- “Traders with prior knowledge of Hamas attacks made millions shorting Israel, claims report” – Suspicious stock market activity suggests that more than $100 million was made betting against Tel Aviv shares prior to the October 7th massacre, according to the Telegraph.
- “Solidarity with Palestinians is not hate speech, whatever would-be censors say” – Freedom of expression is imperilled when speakers are cancelled, whether by the Left or the Right, says Kenan Malik in the Guardian.
- “The chilling link between anti-zionism and antisemitism” – Everything is fascism except fascism. It is doublespeak on steroids, writes Brendan O’Neill in the Spectator.
- “Will it be riot season again in 2024?” – The Left-wing rioting following George Floyd’s death in 2020 was not an anomaly but a tactic that activists are repurposing for any cause, says Christopher F. Rufo in City Journal.
- “Why Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants peace with Israel” – Saudi Arabia would quietly welcome the demise of Hamas, writes David Rundell in UnHerd.
- “Child mask mandates for COVID-19: A systematic review” – According to new research in the British Medical Journal, the current body of scientific data does not support the use of masks for protecting children against COVID-19.
- “Covid handouts have made people less willing to work, central bankers warn” – Covid handouts have made people less willing to work, a group of the world’s most senior central bankers has warned, according to the Telegraph.
- “The Hallett Inquiry: Eminence-based medicine Part 8” – Dr. Tom Jefferson and Prof. Carl Heneghan present the eighth instalment in their series of posts focusing on the evidence provided to the Covid Inquiry by Chief Scientific Advisor Prof. Dame Angela McLean.
- “The WHO’s accelerating ambitions create a cliff edge for democracy” – Rumours of the demise of the WHO’s International Health Regulations amendments are premature despite encouraging signs of resistance, says UsForThem on Substack.
- “Former U.K. police officer convicted for ‘implication’ in ‘offensive’ social media message raises major free speech concerns” – A U.K. court ruling has extended the boundaries of hate speech laws, potentially criminalising implied meanings in private communications, reports Reclaim The Net.
- “Barclay family regains ownership of the Telegraph after Lloyds loan repaid” – The Barclay family has regained ownership of the Telegraph after paying £1.2 billion in debts owed to Lloyds Banking Group, according to the Telegraph.
- “France isn’t buying Macron’s excuses after the Eiffel Tower terror attack” – France is supposed to be on high alert but a terror attack in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower cost a tourist his life, writes Gavin Mortimer in the Spectator.
- “We can’t let Islamist terror become the ‘new normal’” – Why have the brutal knife attacks in Paris been met with silence, asks Fraser Myers in Spiked.
- “Mayor of London and TfL cut down ‘historic’ tree” – The “historic” palm tree that stood proudly on a roundabout in Millbank has been removed for yet another bike lane for Sadiq Khan’s cycling constituents, reports the Mail.
- “‘We can’t go uphill – the 20mph speed limit makes no sense’” – Residents and businesses in Wales are grappling with the unintended consequences of the new 20mph zones, says the Telegraph.
- “U.K. would be a climate leader again under Labour, says Starmer” – The U.K. will “lead from the front” in tackling the climate crisis under a Labour Government, Keir Starmer has pledged, after meeting world leaders at the COP28 summit in Dubai, reports the Guardian.
- “‘Pounds for pylons’ is a pitiful attempt to allow destruction in the name of Net Zero” – People who live near new pylons are to be convinced to accept these iron invaders with discounts to their electricity bills, writes Rosie Pearson in the Telegraph.
- “Union chiefs held festive lunch as train strikes resumed” – Rail union bosses held a festive party on the eve of a fresh round of strikes that have caused travel misery for millions, reports the Times.
- “I was sacked as a school chaplain for my Christian beliefs” – In Spiked, Revd Dr. Bernard Randall recounts his dismissal from employment and reporting to Prevent after delivering a sermon critical of ‘wokeness’.
- “Doctor Who: The latest symptom of the BBC’s decline” – The BBC’s upcoming licence renewal could spark a viewer exodus, says Niall Gooch in UnHerd.
- “Woke books are a flop with readers” – The publishing industry needs to prioritise quality over ideology if it wants to survive, writes Nick Tyrone in Spiked.
- “England’s oldest Christmas market forced to shut because it was ‘so popular’ that it was a ‘safety risk’” – Lincoln Christmas market, which was first held in 1982, has been axed by the Labour-led council due to concerns about overcrowding, reports GB News.
- “Canada’s suicide hotline reveals Justin Trudeau’s dystopia” – In Canada, euthanasia has been reduced to a bureaucratic detail, writes Mary Harrington in UnHerd.
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Discussion
Comments
This week across the site:
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The conviction of Michael Chadwell for a private tweet about parrots is the most dangerous signal yet that our elementary freedoms are being removed.
This case must be appealed.
Moreover, the monarch should state explicitly that he will honour his oath to us and defend our rights and freedoms.
Beef education, and a proper sceptical view of junk media: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3X-_Bqs_0k&list=WL&index=3 from “Harry’s Farm”.
https://www.gbnews.com/news/england-oldest-christmas-market-lincoln-cancelled
Before commenting I came to the conclusion this was out and out vandalism. Here’s the local Tory MP:
Lincoln’s Conservative MP Karl McCartney said: ‘It’s absolutely outrageous, it is cultural and economic vandalism. ‘The financial pain this will inflict on local businesses and charities will be catastrophic. It is real-life nightmare before Christmas stuff.’
The Labour Party excuse is that visitor numbers are too high to keep people safe. This is an out and out lie. An event of forty years standing has gained cultural significance and so must be destroyed. It is too British you see.
“The Labour Party excuse is that visitor numbers are too high to keep people safe.”
Safetyism – a terrible disease which afflicts us. I wish to see the day when people in general are happy to keep themselves safe. I mean, yeah, if you get an an aeroplane you want the maintenance people to have done a good job and the pilot to be sober and unjabbed, but a bloody market? If there are too many people for your liking, stay away!
There’s a huge fair that takes place in these parts at the end of November. It was a bit of a crush in previous years so this year they spread out the stalls a bit more, removed some stalls from the narrowest parts of the high street and had more in side streets, halls, etc. It was fab and everyone loved it. Lincoln not able to manage that level of logistics then?
Apparently an amendment went through parliament allowing the State to look at people’s bank accounts when they receive a State Pension.
What on earth is happening with this increasing surveillance? Why would they want to look at accounts? Is this the first step of making State pension means tested?
It’s all benefits that are included in the change, even though laws already exist to investigate benefits claimants suspected of fraud. The move is being pushed through without scrutiny, even though admitted to be non-urgent, and the relevant minister quickly absented himself from the session where it was discussed.
The most obvious conclusion is that including the State Pension (not currently means-tested, not affected by other wealth) gives the opportunity to dig into the accounts of almost anyone without notification or permission.
The excuse is that organisations such as DWP will use the new legislation to look for fraud. I can say with some confidence that this is total BS.
DWP fraud investigators have always had the wherewithal to investigate the bank accounts of benefit claimants if fraud was suspected but getting them to do the necessary was always hard work even if we knew fraud was occurring. This legislation is being rubber-stamped in order to allow fishing expeditions and it WILL be abused.
Some people will perhaps miss that something such as Child Benefit is paid to all who have children even if those parents are working.
More opportunities for government snooping under the guise of protecting the public purse which as we all know Fishy is very accomplished at.
😀😀😀
Oh it’s much, much worse than that – it’s the first step towards social credit scores and total financial control.
(I thought the amount of state pension you got was predicated on your NI contributions anyway & is why some women & part time workers get less than the full pension? Happy to be corrected.)
State pensions are dependent on NI contributions.
Some women suffer reduced state pensions because government conned them in to agreeing to pay lower N I (National Insurance) contributions but did not fully explain the consequences.
Ah, thanks, thought it was something like that. 👍
“Former U.K. police officer convicted for ‘implication’ in ‘offensive’ social media message raises major free speech concerns” – the implications of this ruling are chilling, especially for us on here. Irony and humour play no part in a humourless, victimhood culture where the slightest bit of sarcasm at the latest nonsense can land you in court. The retired police officer made a very lame joke in a private Whatsapp group and for that could be convicted of hate speech and sent to jail for 6 months. Imagine the absolute insanity of that? What is this world that is being created around us? It’s suffocating.
“Child mask mandates for COVID-19: A systematic review”
Somewhat pointless because it was never about children’s health. It was about teachers’ cowardice.
“Woke books are a flop with readers” – good and good riddance. People aren’t stupid, especially people who buy and read books.
https://off-guardian.org/2023/12/04/cop28-the-globalist-agenda-has-never-been-more-obvious/
Kit Knightly at Off-G nailing things as always.
“And, of course, 124 countries (including the EU and China) have signed the inevitable ‘Declaration on Climate and Health’.
It is funded to the tune of 1 BILLION dollars from donors such as the Rockefeller Foundation, and supposedly aims to:
better leverage synergies at the intersection of climate change and health to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of finance flows.”
Tha last sentence above is a belter. .
And the finishing statement:
“We know, just like Covid, climate change is being used as an excuse to usher in massive social control and global governance.
And we know, just like Covid, almost every world government on both sides of every divide is backing it.
Even if they don’t always agree, even if they are happy to kill each other’s citizens in large numbers, they are all on board the same globalist gravy train, all going in the same direction to the same destination, and it has never been more obvious.”
The EU is not a country.
I did not write the article.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-21-covid-questions-johnson-should-face-but-wont/
All the evidence required to convince that the C1984 was manufactured in a lab.
An excellent article by Neville Hodgkinson.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/cop28-a-woke-confederation-of-grifters-chancers-and-shysters/
Quite staggering. Outfits I and no doubt many here on DS have never heard of all working against us. Although to suggest that those involved are ‘working’ is a stretch too far.
“AS INFLATION soars and the temperature plummets, it is unpalatable to think of the unelected scoundrels and hypocrites in Dubai conspiring to make you poorer and colder. An email sent to TCW Defending Freedom from an outfit called University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose gives an insight into the nature of the unelected parasites who are taking it upon themselves to organise your future.
Part of the Institute’s mission is to ‘shape an economy-wide transformation that puts ambitious climate targets at the centre of how we design our economies and finance’.”
Covid Jab And Cancer Rise
latest leaflet to print at home and deliver to neighbours or forward to politicians, media, friends online.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/like-father-like-son-on-march-to-globalism/
A cracking round-up of the dynasties working against humanity:
Trudeau, Soros, Charlie Windsor, Gates, Schwab.
A veritable cornucopia of the worst of mankind.
Don’t forget Git’erres and sadick Kant!
(And the entirety of most western governments)
Brits should stock up on candles and battery-powered radios in case a power meltdown cripples digital gadgets, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden warns
Not on the list but worthy of comment. This is from the Deputy Prime Minister of a G7 nation. Have any of them stopped to think how utterly absurd this is and why they aren’t doing anything to solve it.? (rhetorical…)
Another reason why a CBDCs are a bad idea. Perhaps we should ban smart phones and 5G as they use too much power?
So conformation then that a power meltdown is coming !
Freddy – a very reasonable assumption..
This article also included the fact that there will be a web site with information about how to cope if the power goes out. How one is supposed to access it in the cold and dark, they don’t say. Of course, another problem is that many of today’s bright young things will have never handled a torch or a transistor radio.
They can always use the torch on their phones! Then they’ll realise it flattens their battery faster!🤣
Rather like the Australian Deputy Prime Minister who told reporters that people would have electric cars, drive them home and plug them into their solar panels to recharge overnight.
“cripples digital gadgets”
Wow! That’s going to lead to a spike in suicide rates in the young thumb twiddling “I dont know how to talk to people face to face” cohort… When their phone switches off, they’ll switch off with it!
“U.K. would be a climate leader again under Labour, says Starmer”
Harder, faster…. This guy only knows one song to sing.
This is Kneel’s blatant pitch to the Davos Deviants. He is simply reading out loud his own begging letter.
“Doctor Who: The latest symptom of the BBC’s decline”
I’m far from the BBC’s biggest supporter, but I happened to be ‘in the room’ as my wife played the latest Dr Who. Apart from the aberration of a black Isaac Newton, and the odd bit of pronoun-ing that crept in here and there, it was a decent effort at a good old mild horror, mystery romp that used to keep us tuning in for more. Tennant and Tate’s performances were good. Not deserving of the pearl clutching over woke, not really. I suspect that the article may have been written before the programme had been seen.
I really can’t agree with you. The BBC, as usual, has promoted agenda over entertainment.
I concur with the concept of ‘colour blindness’ in casting, an Indian Isaac Newton, no probs, but it really only works if famous and/or well known black people can also be played by the best suited/skilled actor, be they any colour under the sun. How lovely it would have been to have seen Rosa Parks, in a Jodie Whittaker era ‘ultra woke’ episode, played by a famous white British actor.
Don’t hold your breath.
It’s not ‘colour blindness’, it’s rewriting history. It’s what Winston Smith did in the Records Department of the Ministry of Truth. Literally. They are just doing it in such a way that even some of the most sceptical see as harmless. They have fooled people into thinking the following is true: race doesn’t matter therefore history can ignore racial context. The same can be done with sex. And once you accept that it doesn’t matter whether the person was black or white, male or female, then the person becomes meaningless. Once the person becomes meaningless their act can become trivialised. Once their act becomes trivialised it can be thrown in the chute. The first step in rewriting history is to remove identity. That’s why colour and sex must be an immutable fact.
I see your point!
I think thats very much the problem with Bridgerton, where black faces are seen as part of the upper eschelons of English Society in the late 1700’s. If you were ignorant of history you might imagine that this is some fair representation of reality, and that there were black people, wealthy land owners, accepted by society, and therefore wonder what went wrong for them at the hands of whitey.
Its a one off (two off) programme. I suspect much worse will come for Dr Who, and you are right about Jodie Whittakers era. However, I’ve written about what I saw, and as my opinion is worth the same as everyone else’s, I feel that I can say it too. Impressive downticks though. Not a record for me, but thanks all the same everyone.!
I’m loving the online take-downs of the show from traditional Dr Who fans who are sick to death of woke, for example Nerdrotic, The Critical Drinker, Disparu and, in particular, HeelvsBabyFace – a classic rant against the ideological takeover of pop culture. Worth a watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiETSZyz9EA