- “Assad may be on the brink, but would Syria’s rebels be any better?” – Even if its advance towards Damascus is successful, the coalition of forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham might not bring the freedom the war-ravaged nation craves, says Samuel Ramani in the Times.
- “Why Syria’s army has collapsed so suddenly” – Regime forces have fallen back from Aleppo, Hama and Homs in quick succession – and it’s all Assad’s fault, according to the Telegraph.
- “Religious charities are promoting Islamic extremism ‘with impunity’, warn campaigners” – The Home Office has been told that the “toothless” Charity Commission must do more to rein in “hateful” Islamist ideology spread by registered groups and their members, says the Telegraph.
- “‘If we don’t defend our culture, who will?’” – Conservative Home has published the text of Kemi Badenoch’s Washington speech in which she says she’s proud to be called a “culture warrior”.
- “Tories were too ‘laissez-faire’ over Gaza demonstrations, Badenoch says” – The Conservative Party should “champion our values” rather than allow protests that were “used as cover for intimidation”, according to the Leader of the Opposition, reports the Telegraph.
- “Why do the Left march against Israel but not Russia, Iran’s mullahs, or the Taliban?” – In the Telegraph, Zoe Strimpel takes aim at the hypocrisy of the British Left
- “Anti-Jewish hatred has become normal in Britain. We need decisive action” – Why is this country, with its proud history of standing against racism, not furious about the record-breaking rise in racism against Jews? asks Karen Pollock in the Telegraph.
- “Oxford Union speaker who ‘expressed support’ for Hamas faces counter-terror investigation” – The son of a Holocaust survivor accuses Oxford’s oldest debating society of letting “forces of bigotry” rule after pro-Palestinian activist’s Oct 7th comments, reports the Telegraph.
- “Emmanuel Macron owns his despair” – The French President, Emmanuel Macron, is reported to be depressed, disagreeable with colleagues and sulking in his palace, writes Jonathan Miller in Spectator World.
- “Inside the awe-inspiring new Notre-Dame, the pride of Paris once again” – Five years after the devastating fire, the interior of the restored Gothic cathedral is a luminous joy to behold, says Henry Samuel in the Telegraph.
- “We all know Britain is broken. The answer is less red tape, not more” – We are so addicted to legislation that even those things we do well – like English football – risk being strangled by bureaucrats, writes Dan Hannan in his Telegraph column.
- “Labour transport advisers back Extinction Rebellion and 20mph zones” – Labour has appointed three “anti-motorist activists” at the Department for Transport who want to bring traffic to a halt, according to the Telegraph.
- “London council ‘unlawfully’ used LTNs to balance books with fines, court to hear” – Croydon council made six Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to raise millions of pounds, yet the zones had “no environmental benefit and dispersed traffic” to nearby roads, according to the Telegraph.
- “School counsellor sacked for ‘misogynist views on traditional marriage’” – A teacher sacked by a Catholic school for posts on Instagram expressing her Christian beliefs is taking her former employer to the Employment Tribunal, reports the Telegraph.
- “With a push from the polls and Elon Musk, is Reform U.K. edging ahead?” – As Sir Keir Starmer trudges towards his ‘milestones’, Nigel Farage is winning support, writes Tim Shipman in the Sunday Times. But it’s the Tories who should be looking over their shoulder?
- “The post-war consensus is in tatters – no liberal leader is safe from the fallout” – Western leaders are struggling to grasp the anger which is spreading like wildfire among their populations, writes Janet Daley in the Telegraph. How many will survive?
- “Ignore the BBC’s woke list. Here are the real women of the year” – The BBC included a male scientist on its list of 2024’s 100 most ‘inspiring’ women. Michael Deacon in the Telegraph has a go at compiling a better list.
- “How Ricky Gervais took on the ‘woke brigade’ – and won” – The comedian’s provocative stand-up tour Mortality is a sellout, despite lukewarm reviews, because he’s a fearless anti-woke warrior, reports Will Lloyd in the Sunday Times.
- “Police have grown too powerful and scornful of public” – “For years I have feared that the police have grown too powerful and too scornful of the public they are supposed to serve,” reflects Peter Hitchens in the Mail on Sunday. He’s right, obviously.
- “Knock, knock. It’s the thought police” – On the Triggernometry podcast, Allison Pearson tells Konstantin Kisin and Francis Fosterabout her run-in with Essex Police over a year-old tweet.
- “De-transitioner, 20, claims doctor pushed her into sex change” – A 20-year-old has filed a lawsuit against a top, yet controversial transgender youth doctor claiming the practitioner forced her into a sex change at age 12, reports the Mail.
- “Richard Reeves on the Gender Gap” – Yascha Mounk and Richard Reeves in Persuasion discuss why most young men aren’t becoming reactionary.
- “Michael Gove vs Lionel Shriver: are politicians due a Covid reckoning?” – On Spectator TV, Michael Gove and Lionel Shriver debate the lockdown policy.
- “More pointers that something is stirring in the Chicken Pot” – Will influenza H5N1 finally arrive? ask Drs. Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson on Trust the Evidence.
- “The Man Who Fought Fauci – and Won” – In the Wall St Journal, Tunku Varadarajan interviews Jay Bhattacharya about Trump nominating him to be the head of the NIH.
- “The science behind winning a Nobel Prize? Being a man from a wealthy family | Torsten Bell” – A lot of talent is wasted in a world where more than half of laureates come from households in the richest 5%, argues Torsten Bell in the Guardian.
- “Live not by lies” — Michael Shellenberger exposes some of the outright lies the mainstream media and liberal politicians are demanding we believe.
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https://www.politico.eu/article/volodymyr-zelenskyy-donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-hold-first-post-reelection-talks-at-hosted-trilateral-meeting/
Le mot juste:
President Trump: ‘It certainly seems like the world is going a little crazy right now’
President Zelensky: ‘We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace…..We agreed to continue working together and keep in contact. Peace through strength is possible.’
President Macron called on the “United States, Ukraine, and France” to “continue [their] joint efforts for peace and security.”
Zelenskyy and Trump were initially slated to meet with Macron separately before the French president set up a last-minute trilateral meeting. The three went to Notre Dame afterwards, with Zelenskyy receiving a long round of applause upon entering the cathedral.
Oh! Hang on…..Starmer…..Lammy…….nowhere to be seen……?
Oops!
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/
‘Syrian rebels said on Sunday that they have ended Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year authoritarian rule, in their first announcement on state television following a lightning offensive that took the world by surprise.
Syria’s army command notified officers on Sunday that Assad’s regime had ended, a Syrian officer who was informed of the move told Reuters.
Assad, who had crushed all forms of dissent, flew out of Damascus for an unknown destination earlier on Sunday, two senior army officers told Reuters, as rebels said they had entered the capital with no sign of army deployments.
Where is Assad now?
‘A Syrian Air plane took off from Damascus airport around the time the capital was reported to have been taken by rebels, according to data from the Flight radar website.
The aircraft initially flew towards Syria’s coastal region, a stronghold of Assad’s Alawite sect, but then made an abrupt U-turn and flew in the opposite direction for a few minutes before disappearing off the map.
Reuters could not immediately ascertain who was on board. Two Syrian sources said there was a very high probability that Assad may have been killed in a plane crash as it was a mystery why the plane took a surprise U turn and disappeared off the map according to data from the Flight radar website.
“It disappeared off the radar, possibly the transponder was switched off, but I believe the bigger probability is that the aircraft was taken down…,” said one Syrian source
Hmmm…….
The dogs still bark:
‘…the Syrian army later said it was continuing operations against “terrorist groups” in the towns of Hama and Homs and Deraa countryside.’
But the caravan moves on.
The Syrian rebels make pointed reference to ‘our brothers in the Caucasus suffering under the infidel’
https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1865444548509315210?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Whichever way you cut it, the potential loss of all Russian bases in Syria is a major blow to Putin’s Russia:
‘Moscow has been using (Tartus) since the 1970s. In 2017, Russia and Syria signed a 49-year treaty that gives Moscow even greater access to Tartus. It was from here that several Russian ships came to the Black Sea before the start of the war against Ukraine.
Without modern, reliable ships capable of enduring long sea voyages, Russia is forced to rely on “coastal navigation” of its fleet from port to port. And the Tartus base is important in this aspect.
“The loss of Tartus would be catastrophic for the projection of Russian power in Southern Europe and North Africa. Realistically, the only way for the Kremlin to replace the vital coastal infrastructure at Tartus is to restore access to the Mediterranean through the Bosphorus [closed to the Russian Navy due to the war in Ukraine],“
After a possible loss of Tartus, the Kremlin could face a difficult choice: to continue fighting in Ukraine and lose influence in the Mediterranean region, or to make peace with Ukraine and unblock the Turkish straits for its navy.’
https://fakti.bg/en/world/932679-a-new-front-if-russia-loses-its-base-in-syria-vladimir-putin-will-have-to-seek-peace-with-zelensky
The fall of Assad’s regime has taken place as a consequence of Israel’s defanging of Hezbollah/Iran….and Putin’s weakness as a consequence of the poor performance of Russian arms in Ukraine.
If Europe wants peace in Europe, it must show, through powerful deterrent forces, that it shares the same robust approach to its security as that of Israel.
But it will not……and so, ultimately, its citizens will, once again, sooner or later, pay the price……….
For the misogynists, whose claptrap I never tire of debunking.
Female politicians in Germany who voted against the Self-Determination Act are ousted from their party, only to be replaced by…woke men;
”Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FPD) is seeking to prohibit the re-election of two female members who voted against the nation’s radical self-identification law. Katja Adler and Linda Teuteberg are the only two women in the FDP who voted against the law, with both expressing concerns about the implications gender ideology has for women’s safety.
In April of 2024, the German Bundestag voted for the Self-Determination Act, which allows people to simply change their sex and first name at the registry office and threatens with a fine of €10,000 if someone reveals their previous first name and real sex.
In a personal statement Adler pointed out that the law would result in women having fewer rights to single-sex spaces, and that it contradicted with the German Constitution’s guarantee that “men and women have equal rights.” Adler argued that the clause would be rendered unenforceable if men were capable of declaring themselves “women” at any time.
As a result of her comments, the FDP is seeking to replace Teuteberg with Matti Karstedt, who will enter the German Bundestag for the first time and who considers the Self-Determination Act a good law. Karstedt has criticized women who express concerns about the law, and has said that “truly liberal women” do not feel threatened by trans-identified males.
While Adler and Tueteberg are being pushed out of the FDP, the party has also seen multiple women defect due to disagreements with the Self-Determination Act.”
https://reduxx.info/germany-female-politicians-who-oppose-radical-gender-ideology-to-be-ousted-from-parliament-and-replaced-by-their-party/
Would it be an exaggeration to say Britain is slipping away? I think not. I visit twice a year and I can see the changes more clearly than family and friends who live there.
But there I go again, posting about countries in which I don’t reside. Something I’ve always done. How very dare I, right??
”An ever-decreasing percentage of Britain’s population is native to the Isles. Not coincidentally, an ever-decreasing percentage of those who reside in Britain are Christian. Or admit to being so. What amounts to an unrecognized pogrom is stealing both the British character and the British Islands themselves…from the British. Jolly Olde England is not so jolly nor so English anymore. (To wit, Muhammad is now the most popular name for baby boys in England and Wales.)
Punished for stating “I love Jesus.” Rewarded for dying early. Overwhelmed by foreign invaders. Can this be the country that gave us Locke, Disraeli, Churchill, and Thatcher?
How is this happening? One word: appeasement—which didn’t work out so well before World War II, either. It never does. For the record, appeasement and “tolerance” are closely related.
This is the Second Battle of Britain, whether it is recognized as such or not. If Britain loses this one, it will be just as defeated, just as lost, and just as subjugated as it would have been if it had surrendered to Hitler’s Germany. There will be no “The World At War” documentary series after this battle and no Sir Laurence Olivier narrating for the BBC. There may well be no BBC. There will only be black-clad women crying in the corners…and shouts of “Allahu Akbar” piercing the cheerless, leaden skies.
If we in the West don’t wish to suffer through another Dark Age, we must realize it is high time to turn the lights back on. If we tarry, if we fail, if we falter, it will be too late.
Churchill once noted that if England was victorious in the first Battle of Britain, “the British Empire” might “last for a thousand years.” Speaking of early death, it now appears Britain might not make it 100 years past that remark.
If it does not, somewhere, Churchill may be heard to utter, “Never in the field of human conflict have so many so cravenly surrendered to so few.”
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/12/the_second_battle_of_britain.html
And just to complete a hat trick for countries where I definitely don’t live, ( 3 is the magic number, haters
) here’s one about lovely Sweden and their not so lovely ‘asylum seekers’, who are clearly taking the pish;
”The Swedish government has tasked multiple authorities with mapping instances of refugees traveling to their home countries, a practice Migration Minister Johan Forssell described as undermining the integrity of the asylum system.
The initiative, led by the Swedish Migration Agency in collaboration with the police and Swedish embassies, seeks to strengthen the enforcement of residency and protection status regulations amid concerns that many of those claiming asylum in the Scandinavian country are returning to their country of origin for holidays.
“If you have asylum because you fled a country, it is strange if you travel back to that country. It could mean there are no longer grounds for protection or that false information was given,” said Forssell.
While the Migration Agency already has the authority to revoke permits in such cases, the new assignment aims to improve information-sharing and establish clearer procedures. The results of this effort are expected to be reported to the government by next summer.
The debate intensified after a 2022 survey by Novus, commissioned by the Bulletin online newspaper, revealed that 79 percent of refugees in Sweden had vacationed in their countries of origin.”
https://rmx.news/sweden/swedish-government-intensifies-efforts-to-track-refugees-holidaying-in-home-countries/
They’ve got the Nordic Resistance Movement, far more on it than these isles… Where is our resistance??… Mogs banging on about it on The Daily Sceptic… And funnily enough.. She don’t even live here
Sweeden anyday….. The women are better looking for a start
We have the same/similar issue here, we have had it for years. I worked with “Kosovan refugees” back in the early 2000’s.they claimed asylum due to the issues in Kosovo, However these were not Kosovans but Albanians who had blatantly lied to claim asylum, as soon as their claims were accepted and they received travel documents, they flew home to Albania to visit family, I did report it to both the police and the home office, nothing happened
Sounds like you need to pack your job in..
I remember having official dealings with the ‘Kosovan’ refugee in the early 2000’s. What a bunch of firkin criminals.
I don’t often swear….
but…
Gove vs. Lionel.
Nearly choked on my porridge…
You cannot take the politician out of Gove. Lionel was way too polite. I would have shred him to pieces with my argumentation.
Justifies stopping my Spectator subscription when he became Editor.
Gove is a shill imo. For who I don’t know, but there is something about his rather smug, self-satisfied way of addressing a question that makes me highly suspicious of the man. There wasn’t a hint of contrition in any of his answers or any admission that the government’s response was in anyway criminal or catastrophic. He palmed it off as if the government was taken by surprise and no one knew how to handle the crisis. The crisis was self-inflicted because they let fear drive their decision making process. And they imposed that fear on the populous in order to make them comply with their illogical, irrational lockdown diktats. Lionel should have held him to account more than she did. As you say she was far too polite but obviously she was herself taken in by the narrative, by allowing herself to take the jab just so she could travel. I hope she has wised up by now. The fact that so few in the media and in government thought about the terrible generational changes they were imposing on society, is reason enough to condemn the lot of them.
Noting the speed of the collapse of the Syrian Regime, one wonders how fast the UK would collapse if challenged by some thousands of unified opponents. They would need minimal arms. I doubt the public would get involved and the combined capacity of the police and army would not be enough to secure key infrastructure let alone face down any bands of rebels.
I have serious doubts if the police would act at all because their wokery officers would say it was racist or contrary to one EU law or another to act with violence.
I wonder if RUSI has done any analysis on this.