In the news

Incredible pic that.

HAHA, holy fuck its got a flashing light and everything!

ignoring all other issues, i'm finding it hard to think of a situation in which CPR could be performed by a dog, but not a person

Earthquakes and natural disasters where a dog can sniff out a person and fit through small holes

Great film...

V.smokey around velo/etihad. Work smells of smoke, hazy skies. Took this panorama at 4pm hopefully shows the effect there.

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Abortion to be illegal in the US within the next 20 months with Kennedy retiring?

He's held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights.

The US is well on the way to being a Nazi Gilead.

Can Trump get his chosen nominee through Congress before the mid terms?

Is the million dollar question. If he can, and whichever Judge he picks is say 50 then the US had 30+ years of hardline rightwing judgements coming.

Getting your choice through usually requires tact and diplomacy, skills Trump has in abundance. The most abundant ever in fact.

"Appoint my justice or I set 10,000 brown toddlers on fire"

One credible theory I’ve seen bandied around is that the GOP will slow-roll the SCOTUS replacement so that the midterms are about SCOTUS instead of POTUS. To be fair, I can see the logic. Fuck me I’m scared if it works though.

It's quite ironic how the US Constitution was so keen to separate the branches of government, and that that is such a key part of their mindset still, and yet the appointment of judges has become so politicised.

Meanwhile in the UK, judges seem to be able to hold the government to account better, despite having fewer formal powers to do so and relying on public pressure after landmark cases like yesterday's civil partnerships one.

appointment of judges has become so politicised.

No it always has been. Even at a local level judges are elected.

Remember that supreme court justices must receive Congressional and Senate approval. Many nomineees have been knocked out of contention by the legislature.

I'm not sure it always has been. I think a lot of the US political institutions were created in a time before bipartisanship reigned.

And because those days are viewed so fondly with regards to politics, no one wants to change the institutions which have stopped serving their purpose in the meantime.

I'm not sure it always has been. I think a lot of the US political institutions were created in a time before bipartisanship reigned.

I don't think there ever was such a time. From the point of its birth, though, no one person or group/class ever had full control of the U.S. In that situation, politicians suddenly find virtue in concepts like separation of powers, because it stops their rivals from becoming too powerful and let's them look like defenders of democracy while they work to frustrate those rivals Which is possibly the best argument for such concepts.

It's a bit like the largely secular basis of U.S. government. America is full of religious fanatics who would love to run a theocracy but they're worried that a rival bigot would get there first, so they tolerate secular government.

Man walks into a newspaper office in Annapolis carrying a shotgun and smoke grenades, kills 5 people. Trump already tweeted "Thoughts and prayers", so that's all right.

https://www.vox.com/2018/6/28/17515262/capital-gazette-annapolis-maryland-shooting

That's a coincidence

Ensuring the separation of powers was more down to their fear of government tyranny after their experiences with the British - and also their fear of giving the people too much power, hence the electoral college.

The political party split developed during Washington's presidency, after competition between Jefferson and Hamilton about their different visions. Washington saw what was happening and hated it. The majority of his farewell speech was given over to lamenting it, and urging unity.

I would say that the fact they managed to get 13 states with hugely divergent interests together to make and agree on a constitution shows that there was a time before bipartisanship - but it was hugely idealistic, and it didn't last long.

Revolutions podcast does a wonderful job of explaining all of this and a lot more besides.

If only

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https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jun/29/firefighters-tackle-major-blaze-in-east-london-tower-block

Thankfully it sounds like it has been brought under control

Osborne's financial nous showing its worth

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-44537728

How long till the Conservatives and the right wing press start to posit that the firefighters did it on purpose to try and win back some credibility after the criticism for Grenfell?

You heard it here first.