- “Police must stop ‘intimidatory’ protests against MPs as threat level rises: Rishi Sunak” – The PM says that the police must make full use of their powers to protect politicians as pro-Palestinian demonstrations increase risk to members, reports the Telegraph.
- “Islamist denialism has reached crisis levels” – The ‘hate speech’ complaint against Lee Anderson reveals the censorious power of the charge of Islamophobia, says Fraser Myers in Spiked.
- “The Rochdale by-election has exposed the worst of British politics” – If the by-election in Rochdale is about anything other than Gaza, it is about the Labour Party, writes Jake Wallis Simons in the Spectator.
- “The Hallett Inquiry is back, but you wouldn’t know it” – Prof. Carl Heneghan and Dr. Tom Jefferson are back monitoring the Welsh leg of the Covid Inquiry.
- “Covid pandemic may have been started by scientists, professor tells UN” – Covid could have been created by a “research-related incident”, the UN has heard at the launch of a report calling for better regulation of experiments that could spark pandemics, according to the Telegraph.
- “The ‘boys will be boys’ of science” – Are citations and grants and fame really worth the risk of causing a pandemic and killing millions of people? asks Alex Washburne for the Brownstone Institute.
- “Chinese fire drill” – On Substack, Thomas Buckley compares the chaotic responses to COVID-19 to a mismanaged fire evacuation.
- “Human rights make a brief appearance in ‘bombshell’ COVID-19 vaccine ruling” – For the first time in Australia, a court has ruled mandatory COVID-19 vaccination unlawful, reports the Epoch Times.
- “Sokal cubed: is this the biggest academic publishing scandal of all time?” – On Substack, Dr. Raphael Lataster exposes a potentially massive scandal in academic publishing.
- “Doctorsaurus Rex and the rise of the ‘noctor’” – The Covid Physician takes aim at the current state of the NHS, focusing on the increasing influence of non-doctor healthcare practitioners and the decline of traditional medical practices.
- “Matt Hancock mocked by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s son for lockdown affair” – Matt Hancock was mocked by Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg’s son over his lockdown affair after he’d taken a shot at his father as he addressed pupils on a visit to Eton, according to the Telegraph.
- “More than 616,000 foreign workers and dependents got U.K. visas in 2023” – Home Office data shows that the number of U.K. visas handed to foreign workers and their family members soared to more than 600,000 last year, reports the Mail.
- “The Tories have no excuse to whine about the Blob” – Blaming the levers of government for a lack of change is a poor argument that makes the Conservative Party weak and pointless, says John Oxley in the Spectator.
- “Britain is doomed to forever be America’s sick relation” – Without radical reform, the U.K. economy is destined to live in America’s shadow, argues Douglas McWilliams in the Telegraph.
- “‘I don’t like the term ‘impartial’” – News presenter Clive Myrie has said he dislikes the term ‘impartial’ and does not believe the BBC must provide balance on every topic, according to the Telegraph.
- “Unis ‘lying to themselves’ if they think free speech not an issue” – The Vice Chancellor of SOAS in London says higher education bosses have been guilty of a “failure to intervene” when people have been censored, reports the Mail.
- “Alastair Campbell (national treasure) on private schools” – On Substack, Mr. Chips takes aim at Alastair Campbell’s advocacy for VAT on private education to promote equality.
- “The sinister tactics of Hope Not Hate” – Hope Not Hate wishes to change the political weather in our country and has few qualms about how it does it, says Douglas Murray in the Spectator.
- “Putin makes direct threat to nuke the West” – Vladimir Putin has made a direct threat to nuke the West as he accused NATO and the U.S. of “preparing to strike” Russia in his annual address to the nation, reports the Mail.
- “The most terrifying thing about Putin is not that he’s delusional, but that he might be right” – Putin’s speech to the Federal Assembly reinforces his vision for a more assertive Russia, capitalising on what he sees as Western indecision, writes Jade McGlynn in the Telegraph.
- “How Hong Kong turned its back on capitalism – and paid a terrible price” – Under Xi’s tightening grip, Hong Kong’s days as a global deal-making hub are numbered, says Melissa Lawford in the Telegraph.
- “How collapsing energy use reveals Britain’s economic disaster” – In 2022, excluding the 2020 Covid lockdown, the U.K. used less energy than in any year since at least 1970, report Melissa Lawford and Jonathan Leake in the Telegraph.
- “Net Zero targets have hamstrung British prosperity” – To claim that Net Zero has sparked an industrial boom in Britain, you have to be pretty inventive with the figures, says the Spectator in a leading article.
- “The farce of Drax’s wood pellets” – When is the Government going to stop pretending that chopping down trees in North American forests and shipping them to burn in U.K. power stations is a zero-carbon form of energy? asks Ross Clark in the Spectator.
- “Six months on, Ulez is doing more harm than good” – With unfair fines, false advertising and a huge legal scandal, the Ulez scheme is a shambles… yet this is just the beginning, warns Ed Wiseman in the Telegraph.
- “Europe’s consensus on climate is crumbling” – With farmers in revolt and the far-Right surging, is Ursula von der Leyen about to wreck her own green agenda? wonders Wolfgang Münchau in the New Statesman.
- “Riding the backlash against climate policies ” – Pledges made at COP28 are being broken as politicians in the U.S. and across Europe backpedal on climate goals, writes Amanda Kolson Hurley for Bloomberg.
- “First drop in sales: honeymoon is over for Europe’s heat pump industry” – Europe’s heat pump industry has been forced to cut, or temporarily freeze, 3,000 jobs following investments into production capacity that overshot demand growth, according to Euractiv.
- “Toyota was right about hybrid cars all along” – Toyota’s slow-and-steady approach to EVs and hybrids is going well, despite years of criticism, says Nora Naughton in Business Insider.
- “EU lawmakers ‘outraged’ after states block landmark ESG law ” – An EU law designed to clean up corporate supply chains has been derailed by the bloc’s biggest member states, reports Bloomberg.
- “Trans women criminals must be recorded as men, says No.10” – Downing Street has told police to list offenders, such as ‘cat killer’ murderer Scarlet Blake, as male unless they have legally changed gender, reports the Telegraph.
- “BBC upholds complaint against Today presenter Justin Webb for saying trans women are males” – The BBC has upheld a complaint against the Today presenter Justin Webb after he said “trans women, in other words males”, says Press Gazette.
- “NHS issues urgent warning for discredited transgender clinic” – GPs have been warned not to work with the transgender clinic Gender GP after the NHS issued an urgent safety alert, reports the Telegraph.
- “Bud Light trans boycott hammers world’s biggest brewer” – A growing boycott of Bud Light over its partnership with a transgender influencer has hurt sales at parent group AB InBev, says the Telegraph.
- “Woke segregation arrives at the West End” – There is nothing ‘progressive’ about a black-only theatre performance, argues Thomas Osborne in Spiked.
- “Theatre’s obsession with ‘inclusivity’ has hit an embarrassing new low” – Organisers of a ‘Black Out’ night seem to think enjoyment of the arts must be determined by ‘lived experience’. They couldn’t be more wrong, says Ella Whelan in the Telegraph.
- “Having a pop at Mary” – In the New Conservative, Jack Watson gives his take on the recent reclassification of Mary Poppins from U to PG because it contains ‘discriminatory language’.
- “How to write a modern screenplay” – People do not want genuine drama these days, just validation of their asinine prejudices, says Rod Liddle in the Spectator.
- “New Zealand scraps its world-first cigarette ban” – New Zealand will repeal a world-first law banning tobacco sales for future generations, reports the Mail.
- “Gemini AI exposes the progressive playbook” – Google’s new AI app Gemini has caught the sanctimonious social engineers with their pants down, says Lionel Shriver in the Spectator.
- “Political corruption and taxpayer money behind Google disinformation and censorship” – The U.S. and Germany finance Google disinformation and censorship, claims Michael Shellenberger on the Public Substack.
- “Oprah Winfrey leaves Weight Watchers board after admitting use of weight-loss drugs” – Oprah Winfrey is standing down from Weight Watchers after admitting she has been using weight-loss drugs, according to the Telegraph.
- “‘He who pays the piper, calls the tune’” – Addressing the House of Lords, former Scottish Secretary Lord Forsyth warns of the dangers of foreign states owning British newspapers.
— The Spectator (@spectator) February 28, 2024
Watch: Lord Forsyth warns of foreign states owning British newspapers
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What massacre that will be remembered in infamy and shame happened in Gaza yesterday but is absent in this news roundup, I wonder?
I’m sure George Galloway will draw your attention to it. Congratulations, George.
“Police must stop ‘intimidatory’ protests against MPs as threat level rises: Rishi Sunak”
Two great commentaries on this yesterday.
One from Owen Jones: https://youtu.be/wH0XV-ucBmc
One from Neil Oliver: https://youtu.be/hDJ-IqZc628
Sorry, wrong OJ link, he did two yesterday: https://youtu.be/U0EghA4hjXA
Let’s give it the infamous name it’ll be known by – the Flour Massacre.
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/03/01/fppq-m01.html
Crikey, it’s Galloway. Mental. ( 2mins )
https://twitter.com/blazey2004/status/1763398420650221638
Note that the majority didn’t vote at all, so he acquired his majority from the minority – a bit like most local government elections in the UK. Goes to show what you can end up with if you don’t vote.
It is what happens when newer parties are suppressed. The results at future general elections might bring forth much worse people than Galloway and in numbers.
Well this guy was 100% prescient, I mean, didn’t see this coming did we..? <sarc>
”There was no massacre of Palestinians in Gaza today.
You’ll be hearing that there was. It’s propaganda. Palestinians trampled each other as they fought for the aid that the IDF sent in knowing that Hamas was going to steal it like they have stolen all aid.
Hundreds of Palestinians were trampled to death and many others injured.
In parallel, a Palestinian mob tried to attack IDF forces who proceeded to shoot warning shots in the air and when the mob didn’t stop, the IDF fired at their legs.
As I said, no massacre in Gaza. When the propaganda starts populating your feeds, just know that it is 100% false.
You’ll be hearing about this fabricated massacre across all mainstream media in 3…2…
Here is footage of the Palestinian mob trying to steal aid and trampling each other.
Don’t believe the lies that are being fed to the media directly from Hamas.”
https://twitter.com/HilzFuld/status/1763190132771864606
Excellent work, fear that you are wasting your time with the jew haters mind.
Massacre reported by Hamas. Well, that is an area of expertise for them, sure.
Oh I’m not trying to convince anyone or change minds, least of all their’s. I am, however, happy to always call out disgraceful human beings that have a disgusting attitude though. Which is what anybody supporting terrorism and sympathising with rapists is, in my book, and I in no way think that’s a radical viewpoint. And as you’ve probably gleaned, I’m also not here for the ‘likes’.
Carbon Passports Surveillance Dystopia – latest leaflet to print at home and deliver to neighbours or forward to politicians, media, friends online.
“The most terrifying thing about Putin is not that he’s delusional, but that he might be right”
If you want an alternative view, the Global times comment is here;
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202402/1307941.shtml
I am no advocate for the Global Times but I always think it does give a feel for the the view of world affairs that is being put out to a large section of the world’s population.
The most terrifying thing about Putin is not that he’s delusional, but that he might be right
Of course he’s right.
What will Europe do when, by incorporating Ukraine, Moldova into the Russian ‘Union State’ which already includes Belarus, Putin encircles the Baltic States?
You’re already looking at it………
As a consequence, in due course, in response to such a Russian ‘Union State’ with Baltic States encircled and subverted, Germany, under a government of an entirely different complexion (and Poland), may very well decide to acquire nuclear weapons.
To every action, there is a reaction……
Quite so. We talk with leaders of many states we do not approve off. We should have been talking to Putin years ago, rather than thinking in our ignorance all we were engaging in was Cold War II.
Similarly Assad. The last secular state in the Middle East. The “Civil” war no such thing, rather his constant war with terrorists. Indeed, his father’s notorious massacre in Homs involved wiping out a Muslim Brotherhood enclave there. As anyone who has investigated the MB, they are the fons origo of Islamic terrorism. Wiping them out in your country – well,hell, shit happens when you are terrorists.
The West has been funding and supporting terrorists in Syria. Before 2011, its GDP was growing faster than our, and they had a growing middle class. Assad very popular. How do I know? My stepdaughter lived in Damascus with Syrian families for six months before the problems. It would have been in OUR best interest to side with Assad, not go for him. Not to mention all those people, such as the shitshow Obama, who were going to deal with him… all gone. Assad ain’t.
And that “gassing” accusation. Do some research. It’s all out there. Not to mention that the only chlorine factory IN Syria was in the hands of the revels.
In my view, the real problem with Putin began with Kosovo and the humiliation of the Russians, particularly those lunatics who took control of Pristina airport, pointless because it would have been impossible to transfer a Russian division and even a battalion by air to Pristina since Yugoslavia was surrounded from all sides by NATO countries; total air supremacy of NATO aviation.
The Clinton/Blair Kosovo idiocy (a deal could and should have resulted from Rambouillet) set a precedent, which, as I and many others pointed out at the time, would come back and bite the West in the backside, as it has now on three separate occasions.
With regard to Assad, it is difficult, I think, to argue that he has governed Syria in the best interests of all the Syrian people. Of course he has his supporters.
Regarding chemical weapons, here’s the research:
‘3……..On the basis of all the information obtained and its analysis, the (Investigation and Identification Team) IIT concludes that there are reasonable grounds to believe that, between 19:10 and 19:40 (UTC+3) on 7 April 2018, during a major military offensive aimed at regaining control of the city of Douma, at least one Mi-8/17 helicopter of the Syrian Arab Air Force, departing from Dumayr airbase and operating under the control of the Tiger Forces, dropped two yellow cylinders which hit two residential buildings in a central area of the city.
4. At Location 2,1 the cylinder hit the rooftop floor of a three-storey residential building without fully penetrating it, ruptured, and rapidly released toxic gas—chlorine—in very high concentrations, which rapidly dispersed within the building, killing 43 named individuals and affecting dozens more.
5. At Location 4,1 the cylinder hit the roof of a three-storey residential building (at the time uninhabited), and broke into the apartment below. The cylinder ruptured only partially, and started to slowly release chlorine, mildly affecting those who first arrived at the scene.
6. The IIT reached its conclusions on the basis of the degree of certainty of “reasonable grounds”, which is the standard of proof consistently adopted by international fact-finding bodies and commissions of inquiry…..’
https://www.opcw.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023/01/s-2125-2023%28e%29.pdf
‘Videos of barrel bomb remnants found after the attacks on Keferzita on April 11 and 18 and the attack on Telmans on April 21 show yellow cylinders or canisters together with remnants of barrel bombs. The canisters contain markings with the code “CL2” – the symbol for chlorine gas – and “NORINCO,” indicating that the cylinders were manufactured in China by the state-owned company NORINCO. Yellow is the standard industrial gas color code for chlorine.’
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/05/13/syria-strong-evidence-government-used-chemicals-weapon
Read Hitchens, P, passim on the gas attacks and fraudulent behaviour by OPCW
https://www.startpage.com/do/search?q=HITCHENS+SYRIA+GAS+OPCD&segment=startpage.brave
“international fact-finding bodies and commissions of inquiry…..’”
Sadly, all international bodies are now beyond hope. The UN was set up with the best of intentions; it is now a disaster, especially on Human Rights. Similarly the WHO, which did excellent work in the past, but is now a danger to us all. Their handling of Covid was as bad as can be. Maybe that China and the philanthropath Gates are their main drivers has something to do with that.
All too true.
Israel or Palestine? Let’s see how many different things we can conflate, and see how many people are dumb enough to commit their heart and soul to one teams propaganda. The mindf*ck of Covid and Russia-Ukraine – and heaven knows what else before all that – has left a few defiant stragglers, but Israel vs Palestine has bought the minds of the few who remained. What a disappointing lot we are.
About 72% of the votes in Rochdale were postal votes. Draw your own conclusions.
Speculation, but as a postal voter myself (nowhere near Rochdale) I’m familiar with it. Established parties have long encouraged known supporters to opt for it, as it usually results in them actually voting (hopefully for them). My hunch re all the recent by-elections is that the real majority don’t approve of the system at all at present, and don’t give a s**t.
Isn’t it still the case that postal votes are for those who, for health reasons etc, cannot physically get to a polling station?
No
They are available on demand. Another Blair change for the worse whiuch the Tories have not wanted to change.
And they are encouraged by organised groups, of any of the major ones with reasonable canvassing records to the effect that they are likely to vote for them. Incidentally, that would be a reason why the postal turnouts are proportionally higher than on the day turnouts at the polling station in elections with low turnouts, like the recent by-elections. When I vote on the PV, I usually do it around 10 days early, depending on the delivery by the local Council that manages it. When you are on it, you are not allowed to vote at polling stations. They are reliant on the Royal Mail to some extent as well. I guess if they on strike you can deliver by hand to the Council, but that would probably drive down the turnout if it happens.
“Downing Street has told police to list offenders, such as ‘cat killer’ murderer Scarlet Blake, as male unless they have legally changed gender, reports the Telegraph”
I thought the reason for the costly charade of Police and Crime Commissioners was to introduce a degree of public accountability into policing. And since when did “Number 10” have the power to issue decrees like the French President?
Judge Napolitano puts out an interesting vid on the Israel/Palestine situation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_8_6iZlyc8
The Arab League’s statement at the ICJ case regarding the Israel/Palestine occupation. Blistering.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LACse017-A
Can’t be bothered to watch it, but one question – does it mention Hamas breach of the Geneva Convention, and the consequences of them doing so? The Arab League – well, read on…
“To quote the words of the then Secretary-General of the Arab League, Azzam Pasha, describing the war aims of the five Arab States whose armies invaded Israel the day after its birth on May 14, 1948: ‘This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.’ In the process of trying to achieve this terrible objective, they created the Palestinian refugee problem by telling the Arab population within Israel to leave their homes temporarily so as not to get in the way of the invaders.”
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-big-lie-about-israel-threatens-us-all/
Until Israel wipes out Hamas and its supporters – i.e. those who voted them into power, then Israel cannot be safe. As it was for Jews when we wiped out the Nazis. Hamas are Islam’s Nazis; indeed, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, during WWII, met with Hitler to plan a Middle East Holocaust. Which is just what Hamas wants.
Let’s get real eh?
Extraordinary speech. Sadly, the US will ignore every word of it.
“News presenter Clive Myrie has said he dislikes the term ‘impartial’ and does not believe the BBC must provide balance on every topic, according to the Telegraph.”
Well they don’t anyway, so what’s Myrie on about?
Providing balance and being impartial is impossible. The only solution is to privatise/scrap the BBC and stop pretending it can be impartial.
“Founder of the Free Speech Union, Toby Young said: “Sam Melia’s conviction points to the shortcomings of the ‘stirring up’ clauses in the Public Order Act.
“Why is he guilty of ‘stirring up’ racial or religious hatred, but not George Galloway, some of whose comments about Israel and Zionism have been equally incendiary? Yet Galloway is now the MP for Rochdale, while Melia has gone to prison for two years.
“Either the law is applied consistently, without fear or favour, or it’s not fit for purpose.
“It cannot be one law for right-wing white working class men and another for left-wing politicians.”
Sam Melia: Free speech activists outraged after man jailed for two years for running ‘far-right’ stickers library (gbnews.com)
Well done, Toby Young, for courageously defending this unknown young man who has been so unjustly treated.