Text: Old adversaries Sir, Your obituary (Jan 19) of Mr Justice Blofeld rightly referred to his fine sense of humour. When he first sat in Winchester a barrister called Richard Bond stood up to open the first case. Mr Justice Blofeld began to stroke the white ermine on the sleeve of his High Court judge’s robes as if stroking a cat. He then said with a smile: “We meet at last, Mr Bond.” Sir John Royce Clifton, Bristol

Letter in Times today

Today is International Day of the Midwife. Wherever you work, however you provide care, thank you for everything you do every day to keep mums and babies safe and well 💙

Why Trump Could Actually be Great for Europe’s Economy YouTube video by TLDR News EU

🔥 Superb video.

FIVE reasons why Trump's tariffs, ironically, help strengthen the European economies.

"I Put Up Tariffs" - Marsh Family adaptation of Bob Marley and the Wailers, "I Shot the Sheriff" YouTube video by Marsh Family

This is "I Put Up Tariffs" 🎶- perhaps the first ever parody song (?) to make reference to the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930. It's based on #BobMarley's legendary "I Shot the Sheriff" and sung from the point of view of #Trump, unleashing his frenzy of #tariffs on the USA & the world.

youtu.be/_DyNjjSxO8s

Five Failures in the Oval Office (video) America hurt itself badly today.

Five Failures in the Oval Office (video)
open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...
Really excellent analysis

a blue and yellow heart with two hands hugging each other ALT: a blue and yellow heart with two hands hugging each other

Re last night’s events in the WH. DJT calls himself a great businessman who makes great deals. But there are persistent stories of him having bullied suppliers and those he considered less powerful than him, into accepting bad deals. Or not paying them at all.
I think we see how that works now.

This is really thought-provoking (although you might question the gender category). Thanks to jackhegley.com

A great speech from Trudeau

What a really sad photo!

Reasons to Live Through the Apocalypse Sunrises. People you have still to meet and laugh with. Songs about love, peace, anger, and revolution. Walks in the woods. The smile you exchange with a stranger when you experience beauty accidentally together. Butterflies. Seeing your grandparents again. The moon in all her forms, whether half or full. Dogs. Birthdays and half-birthdays. That feeling of floating in love. Watching birds eat from bird feeders. The waves of happiness that follow the end of sadness. Brown eyes. Watching a boat cross an empty sea. Sunsets. Dipping your feet in the river. Balconies. Cake. The wind in your face when you roll the car window down on an open highway. Falling asleep to the sound of a steady heartbeat. Warm cups of tea on cold days. Hugs. Night skies. Art museums. Books filled with everything you do not yet know. Long conversations. Long-lost friends. Poetry.

I wrote this on one of the darkest days of my life. It gave me an anchor to hold onto.

Times letter from Kim Darroch

Former British ambassador to the U.S. (and Best for Britain Board Member) Kim Darroch, on Trump "reaching for petrol while your house burns".

Moving away from high-end emissions scenarios I have a new commentary in Dialogues on Climate Change exploring climate outcomes in current policy scenarios

New post on The Climate Brink from Zeke @hausfath.bsky.social about our climate future. With current policies, we’re on track for a bit less than 3C, with 2030 NDCs we’re on track for about 2.5C, and with net zero pledges we’re on track for a bit less than 2C.
www.theclimatebrink.com/p/moving-awa...

One in five Britons aged 18-45 prefer unelected leaders to democracy, poll finds Exclusive: Voters overall are downbeat about politics and almost two-thirds think ‘the UK’s best years are behind us’

One in five Britons aged 18-45 prefer unelected leaders to democracy, poll finds 😱

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘Inaccurate’ grooming gang claims putting children at risk, Sunak and Braverman told Exclusive: Joint letter from organisations and experts says singling out British-Pakistani men draws attention away from other sources of sexual abuse

A year ago, when Suella Braverman wrongly said grooming is mainly undertaken by Pakistanis there was at least some outrage, some pushback, some degree of people standing up & reacting.

Now it is totally normal for politicians across the right to say it. www.theguardian.com/society/2023...

Strangely the Mail didn’t lead with the poll finding that a majority of the British public think that Elon Musk shouldn’t be allowed to make a large donation to Reform.

Independent front cover

The true cost of Brexit. Get all the stats 👉 bestforbritain.org/brexit_impact

Keir Starmer to announce radical NHS changes to cut waiting times Patients in England to get direct referrals for tests without seeing consultant, but critics say plan is ‘deluded’

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

two vans branded DURAN drive next to each other on a highway

they’re on the hunt, they’re after you

Jimmy Carter, longest-lived US president, dies aged 100 Former president faced series of economic and foreign policy crises, including Iran hostage affair and Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

A decent man is a rare thing.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Doctors are one of the most diverse occupations

There are now more women starting medical school than men & the majority of GPs are now women

ifs.org.uk/sites/defaul...

New resource to help tackle suicide risk in Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities

1 in 10 Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller lives end in suicide - a shocking statistic.

This time of the year, when mental health can be fragile and risk of suicide high, we’ve launched short films presenting the lived experience of people from these communities.

Learn more: www.nhsrho.org/news/new-res...

Inequities in surgical outcomes by race and sex in the United States: retrospective cohort study Objective To assess inequities in mortality by race and sex for eight common surgical procedures (elective and non-elective) across specialties in the United States. Design Retrospective cohort study...

Postoperative mortality overall was higher in Black men compared with White men, White women, and Black women, after adjusting for potential confounders. A similar pattern was found for elective surgeries...

www.bmj.com/content/380/...

Elon Musk pens German newspaper opinion piece supporting far-right AfD party Billionaire Trump adviser said his ‘significant investments’ in the country justified his wading into German politics

When someone shows you what they really are, you better believe them!

www.theguardian.com/world/2024/d...

I’d like to think Fraser is correct. We are doing something right which other countries still struggle to do. But it’s about our society & community, not government

Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah and good wishes to everyone whatever they believe

Cartoon of Santa at a desk. Caption: 'And on the other 364 nights, Santa mostly sat on hold with various consulates, trying to get a work visa for every single country.'

This tickled me.

By Ellie Black for the New Yorker.

The devastation on its way is unimaginable - like nothing humanity has ever witnessed before - and everyone will wish they had been climate activists and ‘hysterics’ when they had the chance. We are in a moment of unprecedented stupidity