France is apparently dipping into its schools budget to plug holes in its public pension system. Seems relevant given that the country is currently being rocked by students protesting over conditions at their high schools!theconversation.com/the-fren…

The elites of Victorian Britain got up late, drank ceaselessly, worked short hours, partied through the night, and knew nothing about science, technology or engineering. And yet, by their own lights, they were hugely effective. worksinprogress.co/issue/the… The Victorians are often held up as a model against the supposedly soft, feckless, humanities-educated elites of today. But I argue that the genius of their system may have been its drastic weighting towards soft skills, team-building and intra-elite networking: - A Victorian’s gentleman’s office hours typically began about 11am and finished about 5pm, including a multi-course lunch with wine. - Upper-class Victorians drank ceaselessly. Conduct guides recommended four or five glasses of wine at dinner *for married women*. Port was often served in pints. - Party culture was intense and nocturnal. Balls started at about 10pm, peaked after 1am, and continued till dawn. During the social season, bankers, judges and politicians might go to several balls per week. - Elite Victorians learnt almost no STEM at school or university. At least half of class time was given over to ancient languages, often as much as 80 percent. One leading educationalist remarked that it was not worth teaching science to gentlemen because it does not involve ‘continued reasoning’. - Sports and character formation were valued far above transmitting facts. A top headmaster described his school’s priorities as ‘First – character, second – physique, third – intelligence, fourth – manners, fifth – information’. This cannot have made elite Victorians more productive individually, but maybe the dense social and emotional network it created helped them to work as a sort of extended team. Perhaps we should think again about what makes groups of people effective.

Grenfell - 72 died from the fire, at least five died by suicide, 11,000 have PTSD, concerns about long term effects of toxicity on residents, 11 firefighters with terminal cancer - plus £1bn spent and rising. That's 'nothing' right?

Harry Kane, one season wonder.

Bleak. The pantheon of passported benefits grows ever larger.

Happy Brazilian Election day to all those who celebrate it

My head has gone. I went to a gig tonight. £50 a ticket. I ask Google’s AI when the headliner artist is likely to come on. It says between 8.15-8.45. Google tells me the venue’s curfew is 11. I later find out that this is incorrect, the curfew for the venue is 10.30. I don’t give a fuck about standing around to see a support act so I plan to arrive at the venue at 8.20, because I doubt a headliner would be on at 8.15 with a curfew of 11. I suspect the artist would be on at 8.30 at the very earliest, and they’ll be probably done by 10.20. I cock up and miss my train and arrive at the venue at 8.40. I’m annoyed (and a little surprised) that he’s already on, but it’s not the end of the world. He walks off stage, post encore, at 9.20. Security tell he came on at 8. My head is gone. I check my emails, there is no mention of this being an early show. The doors do open at 7, rather the 7.30 you might expect, which is a little giveaway? I don’t check who the support act is - there isn’t one, which is the biggest giveaway - because I don’t give a fuck and have no intention of watching them. But what on earth is a 10.30 curfew gig doing finishing at 9.20. Why was there no communication that this was an early finishing show? I have lost my head.

this is the most absurd skyline ive ever seen like genuinely looking like cover art for a city builder

On one level I can see the South Africa comparison falls down - South Africa was toast after the fall of the Soviet Union, it was no longer of use in the Cold War. Israel remains useful to the West’s aims

There are some great anecdotes about the sheer horror of the prosperous New England Irish small business owners who provided significant financial support for the Republicans when they realised exactly what they were funding

Matthew Collings has given anti-Jewish hatred a platform before – and presented it as entertainment. That’s why it beggars belief that yet another exhibition by Mr Collings, under the title “Drawings Against Genocide”, is being hosted by a UK arts institution, given his history of recycling grotesque antisemitic tropes. The week-long exhibition is due to take place from 30th September to 7th October at @hARTslane in New Cross, London — a gallery operating from a building owned by Lewisham Council. hARTslane hosted Mr Collings in July as a speaker at an exhibition focused on “Free Speech in Palestine”. We previously flagged an exhibition of the same name by Mr Collings at Joseph Wales Studios, an independent gallery in Margate, Kent. What we found there was deeply disturbing. Among the works were: • A depiction of the French–Israeli owner of Sotherby’s auction house, with blood dripping from his mouth alongside the words “Hey look I’m selling a fantastic painting, while eating a baby alive”. The blood libel – in which Jews are accused of murdering infants in order to use their blood for ritualistic purposes – is a classic antisemitic trope which has been continually reworked into modern manifestations. • Several paintings referred to the 7th October Hamas massacre: one apparently bearing the words: “no evidence that sexual violence was used as a weapon on October 7,” and “no beheaded babies, no evidence of rapes.”. • Pieces depicting the British Prime Minister as slavishly following orders from the Jews or the Jewish state – yet another classic trope. • Paintings juxtaposing stars of David – the best-known symbol of Judaism and the emblem of the state of Israel – with Nazi imagery. Given this history, it is difficult to believe that the chosen date for the exhibition to finish its run is a coincidence. Should the same antisemitic tropes reappear, closing on the third anniversary of the brutal 7th October 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel would be an affront to British Jews. To add insult to injury, HARTslane Gallery has publicly rejected the International (IHRA) Definition of Antisemitism, characterising its “enforcement” in the art sector as a symptom of “increasing state repression on free speech”. This stands in direct contravention of Lewisham Council’s adoption of the Definition in 2019. Knowing what his last exhibition contained, we are deeply concerned that he is being given a platform to showcase his work in a building owned by Lewisham Council – particularly at a time when Jewish communities across Britain are facing unprecedented levels of violence. We will be writing to @LewishamCouncil to ensure it upholds its responsibility to take its own commitments to combating antisemitism seriously.

LFI presidential candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon threatens to prosecute France’s central bank chair if he wins the election (2026)

🚨🚨🗣️ كيفن باركر السكرتير العام لـ رابطة المشجعين الرسمية لنادي مانشستر سيتي عن قرار اللجنة: كانت قراءته صعبة. عندما رأيت كلمة "صوري" فكرت: هل هي مصطلح قانوني؟ فبحثت عنها في غوغل. إذا كنت صريحاً، لم أرغب حتى في إكمال قراءة البيان، لأنه كان مزعجاً. لكنني فعلت، ووجدت نفسي أتساءل: إلى أين أذهب الآن بصفتي مشجعاً لسيتي؟ الانطباع والردود التي تصلني أن دعم النادي لا يزال قوياً جداً. هناك مشجعون فقدوا الثقة، وهذا حقهم، لكن الأغلبية ستنتظر وتستمع. أضمن أن رد فعل جماهير سيتي سيكون رائعاً، وسيُظهرون دعمهم للنادي ولتاريخه. والطلب على تذاكر المباريات خارج ملعب الاتحاد سيزداد