For the record, “I was only following orders” doesn’t work in this context either.

A point not made enough: the UK runs a trade goods deficit with the US so shouldn’t be paying any tariffs at all based on the White House formula (10% is not a “win”).

Because she really, really needs every red cent of that half billion eh?

Switzerland, quite bizarrely, has officially espoused the “it’s all in their heads” line.

Tariffs hit science labs: Trump levies raise cost of supplies Import taxes on staples such as microscopes, glassware and computer chips will affect institutions already feeling financial strain.

The price increases come as research budgets for US labs are stretched thin by unprecedented grant cancellations and cuts to university funding introduced since Donald Trump’s second presidency began

https://go.nature.com/41ZRlUD

We’re not being ‘forced’. We just have a weak and spineless Prime Minister who apparently does not understand how to handle malignant narcissists, despite a prior career as a prosecutor.

50501

+London

See you in Trafalgar Square.

I cannot for the life of me understand how this spineless character is still Secretary General.

A coward, a weasel and a wimp.

Well… he’s a nice sort of chap on the whole so if you felt like rescinding the Declaration, I’m sure he’d be willing to give it a try.

No. No tariffs.
Just flat-out import bans.

@teamlabouruk.bsky.social for God’s sake, one of you explain this to Starmer.

The purity spiral of death.

Entirely agree with The BMJ on this one. (Even though they are the competition.) Again, see @nature.com 3rd March paper on the impact of the Western diet in pregnancy. Health first. Lobbyists second.

I ditched all US investment from my pensions the day after the election. Ditched my US subscriptions and regular purchases over the past three months. Now working on replacing US owned software and apps… our power lies in our wallets. Use it wisely.

Good. Let’s hope they remain an insuperable obstacle.

🧵Carl Sagan wasn't religious, but he was prophetic.

Working together, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, and countless aids built the greatest diplomatic and economic structure the world has ever seen. This enraged religious fundamentalists.

Carl Sagan saw them coming.

I’d have thought 5th April was the front runner.

Why do authoritarians hate science? Because an evidence-based approach to anything is anathema to them. And they hate questions.

To be taught about the manifold weaknesses and pitfalls and the limitations of AI in their particular fields seems like rather a good thing. To be taught via AI or encouraged to rely on it, not so much.

Yes-ish. It’s not just the education system. The bewilderment and resentment of the left behind was weaponised, not just their ignorance of the world. We also have to address the fact that many were indeed left behind.

As retaliation for the Tariffs we will now be showing any American made TV show without the last five minutes. Good luck finding out how Frasier got out of that one.

Who remembers the scandal of melamine in US petfoods and the animal deaths that resulted? I do. I was working on an animal health newsletter at the time. That generated many times more calls to the FDA than any human drug issue had done in its history. You jeopardise the family pets at your peril.

The road to fascism is lined with nice, ordinary, sensible people telling us not to overreact.

Completely agree. It astonishes me that the fact that the EU is a bigger market appears to escape him.

Tariffs make Americans suffer as well as other countries. But either way, Americans suffer.

It’s still a choice, James.

See also the paper in @nature.com on 5th March re maternal diet and neurodevelopmental disorders in childhood and adolescence.

He certainly deserves a shot.

Preferably from a rather more competent sniper this time.

Trump reportedly threatening to freeze $510m in grants from Brown University University says it has not yet been notified, but school was among dozens warned of academic crackdown

More attacks in Universities. Rumours that Trump set to hack at Brown’s funds because they had the temerity to stand up for academic freedom.