Censortech
Censorship of Covid dissent reached new heights yesterday with a concerted effort by numerous social media platforms to remove all content relating to the press conference held by America’s Frontline Doctors. Not only did Facebook and YouTube remove the videos – and the server hosting the Doctors’ website disabled it – but Twitter banned Donald Trump Jr from its platform for 12 hours because he posted a tweet that contained content from the press conference relating to hydroxychloroquine. (You can still see a video of the press conference on Bitchute here.) Dr Stella Immanuel, one of the doctors featured in the video, has been widely ridiculed for her strange beliefs, branded a “witch-doctor” and had her Twitter account deleted. (You can read a transcript of some of her remarks at the press conference here.)
According to the BBC, the reason the video has been banned is because it promotes the use of hydroxychloroquine, both as a prophylactic and an effective treatment.
The video, a 45-minute livestream of the first day of a “White Coat” summit by the group, was posted to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by Breitbart and quickly went viral.
“The virus has a cure, it’s called hydroxychloroquine, zinc, and Zithromax,” says one of the doctors in the video.
“You don’t need masks. There is a cure. I know they don’t want to open schools. No, you don’t need people to be locked down. There is prevention and there is a cure.”
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have removed the content because it violates their “COVID-19 misinformation policies”, presumably by touting the benefits of hydroxychloroquine.
In a statement to BBC News, Twitter said: “Tweets with the video are in violation of our COVID-19 misinformation policy. We are taking action in line with our policy here.”
“We’ve removed this video for sharing false information about cures and treatments for COVID-19,” Facebook told the BBC, confirming it was also removing other versions of the video.
YouTube told the BBC: “We have removed the video for violating our COVID-19 misinformation policies.”
This view – that claiming hydroxychloroquine can be used both to prevent and cure COVID-19 is straightforwardly false and could lead to people harming themselves – appears to be based on the WHO’s official guidance.
The WHO says: “While several drug trials are ongoing, there is currently no proof that hydroxychloroquine or any other drug can cure or prevent COVID-19.”
“The misuse of hydroxychloroquine can cause serious side effects and illness and even lead to death,” it adds.
There are three things wrong with this argument for censoring America’s Frontline Doctors and anyone who links to the group’s claims.
First, while there may be no definitive “proof” that hydroxychloroquine “can cure or prevent COVID-19”, there isn’t any definitive “proof” that wearing non-surgical masks reduces the risk of infection either. Yes, there’s some evidence that non-surgical masks are effective, but then there’s also some evidence that hydroxychloroquine is effective. This study conducted by the French doctor and virologist professor Didier Raoult, for instance. That study has been subject to intense scrutiny and considerable criticism, but other, less controversial studies have also found hydroxychloroquine to be effective (see here for instance) and it’s still used in hospitals around the world to treat COVID-19 patients, including in the US. In Russia, Spain and Nigeria, as well as in some other countries, its use is recommended by the public health authorities. Yes, its “misuse” can result in harm, but that’s also true of almost any medical intervention, including face masks. Why apply a higher standard to doctors promoting hydroxychloroquine than to those promoting masks? If Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are going to ban anyone from touting the benefits of hydroxychloroquine on the grounds that there’s no definitive “proof” that it’s effective, shouldn’t they also ban anyone from touting the benefits of non-surgical masks?
Second, while some studies have shown hydroxychloroquine to be an ineffective and harmful treatment – see here and here, for instance – there isn’t any definitive “proof” that it’s ineffective and harmful. On the contrary, numerous trials are still going on around the world to try and determine how effective it is (if at all). Many of those trials were halted, including one by the WHO, after a study was published in the Lancet purporting to show the use of hydroxychloroquine increased the risk of death in COVID-19 patients, but the data cited in that paper turned out to be dubious and the Lancet subsequently retracted it and apologised. The trials have now been resumed. In the absence of “proof” that hydroxychloroquine is ineffective or harmful, why should the default positions of the Big Tech companies be to ban any doctors promoting it? In due course, the weight of evidence may point to its effectiveness, so by banning doctors from singing its praises YouTube and Twitter could be causing harm. At present, it’s far from obvious that publishing such content is more harmful than removing it.
Third, social media platforms should err on the side of free speech, so in the absence of “proof” that hydroxychloroquine is actually harmful they shouldn’t ban people promoting it. If an organisation intends to violate a person’s right to free speech – particularly a social media company – the burden of proof should be on that organisation to show that more harm will came from allowing the person to speak than from stopping them speaking, and in this case, that threshold hasn’t been met.
I’m afraid this is just another example of Big Tech companies labelling a point of view that’s endorsed by Donald Trump and other conservatives as “misinformation” to give them with an excuse for censoring it. The real reason, as always, is political.
A Patient Writes
I got an email from a frustrated reader who tried and failed to get an appointment with his GP yesterday.
Two days ago I got to witness what a basket case the NHS has been turned into.
My GP does not now do face to face bookings. Nor can you book an appointment over the internet any more, you have to ring up.
So at 12.30pm I did so. I was in a queue, and I ended up hanging on the phone for 40 minutes until I spoke to a receptionist. I asked her if I could speak to a GP. She said sorry, there were no appointments available this week, but I could ring at 8am or 2pm to try and get an ’emergency’ appointment. I said it’s only 45 minutes till 2pm, could this not be sorted now: she said no, the computer system only “opens” at 2pm.
So I rang back at 2pm. It was engaged. I tried again 20 times, it was always engaged. I finally got through and was put in a queue. At 2.45 I spoke to the receptionist. I requested an emergency appointment. She said sorry, they have all gone, I’d have to try tomorrow at 8am.
At this point I pretty much broke down, saying I’d been on the phone for nearly an hour and a half today and still no sign of any appointment with a GP, and no guarantee I would get one this week, no matter how many times I rang back. I was in utter despair.
The slightly happy ending to the tale is that because I complained to her so much, she did pass a message on to the doctor, and I was rang later to tell me a prescription was ready to pick up. But no GP appointment, which is what I most need.
This is what the Government has done to the NHS thanks to its bug eyed focus on one single virus, a virus which has declined massively in the last four months. I pity those who are older than me and iller than me, this is a terrible situation with real human cost.
Btw, I live in Bath which, as far as I am aware, has had very, very few infections in the last months.
Public Hopelessly Misinformed About Covid Mortality
This is astonishing. An opinion pollster – Kekst CNC – has discovered that the people of Scotland believe that 10.23% of the UK population have died from coronavirus! That’s approximately seven million people, more than the entire population of Scotland (5.454 million). No wonder mobs of nationalists are setting up makeshift roadblocks on the English border.
Admittedly, Kekst only asked 89 Scots, so it’s a tiny sample, but the polling company asked 527 women across the UK the same question and they think that 9.91% of the population have succumbed to the virus. Men are less pessimistic – they believe 3.45% of the population have died – but the mean figure is 6.76%, or four-and-a-half million. And in the US, the mean is a whopping 9%! That’s twenty nine-and-a-half million.
This throws some light on why the British public has been so compliant with lockdown restrictions and are so keen on mandatory face coverings. (According to Kekst, 65% of the UK population is in favour of compulsory face masks in indoor public spaces.) They’ve effectively been completely terrorised by the Government and the mainstream media. Not bed-wetters, just hopelessly misinformed.
Needless to say, the real Covid death toll is <0.1% of the UK population.
Postcard From the Hague
A reader has been in touch to tell me about his recent trip to The Hague. Sounds heavenly.
I just returned from two weeks house-sitting in The Hague. The difference in atmosphere was jaw-dropping. Whilst there are some token rules (largely ignored), it is clear that the Dutch have not been subjected to anything like the kind of fear campaign that the Brits have. The city centres of The Hague, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam were all bustling and filled with lively outdoor and indoor bars cafes and restaurants, with no distancing or masks. I even attended three jazz gigs, one of which took place in a crowded bar in Amsterdam, and featured a legendary 85-year-old Dutch drummer who also happily chatted to me in close proximity afterwards without batting an eyelid. (I suppose he must be one of those old people who have decided to “keep on living”).
Returning to the UK involved a stern commandment to fill in the Government’s online form and present it at the border or risk a hefty fine. After descending the steps down to the car deck of the ferry back to Harwich behind a British woman adorned with plastic gloves, a face mask, AND a plastic visor over her head (I never saw any such thing in Holland of course), I then breezed through the passport control without any mention of the form, meaning I needn’t have bothered with it and had been merely convinced to comply voluntarily by the threat of a fine.
Now if so much as ONE person on the enormous half-empty ferry tests positive we will all be told to self-isolate, I suppose.
What’s Causing Excess Deaths in Homes?
There’s an interesting new blog post by Carl Heneghan and Daniel Howden at the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine about the high numbers of excess deaths in homes and what the likely causes are.
While the currently registered deaths in England and Wales have fallen below the five-year average for the last five weeks, excess deaths at home remain above average and high. Over 700 excess deaths per week – 3,799 in total reported in the home setting over the past five weeks. Only 179 deaths of these have mentioned COVID-19 on the death certificate.
It is not clear why there is such excess in the home. What is clear is that this represents a huge number of unexplained – and potentially avoidable deaths – particularly if they represent individuals deterred from visiting hospitals.
The number of deaths in the home setting are almost 50% higher than the total number registered with COVID-19 in any setting over the last five weeks (3,799 versus 2,582).
Individuals deterred from visiting hospitals. If that’s not the cause, I’ll be a monkey’s uncle.
The Telegraph wrote a news story about the paper yesterday.
Masks All Removed in Unison
I’ve been sent an unusually upbeat email about a trip to the seaside from a reader who identifies himself as Charlie in Warwickshire.
Myself and family booked a 1hr Coastal Sea Cruise, last Sunday morning, to leave from a Harbourside in North Devon (obscure to protect the company). When we got there, we noticed that everyone in the queue had face masks on, which I thought was odd.
It was only then that we checked the booking that said “Face Masks should (note, should) be worn on all Cruises” which is strange for many reasons – outdoors, by the Coast and in the lovely sea air on a boat where you’re sat outside.
I had my exemption card in my lanyard and then went to the booking office to ask them about it. They saw my card and were really cool about things saying – no worries, just show to one of the crew.
Went back in the queue and my partner donned her ‘bandit scarf’ and my daughter didn’t have any covering as she’s under 11.
The people in the queue ranged from couples to families, all of them in masks (including, worryingly, a few kids under five) and quite a few were giving me their best ‘Paddington Stares’ even after scrutinising my exemption card.So, got on the boat and no problems as I sat at the back of the boat, in the outside. Captain comes on and says “going to go through some Covid awareness points but I can tell you that your masks are not necessary as we’re out in the beautiful sea air and the risk is low”.
In unison, they all removed their masks like it was some sort of revelation and surprise! All it took was someone ‘in authority’ to issue some commands and they dutifully complied.
So it was both worrying and heartening to see the masks come off. Worryingly, because they were like drones being programmed what to do, despite all their instinct and evidence telling them it was unnecessary to begin with.
If people need to be told that a face mask is not required on a sea cruise, and can’t work it out to begin with, then I weep for the future.
Round-Up
Here’s a round-up of all the stories I’ve noticed, or which have been been brought to my attention, in the last 24 hours:
- ‘Impacts of COVID-19 on childhood malnutrition and nutrition-related mortality‘ – New paper in the Lancet says an additional 140 million people will be plunged into extreme poverty and between 111,193 to 178,510 children will starve to death this year as a result of the global lockdowns
- ‘Second wave has begun in Europe, says Boris Johnson‘ – Today’s front page story in the Times. Complete balls, obviously
- ‘Panic over rising Covid-19 case numbers is as irrational as it is dangerous‘ – Useful corrective to the above piece by Ross Clark in the Telegraph pointing out that increasing numbers of new cases is not a reason to panic if there’s no corresponding uptick in hospital admissions or deaths (which there aint)
- ‘Acting could soon be a hate crime‘ – Disturbing editorial in Spiked about the Scottish Hate Crime Bill
- ‘Full Employment with the Diversity Industrial Complex‘ – Excellent analysis of what the real aim of the woke cultists is – it’s a job creation scheme!
- ‘Violence and Anarchy Reign in Portland‘ – Report in the Epoch Times from the frontline of America’s “revolution”
- ‘Pandemic unemployment payment cut for 2,000 after airport checks‘ – The Irish Government is cutting unemployment benefit from its recipients discovered going on holiday after airport security checks
- ‘The Case Is Building That COVID-19 Had a Lab Origin‘ – More “misinformation” that – who would’ve thunk it? – is almost certainly true
- ‘Care homes were “thrown to the wolves” during COVID-19 outbreak, say MPs‘ – Sky News reports on the sensational findings of the Public Accounts Committee
- ‘People over 6ft have double the risk of coronavirus, study suggests‘ – Study suggests aerosol transmission is cause of COVID-19 infections, not droplets, which means masks are useless
- ‘London jobs market the worst in the country as vacancies fall by 60pc‘ – More bad economic news
- ‘People with treatable cancers will die due to Government scaremongering, warns NHS nurse‘ – Good interview on the Telegraph‘s Planet Normal podcast with a district nurse
- ‘Covid doesn’t care about your political theories‘ – Excellent demolition of the brain-dead claim that female leaders have been better at managing the pandemic than male leaders by Matthew Lynn in the Spectator
- ‘When It Comes to Masks, There Is No “Settled Science”‘ – Good round-up of the evidence by Chris Calton on the Mises Institute blog
- ‘Opera star Andrea Bocelli says he was “humiliated and offended” by Italy’s lockdown‘ – Turns out the world famous opera singer is one of us
Small Businesses That Have Re-Opened
A couple of months ago, Lockdown Sceptics launched a searchable directory of open businesses across the UK. The idea is to celebrate those retail and hospitality businesses that have re-opened, as well as help people find out what has opened in their area. But we need your help to build it, so we’ve created a form you can fill out to tell us about those businesses that have opened near you.
Now that non-essential shops have re-opened – or most of them, anyway – we’re now focusing on pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as other social venues. As of July 4th, many of them have re-opened too, but not all. Please visit the page and let us know about those brave folk who are doing their bit to get our country back on its feet – particularly if they’re not insisting on face masks! Don’t worry if your entries don’t show up immediately – we need to approve them once you’ve entered the data.
Forums Back Up and Running
I enjoy reading all your comments and I’m glad I’ve created a “safe space” for lockdown sceptics to share their frustrations and keep each other’s spirits up. But please don’t copy and paste whole articles from papers that are behind paywalls in the comments. I work for some of those papers and if they don’t charge for premium content they won’t survive.
We have created some Lockdown Sceptics Forums that are now open. Initially, they became a spam magnet so we temporarily closed them. However, we’ve now found a team of people wiling to serve as moderators so the Forums are back up and running. Any problems, email the Lockdown Sceptics webmaster Ian Rons here.
“Mask Exempt” Lanyards
I thought I’d create a new permanent slot down here for people who want to buy (or make) a “Mask Exempt” lanyard. The one featured above, or one very like it, is available for free here and has the advantage of not explicitly claiming you have a disability. But if you have no qualms about that (or you are disabled), you can buy a lanyard from Amazon saying you do have a disability/medical exemption here. The Government has instructions on how to download an official “Mask Exempt” notice to put on your phone here. And you can get a “Hidden Disability” tag from eBay here.
And don’t forget to sign the petition on the UK Government’s petitions website calling for an end to mandatory face nappies in shops here.
Shameless Begging Bit
Thanks as always to those of you who made a donation recently to pay for the upkeep of this site. If you feel like donating, however small the sum, please click here. And if you want to flag up any stories or links I should include in future updates, email me here.
And Finally…
Yesterday, I reported that a house cat had supposedly tested positive for the virus. A reader was reminded of this Simpsons episode in which a “secrete conclave of America’s media empires” dream up the next “phony crisis” and hit upon “house cat flu”. A case of life imitating art?
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.
Paul Thorpe interviewed Andrew Bridgen , it’s a real eye opener !
Also was Dan Andrews regime a dry run for Starmers tyranny?
Got a link?
Sorry for delay , it was on YouTube
Israel and Ukraine are defending us too: why don’t Western moralisers recognise this?
‘I do not say the French cannot come, I only say they cannot come by sea’
Lord St Vincent 1803
England, Britain, as illustrated by the amusing graphic at the beginning of ‘Dad’s Army’ has, for centuries, since seeing off the Spanish Armada, understood the merits a forward defence strategy, even if, every so often, the gallant warriors of ‘Dad’s Army’ have still been required.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF6qElf9GJ8
What is the point of a ‘forward defence’ strategy?
‘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.’
Forward defence is not just about not having to fight a bloody war on your own soil but very much also about not having to fight a war at all; deterrence, particularly conventional deterrence.
Which country is one of the leading exponents of forward defence today?
That would be a country that means us no good: Iran
What do they think is really going on?
‘Iranian commentators have long fixated over the prospect of a new world order in which the hegemony of the United States is diluted through a shift to multipolarity in the three regions of the Eurasian world-island: Europe, through the efforts of Russia; Asia, through the efforts of China; and the Middle East, through the efforts of Iran. At the outset of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Iranian officials welcomed the attack as the opening of “a new front against American arrogance.’
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0030438724000322
Which is the foremost contemporary and powerful enemy of this country, having recently murdered a British citizen on British soil and, earlier this year, sponsored a terrorist attack in East London?
Russia.
The enemy of our enemy is our friend, Mr Lammy.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that.
Postscript:
‘Iran…..act(s) in concert with organised criminal entities, conduct assassinations and kidnappings abroad, and participate(s) in the international drug trade.
In the last 15 months, (the) MI5 Director and (the) Counter-terrorism Policing lead have identified 12 to 15 cases of Iranian plots within the UK against British citizens or Iranian dissidents.
These statements are in line with those of the Director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, pointing to more intense Iranian intelligence activity in the past two years.’ July 2023
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/the-iran-question-and-british-strategy/#contents__accordion
Oh dear, are we now going to get daily updates on how Iran is planning to take over the world?
It may be difficult to understand that the rest of the world, outside Europe, is pretty fed up with US hegemony, meaning you either do as we (USA) tell you and take your loans from the IMF, etc., or else your country will be undermined by our NGOs, eventually leading to a voluntary or involuntary change in government.
It is interesting that the development of a multi-polar world – USA, Russia, China – is almost entirely due to Joe Biden’s terrible presidency. The very dubious 2020 election results, his completely open southern border, the politicization of the judicial system including the frenzied and continual attacks against his main political opponent, the dubious business concerns of his immediate family, his refusal to provide funds to Ukraine unless the chief prosecutor was fired (who happened to be investigating corruption in Burisma, the company employing Hunter Biden), his probable destruction of Nord Stream, as well as his sanctions against Russia resulting in a world-wide ‘dedollarization’. BRICS has pretty well exploded with applicants during his presidency.
Well done, Joe Biden!
Of course many countries are disenchanted with the U.S., particularly within the EU and, most particularly, France.
Mr Trump was no more popular than Mr Biden.
But, in a Middle Eastern popularity contest between China proxy, Iran and U.S. proxy, Israel, this country and its government should be clear that Iran, intent on the destruction of Israel, is no friend of Britain.
‘2023 – A terror suspect escaped from Wandsworth prison in London while awaiting trial for offences, including; collecting information useful to the enemy, alleged to be Iran; eliciting information about members of the armed forces likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism; and perpetrating a bomb hoax. The individual was later recaptured and is currently awaiting trial. Prosecutors have claimed that the individual passed sensitive material to Iranian intelligence
On 22 December 2023, another individual was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for attempting to collect information useful to a terrorist. The individual conducted hostile reconnaissance at the headquarters of Iran International, a dissident Iranian television station, in West London. Reporting suggests that the individual recorded security arrangements at the venue on his phone as part of a plot to conduct a terrorist attack.’
Unless Iran conducts further criminal activities in this country, it is unlikely that I will comment.
My comments, in any case, simply reflect, quote the views of experts in any particular arena.
With regard to Iran taking over the world, that is certainly its intention with regard to the Islamic world:
‘Iran considers itself the Islamic world’s natural leader, and seeks to export the Islamic Revolution first to areas with major Shia populations like Iraq, Lebanon, and parts of Syria, and then to the Islamic world more broadly.
By uniting the Islamic world under the Iranian banner, Tehran hopes to preserve the Islamic revolutionary regime indefinitely. Insulated by a buffer of friendly Islamic states, and directly or indirectly controlling the majority of the world’s oil reserves, Iran would be immune to long-term economic pressure.
This Iran, likely armed with nuclear weapons, could expand conventional and advanced military capabilities to expand its influence in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean.
A united Islamic world under Iranian leadership, meanwhile, would be a bona fide great power, the first Islamic great power since the Ottoman Empire, and the first Middle Eastern actor capable of projecting power beyond the region since the early 19th century.
An emboldened, empowered Iran would be able to negotiate with Russia and China, the other Eurasian authoritarians, on reasonably equal terms.
It would also be able to extend its influence throughout Eurasia and even gain allies in the Americas, likely first turning to Venezuela and Cuba, and then to other Latin American states hostile to the Anglo-Euro-American international system.
In short, then, Iran’s long-term strategic objective is great-power status.’
Sir John Jenkins, Air Marshal Edward Stringer, Harry Halem
You seem to be looking for enemies under the bed, seeing everywhere countries we must militarily discipline and prevent from conquering the world.
Iran is no friend of Britain, you maintain. Should it be? Is Britain a friend of Iran? Hardly.
How about we just stop parading around the world, pretending we are God’s gift to mankind, and simply develop friendly relationships with all the countries we come across? That means not preaching our way of life to them, not forcing them to do this or that, but just lending a sympathetic ear and helping them develop. Because that is what China and Russia do and it is obviously very successful.
All USA does (and UK trots along like an obedient poodle) is apply military might whenever its current leader thinks anyone needs a lesson in discipline.
You will argue that China and Russia take advantage of other countries but it works both ways. And offering assistance to anyone who needs it is a good way of developing a business relationship.
Do I think Iranian religious zealots are ideal leaders? No, but the fact is they are governing the country so they are the people our diplomats should be addressing. And helping Iran means helping the Iranian people, who possibly suffer as much from their leaders as we do from ours.
You asked about Iran taking over the world.
They certainly do want to take over the Islamic world, in the view of some regional experts.
I have no need to look for enemies.
Iran has, just last year, had agents in Britain arrested for scoping out acts of terrorism.
Russia has recently conducted acts of terrorism in Britain, killing one British citizen on British soil.
Both are totalitarian fascist dictatorships intent on destroying this country and our way of life, plain for all to see.
The only way to prevent that is through the strengthening of our national defences.
That, in my view, bears endless repetition.
We know what to do. We’ve done it before. It works.
You don’t, by any chance, manage a hedge fund like Labour’s biggest donor, with investments in arms manufacturers?
Ukraine has been invaded twice in ten years. Israel has been invaded. Red sea shipping is being interdicted from Yemen. Wars smoulder on in Syria and Iraq. Iran is on the cusp of possessing nuclear weapons. China rattles spears at Taiwan and terrorises the South China Sea. Mali, Bourkina Faso, Sudan are aflame. Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia are at daggers drawn. Venezuela is on the brink of civil war…..and so on and so forth…..
No need to talk up defence stocks….
Friday morning Rackstraw Rd & Acacia Ave,
Owlsmoor Sandhurst
David Lammy has cost Britain a crucial ally against Putin
Intelligent and integrated foreign affairs and defence strategy saves lives and money. Foreign policy debacles like the Falklands and now Ukraine are extremely expensive.
‘The costs of the war in Ukraine so far could fund the equivalent of 175,000 US troops on NATO’s eastern front for 40 years which would deter Russia from threatening NATO allies and attacking its neighbors.’
‘By 2013, the last US Army tank departed Europe, something celebrated as an “historic moment” Just a year later, in another historic moment, American Army tanks returned to Europe after Russia’s first invasion of Ukraine.’
CEPA June 2022
‘Words matter as Foreign Secretary, especially when opining on conflict. Contradicting long standing UK policy in a vanity blog is totally inappropriate…’
Alicia Kearns
Investment in an active and informed (through enhanced overseas intelligence) foreign policy, allied to a sound, efficient and cost effective defence spend on deterrence, conventional and the rest, although expensive in the short term, saves money (and, more importantly, blood) over the long haul in a number of different ways.
‘Loose talk (and a tight purse) costs lives’
I doubt the US cares much what Lammy says about anything. They have their own reasons for what is happening in Ukraine – reasons you have mentioned often.
‘What is happening in Ukraine’ is that Russia has invaded, twice.
I make no apologies for labouring that point.
No idea or interest in the U.S. view of Lammy.
The taxpayer here, however, should care that they will have to pick up the tab for his incompetence in alienating allies in Europe and the Middle East.
I make no apologies for labouring that point.
Over and over and over again …
Makes you wonder it he’s being paid to do it.
There is a great deal of uninformed bigotry on here.
I provide an alternative view, as sceptics do.
If you are looking for an echo chamber, of those there is no shortage.
This site, however, is for daily sceptics.
I tend to treat what politicians say as largely theatre. My suspicion is that they also view the whole thing as theatre. They are all professionals at spin.
“Running an electric car is twice as expensive as a petrol one”
Ah well I can only guess that the forthcoming October Budget will fix that anomaly and it is unlikely to be by electricity becoming cheaper!
This is bizarre. I thought it was bad enough that Germany were bribing migrants to go home by offering them 1000 euros rather than just booting them out, but then when Sweden came out with their offer of 31,000 euros *per person* I thought this is absolutely crazy. However, when you consider what the annual wage is in somewhere like Afghanistan or Syria, wouldn’t you expect more people to jump at the chance and accept this overly generous bribe?
”Despite being offered €31,000 to remigrate by the Swedish government, polling shows that very few migrants would accept the offer.
As Remix News previously reported, the Swedish government is making a significant monetary offer of 350,000 Swedish kroner to foreigners living in Sweden to voluntarily return home. It is also important to note that this amount would be paid out per person, which means a family of four could receive €124,000.
Still, these foreigners are so desperate to live in Sweden, a majority White country, that the vast majority of them said they would reject the offer, according to a poll conducted by the website Alkompis.
The poll showed that 77 percent of those questioned in the survey said that they were not even interested in the increased amount, and only 15 percent said that they would be interested in the offer. The others are uncertain.”
https://rmx.news/article/very-few-migrants-interested-in-swedens-remigration-offer-worth-e31000/
A very good new short film ( 15mins ) by Matt Goodwin, ‘How To Stop An Invasion’. He’s absolutely right, the government could stop this if they really wanted to, after all, look at the feats the Tories were capable of during the scamdemic, and how people realised they didn’t have actual rights at all, just privileges that could be taken away on a whim. It’s the government’s responsibility, at the end of the day, they’re hardly powerless, but they don’t want to stop the mass, relentless immigration, that much is apparent to anyone who isn’t a complete muppet;
https://x.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1837003034632540179
“Why LSE is the Sunday Times University of the Year 2025”
Ostensibly a change from the late 1960s, when students chanted:
“Free, free, LSE
Free it from the bourgeoisie.”
Can a ‘woman’ be charged with ‘indecent exposure’ if she flashes her penis in public?? I swear to God, Germany is done for. When your country embraces the woke mind virus *plus* uncontrolled immigration from countries where people hate you for many years, your country naturally goes to sh*t over time. One does not need a PhD in Sociology to have foreseen this happening. Stop the world, I want to get off;
”A trans-identified male from Troisdorf, Germany, is facing charges after attacking multiple women in two disturbing incidents involving knives and exhibitionism. But a debate is now raging in court as legal experts weigh whether the man, who identifies as a “woman,” can be charged with exposing his penis, a crime only males can be prosecuted for.
The man, 56, is scheduled to stand trial in Bonn for threats and grievous bodily harm related to two incidents, one from 2021 and one from 2022. Due to Germany’s strict privacy laws, the man’s full name has not been released, but he will be referred to as “Klaus” for the purposes of this article.
In August of 2021, Klaus followed a woman home and attacked her while she was at her front door. Klaus is alleged to have grabbed her from behind and held a knife to her throat while he wrangled her boots off. The woman fought back, suffering cuts to her neck and hands, and was able to send her attacker fleeing thanks to her loud cries for help. Klaus was wearing women’s clothes at the time of the attack, and is said to be a women’s shoe fetishist.
The next year, in December, Klaus exposed his penis to two women on a train. The regional court in Bonn must now decide whether this was a sexual offense, as Section 183 of the German Criminal Code only imposes a fine or a prison sentence to men for exhibitionistic acts. Because Klaus is legally considered “female,” he may avoid this charge entirely.
The uncertainty is the result of Germany’s recently-passed gender self-identification law, which is considered by many to be the most relaxed legislation of its kind in the world. In 2022, well-known criminal defense attorney Udo Vetter warned about the impact the law would have on criminal proceedings, writing on social media that: “Section 183 of the Criminal Code only applies to men. If a man uses self-ID to become a woman, he can no longer commit a criminal offense for exhibitionism.”
https://reduxx.info/germany-violent-transgender-shoe-fetishist-could-avoid-charges-of-exposing-his-penis-to-women-because-hes-legally-female/
“We’ll stop taking free clothes, say Starmer and Rayner”
Too late she cried! Your values are revealed
“I took cash for clothes too, admits Rachel Reeves”
What the f#@k is this? a fecking desperate charity shop or a party of leadership (he said gagging!)
Kier Starmer- Wardrobe by Waheed Alli
Victoria and kier, the poor mites can’t afford their own clothes, give the prime minister a pay rise, I cannot bare the thought of them having to live in poverty, why!…I’ll donate some of my cast offs too!
Presumably they have to put on a good show to all the other world politicians who are fitted out at other people’s expense to impress the other grifters whose clothes come from corruption. Can’t be seen to be second rate con-men.
“Britain is spending beyond its means”
Never!? Well slapper my thigh
(Not spending it on the right things of cause)
The politicians are spending beyond the people’s means. Beggaring us is the main part of The Agenda. So they can’t have us getting anything worthwhile for our money.
“The politicians are spending beyond the people’s means.”
Correct. And at some point the country will be declared bankrupt and effectively we will be sold to the IMF, BIS and the Blackrock mob.
Is Starmer’s decision to refuse cash for clothes an admission that he did wrong or simply to distract from all the other things he will still continue to accept bungs for.
“Jess Phillips: I’m ‘apoplectic’ domestic abusers were freed without tags”
Well, I’m apoplectic about this:
Teenager jailed for 18 months after McDonald’s fight still in prison 18 years later under indefinite jail term (msn.com)
“A desperate mother has spoken of her anguish after her teenage son was jailed for 18 months but is still trapped in prison 18 years later under a cruel indefinite jail term.
Luke Ings was handed a controversial imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence for robbery and a fight in McDonalds aged just 17.
The jail terms were scrapped in 2012 amid human rights concerns, but not retrospectively – leaving almost 3,000 people languishing in prison with no release date.
His devastated mother Samantha, 57, said Luke, now 36, is trapped with “monsters” inside maximum security HMP Wakefield, which is home to some of Britain’s most serious criminals, HAVING SPENT HIS ENTIRE ADULT LIFE INSIDE.
She fears unless the government takes urgent action he will not survive amid soaring rates of suicide and self-harm among IPP prisoners.”
“Jess Phillips: I’m ‘apoplectic’ domestic abusers were freed without tags”
Well, I’m apoplectic about this:
Teenager jailed for 18 months after McDonald’s fight still in prison 18 years later under indefinite jail term (msn.com)
“The jail terms [created by Lord David Blunkett], were scrapped in 2012 amid human rights concerns, but not retrospectively – leaving almost 3,000 people languishing in prison with no release date.
His devastated mother Samantha, 57, said Luke, now 36, is trapped with “monsters” inside maximum security HMP Wakefield, which is home to some of Britain’s most serious criminals, having spent his entire adult life inside.
She fears unless the government takes urgent action he will not survive amid soaring rates of suicide and self-harm among IPP prisoners.”
“IPP sentences do not fall under the government’s SDS40 early release scheme, which is expected to see 5,500 prisoners walk free by the end of October, despite more than 700 IPP prisoners having served at least 10 years longer than their minimum sentence.”
“We’ll stop taking free clothes,” say Starmer and Rayner. “Buy us something else next time.”
“Why is he so bad at this?” He’s like the rest of the WEF/Common Purpose brigade. Promoted for their adherence to The Agenda, not for competence.
Great video on New Culture Forum today, discussing the newly released figures on the economics of mass immigration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMhLUiqrHco