- “Free speech hotline launched in response to hate crime law” – The Free Speech Union has set up a Hate Speech Hotline for anyone who thinks they might have fallen foul of Scotland’s Hate Crime Act to call, reports the Times. The FSU has put an arrangement in place with Levy & McRea, a top firm of Scottish criminal lawyers, so it can defend its members.
- “Don’t feel too encouraged by police leniency with J.K. Rowling” – It’s reassuring that J.K. Rowling isn’t going to Cornton Vale, but there is still plenty of scope for the Hate Crime Act to do serious damage to liberty, warns Stephen Daisley in the Spectator.
- “Where is the outcry from British Churches on ‘nightmarish’ nature of Scotland’s new ‘thought crime’ law?” – Bishops and priests are remaining largely silent over Scotland’s new hate crime laws, observes1 Gavin Ashenden in the Catholic Herald.
- “Scotland: no country for young men” – Police Scotland will target young men with “with ideas about white-male entitlement” under the new Hate Crime Act, writes Dr. Roger Watson in the European Conservative.
- “Police in Scotland ‘making it up as they go’ over new hate crime law” – Police in Scotland have been accused of favouring the famous after they refused to go after J.K. Rowling or Humza Yousaf, but did take action on Murdo Fraser’s post calling “non-binary as valid as identifying as a cat”, reports the Mail.
- “Tory MSP writes to Police Scotland chief over ‘non-crime hate incident’ row” – A Tory MSP has written to Scotland’s top police officer to demand answers after the force recorded a social media post he had written as a “non-crime hate incident”, says the Scotsman.
- “‘Lavender’: the AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza” – The Israeli army is using an AI targeting system with little human oversight, reveals +972 Magazine.
- “Israel denies using AI to identify Gaza air strike targets” – The Israel Defense Force says it “outright rejects” claims it is using an AI system to identify terrorists, according to which (allegedly) it tolerates the killing of more than 100 civilians in order to successfully target each Hamas commander, reports the Telegraph.
- “Destroying Hamas is in Britain’s interest. We should be backing Israel to achieve it” – Demands from the foreign policy elite for a ceasefire in Gaza before the job is done give succour to our enemies, warns David Frost in the Telegraph.
- “The truth about Israel’s ‘friendly fire’” – The Foreign Secretary is haranguing Israel over its tragic unintentional killing of seven aid workers in Gaza, and yet he oversaw a war in which such ‘friendly fire’ horrors were commonplace, remarks Brendan O’Neill in the Spectator.
- “Former Supreme Court judges say Government’s arming of Israel breaches international law” – Three former Supreme Court judges say the Government is breaching international law by continuing to arm Israel, according to the Telegraph.
- “Labour’s Gaza problem” – The more Starmer sticks to a nuanced line on Gaza, the more his opponents within the party will begin to bark, says Rod Liddle in the Spectator.
- “Tories investigating Alan Duncan’s comments on party’s pro-Israel ‘extremists’” – The Conservative Party is investigating former Minister Alan Duncan after he called for Tom Tugenhadt and Eric Pickles to be kicked out of the party for their support of Israel, according to the Guardian.
- “People continued eating 50% more fast food after lockdown surge, IFS says” – The Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that a lockdown takeaway surge has left people consuming 50% more fast food than before the pandemic, according to the Telegraph.
- “CDC releases hidden COVID-19 vaccine injury reports” – The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has released previously hidden reports of facial paralysis and other adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination, reports the Epoch Times.
- “The NHS has lost its way, and patients are paying the price” – Accepting that the NHS has lost its way requires those at the top to account for their failings, say Prof. Carl Heneghan and Dr. Tom Jefferson.
- “NHS can’t cope with ’avalanche’ of autism and ADHD diagnoses” – A new report warns that unprecedented levels of autism and ADHD referrals risk overwhelming the health service, according to the Mail.
- “Ukrainians returning home to get dental treatment” – A Ukrainian mother living in Wiltshire says she returned to her war-torn country because she could not access NHS dental care, reports the BBC.
- “Judges to look at softer sentences for ‘deprived’ criminals” – Judges have been told to consider more lenient sentences for offenders from “deprived” or “difficult” backgrounds, says the Telegraph. As if we don’t have enough anarcho-tyranny!
- “Britain leaving ECHR would be compatible with deportation deal, says Rwanda” – The Home Office believes that Rwanda flights will take off this spring even if the European Court of Human Rights intervenes, reports the Telegraph.
- “‘Tow them back to Calais’: cabbie clashes with PM over small boats” – A taxi driver clashed with Rishi Sunak over the ongoing small boats crisis, suggesting that the Navy should tow illegal migrants back to Calais, says the Mail.
- “Why do teachers think they can ban Ofsted?” – There is one thing that seems to be missing from the campaign by the National Education Union to abolish Ofsted – the interests of children, writes Ross Clark in the Spectator.
- “Child gangsters: the new Swedish model” – One of the most dismal elements of the epidemic of violence in Sweden is how often it involves children, says Fredrik Karrholm in the Spectator.
- “Trump makes surprise appearance at Nigel Farage’s 60th birthday bash” – Donald Trump made a surprise appearance at Nigel Farage’s 60th birthday bash, sending a video message to hail the “prophetic leader”, reports the Mail.
- “Donald Trump has rescued the Nato alliance” – Trump’s hectoring finally seems to have encouraged the weak Europeans to stand on their own two feet, says Con Coughlin in the Telegraph.
- “The coming civil war on Europe’s Right” – It would be naïve to assume that a Right-wing majority in the European Parliament would change much, given that the real power in the EU is exercised elsewhere, writes Thomas Fazi in UnHerd.
- “The Greens are not a genteel alternative to Labour – they are on the far-Left” – The Greens are the Reform U.K. of the Left – they could make life difficult for Labour, says Tom Harris in the Telegraph.
- “Wind power is all hot air” – What hope is there for a reliable national grid based upon the whims of the weather? asks Tom Ed on Substack.
- “Noted Tesla bear says Musk’s EV maker could ‘go bust’ and stock is worth $14” – Tesla is facing a price war, intense competition from Chinese players and weakening demand for its electric cars, reports CNBC.
- “‘I scrapped my car as TfL said it wasn’t Ulez compliant – but it was’” – A driver scrapped her car for just £250 after Sadiq Khan’s TfL claimed it didn’t meet emissions standards – only to discover two weeks later that it did, says the Mail.
- “Fed blocks tough global climate rules for Wall Street banks” – U.S. regulators, led by the Federal Reserve, have thwarted a push to make climate risk a focus of global financial rules, according to Bloomberg.
- “‘Hiring Gen Z is a nightmare – they don’t turn up to their first day of work’” – Young people can barely get through an interview, let alone become valuable employees, says Charlotte Gill in the Telegraph.
- “Men aren’t drifting Right – but women are moving Left” – Young women in Western countries have become more socially progressive, says Eric Kaufmann in UnHerd.
- “Wokeness hurts women. Why do so many support it?” – In the National Post, Amy Hamm confronts the troubling truths about the male-female divide on radical progressive hogwash.
- “Schools defy ministers to let children change gender behind their parents’ backs” – The biggest survey of its kind shows that primary school teachers are allowing children to change gender without informing their parents, despite Government guidance to the contrary, reports the Telegraph.
- “The ‘luxury beliefs’ that harm vulnerable children” – Somehow, expressing concern for disadvantaged kids became coded as conservative or Right-wing, writes Mary Wakefield in the Spectator.
- “Maya Forstater accuses trans judge of misrepresenting law” – A women’s rights campaigner has accused a transgender British judge of misrepresenting a court ruling that found in favour of those promoting gender-critical beliefs — including the idea that people cannot change sex, according to the Times.
- “Team GB’s Olympic Union flag sells out despite fury over design” – The ‘Union Jack’ branded Team GB Olympic flags, which sparked outrage for being produced in shades of pink and purple with squiggles and dots, have sold out within 48 hours, reports the Telegraph.
- “Cambridge is decolonising the dodo” – Advancing scholarship is very different from furthering an agenda, says Andrew Tettenborn in CapX.
- “The game’s up for ‘anti-racist’ racism” – A new generation have seen through the race-hustle of some of their elders, writes Douglas Murray in the Spectator.
- “‘When someone… burns their infant in its crib, I don’t give a damn why they did it – it’s wrong!’” – On Dr. Phil Primetime, Dr. Phil comes out all guns blazing in defence of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
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In a happier, simpler time, this would have been a rather boring academic discussion about temperature measurements.
Today it’s part of a battle to keep the state out of our lives and be able to live free.
Pretty nuts really.
This academic discussion is being controlled and as far as I can see, discussed less (ie detail) and sensationalised more! Very nuts!
Some time in the late 1980s or very early 1990, I was on a summer holiday on a farm on Bodmin Moor. By that time, it hadn’t rained in this area for 19 weeks in a row and some of the moor farms received water supplies from tankers. That was a generally hot summer, not the five weeks of no rain with mostly lovely temperatures we had this year.
Ha, my lasting memory of Bodmin is failing my first driving test there ( steep inclines + crap clutch control = going backwards when attempting a hill start. Not great when there’s a car behind you.
) but passing second time. I miss Cornwall though.
Real experts manage to do that after passing the test. I’ve recently encountered one (and waited patiently on the pavement until he had remembered which of all these pedals are supposed to be used in what order).
My brother’s instructor used to put my brother’s cigarettes, and later his wristwatch behind the back wheel. Made for really good hill starts!
The Met Office used the “break in the clouds” explanation to explain the Heathrow “record”, ignoring criticism that by amazing co-incidence three jets landed on an unusual approach (West to East) and promptly turned on to a taxiway and blew jet exhausts over the exact spot that the temperature sensor was positioned. These Mexplanations are getting tedious. In other news, some US “records” are held by sensors positioned a few feet from a municipal incinerator, or top of a black roof or in a car-park. They served their purpose, but that purpose was not as a measure of climate, and were then re-purposed to create bogus records to fill newspaper headlines and create climate scares.
More detail on the Heathrow 2015 “record”, including site map and aircraft movements: https://clivebest.com/blog/?p=6721
Don’t know if it’s of any use but by looking at Flightradar24 playback for that day, two RAF Typhoons were operating from that base around that time: Flights CHAOS011 (reg ZJ914) and CHAOS012 (reg ZK377). After a brief exercise over the North Sea, CHAOS011 landed just after 15:10. CHAOS012 landed 15 minutes later.
Of course, it must be sheer coincidence!
A weather event is not Climate.
A normal summer is not Climate Hell.
Putting an electronic measuring device at Heathrow on tarmac, near jet engines, behind a magnifying glass, next to a fire is not science. It is fraud. Move it 5 miles to the countryside and the temp was 36C.
The entire cult of warm and cult of the changing thingy is a fraud.
I had first-hand experience of such temperature anomalies during my working life. I knew this was bs as soon as it was published.
“The Met Office distorts data and lies” is not the surprise. That would be them telling the truth
My kitchen is usually a fairly cool room since it’s north facing. But strangely enough, after I’ve cooked a roast and I leave the oven door open, the kitchen quickly warms up a bit for a while and then fairly quickly the temperature drops again.
Must be climate change – so I’d better stop cooking roasts and start eating raw insects.
All these institutions that have been hollowed out by GangGreen termites must eventually realise that trust, once destroyed, take years of effort to reestablish. Witness also the Zro Covid, Lockdown and “Vaccine” enthusiasts.
So far as the “Climate” scam is concerned, it should be remembered that accurate records for a significant number of years is the exception rather than the rule, so suggesting that some weather event is “Unprecedented” is meaningless at best.
And that is without considering the multitude of proven cases where activist “Scientists” have had their smelly little thumbs on the ‘data’.
So we have Australia’ BOM admitting that under their regime, the temperatures of the past have been ‘discovered’ to be around 1°C colder than originally recorded.
Coming back to 2022 (and before), all the recent ‘unprecedented’ temperatures such as Coningsby are blatantly and deliberately fraudulent. If we had even a few honest politicians, all these MET chancers would have been sacked, long ago.
“Global Temperature” ??? “Warmest year” ???. etc etc . But what does any of that stuff really mean? Is there really such a thing as a “global temperature? If so, how is it calculated?—– But since most of the time we recorded temperatures using thermometers at individual places around the world at different times and mostly only in wealthy western countries (USA, Europe etc), how can we know what temperatures were where we did not have extensive coverage, which was really the case most of the time and over most of the globe? —-The answer is we cannot. Then we started to get temperature data from satellites around 1979, but how can you compare thermometer readings where coverage was sparse from let’s say 1925 or 1845 to satellite data that covers almost the whole planet? —You cannot.. —–So this idea that we have a “warmest year on record” or “warmest since records began” etc is misleading, especially when it is used to promote solutions to some problem that might not even exist, or that might exist but is not much of a problem. On TV I regularly see politicians and bureaucrats, eco activists and assorted “save the planet” people latch onto elements of the unreliable temperature record, like the one this summer where a temperature of 40C was apparently recorded. This ofcourse is what is known as “cherry picking” or “confirmation bias”, where someone only looks for things that support their preconceived idea and ignore everything that doesn’t.— The temperature record of earth is a jumble of data ,adjusted here and there for various anomalies, such as the build up of towns and cities around a site where temperatures may have been recorded for the last 100 years or more, and it is known that towns and cities are warmer, sometimes by several degrees. Out of all of this clutter of guesses, assumptions, missing data and different forms of data collection we are led to believe that some “scientists” know what year was warmer than some other year, often to accuracies of hundredths of a degree, when the thermometers used were never designed for such accuracies. It is also important to bear in mind that if something warms, it does not necessarily mean humans warmed it. To claim humans have warmed something requires evidence, and since there is nothing unusual about current temperatures that would simply be an assumption, and when the assumption is motivated by the desire for certain public policy’s then what we have is a “cautionary tale”.
So either the Met Office lie by sticking to their story, or lie by giving an unbelievable excuse why they didn’t quality check it thoroughly enough?
In 2015 I happened to be in North East New Zealand, when Cyclone Pam caused extreme damage and around 11 deaths in Vanuatu and some damage to other Pacific island states. The MET (using their extreme GangGreen technology) forecasted major problems next for NE New Zealand but, fortunately this turned out to be a nothingburger.
Although we are assured that The Science is absolutely Settled, it is, in reality, anything but. At that time, Richard Betts, now Head of Climate Impacts at the MET Hadley Centre, was presumably charged by his gaffer, Dame Julia Sligo, to occasionally go onto Climate Blogs and fly the GangGreen flag.
On the then excellent Bishop Hill Blog, I pointed out the inadequacies of their forecasts for Pam, the fact that the claimed wind speed was obviously inflated and that severe tropical cyclones were entirely ‘precedented’.
Betts replied pointing out that the attribution of extreme weather arising from burning “fossil” fuels was well established, quoting the UN’s IPCC Report. To which I pointed out that the IPCC’s latest report said nothing of the kind (as contaminated as it is by GangGreen assumptions) and that his quotation was lifted directly from the “Summary for Policymakers”, which is a 100% political document.
We then heard nothing more from Betts, who is obviously not any kind of scientist, just another GangGreen charlatan.