PianO

They might soon argue they need to destroy Tehran in order to save it ...?

In a world where the mind only boggles, this is mind boggling.

A company uses your name to sell AI slop "expert review" in your area of expertise?

How. Is. This. Okay.

Answer: it's not.

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:

“Killing is fun”

I just…

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower

❝I don't belong to a team, I belong to an idea. Racism is the refuge of cowards.❞

— Eric Cantona

The Trump administration says there will be no more Epstein files released. Over half of the 6 million documents remain sealed.

Pam Bondi’s response:
“The DOJ is done.”

Revealed: The Staggering Amount of Time Nigel Farage has Spent on ‘Second’ Jobs Since Becoming an MP The Reform UK leader has logged more than 1,100 hours for 14 outside employers since his election in July 2024

📌 ICYMI — Revealed: The Staggering Amount of Time Nigel Farage has Spent on ‘Second’ Jobs Since Becoming an MP

The Reform UK leader has logged more than 1,100 hours for 14 outside employers since his election in July 2024

Trump's decision to bomb Iran is now the greatest windfall to the Russian war effort on record. If it continues, it might save the Russian war economy.

The clubs should just leave X, it's beyond fixing.

20 years occupying Afghanistan wasn’t enough to break the Taliban who are now stronger than ever, but sure the Iranian regime would surrender in a week and let DJT pick its leader. What were these people thinking.

BBC News front page on Israeli threat to new Iran leader

So according to the WSJ a US Senator conspired with another country to manipulate the US into starting a war, am I getting this right

And completely ignoring the self-serving way that Trump has treated traditional allies of the US. I think his threats to Greenland and Canada, and his humiliation and abandonment of Ukraine, has meant that few clear thinkers want us to offer unconditional support to this folly.

What could possibly explain the intensity of Western interest, over the past century and more, in this region?

AFP: "It breaks my heart": UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher says "we're seeing staggering amounts of money, reportedly a billion dollars a day” being spent on the Middle East war, rather than addressing the world’s “huge humanitarian caseload.”

And that's just the first team squad

By and large, we're probably wise to withhold support from wars that are launched because one leader 'had a bad feeling' about the other nation's intentions.

#lofc has been excellent with communication in recent years, building a clear sense of purpose and shared ambition, but we've really lost our way this season.
And it means there is inevitable speculation and rumour sharing, which adds to the instability and perhaps a beleagured bunker mentality.

Too good. (The tweet, not the Orient)

That's saying something, because we've seen some very poor ones in the past

Aug. 19, 1953: U.S. and Britain Topple Democratically Elected Government of Iran Democratically elected Iranian Premier Mohammad Mossadegh was removed from power in a coup.

History teachers: How are you contextualizing the U.S. war on Iran with your students? Consider covering the 1953 CIA coup overthrowing the democratically-elected Mossadegh government? Here is a good summary (with sources) from @zinnedproject.bsky.social. www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/ir...

Amazing, what with Trump being such a loyal and consistent friend to all his allies ...

Styled Clash wasn't the best Clash #totp

Probably happy this isn't the Welsh national anthem, and he doesn't have to pretend to know the words

John Redwood on violin #totp

There's a lot of winking in this Abba video #totp

TRB being ace, but also good badge and sticker work shows that the struggles against racism and homophobia have been depressingly familiar through all these years. #totp

This feels timely, especially after listening to the latest 'Not Another One', where @steverichards.bsky.social was gamely defending the idea of international law against people who should know better

We've been here before, of course:
"There is another way for the bloodshed to stop: and that is, for the Iraqi military and the Iraqi people to take matters into their own hands and force Saddam Hussein, the dictator, to step aside ..."
Bush encouraged '91 revolt, and then abandoned them to Saddam.