In response to Trump's claim that he wants to buy Greenland (he wants to ''drill baby drill'' there), under the nowadays commonly held impression that everything has its price, and under his own impression that what he wants he gets. 200,000 Danes have signed a petition to the Danish government requiring that Denmark tries to buy California - the Danes need more sun and more palm trees. The Californians are apparently keen on this idea as they would get a health and unemployment system that works, and also better schools, and fewer guns and people living in cardboard boxes.
California seems to be popular - it's also one of the US states that Canada apparently would like to secede and become Canadian, using the same inducements.
Oh what a tangled web we weave... A Jew in Miami pulled a gun and shot multiple rounds at two men he thought were Palestinians. They turned out to be Israelis there on holiday. Confused about the shooter, one of the two Israelis posted a message on social media saying "Death to all Arabs". https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/17/miami-shooting-israeli-men
Apparently Trump was recruited by the KGB in 1987. Is anyone surprised? https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/21/...ename-krasnov-claims-former-soviet-spy-chief/
You'd have to think that Trump, the master of self humiliation, couldn't come back from this - being so publicly exposed as a liar by Macron.
I'm not sure how I missed this in January - the result of an FOI request by Martin Rosenbaum regarding BoJo's reasons for nominating Charlotte Owen for a life peerage. Strangely, the words 'my daughter' are missing... " After a freedom of information dispute lasting 18 months, I have finally obtained the official reasons Boris Johnson provided with his resignation honours list for giving peerages to Charlotte Owen and Ross Kempsell. The reasons cited for nominating Owen to membership of the House of Lords do come across as very thin, inadequate and lacking in evidence of relevant achievements. They leave her peerage as a mystery rather than properly justifying and explaining it. The justification which the former prime minister supplied to the House of Lords Appointments Commission states that Johnson “entrusted Charlotte with engaging the parliamentary party on his behalf and she was essential to maintaining his relationship with them”. He added that “Charlotte was later tasked with helping the new Chief Whip in his role and used her unique knowledge to become a bridge between the Prime Minister and the Chief Whip”. Johnson’s citation for her also states that “Charlotte led on many sensitive and key projects including advising the Prime Minister and the Chief Whip on suitability for Ministerial appointments during the reshuffle”. No other details of these “sensitive and key projects” are given. The first part of this citation fits with the notion that she was a junior official with very little responsibility and experience, whose sudden elevation to a peerage was peculiar. The unevidenced claim in the citation that she led on “many sensitive and key projects” including on advising on ministerial appointments will, I think, come as a surprise to a lot of people working in Downing Street at the time. The citation added that Owen wanted to advocate for young women who have fallen victim to image based sexual abuse, an issue she has indeed taken up since being in the House of Lords. The released documentation also reveals that her nomination was supported by the former Tory cabinet ministers Grant Shapps and Chris Heaton-Harris, although not what they said. The citation for Ross Kempsell is more detailed, giving an account of his work and achievements as the head of the Conservative research department and a special adviser in Downing Street. The House of Lords Appointments Commission was eventually forced to release this material due to a lengthy freedom of information case I have been pursuing with them. I am very pleased that the documentation has now been revealed, but it shouldn’t need an argument over 18 months for the public to find out what reasons are officially provided for allocating certain people important political powers. Members of the House of Lords debate and vote on laws that control the British public’s lives. As a basic principle the public is fully entitled to know what reasons are given for why they have been appointed to rule over us. The two peers are now known as Lady Owen of Alderley Edge and Lord Kempsell, and have both been active in the Lords after their somewhat unexpected appearance in Johnson’s resignation honours in June 2023. At the time of the announcement they were 29 and 31 respectively. Owen’s ennoblement caused a great deal of consternation and puzzlement, as there was no evidence of any achievement of hers that could explain it. She was a junior staffer working in Johnson’s Downing Street operation. Press reports described her as possessing “no views, no achievements, no experience” and as “the most junior person in political history to have received a peerage”, while also alleging discrepancies in her career history. The disclosure follows a ruling last month from the First-tier Tribunal, which upheld my arguments that releasing this information is in the public interest. It is the culmination of the dispute between myself and HOLAC, which initially rejected my FOI request in July 2023 for the information held about these two nominees. After HOLAC insisted on its position, I complained to the Information Commissioner and then appealed to the Tribunal. At the Tribunal hearing, where I represented myself against HOLAC’s extensive legal team and cross-examined Clare Brunton, the secretary of HOLAC who is also head of the honours secretariat in the Cabinet Office, I argued that the process for giving individuals a status as legislators is a vital matter of the public interest. Those appointed can approve or reject proposed laws, as well as being able to take part in parliamentary debates, directly question ministers, and so on. This entails the need for maximum transparency, so that the process is both legitimate and is seen to be legitimate, and the public can see for themselves whether appropriate procedures are followed. The First-tier Tribunal’s judgment stated: “We attributed considerable weight to the public interest knowing the PM’s reasoning … Life peers are Members of Parliament with the rights, obligations and influence associated with such an appointment thus enhancing further the weight of the public interest in the PM’s citations.” The Tribunal dismissed HOLAC’s arguments that releasing the information would damage the honours system and be a breach of confidence.
My eldest granddaughter qualified as a nurse here last year, and is on the final year of her specialist subject, midwifery. During the year, she must work abroad for three weeks, comparing different systems. Being an English speaker she thought it would be easier if she could find a placement in the UK, and through a contact was offered a place at Watford General no less. The hospital was delighted to have an additional pair of hands with experience, and no language barriers. Accommodation was found and everything was in place. Then came the phone call to say it was all off. She doesn't have a UK address, so the police cannot check her out. Before Brexit a couple of clicks gave the police access to the EU criminal records' database, and she could have been cleared in seconds. So Watford General are losing out, and she is now looking to find somewhere in Ireland that will appreciate a helping hand.
My best mate, who is being treated for cancer, was admitted to Yeovil hospital last week, having picked up an infection. He was expecting to be discharged yesterday. No doctor was available who could throw him out, so he had to spend another night there. Late, as he was going to sleep, he had to be moved as the bed on his ward was needed. He was moved to the end of life ward, and with some refusing to go quietly, he had a terrible night, and was very glad to go home today. I could get very political at this point, but instead wonder how nurses can deal with the sickest of people day after day. Can you get used to it and be very factual? Some do I suspect, while others create something stronger and different.
Who'd be a vegetarian? I think I'll give supermarkets a miss and buy from local farm shops. https://www.theguardian.com/comment...e-uk-farmland-sewage-farms-toxins-food-system
From an Aussie friend who also lives in Scotland - even though he and his family suffered at the hands of the Home Office for 2-3 years. Written in 2019 but could equally apply to today - and makes a mockery of Labour's "Change" promise. What is a “rogue state”? According to the Collins English Dictionary, it is a state that conducts its policy in a dangerously unpredictable way, having disregard for international law, diplomacy, or its citizens’ rights. I’ll give an illustrative example. There is a state that allows some people to be detained, without charge, for up to fourteen days. There is no requirement to even tell the arrested person why they were arrested. The government of this state has expressed the desire to change the law, to extend this period to 90 days. (Note 1). This state has passed laws that allowed foreign nationals to be indefinitely imprisoned without charge or trial. There was no requirement to tell detainees why. They may have their own lawyers, but these lawyers were not allowed to see material held about their clients. Some detainees were held without charge or trial for OVER THREE YEARS. (Note 2). This state has publicly declared that it will disregard a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which declared that its coerced takeover of foreign territory was illegal, and did not represent the will of the people living there. It even had the effrontery to argue that the International Court of Justice did not have jurisdiction. (Note 3). This state actively pursues illegitimate regime change in other countries, in one case effectively stealing over £1.2 billion worth of foreign gold (that’s over 30 TONNES of gold). This is helping to cause the very same economic calamities it blames on the other country's leadership. It has also recognised a ‘self-proclaimed’ head of state over the elected leader, despite the fact that the would-be usurper was not even a candidate in presidential elections, held just weeks ago. (Note 4). This state seeks international aggrandisement by selling arms worth hundreds of billions, watches them used on civilian populations, and then trumpets the gift of aid to those of the traumatised victims who survived. (Note 5). So, if there’s a state that locks up people for years without charge or trial, disregards the International Court of Justice when the decision doesn’t go its way, steals gold BY THE TONNE from other countries, props up unelected usurpers, and sells arms it knows will be used on civilian populations, what do you call it? As per the dictionary definition above, it’s dangerously unpredictable, disregards international law and diplomacy, and human rights. As our parents might have said: Scotland, it’s well and truly time to have a good, hard look at who you’re hanging around with. ... Note 1 – Terrorism Act 2000 UK. Note 2 – Also the Terrorism Act 2000. These provisions have since declared discriminatory, and in contravention of Human Rights Act 1998, and were repealed. Note 3 – Tory MP Alan Duncan rejected the ICJ’s 13-1 judgement that the Chagos Islands must be handed back to Mauritius, which was coerced into giving them up in exchange for independence. The UK had immediately leased one of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcia, to the USA for a strategically vital airbase. The indigenous population was forcibly removed. Note 4 – Venezuela. The UK has frozen over £1.2 billion worth of Venezuelan gold held in banks here, thus helping to cause the very same economic calamities it blames on president Maduro. Read the news from somewhere *other* than the BBC, and you’ll get a very different picture. Note 5 – Yemen. The only thing that the UK has given to Yemen that is worth more than the aid, is the value of the missiles and bombs that have come via Saudi Arabia.
