Conjecture: the availability of inexpensive tea made Britons healthier in the 19th century because, to drink tea, they had to boil the water.

I speculate that Britons can thank the rebellious American colonists for the 1784 decrease in the British tax on tea.

The International Red Cross warns that global heating is a threat to the national security of every country.

*If the UK government had set out to undermine and degrade our country, it couldn't have done a better job.*

I suspect that, in practice, the difference between "undermine the country" and "drive the non-rich into penury" is not very big.

How the west influenced Putin's thinking for the worse.

Putin announced that he has "transferred the deterrence forces of the Russian army to a special mode of combat duty."

I think that is his way of saying, "I'm a maniac swinging a loaded gun around, so do exactly what I say." But I don't think he is really a maniac -- I think this is manipulation.