Xi aisde, does Putin have better ally anywhere in world than Donald Trump?

Today in Russia (so far):
▪️Russian human rights group Memorial designated an "extremist" movement;
▪️FSB says former Russian freelancer for RFE/RL detained, accused of treason;
▪️Masked security officers searching Moscow office of Novaya Gazeta newspaper.

Begs question why similarly-positioned UK wouldn't try something similar...

answer: fear of backlash from right wing parties / press & so-called nanny state criticism.

So on we go, blindly, towards the potential abyss, w govt assurances everything 'under review' / control

So it has begun

Within a week she has gone from insisting the UK should join with Trump, to denying she said that, to opposing further action and if you asked her, she would tell you that she has never once changed position.

Let's be clear: you would not be pulling THAADs from South Korea and moving a Marine Expeditionary Unit from Japan to the Gulf two weeks after launching a war on Iran if you had properly anticipated the fallout it would be likely to cause.

Grooming makes Crufts debut as UK dog show widens offer With her nose pointing high in the air, back arched and legs suitably astride, Raven stood proud on the grooming table as an expert judge appraised her condition.Unfortunately for Raven and Gale, it w...

sg.news.yahoo.com/grooming-mak...

🐶 With plenty of barks, treats and tail-wagging, the world's biggest and most famous dog show got underway Thursday in Britain, with a record number of overseas entries among those bidding for Crufts glory.
➡️ u.afp.com/SuBd

That Nigel Farage thinks it is more important not to endanger his backing from the US government than take a position that reflects the overwhelming sentiment of the British public reflects underlying structural contradictions that could split the British Far Right

Epstein Files Are Missing Records About Woman Who Made Claim Against Trump

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/25/u...

2026 Travel Destinations: 52 Places to Go This Year Our list for the new year features an eclipse, a revolution and a tiger reserve. What’s on yours?

www.nytimes.com/interactive/... 52 places to avoid (Americans) this year

Labour MPs may have enjoyed delivery of this #UKbudget in Commons but hard to see party getting majority again in near future given pain inflicting on voters & inept way governing. Could there be bigger gift to anti-Establishment parties like Reform than this Labour govt?

BBC Radio 4's Today just created a "surge of interest in everything" Japan, that's happening in Britain and needs reporting on apparently, including "people going skiing in Japan who normally go to France" 😆

Anti #Trump protest fills Regent St en route to Parliament Sq rally

Amid🕴🍾 🍽 watch moment #climate campaigners who infiltrated #Republicans Overseas' eve-of- #Trump #UK #statevisit dinner in #Windsor reveal themselves -- to pretty hostile reception....

Amid🕴🍾 🍽 watch moment #climate campaigners who infiltrated #Republicans Overseas' eve-of- #Trump #UK #statevisit dinner in #Windsor reveal themselves -- to pretty hostile reception....

Strangest part is how long it's taken for these calls to gather pace; surprised there weren't more after Elon Musk's incendiary posts during summer '24 anti-migrant riots

Commendable but maybe no longer posting on his platform would be good start for Ed Davey...

Never too late for BBC News to realise sober daytime raves have been getting popular for at least a decade or two

Somebody cc Keir Starmer

Big surprise? Trump's threatened tariffs on Russia clearly not coming tomorrow despite his artificial deadline set 10 days ago... & Moscow will likely continue to bomb Ukraine unrelentingly

'To date, regulators have taken a heavy-handed approach' -- X on UK Online Safety Act.

Yeah, totally, social media's been so over-regulated these past years 🤔

The Trump Tax Cuts Led to Record-Low, Not High, Revenues Outside of a Recession Federal revenues lag far behind pre-tax cut budget projections.

Just heard #Trump say his first term tax cut massively increased federal revenues, but apparently... www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

Club World Cup halftime show perfectly encapsulates whole tournament ... tacky as hell. Commercialisation of football on steroids. Can we have our game back please? #cwcf

As usual, I think Brian is right about Brazil. Its economy isn’t very reliant on exports to the US, its judiciary operates quite independently of politics and Lula will be eager to stand up to a foreign bully. Brazil already trades more with China than with the US; tariffs deepen that relationship.

Cracking expose story on couple behind #SaltPath book / film 👏 @chloehadj.bsky.social @tortoisemedia.bsky.social

News media seem shocked that we actually live in a parliamentary democracy...

Would love to see him say that to #Glastonbury crowd during his set this weekend...

The farce that football's become...

Illuminating update 🤔