David Clark

The world is increasingly defined weird relationships where collaboration and competition coexist. Axis implies too much coherence to me.

Anyone who demanded the UK’s participation in this fiasco should hang their heads in shame.

Ukraine war briefing: Trump set to ease oil-related sanctions following Putin call US president says sanctions will be removed until crisis sparked by US-Israel war on Iran eases, without giving further details. What we know on day 1,475

Putin gives Iran intelligence to target US forces and Trump rewards him with sanctions relief. That’s on top of an oil price windfall. I’m beginning to wonder if this whole thing was about helping Russia.
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Hysteria and empty threats from a President who is no longer in control of an unnecessary war he started.

Unlike you, I am at least smart enough to punctuate properly. Think about that while I mute you.

This is another reason why Labour’s strategy of pandering to Farage makes zero sense. There’s a hard ceiling on Reform UK’s vote. I can see it going down as Trumpian politics is discredited, but I can’t see it going up. Labour’s path to re-election lies in mobilising the anti-Farage vote.

How do you measure ‘performance’ on LinkedIn? My experience of the platform is being approached by people who already have my contact details. I have no idea what it’s for. Does anyone know?

No surprise that that an Old Firm game ends in chaos and disgrace. There’s a good chance that the season will end with neither of these toxic clubs winning a trophy. That would be the greatest thing to ever happen to Scottish football.

I don’t necessarily mean kompromat, although it’s likely the Russians have it. I think he’s tied to Russia by something more than just an alignment of world views. There’s almost certainly a financial element to it.

Trump is angrier with the UK and Spain for refusing to support him than he is with Russia for supporting Iran by supplying it with lethal targeting intelligence. How can anyone seriously doubt that Putin has some kind of hold over him?

He has no awareness of Ukraine’s actual national aspirations, nor any interest in finding out. He just arrogantly assumes that they will be grateful for the chance to align with the UK. Really the worst kind of English person.

This reminds me of the many weird conversations I had with English people, post-Brexit, insisting that the Republic of Ireland would want to rejoin the UK. As if the best solution to every modern problem must be to restore some version of the old British Imperial order. Utterly mental.

Most of the British media is only interested in “gotcha” headlines and empty drama. They couldn’t care less about the national interest, good policy or anything else that requires more than ten minutes of intellectual focus. They do more to corrode our democracy than politicians do.

A significant and influential part of MAGA is already talking about Israel as irrelevant to US interests and indulging openly in anti-Semitic conspiracy mongering. That’s only going to grow if America First logic is followed through, which we both agree is likely. Paramountcy is for the bin.

The 12-yo me would have found it hard to conceive that he’d be listening to a new Squeeze album 48 years later. Especially on a phone carried in his pocket. 🤯

This split will probably be one of the big strategic consequences of attacking Iran. Post-Trump MAGA will talk about Israel the same way Trump currently talks about Ukraine - as an unaffordable burden, peripheral to American interests. Israel thus stands to lose its main ally.

Just one of many very obvious and easy things Labour could do to improve our democracy and reduce the influence of offshore wealth. They should also strip tax exiles of their honours and British passports unless they agree to pay UK tax, like the US does with its own expatriate citizens.

Expat tax dodgers should not be allowed to manipulate our politics from abroad.

That’s true, but Italy used to be in the France/Germany column. In fact, they were often singled out as the archetypal stagnant ‘old Europe’ economy. It’s a big change, so I’m interested to know what’s behind it.

I never once saw or heard it used internally within the Foreign Office in four years there as special adviser.

True. Hopefully most Americans will now realise it.

I see people are already panic buying petrol. One local petrol station already out of supply. What is America getting for this chaos?

This should be the end of illusion as far as the Special Relationship goes.

He almost said it yesterday, didn’t he? MAGA c’est moi! MAGA increasingly doesn’t see it that way, it seems.

US strikes on Iran triggered by Israel’s plan to launch attack, Rubio says Democrats disturbed by rationale that Trump ordered pre-emptive strikes out of concern about Tehran retaliation

This is such an odd thing to admit to. It makes the US look weak and will almost certainly accelerate MAGA’s shift towards an overtly hostile attitude to Israel. How can you say ‘America First’, then get dragged into a military quagmire by Netanyahu?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

On this issue, Trump is more traditional GOP than MAGA, which is becoming openly anti-Israeli and and even anti-Semitic. The open rift with Tucker Carlson and presumably Steve Bannon etc. is interesting.

Rubio is now saying they were bounced into it by Israel, which makes them look incredibly weak. The accidental theory is certainly the only one that works best given what is likely to be the high domestic cost ahead of the midterms. Can’t be rationalised as a considered step.

I think that’s true. If they don’t get regime change, what’s their ‘mission accomplished’ moment that allows them to call an end to it?

There are far more controllable and less risky distractions he could have organised.