What Language Do You Want Them In?

Mr Ahmed said he hoped action could be taken to prevent any similar situation from happening again. 

Fat chance, it happens every hot summer, it's as certain as death and taxes/ 

“I strongly agree with the calls from local residents for a review of safety measures at West Mersea Beach, including the provision of additional life-saving equipment and clear warning signage,” he said.“While no action now can undo the pain we are suffering, we hope lessons can be learned to help prevent similar tragedies from happening in the future.”

You didn't learn anyhing from all the others, did you? 

Mr Ahmed called on people to “refrain from speculating” on the events that unfolded. “During this incredibly difficult time, several inaccurate reports about what happened have been circulating within some sections of the mainstream media and on social media,” he said.“The spread of such misinformation has caused additional distress to our family, which is already enduring unimaginable grief. We respectfully ask that media organisations verify any claims that they are publishing and people refrain from speculating.

No clue as to what he's talking about here, but I not so respectfully decline to let some foreigner police my freedom of speech. I will speculate when, where and as much as I please!

We Can Draw Conclusions From This About The New PM, Can't We?

The MPs Diane Abbott and Joani Reid have been readmitted into Labour and had the parliamentary whip restored, just under two weeks into Andy Burnham’s premiership.

The party confirmed that this followed separate independent disciplinary processes, and Labour said the leadership played no role in either decision.

Sure, sure.... 

Abbott, 72, the mother of the House of Commons, was suspended for a second time last summer after saying she did not regret comments about racism that had led to her initial loss of the whip in 2023. Reid, who was elected as MP for East Kilbride and Strathaven in 2024, voluntarily relinquished the whip in March this year. Her husband had been arrested on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service in a case linked to China. Reid has never been accused of wrongdoing.

If I was her, I'd be really cheesed off being lumped together with the Abbottopotomus... 

Burnham has told Labour MPs he will change disciplinary culture and allow MPs to speak about their disagreements without fearing retribution from party whips.

Then why have whips at all? 

A government source told the Guardian that Abbott’s readmission had nothing to do with the leadership change and that if she repeated these comments or made antisemitic remarks, “she’ll have to go again”.

The countdown begins again, gentlemen, place your bets! 

Phil Rosenberg, the president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, called Abbott’s reinstatement “an early test of resolve” for Burnham.

And he failed it. 

Apologies In Advance

 If you are finding that trying to search the blog is calling up a CAPTCHA that's tiny and too small to read, it's not of my choosing, it's something Blogger has imposed seemingly overnight, and I can't see a way to get rid of it.

Oh Good, Another Race Controversy, We Haven't Had One Of Those In Days

I caught a new movie trailer last week, and thought it looked promising. Well, let’s be honest, it was the giant cat mounts that did it, not the relentlessly African casting, that left me cold. Well, I did spend a lot of time in ‘World of Warcraft’!

And then of course, the racial casting controversy which no modern film is seemingly without these days:

 Adeyemi, the author of the popular YA fantasy Children of Blood and Bone, has distanced herself from the forthcoming film adaptation of her book. “There is a reason I will not post anything about the adaptation of my work,” the Nigerian-American author said in group chat messages shared to TikTok.

She then went on without actually specifying her objection, all the better to drive ‘engagement’ and thus, free publicity. 

Adeyemi’s post also shares what seem to be messages sent to star Stenberg in February 2025, reading: “Do not ever use my name in an interview or video again. Do not text me. Do not call me.” 

The messages appear to be from around the time that Stenberg responded to a colorism backlash surrounding her role. Stenberg’s character of Princess Amari is described in the book as having “dark copper skin”; the actor is biracial.

Ooooh, how progressive!  But why didn't they really put the cat among the pigeons and cast a white actress? Sauce for the gander, after all...

Philip Larkin Was Right...

During the hearing, prosecutors played disturbing audio footage of phone calls with his mother, Marcee Gray, who described the 'fan art' drawings she saw online of her son. Gray asked his mother about the engagement his posts were getting, and seemed excited when she said it was a lot. She told her son that she would print some of the posts to show him, and even said she would keep some for herself. In one particularly haunting call, Marcee Gray promised her son she would make a 'Colty Shrine' in honor of him.

Why isn’t she in the next cell with him, you might ask? Or at least barred from future visitation.

Prosecutors argued that Gray's conversations with his mother and a documented fascination for school shootings proved he had carefully planned the heinous attack.

The case also marked a precedent of convicting parents for their roles in the crimes of their children. Gray's father, Colin Gray, was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in March for purchasing the firearm and keeping it unsecured.

The US Justice system is way ahead of ours', clearly. 

Judge Primm said Gray's crimes reflected 'permanent incorrigibility,' adding, 'I will sentence you to life without parole for each of the malice murders you committed.'

And they mean it.  No early release in the US for killers.

Where Are The Breastapo Now?

A taxpayer-funded charity has been criticised over a support group it runs that trains biological men to breastfeed babies. LGBT Health and Wellbeing, which receives hundreds of thousands of pounds every year from the Scottish government, NHS and councils, runs a weekly session in Edinburgh in which transwomen are “giving human milk to their babies”.

No, Reader, they aren't giving them donated milk via bottle - they are forcing the poor mites to consume a hormone-induced substance from their own Frankentits.  

For Women Scotland, the gender-critical campaign group which has won a series of legal victories over the SNP government on trans issues, said taxpayers would be “sickened” that their money was being used to fund the promotion of a “creepy and highly disturbing practice”.

Where are the advocates of natural breatfeeding who campaigned so vociferously against formula milk? Have they faded into obscurity?

H/T: biology in medicine via Twitter

Make It Make Sense!

The UK’s only all-female chess team have been promoted to the game’s top tier – only to be told they will have to add a man to their squad. She Plays to Win Lionesses A Team have fallen foul of a rule designed to boost female participation in the sport.

Does not compute? 

The Four Nations Chess League (4NCL) requires all of its first division teams to have at least one player of each gender on its roster.

Did no-one think this might backfire? Did they not believe there would ever be a successful women's tean, then? 

“There’s no shortage of male players in the division,” she said. “The whole point of the team is to bring female representation when there isn’t really any at all, and they introduced this rule because there weren’t enough female players. 

“It’s going against the entirety of the rule and it undermines what we’re trying to do as a team. 

“The expectations for me were always a lot lower than they were for male players. I’d have coaches say things like: ‘You’re very good for a girl.’

Guess they just are all male chavaunist pigs and idiots to boot!  

That Tune's Familiar: Parody Songs

Some songs have a tune that leads them to show up frequently in parody, and 'YMCA' is one, but this must really be a front runner for best use of it.

The Good Old Days…

I remember them too, Matt…when we had Prime Ministers who deserved to. 

Sunday Funnies...

 Ahh. more innocent times, when we feared invasion by little green men....