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Should we bomb ourselves?

Google was asked a question:-"which countries supplied israel with nuclear material""AI OverviewSeveral countries are known to have supplied Israel with materials or expertise that contributed to its nuclear weapons program. These include France, which provided a reactor and assistance in building a reprocessing plant, and the UK, which secretly supplied heavy water. Additionally, there is evidence suggesting the US also played a role, potentially through the illegal transfer of enriched uranium. Here's a more detailed breakdown:France:France was a key partner in the early stages of Israel's nuclear program, providing a reactor and training for Israeli scientists and engineers. There was even a secret agreement to cooperate on nuclear weapons, though this was later scrapped under U.S. pressure. United Kingdom:Britain secretly sold Israel 20 tons of heavy water, which is crucial for producing plutonium for nuclear weapons. This deal was concealed from the US. United States:While the US officially opposed nuclear proliferation, evidence suggests some US-made materials may have been acquired by Israel, potentially through a company called NUMEC, which handled nuclear materials. There are also reports of uranium being stolen from the US. Other countries:While not directly supplying materials, some countries, like Norway, were involved in facilitating the transfer of heavy water from the UK to Israel.AI responses may include mistakes."---------------------------"Hans, are we the baddies?"

David Ainsworth ● 4d2 Comments ● 4d

Another Screeching U-Turn By Hapless Starmer

Yvette Cooper made an 'unequivocal' apology to grooming gang victims today as a 'damning' report accused institutions of 'dodging' questions about the ethnicity of offenders.In a moment of shame for UK authorities, the Home Secretary finally triggered a national inquiry into the sexual abuse of underage girls, admitting those who suffered 'despicable crimes' had been 'let down'.  Ms Cooper said a national inquiry will be set up oversee local investigations - something Keir Starmer had been rejecting until his humiliating U-turn at the weekend.  The PM made a dramatic volte face at the weekend after reading the report. He previously suggested those calling for a national probe into the rape and sexual abuse of thousands of girls by gangs of mainly Pakistani-heritage men were 'jumping on the bandwagon' of the 'far-Right'.  Starmer must now publicly apologise to all the victims that he has ignored for so long; and to Nigel Farage, Rupert Lowe and Kemi Badenoch who have all put sustained pressure on him for months to do the right thing.  But of course he won't and it is interesting that his volte face occurred at the weekend when he was out of the country and did not have to face the media scrutiny. One of the rape-gangs most vocal victims Sammy Woodhouse, has written a bestselling book about her ordeal and I thoroughly recommend it if you want to know the raw truth.  I hope this national inquiry will expose all the cover-ups that have been perpetrated by the all the local authorities, social services and children's homes involved, the police and by Starmer himself who I believe tried to bury the scandal so as not to antagonise Labour's Muslim voters.  There were 364 Labour MPs who toed the party line and were also complicit in the cover-up, and guess who is one of them ...  There were 364 Labour MPs who toed the party line and were also complicit in the cover-up, and guess who is one of them ...  The list of shameThese are the 364 cowardly MPs who voted against a national inquiry into child sexual exploitation and Pakistani-Muslim grooming gangs.They deserve to be named and shamed.Never forget their betrayal.Jack Abbott (Labour)Debbie Abrahams (Labour)Shockat Adam (Independent)Zubir Ahmed (Labour)Luke Akehurst (Labour)Sadik Al-Hassan (Labour)Bayo Alaba (Labour)Dan Aldridge (Labour)Heidi Alexander (Labour)Douglas Alexander (Labour)Rushanara Ali (Labour)Tahir Ali (Labour)Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour)Mike Amesbury (Independent)Callum Anderson (Labour)Fleur Anderson (Labour)😡Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour)Scott Arthur (Labour)Jess Asato (Labour)James Asser (Labour)Jas Athwal (Labour)Catherine Atkinson (Labour)Lewis Atkinson (Labour)Calvin Bailey (Labour)Olivia Bailey (Labour)David Baines (Labour)Alex Baker (Labour)Richard Baker (Labour)Alex Ballinger (Labour)Antonia Bance (Labour)Lee Barron (Labour)Alex Barros-Curtis (Labour)Johanna Baxter (Labour)Danny Beales (Labour)Lorraine Beavers (Labour)Apsana Begum (Independent)Torsten Bell (Labour)Hilary Benn (Labour)Siân Berry (Green Party)Clive Betts (Labour)Polly Billington (Labour)Matt Bishop (Labour)Olivia Blake (Labour)Rachel Blake (Labour)Chris Bloore (Labour)Elsie Blundell (Labour)Kevin Bonavia (Labour)Jade Botterill (Labour)Sureena Brackenridge (Labour)Jonathan Brash (Labour)Phil Brickell (Labour)Chris Bryant (Labour)Julia Buckley (Labour)Richard Burgon (Independent)Maureen Burke (Labour )David Burton-Sampson (Labour)Dawn Butler (Labour)Ruth Cadbury (Labour)Nesil Caliskan (Labour)Markus Campbell-Savours (Labour)Irene Campbell (Labour)Juliet Campbell (Labour)Alan Campbell (Labour)Sam Carling (Labour)Sarah Champion (Labour)Bambos Charalambous (Labour)Luke Charters (Labour)Ellie Chowns (Green Party)Feryal Clark (Labour)Ben Coleman (Labour)Jacob Collier (Labour)Lizzi Collinge (Labour)Tom Collins (Labour)Liam Conlon (Labour)Sarah Coombes (Labour)Andrew Cooper (Labour)Beccy Cooper (Labour)Yvette Cooper (Labour)Jeremy Corbyn (Independent)Deirdre Costigan (Labour)Pam Cox (Labour)Neil Coyle (Labour)Jen Craft (Labour)Stella Creasy (Labour)Torcuil Crichton (Labour)Chris Curtis (Labour)Janet Daby (Labour)Nicholas Dakin (Labour)Ashley Dalton (Labour)Emily Darlington (Labour)Alex Davies-Jones (Labour)Jonathan Davies (Labour)Paul Davies (Labour)Marsha De Cordova (Labour)Josh Dean (Labour)Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour)Jim Dickson (Labour)Anna Dixon (Labour)Samantha Dixon (Labour)Anneliese Dodds (Labour)Helena Dollimore (Labour)Stephen Doughty (Labour)Peter Dowd (Labour)Graeme Downie (Labour)Rosie Duffield (Independent)Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour)Angela Eagle (Labour)Maria Eagle (Labour)Lauren Edwards (Labour)Sarah Edwards (Labour)Clive Efford (Labour)Damien Egan (Labour)Maya Ellis (Labour)Chris Elmore (Labour)Kirith Entwistle (Labour)Florence Eshalomi (Labour)Bill Esterson (Labour)Chris Evans (Labour)Linsey Farnsworth (Labour)Josh Fenton-Glynn (Labour)Mark Ferguson (Labour)Patricia Ferguson (Labour)Natalie Fleet (Labour)Emma Foody (Labour)Catherine Fookes (Labour)Vicky Foxcroft (Labour)Daniel Francis (Labour)James Frith (Labour)Gill Furniss (Labour)Barry Gardiner (Labour)Allison Gardner (Labour)Anna Gelderd (Labour)Gill German (Labour)Tracy Gilbert (Labour)Becky Gittins (Labour)Mary Glindon (Labour)Ben Goldsborough (Labour)Jodie Gosling (Labour)Georgia Gould (Labour)John Grady (Labour)Lilian Greenwood (Labour)Nia Griffith (Labour)Andrew Gwynne (Labour)Amanda Hack (Labour)Paulette Hamilton (Labour)Emma Hardy (Labour)Carolyn Harris (Labour)Helen Hayes (Labour)Tom Hayes (Labour)Claire Hazelgrove (Labour)Mark Hendrick (Labour)Meg Hillier (Labour)Chris Hinchliff (Labour)Sharon Hodgson (Labour)Rachel Hopkins (Labour)Claire Hughes (Labour)Alison Hume (Labour)Patrick Hurley (Labour)Imran Hussain (Independent)Leigh Ingham (Labour)Natasha Irons (Labour)Sally Jameson (Labour)Dan Jarvis (Labour)Terry Jermy (Labour)Adam Jogee (Labour)Diana Johnson (Labour)Darren Jones (Labour)Gerald Jones (Labour)Lillian Jones (Labour)Louise Jones (Labour)Ruth Jones (Labour)Sarah Jones (Labour)Gurinder Singh Josan (Labour)Sojan Joseph (Labour)Warinder Juss (Labour)Chris Kane (Labour)Mike Kane (Labour)Satvir Kaur (Labour)Liz Kendall (Labour)Afzal Khan (Labour)Naushabah Khan (Labour)Stephen Kinnock (Labour)Jayne Kirkham (Labour)Gen Kitchen (Labour)Sonia Kumar (Labour)Uma Kumaran (Labour)Peter Kyle (Labour)Laura Kyrke-Smith (Labour)Peter Lamb (Labour)Ian Lavery (Labour)Noah Law (Labour)Kim Leadbeater (Labour)Brian Leishman (Labour)Emma Lewell-Buck (Labour)Andrew Lewin (Labour)Clive Lewis (Labour)Simon Lightwood (Labour)Rebecca Long Bailey (Independent)Josh MacAlister (Labour)Alice Macdonald (Labour)Andy MacNae (Labour)Justin Madders (Labour)Shabana Mahmood (Labour)Seema Malhotra (Labour)Amanda Martin (Labour)Rachael Maskell (Labour)Keir Mather (Labour)Alex Mayer (Labour)Douglas McAllister (Labour)Kerry McCarthy (Labour)Martin McCluskey (Labour)Andy McDonald (Labour)Chris McDonald (Labour)John McDonnell (Independent)Blair McDougall (Labour)Lola McEvoy (Labour)Pat McFadden (Labour)Alison McGovern (Labour)Alex McIntyre (Labour)Gordon McKee (Labour)Kevin McKenna (Labour)Catherine McKinnell (Labour)Jim McMahon (Labour)Anna McMorrin (Labour)Frank McNally (Labour)Kirsty McNeill (Labour)Anneliese Midgley (Labour)Julie Minns (Labour)Navendu Mishra (Labour)Abtisam Mohamed (Labour)Iqbal Mohamed (Independent)Perran Moon (Labour)Jessica Morden (Labour)Stephen Morgan (Labour)Grahame Morris (Labour)Joe Morris (Labour)Luke Murphy (Labour)Chris Murray (Labour)Ian Murray (Labour)James Murray (Labour)Katrina Murray (Labour)Luke Myer (Labour)James Naish (Labour)Connor Naismith (Labour)Lisa Nandy (Labour)Kanishka Narayan (Labour)Josh Newbury (Labour)Samantha Niblett (Labour)Charlotte Nichols (Labour)Melanie Onn (Labour)Chi Onwurah (Labour)Simon Opher (Labour)Abena Oppong-Asare (Labour)Kate Osamor (Labour)Kate Osborne (Labour)Tristan Osborne (Labour)Sarah Owen (Labour)Darren Paffey (Labour)Andrew Pakes (Labour)Matthew Patrick (Labour)Michael Payne (Labour)Stephanie Peacock (Labour)Jon Pearce (Labour)Matthew Pennycook (Labour)Toby Perkins (Labour)Jess Phillips (Labour)Bridget Phillipson (Labour)David Pinto-Duschinsky (Labour)Lee Pitcher (Labour)Jo Platt (Labour)Luke Pollard (Labour)Joe Powell (Labour)Lucy Powell (Labour)Gregor Poynton (Labour)Peter Prinsley (Labour)Richard Quigley (Labour)Steve Race (Labour)Connor Rand (Labour)Andrew Ranger (Labour)Mike Reader (Labour)Ellie Reeves (Labour)Joani Reid (Labour)Emma Reynolds (Labour)Martin Rhodes (Labour)Jake Richards (Labour)Jenny Riddell-Carpenter (Labour)Dave Robertson (Labour)Tim Roca (Labour)Matt Rodda (Labour)Sam Rushworth (Labour)Sarah Russell (Labour)Oliver Ryan (Labour)Jeevun Sandher (Labour)Michelle Scrogham (Labour)Mark Sewards (Labour)Naz Shah (Labour)Tulip Siddiq (Labour)Josh Simons (Labour)Andy Slaughter (Labour)John Slinger (Labour)Cat Smith (Labour)David Smith (Labour)Jeff Smith (Labour)Nick Smith (Labour)Sarah Smith (Labour)Karin Smyth (Labour)Gareth Snell (Labour)Alex Sobel (Labour)Euan Stainbank (Labour)Jo Stevens (Labour)Kenneth Stevenson (Labour)Elaine Stewart (Labour)Will Stone (Labour)Alistair Strathern (Labour)Alan Strickland (Labour)Lauren Sullivan (Labour)Kirsteen Sullivan (Labour)Peter Swallow (Labour)Mark Tami (Labour)Mike Tapp (Labour)David Taylor (Labour)Rachel Taylor (Labour)Nick Thomas-Symonds (Labour)Fred Thomas (Labour) (Proxy vote cast by Chris Elmore)Gareth Thomas (Labour)Adam Thompson (Labour)Emily Thornberry (Labour)Marie Tidball (Labour)Stephen Timms (Labour)Jessica Toale (Labour)Jon Trickett (Labour)Henry Tufnell (Labour)Anna Turley (Labour)Matt Turmaine (Labour)Karl Turner (Labour)Laurence Turner (Labour)Derek Twigg (Labour)Liz Twist (Labour)Harpreet Uppal (Labour)Valerie Vaz (Labour)Chris Vince (Labour)Christian Wakeford (Labour)Imogen Walker (Labour)Chris Ward (Labour)Melanie Ward (Labour)Paul Waugh (Labour)Chris Webb (Labour)Michelle Welsh (Labour)Catherine West (Labour)Andrew Western (Labour)Matt Western (Labour)Michael Wheeler (Labour)John Whitby (Labour)Jo White (Labour)Katie White (Labour)Nadia Whittome (Labour)David Williams (Labour)Steve Witherden (Labour)Rosie Wrighting (Labour)Yuan Yang (Labour)Mohammad Yasin (Labour)Steve Yemm (Labour)https://mol.im/a/14817277

Sue Hammond ● 6d55 Comments ● 4d

The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons is coming to an end

"Era of nuclear disarmament 'coming to an end', SIPRI warns""The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) stressed in its annual assessment of the state of armaments, disarmament and international security, that although the number of nuclear warheads in the world continued to decline last year due to the US and Russia dismantling retired warheads, the pace of such dismantlements is slowing down.The rate at which new warheads enter global stockpiles could therefore soon outpace dismantlements, SIPRI said, as nuclear states pursue modernisation programmes."The era of reductions in the number of nuclear weapons in the world, which had lasted since the end of the Cold War, is coming to an end," Hans M. Kristensen, Associate Senior Fellow with SIPRI’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Programme said in a statement."Instead, we see a clear trend of growing nuclear arsenals, sharpened nuclear rhetoric and the abandonment of arms control agreements," he added.Nine countries - the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Israel - have nuclear warheads in their arsenals with an estimated global inventory of 12,241 warheads, of which 9,614 were in military stockpiles for potential use."https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2025/06/16/era-of-nuclear-disarmament-coming-to-an-end-sipri-warnshttps://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2025/nuclear-risks-grow-new-arms-race-looms-new-sipri-yearbook-out-now

David Ainsworth ● 6d2 Comments ● 6d

What is Starmer's record on prosecuting grooming gangs?

"In 2012 The Times newspaper investigated Rotherham grooming gangs, which led to a major inquiry.At least 1,400 children were subjected to appalling sexual exploitation in Rotherham between 1997 and 2013, according to a 2014 report, written by Prof Alexis Jay.The report made headlines in the UK and around the world and led to major debates in Parliament.Similar scandals also occurred in other towns, including Oldham, Oxford, Rochdale and Telford, leading to a national inquiry into child sexual abuse, which was also led by Prof Jay.The cases sparked investigations into alleged failures to properly address the crimes and support victims.Was the CPS or Starmer 'complicit'?The CPS, an independent body, prosecutes criminal cases in England and Wales.After the police investigate crimes and present their findings, the CPS decides whether to prosecute based on evidence and public interest.Sir Keir was appointed head of the CPS in 2008 and held the role for five years. He became an MP in 2015.The CPS was criticised for a decision not to proceed with a prosecution in Rochdale on the basis that it viewed the main victim as "unreliable" following an investigation between August 2008 and August 2009.That decision was overturned later by Nazir Afzal in 2011 after being appointed by Sir Keir as the CPS chief prosecutor for north-west England.Speaking to BBC Verify, Mr Afzal said that the view of prosecutors not to proceed to trial at the time was "if the police aren't happy that she will give credible evidence then we're not happy either".He went on to say that he had reviewed and reversed the decision as "I believed what she [the victim] was saying".But this is not the only instance where the CPS has faced criticism.Prof Jay's report into the Rotherham cases said the police would often cite the CPS as being unwilling to prosecute alleged perpetrators, but they said that it had been "much more helpful" later on.A 2013 report from the Home Affairs Committee said that "unlike many other official agencies implicated in this issue", the CPS had "readily admitted that victims had been let down by them and have attempted both to discover the cause of this systematic failure and to improve the way things are done so as to avoid a repetition of such events".It added: "Mr Starmer has striven to improve the treatment of victims of sexual assault within the criminal justice system throughout his term as Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)."Maggie Oliver, a former Manchester detective who now campaigns for victims of child sex abuse, told BBC Verify that the CPS "bear a great deal of responsibility for the failures around this issue", including bringing inadequate charges and blaming victims.She added that while there was now much more awareness around the issue, "in my foundation we still see individual cases subjected to massive failures in the systems".We have been unable to find any direct criticism of Sir Keir personally in any of the reports on the scandal, nor can we identify any suggestions that he himself made any decisions not to prosecute.How has Starmer responded?The prime minister has robustly defended his record as the former head of the CPS, telling journalists he:Changed the prosecution approach to "challenge myths and stereotypes" that had stopped victims from being heardLeft office when the CPS had the highest number of child sex abuse prosecutions on recordReopened cases that had been closedBrought the first prosecution of an Asian grooming gangIt is correct that he revised the guidance on child sexual exploitation in 2013 to make future prosecutions easier.Previously, victims may not have been viewed as credible if they had not complained immediately, if they had used drugs or alcohol or if they had dressed or acted in particular ways.On child sexual abuse prosecutions, we found CPS figures dating back to 2007 but the early years are now only on archived web pages - as they are no longer on the CPS website.They show that the "number of prosecutions for child sexual abuse flagged cases" did rise from that year to reach 4,794 in April 2010 to March 2011 - a peak for Sir Keir's time in charge of the CPS.That total was subsequently surpassed - there were nearly 7,200 prosecutions in 2016-2017.BBC Verify has asked Downing Street for more detail on the data behind the prime minister's claim.On reopening cases, Mr Afzal said that the creation of a national panel to revisit cases under Sir Keir had been a success."That panel also included - for the first time ever - external representatives. It revisited dozens of cases that were then restarted," he said.How many child grooming cases were prosecuted under Starmer?In defending his record, the prime minister referred only to the broad category of child sex abuse prosecution data.When it comes to child grooming gangs, there is no single clear data set because no specific offence exists.Instead, offenders can be prosecuted for causing or facilitating sexual exploitation, or for committing specific offences such as rape and indecent assault.Information on child grooming-related prosecutions appear in Prof Jay's 2022 report into child sexual exploitation by organised networks, external - a government-commissioned report into institutional child abuse failings published in 2022.The report mentions several "significant prosecutions" between 2010 and 2014, including 35 convictions which took place while Sir Keir was DPP:November 2010 - five men convicted in RotherhamNovember 2010 - 11 men convicted in Derbyshire2008-2010 - three men convicted in CornwallMay 2012 - nine men from Rochdale and Oldham convictedJune 2013 - seven men from Oxford convictedA Times report from 2011 identified 17 grooming gang prosecutions, external since 1997.It said 14 of them took place during the previous three years and involved the on-street grooming of girls aged 11 to 16 by groups of men across 13 towns and cities.A report by the National Police Chiefs' Council last year concluded that 5% of child sexual abuse and exploitation crimes were group-based - but more specific figures weren't disclosed."https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgn2wvxx5qo

David Ainsworth ● 6d1 Comments ● 6d