Best Of

Off topic, but timely. On Saturday it was sunny here, and so I took the opportunity to walk along Lake Washington and take a few photographs. To my surprise, I encountered a small pro-Shah demonstration at a favorite park. The demonstrators were displaying the traditional Iranian flag, American flags, and -- trigger warning -- an Israeli flag or two.

There were three or four groups of pictures of, I assumed, young people who had been killed by the Mullahs.

Here's one:


(My apologies for the quality of the picture. I should have taken more time, but was still surprised by the demonstration.)

The demonstrators looked wealthy and secular.

This Saturday there will be, as I understand it, a "No Kings" demonstration, protesting Trump, in the same park. (I expect I will find myself in the odd position of favoring both demonstrations, wanting the Mullahs overthrown, with as few lives lost as possible, and the Loser driven from power, with the same caveat.)

Much bigger pro-Iranian opposition demo in Newcastle at the w/end. Convened in Grey Square, but also lots of pics of regime victims down by the river walk near the Tyne Bridge. Lots of royalist flags and pictures of Reza Pahlavi. Also a few US and, I think, one Israeli.

Maybe there is an Iranian diaspora in Tyneside?

A grim prognosis from Professor Azeem Ibrahim:

https://x.com/AzeemIbrahim/status/2035361179879547244

Britain is now in accelerated decline - gradual for decades, now at risk of sudden collapse.

My stark verdict: unchecked, UK heading for relative poverty - a deindustrialised, sectarian, indebted island with first-rate pretensions & third-rate power.

A generally serious contribution from an explicitly right-wing source (a contributor to "The American Conservative"), though I've never heard the allegedly common nickname for Starmer: "two-tier Kier". He's a bit vague about his preferred solution, though.

You haven’t heard “two tier Keir”? Don’t you read PB anymore?

What are the chances?

https://x.com/Steven_Swinford/status/2036460110579450052

@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts

Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff told the Metropolitan police that his phone was stolen as he returned home from a restaurant in central London on October 20 last year

Pretty high, I’ve mentioned on here friends have had their phones/tablets/watches stolen and they’ve gone to the police saying that FindMyLocation says their device(s) is/are at this property and the Rozzers say, nah, cannot be bothered, here’s your crime reference number and claim on your insurance.

Yeah, but are they reporting stolen a government phone?

Was it a government phone or his personal phone?

Sorry, should have included: "The theft of the work device..."

Ta, I should be surprised at the police in this instance but I am not.

Dan Hodges makes another point:

https://x.com/DPJHodges/status/2036469140571988163

@DPJHodges
We were specifically told by Steve Reed on Sunday the theft pre-dated the issues relating to Mandelson. I’m going to say it again. This is a blatant cover-up. And Ministers - from the Prime Minister down - are openly lying about it.

https://x.com/singharj/status/2036466148946976932

@singharj
McSweeney's phone was stolen around a month after Starmer was forced to sack Mandelson as US ambassador.......

Lol. Absolute roasting liars

Should have just had an unfortunate accident with the phone while crossing the channel.

Wonder why the messages werent retrieved on the new phone with the same number he was given the next day?
And why he didn't back up any messages as per policy.
So many mysteries.

It’s called doing a Boris.

Covid Inquiry: Johnson says WhatsApp 'somehow automatically erased' 5,000 messages

Former prime minister claims lack of detail from messages sent during key early weeks of pandemic is due to program "going down and coming back up again"

https://www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article/johnson-says-5000-messages-lost-due-to-whatsapp-automatically-erasing-things

Boris you say? That should be that for Starmer.

I am sure there will be plenty of quotes from Labour/Labour ministers about that which will come back to haunt them.

What are the chances?

https://x.com/Steven_Swinford/status/2036460110579450052

@Steven_Swinford
Exclusive:

Police did not investigate the theft of Morgan McSweeney’s phone because officers were “too busy”, despite the sensitivity of his messages and contacts

Sir Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff told the Metropolitan police that his phone was stolen as he returned home from a restaurant in central London on October 20 last year

Pretty high, I’ve mentioned on here friends have had their phones/tablets/watches stolen and they’ve gone to the police saying that FindMyLocation says their device(s) is/are at this property and the Rozzers say, nah, cannot be bothered, here’s your crime reference number and claim on your insurance.

I posted a video a couple of weeks ago where they followed a company who track stolen cars. They identified the location of 3 cars that had been stolen. One was in a lockup, £100k car, the police wouldn't come out initially, eventually they did because I presume they were told were are filming this, said here is a crime number, we won't be investigating and pottered off, no scene of crime dusting for prints etc, it was basically here is a crime number you are on your own, up to you in you want to break into the lockup and retrieve the car. The tracking company bod said this is absolutely standard.

Another a £120k car was tracked to a chop shop, the police did actually arrest the two suspects in the process of stripping the car, the CPS didn't proescute not enough evidence, despite car stolen, tracked to that location, in process of stripping car. How much more evidence do you need?

If they aren't giving a shit about £100k+ cars being stolen, no chance they give a stuff about £1k phones.