Midweek 1st July 2026

186 Responses to Midweek 1st July 2026

1. AsISeeIt says:

   July 3, 2026 at 7:34 am

   Release the sausages..?

   Hot dog prices put a leash on American celebrations – they don’t tend to carry a lot of local British news, or indeed such granular consumer orientated economic reporting, it’s usually all a bit more macro, however, that’s our left-liberal corporate globalist FT, cheerfully punning about the inflationary cost of snacks in the US.

   Visitors to the famous Coney Island resort in New York are forking out nearly $5 for the sausage treats… thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariff wars and the attack on Iran. The political price for the president is rising too. – scoffs the FT editorial. I’ve a vision of FT journos gobbling this news with such relish they’re spilling mustard down their shirts with glee.

   Ain’t gonna study war no more..? – as that old negro spiritual Down by the Riverside promised, echoing Isaiah (Chapter 2, Verse 4): “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

   The Guardian top headline today likewise professes a peacenik stance, regretting how Britain is now planning to beat its ploughshares into swords: Spending cuts to fund defence plans ‘will cost 10,000 UK jobs’

   This is quite a turnaround for our formerly gung-ho liberal press – which was on another day, on another front, insisting we should: “Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war” (Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Act 3, Scene 1) and: “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more, or close the wall up with our English dead!” (Shakespeare’s Henry V (Act 3, Scene 1)

   Coalition of the willing must be ‘robust’ to deal with Russia, warns ex-US general… says multinational force to aid Ukraine would need thousands of troops to stop Russia breaking ceasefire (Guardian, This article is more than 5 months old)

   Starmer lauds £78bn EU loan for Ukraine amid increased Trump tensions… Prime minister uses European Political Community summit to begin negotiations for UK participation in scheme… Keir Starmer has said the benefit of joining the European Union’s £78bn loan scheme for Ukraine “outweighs the cost”… the UK’s involvement in the recovery loan plan would also help create jobs at home (Guardian, This article is more than 1 month old)

   Keir Starmer’s diplomacy on Ukraine wins him plaudits at home… Prime minister draws praise from Conservatives… Kemi Badenoch told the Commons that she had been “glad” to witness Starmer embracing Zelenskyy in London, just days after Trump gave the Ukrainian leader a dressing down in the Oval Office… The Reform leader [Nigel Farage], who is a friend of Trump, has elicited criticism for previously suggesting that the west “provoked” Russia to invade Ukraine with the eastward expansion of Nato. (FT, March 2025)

   Riffing on George Orwell’s propaganda slogan from his 1945 novella, Animal Farm: “Four legs good, two legs bad”

   One senses, Zelensky Russia War good, Trump Iran War bad.

   The Guardian front page this morning, as is their habit, meanwhile does a commendable impression of the Harlem Voice: Data shows racial divide in pain relief during birth

   This is news promoted on the basis of the ‘research shows’ genre of agitprop reporting – one suspects it may all be a case of so much gas and air: women from black and Asian backgrounds are less likely than their white counterparts to receive an epidural while giving birth, research has revealed (Guardian)

   Your Mr AsI senses he’s not doing enough fan service for minorities – such as those dedicated EU Remainers hereabouts…

   Let me introduce a little featurette I’d like to call “Euronews”

   So, whereas: Burnham: Manifesto allows some taxes to rise (Times) and in devolution news; Councils face £7bn funding black hole… raising the prospect that councils will fill the hole by levying higher taxes (Telegraph)

   There’s good news from the heart of Euroland: Germany’s €10bn tax cut… for the middle classes to lift the German economy (FT)

   High trust European societies?

   Sadly it’s the French who are letting the side down: Pétanque bowled over by match-fixing drama… France’s top pétanque players… accused of deliberately losing a match… organised fraud… to alter betting outcomes (Telegraph)

   Spanish practices

   Spain’s migrant amnesty attracts 1.2mn applicants, double Madrid’s forecasts (FT)

   Sometimes these segueways will tend to write themselves – Double bubble?

   Greece among EU’s worst performers in judicial efficiency… continuing to record one of the worst performances in the European Union regarding the speed of its judicial system. (Kathimerini ‘founded in 1919, the publication is widely regarded as a credible and authoritative source of record for Greek affairs’)

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   • Fedup2 says:

     July 3, 2026 at 8:52 am

     Asiseeit – I’m looking forward to a weekend of contrived hysteria over the coming exit of ‘our 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿heroes ‘ from the World Cup along with those ❤️break headlines followed by a demand that everyone gets a knighthood for doing their job – particularly sir harry of Walthamstow…

     Also – ‘how are you going to watch the 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿match ?” Ten tips on staying up after 1am ? Our doctor on the health effects of late night footy … you know the tune ….

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     • MarkyMark says:

       July 3, 2026 at 8:55 am

       And the NHS goes from murdering babies and letting people die in corridors to ….”NHS to reward people who walk 30 minutes a day”
       https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj6g0rdy40jo

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2. MarkyMark says:

   July 3, 2026 at 9:03 am

   

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