@raymodraco
I've written biographies of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Bertrand Russell and Robert J. Oppenheimer and am currently preoccupied with climate change. My passions include music and ancient churches. I am proud to be a volunteer tour guide at Salisbury Cathedral.
There is so much madness going on at the moment that it is understandable that it has not received much attention, but it is worth pausing a moment to reflect on how utterly bizarre it is that Trump thinks he should have a say in who is chosen to become the new leader of Iran. I mean, what?!!
So why hasn't Mandelson been arrested?
I'd like that, but I don't at present have a book to promote, I'm afraid.
Weather forecast for the rest of the day: between 70% and 95% chance of rain for every hour of the day. I am so sick of it raining! xxx
In Trump vs the laws of physics, there will only be one winner - and all of us will be losers.
BBC News - Trump revokes landmark EPA ruling that greenhouse gases endanger public health - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
When is it going to stop raining?!
Let us hope, for the sake of future generations, that this vote prevails.
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
My very brilliant niece, Lani, aka The Questions Doctor, has posted the first video in a series of videos to accompany her much anticipated book, Q: The Hidden Power of Questions in a World That Wants Answers, which will be published this summer. Check it out.
youtube.com/watch?v=xlhg...
The news reports that are coming out of Minneapolis (well done, Channel 4) are doing the Trump administration no favours at all. How long will it be before he tries to control them? Will that be the next step towards tyranny?
Just catching up on Channel 4 News, who led on Minneapolis and relegated the Labour Party stuff to second place. You see, BBC? It's good to know we have at least one proper news service.
Meanwhile, the government published this report today. Among its conclusions is that "Ecosystem degradation is occurring across all regions. Every critical ecosystem is on a pathway to collapse."
www.gov.uk/government/p...
What do Trump's words and deeds tell us about his attitude towards allies? It seems to me there are two possibilities: 1. He thinks the USA is so powerful, it doesn't need any allies, and 2. He thinks the only ally he needs is Putin's Russia. Which of these is it? Or is there a third possibility?
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Another day, another stupidity.
My latest publication - in the new issue of Sarum Chronicle - is something of a departure!
Here's the talk I gave in Vienna last month as part of the Wittgenstein Week, held in the very splendid Palais Schönborn.
youtu.be/Cgl5cgoInNs?...
Yes, I was on the judges panel when it won the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2014 and recommended it to everyone I met. It's a tremendous book.
I know, but it will be the first long flight I've done for six years and quite possibly the last I will ever do.
On Sunday, at the invitation of my publishers at Zhejiang University Press, I will go to China, where I will give talks on Wittgenstein at Fudan University, Zhejiang University and Beijing Normal University. I will also be give a lecture on biography in this amazing building: Shanghai Library East.
Good news for polluters, bad news for the planet. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
"We are the hottest country in the world." Trump really doesn't understand the dangers of climate change, does he?
The cover of the latest Private Eye. Painfully on target.
“The causal chain from fossil fuel burning to rising heat and increased mortality is undeniable.”
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Kemi Badenoch lays out a compelling case for not voting Tory.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
"They call me the president of Europe." They don't, Donald, they really don't.
RIP Tom Lehrer, mathematician, satirist and writer of every geek's favorite song.
youtu.be/U2cfju6GTNs?...
For over 20 years, Louise Sime has worked at the British Antarctic Survey, specialising in polar climate dynamics. She tells @jonathan-watts.bsky.social nothing should distract us from the primary goal of stopping the burning of any fossil fuel as quickly as possible.
This is important and very worrying.
Oh dear. Back in the day, I really liked Rod Stewart: his solo albums, his work with The Faces, and, above all, his singing with the Jeff Beck Group, but tonight he sounds like a bloke down the pub on karaoke night who thinks he can sing like Rod Stewart, but, sadly, gets nowhere near.
😥
Fascinating. Thank you.