tomo,
I'm sure you're right about the sense of deja vu some former East Germans have been feeling about their great reunited nation (that map doesn't make the nation look all that united). And it's funny how the "right" most strongly attracts those who were formerly in the warm embrace of the "left".

The paradox in "consensus" positions on Gaza and Ukraine has a pretty strong 1984 feel to it. So many people thinking whatever they're told to think (i.e. not thinking at all). To perfect the Orwell picture they'd need to switch sides overnight. Not that hard to imagine in this age of internet "influencers".

Enjoyed Katie Hopkins's piece. Inviting the unthinking to think might be a little ambitous.

Mailman,
Yes, much like Katie's piece, all those deeply held beliefs don't matter that much when the money stops flowing.

I was musing a bit on the Ukraine situation yesterday. I feel a lot of what the internet has done is to turn things into sports: you get behind your team and cheer them for the win. Problem is that (as I've mentioned here once or twice) there's no full-time whistle, no finishing line. It really isn't much of a sport when it never ends.

That put me in mind of the zen-like statement by Zhou Enlai: when he was asked whether the French Revolution was a good thing or a bad thing, he answered that it was too soon to tell. Well yes, where's the finishing line? Looking up his statement yesterday, it turns out he wasn't talking about the French Revolution at all. Had to laugh.

And another thing for a laugh: Broken Hill, that had the multi-day blackout when it lost access to the grid, despite sharing this isolation with a large wind farm, abundant solar, big battery and diesel generators, has now signed up for compressed air energy storage. Apparently, if what you have isn't working, you just need more of it.

Interesting change of tone on the news this morning.

soy boy Macron comes out saying a ceasefire in the Ukraine could be achieved within the next couple weeks.

And that was it. No reporting of condemnation from Germany and no leftists freaking out about France being Russians bitch.

Wonder what changed since last week when the media was reporting everyone in Europe losing their shit at Trump surrendering and giving Ukraine to Putin???

A total 180 given the reporting these last couple weeks about peace coming in the Ukraine.

Mailman,
I suspect it's a multi-dimensional tug-of-war with quite a few different motivations, just as complicated and unpredicable as the weather. A deal with Ukraine for mineral resources is up there on sovereign risk. Will future Ukrainian leaders continue to honour the deal? Will Ukraine ultimately be annexed by Russia? Might a minerals deal make that more likely? Might it ultimately lead to a big war? Who knows!

Thought this piece on the German elections was interesting. The map shows a very clean division with AFD winning a solid block of eastern electorates and CDU getting nearly all the west. The accompanying text explains how AFD will end up with essentially no represenation despite the map showing it winning 5 states versus CDU's 7.

Seven significant parties makes the politics refreshingly different from the (essentially) two-way contests in Aus, UK and USA. Maybe doesn't have much ultimate effect. I get the feeling the bureaucratic blob isn't so different.

In regards to Ukraine, what I find interesting is the fact America gave funding to Ukraine (terrible move) and Europe gave loans (tight bastards!).

Now, how do you suppose the Ukraine will pay back those future loans to the EU? Gonna be very hard to do that if America and the Ukraine sign a trade agreement giving America 50% of all their rare earth minerals!?!?

Maybe this explains the head explosions going off across Europe and their need to keep the war going?

Also, if America and the Ukraine sign that agreement then that guarantees Americas presence in the region (to protect their investment obviously). With a strong American President and a reinvigorated American military Id make that agreement if I was dictator Vlod!

Not so sure Id put my lot in with the soy boys in Europe though?? Maybe if they paid more attention to their own borders eh??

At Judith Curry's, Ross McKitrick on the so-called social cost of carbon. He goes into how it has been statistically overestimated, and the difficulties he had getting that fact published.

He doesn't gloat on finally getting published: points out that political change in the USA has made his academic efforts academic.

tomo,
Yes, the RS did quite a few good things in years past. I associate the presidency of Robert May with its first unwelcome crossover into politics. Later, Paul Nurse seemed to spend most of his time on the wrong side of the fence. Haven't really kept up with it since then, though I see the current president is a statistician: Adrian Smith. He's been there right through the COVID debacle. That's one time I might have welcomed the RS weighing in politically, but I guess they'd have weighed in on the wrong side.

Won't miss Doctor Who, and hadn't even heard of Casualty. Gave up on the Radio 4 Today show half a dozen years ago. Can't think of anything recent from the BBC that was worth seeing/hearing. At least the ABC can still do occasional good things (like Utopia), and even its wokest offerings can't hold a candle to BBC pap.

Mailman,
It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. I wouldn't be too surprised (or disappointed) if, having revealed who did what, they lean towards clemency. IMO the key thing is teaching the voters always to be suspicious of big bureaucracy and the people pushing it.

Mildly enjoyed Konstantin Kisin's talk at ARC. It's a bit of a hybrid between standup patter and a political speech.

And today, Jo Nova covers $20 billion the EPA received and its apparent intention to be a political fighting fund. Strong whiff of the swamp about it.

Additionally, Europe seems determined to keep the war in the Ukraine going at any cost...especially if that cost is dead Ukrainians.

They blather on about a sustainable and enduring peace but not once did those same people ever demand a sustainable and enduring peace in Gaza.

Boy, if the left didnt have double standards they really wouldn't have any standards at all.

I see shit is about to start hitting the fan in America;

https://twitchy.com/samj/2025/02/20/operation-whirlwind-trump-n2408657

What I would love to see is the same tactics used against Democrats that they used against Trump, full on armed attack at each of their residences with no quarter given. Give these people back what they meted out to Trump and conservatives across America.

Gonna be lovely watching them all squeal like piggies! :)