-information. They can only provide a distorted version of local public opinion. They exist because of the requirements of television broadcasting. Ban vox pops

The danger of using voxpops in place of real analysis. Cameras are a magnet for motivated activists. These two made it into four different reels + a dozen print pieces. The illusion is that we're getting an insight into "Clacton voters". In truth, we just know what Farage Megastans Jim & June think.

George Cottrell referred to Nigel Farage as ‘daddy’, says ex-Reform candidate www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

this is fine giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Fraudster Cottrell was introduced as Farage’s chief of staff, says ex-Reform candidate

I have checked what the Japanese media are saying and there seem to be competing names for the man. Some are going with ゴミ箱伯爵 (Gomibako Hakushaku - Count Trashcan) whilst others are using the katakana that you have for foreign loan-words and opting for ビンフェイス伯爵 (Binfeisu Hakushaku).

Photos: Israeli attacks kill nine people, including two children, in Gaza https://aje.news/fr9zkr

So I’m in Belfast

Martha Ann Lilliard died yesterday.

This is dumb but the subhed is a reminder that by not putting "Little Ireland" on the map he wussed out on doing the funniest thing ever

Gambling should be safe, legal, and off-track in a bar that smells like wet cigarettes with a guy called Barry (an alias)

People describe this as psychosis, but I don't think that's a clinical diagnosis yet. To me it seems much closer to a somewhat brutal and binary intelligence test. I just cannot see how anyone could mistake these things for a real person. www.wired.com/story/pickup...

oh, fantastic. *IRAN SAYS US STRUCK BUSHEHR NUCLEAR PLANT PERIMETER: IRNA

Les Bleus have used "ICE Air" for domestic travel in the US. The same plane carrying Mbappe and Olise has sent detainees to El Salvador. The same plane was used for Trump administration deportation-related flights 44 times this year alone. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The horrible bastards in Moygashel have unveiled this year's racist bonfire topper. The Arabic text at the top translates as "Islamic Fascism", which is ironic. For context the Muslim population in NI is estimated to be 12,000 (according to Belfast Islamic Centre) - c. 1/200 or just 0.6%.

George Cottrell, Nigel Farage’s secret donor and close ally, was pictured with Stephen Yaxley-Lennon aka Tommy Robinson at a rally in London according to The Times.

1985, Brisbane, Australia. Sold at auction today for £220

Oh in Africa. Okay

my dude you're outhasbaraing the IDF

Jillian Segal, Australia’s antisemitism envoy - and previously president of pro-Israel lobby group ECAJ - claimed at the Royal Commission that the Gaza death toll was ‘grossly inflated'. When pressed to share ‘material’ to support her claim, she said it’s been 'well reported probably’.

Police launch investigation into £37,500 donation made to Robert Jenrick campaign trib.al/7b4NvZn

While it’s true that the journalistic “view from nowhere” model of objectivity is bullshit, we are learning why you should avoid identifying yourself with a specific candidate or party. Did you somehow not pick up that these people are full of shit

The evidence for self-determination, in other words, is not only moral. It is the best-supported empirical finding in the entire Closing the Gap data set. blakandblack.com/2026/07/08/f...

While "Nearly half of white students admitted to Harvard between 2009 and 2014 were legacy students" "or Dean’s Interest List—a list of applicants whose relatives have donated to Harvard, the existence of which only became public knowledge in 2018 75% of them would not have been admitted otherwise

Incredibly entertaining (and affirming) convo on the need for younger leaders in the NYT's focus group with Black voters. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

New Medicaid guidelines in Montana leave cancer patients vulnerable, with requirements that they must work, attend school or volunteer for 80 hours a month to maintain coverage, unless they qualify for an exemption.