The Toff

NH fan known to say, 'only another 361 days to go but who's counting'. Handle is a homage to the late, great Tony Sweeney.

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@AlaliQasem @HFI_Research @threadreaderapp Unroll please

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@AI_with_jasmin @threadreaderapp Unroll please

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@ahuja_priyank @threadreaderapp Unroll please

[Spring-Nuts @SpringNuts_]

Awesome performance of Purple Rain by @springsteen and #Estreetband last night in Minneapolis at @TargetCenterMN . Absolutely stellar guitar work by Nils and Tom Morello. Stunning.

Video by SeanEsq on YouTube

#springsteen

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@aiedge_ @threadreaderapp Unroll please

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@heynavtoor @threadreaderapp Unroll please

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@EBL2017 @threadreaderapp unroll please

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@brucemillington If they do go Wed-Sat, a good option might be to run the old 3 days Wed - C Hurd / Thur - CC / Fri - GC. Sat could host the lesser races.

[Bruce Millington @brucemillington]

Jockey Club boss Jim Mullen tells @nickluck there have been conversations about moving to a Wednesday-to-Saturday Cheltenham festival. What do YOU think?

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@Bettymgv Please DM

[Lars Christensen @MaMoMVPY]

The problem isn't Trump. The problem is the US.

When the outside world observes Trump's insane behaviour and his threats against allies, and we at the same time observe that there is no real action from the US public, Congress, the US Supreme Court, or the US media about this insanity, we will all have to conclude that the US accepts this behaviour.

The public in the US think the US is entitled to a certain position in the world where there is no room for decent behaviour and where there are no norms and rules.

That means that we all have to conclude that the US — not only Trump — has betrayed the international order that the US, with its Western partners, were the main architects of after the Second World War.

This is the conclusion that Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney so clearly laid out in his speech at Davos yesterday. We simply cannot trust the US to play by the rules any more. Therefore, we also fundamentally have to ask ourselves — should we trust the financial and economic structure which is an integral part of the global rules-based order?

Americans live in the illusion that the US can do everything on its own, despite the fact that the US for nearly 20 years has lived beyond its means.

US private and government consumption has been funded by, among others, European central banks and pension funds. But we now have to ask ourselves — why would we trade in dollars? Why would we put our savings into US Treasury bonds?

If the US is not a rules-based society, we cannot trust the dollar to be a stable currency, and it would be insane to hold dollars. As domestic US institutions are eroded and governance structures destroyed, the US will be turned into an emerging market economy — or more accurately, a de-merging economy.

If the US threatens the territory of allies, then the US acts as an authoritarian bully nation. Nobody in their right mind would lend money to the US government. If the US doesn't live up to its international obligations and respect the sovereignty of other nations, why would we expect the US government to honour its debts?

If Trump can tariff nations that will not give up their territory, then there is certainly no reason to believe that the US will not introduce capital controls. And if that is a risk, why would you risk investing in the US?

It is not a question about Europe standing up to the US. It is a question about being prudent with our investments — about reducing risks.

Every day Trump remains in office, distrust of the US increases, and the cost for the US will go up day by day. And this is irreversible. It takes years to build trust, but you can destroy it by your actions in minutes.

Europe has now completely lost trust in the US. And so has Canada. It is up to the people of the US to demonstrate that Trump is an 'outlier', and it is up to the American people to stop him.

If you don't do that, we will have to assume that this is what the US is about — whether the name of the President is Trump or something else, whether the President is a Republican or a Democrat.

[The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln]

This has been the plan all along.
- Foment violence and chaos in the streets of MN
- Implement the Insurrection Act
- Declare Martial Law
- Suspend elections

[Financial Times @FT]

Opinion: The current US administration wishes to erase the republic itself, in its 250th year, writes Martin Wolf. That is why Europe is its enemy. It is also why Europe must defend itself https://t.co/5TCESke2uA

[The Mellon Heads - LOTR Podcast @mellon_heads]

Tolkien reading "The Ride of the Rohirrim".

On his birthday, there is no better thing to do than to listen to the professor reading one of the most iconic scenes from The Lord of the Rings

[Ed Conway @EdConwaySky]

📽️Donald Trump wants you to know he's targeting Venezuela because of illegal drugs.
But what if this were really about something else altogether...?
Dig into the murky world of crude oil refining and you find another, even more intriguing explanation...
Full primer 👇

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

The largest and sharpest image ever taken of the Andromeda galaxy — otherwise known as M31.

It is the biggest Hubble image ever released and shows over 100 million stars, thousands of star clusters in a section of the galaxy’s disc stretching across over 40 000 light-years.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I addressed the Irish Oireachtas. It is a great honor for me to stand here today – in a country that understands the price of freedom better than many in Europe, better than many in the world, and that shares our belief that every voice counts, every nation matters. Please remember, your voice matters – from Ireland’s vote at the United Nations, to the words in your media. From your thoughts here in Dublin, to every home in the global Irish community around the world. That’s millions of people who can influence hundreds of millions more. When the most powerful apply pressure, the global community helps guide that pressure in the right direction. The aggressor must be held accountable for what was done.

Please, take an active role in making the Tribunal for this aggression a reality. Not just joining, but pushing, working, insisting that justice must begin with accountability. Please, continue to advocate for every form of sanctions against Russia. And it is time for Russian assets to serve the cause of peace – to help defend and rebuild Ukraine. This is a long-overdue decision, and it must be implemented. And please – call on everyone in the world to help return all the children abducted by Russia, and all the prisoners still held in Russian jails and camps – many of whom have been there not just since 2022, but since 2014, when Russia launched its hybrid war against us and occupied Crimea. This has gone on far too long to simply close our eyes and turn the page on Russia.

Without a just peace, hatred will not fade – it will continue to smolder and provoke new violence. History has seen this before. And this time, it must be different. We need real peace. Help us achieve it. And never lose your faith in Ukraine.

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@Ric_RTP @threadreaderapp Unroll please

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

The “La Marseillaise” scene in Casablanca (1942) still lands with staggering power. Many extras were actual refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe, which is why it feels so painfully genuine.

[Shaun Pinner @ShaunPinnerUA]

https://t.co/zeY1jDOigy
What Trump is doing is unforgivable, just disgusting. He did it before, and he’s doing it again.
Zelensky addressed the nation after Trump’s 28-point suicide plan to hamstring Ukraine, undermine its defence, strip away its sovereign rights, and effectively reward a genocidal aggressor that has committed heinous war crimes, stolen children, and continues to attack civilian homes.

[The Toff @TheToffTip]

@JamesFLoveIV @threadreaderapp unroll please