EVEN in times of international crisis there is room for humour and mockery – at least there is on Twitter, where David Cameron's "on the phone to Obama" tweet last night prompted a slew of responses poking fun at his efforts to appear statesmanlike. The British PM posted what looked suspiciously like a selfie of himself discussing the Ukraine situation on the telephone with the US President, along with a message declaring: "We are united in condemnation of Russia's actions."
I've been speaking to @BarackObama about the situation in Ukraine. We are united in condemnation of Russia's actions. pic.twitter.com/7Rk2k8iOIK— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) March 5, 2014
.@David_Cameron @BarackObama Hi guys, I'm on the line now too. Get me up to speed. pic.twitter.com/xhmJG5KpxT— rob delaney (@robdelaney) March 5, 2014
Before long Patrick Stewart, a former captain of the USS Enterprise and a dab hand at intergalactic crisis management, was offering his services, via a tub of Wet Ones.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
.@robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama I'm now patched in as well. Sorry for the delay. pic.twitter.com/elLQcKcV3w— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) March 5, 2014
From there the conference call rapidly expanded, with more and more Twitter users joining in, and adopting a variety of different devices to do so.
@SirPatStew @robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama Ok, guys, thanks for holding. pic.twitter.com/ih36KWU3Tb— Michael Moreno (@MacMoreno) March 5, 2014
@MacMoreno @SirPatStew @robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama Sorry I'm late to the call. What'd I miss? pic.twitter.com/gOj4WMO2eu— Yuri Lowenthal (@YuriLowenthal) March 6, 2014
@YuriLowenthal @MacMoreno @SirPatStew @robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama @taraplatt can you repeat that 1st part pic.twitter.com/LU7pw3g1Ui— Sean Bonner ? (@seanbonner) March 6, 2014
Inevitably things got more and more surreal, until even the man at the centre of the crisis, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, made an appearance, along with an ostrich.
@SirPatStew @MacMoreno @robdelaney @David_Cameron @BarackObama CAMERON, YOU FOOL -- THIS ISN'T THE WHITE HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/BOpu8jJ3V6— Vladimir Putin (@jesse_hamm) March 6, 2014
-
How the FCC’s ‘equal time’ rule worksIn the Spotlight The law is at the heart of the Colbert-CBS conflict
-
What is the endgame in the DHS shutdown?Today’s Big Question Democrats want to rein in ICE’s immigration crackdown
-
‘Poor time management isn’t just an inconvenience’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Putin’s shadow warFeature The Kremlin is waging a campaign of sabotage and subversion against Ukraine’s allies in the West
-
Alexei Navalny and Russia’s history of poisoningsThe Explainer ‘Precise’ and ‘deniable’, the Kremlin’s use of poison to silence critics has become a ’geopolitical signature flourish’
-
What happens now that the US-Russia nuclear treaty is expiring?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Weapons experts worry that the end of the New START treaty marks the beginning of a 21st-century atomic arms race
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Grok in the crosshairs as EU launches deepfake porn probeIN THE SPOTLIGHT The European Union has officially begun investigating Elon Musk’s proprietary AI, as regulators zero in on Grok’s porn problem and its impact continent-wide
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
