high hopes

Reform UK is hiring at least 12 journalists to build a "national publishing operation" including a digital newsroom and expanded video output via Reform TV on Youtube

Let me give you a really good example. The “Le Touquet Treaty” is an agreement between Uk and France that allows UK border officials to operate the UK border inside France. You might be familiar with this at the ferry ports, Eurostar etc. If the British border force find some migrants hidden in a truck on its way to the UK, they turf them out and they are France’s problem. The UK gets much more out of this agreement than the French. So, let’s say we piss off the French by dragging boats and dumping them on Calais beaches. They’ll just pause or postpone the treaty in retaliation. Which will be handy for the people smugglers. They can start using trucks again. This is just one of many, many examples. We also rely on France for electricity. And we rely on the entire EU for our entire economy to function as it does today. We are a middle power. Not a super power. We have to respect the rights and wishes of other nations, or they can damage us.

PIGS

I am English and I am not a Royalist, far from it. Nonetheless, I felt (with the appropriately reserved British stance of my parents generation) proud (a word I have rarely used in my life) listening to King Charles, through his speech writers (though I suspect he would not say something they had written of which he did not approve) as he addressed the U.S. Congress as the adult in the room. His speech made it clear that Donald Trump is a danger to the USA, to the stability of the international community and the planet. His speech may help some Republicans in congress to grow a backbone on behalf of the American people who find themselves with a President who does not care about them but only for his own elevation and power. To King Charles I say, nicely done. #USA #America #KingCharles #UK #Congress

Dutch engineers have built the world's largest floating plastic vacuum cleaner, capable of capturing waste from the Pacific and restoring marine life.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the ban on the participation of Russian athletes should be lifted: "We have to. Definitely." "Because this ban has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred." He said he believes "having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help." I strongly disagree. Russian sports is very much a part of Russia’s politics, and most Russian athletes openly support the Kremlin’s regime. Source: news.sky.com/story/fifa-pres…

If the Overton Window ever moves back, which it may, it will leave a great many well known commentators exposed as nasty, opportunistic and racist. Which is what they are.

Farage has run for political office SIX times and been an MEP for FIFTEEN yrs - he's as establishment as they come. #leadersdebate

Camp IV, Mt Everest. No polite words. 📹 @poornimashresth

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Police are trialling AI tech to track drivers and find "suspicious" journeys on UK roads. Here’s what we found 🧵👇

Name a place you have been to, but have no desire to visit again.

He gave away more than eight billion dollars & died with practically nothing to his name. This is the extraordinary story of Chuck Feeney, a man who could have lived in palaces but chose a simple rented apartment and a $15 plastic watch. Feeney built his fortune by co-founding Duty Free Shoppers, the empire of airport luxury retail that made billions. The money poured in but Feeney stayed out of the spotlight. Starting in the 1980s, he quietly transferred nearly all of his wealth to The Atlantic Philanthropies. Through it, he funded universities, hospitals, medical research, and public health initiatives in over 30 countries, always anonymously. No buildings bore his name. No press conferences announced his gifts. Most of the people & programs he saved never knew who their benefactor was. When his secret finally came out, Warren Buffett declared him “my hero” & the ultimate role model for philanthropy. Buffett admired not how much Feeney had earned, but that he gave it all away while he was still alive. Feeney saw wealth not as something to hoard or display, but as a resource held in temporary trust. His philosophy was simple. “Giving While Living.” By 2020, he had achieved his goal & shut down his foundation after distributing the last of its assets, leaving himself about $2 million for retirement. Chuck Feeney passed away in 2023 at age 92 with a personal net worth close to zero, exactly as he had planned. He didn’t die rich in money, but he died extraordinarily rich in impact. Millions of people studied, were healed & lived better lives because of his quiet generosity. In a world that celebrates loud success & flashy legacies, Chuck Feeney showed that the most profound greatness often leaves behind almost no noise at all. ❤️

ECHR... If we are serious about tackling migration let's have the courage to look beyond the eye-catching soundbites. Otherwise, British political debate (once respected across the world) risks descending into a war of slogans, void of substance. 👇My thoughts: @Telegraph

🧵Thread of some of the most legendary performances in Rock History👇🏻 1. The Beatles performing "Get Back" at their legendary rooftop concert in 1969. This was their last performance together.

A man whose wife is Jewish, being portrayed, burning in an oven @JeremyVineOn5 With tensions as they are. REALLY?

A young woman belonging to the Tsaatan tribe in Mongolia, Central Asia, riding a deer. The Tsaatan are a tribe of around 500 people - who are considered the last reindeer herders in Mongolia.

Think you need to understand politics and stop being a 🤡

Handwriting like a font.