Somebody in Islamabad dictated that and someone in the White House locked Trump out while they posted it.

I don’t think he did. He’s never said so. He just made a handy escape from the consequences. And it was a FAR more co sequential mistake, and one he could easily have avoided. Not excusing Starmer though.

He didn't go because he'd made a mistake. He went because he didn't want to deal with the fallout.

Well the tip of an iceberg is disproportionate to the iceberg.

And Marmite.

Modernising the EU’s rail ticketing regulation How to streamline passenger rail travel across Europe

Passengers trying to book low-carbon international train trips are often faced with headaches due to complicated booking systems.

The Commission’s Single Ticketing Package is our chance to fix this. It’s time to drag the rail ticketing system out of the stone age.

Read the report ➡️ bit.ly/4vrDh2V

A lot of people seem to think that sex is genetic. Which it isn’t really. We all have the same genes.

really must finish writing this

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops The Catechism of the Catholic Church on Just War Doctrine All citizens and all governments are obliged to work for the avoidance of war. However, "as long as the danger of war persists and there is no international authority with the necessary competence and power, governments cannot be denied the right of lawful self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed." (CCC, no. no.2308) The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time: 1 The damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain; 3 There must be serious prospects of success; 2 All other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective; 4 The use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction These are the traditional elements enumerated in what is called the weighs very heavily in evaluating "just war" doctrine. The evaluation of this condition. these conditions for moral legitimacy belongs to the prudential judgment of those who have responsibility for the common good. (CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, NO. 2309) The Church and human reason both assert the permanent validity of the moral law during armed conflict. "The mere fact that war has regrettably broken out does not mean that everything becomes licit between the warring parties." (CCC, no. 2312) PRAY FOR PEACE.

Bishops doubling down

White king on a chessboard surrounded by black pawns

Orbán's gone.

Trump's looking increasingly shaky even before the midterms.

Russia is on the verge of collapse, and Russians increasingly blame Putin.

Here in the UK, our own wannabe autocrat, Nigel Farage, is steadily dropping in the polls.

Could 2026 be the year the world rediscovers sanity?

I am starting to dare to hope!

I think he thought his skills were transferable and had no clue that they weren’t. His MPs are not his employees- they are autonomous representatives of their constituents, and answerable to them not to him.

Little Frog stands next to his father, a strapping bullfrog. From "The Corner" In *Frog and Toad All Year*

“When I was small, not much bigger than a pollywog,” said Frog, “my father said to me, “Son, this is a cold, gray day but spring is just around the corner.”

Well speciation is a process. Of course it’s porous. Reality is porous.

As someone with autism, I’m tired
of hearing the same false “causes” over
and over Tylenol, vaccines, you name it.
#Autism isn’t a conspiracy or a mystery
to scare people about. If you want to
understand, start by listening to us.

Well that’s because price is not the same as value. We all have more money to spend but what is available to buy has little value to us. Things we actually value are disappearing. Economics needs to figure out how to quantify value not price. Value-based “growth” would look a lot different.

Great piece of writing from @iandunt.bsky.social about the evil old man running the planet.

My favourite: 'He [Trump] has become a uniquely American nightmare, a specific combination of religion and shit TV, suddenly turned into flesh and blood and loosened upon the world.'

In competitive authoritarianism, leaders abuse state power to tilt the electoral playing field in their favor, manipulate the media environment and minimize opposition voices, maybe even steal close elections by lying about fraud. But they usually can't overcome a large majority voting against them.

Well it was statistically silly. The Median is not the Message. Especially the trajectory of median household income. You need at least to look at cohorts, distributions, and differential inflation by income level before dismissing claims of being worse off as “vibes”.

Over the pandemic I learned out how to attract cats by meowing. I watched cat videos and mimicked the noises until I finally hit upon a tone that would make my cat walk over to me. No one believes this is real until they see it. In retrospect I probably should have taught myself something less dumb.

Also women regarded sexual assault as part of life, because it was. Just something you had to deal with, and wished you didn’t.

Artemis II splashdown under three red and white striped parachutes.

Congratulations to the white-coated boffins at Tunnock’s Teacakes for their vital contribution to the Artemis II mission. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

This is the virtuous cycle that good transportation infrastructure can cultivate: Protected spaces for wheelchairs, bikes, skateboards, etc. -> more people visibly enjoying active transit -> more people deciding to join the fun -> more popular support for further infrastructure investment!

Politics has unexpectedly hit a special interest of mine so here is a quick rundown on the Avignon Papacy.

August 2025 diary comic.

I have never felt like a person. More like a space ooze that cries a lot and is doing their best.

You can find these diary comics at tessfowlerart.bigcartel.com

No, it’s a thing. You feel it if it’s not done, and it’s not that easy to do.

One thing about me is I'm absolutely against wiping out an entire civilization

Trump posted: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don't want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!”

The man is the epitome of a deranged despot. The annoying thing is that he will probably not live to face a court. However, the people who enabled him and facilitated evil can be hunted down and forced to face justice.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., attends a news conference in the U.S. Capitol. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

AOC: “This is a threat of genocide & merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing & cannot be trusted.

To every individual in the President’s chain of command: You have a duty to refuse illegal orders. That includes carrying out this threat”

Oh I buy the basic Green economic policy, and not the caricature. But as there is now a real, if small, possibility they could actually get into government, it would be good to know there's work on a fully fleshed out and scheduled proposals that could stand up to televised scrutiny.