Best Of

Just had fantastic service at A&E, seen, analysed, x-rayed and assessed in an hour.

Wanted to post about a very interesting seminar I went to yesterday as some very interesting approaches coming in relation to property and stable coin. An incredibly interesting day for even a Luddite like me.

Also v interesting about the regulation issues globally - never thought I would find regulation talks so interesting.

Will post what I can later when I stop vomming from pain and although limited what I can say about yesterday it was perfect timing with the BOE volte face on digital currencies.

Hope you feel better soon.

My recent NHS experience was also good - in part. It took me a few weeks to get a referral to the hospital (I think due to my GP not actually requesting one at first...(*)), but when it finally came the referral was for a week's time. I was seen yesterday with only a ten-minute wait past the scheduled time, they took five x-rays, and I got basic results from my GP this morning.

(*) Though I think the GP might have been dissuaded by the following conversation:
"So you've dislocated your shoulder, and your elbow is hurting."
"Yes."
"And you're in pain."
"Yes."
"But you've done two triathlons since."
"Yes."
"Despite being in pain?"
My wife: "Yes, but that's the sort of stupid thing he does..."

(GP shrugs and sends the request to /dev/null)

I’m currently in Emergency Surgery, at Luton & Dunstable, after a bad accident, and they have been outstanding. This is the second occasion they’ve saved my life (the first being appendicitis in 2013).

Reflections on the Bucket lady.

It must have been so strange being born British in the 1920s.

You are born into the global hegemon. An industrial juggernaut. The world's reserve currency. The largest empire ever known. The undisputed ruler of the waves.

And your entire adult life sees it all drift away.
https://x.com/tomhfh/status/1974058116095373361

R3 had a recording of her performing in some Broadway musical. Decent contralto, if rather warbley.

This narrative from young rightwingers is becoming increasingly common. It misses out just how many people of thar generation enjoyed the 60s and 70s, like many relatives of mine, as a huge relief.

There is too much of an attitude that the country has been on a constant downward trajectory. Maybe from a global military power perspective, but certainly there have been good times too.

I would accept that from around 2014-15 onwards we have had a lost decade, and it is hard to argue that we are not in decline right now, but these things are cyclical. Britain can come back. But it requires some more medicine. It remains to be seen whether the public wake up to the need to take it; or whether it is forced on them

I think we should all look at this every morning to remind ourselves of how lucky we are: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

Even more impressive: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_planetary_pressures–adjusted_Human_Development_Index

@JenniferJJacobs
Hamas says it has approved "the release of all occupation prisoners — both living and the remains of the deceased — in accordance with the exchange formula set forth in President Trump’s proposal, provided that appropriate field conditions are ensured for the exchange process" and agrees to "hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian body."

Really? That's a bit of a turn-up for the books.

Good news, however, I note the detail at the end, which Netanyahu might veto. This is quite an unusually politucally smart move by Hamas, though, because it makes it politically harder for him to do that than usual.

The US and Israel won’t agree to that because they will see it as Hamas still there and not forced to dis-arm . Admittedly as you said it’s a good move politically.

Trump's proposal was he would run the Gaza Strip with Tony Blair helping him with some of the erm detail wasn't it?

Understand Gordon Brown is asking Tony Blair 'when will you hand over to me?' all over again.

Starmer: Palestine protesters should ‘respect the grief of British Jews this week’

‘Peaceful protest is a cornerstone of our democracy – and there is justified concern about the suffering in Gaza – but a minority have used these protests as a pretext for stoking antisemitic tropes’

https://www.thejc.com/opinion/starmer-palestine-protesters-should-respect-the-grief-of-british-jews-this-week-gouq2cg9

Good tweet. He’s better at that sort of thing, and foreign policy, than the cheesier party political stuff.

Notable that based on my Embassy chats last night the French seem to rate him a lot. The classic dilemma: the politician who’s more popular abroad than at home. Gorbachev, Blair, Macron, Varoufakis, probably Khamenei. As opposed to the politicians more popular at home than abroad (Trump, Hitler, Stalin, Erdogan, Xi, Modi, Lula, Putin…)