AnneJGP - You mentioned recently being surprised by naked bicycle rides. They have been a thing in Seattle for "more than 30 years":
More than 30 years ago, a few naked bicyclists crashed the Fremont Solstice Parade — an unsanctioned stunt that has grown into one of Seattle's signature summer spectacles.
Why it matters: The body-painted riders are a symbol of the city's expressive, offbeat spirit, kicking off a summer parade known for giant puppets, dancers and DIY art.
This year, I Iearned that a public park in Seattle had become nude, optional, and at least a few visiters were going further. (There were legal complaints from families who lived near by. I think they were resolved temporarily by splitting the park.)
I have never felt the need to cover these events, personally.
_________________________________________________________________ I find nudity on a bike icky. On a horse is a different matter.
Republican Bill Whalen thinks California Governor Gavin Newsom's record could be better: it With a year left in office, Newsom hasn’t made good on that ambitious agenda. California’s child poverty rate nearly tripled from 2021 to 2024. The goal of building 2.5 million homes by 2030 (downgraded from 3.5 million) won’t be reached at the current pace. After expanding Medi-Cal (the state’s Medicaid program) to include all Californians regardless of legal status, the latest state budget scaled back health care for undocumented immigrants — a shift that speaks to the Golden State’s fiscal woes and perhaps the governor’s presidential ambitions. . . . Will Democrats campaign across California as Newsom did in 2018, offering a menu of unattainable progressive ideals? Will a viable Democratic candidate dare to say that their party has contributed to California’s woes, including chronic homelessness, educational inequality and fiscal recklessness Many links omitted.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
I believe he once made a joke about being protective of his daughters and having access to drones if anyone tried anything, the world is pretty comfortable with droning in general, americans especially.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Nope.
Your glib one word answer tells me I'm right and you just can't admit it.
MeidasTouch @MeidasTouch · 7h Wait. Why would Marjorie Taylor Greene calling to release the Epstein files be a betrayal to Donald Trump and the entire Republican Party?
chyea ok @chyeaok · Nov 14 Goldberg: Do you think JD Vance is a fascist?
Buttigieg: If it’s convenient for him to be a fascist, he’ll be a fascist. Maybe later on he’ll go back to being a Silicon Valley Democrat. He’ll be whatever he needs to be.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Nope.
Your glib one word answer tells me I'm right and you just can't admit it.
No, you're absolutely wrong. For a start, I criticised Obama's drone strike back in the day, so the ad hom (well done for resorting to that, btw) is as misplaced as it is lazy.
There is no legal justification for the current killings. As several GOP Senators agree.
It sets an enormously dangerous precedent, well beyond even the dodgy drone strikes from previous administrations.
"Got to in the real world" isn't law - it's you saying that Trump can kill anyone he likes outside of the law.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Nope.
Your glib one word answer tells me I'm right and you just can't admit it.
No, you're absolutely wrong. For a start, I criticised Obama's drone strike back in the day, so the ad hom (well done for resorting to that, btw) is as misplaced as it is lazy.
There is no legal justification for the current killings. As several GOP Senators agree.
It sets an enormously dangerous precedent, well beyond even the dodgy drone strikes from previous administrations.
"Got to in the real world" isn't law - it's you saying that Trump can kill anyone he likes outside of the law.
Surely the legal justification is they are armed criminals. The only alternative would be to try to board them, you would need to go in all guns blazing and probably kill everyone on board.
EXCLUSIVE: Angela Rayner is already offering Cabinet roles to MPs in exchange for their support, The Telegraph has been told.
Though that article also has a Yougov poll with Rayner polling nearly as badly as Starmer with voters overall, Burnham polling best with all voters followed by Streeting.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Armed criminals on boats proposing to land illegally in America are effectively an invading army. They may therefore be dealt with militarily. I'm sure you wouldn't object to them being blown away as they came ashore, this is just an earlier stage in the operation.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Nope.
Your glib one word answer tells me I'm right and you just can't admit it.
No, you're absolutely wrong. For a start, I criticised Obama's drone strike back in the day, so the ad hom (well done for resorting to that, btw) is as misplaced as it is lazy.
There is no legal justification for the current killings. As several GOP Senators agree.
It sets an enormously dangerous precedent, well beyond even the dodgy drone strikes from previous administrations.
"Got to in the real world" isn't law - it's you saying that Trump can kill anyone he likes outside of the law.
Surely the legal justification is they are armed criminals.
Are we talking about the drug peddlers or the US Government?
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Armed criminals on boats proposing to land illegally in America are effectively an invading army. They may therefore be dealt with militarily. I'm sure you wouldn't object to them being blown away as they came ashore, this is just an earlier stage in the operation.
Just put them on e-boats in the neighbourhood of sharks.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
Angela Rayner makes vow to Brits in first interview since losing Deputy PM job
The former Deputy Labour Leader slapped down the infighting that engulfed Labour this week, condemning it as 'arrogant tittle tattle', and called for a focus on the issues
Of course now that Pam Bondi has launched an active Epstein related prosecution against Clinton, Harvard and JP Morgan surely all the Epstein files now need to be sealed until Clinton and Harvard and JP Morgan personnel are convicted in circa 2035.
Angela Rayner makes vow to Brits in first interview since losing Deputy PM job
The former Deputy Labour Leader slapped down the infighting that engulfed Labour this week, condemning it as 'arrogant tittle tattle', and called for a focus on the issues
Angela Rayner makes vow to Brits in first interview since losing Deputy PM job
The former Deputy Labour Leader slapped down the infighting that engulfed Labour this week, condemning it as 'arrogant tittle tattle', and called for a focus on the issues
1) It currently appears to me that only two parties, at most, could possibly lead (minority or majority) the next government - Reform and Labour 2) About 65% of the population don't want a Reform government and won't vote for one 3) About 75% of the population don't want a second Labour government and say they won't vote for one
Therefore there might be something wrong with proposition (1). But I have no idea what it is. And there can't be no party who can lead the next government (as minority or majority) because the laws of maths don't allow it and nature abhors a vacuum.
Enlighenment?
There's almost always a majority who vote against the election winner. It's not a conundrum. It's a cornerstone of FPTP.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Armed criminals on boats proposing to land illegally in America are effectively an invading army. They may therefore be dealt with militarily. I'm sure you wouldn't object to them being blown away as they came ashore, this is just an earlier stage in the operation.
I am probably wrong (not a lawyer) but my understanding is that while they are offshore, they come under the presumption of the right of innocent passage.
That is, until they *do* (or are proven to be doing something) naughty, they are allowed to drive their boats about. That’s the agreed law of the seas. The US, in times past, has heavily supported this.
This doesn’t affect the right of countries to board them and find out if they are carrying drugs etc. and if they respond to being boarded with gunfire against a declared national force, then they are pirates and can be sunk at will.
But they have to do something first. Existing isn’t enough.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
A cynical comment would b3 that if 95% of Americans have EBV than its highly likely that anyone with Lupus also has EBV. I’m sure there is more in the study than that.
The role of viruses in other diseases just gets more and more significant. I could come to believe that viruses may be the trigger for a lot of cancers.
Oh look! The Guardian’s spinner for Sir Keir is putting the boot into Streeting
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Armed criminals on boats proposing to land illegally in America are effectively an invading army. They may therefore be dealt with militarily. I'm sure you wouldn't object to them being blown away as they came ashore, this is just an earlier stage in the operation.
I am probably wrong (not a lawyer) but my understanding is that while they are offshore, they come under the presumption of the right of innocent passage.
That is, until they *do* (or are proven to be doing something) naughty, they are allowed to drive their boats about. That’s the agreed law of the seas. The US, in times past, has heavily supported this.
This doesn’t affect the right of countries to board them and find out if they are carrying drugs etc. and if they respond to being boarded with gunfire against a declared national force, then they are pirates and can be sunk at will.
But they have to do something first. Existing isn’t enough.
Well quite. I think MaxPB defended this by pointing out that the Americans also obliterated a few weddings in Pakistan over the last two decades and we didn't do too much about it - fair enough, but if you're appealing to precedent you typically don't use an example of past unlawful behaviour that you got away with (though many idiots do attempt this in court).
Notwithstanding my po-faced interest in the Rule of Law, and my fervent belief that the UK does rather well out of countries not blowing up stuff in international waters, I do think it's curious that this is the particular point upon which Starmer has stood up to Trump. I mean, look at Gaza and the way he treated Zelensky...
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
A cynical comment would b3 that if 95% of Americans have EBV than its highly likely that anyone with Lupus also has EBV. I’m sure there is more in the study than that.
The role of viruses in other diseases just gets more and more significant. I could come to believe that viruses may be the trigger for a lot of cancers.
Oh look! The Guardian’s spinner for Sir Keir is putting the boot into Streeting
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Doesn't really matter why it doesn't affect most of us - the point is a vaccine or treatment might prevent that minority. And given that EBV is associated with all sorts of other diseases, the fact they've found the mechanism...
I'd take it if it reduced my chance of MS and some cancers.
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
You think we are at war with Venezuela? Get your head out of your arse.
Armed criminals on boats proposing to land illegally in America are effectively an invading army. They may therefore be dealt with militarily. I'm sure you wouldn't object to them being blown away as they came ashore, this is just an earlier stage in the operation.
I am probably wrong (not a lawyer) but my understanding is that while they are offshore, they come under the presumption of the right of innocent passage.
That is, until they *do* (or are proven to be doing something) naughty, they are allowed to drive their boats about. That’s the agreed law of the seas. The US, in times past, has heavily supported this.
This doesn’t affect the right of countries to board them and find out if they are carrying drugs etc. and if they respond to being boarded with gunfire against a declared national force, then they are pirates and can be sunk at will.
But they have to do something first. Existing isn’t enough.
Well quite. I think MaxPB defended this by pointing out that the Americans also obliterated a few weddings in Pakistan over the last two decades and we didn't do too much about it - fair enough, but if you're appealing to precedent you typically don't use an example of past unlawful behaviour that you got away with (though many idiots do attempt this in court).
Notwithstanding my po-faced interest in the Rule of Law, and my fervent belief that the UK does rather well out of countries not blowing up stuff in international waters, I do think it's curious that this is the particular point upon which Starmer has stood up to Trump. I mean, look at Gaza and the way he treated Zelensky...
Clearly it's controversial, and it's fair to say the law is disputed. But thus represents a further, large drift towards allowing the President to operate without any constraints.
Steve Fleming: "I'm gonna join Dan Miller's cabal and then we are gonna take you down, down to Funky Town! Funky Town Central, here we come! Choo-fucking-choo!"
Oh look! The Guardian’s spinner for Sir Keir is putting the boot into Streeting
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Doesn't really matter why it doesn't affect most of us - the point is a vaccine or treatment might prevent that minority. And given that EBV is associated with all sorts of other diseases, the fact they've found the mechanism...
I'd take it if it reduced my chance of MS and some cancers.
Unlikely, I think.
You'd probably need to vaccinate young children before infection, as the virus is largely dormant and inaccessible most of the time in infected individuals.
But knowing the mechanisms promises other treatments for our generation.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Doesn't really matter why it doesn't affect most of us - the point is a vaccine or treatment might prevent that minority. And given that EBV is associated with all sorts of other diseases, the fact they've found the mechanism...
I'd take it if it reduced my chance of MS and some cancers.
Unlikely, I think.
You'd probably need to vaccinate young children before infection, as the virus is largely dormant and inaccessible most of the time in infected individuals.
But knowing the mechanisms promises other treatments for our generation.
I have a vague recollection that getting a reinfection (is that possible?) sets off MS? This is just second hand from doctors - a big deal in my part of the world as the north of Scotland has a very high rate of MS.
1) It currently appears to me that only two parties, at most, could possibly lead (minority or majority) the next government - Reform and Labour 2) About 65% of the population don't want a Reform government and won't vote for one 3) About 75% of the population don't want a second Labour government and say they won't vote for one
Therefore there might be something wrong with proposition (1). But I have no idea what it is. And there can't be no party who can lead the next government (as minority or majority) because the laws of maths don't allow it and nature abhors a vacuum.
Enlightenment?
There's almost always a majority who vote against the election winner. It's not a conundrum. It's a cornerstone of FPTP.
Thanks. I take that point, but in the olden days to win on FPTP you needed plus or minus 40% to win and the two majoe parties were much less far apart - there was a reasonable degree of 'losers consent.
Now, on the polling, about 80% don't want to vote Labour, and they are intensely disliked. Fewer, 65%+ don't want Reform, but it is reasonable to expect that they feel quite or very strongly anti-Reform.
So, as things stand (obviously stuff will change) there are both large and strong populations who really don't want Labour, and really don't want Reform, to a degree different from the past.
60% didn't want Thatcher. We got Thatcher anyway. FPTP is shite.
Polls showed voters preferred Thatcher to Foot and Kinnock until 1990, although Callaghan would likely have beaten Thatcher head to head in a direct PM vote but the Conservatives still won most MPs
Never mind opinion pols, look at votes cast. The Conservatives under Thatcher always fell well short of 50% vote share.
I don't think any party should have a majority in parliament, let alone a landslide, on less than half of the vote.
That works both ways, also means Attlee would not have had a majority in 1945 for his nationalisations and welfare state and NHS nor Blair in 1997 for devolution and the minimum wage
We'd have needed to rely on the Liberals/ LibDems. So be it.
Who certainly in 1945 would have blocked some of the nationalisations and likely required more of an insurance model for the health service.
I have a fascination for points of departure: times when things changed, or could have changed. One of my favourite YouTubers is EastGermanyInvestigated, covering the evolution of the DDR from 1945-1990 and after, and well worth watching. Similarly, the anthology "Red Plenty" about a version of the Soviet Union that might have worked (but didn't).
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
It's a fascinating area of research but if 95% of us have EBV is it really surprising that 100% of those with an autoimmune deficiency have it? And what triggers lupus in the relatively small number of people who develop lupus but does not trigger it in the vast majority of those who are infected with EBV? Still got a bit of work to do here I think.
Doesn't really matter why it doesn't affect most of us - the point is a vaccine or treatment might prevent that minority. And given that EBV is associated with all sorts of other diseases, the fact they've found the mechanism...
I'd take it if it reduced my chance of MS and some cancers.
Unlikely, I think.
You'd probably need to vaccinate young children before infection, as the virus is largely dormant and inaccessible most of the time in infected individuals.
But knowing the mechanisms promises other treatments for our generation.
I have a vague recollection that getting a reinfection (is that possible?) sets off MS? This is just second hand from doctors - a big deal in my part of the world as the north of Scotland has a very high rate of MS.
I think that would be an active flare up of existing infection ?
1) It currently appears to me that only two parties, at most, could possibly lead (minority or majority) the next government - Reform and Labour 2) About 65% of the population don't want a Reform government and won't vote for one 3) About 75% of the population don't want a second Labour government and say they won't vote for one
Therefore there might be something wrong with proposition (1). But I have no idea what it is. And there can't be no party who can lead the next government (as minority or majority) because the laws of maths don't allow it and nature abhors a vacuum.
Enlightenment?
There's almost always a majority who vote against the election winner. It's not a conundrum. It's a cornerstone of FPTP.
Thanks. I take that point, but in the olden days to win on FPTP you needed plus or minus 40% to win and the two majoe parties were much less far apart - there was a reasonable degree of 'losers consent.
Now, on the polling, about 80% don't want to vote Labour, and they are intensely disliked. Fewer, 65%+ don't want Reform, but it is reasonable to expect that they feel quite or very strongly anti-Reform.
So, as things stand (obviously stuff will change) there are both large and strong populations who really don't want Labour, and really don't want Reform, to a degree different from the past.
60% didn't want Thatcher. We got Thatcher anyway. FPTP is shite.
Polls showed voters preferred Thatcher to Foot and Kinnock until 1990, although Callaghan would likely have beaten Thatcher head to head in a direct PM vote but the Conservatives still won most MPs
Never mind opinion pols, look at votes cast. The Conservatives under Thatcher always fell well short of 50% vote share.
I don't think any party should have a majority in parliament, let alone a landslide, on less than half of the vote.
That works both ways, also means Attlee would not have had a majority in 1945 for his nationalisations and welfare state and NHS nor Blair in 1997 for devolution and the minimum wage
We'd have needed to rely on the Liberals/ LibDems. So be it.
Who certainly in 1945 would have blocked some of the nationalisations and likely required more of an insurance model for the health service.
I have a fascination for points of departure: times when things changed, or could have changed. One of my favourite YouTubers is EastGermanyInvestigated, covering the evolution of the DDR from 1945-1990 and after, and well worth watching. Similarly, the anthology "Red Plenty" about a version of the Soviet Union that might have worked (but didn't).
See also the Hansard: Volume 398 of the National Health Service debate on Thursday 16 March 1944. This was months before D-Day and we were planning for the post-war world. These days we can't even plan for next week (sobs quietly)
I used to kick around on conspiracy chatrooms on IRC in the early noughties and thought they were crackers. Given everything now I think they were overly cautious. They'd never have come up with the Clinton/Trump stuff. I wonder what they're saying now.
Oh look! The Guardian’s spinner for Sir Keir is putting the boot into Streeting
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
I am somewhat annoyed by the Guardian's inability to link to the report in question. Or even to bloody name it. Best I can do at short notice is to give you these links
So far the e-mails released have been quite underwhelming, but there has to be much worse if Trump is so worried.
PB lawyers: If the BBC end up at trial can they widen things by presenting evidence of "character"?
It's up to Trump and his lawyers to present evidence.
He has to demonstrate deliberate untruth, actual malice (in the US), and actual damage to him or his reputation.
That's an exceedingly steep uphill task, since he'd struggle to do even one of those things.
What the BBC gets to present depends on that, as their evidence would be offered in rebuttal.
Unlikely to end in a trial anyway, IMO.
I don't get how there is a trial in US. No one in US saw this tv documentary.
It's the only place there can be a trial. Any UK libel suit is blocked by the statute of limitations.
It is pretty unlikely that it will go ahead. Which will disappoint the Mail, whose journalists have gone full fruit loop.
In tonight’s incredibly sane Mail on Sunday they have six pages on the BBC, three separate, unrelated attacks plus the front page. They side with Trump against the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation... https://x.com/davidyelland/status/1989841208596644175
So far the e-mails released have been quite underwhelming, but there has to be much worse if Trump is so worried.
PB lawyers: If the BBC end up at trial can they widen things by presenting evidence of "character"?
It's up to Trump and his lawyers to present evidence.
He has to demonstrate deliberate untruth, actual malice (in the US), and actual damage to him or his reputation.
That's an exceedingly steep uphill task, since he'd struggle to do even one of those things.
What the BBC gets to present depends on that, as their evidence would be offered in rebuttal.
Unlikely to end in a trial anyway, IMO.
I don't get how there is a trial in US. No one in US saw this tv documentary.
It's the only place there can be a trial. Any UK libel suit is blocked by the statute of limitations.
It is pretty unlikely that it will go ahead. Which will disappoint the Mail, whose journalists have gone full fruit loop.
In tonight’s incredibly sane Mail on Sunday they have six pages on the BBC, three separate, unrelated attacks plus the front page. They side with Trump against the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation... https://x.com/davidyelland/status/1989841208596644175
Bolduan: But when you have British intelligence saying they don't want to share anymore because they are they are concerned that it is illegal what is being done. That is a problem
Hermer has fucked our relationship with the US to protect Venezuelan drug traffickers. It's playing very, very poorly in the US. One of the best things about getting rid of Starmer is that Hermer will get booted out with him.
Yes, shocking that we don't want to collaborate with extra-judicial killing. Otherwise known as murder.
That's never stopped us before. Obama was happily droning schools and weddings in Iraq and Afghanistan and we provided material support for that campaign.
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
Nope.
Your glib one word answer tells me I'm right and you just can't admit it.
It’s important to interdict the drugs trade
Killing suspected criminals without evidence or process is not the right way to do that
Exulting in their death, as the current administration does, is simply disgusting
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Oh look! The Guardian’s spinner for Sir Keir is putting the boot into Streeting
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
I am somewhat annoyed by the Guardian's inability to link to the report in question. Or even to bloody name it. Best I can do at short notice is to give you these links
The incoherence of Streetings 10 year plan for the NHS is at its core.
The plan has 3 elements:
1) an emphasis on prevention and early intervention to change outcomes.
2) a shift of services away from acute Trusts to local community sites.
3) a digital transformation, heavily dependent on IT and AI systems to support clinicians.
(So far so good. Its all a bit motherhood and apple pie but a fairly clear vision)
Yet his first act has been to tell both NHSEngland and the ICBs that they are losing half their staff. This was announced in April, but it is still undefined who stays and who goes. Not surprisingly it has been impossible to get anything done as all staff are either buffing their CVs or planning their job search/retirement. Then there's the matter of agreeing something with current staff, such as space in community hubs for dispersed clinics with IT support. How do we get someone to honour an agreement when they and their department are gone in six months time?
It makes no sense at all as the 3 core parts of the 10 year plan (actually most is supposed to be implemented within the next 3 years) cannot be done without public health support, good links and administration with community facilities and active IT infrastructure and support.
Streeting has been chasing easy headlines of "slashing bureaucracy in favour of front line services" in order to pursue his leadership ambitions rather than his day job of actually implementing his own plan.
Let’s get today’s Rawnsley off while it’s still dark:
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
The worse they behave today, the worse they have to behave tomorrow. Because otherwise, they risk being held to account for what they have already done.
And bluntly, most of the MAGA movement doesn't matter now- how many divisions do they command? Unless someone with actual power decides to leave the circle (not MTG), the regime is stable.
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Saturday Night Live has always been patchy, but they hit the nail on the head with this:
ok everyone's seen the trump with epstein photos by now, after years of the media pretending they didn't exist. good progress. next step is making sure everyone who is like "uh this all is sketchy but surely the president isn't literally a pedophile" sees this gross photo
Let’s get today’s Rawnsley off while it’s still dark:
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
Though listing the not so Fab Four like that highlights why Starmer got the job in the first place.
Rayner needs longer in the penitential wilderness, Miliband is yesterday's man, Streeting is too transparently ambitious, and Mahmood seems to have blown it with her asylum announcement.
It's a similar scenario to TMay- neither she nor Starmer got the top job by talent, more by everyone against them crashing the clown cars that they were driving.
I wonder how much of the bile directed at Team Starmer, from both the Corbynites and the Conservatives, is the misdirected shame of having been beaten at politics by a bumbling normie.
(It also ought to make us all uncomfortable that someone can have so much visible success through good fortune as much than merit. A lot of how we run the world is based on the idea that success is always deserved.)
Let’s get today’s Rawnsley off while it’s still dark:
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
Though listing the not so Fab Four like that highlights why Starmer got the job in the first place.
Rayner needs longer in the penitential wilderness, Miliband is yesterday's man, Streeting is too transparently ambitious, and Mahmood seems to have blown it with her asylum announcement.
It's a similar scenario to TMay- neither she nor Starmer got the top job by talent, more by everyone against them crashing the clown cars that they were driving.
I wonder how much of the bile directed at Team Starmer, from both the Corbynites and the Conservatives, is the misdirected shame of having been beaten at politics by a bumbling normie.
(It also ought to make us all uncomfortable that someone can have so much visible success through good fortune as much than merit. A lot of how we run the world is based on the idea that success is always deserved.)
I particularly liked this: "Labour likes to present itself as businesslike. But decent businesses advertise their products, respect their customers, and don’t shout about the merits of their rivals. Yet more basic incompetence from Labour."
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
Police have arrested two men in connection with a mobile phone hidden in the House of Commons that was reportedly planted there to play sex noises during prime minister’s questions.
which will become a bigger story of the men in question are, or are linked to, serving politicians…..
Let’s get today’s Rawnsley off while it’s still dark:
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
Though listing the not so Fab Four like that highlights why Starmer got the job in the first place.
Rayner needs longer in the penitential wilderness, Miliband is yesterday's man, Streeting is too transparently ambitious, and Mahmood seems to have blown it with her asylum announcement.
It's a similar scenario to TMay- neither she nor Starmer got the top job by talent, more by everyone against them crashing the clown cars that they were driving.
I wonder how much of the bile directed at Team Starmer, from both the Corbynites and the Conservatives, is the misdirected shame of having been beaten at politics by a bumbling normie.
(It also ought to make us all uncomfortable that someone can have so much visible success through good fortune as much than merit. A lot of how we run the world is based on the idea that success is always deserved.)
I particularly liked this: "Labour likes to present itself as businesslike. But decent businesses advertise their products, respect their customers, and don’t shout about the merits of their rivals. Yet more basic incompetence from Labour."
Lots of truth there, though probably too generous to businesses. There are plenty of ferociously successful businesses that don't do any of those things- especially the one about respecting customers.
There can be a link between doing things well and doing well. But that link is more tenuous than we might like.
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
No, it would be leaning on American companies not to make co-production deals with the BBC. Without American money, big-budget drama is out of reach.
Weather forecast has it down to 8-9C for Vegas, with a small chance of rain. Ladbrokes' odds on Russell/Antonelli (tipped at a boosted 7.5 and 12 by me) have fallen to 5 and 9.
Let’s get today’s Rawnsley off while it’s still dark:
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
Though listing the not so Fab Four like that highlights why Starmer got the job in the first place.
Rayner needs longer in the penitential wilderness, Miliband is yesterday's man, Streeting is too transparently ambitious, and Mahmood seems to have blown it with her asylum announcement.
It's a similar scenario to TMay- neither she nor Starmer got the top job by talent, more by everyone against them crashing the clown cars that they were driving.
I wonder how much of the bile directed at Team Starmer, from both the Corbynites and the Conservatives, is the misdirected shame of having been beaten at politics by a bumbling normie.
(It also ought to make us all uncomfortable that someone can have so much visible success through good fortune as much than merit. A lot of how we run the world is based on the idea that success is always deserved.)
I particularly liked this: "Labour likes to present itself as businesslike. But decent businesses advertise their products, respect their customers, and don’t shout about the merits of their rivals. Yet more basic incompetence from Labour."
Lots of truth there, though probably too generous to businesses. There are plenty of ferociously successful businesses that don't do any of those things- especially the one about respecting customers.
There can be a link between doing things well and doing well. But that link is more tenuous than we might like.
It is tenuous indeed. Just look at the Epstein emails and birthday book. We are told that he was a charming master of manipulation, but actually shown to be an attention deficited dirty old man.
Similarly the new "Masters of the Universe" , the tech broligarchy. How many wrong calls do Zuckerberg, Theil and Musk make? It looks to be mostly luck, the power of monopoly and a rising tide that floats all boats, though I concede that being willing to fail is part of their formula.
ok everyone's seen the trump with epstein photos by now, after years of the media pretending they didn't exist. good progress. next step is making sure everyone who is like "uh this all is sketchy but surely the president isn't literally a pedophile" sees this gross photo
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
No, it would be leaning on American companies not to make co-production deals with the BBC. Without American money, big-budget drama is out of reach.
Trump and his appointees only have a few more years - assuming they get past the mid-terms. Just play it out as a long game.
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
No, it would be leaning on American companies not to make co-production deals with the BBC. Without American money, big-budget drama is out of reach.
How many "big-budget dramas" does the BBC make these days anyway?
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
No, it would be leaning on American companies not to make co-production deals with the BBC. Without American money, big-budget drama is out of reach.
How many "big-budget dramas" does the BBC make these days anyway?
Regarding media bias, anyone criticising the BBC's handling of US coverage ought to take a good look at the X account of the chair of the FCC. https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
Yes. However the Chair of the FCC is just like Pam Bondi .... another one of Trump's politically appointed mushrooms who just does what he is told.
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
No, it would be leaning on American companies not to make co-production deals with the BBC. Without American money, big-budget drama is out of reach.
How many "big-budget dramas" does the BBC make these days anyway?
The ones that are co-productions, obviously, although I gather Disney has just pulled out of Doctor Who. None on its own, that's the point. The streamers have massively bid up production costs and the BBC was already struggling. Luckily it owns the largest studio complex in the country, oh, hold on, BBC Television Centre was closed and sold off for luxury flats.
Comments
I find nudity on a bike icky.
On a horse is a different matter.
Lady Godiva fantasy?
(Also, had to clean up the blockquotes for you, Jim.)
Raspberries are currently £2.40 for 250g here:
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/287377736?_gl=1*e54vel*_up*MQ..*_ga*MzcyMTg2ODY0LjE3NjMyNDM0ODA.*_ga_33B19D36CY*czE3NjMyNDM0NzkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjMyNDM0NzkkajYwJGwwJGgxMzg2MjQxMDc5
Get real, ridding the world of Venezuelan drug traffickers is a net positive for the world, destabilising Maduro is a net positive for the world and depriving him of his cut from drug trafficking is a net positive for the world.
Replace Trump with Obama and you would absolutely support these strikes against awf drug gangs profiteering off misery and keeping Maduro in power.
You and liberals don't like the messenger. That's fine but in the real world America has got to deal with its hugely porous border and this is how to do it. I wish we started taking their example for controlling our borders and turning around the boats with force and landing them 12 miles off the coast of Africa.
MeidasTouch
@MeidasTouch
·
7h
Wait. Why would Marjorie Taylor Greene calling to release the Epstein files be a betrayal to Donald Trump and the entire Republican Party?
https://x.com/ElmoPepperPot/status/1989746013939355932?s=20
WHERE/HOW IN THE NAME OF EVERYTHING HOLY HAS THIS STORY/MEME OF DONALD TRUMP GIVING BILL CLINTON A BLOWJOB START?
chyea ok
@chyeaok
·
Nov 14
Goldberg: Do you think JD Vance is a fascist?
Buttigieg: If it’s convenient for him to be a fascist, he’ll be a fascist. Maybe later on he’ll go back to being a Silicon Valley Democrat. He’ll be whatever he needs to be.
https://x.com/chyeaok/status/1989390825261076924
For a start, I criticised Obama's drone strike back in the day, so the ad hom (well done for resorting to that, btw) is as misplaced as it is lazy.
There is no legal justification for the current killings.
As several GOP Senators agree.
It sets an enormously dangerous precedent, well beyond even the dodgy drone strikes from previous administrations.
"Got to in the real world" isn't law - it's you saying that Trump can kill anyone he likes outside of the law.
Reid Hoffman
@reidhoffman
·
22h
I refuse to bend the knee to Donald Trump and his slanderous lies.
https://x.com/reidhoffman/status/1989483177241628778
https://x.com/LfcShaunjudge/status/1989688228060844390?s=20
https://x.com/kaizerrev/status/1989560108863430854
Ponzi schemer who got Trump clemency faces 50 years in new fraud
'I finagled, and Ponzied, and lied to people to cover us for our deals,' Weinstein said in a recording
https://financialpost.com/news/ponzi-schemer-trump-pardon-new-fraud
https://x.com/telegraph/status/1989803951575769422
EXCLUSIVE: Angela Rayner is already offering Cabinet roles to MPs in exchange for their support, The Telegraph has been told.
Watching right-wingers suddenly discover that Trump is a bad person is wild
https://bsky.app/profile/michellegoldberg.bsky.social/post/3m5p5whtnns2z
https://bsky.app/profile/michellegoldberg.bsky.social/post/3m5p6guauok2z
How do you propose to stop them?
Only looking at 2024 Labour voters Burnham still polls best but Ed Miliband is second ahead of Streeting
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/11/15/angela-rayner-plots-move-against-keir-starmer/
YOU ARE NOT PURIST ENOUGH AND SO HAVE TO DIE.
Stanford Medicine scientists tie lupus to a virus nearly all of us carry
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2025/11/lupus-epstein-barr.html
One of humanity’s most ubiquitous infectious pathogens bears the blame for the chronic autoimmune condition called systemic lupus erythematosus or, colloquially, lupus, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have found.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which resides silently inside the bodies of 19 out of 20 Americans, is directly responsible for commandeering what starts out as a minuscule number of immune cells to go rogue and persuade far more of their fellow immune cells to launch a widespread assault on the body’s tissues, the scientists have shown.
The findings were published Nov. 12 in Science Translational Medicine.
“This is the single most impactful finding to emerge from my lab in my entire career,” said William Robinson, MD, PhD, a professor of immunology and rheumatology and the study’s senior author. “We think it applies to 100% of lupus cases.”..
I wonder how many other mysterious, intractable diseases like lupus, which are incredible hard to treat, could be prevented by a simple vaccine ?
EBV is implicated in several now.
Angela Rayner makes vow to Brits in first interview since losing Deputy PM job
The former Deputy Labour Leader slapped down the infighting that engulfed Labour this week, condemning it as 'arrogant tittle tattle', and called for a focus on the issues
Unlike Rachel Reeves.
So what is your point?
That is, until they *do* (or are proven to be doing something) naughty, they are allowed to drive their boats about. That’s the agreed law of the seas. The US, in times past, has heavily supported this.
This doesn’t affect the right of countries to board them and find out if they are carrying drugs etc. and if they respond to being boarded with gunfire against a declared national force, then they are pirates and can be sunk at will.
But they have to do something first. Existing isn’t enough.
The role of viruses in other diseases just gets more and more significant. I could come to believe that viruses may be the trigger for a lot of cancers.
EXCL: Wes Streeting accused of taking “chaotic and incoherent approach” to reforming NHS which makes it unlikely government will hit targets, according to damning @instituteforgov report 👇
https://x.com/pippacrerar/status/1989763247260467403?s=46&t=CW4pL-mMpTqsJXCdjW0Z6Q
Notwithstanding my po-faced interest in the Rule of Law, and my fervent belief that the UK does rather well out of countries not blowing up stuff in international waters, I do think it's curious that this is the particular point upon which Starmer has stood up to Trump. I mean, look at Gaza and the way he treated Zelensky...
I'd take it if it reduced my chance of MS and some cancers.
So far the e-mails released have been quite underwhelming, but there has to be much worse if Trump is so worried.
The Wikipedia article has a fairish summary:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_military_strikes_on_alleged_drug_traffickers
The boats were not heading for the US, incidentally.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸
@RepMTG
The ratio on this post should serve as the ultimate warning to all of my Republican colleagues.
You vote NO on Tuesday to release the Epstein files and face severe outrage from America.
https://x.com/RepMTG/status/1989787898665750756
=====
Steve Fleming: "I'm gonna join Dan Miller's cabal and then we are gonna take you down, down to Funky Town! Funky Town Central, here we come! Choo-fucking-choo!"
You'd probably need to vaccinate young children before infection, as the virus is largely dormant and inaccessible most of the time in infected individuals.
But knowing the mechanisms promises other treatments for our generation.
Marjorie Taylor Greene being the (relative) hero of the piece.
In that vein, may I suggest "Blue Jerusalem: British Conservatism, Winston Churchill, and the Second World War", a book about the plans that the British Conservatives had for a post-WW2 UK.
See also the 1944 Willink White Paper, the 1944 Conservative vision for the upcoming NHS
https://navigator.health.org.uk/theme/national-health-service-white-paper
And so the Greens or New Greens as I think they should be called under Polanski are going to totally take that side of the market.
He has to demonstrate deliberate untruth, actual malice (in the US), and actual damage to him or his reputation.
That's an exceedingly steep uphill task, since he'd struggle to do even one of those things.
What the BBC gets to present depends on that, as their evidence would be offered in rebuttal.
Unlikely to end in a trial anyway, IMO.
https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/1944-03-16/debates/2346fbcb-fb49-4a35-876e-ffda4d0e4876/NationalHealthService
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/nov/15/wes-streeting-accused-of-chaotic-and-incoherent-approach-to-nhs-reform
https://bsky.app/profile/stuarthoddinott.bsky.social
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publication/public-services-performance-tracker-2025
https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/labour-run-public-services
Any UK libel suit is blocked by the statute of limitations.
It is pretty unlikely that it will go ahead.
Which will disappoint the Mail, whose journalists have gone full fruit loop.
In tonight’s incredibly sane Mail on Sunday they have six pages on the BBC, three separate, unrelated attacks plus the front page. They side with Trump against the BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation...
https://x.com/davidyelland/status/1989841208596644175
Now that really is Trump Derangement Syndrome.
And they call themselves patriots.
Killing suspected criminals without evidence or process is not the right way to do that
Exulting in their death, as the current administration does, is simply disgusting
https://x.com/BrendanCarrFCC
To say that it is wildly inappropriate for a regulator supposedly independent of government would be an understatement.
The plan has 3 elements:
1) an emphasis on prevention and early intervention to change outcomes.
2) a shift of services away from acute Trusts to local community sites.
3) a digital transformation, heavily dependent on IT and AI systems to support clinicians.
(So far so good. Its all a bit motherhood and apple pie but a fairly clear vision)
Yet his first act has been to tell both NHSEngland and the ICBs that they are losing half their staff. This was announced in April, but it is still undefined who stays and who goes. Not surprisingly it has been impossible to get anything done as all staff are either buffing their CVs or planning their job search/retirement. Then there's the matter of agreeing something with current staff, such as space in community hubs for dispersed clinics with IT support. How do we get someone to honour an agreement when they and their department are gone in six months time?
It makes no sense at all as the 3 core parts of the 10 year plan (actually most is supposed to be implemented within the next 3 years) cannot be done without public health support, good links and administration with community facilities and active IT infrastructure and support.
Streeting has been chasing easy headlines of "slashing bureaucracy in favour of front line services" in order to pursue his leadership ambitions rather than his day job of actually implementing his own plan.
Thus did a cunning plan supposedly designed to fortify the prime minister by flushing out conspirators make him even weaker, as some in Number 10 were grimly acknowledging by the end of the week. It is reminiscent of the late Kenneth Williams playing Julius Caesar in Carry on Cleo when he pathetically laments: “Infamy! Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me!”
Not that they are entirely wrong about that. A substantial proportion of the parliamentary Labour party, and a growing body within the cabinet, have got it in for their leader. The encouragement some took from Sir Keir’s well-received speech to the party conference has evaporated, not least because there has been virtually no follow-through to build confidence that he has a plan to rescue his party. Pick a Labour faction and the headline complaints about Sir Keir are the same: no vision, no direction, no elan.
Contenders to replace him would be fools if they weren’t making some contingency plans. Furtive conversations about whether and how to replace him are taking place. Four names come up most often…. [Rayner, Miliband, Streeting, Mahmood]. There’s nothing yet, as far as I can detect, sufficiently organised to be worthy of the description “plot”…. the person directly responsible for the downfall of a leader rarely becomes the next one.
“Wait until May,” advises one astute veteran. The zone of maximum peril for the prime minister is around the elections next spring. Catastrophe at these elections is the likeliest catalyst for the simmering volcano to go the full Krakatoa. That gives the prime minister six months to prove to his party that he’s still the best person for the job. Any more weeks of self-inflicted disaster as terrible as this will increase the chances of a challenge from highly probable to racing certainty.
And bluntly, most of the MAGA movement doesn't matter now- how many divisions do they command? Unless someone with actual power decides to leave the circle (not MTG), the regime is stable.
https://bsky.app/profile/lowermainlandrob.bsky.social/post/3m5pyv22ink23
ok everyone's seen the trump with epstein photos by now, after years of the media pretending they didn't exist. good progress. next step is making sure everyone who is like "uh this all is sketchy but surely the president isn't literally a pedophile" sees this gross photo
https://bsky.app/profile/mtsw.bsky.social/post/3lu7iib35rs2e
Rayner needs longer in the penitential wilderness, Miliband is yesterday's man, Streeting is too transparently ambitious, and Mahmood seems to have blown it with her asylum announcement.
It's a similar scenario to TMay- neither she nor Starmer got the top job by talent, more by everyone against them crashing the clown cars that they were driving.
I wonder how much of the bile directed at Team Starmer, from both the Corbynites and the Conservatives, is the misdirected shame of having been beaten at politics by a bumbling normie.
(It also ought to make us all uncomfortable that someone can have so much visible success through good fortune as much than merit. A lot of how we run the world is based on the idea that success is always deserved.)
https://chrisdillow.substack.com/p/on-incompetence
I particularly liked this: "Labour likes to present itself as businesslike. But decent businesses advertise their products, respect their customers, and don’t shout about the merits of their rivals. Yet more basic incompetence from Labour."
The BBC move to watch for would be a threat of withdrawal of right to broadcast, if that is within their gift.
(FCC does not cover satellite, or online, AIUI, so his leverage may be limited.)
Police have arrested two men in connection with a mobile phone hidden in the House of Commons that was reportedly planted there to play sex noises during prime minister’s questions.
which will become a bigger story of the men in question are, or are linked to, serving politicians…..
There can be a link between doing things well and doing well. But that link is more tenuous than we might like.
F1: https://x.com/MercedesAMGPCF1/status/1989747524455076134
Weather forecast has it down to 8-9C for Vegas, with a small chance of rain. Ladbrokes' odds on Russell/Antonelli (tipped at a boosted 7.5 and 12 by me) have fallen to 5 and 9.
Similarly the new "Masters of the Universe" , the tech broligarchy. How many wrong calls do Zuckerberg, Theil and Musk make? It looks to be mostly luck, the power of monopoly and a rising tide that floats all boats, though I concede that being willing to fail is part of their formula.