John Shields

Hormuz replacement therapy

Lonesome George I met once. He had it sorted. Feted as the last of a species and clearly didn't give two shits.

Andouillettes shouldn't be served to anyone. Are they not a practical joke?

This is his 'deplorables' moment

"I promise to pay the badger on demand..."

Will Elizabeth Fry, badgers, bridges or whatever really encourage the edification of - does anyone else use them? - the criminals who depend on bank notes?

I think psychologically there's a threshold one crosses when somewhere has been independent for longer since independence, than they ever were a colony. Maybe also the c.60 year threshold as those who personally remember much are inevitably lost. It's essentially at that point here in Zambia.

Not a great choice obviously, but I'm not so sure. At least someone who's there for just being born might have a more modest idea of themselves, and a greater sense of public duty, than a COVID profiteer or Russian oligarch.

Entirely the right attitude. I own a bunch of guns and regulation to ensure that gun ownership and lawful usage is on a sustainable footing, is entirely in my interests.

Who the **** cares. It's beneath the Lib Dems to have even the slightest opinion on this.

Ah, the Straits of America...

Who'd have thought that a real estate developer entirely inexperienced and unschooled in the arts of diplomacy and international relations would be so useless.

Ironically, the Lords - for all its lack of legitimacy, and more by accident than design - actually functions well compared to a lot of the rest of Westminster. The Commons needs it, as it doesn't have time to go over its own legislation. Another solution ofc is the latter passing far fewer laws.

I suspect that whilst it would do credit to the country in a sense, and make us all feel warm and fluffy inside, functions that we (presumably?) want of the second chamber - legislative scrutiny, drafting, detailed insertion/removal of provisions etc - would suffer!

I was in a 2 hour briefing today on the Iran War. All the briefings are closed, because Trump can't defend this war in public.

I obviously can't disclose classified info, but you deserve to know how incoherent and incomplete these war plans are.

1/ Here's what I can share:

'AVEC FIGURES' is wonderful

Incidentally, Rough Storage was shut down by a junior minister at the time by the name of Liz Truss.

Wonder if she ever came to anything.

She must know that our own gas etc isn't free anyway. It needs to be bought at the prevailing market price

I'd be the first to say that Starmer has often been infuriatingly vacillating, and a poor performer, on certain domestic issues. But on this case his natural thoughtfulness does him credit.

With every passing day, the decision of Starmer and his cabinet a) not to join the Iranian war b) to delay access to bases looks wiser and wiser. Trump’s press conference last night shows he has no real idea what the objectives are and its duration is arbitrary.

Just think what Canada could do

But he's put his 'thinking face' on, so surely he's thought it all through?!?!

Yes you'd really think that - no matter what self-justification he's indulged in since 2003 - he'd at least consider this something worth hedging his bets on.

I've got more respect for North Korea

No one as ill educated as Trump could have got anywhere in the 18th century

Clearly a big Croatia fan

I did have a dog once who used to pick up dead birds and fling them into the air again repeatedly. He'd then bounce around in circles excitedly, clearly thinking this was absolute comedy gold.

Very meta of her to be doing it on sheepskin

Absolutely. The Iranian regime is no friend to liberal humane values, and has gunned down tens of thousands of its own citizens this year alone.

And you can say that whilst also saying that the current Israeli-US action represents rank madness of the first order.

I think this offends Hanlon's Razor. The far easier, more complete, and obvious reason is that Trump is simply a moron, surrounded by people who have no interest in anything other than reinforcing whatever delusion happens to pop into his head.