Indeed... and scroll down below the comment here by James to see what this is specifically referring to (the latest pronouncements from UK Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, if you need to know in advance).

Wow. This is powerful. Please pass this on widely.

Personally I am against the slogan 'Globalise the intifada', whatever Tactchell may say about the meaning of the word in Arabic. The problem is what it has come to mean for many in English, on both sides of this dispute. But the words 'Non-vioient resistance' seem transparent to me in their meaning?

See the comment below from Richard Haviland (@rfhaviland.bsky.social). I reproduce Lord Frost's actual comments in a screenshot here.

These are the thoughts of Shabana Mahmood, currently Home Secretary in the UK. Bringing in nineteenth-century moral philosophers sounds very positive... but then look at the detail of what she is proposing: essentially predicting who will be deemed as criminals before the event.

It's always worth knowing the historical context around events in countries which we only tend to hear about in negative terms... and not least when we are talking about legacies of imperial hubris.

Indeed... for those of us who try to engage our brains to conduct a bit of critical reading of journalistic language, this barely requires further commentary. Sadly, there are many who are probably fooled by this type of doublespeak from the BBC and other media outlets.

Worth signing if you are a UK citizen. Please feel free to sign and share.

Mustn't offend the Donald, eh?

In which even the Secretary General of the United Nations plays shy of openly condemning Trump's aggressive and illegal attack on Venezuela yesterday, as well as the kidnapping and abduction of the country's President and his wife.

Wonderful... and touching from Len Pennie. Happy New Year, a'body!

Yes... precisely that!

Why not, Mr. Starmer?

Ignore experience and bow to dogma and prejudice.

On the creation of 'unanimity'...

Some strong language here, but the sentiments expressed seem totally justified to me.

Anas Sarwar gives Lord Offord of Reform UK a total dressing down on TV last night.

Nigel Farage ('Not a racist'). Nigel Farage ('Not a racist'). Nigel Farage ('Not a racist'). No more convincing than Father Ted was thirty years ago...

Tee hee... the spirit of satire is not dead.

Ah, delightful: the latest from the White House....

Strong language, but this is very powerful...

Indeed: what Cathal Malone says.

Please consider signing and sharing this petition about the proposed cancellation of programmes in Modern Languages at the University of Nottingham. Thank you! www.change.org/p/stop-the-r...

Very good here from Richard Haviland on pragma tism vs. morality in political decision making. bylines.scot/politics/sta...

Well worth reading here from Richard Haviland.

An important read here... sussexbylines.co.uk/politics/hum...

An important read here...

The German company that makes the mechanical ladder used in the Louvre heist has used the image to advertise, with the text 'When you need to move fast' 10/10 response, no notes

And how are they meant to reach that standard? Of course it can be done without being in an English-speaking country, but the facilities are not always there in all places to reach that level (and just saying 'A Level' sounds good, but what does it actually mean in practice?).

And stories like this are why complacent gits like Starmer can get knotted over their 'it is disrespectful to talk about Gaza today' rhetoric. October 7th 2023 was a massive attack on human rights. What has happened since October 7th 2023 has been an even bigger attack on human rights. Mark both.

Yupp, what Cathal Malone says here...

Is this for real? The Security people let her get that far into her speech before taking action? Somehow, I suspect the actual security guys weren't unsympathetic to the message...

Worth reading from Karen Attiah if you want to see what is really meant in practice by the punishment of those who 'mocked' the death of Charlie Kirk. It appears that the meaning of 'mocking' has been changed to simply not being prepared to bow down in adulation of the dead.

Reform UK the next government? Read on about their attempts to run a county council...

So we might as well not have bothered having a General Election in the UK last year at all then, is that it? On the continuity in the pulling of the real levers of power in the UK, whether the government is Tory or Labour (and don't even think for a second that Reform would evict these guys...).

Well worth reading if you want to understand what currently passes for political debate in the UK. Yesterday, Nigel Farage embraced Lucy Connolly on stage at the Reform UK party conference. That should tell you a lot.

Once again, King Nigel is regarded as the only show in town in British media circles. No wonder we are facing up the potential nightmare of a Reform UK government.

Indeed... what he says.

Well worth clicking the link to read the full article here.

NEW Yes, an incoming illiberal and radical UK government would have absolute constitutional power By me Substack: emptycity.substack.com/p/yes-an-inc... Personal blog: davidallengreen.com/2025/08/yes-...

This text by Richard Haviland is now two years old, but it is as vital now as it was then. Our culture clearly has not listened to what he had to say about this (why listen to an intelligent and informed observer of the world with extensive experience of international politics rather than Farage?).

Yet another nail in the coffin of freedom of speech and thought in the UK: 'Auntie' Beeb will now become paternalistic Beeb, deciding what it is appropriate that we might know rather than allowing us to find out. A seriously retrograde move.

Well worth reading (and reposting) here... on how easy it is to become a racist.

Vile, utterly vile. Predictable, but vile. Those who have become inhuman themselves are doing their best to strip others of their most basic humanity.

Very regrettable - and deeply hypocritical: preserve the programme at home while saying that it is now redundant overseas. Not killing people though: we need more money for that!

A good question, but I think we all know the answer: nobody wants to be the one who dares to have to take responsibility for holding the hot potato.

What George Monbiot says... how the hell did Starmer allow things to get to this point of moral and anti-democratic obscenity?

Chilling.

An important discussion here... read on. (And I have no candle to burn for either Bob Vylan or Kneecap, since they were dragged into this fuss too, I should add.)

In which the President of the USA gave a desperate regime a nod and a wink to do as they see fit while arming them to the hilt, and then he tries to say 'nothing to do with us; the blame is with all those Iranians that we pick on constantly'. Very worrying indeed.