I have just been out and come back to find Trump and Blair are to run Gaza
This a bit of extreme news to keep Starmer and his problems off the news tomorrow
Not sure how Labour will receive Blair's part in this if it actually happens
Just bizarre
Saw a tweet the other day from someone saying they'd love to see Jeremy Corbyn's face when he reads that Gaza is going to be freed from the Israelis... and Tony Blair is taking over
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
USAF use the flying-boom refueling method
UK uses the probe-and-drogue refuelling method
They are incompatible with each other. Although an adaptor can be fitted on a boom to turn it into a drogue
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
So sorry for you and your wife @HYUFD. I hope you have found comfort in the things you have been able to do together over the last few days
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
USAF use the flying-boom refueling method
UK uses the probe-and-drogue refuelling method
They are incompatible with each other. Although an adaptor can be fitted on a boom to turn it into a drogue
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
USAF use the flying-boom refueling method
UK uses the probe-and-drogue refuelling method
They are incompatible with each other. Although an adaptor can be fitted on a boom to turn it into a drogue
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
Surely we should base them somewhere more handy.
It does seem silly, but there are advantages. It's easier to do crew rotation. You don't have to send a bunch of technicians and other support staff to Poland. If you want to stop the UK's contribution in a few weeks when it's calmed down a bit then it's a less obvious withdrawal than transporting all those personnel back to Britain.
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
USAF use the flying-boom refueling method
UK uses the probe-and-drogue refuelling method
They are incompatible with each other. Although an adaptor can be fitted on a boom to turn it into a drogue
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope there was some comfort for you and your wife in being able to give him a name and say goodbye.
If you saw a person with complete AIS in the street -- or even in a shower -- you would say "that's a woman". If a geneticist did a test, they would say "that's a man". And, if a technician did a scan, they would call everyone near them over to look at this individual with internal testes -- and an external vulva.
(As a practical matter, I would say we should treat such individuals with sympathy and - except for athletic competitions - as women.)
I see no way a person without ovaries can become a biological mother -- and I have long been curious as to whether they could, with some surgical help, and a partner, become a father.
This is, I would assume, what happened with the Algerian boxer. And no she should not have been allowed to complete. But she deserved sympathy, not insults.
@Leon has a friend who transitioned via a series of surgical and hormonal interventions, including the destruction of the penis and construction of a vulva and vagina, and has acquired a GRC. He asked if his friend was a woman following the Supreme Court judgement. As promised, I will attempt to answer @Leon's query in a succession of posts. This is part 1
Is Leon's friend a woman, part 1: The Supreme Court judgement On 16 April 2025 the UK Supreme Court was asked whether a trans woman with a GRC was a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act. It adjudged that they were not. The judge's ruling is attached but the salient passages are here.
"...We...use the expression “biological sex”...to describe the sex of a person at birth, and we use the expression “certificated sex” to describe the sex attained by the acquisition of a GRC..."
"...We therefore conclude that...The meaning of the terms “sex”, “man” and “woman” in the EA 2010 is biological and not certificated sex. Any other interpretation would render the EA 2010 incoherent and impracticable to operate..."
Areas mentioned as being affected are:
"...changing rooms, homeless hostels, segregated swimming areas...medical or counselling services provided only to women (or men) – for example cervical cancer screening for women or prostate cancer screening for men, or counselling for women only as victims of rape or domestic violence..."
"...rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, female-only hospital wards and changing rooms..."
"...[single-sex] associations with 25 members or more..."
and others (the sports section was complex and I've omitted it for concision)
So by the Supreme Court ruling and despite her GRC, Leon's friend is legally a male for the purposes of the Equality Act and excluded from properly constitituted female single-sex changing rooms, homeless hostels, swimming areas, medical or counselling services, rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, hospital wards and female single-sex associations with 25 members or more
If you saw a person with complete AIS in the street -- or even in a shower -- you would say "that's a woman". If a geneticist did a test, they would say "that's a man". And, if a technician did a scan, they would call everyone near them over to look at this individual with internal testes -- and an external vulva.
(As a practical matter, I would say we should treat such individuals with sympathy and - except for athletic competitions - as women.)
I see no way a person without ovaries can become a biological mother -- and I have long been curious as to whether they could, with some surgical help, and a partner, become a father.
This is, I would assume, what happened with the Algerian boxer. And no she should not have been allowed to complete. But she deserved sympathy, not insults.
Not allowing someone to complete is usually something that incurs an extra charge. Especially if they're wearing a Chelsea strip.
Nearly six years after the coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, sparking a pandemic, Chinese authorities are still acting as though they have something to hide — and fear. Last Friday, a brave journalist who helped expose the impact of the coronavirus’s early days in Wuhan was once again sentenced to four years in prison, apparently for continuing to rattle authorities by speaking truth and refusing to be silenced.
Zhang Zhan was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” That’s the catchall phrase from Communist China’s lexicon for anyone who makes the regime uncomfortable.
If you saw a person with complete AIS in the street -- or even in a shower -- you would say "that's a woman". If a geneticist did a test, they would say "that's a man". And, if a technician did a scan, they would call everyone near them over to look at this individual with internal testes -- and an external vulva.
(As a practical matter, I would say we should treat such individuals with sympathy and - except for athletic competitions - as women.)
I see no way a person without ovaries can become a biological mother -- and I have long been curious as to whether they could, with some surgical help, and a partner, become a father.
In Semanya’s case I first became aware of her when my wife shouted ‘Come quickly, there’s a man winning the women’s 800m…’ So not in the shower but on the athletics track she looked like a man.
All three medalists in the women's 800 meters at the 2016 Olympics were men with DSDs.
And none of them would have been in the frame back in the 80s... They were quick back then, 16 years for the men's record to be broken and the women's record still stands...
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
My sister lost a child in a similar way. So I have a little related experience of the feelings.
From what I’ve seen of the peace plan on the face of it this looks like the Trump administration have put a lot of pressure on Netenyahu and elements of the plan will go down badly with his extreme right wing coalition partners .
The point in the plan of allowing an amnesty to Hamas fighters is something that stands out .
In an ideal world the two state solution would be in the plan . Even without that I don’t see a better plan than what’s being offered at present and one can only hope that enough pressure can be put on Hamas to agree to this and spare the Gazans more suffering .
I'm warming to Andy Burnham. He's pro PR and Europe. Anti ID cards.
I'd go and get that checked out if I was you,
Today he spoke on the connection between PR and economic growth. Yesterday he declared that he believed Britain should go back into the EU in his lifetime. He has rejected digital ID cards in a split with Starmer.
'Yesterday he declared that he believed Britain should go back into the EU in his lifetime.'
I expect an about turn coming from @Mexicanpete and @Roger saying how great it is Burnham wants to re-join the EU after trashing him previously
Ah, ban them both BigG. We don't want leftie Remainer traitors on our site!
Hopefully Hamas agree to lay down their arms and surrender, as I've wanted all along, and if they do I'd be delighted to see this war over.
If its not, I hope Israel eradicate every last Hamas supporter until they do.
Hamas's choice.
All (from Bibi's terms of Hamas reference) 2 million of them?
I learned something today which might be of interest to you. When Arthur Laffer (remember 'arf a Laffer is better than a whole Laffer) came up with his spurious curve he was dining with Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheyney.
Hopefully Hamas agree to lay down their arms and surrender, as I've wanted all along, and if they do I'd be delighted to see this war over.
If its not, I hope Israel eradicate every last Hamas supporter until they do.
Hamas's choice.
If making martyrs solved anything by itself the Middle East would be the most peaceful part of the world, not the most violent.
I completely agree it doesn’t solve anything by itself, which is why I have consistently said that what comes next is important.
However defeating your enemy can provide a window of opportunity to see a new path taken and the cycle of violence broken.
We're not still fighting the Germans, or the Japanese, who are both too busy making money to be making trouble.
I'd love to see the comprehensive defeat of Hamas, followed by a Marshall Plan style reconstruction and reconciliation. That can only happen with the total removal of Hamas from power though.
There is a notable amount of military hardware moved into Denmark by NATO members, with the appropiate people to man it. Air defence systems, radar, choppers.
The air and naval activity around the Baltic is heavier than seen in decades short of planned exercises
NATO, its European members in particular, are much more concerned than some drones chugging about over Denmark might be thought to generate. They certainly want to capture or shoot any drones down but there is a bigger play here and some nervousness.
There is a Panamanian registered vessel sitting in the Baltic that is of great interest at the moment that they might want to board. If they do, it might cause an incident.
Is Leon's friend a woman, part 2: The EHRC Interim Guidance The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released an interim update to its statutory guidance for consultation following the Supreme Court judgement. The consultation closed on 30 June 2025. The final version is currently being considered by Government and its contents are not known but are presumed to be substantially the same as the Interim Guidance.
The Interim Guidance contains, amongst others, these salient passages
"...Updated legal definition of sex...We have updated the legal definition of sex throughout the code of practice. Our previous definition explained that: ‘Legal sex is the sex that was recorded at your birth or the sex you have acquired by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).’ Following the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland, this definition is no longer accurate, because a GRC does not change your legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. We have therefore updated this definition throughout the code to be: 'Legal sex is the sex that was recorded at your birth.'..."
"...13.1.12 This means that organisers can prevent trans people from participating in a gender-affected sporting activity if it is necessary to do so..."
"...2.1.9 A trans person will...be protected from sex discrimination that is based on their birth sex..."
"...13.2.17 A hospital chooses to provide a single-sex hospital ward for women patients to protect their safety, privacy and dignity..."
"...13.3.11 A service provider operates a shopping centre and decides to renovate the centre. It initially intends to only provide separate-sex toilets to improve the safety and comfort of users. This disadvantages trans people because it means that a trans person cannot access a toilet catered towards their acquired gender. The service provider therefore decides to also provide toilets in individual lockable rooms which can be used by people of either sex..."
"...13.3.12 A community group is opening a small advice centre. It decides to provide separate-sex toilets for women and men, and it repurposes the accessible toilet to be used as a mixed-sex toilet for anybody who does not wish to use the toilet for their biological sex..."
"...13.5.5 For example, a trans man might be excluded from the women-only service if the service provider decides..."
So Leon's friend is legally a man and cannot access properly-constituted female single-sex things like female sport (13.1.12), female toilets (13.3.11 and 12), or any male area where other service users could reasonably object to their presence (the male-only version of 13.5.5)
"The battle behind digital IDs Secrecy has always been powerful Toby Green
At nearly 2.5 million signatures, the petition against the Government’s proposed digital ID scheme has vastly exceeded the threshold — 100,000 — for parliamentary consideration. The plans have been decried by political figures ranging from the hard Left (Jeremy Corbyn) to the populist Right (Robert Jenrick). All the while, Cabinet ministers claim that the new IDs are designed to impair illegal labour rather than to tighten the grip of the state on law-abiding citizens."
The RAFs contribution to Operation Eastern Sentry is a couple of Typhoons flying out of one of the English air bases, I forget which one, and they have to be refueled three times before they reach Polish air space. Presumably three times more on the way back, and extra times if they want to remain in Polish air space for any meaningful period.
I don't suppose Britain has the refuelling fleet to repeat Operation Black Buck these days, so I expect there will be plenty of use for USAF refuellers.
Surely we should base them somewhere more handy.
It does seem silly, but there are advantages. It's easier to do crew rotation. You don't have to send a bunch of technicians and other support staff to Poland. If you want to stop the UK's contribution in a few weeks when it's calmed down a bit then it's a less obvious withdrawal than transporting all those personnel back to Britain.
In the event of fun with Russia, hitting bases closest to Russia will be the Russian priority.
Is @Leon's friend a woman, part 3: The Equal Treatment Bench Book: May 2025 update The rules of behavior in court with regards to the Equality Act is laid down in the Equal Treatment Bench Book. The latest update is from May 2025 and takes the Supreme Court judgement into account by amending updates to Chapters 6, 12 and Appendix A
The salient passages are these
"...17. Typically, it should be unproblematic for the judge to use the trans person’s preferred name and pronouns (“he/she” or “they”), regardless of whether they have obtained a GRC. However, where one side’s case hinges on the recognition of the biological sex of the trans person as crucial, and the other side on the recognition of their chosen identification, judges need to be careful not to let the choice of gendered pronouns give an appearance of bias, or that there is a predetermined conclusion. If possible, using the individual’s name instead of a pronoun where these pronouns are contested, or alternatively, the gender-neutral pronoun of “they”..."
"...18. There will be other situations where the judge may decide not to use the trans person’s preferred name/pronouns to ensure a witness can give best evidence..."
"...19. Witnesses should never be compelled to use the trans person’s preferred pronouns...."
"...28. The change to policy is a presumption that trans women, including those with GRCs, with birth genitalia and/or any sexual offence conviction or current charge should not be in the general women’s estate...."
"...29. The current policy is likely to be urgently reviewed following the decision of the Supreme Court...In the context of single-sex services, the Supreme Court has made it clear that there is no entitlement for anyone to use single-sex services intended for members of the opposite sex..."
"...34...A GRC does not affect...status as the mother or father of a child...A woman cannot become eligible for a male-line peerage by acquiring a GRC and a man cannot lose their eligibility. The effect of the GRA 2004 does not impose recognition of the acquired gender in private, non-legal contexts, and it cannot rewrite history..."
"...35...those with a GRC are not entitled to access spaces, services and protections that they would not have been able to access without a GRC..."
So Leon's friend will be referred to as "she" by the judge unless they feel it's appropriate to do otherwise, and the witnesses can call them "he" if they like. Their GRC will not prevent them from being put in a male prison under certain circumstances, and it's anticipated that this will become all circumstances. They remain the father of any child they fathered, and in private may be referred to as a man. They cannot access any properly-constituted female single-sex spaces, services and protections.
Is @Leon's friend a woman, part 4: Summary From the posts above we see that:
According to the Supreme Court ruling and despite her GRC, Leon's friend is legally a male for the purposes of the Equality Act and excluded from properly constitituted female single-sex changing rooms, homeless hostels, swimming areas, medical or counselling services, rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, hospital wards and female single-sex associations with 25 members or more
According to the EHRC Interim Guidance, Leon's friend is legally a man and cannot access properly-constituted female single-sex things like female sport, female toilets, or any male area where other service users could reasonably object to their presence.
According to the Equal Treatment Bench Book, Leon's friend will be referred to as "she" by the judge unless they feel it's appropriate to do otherwise, and the witnesses can call them "he" if they like. Her GRC will not prevent them from being put in a male prison under certain circumstances, and it's anticipated that this will become all circumstances. They remain the father of any child they fathered, and in private may be referred to as a man. They cannot access any properly-constituted female single-sex spaces, services and protections.
In part 5 I will point out why Leon should not be concerned
Is @Leon's friend a woman, part 5: Why Leon should not be concerned I'm going to have to be careful how I phrase this, but Leon's social class and the presumed class of his friend provides immunity to the post-Supreme Court world. People of this class flit from country to country at whim, breaking every law where inconvenient, taking drugs and being open about it, living in countries with appalling human rights records, and doing so without fear of reprisal because their wealth insulates them. Everybody they meet will respect Leon's friend's self-identification, respect her pronouns even if they don't believe it, refer to them as a lesbian if they form a relationship with a woman, allow them to use woman's toilets, stay on women's wards, and so on despite the fact that legally they are no longer entitled to these things or even legally constrained from them.
This isn't just me being bitchy, that's just how it's always worked out. In my "History of Gambling" article I pointed this out, and in the pre-publication version I pointed this out explicitly with respect to homosexuality, drugs and gambling. This is just the next iteration.
In short, @Leon's friend has nothing to worry about.
...This isn't just me being bitchy, that's just how it's always worked out. In my "History of Gambling" article I pointed this out, and in the pre-publication version I pointed this out explicitly with respect to homosexuality, drugs and gambling. This is just the next iteration.
In short, @Leon's friend has nothing to worry about.
That's not entirely true.
See, for example, a number of upper class suicides around the 1830s, as British social mores became considerably more repressive than hitherto.
Or current S Korea, where even the rich and famous can suffer severe consequences (both legal and social) from falling foul of their strict laws, and the social stigma attached to transgression.
Of course wealth provides insulation, but it's not always even close to absolute.
Would be interesting to see some UK polling on the issue with a neutral question. There’s obviously a loud and vocal opposition to the proposal, but is that a vocal minority or are the proposals genuinely unpopular across the country?
Would be interesting to see some UK polling on the issue with a neutral question. There’s obviously a loud and vocal opposition to the proposal, but is that a vocal minority or are the proposals genuinely unpopular across the country?
Is it so surprising ? They are a pragmatic nation, with a greater level of trust in their institutions than most other European societies.
It's another indication, though, that there's a very fine balance between the obvious advantages and disadvantages of imposing such a system.
My own attitude reflects that. I'm not strongly for or against the idea., but I am much more concerned about what sort of system we choose, and what constraints and safeguards we apply, if we do adopt them.
That's an interesting, if slightly rambling article.
The ARC seems to be a significant vehicle for the pollination of UK politics with the ideas of the new right in the US.
..Glasman met Yarvin through the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) – a London conference co-founded by Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, and bankrolled by GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall, who also owns the UnHerd site and the Spectator magazine. Glasman sits on ARC’s advisory board alongside right-wing thinkers Peterson and Douglas Murray, the Spectator’s Associate Editor...
..Another Thiel protégée is also on the ARC board: James Orr. As head of Reform UK’s policy think tank, the Centre for a Better Britain, Orr is known as JD Vance’s ‘British sherpa’ and plays a key role in shaping the party’s programme. He hosted Vance at his home during his London visit in August, and introduced him to Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, and future Tory leadership hopeful, Robert Jenrick. Orr is also part of what Cambridge University sources have referred to as a ‘Cambridge Thiel network’ – right-wing academics nurtured with support from Thiel Capital’s chief of staff Charles Vaughan, who has made repeated visits to the campus. Orr invited Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, to an online seminar for Cambridge and Oxford in 2021...
The irony is that while Lucy Powell is not the Keir Starmer political pick in this Deputy Labour leadership race, she really has become the female version of Keir Starmer the day before he entered Office in July last year for the misguided Labour membership..... The Labour party seems to be in genuine denial of the political or economic landscape in the UK which does not bode well for us over the next few years.
Would be interesting to see some UK polling on the issue with a neutral question. There’s obviously a loud and vocal opposition to the proposal, but is that a vocal minority or are the proposals genuinely unpopular across the country?
Is it so surprising ? They are a pragmatic nation, with a greater level of trust in their institutions than most other European societies.
It's another indication, though, that there's a very fine balance between the obvious advantages and disadvantages of imposing such a system.
My own attitude reflects that. I'm not strongly for or against the idea., but I am much more concerned about what sort of system we choose, and what constraints and safeguards we apply, if we do adopt them.
There’s probably some truth in the Swiss trusting their government to implement the scheme efficiently, honestly, and without scope creep, that isn’t there in the UK.
The ‘Singapore-on-Thames’ dream is over. PM Farage will need another plan ... Over the years, Singapore has developed major corporations, and attracted many of the world’s major corporations to open local offices. It enjoys a stable regulatory environment, commercial laws that are favourable to enterprise, and low taxes. But contrary to what many in Britain seem to believe, it was never a free-market free-for-all. Singapore’s model was state-led, as it moved “from third world to first”... https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/28/singapore-on-thames-was-the-wrong-dream-pm-farage-will-need/ (£££)
Would be interesting to see some UK polling on the issue with a neutral question. There’s obviously a loud and vocal opposition to the proposal, but is that a vocal minority or are the proposals genuinely unpopular across the country?
Is it so surprising ? They are a pragmatic nation, with a greater level of trust in their institutions than most other European societies.
It's another indication, though, that there's a very fine balance between the obvious advantages and disadvantages of imposing such a system.
My own attitude reflects that. I'm not strongly for or against the idea., but I am much more concerned about what sort of system we choose, and what constraints and safeguards we apply, if we do adopt them.
There’s probably some truth in the Swiss trusting their government to implement the scheme efficiently, honestly, and without scope creep, that isn’t there in the UK.
And they have safeguards and features we haven’t yet been offered
One suspect White, the rest, who knows? There are lots of things that make the story unusual leaving aside the usual clamour for ethnic breakdowns. It might be this information is held back because no-one knows it. Cemeteries are usually unlit and unmonitored, and these rapes took place after midnight. Was the victim drunk and taking a shortcut, a sex worker looking for a quiet spot, or snatched elsewhere and forced there? Likewise the missing witness.
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Fox: "We're announcing today expanded programs to help the American coal industry. We're helping it because for years it has been under assault. It was out of fashion with the chardonnay set in San Francisco, Boulder, Colorado, and New York City ... coal just makes the world go round." https://x.com/atrupar/status/1972640578027352329
Coal is dead in the UK for *power generation*. Its corpse should be cemented over and "Here be dragons!" signs planted atop. Which would be fitting, given the number of people who have died from the consequent pollution.
That does not mean coal does not have other marginal uses; but for power generation it should remain dead.
The word 'program' does not warm my heart in the least.
Just a big reminder for all the tribally political men on this site... 'A woman aged in her 30s was attacked by a group of men at the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Banbury during the early hours of Sunday morning, September 28.'
Again, would you please give your heads a wobble on this site and remember that there is a yet another female victim here who suffered a horrendous sexual assault regardless of the make up of her attackers!! I just dispair of the way the actual female victims and their ordeals have been discarded and ignored on sites like this or on other social media sites while the focus becomes about a point scoring debate over the man/men who carried out the attack!!!
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
At least the motorbikes don’t feel pain, it must be a pretty horrible job for the horses.
As for the Su-57, they claim to have 40 or 50 of them - there’s evidence for no more than 20, half of which are prototypes and the other half are missing key systems because of sanctions. It will be rather amusing to see their wonderweapon get shot down by a decades-old F-16, because we know that’s what is going to happen.
The suggestion is that they’re rushing the Su-57 into ‘service’ because they have to, thanks to a shortage of other suitable aircraft rather than because they’re anywhere near ready to be operational.
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
At least the motorbikes don’t feel pain, it must be a pretty horrible job for the horses.
As for the Su-57, they claim to have 40 or 50 of them - there’s evidence for no more than 20, half of which are prototypes and the other half are missing key systems because of sanctions. It will be rather amusing to see their wonderweapon get shot down by a decades-old F-16, because we know that’s what is going to happen.
The suggestion is that they’re rushing the Su-57 into ‘service’ because they have to, thanks to a shortage of other suitable aircraft rather than because they’re anywhere near ready to be operational.
If redundant F16s can shoot down the latest SU 57, one can't help but wonder why we spend so much more on more recent designs.
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
At least the motorbikes don’t feel pain, it must be a pretty horrible job for the horses.
As for the Su-57, they claim to have 40 or 50 of them - there’s evidence for no more than 20, half of which are prototypes and the other half are missing key systems because of sanctions. It will be rather amusing to see their wonderweapon get shot down by a decades-old F-16, because we know that’s what is going to happen.
The suggestion is that they’re rushing the Su-57 into ‘service’ because they have to, thanks to a shortage of other suitable aircraft rather than because they’re anywhere near ready to be operational.
If redundant F16s can shoot down the latest SU 57, one can't help but wonder why we spend so much more on more recent designs.
Are F16s good enough?
We might find out shortly. Those old F-16s do have more modern weapons on board, and the Su-57 is untested in service, but it will be hellishly amusing if and when it happens. Russia has struggled to sell Su-57 into its export markets, so any losses will make that task even more difficult in future.
The Ukranian F-16s are also about to be joined by Saab Gripen fighters, adding to their arsenal.
...This isn't just me being bitchy, that's just how it's always worked out. In my "History of Gambling" article I pointed this out, and in the pre-publication version I pointed this out explicitly with respect to homosexuality, drugs and gambling. This is just the next iteration.
In short, @Leon's friend has nothing to worry about.
That's not entirely true.
See, for example, a number of upper class suicides around the 1830s, as British social mores became considerably more repressive than hitherto.
Or current S Korea, where even the rich and famous can suffer severe consequences (both legal and social) from falling foul of their strict laws, and the social stigma attached to transgression.
Of course wealth provides insulation, but it's not always even close to absolute.
In 19th century Britain, it was a consequence of the growing power of the lesser gentry and new middle classes.
Gregory King made a fine distinction between the great and the merely rich. The great could defy all of society’s conventions ( eg, Lord Hervey, the Wellesleys, the Pagets, Lord Byron, Lord Melbourne, the sons of George III), and get away with it. For the merely rich, let alone the middle classes, to do so would mean social and economic ruin.
But, by the 1830’s, the social values of the sort of people we read about in Jane Austen were starting to become dominant.
I see that the latest Facebook conspiracy theory is that the FABIAN SOCIETY is the secret society responsible for all the country’s ills, implanting itself at all levels of government and wider society. Good grief.
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
So sorry for you and your wife @HYUFD. I hope you have found comfort in the things you have been able to do together over the last few days
I can only echo this and send you all my thoughts and best wishes at this awful time.
Just a big reminder for all the tribally political men on this site... 'A woman aged in her 30s was attacked by a group of men at the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Banbury during the early hours of Sunday morning, September 28.'
Again, would you please give your heads a wobble on this site and remember that there is a yet another female victim here who suffered a horrendous sexual assault regardless of the make up of her attackers!! I just dispair of the way the actual female victims and their ordeals have been discarded and ignored on sites like this or on other social media sites while the focus becomes about a point scoring debate over the man/men who carried out the attack!!!
As a rule I don’t comment on these. The victims are secondary to the point scoring. It’s sad.
Just a big reminder for all the tribally political men on this site... 'A woman aged in her 30s was attacked by a group of men at the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Banbury during the early hours of Sunday morning, September 28.'
Again, would you please give your heads a wobble on this site and remember that there is a yet another female victim here who suffered a horrendous sexual assault regardless of the make up of her attackers!! I just dispair of the way the actual female victims and their ordeals have been discarded and ignored on sites like this or on other social media sites while the focus becomes about a point scoring debate over the man/men who carried out the attack!!!
Morning. This was an *awful* story. The reason a question was being asked about the attackers is critical though to how we as a society are dealing with this.
The threat against women are men. Almost entirely white men. So when the plastic patriots bang on about muslim grooming gangs and only muslim grooming gangs, they show that they aren't interested in protecting women and girls at all. Worse, we had a grooming gang survivor trying to give testimony at one of these rallies, she says "my attackers were white" and has the microphone snatched away and is pushed off the stage.
This is why ethnicity is important, now. A group of angry white men want to make out women and girls would be safe if all the brown people go away. Hoping that you don't know that whitey is the perp to leave them to it.
Fun fact - go look up how many members of the far right are convicted paedophiles. And then how many members of the Raise the Colours thing are convicted wife beaters...
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
At least the motorbikes don’t feel pain, it must be a pretty horrible job for the horses.
As for the Su-57, they claim to have 40 or 50 of them - there’s evidence for no more than 20, half of which are prototypes and the other half are missing key systems because of sanctions. It will be rather amusing to see their wonderweapon get shot down by a decades-old F-16, because we know that’s what is going to happen.
The suggestion is that they’re rushing the Su-57 into ‘service’ because they have to, thanks to a shortage of other suitable aircraft rather than because they’re anywhere near ready to be operational.
If redundant F16s can shoot down the latest SU 57, one can't help but wonder why we spend so much more on more recent designs.
Are F16s good enough?
It's a bit more complex than that:
Firstly, an F16 *may* be able to shootdown an Su-57 in the sort of battle that is seen over Ukraine. That does not mean that an F16 would not be outmatched in another environment, one more suited to the Su-57 and its design. Pilot skill and training is also a significant factor.
Secondly 'F16' does not cover one aircraft and capability. The F16 was introduced in 1978, and since then has undergone a massive amount of upgrades. A late-1970s F16 is vastly inferior to one built this year. Ukraine has a number of older blocks, which have undergone some modifications before they were sent to Ukraine.
Thirdly, the missiles matter as much as the flying platform (assuming we are not talking about a close-range gunnery competition). The missiles fired will matter as much as the plane itself, or its radar and detection systems. So it depends on the capabilities of the missiles both sides have.
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
The Russians did have some success with their motorcycle corps - at a rather large cost in human lives.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
I would doubt whether there remains the skill set required to train horses to the level required for cavalry, even in Russia. I managed to live a full life as an active farmer without being on horseback more than twice in my teens. Yes there used to be teenage girls or was that gals, including my cousin who rode horses every free hour of their lives, but I honestly doubt how much use they would be at training horses for active service.
In the 1940s my dad and his mates were all brought up with horses and not just for ploughing but for leading muck and all sorts. My dad could avoid the kick of a horse however violent, until the day he didn't. His skills were rather more practical than taking a pony to a gymkhana.
The horse aren't there, they would take a five year breeding programme even to get young ones ready to start to train. This is not 1917 when they were importing ship loads of Canadian horses to train on the grounds of grand houses to use on the battlefield. Not even in Russia
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
Can they outgallop an FPV drone?
Not with the two fat f***ers on the back that they have in their photos, that’s for sure.
Comrade! The bulk of these fine soldiers is an indication of the superior Russian system! They are fat because food is plentiful; they are drunk because the vodka flows like water! Whereas those in the effete west are slim because of all the food shortages in the west! Surely this is a sign that the entirety of the west should come under Russian control, so their men too may become fat, drunken killers like these riders!
Thanks also for the kind messages and prayers sent to me and my wife after the birth of our stillborn son a few days ago. To update we have been able to hold him, read to him, write a card of our love for him and have a few days with him at least. The hospital chaplain also gave him a blessing. We named him Theo.
He has now gone for a postmortem, which will take a few weeks but hopefully give us some answers as to why it happened, after which we will arrange a small funeral for him and bury his ashes
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Comments
- USAF use the flying-boom refueling method
- UK uses the probe-and-drogue refuelling method
They are incompatible with each other. Although an adaptor can be fitted on a boom to turn it into a droguehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerial_refueling
- USAF refuelling aircraft have a boy part and USAF fighters have a girl part
- RAF refueling aircraft have a girl part and RAF fighters have a boy part
- But USAF refuelling aircraft can have their boy part adapted to be a girl part and can refuel the RAF's boy part
There you go. Totally different to trans and I'm sure we're all relieved by that(note: this is genuinely how aerial refuelling works)
I am so sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your wife.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn4w3jzx807o
Is Leon's friend a woman, part 1: The Supreme Court judgement
On 16 April 2025 the UK Supreme Court was asked whether a trans woman with a GRC was a woman for the purposes of the Equality Act. It adjudged that they were not. The judge's ruling is attached but the salient passages are here.
- "...We...use the expression “biological sex”...to describe the sex of a person at birth, and we use the expression “certificated sex” to describe the sex attained by the acquisition of a GRC..."
- "...We therefore conclude that...The meaning of the terms “sex”, “man” and “woman” in the EA 2010 is biological and not certificated sex. Any other interpretation would render the EA 2010 incoherent and impracticable to operate..."
Areas mentioned as being affected are:- "...changing rooms, homeless hostels, segregated swimming areas...medical or counselling services provided only to women (or men) – for example cervical cancer screening for women or prostate cancer screening for men, or counselling for women only as victims of rape or domestic violence..."
- "...rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, female-only hospital wards and changing rooms..."
- "...[single-sex] associations with 25 members or more..."
and others (the sports section was complex and I've omitted it for concision)So by the Supreme Court ruling and despite her GRC, Leon's friend is legally a male for the purposes of the Equality Act and excluded from properly constitituted female single-sex changing rooms, homeless hostels, swimming areas, medical or counselling services, rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, hospital wards and female single-sex associations with 25 members or more
- Source: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/For_Women_Scotland_Ltd_v_The_Scottish_Ministers_(2025,_UKSC)
- See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Women_Scotland_Ltd_v_The_Scottish_Ministers
In the next part I will turn to the EHRC Interim Guidance(Her Wikipedia biography says that she is a Christian — which would make her even more a regime target.)
Theo is a beautiful name.
The point in the plan of allowing an amnesty to Hamas fighters is something that stands out .
In an ideal world the two state solution would be in the plan . Even without that I don’t see a better plan than what’s being offered at present and one can only hope that enough pressure can be put on Hamas to agree to this and spare the Gazans more suffering .
If its not, I hope Israel eradicate every last Hamas supporter until they do.
Hamas's choice.
I write that as a flag averse Sillhillian.
I learned something today which might be of interest to you. When Arthur Laffer (remember 'arf a Laffer is better than a whole Laffer) came up with his spurious curve he was dining with Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheyney.
As many as it takes to win the war, there is no upper quantity limit. But not all 2 million provide support to Hamas.
However defeating your enemy can provide a window of opportunity to see a new path taken and the cycle of violence broken.
We're not still fighting the Germans, or the Japanese, who are both too busy making money to be making trouble.
I'd love to see the comprehensive defeat of Hamas, followed by a Marshall Plan style reconstruction and reconciliation. That can only happen with the total removal of Hamas from power though.
If you were in office in 1940 what upper quantity limit would you have set?
The air and naval activity around the Baltic is heavier than seen in decades short of planned exercises
NATO, its European members in particular, are much more concerned than some drones chugging about over Denmark might be thought to generate. They certainly want to capture or shoot any drones down but there is a bigger play here and some nervousness.
There is a Panamanian registered vessel sitting in the Baltic that is of great interest at the moment that they might want to board. If they do, it might cause an incident.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) released an interim update to its statutory guidance for consultation following the Supreme Court judgement. The consultation closed on 30 June 2025. The final version is currently being considered by Government and its contents are not known but are presumed to be substantially the same as the Interim Guidance.
The Interim Guidance contains, amongst others, these salient passages
- "...Updated legal definition of sex...We have updated the legal definition of sex throughout the code of practice. Our previous definition explained that: ‘Legal sex is the sex that was recorded at your birth or the sex you have acquired by obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).’ Following the UK Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland, this definition is no longer accurate, because a GRC does not change your legal sex for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010. We have therefore updated this definition throughout the code to be: 'Legal sex is the sex that was recorded at your birth.'..."
- "...13.1.12 This means that organisers can prevent trans people from participating in a gender-affected sporting activity if it is necessary to do so..."
- "...2.1.9 A trans person will...be protected from sex discrimination that is based on their birth sex..."
- "...13.2.17 A hospital chooses to provide a single-sex hospital ward for women patients to protect their safety, privacy and dignity..."
- "...13.3.11 A service provider operates a shopping centre and decides to renovate the centre. It initially intends to only provide separate-sex toilets to improve the safety and comfort of users. This disadvantages trans people because it means that a trans person cannot access a toilet catered towards their acquired gender. The service provider therefore decides to also provide toilets in individual lockable rooms which can be used by people of either sex..."
- "...13.3.12 A community group is opening a small advice centre. It decides to provide separate-sex toilets for women and men, and it repurposes the accessible toilet to be used as a mixed-sex toilet for anybody who does not wish to use the toilet for their biological sex..."
- "...13.5.5 For example, a trans man might be excluded from the women-only service if the service provider decides..."
So Leon's friend is legally a man and cannot access properly-constituted female single-sex things like female sport (13.1.12), female toilets (13.3.11 and 12), or any male area where other service users could reasonably object to their presence (the male-only version of 13.5.5)Source: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/equality/equality-act-2010/codes-practice/code-practice-services-public-functions-and-associations
In part 3 I will turn to the Equal Treatment Bench Book
Secrecy has always been powerful
Toby Green
At nearly 2.5 million signatures, the petition against the Government’s proposed digital ID scheme has vastly exceeded the threshold — 100,000 — for parliamentary consideration. The plans have been decried by political figures ranging from the hard Left (Jeremy Corbyn) to the populist Right (Robert Jenrick). All the while, Cabinet ministers claim that the new IDs are designed to impair illegal labour rather than to tighten the grip of the state on law-abiding citizens."
https://unherd.com/2025/09/the-battle-behind-digital-ids/
This is why carriers have their uses.
The rules of behavior in court with regards to the Equality Act is laid down in the Equal Treatment Bench Book. The latest update is from May 2025 and takes the Supreme Court judgement into account by amending updates to Chapters 6, 12 and Appendix A
The salient passages are these
- "...17. Typically, it should be unproblematic for the judge to use the trans person’s preferred name and pronouns (“he/she” or “they”), regardless of whether they have obtained a GRC. However, where one side’s case hinges on the recognition of the biological sex of the trans person as crucial, and the other side on the recognition of their chosen identification, judges need to be careful not to let the choice of gendered pronouns give an appearance of bias, or that there is a predetermined conclusion. If possible, using the individual’s name instead of a pronoun where these pronouns are contested, or alternatively, the gender-neutral pronoun of “they”..."
- "...18. There will be other situations where the judge may decide not to use the trans person’s preferred name/pronouns to ensure a witness can give best evidence..."
- "...19. Witnesses should never be compelled to use the trans person’s preferred pronouns...."
- "...28. The change to policy is a presumption that trans women, including those with GRCs, with birth genitalia and/or any sexual offence conviction or current charge should not be in the general women’s estate...."
- "...29. The current policy is likely to be urgently reviewed following the decision of the Supreme Court...In the context of single-sex services, the Supreme Court has made it clear that there is no entitlement for anyone to use single-sex services intended for members of the opposite sex..."
- "...34...A GRC does not affect...status as the mother or father of a child...A woman cannot become eligible for a male-line peerage by acquiring a GRC and a man cannot lose their eligibility. The effect of the GRA 2004 does not impose recognition of the acquired gender in private, non-legal contexts, and it cannot rewrite history..."
- "...35...those with a GRC are not entitled to access spaces, services and protections that they would not have been able to access without a GRC..."
So Leon's friend will be referred to as "she" by the judge unless they feel it's appropriate to do otherwise, and the witnesses can call them "he" if they like. Their GRC will not prevent them from being put in a male prison under certain circumstances, and it's anticipated that this will become all circumstances. They remain the father of any child they fathered, and in private may be referred to as a man. They cannot access any properly-constituted female single-sex spaces, services and protections.- Source: https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/equal-treatment-bench-book-may-2025-update/
In part 4 I will summarise.From the posts above we see that:
According to the Supreme Court ruling and despite her GRC, Leon's friend is legally a male for the purposes of the Equality Act and excluded from properly constitituted female single-sex changing rooms, homeless hostels, swimming areas, medical or counselling services, rape or domestic violence counselling, domestic violence refuges, rape crisis centres, hospital wards and female single-sex associations with 25 members or more
According to the EHRC Interim Guidance, Leon's friend is legally a man and cannot access properly-constituted female single-sex things like female sport, female toilets, or any male area where other service users could reasonably object to their presence.
According to the Equal Treatment Bench Book, Leon's friend will be referred to as "she" by the judge unless they feel it's appropriate to do otherwise, and the witnesses can call them "he" if they like. Her GRC will not prevent them from being put in a male prison under certain circumstances, and it's anticipated that this will become all circumstances. They remain the father of any child they fathered, and in private may be referred to as a man. They cannot access any properly-constituted female single-sex spaces, services and protections.
In part 5 I will point out why Leon should not be concerned
I'm going to have to be careful how I phrase this, but Leon's social class and the presumed class of his friend provides immunity to the post-Supreme Court world. People of this class flit from country to country at whim, breaking every law where inconvenient, taking drugs and being open about it, living in countries with appalling human rights records, and doing so without fear of reprisal because their wealth insulates them. Everybody they meet will respect Leon's friend's self-identification, respect her pronouns even if they don't believe it, refer to them as a lesbian if they form a relationship with a woman, allow them to use woman's toilets, stay on women's wards, and so on despite the fact that legally they are no longer entitled to these things or even legally constrained from them.
This isn't just me being bitchy, that's just how it's always worked out. In my "History of Gambling" article I pointed this out, and in the pre-publication version I pointed this out explicitly with respect to homosexuality, drugs and gambling. This is just the next iteration.
In short, @Leon's friend has nothing to worry about.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdr624j16jpo
See, for example, a number of upper class suicides around the 1830s, as British social mores became considerably more repressive than hitherto.
Or current S Korea, where even the rich and famous can suffer severe consequences (both legal and social) from falling foul of their strict laws, and the social stigma attached to transgression.
Of course wealth provides insulation, but it's not always even close to absolute.
Would be interesting to see some UK polling on the issue with a neutral question. There’s obviously a loud and vocal opposition to the proposal, but is that a vocal minority or are the proposals genuinely unpopular across the country?
They are a pragmatic nation, with a greater level of trust in their institutions than most other European societies.
It's another indication, though, that there's a very fine balance between the obvious advantages and disadvantages of imposing such a system.
My own attitude reflects that.
I'm not strongly for or against the idea., but I am much more concerned about what sort of system we choose, and what constraints and safeguards we apply, if we do adopt them.
The ARC seems to be a significant vehicle for the pollination of UK politics with the ideas of the new right in the US.
..Glasman met Yarvin through the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) – a London conference co-founded by Canadian psychologist and author Jordan Peterson, and bankrolled by GB News investor Sir Paul Marshall, who also owns the UnHerd site and the Spectator magazine. Glasman sits on ARC’s advisory board alongside right-wing thinkers Peterson and Douglas Murray, the Spectator’s Associate Editor...
..Another Thiel protégée is also on the ARC board: James Orr. As head of Reform UK’s policy think tank, the Centre for a Better Britain, Orr is known as JD Vance’s ‘British sherpa’ and plays a key role in shaping the party’s programme. He hosted Vance at his home during his London visit in August, and introduced him to Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary, and future Tory leadership hopeful, Robert Jenrick.
Orr is also part of what Cambridge University sources have referred to as a ‘Cambridge Thiel network’ – right-wing academics nurtured with support from Thiel Capital’s chief of staff Charles Vaughan, who has made repeated visits to the campus. Orr invited Charles Murray, author of The Bell Curve, to an online seminar for Cambridge and Oxford in 2021...
...
Over the years, Singapore has developed major corporations, and attracted many of the world’s major corporations to open local offices. It enjoys a stable regulatory environment, commercial laws that are favourable to enterprise, and low taxes. But contrary to what many in Britain seem to believe, it was never a free-market free-for-all. Singapore’s model was state-led, as it moved “from third world to first”...
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/09/28/singapore-on-thames-was-the-wrong-dream-pm-farage-will-need/ (£££)
They were "just asking questions".
Anyone not applauding is to be purged no doubt.
Posters who claim even a modicum of intelligence would be well advised to leave their pitchforks at home in future such cases.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15144281/wood-burning-stoves-lung-decline-damage-smoking.html
https://x.com/bohuslavskakate/status/1972755394046132732
Obviously the tank refurbishment factory isn’t working too well any more.
But going back to mounted cavalry does rather reduce Russia's image as a country filled with high-tech marvels. Perhaps to counteract this, they're claiming their Su-57 wunderwaffe is now in combat near the frontlines. I am unconvinced...
'A woman aged in her 30s was attacked by a group of men at the churchyard of St Mary's Church in Banbury during the early hours of Sunday morning, September 28.'
Again, would you please give your heads a wobble on this site and remember that there is a yet another female victim here who suffered a horrendous sexual assault regardless of the make up of her attackers!! I just dispair of the way the actual female victims and their ordeals have been discarded and ignored on sites like this or on other social media sites while the focus becomes about a point scoring debate over the man/men who carried out the attack!!!
As for the Su-57, they claim to have 40 or 50 of them - there’s evidence for no more than 20, half of which are prototypes and the other half are missing key systems because of sanctions. It will be rather amusing to see their wonderweapon get shot down by a decades-old F-16, because we know that’s what is going to happen.
The suggestion is that they’re rushing the Su-57 into ‘service’ because they have to, thanks to a shortage of other suitable aircraft rather than because they’re anywhere near ready to be operational.
Are F16s good enough?
The Ukranian F-16s are also about to be joined by Saab Gripen fighters, adding to their arsenal.
Gregory King made a fine distinction between the great and the merely rich. The great could defy all of society’s conventions ( eg, Lord Hervey, the Wellesleys, the Pagets, Lord Byron, Lord Melbourne, the sons of George III), and get away with it. For the merely rich, let alone the middle classes, to do so would mean social and economic ruin.
But, by the 1830’s, the social values of the sort of people we read about in Jane Austen were starting to become dominant.
https://www.gbnews.com/opinion/fabian-society-uk-labour-leftwing
The threat against women are men. Almost entirely white men. So when the plastic patriots bang on about muslim grooming gangs and only muslim grooming gangs, they show that they aren't interested in protecting women and girls at all. Worse, we had a grooming gang survivor trying to give testimony at one of these rallies, she says "my attackers were white" and has the microphone snatched away and is pushed off the stage.
This is why ethnicity is important, now. A group of angry white men want to make out women and girls would be safe if all the brown people go away. Hoping that you don't know that whitey is the perp to leave them to it.
Fun fact - go look up how many members of the far right are convicted paedophiles. And then how many members of the Raise the Colours thing are convicted wife beaters...
Poor horse
"That was a great thing in Crimea, right?"
The person who pointed out to Putin that it was the cavalry that died has just, er, died.
Firstly, an F16 *may* be able to shootdown an Su-57 in the sort of battle that is seen over Ukraine. That does not mean that an F16 would not be outmatched in another environment, one more suited to the Su-57 and its design. Pilot skill and training is also a significant factor.
Secondly 'F16' does not cover one aircraft and capability. The F16 was introduced in 1978, and since then has undergone a massive amount of upgrades. A late-1970s F16 is vastly inferior to one built this year. Ukraine has a number of older blocks, which have undergone some modifications before they were sent to Ukraine.
Thirdly, the missiles matter as much as the flying platform (assuming we are not talking about a close-range gunnery competition). The missiles fired will matter as much as the plane itself, or its radar and detection systems. So it depends on the capabilities of the missiles both sides have.
Oh. As you were...
In the 1940s my dad and his mates were all brought up with horses and not just for ploughing but for leading muck and all sorts. My dad could avoid the kick of a horse however violent, until the day he didn't. His skills were rather more practical than taking a pony to a gymkhana.
The horse aren't there, they would take a five year breeding programme even to get young ones ready to start to train. This is not 1917 when they were importing ship loads of Canadian horses to train on the grounds of grand houses to use on the battlefield. Not even in Russia
NEW THREAD
I thought we had been told that policies had changed, seems they haven't.