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ilmar

@ilmarinen7

Solely to blame for own opinions. Not living in the happiest country in the world.

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Latest posts by ilmar @ilmarinen7

To be fair: people blaming Tudor are ignoring the fact Spurs have been awful for two seasons and were on course for relegation before he appeared.

Blaming the guy who takes over the Titanic after it's already broken-backed and sliding beneath the waves for its sinking is not right. Look elsewhere.

11.03.2026 11:17 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

As Spurs relegation is confirmed, Tudor tears off his mask to reveal...

Gunnersaurus.

11.03.2026 11:12 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Cryptocurrency. It's pretty stupid.

11.03.2026 11:05 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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The trailer for EVERYONE IS LYING TO YOU FOR MONEY. In select theaters starting April 17th πŸΏπŸ€‘πŸ€£

10.03.2026 20:02 πŸ‘ 4875 πŸ” 1448 πŸ’¬ 130 πŸ“Œ 273

They're one side of the strait. They could sink hostile ships with land-based artillery.

10.03.2026 17:44 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
This 18-year-old Afghan girl nearly escaped the Taliban – then we took her visa away She resisted a forced marriage and studied in secret, winning scholarships to leave Kabul and attend a British university. But now the home secretary’s ban on study visas has removed her one chance of...

18 yr old Bahar had offers from York and Reading, but 'thanks to Shabana Mahmood, she will now never escape the Taliban.'

'Britain has decided that the girl who fought the Taliban’s agenda, who learned English in secret, who turned down a forced marriage, who won her place, is an asylum risk.'

08.03.2026 21:32 πŸ‘ 38 πŸ” 45 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 12

Maybe the smart, new-new-world-order play from Iran, given agreements mean nothing now, is to agree to abandon all nuclear development immediately.

Then ignore that and dare Trump to take notice and start up again on understanding they choke the Strait again the moment he does.

10.03.2026 16:22 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I assume the minimum to declare victory is Iran submit and agree to cease their nuke programme. But I don't see how he achieves that short of things he won't have stomach for:
i) land invasion; or
ii) horrific civilian suffering by extended bombs/siege of the country.

'Til then, no go Hormuz.

10.03.2026 16:18 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The Conservative party got 1.9% at the last byelection.

1.9%. The Tories.

No, they were never going to win that seat, but that's one side of a supposed two-party system. Yikes.

10.03.2026 15:42 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Home page | The Royal Parks Home page

"Royal Parks" are a thing, a set of the (typically) primo big parks. Open to the public, landscaped, often former exclusive royal hunting grounds, etc.

You're guaranteed some good parking with a Royal Park.
www.royalparks.org.uk

I've a particular soft spot for St James's Park.

10.03.2026 08:00 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

This. Lots of Squares are nice little leafy spots open to the public. But some are locked for residents.

10.03.2026 07:53 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Ronja, the Robber's Daughter (2014 TV series) - Wikipedia

No idea if they might like, but made me think of the Ghibli-related anime series of Astrid Lindgren's "Ronja the Robber's Daughter".

Might be a little old for them as there's fighting (and robbers) but it's pretty tame - don't remember anyone killed.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronja,_...

10.03.2026 06:16 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

And Sirius, the dog star, visible down bottom left!

I grew up in the countryside, near the coast, with little light pollution.

Later in life I'd occasionally come back from the Big City, see the sweep of glittering stars at night and stop in awe.

I always point out Sirius to my pup. It's his one.

10.03.2026 05:28 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Good blog. Labour needs a better idea of how today's economy works.

As I keep writing that also requires an understanding of the global forces at work - of which they have shown very little interest.

(in fact I'll have my own blog soon on that subject...)

09.03.2026 09:55 πŸ‘ 27 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

I wear ties fairly frequently, and quite enjoy the formal dressing-up, but I would not have chosen those pictures as examples of "ties are good, actually". Maybe "I don't know how to wear a tie". Perhaps Mr Armstrong just needs to introduce a picture editor to a verrrrry tight tie.

09.03.2026 15:19 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I no longer live there, but do still work there. I don't want to inflict unwanted advice, but if you have any questions you can't easily clear elsewhere, would be delighted to field them.

In any case, have a great and hassle-free trip.

09.03.2026 14:50 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

You're all going to London? Excellent.

09.03.2026 11:18 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

They were sanctioned chiefly *because* they had a nuclear weapons programme. The nukes project can't be a bargaining chip against sanctions due to the nukes project.

Sure, they've developed ballistic missiles, nuclear reactors, enriching uranium, being sanctioned into the ground: it was all a bluff

09.03.2026 11:15 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

I) you can show evidence of this beyond the quote where someone mixes up Khomeini and Khamenei?

II) Khamenei was Supreme Leader while Iran spent decades developing nukes. He was not that anti-nuke.

09.03.2026 06:25 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

The part where you say Khamenei was anti-nuke when he pursued a policy of developing nukes.

Obviously.

09.03.2026 06:03 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

bsky.app/profile/ilma...

09.03.2026 05:55 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Israel isn't planning on taking over or invading Arab states, beyond snipping easily digested chunks off immediate neighbours. They don't have the population necessary even if the insane thought crossed someone's mind.

Geography, size and religion make Iran the no.1 concern for Gulf Arab states.

08.03.2026 13:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

4pm today on BBC Radio 4 Extra it’s the repeat of my adaptation of Iain M. Banks’ The State of the Art, with Sir Antony Sher as the ship. So proud of this amazing production by @nadiamolinari.bsky.social

07.03.2026 09:02 πŸ‘ 277 πŸ” 96 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 11
Preview
BBC Radio 4 Extra - The State of the Art by Iain M Banks A spaceship arrives on Earth and finds a planet obsessed with alien concepts like 'money'.

Here's a link to the page on BBC Sounds. Should be able to listen live at 1600 GMT today (07/03/2025), it's 45mins long and due to be available online in full shortly after broadcast.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b...

07.03.2026 14:05 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

So long as you're reaonably sure.

07.03.2026 00:24 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Blame Katie Martin. Am assuming she was the one put the phrase in your brain.

06.03.2026 18:23 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Fuck you, I will do what you tell me.

05.03.2026 19:10 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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FT comments section this morning - saying what everyone else is thinking, right?

05.03.2026 07:15 πŸ‘ 17201 πŸ” 6000 πŸ’¬ 515 πŸ“Œ 493

Yahtzee, ever-pithy.

04.03.2026 19:20 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
Excalibur (film) - Wikipedia

Film: Excalibur (John Boorman, 1981)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excalib...

Manages to have a mystical, tragic feel to it. Far better than anything containing Richard Gere.

Think I saw Monty Python and the Holy Grail already, which is good, but not played straight of course.

04.03.2026 19:08 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0