@hubertlepicki It’s 2025 and we’re still getting briefings from European senior politicians talking about keeping Ukraine’s former borders on the negotiating table. How, exactly? Ukraine should take the win. Because it is a win.

@FerdinandLejeu3 @toozewhatnot @Biggiethelad1 @Phoenix4517 @skadoopi129916 @APHClarkson Case Study: We (UK) elected a leitmotif of the Ancien Régime in the form of Labour, to teach the old order a lesson (trying to get the Conservatives to shape up). But there’s another 4 years of the current administration and then (and only perhaps) does rethinking get a chance.

@stefanauer_hku If only geopolitics was as simple as issuing directives about plastic bottle caps. I’m looking for signals that the EU is starting to grasp some uncomfortable realities. Then it becomes possible to formulate responses. Thus far, it mostly seems to be “this is all so unfair!”.

@hairyhillfarmer @NewtonEmerson Oh yes, I agree completely. I was attempting to illustrate the two-camps rhetoric which seems to ensue whenever changing the way Stormont operates is brought up. Whatever sensible proposals might be suggested, someone will try to turn it into self-interested horse trading.

@CageFooName That’s the problem with real life. No score and bad lighting.

@Dominanski @hubertlepicki There is literally zero,appetite for that. Certainly not anywhere west of Austria.

@hubertlepicki Yes. There’s plenty of examples of this. No-one here thinks, for example, the Republic of Ireland is somehow some “lost territory” which needs to be “recaptured”. It’s the first 20 years of any settlement that matters. A hundred years later, nobody cares.

@ltg1810 @VintageMrHobbes I’m getting big sword/blue pantsuit Penny Mordaunt crossover vibes.

@VintageMrHobbes You can put that on a mug.

@RightsRobins Annoying the leftists is so treasurable, though, I’d happily pay double.

@VintageMrHobbes * uberrima fides Latin does not survive contact with autocorrect.

@ofjmx @VintageMrHobbes It should be noted the government has several avenues for appeal as I imagine this one would get permission for referral to the UK Supreme Court, if it came to it. I’ve a hunch the superior courts may well agree with your reading.

@HotPinkTarot Thoughts on Imperfections. Do you still have a childhood toy which remains cherished? I do, even though I’m ancient. It’s a small dog and, somewhere along the way, he lost an eyebrow. He’s old and a bit threadbare in his fur too. So, far from perfect. But, of course, this just makes him all the more special. Yes, I could go and buy a brand-new, box-fresh toy. But however much I spent, it wouldn’t have a thousandth of the worth of my childhood little dog. It would be too perfect. It wouldn’t have the evidence (the imperfections) of 50 years of being with me. Hope that makes sense. Wishing you a “Star” energy day. I also love the Star card!

@miririnmiri @StairMasterNem The dog turds might not even turn up and, even though they’re dog turds, you still get annoyed because you were depending on them. (I once thought I could get half way from Tokyo to Osaka by Suica card, the ticket office was politeness itself with a fare adjustment from Hell).

@miririnmiri I’ve even had to resort to the Tesco restaurant.

@VintageMrHobbes @OldRoberts953 They’re not even like the real judges you see on TV.

@VintageMrHobbes I wasn’t allowed to get away with that one when I was, like, 5 years old.