ELON . DOGE . Starmer on the way . 10cc

02/26/2025
Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser charged with radically downsizing the U.S. government, will attend President Donald Trump's first Cabinet meeting on Wednesday as turmoil over his plans to lay off federal workers continues to rage.

The meeting comes amid a tug-of-war between Musk and Trump and U.S. government officials and has become a first test of Musk's authority.
Musk is not a Cabinet member, but no one in the president's circle has wielded more influence in Trump's first weeks. /@livenowfox
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Keir is coming soon /
BBC asks PM if Trump is setting UK government policy
Chris Mason Political editor 26 February 2025
(1756 Comments!)
A big moment and a big decision, ahead of a big meeting.

The government's announcement that it will crank up defense spending and shrink the international aid budget amounts to a big shift in strategy, posture and political positioning.

Take a look at the Labor Party's election manifesto, written less than a year ago, if you would like proof of that.

On page 125, it says: "Labour is committed to restoring development spending at the level of 0.7 per cent of gross national income as soon as fiscal circumstances allow."

The party is now committing to doing the precise opposite – cutting development spending by the same amount by which it had promised to raise it.

There is nothing like an outspoken American president and an imminent visit to the White House to sharpen the mind – and hey presto, along came this announcement just as the prime minister packs his shirts for his trip across the Atlantic.

Along came the thumbs-up from the Trump administration not long later.

But it is also true that there has been a growing recognition for some time and across several parties that more money had to be spent on defense.

The prime minister has taken to recalling how the Berlin Wall coming down made him feel. "It felt as if we were casting off the shackles of history, a continent united by freedom and democracy," as he puts it - contrasting that with the reality of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A wider critique along these lines has been crystallising for some time: the sense that the 1990s were a holiday from history, as Jonathan Freedland called it, and that the end of the Cold War had created a peace dividend where defense budgets could atrophy and the money could be spent on hospitals and schools, for instance.

Instead, not only is there war in Europe, there is an occupant of the White House with seemingly little regard for the American security umbrella this continent has relied upon since World War Two.

European leaders are racing to understand what Trump's presidency means for the continent's security, as war in Ukraine continues to rage

Little wonder, then, that we have seen a blitz of the jitters in European capitals as presidents and prime ministers try to work out what it may or may not mean.

The task facing Starmer - the second strand of the European tag team of leaders to visit Washington, after President Emmanuel Macron on Monday - is to attempt to mold President Donald Trump's position.

Over the coming weeks and months, can a deal be done where the war stops, Ukraine does not feel defeated, Europe does not feel imperilled and transatlantic relations are as close to conventional as possible?

It's not going to be easy.

The prime minister's trip to the White House is but one building block in developing answers to these questions.

And then, over the following weekend, Starmer will host a gathering of European leaders to reflect on where the conversations so far have taken us.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected in Washington soon too.
The next few weeks could prove crucial.
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Graham Gouldman and Kevin Godley of 10cc reunited for a performance on BBC Radio 2's Piano Room on February 13, 2025, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra. They played their hit "I'm Not in Love" as well as their new song "Don't Want to Go to Heaven," and a cover of The Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream."

Jeff Lynne's ELO touring member Iain Hornal is also a part of the current lineup of 10cc, having joined as a touring member in 2013 and becoming an official member in 2017.

Hornal is also the frontman of the recently formed group Big Horizon which consists of musicians who frequently tour with Jeff Lynne's ELO. /tony713elo

*10cc Official Website: https://www.10cc.world/

I’m Not in Love Songtext
I′m not in love
So don't forget it
It′s just a silly phase I'm going through
And just because
I call you up
Don't get me wrong,
Don′t think you′ve got it made
I'm not in love, no no,
It′s because.

I like to see you
But then again
That doesn't mean you mean that much to me
So if I call you
Don′t make a fuss
Don't tell your friends about "the two of us"
I′m not in love, no no,
It's because.

Be quiet, Big boys don't cry
Big boys don′t cry
Big boys don′t cry
Big boys don't cry
Big boys don′t cry
Big boys don't cry

I keep your picture
Upon the wall
It hides a nasty stain that′s lying there
So don't you ask me
To give it back
I know you know it doesn′t mean that much to me
I'm not in love, no no,
It's because.

Ooh, you′ll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you′ll wait a long time

Ooh, you'll wait a long time for me
Ooh, you′ll wait a long time

I'm not in love
So don′t forget it
It's just a silly phase I′m going through
And just because I call you up
Don't get me wrong,
Don't think you′ve got it made
I′m not in love
I'm not in love