Yet we still come back to the central question - IF regime change is to be achieved, how is it to be done? Will we see some form of ground intervention by American forces or will there continue to be the "hope" of a successful civil insurrection against a weakened IGRC?
The second key question is what replaces the theocracy? The first principle, I think, is it should be up to the Iranians to choose their own form of Government and certainly not for Washington to impose something on them. Whether it's a republic or a constitutional monarchy shouldn't bother us too much, I'd argue, and whether Pahlavi plays any more than a transitional role is again something for the Iranian people to decide.
I note Eastern European Communism collapsed quickly and completely after 44 years and we know have 47 since the "Revolution" which toppled the Shah. There were concerns Communist practice was too deeply embedded in some Eastern European societies to be shaken off but I think that wasn't the case and it may well be theocracy's roots in Iran will prove shallow.
For now, though, it seems the Iranian regime still has some fight and they know the economic price to the West of maintaining a climate of fear in the Gulf far outweighs any military advantage obtained. The hyper sensitivity of much of the world to oil and gas price movements is arguably Iran's greatest asset and it is to be hoped stability can be restored to oil and gas supplies sooner rather than later.
I think the parallel with Eastern Europe is an inexact one because the local leadership were essentially collaborationist managers of colonial regimes. They were, due to the unpopularity of the imperial power, forced to compromise to some extent with local opponents of communism - even the likes of Kadar, who was elevated as a hardliner in the aftermath of the Hungarian Rising.
The post-Soviet republics would likely be a better parallel and there, with the notable exceptions of the Baltic states, you do still have a major hangover from Communism. The old Communist elites are still essentially pulling the strings, even in different guises, and the corruption and state meddling remains endemic.
Even in West and East Germany for many years after the war there were many Nazis, including war criminals, in positions of power - notably in the police. And that was with the occupying powers pushing an agenda of change including a fairly drastic programme of justice and a well-established opposition network to fall back on.
I don't say Iran couldn't be different, but I do say given the tentacles Hizbollah and the IRGC have into every part of the state it will be bloody difficult to eliminate them entirely.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
My understanding is that Monmouthshire was only ever considered 'England' due to a rather odd bit of legal wording talking about the legal circuit of 'Wales and Monmouthshire' - but this was a redundancy of the same sort as 'Chester and West Cheshire' - and only a madman would ever claim that Chester isn't in West Cheshire. I don't think it's really true to say that England ever 'lost' Monmouthshire; it was never really English in the first place.
Ch 4 News with Chrishnan Guru-Murthy is so much better than the BBC that it's embarrassing. It's a must watch. His interview with the US General is a classic of the genre
Trump threatened a trade embargo sitting next to the German Chancellor who barely got a word out in support to fellow EU country. Sources close to Spanish indicate Madrid not caving, coming back with severe words too. Big diplomatic spat ahead.
Can't say I had the new UK-Spain alliance of Sanity on my New Year bingo card but there you go... events eh?
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
I am not saying it is a negative - just reporting Trump's comments
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
OK, I will say this once. Monmouthshire was never part of England. It was, however, under the Laws in Wales Acts entitled to an additional MP due to its wealth and because of its size and relative closeness to London had its own law courts that were attached to the Oxford rather than the Ludlow-based Welsh judicial circuits. Hence any laws that applied to all of Wales (as they were enforced through the judicial circuits) had to say 'Wales and Monmouthshire.'
It is, for all of these reasons, by far the most anglicised part of Wales, but it is not, and never has been, part of England.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
I can't see the Greens retaining North Herefordshire on a Corbynista agenda. A Con gain if ever I saw one.
Waveney Valley will likely go to Reform or Tory too. Its a bit 'arts n craftsy' for Reform. A split RefCon vote might allow a Green hold though
Only way either of these is a hold is if there is a personal vote because they turn out to be very hard working and totally locally focused.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
I dont think he will stand again. He is about as far from Polanskiism as you can get. He also gave up both the deputy leadership of the Greens and leadership of the Green opposition group on Norwich city council in the early 2010s to go into Green Industry, so he has 'form' as it were on giving up on elected politics
Polanski wouldn't be anywhere if not the decades of hard work by people like Ramsey getting the Greens to that first MP seat and onto local councils bit by bit.
I dont disagree at all. Ramsay has given a huge amount to the Greens. But i dont think he has any desire to be part of the Polanski project
I remain convinced that the Green policy on drugs is a huge own goal and will cost them a lot of votes .
They might get away with it for a while but under more scrutiny and in the run up to the next GE I expect the wheels to fall off .
I don't think the drugs stuff will be that damaging. I think that what will cost the Greens a lot more votes at the next election are their current policies on a) immigration/asylum, and b) transgender rights, including self ID. In both instances, I think the zeitgeist has changed to make the current Green stance pretty unpopular with around 80% of voters, for good or bad.
Worth noting that the worst ever performance by a Tory candidate at a byelection was by a Trustee of "Sex Matters" who went heavy on culture war issues like Trans rights.
I think very few voters have Trans rights as the key issue, and of those who do the majority are for rather than against. Ditto Drug decriminalisation.
I also think that quite a few people find a party willing to speak up for its own policies refreshing, not least against parties that rewrite their policy after every Daily Mail editorial. It gives the impression that they actually believe something.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
I can't see the Greens retaining North Herefordshire on a Corbynista agenda. A Con gain if ever I saw one.
Waveney Valley will likely go to Reform or Tory too. Its a bit 'arts n craftsy' for Reform. A split RefCon vote might allow a Green hold though
Only way either of these is a hold is if there is a personal vote because they turn out to be very hard working and totally locally focused.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
I dont think he will stand again. He is about as far from Polanskiism as you can get. He also gave up both the deputy leadership of the Greens and leadership of the Green opposition group on Norwich city council in the early 2010s to go into Green Industry, so he has 'form' as it were on giving up on elected politics
Polanski wouldn't be anywhere if not the decades of hard work by people like Ramsey getting the Greens to that first MP seat and onto local councils bit by bit.
I dont disagree at all. Ramsay has given a huge amount to the Greens. But i dont think he has any desire to be part of the Polanski project
I remain convinced that the Green policy on drugs is a huge own goal and will cost them a lot of votes .
They might get away with it for a while but under more scrutiny and in the run up to the next GE I expect the wheels to fall off .
That Matt cartoon "We voted Green. More heroin, vicar?" was a joy....
I find it very odd that everyone is suddenly surprised what the Green policy on drugs is.
iirc it has been the same for decades: basically treating addiction as a health issue and not a criminal system thing.
Sadly a lost and hopeless cause, but correct all the same. As is a broadly therapeutic view of much criminality. A high proportion of those incarcerated have mental health, personality and educational disorders and disfunctions.
Horror day..personally speaking. Trying to catch up. Is there any truth that Starmer is prevaricating over the use of Diego Garcia?
Sorry to hear that SR2. I'm only just calming down after locking myself out of the house empty-pocketed with the bath running.
Mine is more acting as executor fora family friend. I'd like a drone to take out the bank management.
I have heard this story time and time again. A customer dying aooears to be impossible for banks to deal with. It ought to happen often enough that dealing with it is straightforward. But seemingly not. My sympathies.
Starmer clearly isn't Churchill at least in the sense that getting him to rearm UK military seems to be an uphill task despite the international situation.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
When you take the last sentence of Brixian's post, one doesn't have to be Freud to detect a whiff of projection does one?
There comes a time when enough is enough
Why would anyone want to be in public life to receive uncalled for and even threatening observations
Kemi is there to be criticised and argued with, but no politician deserves the abuse handed out in most every post by @Brixian59
Indeed it applies to two ethic conservative female politicians, and ends with a wish for Tel Aviv to be destroyed with all the innocents that would involve
Far far far worse directed at Starmer and Rayner and others.
You say nothing
Bullies are bullies but the minute someone gives bullies a bit of their own medecine, they beat like babies.
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
OK, I will say this once. Monmouthshire was never part of England. It was, however, under the Laws in Wales Acts entitled to an additional MP due to its wealth and because of its size and relative closeness to London had its own law courts that were attached to the Oxford rather than the Ludlow-based Welsh judicial circuits. Hence any laws that applied to all of Wales (as they were enforced through the judicial circuits) had to say 'Wales and Monmouthshire.'
It is, for all of these reasons, by far the most anglicised part of Wales, but it is not, and never has been, part of England.
Monmouthshire was assigned to the Oxford circuit of the English Assizes.[50] This began a legal separation which continued until 1972; for example, the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the boroughs of Newport, Abergavenny and Monmouth were explicitly listed as being in England rather than Wales in first schedule of the Local Government Act 1933.
The French president Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address to the nation that he has ordered the French aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, its air assets and its frigate escort to set sail for the Mediterranean.
He said France has defence agreements with Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and must show solidarity, but he said any action by France was “strictly defensive”.
France must support its allies in the region and show it was a partner to be trusted, Macron said, adding that French anti-air systems and air radars had been deployed and would continue to be so.
France would also send defence systems to Cyprus and a frigate which would arrive off the coast of Cyprus tonight, the president said.
. As an environmentalist and left-leaning social democrat, my views are now far closer to Labour than the increasingly radicalised Greens and are much better reflected in the work of people like Ed Miliband and Sadiq Khan than by Zack Polanski or Mothin Ali.
I can't see the Greens retaining North Herefordshire on a Corbynista agenda. A Con gain if ever I saw one.
Waveney Valley will likely go to Reform or Tory too. Its a bit 'arts n craftsy' for Reform. A split RefCon vote might allow a Green hold though
Only way either of these is a hold is if there is a personal vote because they turn out to be very hard working and totally locally focused.
First time incumbants can sometimes buck the system like that.
Not being leader will certainly give Ramsey more time to be on his patch.
I dont think he will stand again. He is about as far from Polanskiism as you can get. He also gave up both the deputy leadership of the Greens and leadership of the Green opposition group on Norwich city council in the early 2010s to go into Green Industry, so he has 'form' as it were on giving up on elected politics
Polanski wouldn't be anywhere if not the decades of hard work by people like Ramsey getting the Greens to that first MP seat and onto local councils bit by bit.
I dont disagree at all. Ramsay has given a huge amount to the Greens. But i dont think he has any desire to be part of the Polanski project
A man of good sense.
Hes not a bad bloke, very personable. Not my cup of tea politically. His ward on Norwich council was where i lived before last November (before my time there though)
President Emmanuel Macron announced that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.
Oh the glorious irony of de Gaulle being deployed to protect an outpost of the British Empire.
UK is not top of list who Cyprus wants help from.
Cyprus did not ask the UK for any help because they don’t like us and are flipping angry UK made them such a target in this war.
In fact, the Cypriot government has actively criticized the UK for "dragging" the island into the Middle East conflict - regarding the use of British bases for US military operations.
Following the drone strike - according to Cyprus PM and Cyprus President - it is Starmer’s fault for dragging Cyprus into this war - Greece reached out to Germany, Italy, France and Greece to help them. Greece and France are deploying anti-drone systems to the island, Greece has deployed warships and fighter jets. And now as Scott n pasted and Big Geed, France sending a frigate and Charlie.
Meanwhile Cyprus - furious at being dragged into war by the UK - may seek to negotiate the British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) to only be used for humanitarian purposes in future, not as launchpads for any offensive strikes.
Greece and Cyprus have over recent years developed deep strategic partnerships with Israel, including joint military drills. Hezbollah and Hamas have been constantly threatening Cyprus and Greece, Cyprus as proxy to antagonising Greece. Meanwhile US Treasury has sanctioned Turkish-registered companies for helping Hezbollah evade sanctions and move Iranian funds and goods - due to sharing common enemies.
Should we be sensitive to all this politics going on, apologise to Cyprus for UKs sole fault Cyprus has been dragged into this war?
Iranian drones have targeted the US consulate in Dubai. Fire and smoke in the immediate vicinity, but no details yet if it was a direct hit.
Huzzah for Ukrainian drones, but there's a catch.
If you have something really quite small and cheap that can inflict meaningful damage, that puts a fair bit of power to harm in the hands of people I'd rather didn't have that power.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
When you take the last sentence of Brixian's post, one doesn't have to be Freud to detect a whiff of projection does one?
There comes a time when enough is enough
Why would anyone want to be in public life to receive uncalled for and even threatening observations
Kemi is there to be criticised and argued with, but no politician deserves the abuse handed out in most every post by @Brixian59
Indeed it applies to two ethic conservative female politicians, and ends with a wish for Tel Aviv to be destroyed with all the innocents that would involve
Far far far worse directed at Starmer and Rayner and others.
You say nothing
Bullies are bullies but the minute someone gives bullies a bit of their own medecine, they beat like babies.
Own it
I criticise Starmer but I do not infer he is mentally ill, nor do I want Tel Aviv destroyed as you posted recently
Horror day..personally speaking. Trying to catch up. Is there any truth that Starmer is prevaricating over the use of Diego Garcia?
Sorry to hear that SR2. I'm only just calming down after locking myself out of the house empty-pocketed with the bath running.
Hope you are now sorted!
You were right about Monmouthshire, by the way.
My first thought was a neighbour, who once had a key, but now apparently does not. But then I remembered my year 6 daughter has a key now - I was able to run down to the school and back before the bath overflowed. Rather more excitement than I want in a day though.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
My understanding is that Monmouthshire was only ever considered 'England' due to a rather odd bit of legal wording talking about the legal circuit of 'Wales and Monmouthshire' - but this was a redundancy of the same sort as 'Chester and West Cheshire' - and only a madman would ever claim that Chester isn't in West Cheshire. I don't think it's really true to say that England ever 'lost' Monmouthshire; it was never really English in the first place.
Legally it was in England until 1974. It was a culturally divided county - my father was from Monmouthshire and his culture and that around him was always English not Welsh.
There's a good centre left grouping coming together. Now that Starmer is following his MPs and not slavishly following Trump a 'NEW LABOUR' could be at its centre. If he can't resist the pull towards Farage he can and will be replaced. He's got roughly 10 weeks to show he's the person to lead this grouping otherwise he'll be out. This I believe to be a fact.
I think that ship has sailed sadly. Starmer has lost the left permanently.
He has tewn weeks to get them back. Yesterday was a very good start. Everyone likes a repentant sinner and failing that Burnham is waiting in the wings. Burnham should get on well with Zack. Two Mancunions
Starmer will not get the left back and replacing him may not be the cure you think it is
Labour are in an existential crisis being attacked from right and left
A Labour government has to deal with geopolitical reality, rather than just deliver what its left wing wants.
We've always known what Farage is, a grubby little Fascist with the attitude he's a rent boy for any Right Wing paymaster.
Now we've discovered what Badenoch is, a glove puppet for Pritti Patel, Mossad and uber Right Wing trumpism. Whilst Farages treachery is deep seated Fascism, Badenoch is something far simpler.
A mental illness that renders her incapable of agreeing with anyone she deems an opponent, she has no stop button. no understanding of diplomacy a complete loose cannon.Argue Argue Argue is her only reason to exist.
You can disagree with Kemi as you do in most posts but accusing her of a mental illness is just nasty
I posted today about irrational hate [9.15am] of a person and you need to look it up and look in the mirror
When you take the last sentence of Brixian's post, one doesn't have to be Freud to detect a whiff of projection does one?
There comes a time when enough is enough
Why would anyone want to be in public life to receive uncalled for and even threatening observations
Kemi is there to be criticised and argued with, but no politician deserves the abuse handed out in most every post by @Brixian59
Indeed it applies to two ethic conservative female politicians, and ends with a wish for Tel Aviv to be destroyed with all the innocents that would involve
Far far far worse directed at Starmer and Rayner and others.
You say nothing
Bullies are bullies but the minute someone gives bullies a bit of their own medecine, they beat like babies.
Own it
I can’t work out whether you’re a parody or a lunatic
If you believe what you’re posting, you can’t rationally believe that your way of expressing it is going to encourage anyone sane toward your point of view
Horror day..personally speaking. Trying to catch up. Is there any truth that Starmer is prevaricating over the use of Diego Garcia?
Sorry to hear that SR2. I'm only just calming down after locking myself out of the house empty-pocketed with the bath running.
Mine is more acting as executor fora family friend. I'd like a drone to take out the bank management.
I have heard this story time and time again. A customer dying aooears to be impossible for banks to deal with. It ought to happen often enough that dealing with it is straightforward. But seemingly not. My sympathies.
In my recent experience:
Yorkshire Water - top marks
Plusnet - managed to close the account, delete the account email, find they were owed £5, and send that to a debt recovery service without sending any letters.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
OK, I will say this once. Monmouthshire was never part of England. It was, however, under the Laws in Wales Acts entitled to an additional MP due to its wealth and because of its size and relative closeness to London had its own law courts that were attached to the Oxford rather than the Ludlow-based Welsh judicial circuits. Hence any laws that applied to all of Wales (as they were enforced through the judicial circuits) had to say 'Wales and Monmouthshire.'
It is, for all of these reasons, by far the most anglicised part of Wales, but it is not, and never has been, part of England.
Monmouthshire was assigned to the Oxford circuit of the English Assizes.[50] This began a legal separation which continued until 1972; for example, the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the boroughs of Newport, Abergavenny and Monmouth were explicitly listed as being in England rather than Wales in first schedule of the Local Government Act 1933.
Yes, because Monmouthshire was attached to a court system based in England which is what the LGA 1933 was administered through. That did not mean they were not in Wales. For example, the statute that founded what was now Cardiff University referred to 'South Wales and Monmouthshire' reflecting the aforesaid judicial circuits.
I think it's difficult for people to understand that until 1885 in all cases, and in many ways up until the 1970s, much of local government was based on courts rather than local councils. So which court circuit you were on was a matter of more than technical importance. However, it didn't mean that Monmouthshire wasn't in Wales any more than Berwick (which also had somewhat ambiguous legal arrangements) wasn't in England.
Starmer clearly isn't Churchill at least in the sense that getting him to rearm UK military seems to be an uphill task despite the international situation.
This is going to be a huge issue going forward and billions has to be found
Starmer rightly says his first duty is to protect our country, so the question is when and where will the money be found, not in 2035 but starting now. ?
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Ch 4 News with Chrishnan Guru-Murthy is so much better than the BBC that it's embarrassing. It's a must watch. His interview with the US General is a classic of the genre
Channel 4 News is the left wing version of GB News.
Starmer clearly isn't Churchill at least in the sense that getting him to rearm UK military seems to be an uphill task despite the international situation.
This is going to be a huge issue going forward and billions has to be found
Starmer rightly says his first duty is to protect our country, so the question is when and where will the money be found, not in 2035 but starting now. ?
Yep. iirc Reeves or one of her minions has said there might be an extra £15billion head room if things go right.
Ch 4 News with Chrishnan Guru-Murthy is so much better than the BBC that it's embarrassing. It's a must watch. His interview with the US General is a classic of the genre
To be fair to the BBC they still have some fantastic old guard journalists. Bowen, Ducet, Plett-Usher, Wyre Davies. Hawley.
It's the editorial non-partisan nonsense that is weak. Bowen and Ducet plough their own furrow.
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
What's the sailing time for HMS Dragon to get to Cyprus?
6 Days.
"17 *Days*?? Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours! Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here and they're gonna come in here AND THEY'RE GONNA GET US!"
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
They need to try to get it resolved. Hard to see how, this won’t end well. US allies in the region will end up being impoverished by their inability to get product to market. Doesn’t seem like Chinese pressure on Iran is working either.
Meanwhile production grinds to a halt in Iraq as they have nowhere to store it.
‘ BREAKING: Iraq's crude oil production is 'on the cusp of collapse' as its biggest fields are shut down due to lack of transport vessels and storage capacity, according to Financial Times report.’
Hello everyone. Back for a short visit. Just returned to my hotel from a pub crawl in Copenhagen, which included the head chef from zHMS Do agon
And you can tell I have had a few. Just to continue: HMS Dragon's head chef. So it isn't going immediately or they are going a little hungry. He has had his recall..
Note support for the war divides very much along party lines. Although a majority of Labour, LD and Green voters oppose the US and Israeli strikes on Israel, a majority of Reform and a plurality of Tory voters back them.
Although most Democrats in the US oppose the strikes most Republicans back them, so Vance has had to row in behind Trump on this
What's the sailing time for HMS Dragon to get to Cyprus?
6 Days.
"17 *Days*?? Hey man, I don't wanna rain on your parade, but we're not gonna last seventeen hours! Those things are gonna come in here just like they did before. And they're gonna come in here and they're gonna come in here AND THEY'RE GONNA GET US!"
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Who was Tony Hancock, Grandad?
@Brixian59 remember the art installation of him in Brum ?
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Father in law is a radio ham (was in signals at Suez)
I don't think his aerial is much good now but I'll see if he can pick anything up, just for the lolz.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Father in law is a radio ham (was in signals at Suez)
I don't think his aerial is much good now but I'll see if he can pick anything up, just for the lolz.
I remember the Lincoln Poacher number station reading up on it a while back.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
He’s as useful as that marzipan dildo of Nichola Sturgeons.
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Who was Tony Hancock, Grandad?
@Brixian59 remember the art installation of him in Brum ?
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
When you say you agree with TrixyBrixy, you need to rule some insanities out
I'm slowly coming round to the idea that WW3 will just be some mahoosive free for all with everyone kicking off with everyone else just randomly and with no real logic to it all. An airstrike here, a missile barrage there, some soldiers here and before you know it half the world's at it and noone quite really knows why.
BREAKING: A sanctioned Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, is on fire off the coast of Malta and Libya. The vessel was attacked by unknown naval drones.
Note support for the war divides very much along party lines. Although a majority of Labour, LD and Green voters oppose the US and Israeli strikes on Israel, a majority of Reform and a plurality of Tory voters back them.
Although most Democrats in the US oppose the strikes most Republicans back them, so Vance has had to row in behind Trump on this
if serious about a Presidential bid, Vance might think to resign over this, for if it ends up very unpopular war, it’s going to be a millstone. There could be a point Vance can resign by attacking the reason for the war starting.
But, I’m now predicting the Epstein Shrapnel getting closer to Trump will end the Trump Presidency, making Vance Preident.
Hello everyone. Back for a short visit. Just returned to my hotel from a pub crawl in Copenhagen, which included the head chef from zHMS Do agon
And you can tell I have had a few. Just to continue: HMS Dragon's head chef. So it isn't going immediately or they are going a little hungry. He has had his recall..
Can it, you damn fool. Don't you know The Revolutionary Guard read PB.
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Who was Tony Hancock, Grandad?
@Brixian59 remember the art installation of him in Brum ?
Top of corporation street.
Still there
Fantastic. Been yonks since I’ve been there. Must go back.
They need to try to get it resolved. Hard to see how, this won’t end well. US allies in the region will end up being impoverished by their inability to get product to market. Doesn’t seem like Chinese pressure on Iran is working either.
Meanwhile production grinds to a halt in Iraq as they have nowhere to store it.
‘ BREAKING: Iraq's crude oil production is 'on the cusp of collapse' as its biggest fields are shut down due to lack of transport vessels and storage capacity, according to Financial Times report.’
I'm slowly coming round to the idea that WW3 will just be some mahoosive free for all with everyone kicking off with everyone else just randomly and with no real logic to it all. An airstrike here, a missile barrage there, some soldiers here and before you know it half the world's at it and noone quite really knows why.
If we wish for one upside to this little fracas, it's that we think better of a far bigger conflict further down the line.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
When you say you agree with TrixyBrixy, you need to rule some insanities out
They’re a Birmingham City fan so when it comes to Soccer we will have much to agree on.
Welsh Tories announcing some fantastic policies for when they win the Senedd. A penny off income tax, improved NHS, 20mph limits returned to 30. M4 relief road at Newport, A55 dualled all the way to Bangor and the A40 dualled to Fishguard.
Loads of freebies. Bet accordingly
Well they aint winning so might as well shore up the vote with some red meat
It is all costed according to their gammony leader, who's name escapes me for the moment. BBC Wales editorial found the notion that the programme is "fully coated" rather amusing.
Sort of committments that will lead to 'oh shit' if a miracle occured. Its really about getting 10 to 12 seats of course
Saw a Welsh Tory leaflet extolling the virtues of the list voting system in ensuring they could win seats. FPTP no longer good enough I suppose.
FPTP would be ideal if Monmouthshire were all of Wales
Er, they lost Monmouthshire two years ago.
England lost Monmouthshire even earlier...
OK, I will say this once. Monmouthshire was never part of England. It was, however, under the Laws in Wales Acts entitled to an additional MP due to its wealth and because of its size and relative closeness to London had its own law courts that were attached to the Oxford rather than the Ludlow-based Welsh judicial circuits. Hence any laws that applied to all of Wales (as they were enforced through the judicial circuits) had to say 'Wales and Monmouthshire.'
It is, for all of these reasons, by far the most anglicised part of Wales, but it is not, and never has been, part of England.
Monmouthshire was assigned to the Oxford circuit of the English Assizes.[50] This began a legal separation which continued until 1972; for example, the administrative county of Monmouthshire and the boroughs of Newport, Abergavenny and Monmouth were explicitly listed as being in England rather than Wales in first schedule of the Local Government Act 1933.
Yes, because Monmouthshire was attached to a court system based in England which is what the LGA 1933 was administered through. That did not mean they were not in Wales. For example, the statute that founded what was now Cardiff University referred to 'South Wales and Monmouthshire' reflecting the aforesaid judicial circuits.
I think it's difficult for people to understand that until 1885 in all cases, and in many ways up until the 1970s, much of local government was based on courts rather than local councils. So which court circuit you were on was a matter of more than technical importance. However, it didn't mean that Monmouthshire wasn't in Wales any more than Berwick (which also had somewhat ambiguous legal arrangements) wasn't in England.
Well for much of the last three hundred years it did not matter as the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 clarified that legally saying England meant Wales. The first Act that was only for Wales was the Sunday Closing (Wales) Act 1881, that did not cover Monmouthshire and was only extended the cover the county using emergency powers during the first world war. So it understandable that its confusing.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
When you say you agree with TrixyBrixy, you need to rule some insanities out
They’re a Birmingham City fan so when it comes to Soccer we will have much to agree on.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
Its just what a terrible situation to be in that Trump is right and Starmer is wrong. Not often Trump is in the right.
They need to try to get it resolved. Hard to see how, this won’t end well. US allies in the region will end up being impoverished by their inability to get product to market. Doesn’t seem like Chinese pressure on Iran is working either.
Meanwhile production grinds to a halt in Iraq as they have nowhere to store it.
‘ BREAKING: Iraq's crude oil production is 'on the cusp of collapse' as its biggest fields are shut down due to lack of transport vessels and storage capacity, according to Financial Times report.’
For all the years that Hormuz has been a choke point, do they really still not have sufficient pipeline capacity to somewhere else on the peninsula?
Apparently not. RCS1000 or Richard Tyndall would be the experts on that I suspect.
But you’d think from a supply chain risk point of view it would have been in both their interests and the buying parties interest to put in place a plan to mitigate it. Previously it seemed to be more production from non Arab peninsula nations.
That went west when Russia made a major heel turn.
Has any PM ever been as consistently buffeted by events as Keir Starmer? Everything takes him by surprise, including the content of his own speeches.
His leadership plan for Labour was to play the part of Kinnock to someone else's Blair. Ever since the Truss Event he's been forced to try and catch up to a different reality and he hasn't managed it yet.
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Who was Tony Hancock, Grandad?
@Brixian59 remember the art installation of him in Brum ?
Top of corporation street.
Still there
Fantastic. Been yonks since I’ve been there. Must go back.
BREAKING: A sanctioned Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, is on fire off the coast of Malta and Libya. The vessel was attacked by unknown naval drones.
Whilst in itself that might warrant a shrug, a general free for all doesn't seem like a good idea.
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
When you say you agree with TrixyBrixy, you need to rule some insanities out
They’re a Birmingham City fan so when it comes to Soccer we will have much to agree on.
BREAKING: A sanctioned Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, is on fire off the coast of Malta and Libya. The vessel was attacked by unknown naval drones.
Whilst in itself that might warrant a shrug, a general free for all doesn't seem like a good idea.
A destruction of anything belonging to Russia or Iran seems like a good idea. 👍
Apart from Putin and a few other unsavoury characters who hasn't been attacked by Trump? 75% of UK voters loathe Trump, Being attacked by him is not the big negative you appear to think it is.
Who on earth thinks it is? It's a gift to Starmer.
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
On Trump Brixian is absolutely right. Opposing him and being castigated by him does SKS no harm at all, useless as he is.
You agree that SuperKeir will be remembered as a hero?
Do I shite, as we north easterners say, only that opposing Trump does him no harm.
When you say you agree with TrixyBrixy, you need to rule some insanities out
They’re a Birmingham City fan so when it comes to Soccer we will have much to agree on.
Starmer should drop the Paras into Crimea just to confuse everyone.
Starmer needs regime change in Cyprus. To achieve this he needs a quick and dirty deal with Turkey and Hezbollah. It’s all got complicated rather quickly.
They need to try to get it resolved. Hard to see how, this won’t end well. US allies in the region will end up being impoverished by their inability to get product to market. Doesn’t seem like Chinese pressure on Iran is working either.
Meanwhile production grinds to a halt in Iraq as they have nowhere to store it.
‘ BREAKING: Iraq's crude oil production is 'on the cusp of collapse' as its biggest fields are shut down due to lack of transport vessels and storage capacity, according to Financial Times report.’
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026. Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
Looks suspiciously like a still from The Radio Ham with Tony Hancock.
Father in law is a radio ham (was in signals at Suez)
I don't think his aerial is much good now but I'll see if he can pick anything up, just for the lolz.
I remember the Lincoln Poacher number station reading up on it a while back.
Most odd
This sounds very much like that. The Lincoln Poacher was in Cyprus for a while, wasn't it? I wonder if it might start up again...
“THEY [IRAN] BASICALLY COULD HAVE BEEN DAYS OR WEEKS AWAY FROM A WEAPON IF THEY WOULD HAVE PUT THE EFFORT INTO IT. AND THEY HAD ALL THE CAPABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT"
WH says that view aligns with the IAEA boss.
He just said this 👇
I have been very clear and consistent in my reports on Iran’s nuclear programme: while there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb, its large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium and refusal to grant my inspectors full access are cause for serious concern. For these reasons, my previous reports indicate that unless and until Iran assists the @IAEAorg in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
Comments
The post-Soviet republics would likely be a better parallel and there, with the notable exceptions of the Baltic states, you do still have a major hangover from Communism. The old Communist elites are still essentially pulling the strings, even in different guises, and the corruption and state meddling remains endemic.
Even in West and East Germany for many years after the war there were many Nazis, including war criminals, in positions of power - notably in the police. And that was with the occupying powers pushing an agenda of change including a fairly drastic programme of justice and a well-established opposition network to fall back on.
I don't say Iran couldn't be different, but I do say given the tentacles Hizbollah and the IRGC have into every part of the state it will be bloody difficult to eliminate them entirely.
It's a must watch. His interview with the US General is a classic of the genre
Navy says no...
Were you ultra worried about the cost of the water?
It is, for all of these reasons, by far the most anglicised part of Wales, but it is not, and never has been, part of England.
You were right about Monmouthshire, by the way.
Ramsay has given a huge amount to the Greens. But i dont think he has any desire to be part of the Polanski project
President Emmanuel Macron announced that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea.
@DPJHodges
And where are our two...oh, seriously, what's the point. We're just an international joke now.
I think very few voters have Trans rights as the key issue, and of those who do the majority are for rather than against. Ditto Drug decriminalisation.
I also think that quite a few people find a party willing to speak up for its own policies refreshing, not least against parties that rewrite their policy after every Daily Mail editorial. It gives the impression that they actually believe something.
Iranian drones have targeted the US consulate in Dubai. Fire and smoke in the immediate vicinity, but no details yet if it was a direct hit.
You say nothing
Bullies are bullies but the minute someone gives bullies a bit of their own medecine, they beat like babies.
Own it
https://x.com/shortwave78/status/2028895990405599345
The mysterious Farsi-language Numbers-Station on 7910kHz, received in 🇮🇹Milan at 18:00 UTC on March 3, 2026.
Probably the most interesting radio signal in recent times.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monmouthshire
The French president Emmanuel Macron said in a televised address to the nation that he has ordered the French aircraft carrier, the Charles de Gaulle, its air assets and its frigate escort to set sail for the Mediterranean.
He said France has defence agreements with Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and must show solidarity, but he said any action by France was “strictly defensive”.
France must support its allies in the region and show it was a partner to be trusted, Macron said, adding that French anti-air systems and air radars had been deployed and would continue to be so.
France would also send defence systems to Cyprus and a frigate which would arrive off the coast of Cyprus tonight, the president said.
Cyprus did not ask the UK for any help because they don’t like us and are flipping angry UK made them such a target in this war.
In fact, the Cypriot government has actively criticized the UK for "dragging" the island into the Middle East conflict - regarding the use of British bases for US military operations.
https://www.politico.eu/article/cyprus-slams-uk-after-akrotiri-drone-strike-forced-locals-to-flee/
Following the drone strike - according to Cyprus PM and Cyprus President - it is Starmer’s fault for dragging Cyprus into this war - Greece reached out to Germany, Italy, France and Greece to help them. Greece and France are deploying anti-drone systems to the island, Greece has deployed warships and fighter jets. And now as Scott n pasted and Big Geed, France sending a frigate and Charlie.
Meanwhile Cyprus - furious at being dragged into war by the UK - may seek to negotiate the British Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) to only be used for humanitarian purposes in future, not as launchpads for any offensive strikes.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/cyprus-hits-uk-drone-attack-105204130.html?guccounter=1
Greece and Cyprus have over recent years developed deep strategic partnerships with Israel, including joint military drills.
Hezbollah and Hamas have been constantly threatening Cyprus and Greece, Cyprus as proxy to antagonising Greece.
Meanwhile US Treasury has sanctioned Turkish-registered companies for helping Hezbollah evade sanctions and move Iranian funds and goods - due to sharing common enemies.
Should we be sensitive to all this politics going on, apologise to Cyprus for UKs sole fault Cyprus has been dragged into this war?
If you have something really quite small and cheap that can inflict meaningful damage, that puts a fair bit of power to harm in the hands of people I'd rather didn't have that power.
https://bsky.app/profile/sodrock.bsky.social/post/3mg6jpyxajc2m
It would be like the Royal Navy having an aircraft carrier based at Portsmouth patrolling the English Channel.
The truth is sometimes these announcements are nowhere near as important as they sound and are largely symbolic.
https://x.com/travisakers/status/2027956253247320235
If you believe what you’re posting, you can’t rationally believe that your way of expressing it is going to encourage anyone sane toward your point of view
Yorkshire Water - top marks
Plusnet - managed to close the account, delete the account email, find they were owed £5, and send that to a debt recovery service without sending any letters.
I think it's difficult for people to understand that until 1885 in all cases, and in many ways up until the 1970s, much of local government was based on courts rather than local councils. So which court circuit you were on was a matter of more than technical importance. However, it didn't mean that Monmouthshire wasn't in Wales any more than Berwick (which also had somewhat ambiguous legal arrangements) wasn't in England.
Starmer rightly says his first duty is to protect our country, so the question is when and where will the money be found, not in 2035 but starting now. ?
Most of that needs to be spent on rearming.
It's the editorial non-partisan nonsense that is weak. Bowen and Ducet plough their own furrow.
3,000 nautical miles or 5,500km
It will of course cause an outbreak of schizophrenia on PB amongst those posters who are as knee-jerkingly hostile to Starmer as they are to Trump, but the Site's psychiatric ward can cope.
Those with more than a couple of brain cells should be just fine.
Videos suggest the US consulate in Dubai is on fire.
Meanwhile production grinds to a halt in Iraq as they have nowhere to store it.
‘ BREAKING: Iraq's crude oil production is 'on the cusp of collapse' as its biggest fields are shut down due to lack of transport vessels and storage capacity, according to Financial Times report.’
https://x.com/spectatorindex/status/2028902743264641051?s=61
Although most Democrats in the US oppose the strikes most Republicans back them, so Vance has had to row in behind Trump on this
Top of corporation street.
I don't think his aerial is much good now but I'll see if he can pick anything up, just for the lolz.
Most odd
He’s as useful as that marzipan dildo of Nichola Sturgeons.
https://bsky.app/profile/alqudsnewsnet.bsky.social/post/3mg6jcou4cc2o
BREAKING: A sanctioned Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, is on fire off the coast of Malta and Libya. The vessel was attacked by unknown naval drones.
But, I’m now predicting the Epstein Shrapnel getting closer to Trump will end the Trump Presidency, making Vance Preident.
Some of them even post.
Preusmably you’re well refreshed 👍
But you’d think from a supply chain risk point of view it would have been in both their interests and the buying parties interest to put in place a plan to mitigate it. Previously it seemed to be more production from non Arab peninsula nations.
That went west when Russia made a major heel turn.
A midlands legend
https://x.com/sajwani/status/2028920813496459524
It’s all got complicated rather quickly.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habshan–Fujairah_oil_pipeline
Every prepper should have a shortwave radio.
“THEY [IRAN] BASICALLY COULD HAVE BEEN DAYS OR WEEKS AWAY FROM A WEAPON IF THEY WOULD HAVE PUT THE EFFORT INTO IT. AND THEY HAD ALL THE CAPABILITY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT"
WH says that view aligns with the IAEA boss.
He just said this 👇
I have been very clear and consistent in my reports on Iran’s nuclear programme: while there has been no evidence of Iran building a nuclear bomb, its large stockpile of near-weapons grade enriched uranium and refusal to grant my inspectors full access are cause for serious concern. For these reasons, my previous reports indicate that unless and until Iran assists the @IAEAorg in resolving the outstanding safeguards issues, the Agency will not be in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful.
https://x.com/Stone_SkyNews/status/2028927670805750265