Laura Sykes

Let it be understood -
anyone who does not share the Trumpistas' rather bizarre version of Christianity is 'misguided'.

BBC Radio 4 - Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, 'We cannot have chaos': Emily Thornberry on the law of war and Labour's struggles The Foreign Affairs Committee Chair on Iran, Trump & the grief of being dropped by Starmer

Excellent 'Political Thinking' with #EmilyThornberry, who explains Labour Party policy on the Gulf and recent actions by the US with great clarity.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

WAR CRIME BY THE US.

An unarmed Iranian ship was takIng part in an Indian naval exercise, alongside the US.

The US withdrew and torpedoed the Iranian ship.

THEN the US refused to rescue the sailors, letting them drown.

This is treachery, cowardice, cruelty and a war crime of the highest order.

A day of bounty! Monthly Arctic sea-ice data was just posted by PIOMAS.

Here is average Arctic ice thickness, through Feb. 28. Thickness is currently second lowest for the date, with only 2017 seeing lower average thickness than 2026.

Data:
psc.apl.uw.edu/wordpress/wp...

Trump’s lightbulb moment: America needs Europe after all The U.S. is even looking to Ukraine to help its operations against Iran — as Trump rages at Starmer and Sánchez for refusing to back his war.

The ultimate irony is Trump asking Ukraine for support . www.politico.eu/article/dona...

South East Water face £22m fine - but that clearly hasn't been enough to stop it South East Water are still failing to fix their mistakes, demanding that customers pay more, and raking in over £15m profit increases

South East Water are still failing to fix their mistakes, demanding that customers pay more, and raking in over £15m profit increases

It certainly seems that way.
When, oh when, will some one or some thing (Fate, perhaps) remove him from the stage before he destroys everything.
Including the USA?

I think you are right.
But I cannot remember the US ever being so described before.

Azerbaijan just closed airspace "in the south of the country" per Bloomberg macro squawk. Losing that link would have a massive impact on Europe-Asia (incl the Indian subcontinent and ANZ) air travel.

#Starmer's press conference:
He used the expression
"our allies and the US"
more than once.

Am I being hyper-sensitive or is this a curious way of describing the current alliance - normally one would say
'our allies INCLUDING the US'??
Or some variation thereof?

James Talarico and Woke Jesus Maybe we can force “Christian nationalism” to reveal its true self.

Christian nationalism is "tremendously dangerous in America because we are a largely Christian society. If Christian nationalism is a mind virus, America has something like 150 million potential hosts."

Keeper of the Flame - A film from 1942 warning Americans how democracy can be dismantled from the inside. This scene was written during World War II. Watch how calmly the plan is explained. Ask yourself why it still feels current today.

IDK but IAG (I Am guessing)...

Climate solutions and nature solutions are often the same thing.

I admire the US constitution & its 'balanced power'.
Its adaptability in the face of enormous change is extraordinary.
The current President is the first to make it unworkable.
But if we survive, there is every reason to hope in his successor.
usconstitution.net/founding-fat...

Ghouls!

"An Iranian WARSHIP thought it was safe in international waters. Instead, it was sunk by a torpedo, the first sinking of an ENEMY ship by a torpedo since WW2."

I thought the White House and Hegseth had said this was a "special combat operation", NOT a WAR requiring Congress authorisation.

How is it that a country is going through a water crisis after experiencing historic floods?

Well, when climate stress meets weak systems, the most vulnerable communities pay the price 👇

Constitution of the United States - Wikipedia

Yes, I think I understand the original mood in Philadelphia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constit...
2026 is very different from the late 18th c.
The French Revolution (1789) led to a President (in monarchical mode) + PM (cf 'Chief Executive'), which works.
UK has similar model (Monarch + PM).
Evolution...

Rubio Today: It’s false to say I said the U.S. had to attack because Israel was going to attack. That’s not what I said.

Rubio Yesterday: We knew Israel was going to strike Iran, and that would trigger attacks on U.S. forces. If we didn’t act first, Americans would suffer higher casualties.

I realise that the US constitution is based on the idea that you could avoid dictatorship by avoiding a monarchy.
It's a bit mean of me, I grant you, but I was just noting in passing that you appear to be in a Trump dictatorship despite 'no kings'.

Whereas the parliamentarians have power -up to a point - but have to stand for election by the general population at regular intervals.

You might like to ponder the position of the United Kingdom, where our monarchs have saved us from dictators for over a thousand years.
We tried to get rid of them once, which landed us with Oliver Cromwell, the ultimate dictator.
We reinstated the kings & queens.
Palaces but no power.

I have known the Iranian-American author Azadeh Moaveni since she was a young stringer in Tehran 25 years ago. She has written the most thorough and thoughtful piece on the war yet in today's @nytimesoped.bsky.social
No matter your stance on the war, her words are worth considering

Understanding the U.S. and Israel’s illegal war on Iran The illegal U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continues a rampage that has devastated countries and international institutions to eliminate all obstacles to U.S. hegemony. The U.S.-Israel Axis has not succeede...

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, still unsure if the US-Israeli assault on Iran is illegal, should read some expert commentary.

'In this case, as a matter of law, the right to use force (in self-defense) belongs to Iran, and decidedly not to Israel or the U.S.'

mondoweiss.net/2026/03/unde...

Trump's EPA wants us to cover our eyes. On climate policy, the Trump administration is willfully burying its head in the sand. It’s crucial newsrooms don’t follow.

“The Trump administration may be burying its head. But journalists can’t afford to look away now,” writes Jem Bartholomew for @columjournreview.bsky.social:

Big development below in solar powered rail in the UK.

I wrote about this and other tech recently:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Exactly!

Qom - Wikipedia

Was it really necessary to bomb Qom#?

One of the most ancient cities in the world, also one of the most sacred
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qom

Calling on all billionaires and their families. Get suited, booted and prepared for deployment to the front line.

Trump has left Vance with no good options. The VP is fighting for his future The Vice President dreams of reaching the Oval Office but faces his nightmare scenario

"JD Vance doesn’t have any good options on Iran, but he can hope that Marco Rubio’s are worse. As Secretary of State, Rubio can’t hide from the Iran crisis nearly so much as the Vice President can. Perhaps that is Vance’s great hope. He can’t outrun the war, but he might be able to outrun Rubio."