Xi only mentioned one war - and that was the conflict in the Middle East.

He told Putin that a complete end to the war in Iran was of "utmost urgency"

Xi and Putin both called out 

• treacherous military strikes against other
  countries, 
• the hypocritical use of negotiations as cover for preparing
  such strikes, 
• the assassination of leaders of sovereign states, 
• the
  destabilisation of the domestic political situation in these states and
  the provocation of regime change, 
• and the brazen kidnapping of national
  leaders for trial.

The Flitch of Bacon.—The jocular custom
of claiming a flitch of bacon at Dunmow Priory
is shortly to be revived.   Notice was given in
due form, on Tuesday last, that the happy couple
—who will be prepared to swear that, for twelve
months and a day, they had never made nuptial
transgression—offended each other in word or
deed—never wished themselves unmarried again,
but have continued true in thought and desire
will, as soon as qualified by time, which will
occur next month, attend, and demand the re-
ward.—Essex Standard.

Bees.—Repeated swarms of bees have for
the last twenty years been known to occupy a
disused chimney, attached to the premises held
by Messrs. Hughes, grocers and drapers, Cross-
Street, Oswestry.   Mr. Samuel Vaughan, brick-
layer, for the first time, entered the treasure-
house on Wednesday, by taking upwards of six
feet in height of brickwork out, and nearly one
foot in breadth, the whole of which was in pos-
session of these industrious workmen, whose
dwelling (the honeycomb) was about 14 inches
thick inside the chimney.   This filled, we are
informed, four pails and two buckets, and will
weigh about 2cwt.   The brickwork is made up
again, and an aperture left for the bees to recom-
mence their work.—Shrewsbury Chronicle.

Sauce for the Goose: A primer on legal clichés
By Alexander Chandler KC
June 24, 2020

Headings:

• Stacking shelves at Tesco
• Sauce for goose is sauce for gander 
• Cutting one’s coat according to one’s cloth
• Meal ticket for life
• Copper bottomed assets and the plum duff
• Marital acquest

“Conclusion

No advocate, however eloquent, can avoid using clichés altogether. However, we would all do well by resisting the temptation to resort to such easy, hackneyed phrases as “sauce for the goose”, “cutting one’s coat/ cloth” or “meal ticket”.

In Politics and the English Language Orwell proposed six rules which, if anything, apply more forcefully now than they did 70 years ago:

Those who neglect history...

other wars that on paper the US was winning in terms of enemies killed and bombing raids completed in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is important to remember that after years of bloodshed and killing, they all ended in ways that amounted to defeat for the United States

But that required a president in the White House who was prepared to go to war alongside Israel, something that had never happened despite the two countries' close relationship and Israel's dependence on US military and diplomatic support. Netanyahu could never persuade a US president that it was in America's interests to go to war with Iran – until the second term of Donald J Trump.

From Social media trial

In arguing his case for
punitive damages, Kaley's attorney Mark Lanier - a folksy Texas
litigator - had shown the jury a jar of M&Ms.

Each M&M stood for $1bn of the company's worth, he said, in a bid to illustrate the depth of the company's wealth.

Currently, Meta's market capitalisation is at around $1.4tn, or 1,400 M&Ms.

 

The verdict has forced
those inside the companies to grapple with the fact that many outsiders
do not view them as favourably as they have come to view themselves.

That
realisation has been difficult for companies that a decade ago were
hailed as critical to connecting and entertaining people, and even
helping to spread democracy around the world.

Post Office scandal 'has taken 21 years of my life'

SCATTER SUNSHINE.

When a copy of Mr. Oscar Black-
ford’s Christmas Circular came into
my hands, I was much struck by the
appropriate words which headed the
long list of Christmas gifts—" Scatter
Sunshine with Xmas Cards."

St. Austell Gazette and Cornwall County News - Wednesday 28 November 1934

“Too many people thinking too much was the key problem with the modern world. Think about your garden, sure, think about what you're going to have for tea, think about some things you have some actual power over, but everybody spending all day thinking about things they couldn't influence, where did that lead?”

 

"― Richard Osman, The Impossible Fortune
"