I believe @williamglenn has taken an early and a commanding lead in the 2026 POTY competition. Today has been a Trump fan club posting day like no other. Hats off!
Sam Stein @samstein · 6h * the oil will pay for the operation * standing up a government will be pretty easy * It's vital to take on threats around us before they harm us at home * The people in the country will great us as liberators
Labour on Labour (I confess I thought Burgon was either out of Parliament or suspended/defected from Labour).
Not a great attack on Burgon though really. He mentioned 'international law' not international ethics. A valid assusation of hypocrisy would be one highlighting Burgon ignoring international law, not one of him supporting nasty people.
Standing up for international law means condemning leaders when they break it, whether that’s Vladimir Putin or Donald Trump.
That's not standing up for international law.
That's posturing about international law.
To stand up for something you have to take action and be willing to sacrifice something to do so.
So what is Ed Davey willing to sacrifice to stand up for international law.
We need to be at the UN seeking to sanction the fuckers.
Hahahaha. Good one.
I’m not laughing. Get the UN on it. The Axis countries will vote it down so it is only there to make the point.
Trump thinks he is World King. Do what he wants, with no come back. He needs to be given the shot across the bows that Gilead has few friends.
It is Iran, Russia, China leading the condemnation of Trump's capture of Maduro today, hardly allies of the West, albeit joined by Lula of Brazil.
Even Kim Jong Un has described Maduro as a friend of his and warned the US action could lead to a war
'After US captured Maduro and his wife from Venezuela North Korean President has issued statement warning US for World War. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said, “We will reach a world war.” He also called on Trump and the US leadership to immediately disclose the fate of his friend, Venezuelan President Maduro, adding, “This oppression will lead us to a world war. The Venezuelan president must be released immediately.' https://thekashmirtoday.com/2026/01/after-us-captured-maduro-north-korean-president-issued-statement-warning-us-for-world-war/
Labour on Labour (I confess I thought Burgon was either out of Parliament or suspended/defected from Labour).
Not a great attack on Burgon though really. He mentioned 'international law' not international ethics. A valid assusation of hypocrisy would be one highlighting Burgon ignoring international law, not one of him supporting nasty people.
Burgon finds himself down the same rabbit hole Corbyn found himself with his refusal to condemn former St. Petersburg taxi driver, Soviet secret policeman and all round murderous **** for the Salisbury poisonings.
The thing that I would like to know re: Maduro is what if he goes on trial and is found innocent?
Does anyone think he’ll be given a fair trial?
His lawyers can try to exclude the fact he is a murderous dictator from evidence as prejudicial I suppose, but I suspect a fair trial will be challenging.
Annoying that my Uber Lux will be 20% more expensive in London.
Uber rewrites contracts with drivers to avoid paying UK’s new ‘taxi tax’
Hailing app will now act as agent rather than supplier outside London, avoiding VAT requirement
Uber has swerved paying millions of pounds to the UK exchequer under Rachel Reeves’s new “taxi tax” after the ride-hailing app rewrote contracts with its drivers.
The move came as rules announced in November’s budget took effect, which adjusted how VAT is payable on minicab fares and would have resulted in the whole Uber fare becoming subject to the 20% sales tax.
In November, Reeves told the Commons the changes would end up “protecting around £700m of tax revenue each year”.
However, updated terms issued to Uber drivers from January 2026 mean the technology firm will act as an agent, rather than as the supplier, of transport services outside London. The move means drivers make a contract directly with their passengers – so they must charge any VAT due on the fare, while Uber only adds VAT to its commission.
As most drivers are not thought to be making more than £90,000 in bookings a year, and therefore do not have to charge VAT, the majority of Uber fares outside London will avoid becoming more expensive, since the 20% sales tax will not apply.
The new contracts do not relate to London, where the agency model is not allowed under Transport for London rules. As a result, Uber passengers in the capital will pay VAT on their fares.
Uber’s change to the terms with its drivers has been expected since the budget announcement.
I did a similar case for a brothel in Edinburgh some years ago. HMRC sought to aggregate the earnings of the women with that of the establishment and claimed VAT on their payments. We argued, successfully, that they were independent contractors who paid for the use of the room, towels, condoms etc but that their earnings for their services did not form a part of the earnings of the establishment. Some of the women were seriously close to the VAT threshold themselves but HMRC didn't go after them.
Surely if you are working for prostitutes then you are living off immoral earnings?
Moulton: "When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, 'Are you going to invade the country?' We were told no. 'Do you plan to put troops on the ground in Venezuela?' We were told no. 'Do you intend regime change in Venezuela?' We were told no. So in a sense, we have been briefed, we have just been completely lied to." https://x.com/atrupar/status/2007512606215414232
"For decades, Switzerland has sold itself to tourists, investors and to itself as a place where systems hold and where safety’s assumed. Reliability’s not an aspiration but an identity. Trains run on time, infrastructure’s immaculate and rules are obeyed. The state functions not with drama, but with quiet competence.
What makes this disaster so destabilising is that Switzerland has spent the last twenty years quietly becoming a different country, while insisting that nothing fundamental has changed. Switzerland has globalised fast. Alpine resorts now operate as part of a hyper-competitive international leisure market. Capacity is pushed and venues are packed harder and longer. Revenue matters. Alpine resorts, once bastions of discreet Swiss restraint, now chase the same Instagram spectacle and packed venues as anywhere else, revenue imperatives trumping the old caution.
At the same time, the myth of Swiss perfection has outlived the reality. The country still believes that everything’s properly run, properly checked and properly enforced. In truth, enforcement has thinned out and oversight’s fragmented. Compliance is assumed and not always proven." (£)
I am increasingly of the view that we must channel Charles de Gaulle and make sure that our nuclear deterrent is completely independent of the United States. Otherwise our independence is completely at the whim of the US.
I think we're at the Churchill stage and need France and the UK to become one state.
You do realise the only reason he suggested that was because France was completely broken and he wanted to nick their fleet and the remains of their armed forces? France had effectively ceased to exist as an independent country.
When they said no he decided to sink their fleet instead. I mean, 10 out of 10 for balls and certainly the right thing to do but not exactly great diplomacy.
We haven't lost a wicket during any time I've been listening to TMS. Lost connection for the first. Went to get refreshments for 2 and 3. Is there a possible crowdfunder for a dogged all nighter?
"For decades, Switzerland has sold itself to tourists, investors and to itself as a place where systems hold and where safety’s assumed. Reliability’s not an aspiration but an identity. Trains run on time, infrastructure’s immaculate and rules are obeyed. The state functions not with drama, but with quiet competence.
What makes this disaster so destabilising is that Switzerland has spent the last twenty years quietly becoming a different country, while insisting that nothing fundamental has changed. Switzerland has globalised fast. Alpine resorts now operate as part of a hyper-competitive international leisure market. Capacity is pushed and venues are packed harder and longer. Revenue matters. Alpine resorts, once bastions of discreet Swiss restraint, now chase the same Instagram spectacle and packed venues as anywhere else, revenue imperatives trumping the old caution.
At the same time, the myth of Swiss perfection has outlived the reality. The country still believes that everything’s properly run, properly checked and properly enforced. In truth, enforcement has thinned out and oversight’s fragmented. Compliance is assumed and not always proven." (£)
Something unusual appears to be going on today at RAF Fairford near Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom, with at least 10 C-17A Globemaster IIIs with the U.S. Air Force arriving at the base or currently crossing the Atlantic from the United States. Almost all of the C-17s appear to be out of either Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, the home of the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR); or Campbell Army Airfield in Kentucky, which houses the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st/2nd Battalions of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR). https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2007597094337442043
Moulton: "When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, 'Are you going to invade the country?' We were told no. 'Do you plan to put troops on the ground in Venezuela?' We were told no. 'Do you intend regime change in Venezuela?' We were told no. So in a sense, we have been briefed, we have just been completely lied to." https://x.com/atrupar/status/2007512606215414232
I'm shocked, I tell you.
I like Seth
So do I.
Congressman Seth Moulton says Republicans privately are saying that they would "raise bloody hell" if Biden did what Trump did today regarding Venezuela.
Moulton: "When we had briefings on Venezuela, we asked, 'Are you going to invade the country?' We were told no. 'Do you plan to put troops on the ground in Venezuela?' We were told no. 'Do you intend regime change in Venezuela?' We were told no. So in a sense, we have been briefed, we have just been completely lied to." https://x.com/atrupar/status/2007512606215414232
I'm shocked, I tell you.
I like Seth
So do I.
Congressman Seth Moulton says Republicans privately are saying that they would "raise bloody hell" if Biden did what Trump did today regarding Venezuela.
Are we willing to pay the price of being fully autonomous from the US?
We're not even willing to increase defence spending just a little bit as it is.
The complete lack of urgency to increase defence spending is one area where Starmer is unquestionably fucking up big time.
He is, however, increasing defence spending. That’s a step in the right direction, no?
Defence Resource DEL increases from £37.5bn in 24-25 to £42.0bn in 28-29 an increase of a total of 12% over 4 years above inflation. Defence Capital DEL increases from £22.7bn to £31.5bn over the same period, an increase of a total of 39% above inflation over 4 years.
Combined this is an increase from £60.2bn to £73.5bn, or 22% over 4 years, about 5% each year compounded, above inflation.
It's more than I thought, but less than is required.
The whole 'increase defence spending' push is one of these very simplistic, easy-sounding bandwagons that is, frankly, a terrible idea.
We do not need to 'increase defence spending' - we need to decide upon a set of military capabilities (a few examples being the ability to protect the British Isles from missile attack, a nuclear weapon of last resort, the naval might to police our territorial waters, enough of a standing army to do xxxx, the ability to project xxxx into a foreign field of battle...), then assess what we need to do and how much we need to spend to get there.
The MOD (in common with most Government departments) is a disaster. Putting 'increased defence spending' in there without reform would be the equivalent of putting it on a bonfire.
Step 1 is to do a threat assessment of 'credible threats'. Then mitigate....
It is unlikley any properly assessed threat would require an aircraft carrier.
Er… what? That’s what Vice Presidents are for, to take over if you lose the President.
But they need to get the sitting president out of the way first. Sometimes that needs a little bit of outside assistance.
I don’t think you can cast shade on a VP doing exactly what their job is meant to be without some sort of evidence of an actual conspiracy. Do you have any?
The US forces knew exactly where to find Maduro.
They got the gen from somewhere.
That’s not evidence. That’s speculation.
It's neither evidence nor speculation, it is logic
I studied logic as a speciality of my maths degree. That is not logic. It is speculation. It might be educated speculation, but definitely isn't logic.
"The US forces knew exactly where to find Maduro.
They got the gen from somewhere." Ok expert, explain why this is speculation. The two sentences are truisms.
There is an implied third claim that, therefore, they got the information from the VP. That’s the problematic step.
BBC just said it was a CIA asset very close to the now ex-President.
That could be the VP! We’ll find out in 100 years perhaps!
The father of Rodriguez was tortured to death by the then Venezuelan secret service, likely under the direction of or at least collaboration with the CIA. Not impossible of course but it would take some level of stone cold calculation for her to work with the current day Yanquis.
People have done worse for power, though personally I'd think there'd be no need to engage with the VP beforehand on this one, took risky for them.
There is an old, somewhat cynical chestnut that instead of spending billions on spies, intelligence organisations should simply read the papers. Where is Keir Starmer this weekend? Well, he is probably at Chequers or Downing Street or on a foreign junket, and both his usual pattern and any photo-ops (sorry, meetings or summits) will have been announced.
I don't know where Maduro was but my first guess is wherever he goes every weekend.
Are we willing to pay the price of being fully autonomous from the US?
We're not even willing to increase defence spending just a little bit as it is.
The complete lack of urgency to increase defence spending is one area where Starmer is unquestionably fucking up big time.
He is, however, increasing defence spending. That’s a step in the right direction, no?
Defence Resource DEL increases from £37.5bn in 24-25 to £42.0bn in 28-29 an increase of a total of 12% over 4 years above inflation. Defence Capital DEL increases from £22.7bn to £31.5bn over the same period, an increase of a total of 39% above inflation over 4 years.
Combined this is an increase from £60.2bn to £73.5bn, or 22% over 4 years, about 5% each year compounded, above inflation.
It's more than I thought, but less than is required.
The whole 'increase defence spending' push is one of these very simplistic, easy-sounding bandwagons that is, frankly, a terrible idea.
We do not need to 'increase defence spending' - we need to decide upon a set of military capabilities (a few examples being the ability to protect the British Isles from missile attack, a nuclear weapon of last resort, the naval might to police our territorial waters, enough of a standing army to do xxxx, the ability to project xxxx into a foreign field of battle...), then assess what we need to do and how much we need to spend to get there.
The MOD (in common with most Government departments) is a disaster. Putting 'increased defence spending' in there without reform would be the equivalent of putting it on a bonfire.
Even before capabilities get decided, two things that absolutely need to be done right away are fixing procurement and investing in increasing availability of existing assets. AJAX is the current poster child for messed up procurement, but only the scale marks it out of a long line of disasters.
Availability is another bonfire. At times recently the RN has only a single SSN operational, and far too many of the surface fleet are spending years out of action for maintenance or refit. Money has to spent making sure the kit we already have is there to be used when necessary.
Useful summary of the pre-steps you need. For example, Russia's DIB has a lot of Rheinmetall equipment to make its munitions and we'd likely need to plan, order and install a lot of similar metal bashing equipment.* A lot of this equipment runs with specialist software so you'd be beholden to Rheinmetall and the German government for it's use and updates, such is the interconnectedness of the modern world. The fact that the Russian Rheinmetall equipment was still running after 2014/2022 shows the politics of condemning something and the reality of what actually gets switched off can be different. See the trans-Ukraine oil pipeline and Nordstream.
*Of course if you don't have access to Rheinmetall you can always jump a generation and use foamed plastic and cardboard for your drones, if you're innovative enough.
Labour on Labour (I confess I thought Burgon was either out of Parliament or suspended/defected from Labour).
Not a great attack on Burgon though really. He mentioned 'international law' not international ethics. A valid assusation of hypocrisy would be one highlighting Burgon ignoring international law, not one of him supporting nasty people.
Burgon finds himself down the same rabbit hole Corbyn found himself with his refusal to condemn former St. Petersburg taxi driver, Soviet secret policeman and all round murderous **** for the Salisbury poisonings.
Corbyn said we should wait for all the facts, which is what Keir Starmer said about Venezuela. Richard Burgon is a Cambridge-educated lawyer.
Trump isn't going to do what he did in Venezeula in any democratic countries, so forget about Greenland.
I believe you need to show your working out here.
If Stephen Miller, Trump's puppet master, has told Katie that Greenland is next, I suspect Greenland is next.
You need to read Project 2025. Miller's puppet master is the Heritage Foundation and whoever is behind that.
New Policies
Defend American interests in the Artic Circle. The next Administration needs to define American strategic and economic interests in the Arctic Circle. AE should help to identify those interests, as well as threats posed by countries like Russia and China, and develop appropriate policy options for the President’s consideration
There will be plans. AE refers to the Artic Energy Office.
On topic it seems like the Washington Post and the New York Times knew about this in advance but... decided not to run it... Wapo is owned by Bezos who is scared of Trump putting tariffs on his imports but that still leaves the NYT, maybe they figured betting on it was more profitable than reporting it?
Off Topic but has there been any sighting or comment from the Chancellor since the announcement that the IHT Threshold was to be raised to £2.5 M. And what does her farmer hating husband think of it all ?
LOL at the pictures of the “Palestine” mob in New York waving Venezuelan flags in support of Maduro, usurped by a much larger group of actual Venezuelans celebrating his downfall.
I'm a bit late to this thread, but maybe the invasion happened when it did because of the betting market offer. Not so much insider trading as external influence.
On topic it seems like the Washington Post and the New York Times knew about this in advance but... decided not to run it... Wapo is owned by Bezos who is scared of Trump putting tariffs on his imports but that still leaves the NYT, maybe they figured betting on it was more profitable than reporting it?
If they"d reported it, it wouldn't have happened, and then Trump would have claimed another Lamestream Media Fake News Conspiracy and sued them for $100 billion.
By sitting tight on it and then revealing that Hegseth's mouth is still almost as leaky as his brain they have a much bigger story to go with. As with the Signal chat mess.
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
Are we willing to pay the price of being fully autonomous from the US?
We're not even willing to increase defence spending just a little bit as it is.
And yet the site is chocabloc with armchair warmongers convinced that people will sacrifice current (not that good) living standards for just this. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad and pathetic. NATO is in disarray and the EU significantly worse!
It means cuts in the NHS and welfare budgets.
That's where the big money is.
As long as by “welfare”, you mean pensions.
should be benefits, the largesse to all and sundry needs to be cut big time. Get them back from Benidorm et al and get them doing something productive.
LOL at the pictures of the “Palestine” mob in New York waving Venezuelan flags in support of Maduro, usurped by a much larger group of actual Venezuelans celebrating his downfall.
There were a very large number of thrilled Iraqis celebrating the removal of Saddam Hussein and helping to topple his statue when the Americans stormed Baghdad.
Are we willing to pay the price of being fully autonomous from the US?
We're not even willing to increase defence spending just a little bit as it is.
And yet the site is chocabloc with armchair warmongers convinced that people will sacrifice current (not that good) living standards for just this. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad and pathetic. NATO is in disarray and the EU significantly worse!
It means cuts in the NHS and welfare budgets.
That's where the big money is.
As long as by “welfare”, you mean pensions.
should be benefits, the largesse to all and sundry needs to be cut big time. Get them back from Benidorm et al and get them doing something productive.
A sound idea except .... the main issue with doing something 'productive' is that the UK management ethos is to do it cheaply by throwing cheap labour at jobs rather than chasing productivity. Hence StillWaters idea of having pensioners do 20 hours for free.
Best leave them in Benidorm to reduce pressure on housing and the NHS.
It’s sad we move on from this to the tedious Premier League, a glorified exhibition.
Hang-on, you just said the darts "wasn’t a contest more a procession"; at least the Premier League has unpredictability and competition.
This particular game I was referring to, as Luke won 7-1. It was expected to be much closer.
The tournament has had plenty of up and downs and shock results.
Few people would have predicted the final 4.
It certainly made the premier league look like chaff for entertainment and excitement , was a great tournament. Old firm game yesterday was good watching as well.
Off Topic but has there been any sighting or comment from the Chancellor since the announcement that the IHT Threshold was to be raised to £2.5 M. And what does her farmer hating husband think of it all ?
In the entire history of male Chancellors, has there ever been coverage of what their wives thought about tax measures?
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
Presumably the technical aspects of the raid were nothing to do with the President, just a large, well-founded military doing what it does best.
Same as how the scientists in Jurassic Park made a damn good effort at cloning dinosaurs.
Are we willing to pay the price of being fully autonomous from the US?
We're not even willing to increase defence spending just a little bit as it is.
And yet the site is chocabloc with armchair warmongers convinced that people will sacrifice current (not that good) living standards for just this. It would be funny if it wasn't so sad and pathetic. NATO is in disarray and the EU significantly worse!
It means cuts in the NHS and welfare budgets.
That's where the big money is.
As long as by “welfare”, you mean pensions.
should be benefits, the largesse to all and sundry needs to be cut big time. Get them back from Benidorm et al and get them doing something productive.
A sound idea except .... the main issue with doing something 'productive' is that the UK management ethos is to do it cheaply by throwing cheap labour at jobs rather than chasing productivity. Hence StillWaters idea of having pensioners do 20 hours for free.
Best leave them in Benidorm to reduce pressure on housing and the NHS.
I totally get the huge media attention about the US special ops military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife and their journey to the US and the implications for this country and the wider global stage after the actions of Trump and the US. What message does it send to Russia and China being the key points while Trump clearly sees what has being going on in this country and its horrific economic downfall under Maduro's dictatorship as a massive and a serious issue for illegal immigration into the US as well as well as the serious drug problem it has created on the US doorstep. But lets not for get or spare Putin's blushes after his unlawful invasion of Ukraine while the broken and dysfunctional UN continues to prove its no longer fit for purpose!
But I still remain utterly frustrated at the lack of media attention about what is going on right now in Iran which has equal if not far more importance and implications on the global stage right now especially for the future wider stability of the Middle East or not, and also for Western countries and both Russia and China if that awful Regime falls?! And PS, North Korea launching a ballistic missile and the UK/French strikes on ISIS targets in Syria barely even got a mention, talk about a bad day to bury bad news while no one is looking with most of the public in the Western world totally unaware!
Protesters in Iran are dying due to the awful Regime there, and absolute tumble weed in the UK media over the last week, but a Trump sanctioned US military coup in Venezuela and the UK media and the left wake up and have something to say?! I grew up as a lassie here in the UK and its hard to fathom that until 1979 girls in Iran grew up wearing the same clothes I did and attended co-ed Universities and now girls over the last decades there have been dying if they did not behave correctly or cover their hair or the youth in Iran dared to raise up and protest against this awful religious regime!
There is something different about this uprising in Iran, its not only as a result of economic factors, the economy is tanking and there are petrol and water shortages while the Iranian regime has been concentrating on funding its State terrorism in Gaza, Yemen and Lebenon as well as Iraq. With the demographics of the Iran age and population its always been a matter of when rather than if the country will finally raise up against this awful religious inspired regime and finally successfully remove it.
I totally get the huge media attention about the US special ops military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife and their journey to the US and the implications for this country and the wider global stage after the actions of Trump and the US. What message does it send to Russia and China being the key points while Trump clearly sees what has being going on in this country and its horrific economic downfall under Maduro's dictatorship as a massive and a serious issue for illegal immigration into the US as well as well as the serious drug problem it has created on the US doorstep. But lets not for get or spare Putin's blushes after his unlawful invasion of Ukraine while the broken and dysfunctional UN continues to prove its no longer fit for purpose!
But I still remain utterly frustrated at the lack of media attention about what is going on right now in Iran which has equal if not far more importance and implications on the global stage right now especially for the future wider stability of the Middle East or not, and also for Western countries and both Russia and China if that awful Regime falls?! And PS, North Korea launching a ballistic missile and the UK/French strikes on ISIS targets in Syria barely even got a mention, talk about a bad day to bury bad news while no one is looking with most of the public in the Western world totally unaware!
Protesters in Iran are dying due to the awful Regime there, and absolute tumble weed in the UK media over the last week, but a Trump sanctioned US military coup in Venezuela and the UK media and the left wake up and have something to say?! I grew up as a lassie here in the UK and its hard to fathom that until 1979 girls in Iran grew up wearing the same clothes I did and attended co-ed Universities and now girls over the last decades there have been dying if they did not behave correctly or cover their hair or the youth in Iran dared to raise up and protest against this awful religious regime!
There is something different about this uprising in Iran, its not only as a result of economic factors, the economy is tanking and there are petrol and water shortages while the Iranian regime has been concentrating on funding its State terrorism in Gaza, Yemen and Lebenon as well as Iraq. With the demographics of the Iran age and population its always been a matter of when rather than if the country will finally raise up against this awful religious inspired regime and finally successfully remove it.
The difficulty with Iran is actually getting the information. The Ayatollahs seem to have shuttered the Internet. The major news organisations are banned from the country. Even Al-Jazeera has comparatively little on what's happening, never mind the BBC or CNN.
What we do know isn't exactly encouraging. The regime has launched a savage clampdown, with shootings and mass arrests. There are rumours of protestors seizing towns and military bases but there's little evidence to support them.
There have been four days of holidays (Wednesday unexpectedly, Thursday and Friday as the weekend, yesterday as a religious holiday). So today is probably important. If the shops stay shuttered, the crisis for the regime will deepen. If they reopen, it will probably fizzle out for now.
Ultimately, there is a major issue the regime can't duck or explain away, and that is the water crisis, which within 18 months is going to cause widespread collapse. But how, when or where that will happen is anyone's guess.
LOL at the pictures of the “Palestine” mob in New York waving Venezuelan flags in support of Maduro, usurped by a much larger group of actual Venezuelans celebrating his downfall.
There were a very large number of thrilled Iraqis celebrating the removal of Saddam Hussein and helping to topple his statue when the Americans stormed Baghdad.
22 years later attitudes have - modified.
Have they? Saddam is dead and opponents of his regime still are grateful his regime no longer controls Iraq
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
Even if it's not true, even if the relevant PM doesn't believe it, they have to say they will go on (and on). If they don't, attention drains away from them to who will replace them and when.
Even if it's not true, even if the relevant PM doesn't believe it, they have to say they will go on (and on). If they don't, attention drains away from them to who will replace them and when.
Absolutely. Its a piss poor attempt at like in the thick of it getting the gotcha based upon best person for the job or such nonsense.
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
From false flag by Maduro to damn good effort in 24 hours is impressive.
Easier when you do like him of course. Much easier if you REALLY like him.
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
From false flag by Maduro to damn good effort in 24 hours is impressive.
Easier when you do like him of course. Much easier if you REALLY like him.
I believe @williamglenn has taken an early and a commanding lead in the 2026 POTY competition. Today has been a Trump fan club posting day like no other. Hats off!
I believe @williamglenn has taken an early and a commanding lead in the 2026 POTY competition. Today has been a Trump fan club posting day like no other. Hats off!
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Well, that will be the challenge for the next Conservative Government, presumably in 2029. How will they reach the 5% GDP figure in the course of a Parliament - I suppose they could keep defence spending and hope GDP falls to meet the targer but, more realistically, how will they increase the number assuming it can't all be done with growth concurrent with, what I imagine, will be commitments to lower taxes such as stamp duty?
Ditch Maduro, but same old dictatorship, just on friendlier terms with Trumpistan. Trump prefers dictators to democracies, they are easier to deal with and easier for his cronies to loot.
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Well, that will be the challenge for the next Conservative Government, presumably in 2029. How will they reach the 5% GDP figure in the course of a Parliament - I suppose they could keep defence spending and hope GDP falls to meet the targer but, more realistically, how will they increase the number assuming it can't all be done with growth concurrent with, what I imagine, will be commitments to lower taxes such as stamp duty?
Well they would restore the two child benefit cap for starters Labour have abandoned and reform the likes of PiP Labour also rejected reforms too
Not warm here, shudder to think about what the Highlands are probably having.
-4 on the top of Werneth Low. Parked up to watch the sunrise. Two police officers had the same idea - though sadly they have just been called off to some emergency - blue lights and sirens incongruous in the peace of the frosty dawn. They have been replaced by three teenagers in a car festooned with Free Palestine stickers, the driver of which is unable to park neatly.
To the North West the full moon sets over Manchester, though the sun will be too bright by the time it reaches the horizon to fully appreciate it. I should have been up here yesterday.
I totally get the huge media attention about the US special ops military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife and their journey to the US and the implications for this country and the wider global stage after the actions of Trump and the US. What message does it send to Russia and China being the key points while Trump clearly sees what has being going on in this country and its horrific economic downfall under Maduro's dictatorship as a massive and a serious issue for illegal immigration into the US as well as well as the serious drug problem it has created on the US doorstep. But lets not for get or spare Putin's blushes after his unlawful invasion of Ukraine while the broken and dysfunctional UN continues to prove its no longer fit for purpose!
But I still remain utterly frustrated at the lack of media attention about what is going on right now in Iran which has equal if not far more importance and implications on the global stage right now especially for the future wider stability of the Middle East or not, and also for Western countries and both Russia and China if that awful Regime falls?! And PS, North Korea launching a ballistic missile and the UK/French strikes on ISIS targets in Syria barely even got a mention, talk about a bad day to bury bad news while no one is looking with most of the public in the Western world totally unaware!
Protesters in Iran are dying due to the awful Regime there, and absolute tumble weed in the UK media over the last week, but a Trump sanctioned US military coup in Venezuela and the UK media and the left wake up and have something to say?! I grew up as a lassie here in the UK and its hard to fathom that until 1979 girls in Iran grew up wearing the same clothes I did and attended co-ed Universities and now girls over the last decades there have been dying if they did not behave correctly or cover their hair or the youth in Iran dared to raise up and protest against this awful religious regime!
There is something different about this uprising in Iran, its not only as a result of economic factors, the economy is tanking and there are petrol and water shortages while the Iranian regime has been concentrating on funding its State terrorism in Gaza, Yemen and Lebenon as well as Iraq. With the demographics of the Iran age and population its always been a matter of when rather than if the country will finally raise up against this awful religious inspired regime and finally successfully remove it.
The media’s criminal ignoring of Iran is only matched by their lack of attention towards Buggate at Holyrood. Any updates btw?
Hostage to fortune, I would ask who was advising Keir Starmer, but the revolving door on his spin machine suggests no one is with any authority and also because he has clearly not been in charge the last few years even when he was the main Opposition Leader.... He is the worst Opposition leader and now PM in decades and I am surprised he is not full of splinters from the amount of spinning he has done sitting on the fence rather than having a set agenda or opinion on how to run this country before or after he came to power! When are the Labour party finally going to start panicking despite their majority and remove him, and because while they may have got an historic win under him, they are now facing an equally historic loss if they leave him in place.
I totally get the huge media attention about the US special ops military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife and their journey to the US and the implications for this country and the wider global stage after the actions of Trump and the US. What message does it send to Russia and China being the key points while Trump clearly sees what has being going on in this country and its horrific economic downfall under Maduro's dictatorship as a massive and a serious issue for illegal immigration into the US as well as well as the serious drug problem it has created on the US doorstep. But lets not for get or spare Putin's blushes after his unlawful invasion of Ukraine while the broken and dysfunctional UN continues to prove its no longer fit for purpose!
But I still remain utterly frustrated at the lack of media attention about what is going on right now in Iran which has equal if not far more importance and implications on the global stage right now especially for the future wider stability of the Middle East or not, and also for Western countries and both Russia and China if that awful Regime falls?! And PS, North Korea launching a ballistic missile and the UK/French strikes on ISIS targets in Syria barely even got a mention, talk about a bad day to bury bad news while no one is looking with most of the public in the Western world totally unaware!
Protesters in Iran are dying due to the awful Regime there, and absolute tumble weed in the UK media over the last week, but a Trump sanctioned US military coup in Venezuela and the UK media and the left wake up and have something to say?! I grew up as a lassie here in the UK and its hard to fathom that until 1979 girls in Iran grew up wearing the same clothes I did and attended co-ed Universities and now girls over the last decades there have been dying if they did not behave correctly or cover their hair or the youth in Iran dared to raise up and protest against this awful religious regime!
There is something different about this uprising in Iran, its not only as a result of economic factors, the economy is tanking and there are petrol and water shortages while the Iranian regime has been concentrating on funding its State terrorism in Gaza, Yemen and Lebenon as well as Iraq. With the demographics of the Iran age and population its always been a matter of when rather than if the country will finally raise up against this awful religious inspired regime and finally successfully remove it.
The media’s criminal ignoring of Iran is only matched by their lack of attention towards Buggate at Holyrood. Any updates btw?
On the Northern Ireland WhatAboutery Scale, this gets you 1.5/10
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Meaningless. For many years all NATO members were commited to spending 2% of GDP on defence. Very few actually did.
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Meaningless. For many years all NATO members were commited to spending 2% of GDP on defence. Very few actually did.
Poland now spends 4% of gdp on defence, the US spends 3.4% and even we in the UK spend 2.4%.
It is the likes of Spain and Slovenia who spend less than 1,5% on defence who need to take action
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Meaningless. For many years all NATO members were commited to spending 2% of GDP on defence. Very few actually did.
There will clearly be significant increases, probably around doubling. Whether they reach 5% or not that is going to change national budgets.
Also, in terms of the public's willingness to support increased Defence spending I think people underestimate the public and excuse the politicians. We can see other European countries, not just Poland and the Baltic States who are on the front line, but countries like Germany and Denmark who are doing a lot more to increase defence spending than the UK.
Yes, quite - we have a problem of political leadership.
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
All NATO nations committed to spend 5% of gdp on defence by 2035, even if Labour backbenchers have voted to prioritise welfare spending
Well, that will be the challenge for the next Conservative Government, presumably in 2029. How will they reach the 5% GDP figure in the course of a Parliament - I suppose they could keep defence spending and hope GDP falls to meet the targer but, more realistically, how will they increase the number assuming it can't all be done with growth concurrent with, what I imagine, will be commitments to lower taxes such as stamp duty?
Well they would restore the two child benefit cap for starters Labour have abandoned and reform the likes of PiP Labour also rejected reforms too
Cheap jibes aside, let's get serious on numbers.
I've seen the UK is spending £83 billion on defence this year - defence ranks fifth behind Social Care/Welfare (£379 billion), Health (£277 billion), Education (£146 billion) and Debt Interest Payments (£123 billion).
Instead of wittering on about GDP percentages, what amount would you like the UK to spend on defence and from where does that extra funding originate?
Looking at the income side, £329 billion from Income Tax, £214 billion from VAT, £199 billion from National Insurance.
If you want to double the amount spent on defence to sorry £160 billion, how do you get there? What elements of the other budgets would you reduce or how much additional tax would you seek to raise?
Comments
@samstein
·
6h
* the oil will pay for the operation
* standing up a government will be pretty easy
* It's vital to take on threats around us before they harm us at home
* The people in the country will great us as liberators
2002 or 2026?
https://x.com/samstein/status/2007505372387618907
Doubt he will make trial.
If Stephen Miller, Trump's puppet master, has told Katie that Greenland is next, I suspect Greenland is next.
Even Kim Jong Un has described Maduro as a friend of his and warned the US action could lead to a war
'After US captured Maduro and his wife from Venezuela North Korean President has issued statement warning US for World War. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said, “We will reach a world war.” He also called on Trump and the US leadership to immediately disclose the fate of his friend, Venezuelan President Maduro, adding, “This oppression will lead us to a world war. The Venezuelan president must be released immediately.'
https://thekashmirtoday.com/2026/01/after-us-captured-maduro-north-korean-president-issued-statement-warning-us-for-world-war/
The question of lawful arrest may loom large.
What makes this disaster so destabilising is that Switzerland has spent the last twenty years quietly becoming a different country, while insisting that nothing fundamental has changed. Switzerland has globalised fast. Alpine resorts now operate as part of a hyper-competitive international leisure market. Capacity is pushed and venues are packed harder and longer. Revenue matters. Alpine resorts, once bastions of discreet Swiss restraint, now chase the same Instagram spectacle and packed venues as anywhere else, revenue imperatives trumping the old caution.
At the same time, the myth of Swiss perfection has outlived the reality. The country still believes that everything’s properly run, properly checked and properly enforced. In truth, enforcement has thinned out and oversight’s fragmented. Compliance is assumed and not always proven." (£)
James Tidmarsh article in the Spectator.
https://spectator.com/article/the-new-years-eve-fire-has-shattered-the-myth-of-swiss-invulnerability
When they said no he decided to sink their fleet instead. I mean, 10 out of 10 for balls and certainly the right thing to do but not exactly great diplomacy.
Lost connection for the first.
Went to get refreshments for 2 and 3.
Is there a possible crowdfunder for a dogged all nighter?
Health and Safety gone mad.
https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/2007557671705293009
Something unusual appears to be going on today at RAF Fairford near Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom, with at least 10 C-17A Globemaster IIIs with the U.S. Air Force arriving at the base or currently crossing the Atlantic from the United States. Almost all of the C-17s appear to be out of either Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia, the home of the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and the 3rd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR); or Campbell Army Airfield in Kentucky, which houses the 101st Airborne Division and the 1st/2nd Battalions of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (SOAR).
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/2007597094337442043
Congressman Seth Moulton says Republicans privately are saying that they would "raise bloody hell" if Biden did what Trump did today regarding Venezuela.
"They are just cowards."
https://x.com/AaronParnas/status/2007630501734166588
It is unlikley any properly assessed threat would require an aircraft carrier.
https://x.com/visegrad24/status/2007590651786035485?s=61
I don't know where Maduro was but my first guess is wherever he goes every weekend.
*Of course if you don't have access to Rheinmetall you can always jump a generation and use foamed plastic and cardboard for your drones, if you're innovative enough.
Defend American interests in the Artic Circle. The next Administration needs to define American strategic and economic interests in the Arctic Circle. AE should help to identify those interests, as well as threats posed by countries like Russia and China, and develop appropriate policy options for the President’s consideration
There will be plans. AE refers to the Artic Energy Office.
211/3 in 45 ovs a pretty decent effort for the first time this series.
https://kalshi.com/markets/kxvenezuelaleader/who-will-be-the-head-of-state-of-venezuela-on-date/kxvenezuelaleader-26dec31
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=303333912798273
Good morning, everybody.
By sitting tight on it and then revealing that Hegseth's mouth is still almost as leaky as his brain they have a much bigger story to go with. As with the Signal chat mess.
“If it’s possible to deal with dictators like that, just like that, then the United States knows what to do next.”
https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/2007556736899785141
this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier
https://bsky.app/profile/leyawn.bsky.social/post/3mbkj2ozabs2w
https://x.com/thestormredux/status/2007505076269854748
Thousands of personnel involved, no losses despite the fact that Maduro’s army wasn’t expecting the raid. Clearly there was a CIA mole or dozen inside the palace there.
You don’t have to like the President to see that was a damn good effort.
22 years later attitudes have - modified.
https://bsky.app/profile/rhodri.biz/post/3mblgiaa2qc2p
Best leave them in Benidorm to reduce pressure on housing and the NHS.
Old firm game yesterday was good watching as well.
Same as how the scientists in Jurassic Park made a damn good effort at cloning dinosaurs.
Not warm here, shudder to think about what the Highlands are probably having.
- US strikes on Venezuela, capture of Maduro
- North Korea launches ballistic missile
- Continued protests in Iran
- UK and France strikes on ISIS targets in Syria
https://x.com/spectatorindex/status/2007596349559325024
I totally get the huge media attention about the US special ops military strike on Venezuela and the capture of Maduro and his wife and their journey to the US and the implications for this country and the wider global stage after the actions of Trump and the US. What message does it send to Russia and China being the key points while Trump clearly sees what has being going on in this country and its horrific economic downfall under Maduro's dictatorship as a massive and a serious issue for illegal immigration into the US as well as well as the serious drug problem it has created on the US doorstep. But lets not for get or spare Putin's blushes after his unlawful invasion of Ukraine while the broken and dysfunctional UN continues to prove its no longer fit for purpose!
But I still remain utterly frustrated at the lack of media attention about what is going on right now in Iran which has equal if not far more importance and implications on the global stage right now especially for the future wider stability of the Middle East or not, and also for Western countries and both Russia and China if that awful Regime falls?! And PS, North Korea launching a ballistic missile and the UK/French strikes on ISIS targets in Syria barely even got a mention, talk about a bad day to bury bad news while no one is looking with most of the public in the Western world totally unaware!
Protesters in Iran are dying due to the awful Regime there, and absolute tumble weed in the UK media over the last week, but a Trump sanctioned US military coup in Venezuela and the UK media and the left wake up and have something to say?! I grew up as a lassie here in the UK and its hard to fathom that until 1979 girls in Iran grew up wearing the same clothes I did and attended co-ed Universities and now girls over the last decades there have been dying if they did not behave correctly or cover their hair or the youth in Iran dared to raise up and protest against this awful religious regime!
There is something different about this uprising in Iran, its not only as a result of economic factors, the economy is tanking and there are petrol and water shortages while the Iranian regime has been concentrating on funding its State terrorism in Gaza, Yemen and Lebenon as well as Iraq. With the demographics of the Iran age and population its always been a matter of when rather than if the country will finally raise up against this awful religious inspired regime and finally successfully remove it.
What we do know isn't exactly encouraging. The regime has launched a savage clampdown, with shootings and mass arrests. There are rumours of protestors seizing towns and military bases but there's little evidence to support them.
There have been four days of holidays (Wednesday unexpectedly, Thursday and Friday as the weekend, yesterday as a religious holiday). So today is probably important. If the shops stay shuttered, the crisis for the regime will deepen. If they reopen, it will probably fizzle out for now.
Ultimately, there is a major issue the regime can't duck or explain away, and that is the water crisis, which within 18 months is going to cause widespread collapse. But how, when or where that will happen is anyone's guess.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clygv1ngynjo
This time next year Rodders.....
Answers on a postcard...
If politicians won't lead us there then why wouldn't many voters prioritise benefits that matter to them personally?
Even if it's not true, even if the relevant PM doesn't believe it, they have to say they will go on (and on). If they don't, attention drains away from them to who will replace them and when.
Easier when you do like him of course.
Much easier if you REALLY like him.
We did it in 1940.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Iceland
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article312516272.html
Ditch Maduro, but same old dictatorship, just on friendlier terms with Trumpistan. Trump prefers dictators to democracies, they are easier to deal with and easier for his cronies to loot.
But they'd have to stop trying to dick us all the time via the EU, and sending off migrants with Red Cross parcels at Gravelines.
child benefit cap for starters
Labour have abandoned and
reform the likes of PiP Labour also rejected reforms too
To the North West the full moon sets over Manchester, though the sun will be too bright by the time it reaches the horizon to fully appreciate it. I should have been up here yesterday.
Comparing Trump to The Joker is a gross slur. On The Joker.
Any updates btw?
- the rest of the Government
- Parliamentary Labour Party
- Labour Party members
- Greens
- Fruit & Nuts
It is the likes of Spain and Slovenia who spend less than 1,5% on defence who need to take action
I've seen the UK is spending £83 billion on defence this year - defence ranks fifth behind Social Care/Welfare (£379 billion), Health (£277 billion), Education (£146 billion) and Debt Interest Payments (£123 billion).
Instead of wittering on about GDP percentages, what amount would you like the UK to spend on defence and from where does that extra funding originate?
Looking at the income side, £329 billion from Income Tax, £214 billion from VAT, £199 billion from National Insurance.
If you want to double the amount spent on defence to sorry £160 billion, how do you get there? What elements of the other budgets would you reduce or how much additional tax would you seek to raise?