Forum Topics

Kneecap

I am sure we can all rejoice today that Kneecap rapper Mo Chara will not face a new terror trial after judges at the High Court in London rejected a Crown Prosecution Service appeal against the decision to throw out the case.“Finally we can maybe move on, start to apply for visas again now that this is over and continue to use whatever platform we have to continue to talk about Gaza, Iran, Cuba or whatever it is that is the topic of the day because as lads from West Belfast we're not going to shy away from this stuff".When asked if they would pursue costs for lack of income Kneecap's solicitor said: "To be fair I think the judgment is embarrassing enough for them"."This entire process was never about me, never about any threat to the public and never about 'terrorism', a word used by the British government to discredit people you oppress both in Ireland and across the world. It was always about Palestine and about what happens if you dare to speak up. About what happens if you can reach large groups of people and expose their hypocrisy.”"I will not be silent. Kneecap will not be silent."Amen to that!By the way, the band are performing in Cuba next week.! 👊😎

Gerry Boyce ● 25m0 Comments ● 25m

Pro-Iranian Rally Banned

The Home Secretary last night caved in to demands to ban a pro-Iranian rally in London this weekend.As a Labour minister said the Al Quds 'hate' march had no place in British society, 100 MPs and peers told Shabana Mahmood that it would provide a platform for intimidation and extremism.The Home Office said it had approved Scotland Yard's request to halt the 'uniquely contentious' march.Ms Mahmood said: 'I am satisfied doing so is necessary to prevent serious public disorder, due to the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.'Should a stationary demonstration proceed, the police will be able to apply strict conditions. 'I expect to see the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division instead of exercising their right to peaceful protest.'Met Police Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: 'The Al Quds march is uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organised by the Islamic Human Rights Commission, an organisation supportive of the Iranian regime.'The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly; this is the first time we have used this power since 2012.'https://mol.im/a/15633883

Sue Hammond ● 9h7 Comments ● 2h

Philippe Sands on International Law -  a very relevant lecture

This is a very timely lecture which I would recommend to anyone who is following current and recent international events.It was delivered last month by Philippe Sands, KC on the occasion of the annual Alf Dubs Foundation lecture at the Battersea Arts Centre.The link: https://www.alfdubslecture.org.uk/2026-lecturePhilippe Sands covers the highly topical issues of presidential immunity, impunity and the challenges and possible consequences for those who seek to undermine or ignore international law.His words were delivered before the current conflict in Iran broke out, but reference not only the Nuremburg trials of 1945 but also the Pinochet immunity case from 1998 and the 2024 US Supreme Court judgement on presidential immunity.

Jonathan Callaway ● 5d53 Comments ● 5h

Iran ‘was three days from getting a nuke' before war - Mad as a box of frogs!

"Iran ‘was three days from getting a nuke' before war as details of horror alliance emergeOne of the key goals of Donald Trump's Operation Epic Fury in Iran is to eliminate the regime's nuclear threat.Daily Express Tue, Mar 10, 2026Explosions in Tehran targeted by US-Israeli attacksOperation Epic Fury was launched in late February A former US national security advisor believes Iran would have been able to get a nuclear weapon from one of its allies within days before Donald Trump ordered the launch of Operation Epic Fury. John Bolton, the national security advisor of Mr Trump during his first term at the White House, has claimed the alliance between North Korea and Iran is strong enough that the latter could have bought a nuclear weapon from the hermit regime.The US attorney claimed a wire transfer to the Central Bank of North Korea would have been what was needed to secure the deal before the war. Following the payment, he added, Pyongyang could "put a nuclear device on an aeroplane, route it through Russia" and deliver it to the regime in Tehran within three days.This came as, on Tuesday night, North Korea issued a statement condemning the US and Israeli strikes on Iran as "acts of aggression". The statement added: "Any rhetorical threats and military action, which violate the political system and territorial integrity of the relevant country, interfere in its internal affairs and openly advocate the attempt to overthrow its social system, deserve worldwide criticism and rejection as they can never be tolerated.""Three days - three days!! Should have used Amazon. One day, tops.The Sun agreed:-"Bolton says the risk of Iran’s mad mullahs getting their hands on one of Kim Jong-un‘s nukes is reason enough to force through a regime change.“I just think it’s a convincing argument [for] why you need a normal regime in Iran.""I should think that China is going to be getting concerned about her oil supplies from Iran.I wonder if it is reason enough to force through a regime change in the US or, at least, Israel? The US already has got their hands on Venezuela's oil.

David Ainsworth ● 18h0 Comments ● 18h

Random pic 11 March 2026

Rousay harbour, Orkney Islands https://flic.kr/p/2rw5CRS

Michael Ixer ● 19h0 Comments ● 19h

Yet another U-turn.....

Michael Brigo ● 1d3 Comments ● 23h

Tube Drivers To Strike Again

Tube drivers will walk out on the following dates, each a 24-hour period:* March 24-25 (12pm to 11.59am)* March 26-27 (12pm to 11.59am)* April 21-22 (12pm to 11.59am)* April 23-24 (12pm to 11.59am)* May 19-20 (12pm to 11.59am)* May 21-22 (12pm to 11.59am)Greedy b@st@rds!😡

Sue Hammond ● 1d1 Comments ● 1d

It still works 23 years on

Before the [Iraq] war, Bush repeatedly stated that Iraq possessed WMDs and posed an imminent threat to the world. In October 2002, Bush claimed Saddam Hussein had a "massive stockpile" of biological weapons.In December 2002, he stated the U.S. did not know if Iraq had a nuclear weapon, despite intelligence suggesting they likely did not.In February 2003, he declared that Hussein's "game of deception" was over and that he would be stopped from arming terrorists with chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons.On 17 March 2003, Bush issued a final ultimatum, stating intelligence indicated the regime continued to possess and conceal lethal weapons. Post-Invasion AdmissionsAfter no WMD stockpiles were discovered, Bush's rhetoric shifted toward defending the invasion on other grounds while acknowledging the intelligence failure. In his memoir Decision Points, Bush wrote, "No one was more shocked and angry than I was when we didn't find the weapons".He admitted to having a "sickening feeling" every time he thought about the failure to find WMDs.Despite the lack of WMDs, Bush maintained in 2004 that the world was "better off without Saddam Hussein in power" and that he would have made the same decision to invade based on what he knew then."What experience and history teach is this, — that peoples and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it". (Hegel)

David Ainsworth ● 1d1 Comments ● 1d

Random pic 10 March 2026

Marshalsea Prison Grille. This prison grille from the former Marshalsea Debtors' Prison in Southwark represents the most influential and painful experience in the life of the young Charles Dickens. (Dickens Museum) https://flic.kr/p/2rFbVaaHis father's imprisonment and his own time working in a factory at the age of 12 left scars in Dickens's mind that deeply affected him as a person and as a writer. This episode was Dickens's best-kept secret which he only told his best friend John Forster and his wife Catherine. However, Dickens secretly shared his experience with his readers as his novels are full of scenes of prisons and debt as well as of neglected children. In David Copperfield and Little Dorrit in particular, Dickens writes in great detail about debtors' prisons. The illustration to the right from Little Dorrit shows the imagined inside of the Marshalsea Prison itself In later life Dickens recalled "It is wonderful to me how I could have been so easily cast away at such an age. It is wonderfu to me, that, even after my descent into the poor little drudge I had been since we came to London, no one had compassion enough on me a child of singular abilities, quick, eager, delicate, and soor hurt, bodily or mentally - to suggest that something might have been spared, as certainly it migh have been, to place me at any common school".
The time at the Blacking Factory changed Dickens's outlook on childhood forever. This display of the prison grille in the middle-class home marks the disturbing effect that these experiences continued to have on Dickens throughout his life.
[Text from Museum label]

Michael Ixer ● 1d0 Comments ● 1d

M&S

Did quick Day One recce of new M&S food store in Putney. It is far larger than I expected, and has a full range of stuff, including an impressive flowers section. I thought the lighting could have been better (the old store was well lit and felt more "open") , and  I waited 10 minutes at checkout while attendants (with minimal English and little understanding of plastic cards and UK coinage) struggled. Quality is  higher than competing stores, but so are the prices. It has set a commendable standard and shows  how tawdry much of the rest of PHS now feels.

Alexander MacLeod ● 13d12 Comments ● 1d

Putney High Street

Signs have appeared by Werter Rd, traffic lights and the end of Chelverton Rd. Cyclists must not overtake or go through traffic lights, Otherwise you are allowed to hit them with the sign to get your own back.

Barbara Stevens ● 2d1 Comments ● 1d

Trump Doesn’t Need Our Aircraft Carriers

Iran war latest from SKYTrump tells Starmer 'we don't need people that join wars after we've already won'Donald Trump has said the US doesn't need aircraft carriers from the UK. It comes as the UK prepares a carrier for possible deployment to the Middle East.https://news.sky.com/story/iran-latest-trump-tehran-israel-strikes-us-drone-live-sky-news-13509565

Sue Hammond ● 3d14 Comments ● 2d

Our Pussy PM Trying To Roar Like A Lion

I am referring to his press conferences - yesterday’s was just embarrassing.   In my opinion.

Sue Hammond ● 6d5 Comments ● 2d

Channel 4:  Dirty Business 

There has been a lot about this in the press.https://www.sas.org.uk/updates/dirty-business-real-people-sewage-drama/You really should watch this and hear the true stories.I watched the Thames Water documentaries some time ago when they were on which showed operatives working in poorly maintained buildings but this shows how more evidence was found and data analysed to show what was happening and how the understaffed Environment Agency who we are all told to report problems to were not doing the necessary oversight.  Remember there were austerity cuts...Watch this - you need to see how these problems can happen - so that it can be sorted out ie solutions found and this stopped from continuing and/or happening again.There is a link to the programme if you copy and paste the link at the top.  This should be compulsory viewing.

Philippa Bond ● 3d9 Comments ● 2d

Random pic 9 March 2026

Spider from Mars? https://flic.kr/p/2rCwHQc

Michael Ixer ● 2d1 Comments ● 2d

"Enhance combat lethality" - oooohh virile badge engineering

In the UK in 1964 the War Office became known as the Ministry of Defence.In the USA in 2025 the Department of Defense (DoD) became known as the "Department of War" "to project strength and enhance combat lethality".

David Ainsworth ● 3d0 Comments ● 3d

Madness

Politico By Associated Press03/07/2026Dozens killed in Lebanon as Israel searches for signs of navigator missing for 40 yearsBEIRUT — An Israeli special force that landed in eastern Lebanon overnight in search of information about a navigator who has been missing for nearly 40 years did not find his remains, the Israeli military said Saturday. The operation left dozens of people dead and dozens more wounded.Israel has been trying for decades to find out what happened to Ron Arad since he went missing after parachuting from a fighter jet that crashed in Lebanon in 1986. Arad was involved in attacking suspected Palestinian militants. He was captured alive by local gunmen.The Israeli military did not say where the force landed in Lebanon but the Lebanese army and state media said an Israeli commando force landed on the mountains along the border with Syria before heading to the eastern town of Nabi Chit, where they clashed with Hezbollah and local fighters. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 41 people were killed and 40 wounded overnight in Nabi Chit and areas nearby.The Lebanese army said three soldiers were among those killed in the exchange of fire. It said four helicopters took part in the operation, two of which conducted the landing. It also reported that residents clashed with the Israeli force while Lebanese troops went on alert and fired light bombs.Lebanese army commander Gen. Rudolphe Haikal said later Friday that the Israeli force that conducted the operation was dressed in Lebanese army uniforms and used ambulances during the operation with signs of Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization.A resident of Nabi Chit told The Associated Press that the Israeli force entered the town and dug up a grave in a cemetery before it left. The man who spoke on condition of anonymity out of security concerns had no further details.The Israeli army’s Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X that the force did not find Arad’s remains or any evidence related to him.Hezbollah said its members clashed with the Israeli force, and that Israel’s air force conducted some 40 airstrikes in the area in order for the unit on the ground to be able to withdraw.Arad’s wife urged Israel’s leaders not to endanger the lives of Israeli soldiers in their search to bring home his body.“Our desire to know what happened to Ron stops the moment it endangers Israeli soldiers,” his wife, Tami, wrote on Facebook, noting that the family has said this multiple times through the years.“For 40 years we have lived with the fact that Ron is missing, and we want to know what happened to Ron, but not at any price. The sanctity of life is above any closing of the circle of certainty for us,” she added."

David Ainsworth ● 3d0 Comments ● 3d

Random pic 8 March 2026

Leeds Museum - Wolf and Twins mosaic https://flic.kr/p/Hu7jvw

Michael Ixer ● 3d1 Comments ● 3d

Ooops a daisy!

Jacob Reese Mogg, Enoch Powell, Andy Mountbatten-Windsor, Priti Patel, Richard Tice, Jim Davidson, Nigel Farage, Lord Nelson, John Cleese….your boys have taken one hell of a beating! Incredible win by Italy!Unbelievable win by Scotland over France.Great win by Ireland over Wales yesterday.All poised for an absolute classic final round; this six nations has been something else!

Gerry Boyce ● 3d3 Comments ● 3d