Paul Dalby

Terrible. At least I got to shake Ole’s hand.

The Vice President is abroad campaigning for a dictator. The President is threatening to wipe out an entire civilization. Congress is on recess. This is a total collapse of American moral leadership — at a historic scale.

Thanks to Paul D for the cover photo and Dad and lad for its use.

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History is going to look on utterly bemused about how the United States created the most effective power-projection alliance in the history of the world, designed it explicitly so that the US did not have to intervene in its allies wars of choice, and then ended it when the allies did not intervene in an American war of choice.

Premier League fans deliver damning verdict on VAR. 75% of 7,946 fans polled by the Football Supporters’ Association “didn’t support the use of VAR”. Too long, too forensic, too much of a joy killer, fans say. Findings shared with Premier League and PGMO. 92% of fans surveyed “agreed” that “VAR has removed the spontaneous joy of goal celebrations” (82% of them “strongly agreed”). 85% of match-going fans “strongly disagreed” with the notion that “VAR makes watching football more enjoyable”. And 83% of those watching on TV. 85% of match-going fans “strongly disagreed” that “VAR decisions are generally resolved in a reasonable amount of time”. Echoed by 83% of those watching on TV. Only 18% agreed that “VAR has improved the overall accuracy of refereeing decisions”. 72% are “concerned about the expansion of VAR beyond its current remit”. 79% “strongly disagreed” with the suggestion “that the match-going experience is better with VAR”. 67% “strongly agreed” that they preferred “watching games that are played without VAR to games with VAR”. 84% “strongly support” goal-line technology. 34% “strongly opposed” to the idea of a challenge system (two per game per team). “These findings back up the FSA's previous survey in 2021, where fans expressed misgivings about the introduction of VAR,” says Thomas Concannon, @WeAreTheFSAPremier League network manager. “The vast majority are reporting the same concerns five years on - the loss of spontaneity when celebrating goals, and an overall worsening of the match-going experience. We have shared the survey results with the Premier League and PGMO, and look forward to discussing its findings with them.” Fans surveyed of all PL clubs and all ages (Under-18 to 65+).

BREAKING: Trump just attacked NATO and then goes on to say that "25 years ago" he said that NATO was a "Paper tiger" and that "they would never come to our rescue". FACT: 25 years ago was March 26, 2001. Less than 6 months after that, on September 12, 2001, NATO invoked Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty for the first and only time ever. They lost 1100 soldiers fighting for us. Trump is a Moron.

@SuellaBraverman This balloon of a woman is hoping you’re stupid enough to not understand the difference between climate change and weather…. Are you?

This is very much on point and begs the question how many more innocent civilians and for that matter US marines are going to die to get us back to that point?

In a sea of disgusting… this still manages to shock.

@DaleJohnsonBBC So, for all the pain VAR gives to fans (those mature enough to accept raw emotion > a greater level of accuracy), in reality it means refs less brave to make big decisions with the inevitable human bias of “I can’t give two pens”, “I can’t disallow their goal to give them a pen”?

On Amad and Evanilson penalty situations. Both might or might not have been penalties. They are subjective, in the grey zone. So on-field decision stands. VAR's role is not, and ever has been, to create consistency of decision making. Each is judged individually. #BOUMUN

Friday night football and VAR. What a way to ruin a weekend. “Thresholds”, micro analysis, and referees self emasculating their way out. 😕

If Amad’s pen is given on the pitch and Harry’s isn’t, you could argue neither get overturned. Such is the pointlessness of VAR and how referees need to get the balls to make the decision on the pitch again without a fallback.

Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi's reaction as Trump says "Who knows better about surprise than Japan? Why didn't you tell me about Pearl Habour?" Undoubtedly the worst American diplomatic gaffe in post-war US-Japan history.

@DominicWaghorn At this point, is any attempt to win hearts and minds, to enable future uprising and regime change, now gone? History repeating? External alien attacks only rallying people around their flag and strengthening Irans case for more weapons, not less? Conflicting US/Israel plans?

This allowed the ‘decapitated’ Iranian leadership to show it still has respond swiftly and strategically. Also as one Iranian here in Tehran put it, even those who hate the government will hate anyone who ‘attacks our gas’ 2/

Last night Israel started playing with matches in a room stacked with gunpowder attacking Iran’s gasfield almost certainly with America’s blessing. Prompted swift retaliation from Iran vs Qatar and Saudi Arabia. = oil well over 100 dollars 1/

BAM BAM BAM Molecular Contagion - This thing going intercontinental, - This is just Physics - This is physical supply chain - You can’t print molecules - Paper market disconnected from Physical

Glorious. That was not diplomacy. That was a polite, surgical reminder that the problem is not Europe’s leaders — it’s Trump’s capacity. And that is what rattles him most. Not insults. Composure. Competence. Adults in the room who can humiliate him without even raising their voice.

@20committee @Kasparov63 How many damaging “go it alone” examples do we need? Protectionism & isolation go nowhere in an interconnected world. The same regressive politics keeps returning when we need vision/cooperation on conflict, climate & AI. Over here, Reform may have us trying it all over again.

So, it turns out that when you publicly shit all over your closest allies -- calling them freeloaders, losers, weak, while casually threatening to destroy their economies with arbitrary tariffs that change weekly -- they don't come running when you beg for their help. Who knew?

Nearly every Iranian senior political figure and military commander has been saying publicly for years that if their regime were involved in an existential war with the US and Israel, they would target US bases and interests across the Middle East and close the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump just made an extraordinary admission: The United States gets less than 1% of its oil from the Strait of Hormuz. Japan gets 95%. China gets 90%. South Korea gets 35%. So Trump is asking the countries whose entire energy supply depends on the Strait — to come fight for it. While America, which gets almost none of its oil through it, started the war that closed it. Japan just officially said no. China called it Iran’s sovereign right. South Korea has given no commitment. America closed a waterway it barely uses. Then asked the countries that need it most to come reopen it. Then threatened NATO when they declined. Iran’s Foreign Minister already answered this logic: “There are people being killed only because Trump wants to have fun.” $21 billion spent. 14 Americans dead. Oil at $102. Zero allied warships coming. Less than 1%. Never stop connecting the dots.

And there it is. A Prime Minister who consults with his team ( which includes experts) versus a President who makes his mind up on his own… dangerous dangerous man.