And yet here we are again in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank.

Screenshot of a Substack note by account 'JoJoFromJerz' that says: 'In a sane administration, the FBI Director doesn’t go on the morning news to prove he’s not a drunk, the Defense Secretary doesn’t quote Tarantino to prove he’s a man of God, and the President doesn’t take multiple cognitive exams to prove he’s not insane.'

None of this is normal.

PS NOTE: Ailsa Terry and Nin Pandit DATE 11/11/2024 You asked for advice regarding the options for filling HMA Washington. The attached note from the Cabinet Secretary sets out the two main options: either an official or a political appointment. An official appointment gives you someone tried and tested, expert in diplomatic tradecraft and the US system. It also demonstrates confidence in our own system to the incoming Trump administration. If anything goes wrong (e.g. the leaks of UK diplomatic telegrams written by Kim Darroch leading to a strong reaction from Trump and Darroch's resignation) then it is arguably less destabilising for the Government to change an official Ambassador if this is required. But given how it may operate, an official may not be able to influence in the same way as a political appointee, although the current HMA Washington has made good inroads into the Trump team. A political appointment will ensure a strong connection with the PM and political priorities, and your recently appointed NSA. It will enable the Ambassador to operate at a more political level and engage differently across the US system. The individual concerned will need to operate as an Ambassador for the first time while also navigating a new US administration. If anything goes wrong. you could be more exposed as the individual is more connected to you personally.

imagine reading this note on political appt peril then installing Peter Mandelson as Ambassador given his history of convicted sex-trafficker affiliation + "financial irregularities" resignations
"If anything goes wrong you could be more exposed as the individual is more connected to you personally"

It's extraordinary that we are happy with a system that imposes an effective 100% inheritance tax on the basis of chance, paid to the private sector,

England left with ‘toilet deserts’ as public facilities decline by 14% in a decade Report says lack of provision is harmful to health and damaging for high streets

Another visible indicator of the decline of the public realm. Public toilets are expensive to maintain and this is yet another consequence of successive governments squeezing local government finance. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

Proportion of households with outside toilet was a simple index of deprivation in Census, until it hit 0%...

Absolutely this. I was against joining in the 70s. The economic case was not convincing. The Single Market made a huge difference. It also underlines the importance of politics. Institutions can be changed.

How a UK arms shipment to Israel was seized in Belgium An investigation has been launched after we discovered a suspicious military transfer from Britain to Israel.

We're supplying military equipment to Israel. And Labour cares so little about it that Belgium has to step in and stop the shipments. I guess Labour's too busy arresting protestors against the genocide?

JD Vance Ripped After Directly Contradicting Trump's Defense Of His AI Jesus Photo—And Whoops!

They can't even keep their lies straight.

“Reported to Me?!?”
Every American Should Be Outraged!

It’s all so very Trumpian, politicians promoting stuff they have a stake in.

No surprise really since Farage has already mimicked Trump in so many ways - his obsessions with DOGE and ICE being two good examples.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

15:02 BREAKING US naval blockade on Iranian ports to begin It's 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT / 15:00 BST). This is the time US President Donald Trump gave as the deadline for the start of a US imposed naval blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.

Historic collaboration between the US and Iran begins: working together they will destroy the global economy by blocking the Gulf entirely.

Who had this on their 2026 bingo card?

That's why I prefer ebooks these days

🩺 A Wise Doctor Once Wrote. <3 Funny Signs (10 Photos): streetartutopia.com/2026/04/11/f...

Trump hails US oil as 'best and sweetest' in the world GETTY IMAGES Trump pictured departing White House with his son Eric yesterday US President Donald Trump says "massive numbers" of empty oil tankers are heading to the US to "load up with the best and 'sweetest' oil (and gas!) anywhere in the World".

So let me get this right, Trump has smashed the exports of US allies in the Gulf through a foolhardy war and now celebrates US big oil mopping up the unfulfilled demand at elevated prices.

What an ally and friend he is.

About right?

After Spain called out Israel's War Crimes they have removed Spain's representatives from overseeing the '''Ceasefire''' in Gaza.

So they can commit more War Crimes in peace.

*So many 's because we all know there is no Ceasefire, not for Israel anyway.

I know it’s crazy, but as an alternative, White House staffers could simply choose not to commit any crimes.

The Telegraph just gave a convicted criminal a two-page spread to explain why he's pumping £4 million into Reform UK. They tucked his criminal record away in the small print. So as a former financial crime specialist I’ll do their job for them👇

An mRNA treatment for PANCREATIC CANCER was in trials, among many other uses. Choosing to end this research is choosing to sentence millions to an early, painful death

Scientists invented a fake disease. AI told people it was real Bixonimania doesn’t exist except in a clutch of obviously bogus academic papers. So why did AI chatbots warn people about this fictional illness?

This is quite extraordinary- scientists set a kind of trap for AI chat bots by inventing a fake disease. AI told people it was real and… the deliberately bogus preprints started being cited in peer reviewed literature 🫣
🧪 #MedSky

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

The triple lock is not about the state pension keeping up with the cost of living. That would be achieved by linking it to the CPI which was the change introduced by Thatcher, and kept by Major, Blair and Brown because it saved money..

"It's a war crime having a nuclear weapon, allowing a sick country with demented leadership have a nuclear weapon. That's a war crime," Trump said on Monday at the White House.

“Takes one to know one” as my gran used to say.

Unfortunately American voters have but 🤷‍♂️

Sounds awfully like he’s threatening a nuclear strike. That’s really going to help the Iranian people as well as opening the Gates of Hell for everyone else.

The cold chilling of America.

A really good essay. Well worth the re read.

the club med theory excerpts from a forthcoming

everyone knows that working in the civil service is the opposite of Club Med, but I argue that this is an important thing to understand properly...

backofmind.substack.com/p/the-club-m...

WTF are we doing. Seriously.

#spoileralert this is a major plot point in The Diplomat