Neither of your examples are cultures. There’s a ’clash of civilisations’ argument underlying this, I think, which goes beyond specific regimes or organisations.

To which might be added, also the head on the back of a coin …

Ah yes, Doctors Without Boundaries

The Doctor he reminds me of is Strangelove.

So what exactly is DJehosophatT doing to Jon Stewart? @thedailyshow.com

Just noticed that September is going to be great for readers of Mathias Énard: the next volume of Mélancolie des confins and a translation of La Perfection du tir from @avecsesdoigts.bsky.social and @fitzcarraldoeds.bsky.social

Taking our bobs …

So that’s where JD Vance has been hiding.

Nothing will come of nothing (Nobel Peace Prize committee take note).

I tend to take out, wine in, reduce a bit, chicken back in just to warm through.

Maybe I’ve missed it, but I haven’t heard anyone holding Kemi Badenoch to account for repeating (repeatedly) a scripted Hegseth press statement line about stopping arrows v stopping the bow while claiming that she isn’t simply pandering to the Trump line. @mrjamesob.bsky.social

If they can find it, they can pull out the plug, drain the water out and then drive through in trucks.

To be honest, it’s the main reason I became a dad

I raise you Michael Haneke’s Return of the Pink Panther.

Well this isn’t scary at all. A simple spectrum from the erasure of human element in GenAI to the erasure of the human tout court. Almost as if driven by misanthropic narcissists like Peter Thiel. Thankfully no government worthy of the name would give them (Palantir et al) health data, etc.

Pot Black Watch?

Ah, Petrarch …

We’re probably approaching the last quarter of list 4.

Grateful as ever to all at CounterText. A piece on Caryl Churchill in the latest issue. And thanks to Raffaella for including me.

All the credibility of a Board of Peace

And put this in context with Carney’s (Havel’s) Power of the Powerless, it doesn’t have to mean naivety internationally either

Maybe he meant to say that he became aware that living in a system based on individual insurance rather than a more humane public health policy made him ironically conscious that Kafka made his living not from writing but from insurance

Now all you need is a tailored dog. Which I sincerely hope isn’t a serviceable euphemism.

RIP one of the visionaries, Valère Novarina.

Perhaps you could try engaging people with imagination, creativity and skills to think through how it might work. But then they’re precisely the people you’re trying to steal from …

Some interesting mail … #anthropic #GenAIistheft

Look no further than an English or other Arts and Humanities degree
#EnglishCreates excellent careers

WEEKEND READING: What if, in trying to ‘fix’ universities, we are quietly unmaking them? - HEPI Join HEPI and Advance HE for a webinar onTuesday, 13 January 2026, from 11am to 12pm, exploring what higher education can learn from leadership approaches in other sectors. Sign up here to hear this a...

Recommended on framing of UKHE financial crisis.

www.hepi.ac.uk/2026/01/10/w...

Those who know me understand my commitment to anachrony, uchrony and iterabilities makes wishing people a happy new year tricky in theory. Those who know my more pragmatically hopeful side will accept that with full sincerity. May 2026 bring what we want, or proof of our commitment to resist.

Damn, I was looking for a pub with no-fun frills …