After a long pause, I've just done another England Covid & NHS update as we head into the autumn/winter season.

TLDR: we're in a significant Covid wave now, the NHS is stretched, get boosted if you're eligible.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...

石破の80年談話に目を通したが、丸山眞男の言う「天皇制における無責任の体系」を中心に展開された言説ではあり、一部ネトウヨの間で物議をかもしているようだが、なんら当たり障りのない至極正当な内容のものと言えよう。

ただ、山室信一が唱える「思想課題としてのアジア」的考察が抜け落ちていたように思う。あの時代の問題点は内部的・（超）憲法的な事と同時に、日本のアジア観の問題でもあるわけで、この点が抜けているのは少し残念な気がしてならない。

もちろん、安部談話の「気が付けば真珠湾」的な右翼にありがちなナレティブよりはずっとすっきりしている。村山談話とセットとして捉えると良いのかもしれない。

Takaichi could cooperate on policy with Tamaki and his DPFP, but he's not going to deliver the votes that Komeito could (tbh I'm putting it politely) and a lot of LDP seats just got a lot more vulnerable whenever the next election happens

Komeito to leave the coalition.

今回の東急の事故、「欧米の鉄道は事故前提で設計されていてけしからん」云々と言う輩に再考の機会になるかなとも思いしや、いや、それは所詮無理なことなんだろうな、と思う。

A glitch in the space-time continuum at Leicester.

日本が少子高齢化を脱せない理由がまた一つここに。

🚨EXCLUSIVE

‘Thick as Thieves’: Nathan Gill and Nigel Farage’s Putin Problem

Insiders reveal that the former MEP - convicted of bribery for his part in the Kremlin’s strategic plan to crush Ukrainian independence - was one of Farage’s closest aides
bylinetimes.com/2025/10/04/t...

Japan's LDP makes the same mistake made by other right-of-centre parties in the West.

Imitating bigots and racists will only result in handing power to them.

The Japanese extreme right's cut & paste prewar nationalism will lead Japan into darkness.

Dark days ahead for Japan.

Dark ages have arrived in Japan as well

"The announcement comes against the backdrop of China’s growing rail infrastructure development near India’s northeastern borders, with the Indian government accelerating efforts to strengthen connectivity in the region in recent years."

www.railjournal.com/infrastructu...

Super duper dry....

Now, that's something.

To be honest though, I am more of a Kirin Ichiban-shibori guy myself....

"UNIFE has called on the European Commission to ‘deter’ non-EU companies from bidding for EU public contracts if their home markets are not open to EU suppliers".

Now, where does that put Hitachi?

www.railwaygazette.com/rail-supplie...

"EU rules make it complicated to finance international rail routes, while aviation ‘enjoys tax exemptions that amount to a hidden subsidy of €30–40 per plane ticket'."

www.railwaygazette.com/passenger/pa...

i've seen so many articles on this today, and not a single one so far has pointed out that where "not taking any benefits payments" is concerned, you have no access to public funds on a visa. this has been the case for years. but nobody, from the BBC down, will challenge this or anything else

"Being in work
Not taking a penny in benefits
No criminal record"

For most ILR applications, these are the conditions. Shows how politicians are ignorant of existing immigration rules.

Ignorance breeds hatred.

UK government to reintroduce maintenance grants (rather than loans) for students from the lowest income families
www.gov.uk/government/n...

If you imitate the fascists, you are giving them a free ticket to power.

Government breaking its promise if it's true. The FT says it may not be applied retrospectively. Which is it?

If she does this, the gap between her policy and Farage's will narrow considerably. Retrospective legislation is the choice of tinpot dictators and intellectual vegetables. It means no-one could take Britain's word seriously.