- “Special needs children not protected from private school VAT raid, says Bridget Phillipson” – The Education Secretary says that parents who pay to send children with special educational needs to private schools will not be shielded from Labour’s tax raid, according to the Telegraph.
- “VAT raid ‘simply won’t work’, warns Labour MP” – Labour MP Rachael Maskell says the Government’s VAT raid on private schools will leave children with special needs “nowhere else to go” as state schools “aren’t working” for them, reports the Telegraph.
- “Envoys say French and German schools in U.K. should avoid VAT” – European envoys warn that imposing VAT on U.K. international schools could force hundreds of their students to leave, says the Times.
- “Starmer warns that Brits face higher taxes forever ahead of Budget” – Keir Starmer says the idea that governments can “lower taxes and that your public services will run properly” is a “fiction”, according to the Mail.
- “Labour has ‘embarrassing’ problem with senior women, admits top Starmer aide” – One of Keir Starmer’s top aides claims that Labour has an “embarrassing” problem with women in leadership positions, reports the Telegraph.
- “Starmer suffers biggest fall in popularity for new PM” – Sir Keir Starmer’s approval rating has plunged from a high of plus 11 after his landslide election win to -38 – a net drop of 49.
- “Labour MP suspended after allegedly ‘hitting constituent’ on night out” – A constituent was punched to the ground by Labour MP Mike Amesbury after a row about cuts to the winter fuel allowance and the closure of a local bridge, reports the Standard.
- “Badenoch ‘wary’ of saying she wants to be PM because of toll on family” – Kemi Badenoch says that she is “wary” of saying she wants to be Prime Minister because of the “sacrifice” the job would entail for her and her family, according to the Telegraph.
- “Paedophile avoids deportation under ECHR because it would be ‘unduly harsh’ on his children” – A convicted paedophile avoided deportation by arguing it would harm his children, a case Robert Jenrick calls “madness” and proof Britain should leave the convention, reports the Express.
- “Hamas used hospital as a military base, says ambulance driver” – An ambulance driver at a hospital in the Gaza Strip confirmed that Hamas uses hospitals for terror-related purposes during an interrogation by security officials, according to the Jerusalem Post.
- “The humiliation of Iran” – Iran, for all its rhetoric, has been proven to be a paper tiger, says Yossi Melman in the Spectator.
- “When will Sally Rooney boycott Britain?” – In the Spectator, Brendan O’Neill takes aim at highbrow chic lit author Sally Rooney for putting her name to a letter calling for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions that are “complicit in genocide”.
- “Authors criticise plan to boycott Israeli book industry” – Lionel Shriver and Howard Jacobson are among a group of authors who have signed a letter opposing the boycotting of Israeli authors and publishers, according to the Times.
- “How ‘big tech’ barons are plotting to steal Britain’s creativity” – Starmer is about to hand our copyright ‘crown jewels’ over to AI, warns Andrew Orlowski in the Telegraph.
- “‘Woke’ chatbots back rent controls and dislike free speech” – The FSU’s Freddie Attenborough discusses a pioneering new study that has found AI chatbots are biased towards Left-wing ‘woke’ thinking in the information they provide to users.
- “Sharron Davies warns free speech is under attack: ‘Cancel culture is a plague’” – Olympic medalist Sharron Davies has taken to social media about the need for laws to be applied “equally” to everyone, reports GB News.
- “Ireland announces new online safety rules for video-sharing platforms” – Ireland has adopted a new online safety code for video-sharing platforms such as TikTok and Facebook to protect people from harmful internet content, according to euronews.
- “Russian ‘floating bomb’ ship docks at U.K. port after weeks of limbo” – A damaged Russian cargo ship packed with 20,000 tonnes of explosive material has been allowed to dock at a British port after weeks moored off the coast, reports the Mail.
- “The village at the front line of Miliband’s march on the countryside” – Lincolnshire locals are protesting to save their countryside from renewable energy infrastructure, says the Telegraph.
- “Britain urged to store nuclear waste in the Earth’s crust” – Ed Miliband has been urged to dispose of Britain’s nuclear waste by drilling boreholes up to five kilometres deep into the Earth’s crust, reports the Telegraph.
- “VW labour chief sounds alarm on mass lay offs and three German plant closures” – Volkswagen plans to shut at least three factories in Germany, lay off tens of thousands of staff and shrink its remaining plants in Europe’s biggest economy as it plots a deeper-than-expected overhaul, according to Reuters.
- “Was there a spike in neonatal deaths when Lucy Letby worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital?” – If Lucy Letby ever does get a re-trial, then the judge should not allow any of the statistical evidence to be presented since it has almost no value, writes Prof. Norman Fenton on the WATN Substack.
- “U.K. fertility crisis: birth rates drop to lowest since records began” – According to the Office of National Statistics, women of childbearing age in England and Wales have, on average, only had 1.44 children each as of 2023, reports the Mail.
- “China to create TV shows and films that promote ‘childbearing culture’” – China will create TV shows, films and plays promoting “marriage and childbearing culture”, as the world’s second-largest economy grapples with a plunge in the number of births, says the Telegraph.
- “How close were hospitals to collapse in Covid?” – Senior NHS staff have revealed to the Covid Inquiry just how close some hospitals were to collapse during the pandemic, reports the BBC.
- “The most devastating report so far” – The U.S. House report on the Department of Health and Human Services Covid propaganda is devastating, writes Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for the Brownstone Institute.
- “Eric Trump warns Keir Starmer risks ‘poisoning’ U.K.-U.S. relations” – Eric Trump says Keir Starmer risks “poisoning” relations with America by interfering in the U.S. election, according to the Mail.
- “The true scale of migrant crossings under Kamala Harris revealed” – The number of migrants who have crossed illegally into the U.S. under Kamala Harris is 25% higher than official figures suggest, reveals the Telegraph.
- “Elon Musk sued over $1 million voter giveaways” – Philadelphia’s chief prosecutor is suing billionaire Elon Musk and his pro-Trump political action committee to halt his $1 million giveaways to registered voters, reports the Hill.
- “Donald Trump will owe his boy Barron if U.S. election is 2016 all over again” – If the Kamala Harris campaign continues to flail, it could be 2016 all over again… and Donald will owe his boy Barron, says Harry Cole in the Sun.
- “‘Children can’t be transgender’” – Tory leadership frontrunner Kemi Badenoch insists children cannot be transgender and warns it is “critical” they are not allowed to make irreversible decisions, according to the Express.
- “NHS says it is ‘transphobic’ for staff not to share toilets with trans colleagues” – NHS staff have been told that women are “transphobic” if they do not want to share ladies’ bathrooms with transgender colleagues, reports the Mail.
- “Woman wrongly sent to male prison because she had ‘masculine features’” – A woman was wrongly sent to an all-male prison and forced to stay there overnight because she had “masculine features”, says the Mail.
- “Get your Progress Pride poppy” – It appears that even the Royal British Legion can’t resist the pull of wokeness, writes Lauren Smith in Spiked.
- “Is this why Britain is failing?” – On his Mad World blog, Russell David observes that many British companies have shifted focus from core products to broader ‘woke’ cultural initiatives.
- “Che Guevara was a sadist” – In the Spectator, James Bartholomew reveals the brutal legacy behind Che Guevara’s iconic portrait and challenges his status as a symbol of rebellion.
- “Why Elon Musk’s plan to put a million people on Mars is doomed to fail” – The winners of the Royal Society Trivedi science book prize say that even if the engineering problems are solved, our biology will scupper plans to create a Martian colony, according to the Times.
- “MSNBC compares Trump rally to pro-Nazi rally 85 years ago” – If you don’t yet believe that the culture wars have driven everyone insane, just look at this recent MSNBC coverage of Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden, says Andrew Doyle.
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Ukraine’s shock offensive has Russia in ‘disarray’, says the MOD
The Russians still don’t comprehend what is happening to them.
So, in response to popular demand:
Military Strategy for Dummies: The Land Component Lesson 0
Strategy covers, in broad terms, what we should do, how we should do it, and what we should do it with.
Military strategy encompasses, in broad terms, the tasks for the military, the operational doctrine they should pursue and the force posture they should develop and maintain.
Modern strategy deals with the use of military forces in peace as well as in war.
Example of Recommended Strategy for Russian Land Component:
‘If that is your desired endpoint, then I wouldn’t start from here’
‘……agitation for the reduction of US forces in Europe………could rise again if within the US it is thought or perceived, however fairly or unfairly, that Atlantic partners are not bearing an equitable burden………..
Erosion of the effectiveness of the Atlantic army will inevitably result in an erosion of political will, strategic flexibility, and freedom of action.’
‘As a bare minimum, it is the role of the Atlantic army to replace the strategic nuclear deterrent as the instrument with which the attack option is foreclosed to (Russia).
But that is a bare minimum. In a modern strategy the Atlantic army must provide for the West a sense of security to a degree that will encourage it to act and react in respect to global events with confidence. That forecloses to (Russia) the options of intimidation, blackmail, and political leverage.’
‘A stable nuclear balance makes imperative a stable conventional balance in Europe.
Without that stability there can be no political or military counter to expanding (Russian) influence in the Near East, South Asia, Africa, or in the great ocean basins upon which an interdependent world relies. Not the least of these ocean areas are the North Atlantic and North Pacific….’
De Witt Smith 1977
The age old strategy of attack and defence. But the political objectives of the Hundred Years’ War are forgotten.
Was Henry V poisoned by his wife, I wonder?
Did she consider Novichok or Polonium?
Yawn… What’s your point exactly…
It might be expected that the Russians comprehend that their army isn’t going to be in Paris by Christmas.
At least it has been acknowledged that this Kursk ‘incursion’ is for the purposes of Ukrainian negotiations with Russia. If this invasion isn’t an invasion, how can the Ukrainians still argue that their country has been invaded (when it obviously was) and not just suffered an ‘incursion’? What a tangled web etc etc.
It’s inconceivable that the Russians don’t comprehend the significance of a battle at Kursk. And one that features tanks. The historical battle is of such significance to the Russians that they named a nuclear submarine after it. Like Britain naming a battleship after the Battle of Ramillies.
Can it be comprehended that some UK-supplied weapons are authorised to be used inside Russian territory but others cannot?
I agree. There is a great deal that is incomprehensible, not least the complacency of this country and its (for the most part, hopelessly unreliable) allies in the face of rampant long term imperialist expansionism.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/ukraines-kursk-offensive-marks-putins-third-major-humiliation-of-the-war/
The Kremlin has earmarked 3bn roubles (£26m) on a fortification line in the Kursk region, and a new territorial defence force was supposed to ward off the incursion.
Antipova recalled seeing a high number of border guards during her last visit to Sudzha in May but spoke bitterly of the community having to crowdfund for troops stationed there.
“Locals were bringing them supplies. I’m really annoyed that the government and the army keep saying the troops have all they need – while we had to chip in for drones and underwear.”
Regardless of how this plays out militarily, the political damage is done, and it is rooted in the nature of Russian politics.
Under Putin, the Russian state has become, in essence, an organized crime syndicate. Its internal logic, processes, incentive structure, and behavior resemble those of a mafia family.
And the most destabilizing moment for a crime syndicate is when the mafia boss looks weak.
The only imperialist expansionism is the number of your articles.
The Russians didn’t build massive defences in this rural, forested area because they thought Zelensky wouldn’t be daft enough to attack.
There are increasing numbers of views that the move by Ukraine will significantly shorten the war by the voluntary reduction in their fighting ability, and as such, is actually welcomed by the Russian military.
The bulk of the Ukrainians have based themselves just over the border and are conducting forays with combat tactical groups to various small villages for tourist photo-opportunities and then returning to base (well that’s the theory).
In the meantime, the Russians are happy taking “pot-shots” at the sitting ducks and their supply lines from a safe distance, with one or two close range skirmishes.
During ten days of the invasion of Kursk region, the Ukrainian losses are estimated to be more than 2,500 killed and more than 4,000 wounded and losses of military armour equally significant (I think the tank count is over 70 now, including at least one Challenger 2). There is also plenty of photo-evidence of mass surrenders.
Meanwhile Toretsk and Pokrovsk have had their defence forces depleted and are starved of munitions and supplies in order to feed the Kusrsk extravaganza. As a consequence they are both closely threatened.
What is this talk about Paris? Is this supposed to be serious?
In my opinion, the supply of weapons to be used against Russia is an act of war. We should be damn happy that Russia, or at least Putin, is so intelligent and restrained, because the British government is not.
We no longer have an empire and it is time we stopped believing we can police the world according to our views – and it is time the USA did the same.
‘As soon as the Russians had taken over the town, a local factory was turned into a detention and interrogation facility. At its peak of operations, up to 300 Ukrainians were held there. One Ukrainian who was interrogated there described the way he and other detainees were treated. “They attach clothespins to your ears,’’ he said. “Your hands are tied behind the chair.” He was able to escape; others were not so lucky. Many described beatings, and women were threatened with rape. One local resident, Kostia Tytarenko, who was 21 at the time, was abducted by the Russian military on a highway near Vovchansk in the summer of 2022 and taken to Russia.
In early 2024, when many Western commentators began to talk more insistently about the possibility of a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine. There was even talk that Putin might be ready to make a deal. Independent journalists and analysts with contacts inside Russia made it clear that Putin was only trying to capitalize on a sense of Western war fatigue, encouraging voices in the West who were questioning continued support for Kyiv at a time when Ukraine was already short on military resources. Russia had no interest in a deal: at the start of the year, Russian generals were already bragging about a possible assault in Kharkiv in May, a plan that was ultimately carried out. It seems likely that the Kremlin was exploiting Western talk of negotiations to try to undermine Ukrainian morale.
Ukrainians have few illusions about how much has been lost, they also understand that now is not the time to negotiate. Although recent polling indicates that more Ukrainians are open to territorial concessions to end the war, these findings are less clear than they may appear. For one thing, even with growing numbers voicing such flexibility, they are still a minority of Ukrainians, and a large majority of the population maintains a high level of confidence in victory. For another, although more Ukrainians may agree today that fighting over a few miles of scorched earth is not that important, that doesn’t mean that more of them are prepared to give up important cities in the east, including those currently under Russian control.
Politically, the Kursk offensive serves another purpose. It allows Kyiv to address its partners from a position of strength and puts the growing debate about potential cease-fire negotiations in a different light. Few Western observers expected any significant Ukrainian offensive this summer, let alone one that could penetrate well into Russia. If nothing else, Kyiv has demonstrated that it is very much still in the fight, easing recent concerns about its staying power. Moreover, Ukrainian troops have shown that they are capable of planning and unleashing a surprise large-scale offensive in total secrecy despite the presence of drones and satellites on the battlefield that can see almost everything.
Militarily, Russia, its higher command incompetent, hopelessly divided, has no clue what Ukraine is up to.’
Nataliya Gumenyuk 16 August 2024
It is very kind of you to promote the Ukraine conflict with such conviction but the Ukrainians are the last people you are helping with your belligerent nonsense.
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This is just cringe, but there’s several of these videos of the police floating around. Should surprise precisely nobody though. They evidently love a bit of ”as-salaam alaykum”. And is it only me clocking the irony of the Pakistani community celebrating their Independence Day while living in the UK? The horror stories I read coming out of that godforsaken hellscape;
”The police shouldn’t be dancing or clowning around while on duty.
It doesn’t matter what the event is – they should be professional, approachable, and focused on public safety at all times.
All it does is undermine their authority and erodes respect. They’re a laughing stock.”
https://x.com/addicted2newz/status/1824571604371648935
Can anyone explain to me why it is the government that awards pay deals to ASLEF in a privatised industry?
Because in the real world, it’s all managed by the Treasury. Only some of the train operating companies are nominally private, but if, or when, they go bust their operations are taken over by the DfT, which is an operator of last resort (OLR).
Truly excellent point! I struggle to think how you could meaningfully and successfully privatise the track infrastructure – we tried it and that failed. Perhaps someone who thinks we can could explain how. The train operators are close to being regional monopolies with a few exceptions and because of the nature of railways I can’t see how you get round that. In theory there’s some incentive for them to run more efficiently to make more profit, but it doesn’t seem to work that well. Their prices are regulated and so are their costs (use of the infrastructure). I think we may as well cut out the middleman and nationalise them. Other suggestions/comments welcome! (I generally prefer free markets).
Since covid when the government pumped in millions (billions?) to keep the railways going when passenger numbers fell and revenue for the private companies dropped off a cliff, the government changed the contracts. Now because the private companies receive so much extra government cash, the contracts say that any significant spending must be approved by the DFT. So that is why the pay award is from the government. The private companies were not allowed to negotiate direct.
In the scenario you have described the private business would have to go to HMT with a request which would be considered and a decision made. In this case HMG seems to have dealt direct with the Union and instructed the business to spend the money.
I wonder if that corresponds with the law.
If I understand you correctly it’s an interesting point – is the pay rise (and subsequently higher NI and pension contributions) completely ringfenced from the private companies? Is there an impact on shareholders with these costs that have been imposed on them? I don’t know. I suppose it’s a bit like the government imposing increases to the minimum wage that private companies don’t get a say in.
I don’t think these are proper private businesses and the firms getting into this game know that very well.
How odd that a looter receives a substantial (and just) prison sentence while persistent shoplifters who might get away with merchandise of far greater value are seemingly of so low a priority for the authorities that in Middlesborough the police hand out crime numbers to shop owners for insurance purposes but otherwise do nothing else.
Yep, as western birth rates plummet, the UK needs to build a new city to find homes for 350,000 people. And our overlords do this whilst simultaneously telling us that anyone that opposes mass uncontrolled immigration is a reincarnation of Hitler. Go figure.
Now the fox is in the henhouse it cannot be stopped, and this is just the very beginning. It’s natural conclusion sees the English replaced by migrants – that’s not racist, that’s simple logic based on birth rates.
That would be a good sized city, but would accommodate less than 60% of net (legal) migration from the year 2022. So where are the other cities going to be?
Quite. This is just one of many planned. A mixture of scattering and grouping seems to be the plan.
Also, where on earth are these people now? They can’t all be hot bedding in sheds at the end of the garden, surely?
The list of things here – more bizarre & devoid of rational thought is getting a tad depressing. Don’t know how the DS team remain so upbeat.
Thanks all – my must-read morning schedule here just about covers an entire picture of the world gone mad..
On a more upbeat note, what’s your signature dish, if I may ask?
eggs – any way ……
She said “How you gonna like ’em, over medium or scrambled?”
You say “Anyway’s the only way”, be careful not to gamble
On a guy with a suitcase and a ticket getting out of here
It’s a tired bus station and an old pair of shoes
This ain’t nothing but an invitation to the blues
Spectacular response, tof … had to check the reference with Mr Google. Tom Waits – Invitation to the Blues
One of his best songs IMO – and that’s a high bar
Used to great effect at the opening of that splendid Nic Roeg film “Bad Timing”
I love an egg – anyway, I think you’re just being humble…
too kind – the egg is a wonderful thing – the variety of functions an egg can have in any dish are remarkable due to the makeup of ‘an egg’ – say proteins and fats.
I’m a good plain cook but can make a towering pavlova or a perfect souffle or hollandaise or custard or or or….
The perfect egg to poach – for example – comes freshly laid from a chicken that has been exposed to a diet of variety – it genuinely is pretty special.
My last meal? – 3 and a half minute boiled eggs and soldiers….white pepper and a touch of salt. I’m a simple soul.
“Data unearthed via the Freedom of Information Act shows how few days civil servants spend in the office, reports the Mail.”
Oh will you give over! FOI request – what % of DS articles and editorial activity, technical support work is done in an “office” vs. at home or wherever the team and contributors happen to be?
DS team is modest in size, consists of motivated people with skills the boss wants.
civil servants are multitudinous, couldn’t care less and most are semi skilled.
now do you understand.
Sounds like the issue is not WHERE they work but WHO they employ and what their incentives are.
“The eco-terrorists have a plan to storm Windsor Castle, reports the Independent.”
Much as I find them loathsome, Extinction Rebellion are not “terrorists”. They cause disruption and should be sanctioned as appropriate when protest is deliberately done to cause disruption, but they do not cause “terror”.
They cause terror. They are terrorists who seek to achieve their incoherent goals through disruption not the ballot box.
What have they done that has induced “terror” in anyone? Disruption and terror are not the same thing.
Any damage and disruption must be coverted into money and they should be made to pay every single penny of that back to society, these are generally rich brats with nothing else to do! Hit them were it hurts, in the wallet!
That could be an approach – but we’d need to go after whoever is funding them too
That may filter upwards eventually and even their paymasters might think twice
Sadly not going to happen
Not after those concerned bung £1m towards the gang now in government…
Indeed… take a step forward, Mr Vince…
“U.K. riots: Judge hands down longest jail sentences yet”
All we need now is a Gulag on the Falklands and government dissent will be obliterated!
“Attempts to appease strikers risks emboldening British unions and invites more chaos”
Welcome back to 1979!
Do we ever learn?
“First case of ultra-deadly mpox strain has hit Europe”
An African based disease entering Europe, who could have possibly brought that here?
“Ultra deadly”
Which propoganda organ is spouting that bollox?
It is NOT deadly.
Moneypox is a false flag intended to soften us up for the new deadly, deadly, deadly coronavirus due some time before Christmas.
I bet they’ve already planned a time and date!
Just received a couple of updates to the OED:
Keirpitulate : (Verb) When you pretend to negotiate but really just give your sponsors money.
Keirmunism : (Noun) A political philosophy in which you imprison people you don’t like.
https://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/news/regulation/doctors-to-take-legal-action-against-gmc-over-inaction-on-covid-vaccine-misinformation/
Doctors?
A group of “doctors?”
If the bloody GMC was worth anything it would strip this lot of their fitness to practice. No wonder they want to remain anonymous. Who the hell would trust one of these idiots for medical advice.
And to cap it all the ignorant lard arses are attempting to get others to pay for their legal action. Doctors, one hundred of them, who probably average at least £100k per annum cannot chip in as little as a thousand a piece. So not only are they medically illiterate they are hopeless with money? Or perhaps simply not willing to spend some of their own fraudulently acquired lucre.
Par for the course in this failed state.
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/08/17/almost-14000-people-are-seeking-compensation-saying-covid-vaccines-left-them-disabled/
This doesn’t look good for the above doctors does it?
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/extinction-rebellion-windsor-castle-plan-camp-leaked-zoom-call-b2596724.html
Just get on with it please and stop arsing about.
Some say:
1) Viruses do not exist
2) This monkeypox is actually cholera, which presents pox-like skin blisters that can rapidly cause sepsis and death, especially to immune-compromised people such as those practicing sodomy, who comprise the majority of African victims of this latest “monkeypox”. This sodomy is forced upon most African men in their “coming of age” rituals at puberty, kept secret from the women.
3) Do you remember that 1971 movie “The Music Lovers”, about the life of Russian composer Tchaikovsky, played by the late great Richard Chamberlain? At the end, he commits suicide by drinking water contaminated with cholera bacteria “Vibrio cholerae”, which gives him terrible skin blisters or “bullae”, developing into “necrotising fascitiis” all over his body, including his face. The only known treatment at the time was immersing the patient in scalding water to cleanse the open sores, which of course resulted in an agonising death. The point is that end-stage cholera presents the same bacterially-infected skin lesions as “monkeypox”.
“Man, 32, is first adult charged with higher punishable crime of riot”
Can someone please explain the difference between these two crimes?
“VIOLENT DISORDER, which means a person INTENDS to use or threaten violence, or is aware their conduct MAY be violent or threaten violence.”
“A person is guilty of RIOT if INTENDING to use violence, or being aware their conduct MAY be violent.”
So in both cases, you can be charged, convicted and thrown into prison for up to a decade, even WITHOUT ACTUALLY BEING VIOLENT???
Just “INTENDING” to be, according to the judge???
Unless you’re part of a Muslim Gang brandishing machetes and disembowelling daggers, while marching in English streets???
“Harry and Meghan’s VP host demanding billions from West for slavery”
Well, surely Harry & Meghan will be the first to hand over some of their £millions to their female Ethnic African Vice-President host in Columbia. Just to show willing, you know.