NEW - Mandelson was offered a "higher tiers" briefing on January 6, before his developed vetting was confirmed on January 29, emails appear to show.
This mean he was offered highly classified briefing from the FCDO as US ambassador before he finished the formal vetting process
A purpose of the war on Iran might well be to provoke a terrorist attack inside the United States, thereby justifying the need to โfederalizeโ elections. We must anticipate it, with sadness and resolution, and not be surprised, if it happens.
snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire...
As a description, โnational treasureโ seems ornamental and cosy. Despite my best efforts, I am in the pigeonhole marked โno threatโ and did I stab Judi Dench with a pitchfork, I should still be a teddy bear.
๐ฎ Oman, Iranian drones hit the oil terminal tanks!
After the oil shock, a global food shock. A third of the worldโs fertiliser passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Honestly canโt believe what the Bank of England is putting on our great British fiver
Putting pictures of animals on our currency would be "deeply depressing," say the Conservatives.
National security adviser Powell thought Mandelson appointment was โweirdly rushedโ Files show that Jonathan Powell, Starmerโs national security adviser, โwas particularly cautious about the appointmentโ of Mandelson as ambassador in December 2024 and that Powell believed the process had been โweirdly rushedโ. Powell had served with Mandelson under the previous Labour government.
Desperately hope Jonathan Powell writes another book about working for a chief of staff who is determined to ignore everything you've written and prove everything you've said right the hard way.
Message to Tony Blair about meeting Jeffrey Epstein, who is described as "a financial adviser to the super rich" who is "close to the Duke of York"
Jim Cramer suggests on CNBC that Trump could โbomb Tehran into the Stone Ageโ until Iran reopens the strait, citing U.S. bombings of North Vietnam in the 1970s. Carl Quintanilla points out to him that Hanoi won that war.
Moscow is giving Iran specific advice on drone tactics to hit US and Gulf nation targets in the Middle East.
Trump and Witkoff - played for suckers or lying, you decide?
New Iran thread: How bad is the oil shock caused by Trumpโs failing war? This is the largest oil reserve release in history, in a desperate attempt to keep down prices.
NEW: Keir Starmer has asked new Ethics and Integrity Commission to tighten financial disclosures, lobbying and business appointment rules. There will also be a review of national security vetting process following Mandelson case.
I mean this was like 5 days ago. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Peskov complained that social media make it harder for Russia to spread its propaganda abroad.
They are not even hiding their goals.
"Weโre now rapidly losing the tools for our propaganda work abroad,especially in the near abroad.
Satellite imagery confirms Ukraine destroyed a ground robotics assembly facility at the Tochmash plant in Donetsk, killing 4 soldiers and wounding 5. The strike was carried out using two drones, according to Ukrainian sources. #Ukraine
But the advice to the PM should have looked at the 2023 reports in more detail. They undermine M's denial. And - critically - reveal contacts with JPM that the PM wasn't told about.
This is the advice given to the Prime Minister in December 2024, before he appointed Lord Mandelson as ambassador.
The Epstein content is short, and there are unfortunate omissions.
You can have the best armed forces in the history of the world, but if you are an incompetent criminal without a plan, you can still lose a war, and rather quickly.
Digital ID, another seemingly sensible plan to smooth out government and public interactions, saving time and money, ruined by the initial comms focused on enforcement and linking it to immigrantsโ illegal working.
Ukrainian drones have once again ruined the Russiansโ vacation in Sochi. Russians have been sitting in the airport for more than 17 hours, with hundreds of flights canceled or delayed due to the threat of an attack. During the night, sirens and explosions were heard over the city.
โ Leaving the EU has proved incredibly damaging for our NHS.
The University of Surrey has found that Brexit has caused 1,485 additional deaths per year due to EU nurses leaving the UK.
In the run-up to his war, Trump ignored warnings that Iran could retaliate across the region and stop oil shipments, the NYT reports.
He downplayed risks as a short-term concern that shouldnโt overshadow the mission to decapitate the regime.
Now the energy markets are in chaos.
One view - very well expressed by @chriscurtis94.bsky.social in a recent post is that the government need to focus relentlessly on the cost of living.
There's definitely merit to this but it's not enough. People aren't noticing the things govt *is* doing - understanding why it critical.
The first satellite picture of the microelectronics plant in Bryansk, Russia, which got precisely struck by a barrage of Stormshadow missiles yesterday, has been obtained by TG channel โCyber Boroshnoโ.
"For your people have corrupted themselves. ... They have made themselves a molten calf, and worshipped it and sacrificed to it, and said, โThis is your godโ" (Exodus 32:7-8).
Where was Farageโs closest aide and Reform UK Welsh leader Nathan Gill heading when he was arrested for taking bribes from Putinโs pal Medvedchuk?
To a Kremlin sponsored conference in Moscow, to talk about the role of crypto currencies in politics
The warnings are there for us all to see
Really good piece, worth a read not because it offers up any particular surprises but for the clarity of analysis.
Someone is panicking
Exclusive: The Metropolitan Police interviewed Virginia Giuffre 3 times after her lawyers handed them a dossier of evidence saying that she was trafficked to UK by Epstein and Maxwell, and made her have sex with Prince Andrew
But they did not launch an investigation
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/11/w...
