Jim P

[Matt Calkins @Matt_Calkins]

After 11 years as a sports columnist at the Seattle Times, I have decided to resign. It was entirely my choice, and it was not an easy one. The impetus was the Times declining to run a column I wrote from the perspective of two female student athletes who were opposed to competing against biological males. It was one of several pieces of mine that had been spiked, and I no longer felt like I could properly do my job as a columnist. I lay out the situation in greater detail in the link below, but I want to say that I enjoyed my time with the paper, find the talent there to be immense, and have no animosity toward anyone who works there. It was just time for a change.

https://t.co/NAhfUbmaPI

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Polanski’s Ministry of Truth starts with its first Big Lie — that UK media is controlled by a ‘few billionaires’. Total nonsense. But that’s indicative of what to expect in Polanski-world where the Ministry of Truth will be the vehicle for stifling truth and peddling convenient lies. We need a First amendment to protect free speech from the authoritarians on the left and right.

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

Over the past year, we have seen an alarming trend, with both the Government and the Crown Prosecution Service enabling Britain’s blasphemy laws to return through the back door — and for Islam alone.

This is completely unacceptable. Blasphemy laws have no place in our society. No religion should be shielded from legitimate criticism, debate, challenge — or mockery.

The FSU is supporting the former police officer, Stephen Gray, who was convicted of being “grossly offensive” — an offence under the Communications Act 2003 — for resharing a Facebook post mocking Islam and referring to the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to Aisha, which was consummated when she was just nine years old.

We must not allow an Islamic blasphemy law to take root in Britain.

[Zia Yusuf @ZiaYusufUK]

41,000 illegal migrants broke into Britain last year by boat.

19% came from Eritrea.

12% from Afghanistan.

11% from Iran.

11% from Sudan.

9% from Somalia.

Afghans and Eritreans are 20 times more likely to be convicted of sex crimes than British citizens.

Somalis are 8x more likely to be convicted of violence.

Sudanese are nearly 3x more likely to be convicted of violent crime and 10x more likely to be convicted of sex offences.

All these people are living here at your expense, thanks to Tory and Labour governments.

We don’t have to live like this.

A Reform government will deploy the Navy to stop the boats and deport all illegal migrants.

We will keep British people safe.

[Richard Dawkins @RichardDawkins]

I am bewildered, and not very impressed, by the visceral, naked, irrational hatred spat out by some defenders of Jason Arday. If a Cambridge professor is accused of being an unqualified charlatan, the accusation might be racially motivated. On the other hand it might not, depending on the evidence. The correct question to ask is not, ”What is the colour of his skin” but “Is it in fact true that he is an unqualified charlatan?” Please examine the evidence before leaping to the assumption of racism.
As for the idea that journalists “piled in on him” and “hounded him to his death”, most attacks were against Cambridge University. Jason himself was widely regarded as an unfortunate victim of foolish promotion way beyond his ability to cope. In appointing him to a professorship for which he was manifestly unqualified – in ludicrously describing him as “the best in the world” – certain senior members of the university showed a level of patronising condescension towards black people that could fairly be described as racism, while at the same time making him tragically vulnerable to such attacks as came his way.

[Young Bob @YoungBobRB]

Liverpool Antifa called the police on me four times for debating.

Communists don’t want freedom of speech.

However, watch how I deal with the police.

If you want to shut me down, you’d have to shut down the dawah stands

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

Wind providing a mere 3% of UK electricity this morning. So we’re having to import 10 times that amount at massive cost. Plus generate almost the same from gas-fired stations expensively kept for this sort of back up. As a result we’re paying an average £136/MWh. Our energy policy is a costly shambles.

[The United Stand @UnitedStandMUFC]

🚨 Stick to United with @WayneRooney 🚨

A brand-new show. A brand-new partnership. 🤝

Wayne Rooney and Mark Goldbridge unite for a weekly Manchester United show featuring special guests, exclusive insight and unfiltered debate. 👹

Launching 18th August on The United Stand YouTube channel, Disney+ and wherever you get your podcasts! 📺

[Physics-astronomy @Physicsastronmy]

THIS Is What a Solar Eclipse Looks Like From Space 🌑

[John Cleese @JohnCleese]

I am Islamosceptic, not Islamophobic

Unfortunately, some Muslims cannot tolerate any form of criticism, even from someone who has made many jokes about Christianity

Nobody ever called me Christophobic after Life of Brian !

[Massimo @Rainmaker1973]

Xiaoma, a polyglot, was invited to give a speech at a high school for Language Week, and he delivered the entire speech in Gen Alpha slang.

[Kirstie Allsopp @KirstieMAllsopp]

3 Bed terraced house, Ancoats, Manchester £335,000 Council Tax B - £1,798 PA
New 0.48% Tax £1,608
3 Bed terraced House, Shepherd’s Bush, London £900,000
Council Tax E - £1,932 PA
New 0.48% Tax - £4,320!
and btw the Manchester house has off street parking and a garden!

[The Free Speech Union @SpeechUnion]

📣🚨 METROPOLITAN POLICE OFFER UNRESERVED APOLOGY TO GRAHAM LINEHAN AND PAY HIM £25,000

The Metropolitan Police have at long last offered an unreserved apology to Graham Linehan and paid him £25,000.

Last September, the Irish comedian and co-creator of Father Ted was arrested by five armed police officers as he landed at Heathrow Airport.

His crime? Three gender-critical posts on X.

He was arrested, taken to a police station and questioned for several hours. In the early hours of the following morning, he was rushed to hospital after his blood pressure rose to dangerously high levels.

The Free Speech Union is proud to have supported Graham in taking legal action against the Metropolitan Police for wrongful arrest and breaches of his free speech rights.

General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, Lord Young, has said: “I’m beginning to lose count of the number of cases we’ve fought in which the police have arrested someone for a tweet, decided to take no further action and then had to pay them substantial compensation for wrongful arrest.

“At some point you’d think the penny would drop: police our streets, not our tweets.”

While we welcome the Metropolitan Police’s apology and compensation payout to @Glinner, this should never have happened in the first place.

It is high time the police focused on our streets, not our tweets.

Watch Graham’s reaction below 👇

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

Bessie Love, 1921.

The decade that reshaped modern style: https://t.co/JM1lB7QaPp

[Rick and Morty @RickandMorty]

Don't drink and portal travel

[Rick and Morty @RickandMorty]

Average pool ownership experience

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

1. Women’s spaces are for women. It’s irrelevant how the women look.

2. Men don’t belong in women’s spaces. It’s irrelevant how the men look.

3. Most trans-identified men would give at least one ball to look like Sharron Davies.

[Andrew Neil @afneil]

A new venture on podcast platforms and YouTube

[Francis Foster @francisjfoster]

My book is out today!

It’s already an Amazon bestseller

Link👇