Am 11 minutes in to episode 1 of House of the Dragon and I have had to pause it to explain that one of the lines comes from Euripides’ Medea, and then keep it paused while I try to look up the original Greek to show what a great line it is. Yes I am a parody of myself

That's slightly ambiguous, but it sounds a lot like a promise to end democracy. And once democracy's gone, leaders can, and sometimes do, commit untold horrors.

Join Reform David. You can be their intellectual heavyweight.

“Just a few. I’ve got work in the morning.” 3am:

The most expensive house for sale in my village costs 25 million pounds. The Council Tax charge is Band H: £4,365.18 per year. The least expensive is 260 thousand pounds. Band C: £1,940.09 per year. Is it rocket science to reform this criminal undercharging of the wealthiest?

NEW: Brilliant Philip Aldrick analysis — Reeves appears to have jettisoned growth as the way to find the money to fix public services — instead economists expect £10b of tax rises and £7b more borrowing at budget — the biggest ‘unfunded’ cost is arguably a Labour policy: public

I'm sure all those hard right commentators and politicians lamenting the break-down of law and order and "wanting their country back", have roundly denounced the rioting in Southport last night.

there’s are going to be loads of tales about Labour’s VAT policy driving schools out of business, some more believable than others

When Volvo invented the three-point seatbelt in 1959, they made the patent free for all competitors to use in order to save lives because it had more value as a free life-saving tool than something to profit from.

I noticed the looters didn’t loot book shops.

There is just no need to be opining today about public concerns over immigration. We have talked about little else for the past eight years. Save it for another day and be clear that your condemnations of rioting, looting and mob rule are unequivocal.

9. The languages of the world

Awesome.

🤣 (What about Kashmir? Pedantic, I know, but ...)

Watching the Olympic climbing, the 'boulder and lead.' I had no idea humans could do such things. It's riveting.

If you judge PMs by the people who hate them, Keir Starmer is doing a spectacularly good job.

NEW BLOGPOST: Two-tier justice? Cutting through the online myths A cut-out-and-keep guide for the conspiracy theorists in your timeline. thesecretbarrister.com/2024/08/14/two…

Wonder if every right wing paper and think-tank demanding constant cuts to administrative spending and slamming Whitehall "fat cats" might have something to do with this?

Trump backing Tories should watch and reflect on this.