Manse Mouse

Occasional twitterings from a (youthful/retired) manse mouse who lives in the Scottish Highlands

[FeelGoodTales @feelgoodtale]

I back to work today; I forgot my pass, so I locked my bike outside Cannon Street station. Left work at 6pm to find just the cut lock and no bike, resigned to never seeing my trusty stead again asked the station if they have cameras.

A guy appeared, waving at me, asked me to put the code into my cut lock. He replied, 'I have your bike' with a smile I will never forget!! His name is Abdul Muneeb, and he works for South Eastern Railways; he was on a break and saw a guy bolt cut the lock and challenged him to give it back; he then took it inside and waited 4 hours after his shift finished to personally make sure I got my bike back. The world needs more Abdul's; he is a man's legend and a credit to his employer.

Credit: Steve Farmer

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

July 3, 2022. Moss Point, Mississippi. A car carrying 3 teenage girls drives down the I-10 boat launch and plunges straight into the Pascagoula River.

The driver later tells police she was following her GPS. She had no idea it was leading her off the edge and into the water. By the time she realizes what's happening, the car is already floating. Then sinking.

The vehicle drifts 20 feet from shore. Then more. The girls climb onto the roof of the car as it goes under. The water is black. It is the middle of the night. And the Pascagoula River is known for one other thing most people don't think about until it's too late.

Alligators.

Corion Evans, age 16, a student at Pascagoula High School, is nearby when it happens. He hears the girls screaming for help.

He doesn't hesitate for a single second.

He throws down his phone. Pulls off his shoes. Strips off his shirt. And jumps in.

He later says: I was just like, I can't let none of these folks die. They need to get out the water. So I just started getting them. I wasn't even thinking about nothing else.

The car is nearly submerged. The girls are panicking. The water is deep and dark and moving. Corion swims out — 25 yards from shore — and reaches them.

His friend Karon Bradley, known as KJ, jumps in right behind him. Together they help get the girls onto the surface of the sinking car.

But here is what most people miss: Corion doesn't just help them float. He swims them back. 1 at a time. Into shore. Through the dark water. With legs that are burning and lungs that are working as hard as they ever have.

2 girls make it to shore. The 3rd can't swim. She is still on the roof when a responding officer arrives.

Moss Point Police Officer Gary Mercer swims out to help. He reaches the remaining girl and begins pulling her toward shore. Then the girl panics. She grabs him. She pulls him under. Officer Mercer begins to drown.

Corion turns around.

He sees the officer going under. He hears him calling for help. He is already exhausted. His legs are already spent. He has already pulled 2 people through 25 yards of alligator-infested river in the dead of night.

He swims back out.

He grabs Officer Mercer. He says later: I went and I grabbed the police officer and I'm like swimming him back until I feel myself I can walk.

All 4 people make it to shore alive.

Officer Mercer and all 3 girls are taken to the hospital. All of them recover. Chief Brandon Ashley of the Moss Point Police Department later says publicly: If Mr. Evans had not assisted, it could have possibly turned out tragically instead of all occupants rescued safely.

Moss Point Mayor Billy Knight presents Corion with a certificate of commendation from the city. He says: We are proud of the young man for having the courage to forget about himself and jump into the water. It's not often enough that you see people put others above themselves.

The recognition doesn't stop there. The Mississippi Senate formally commends Corion Evans by name in Senate Resolution 32 of the 2023 legislative session — a rare honor for a teenager from a small town.

His mother, Marquita Evans, speaks to reporters afterward. She says: I was really proud of Corion because he wasn't just thinking about himself. He was trying to really get all those people out the water. I'm glad nothing happened to him while he was trying to save other people's lives.

Corion tells reporters he has been swimming since he was 3 years old.

He is asked if he was scared. He says: Anything could've been in that water. But I wasn't thinking about it.

That is the part that stays with you. He knew the risks. The darkness. The distance. The wildlife beneath the surface. The weight of another person pulling you under. He knew all of it and he swam out anyway. Not once. Not twice. Three times.

4 people are alive today because a 16-year-old boy decided, without hesitating for even a moment, that strangers were worth saving.

[Hillel Neuer @HillelNeuer]

“We assembled and sent you the most comprehensive evidentiary record of Hamas' sexual crimes on October 7th and in captivity. We are heartbroken by your response. Where is your compassion? Will the U.N. rapporteurs who doubted or denied these crimes acknowledge the truth?”

[FeelGoodTales @feelgoodtale]

One Wednesday afternoon, I was driving west on I-40 when my blood sugar dropped very low and became dangerous. Luckily, there was a Burger King coming up at the next exit.
When I was ordering, I told the person on the speaker that I was diabetic and needed food fast. Low blood sugar makes it hard to think or act clearly.
When I got to the first window to pay, I was surprised to see a Burger King worker named Tina Hardy running toward my car.
She squeezed between the front of my car and the building just to bring me a small cup of ice cream. Tina later said her husband was diabetic too, so she knew I needed help.
After I paid, I went to Tina’s window and she gave me my food. She told me to park across the driveway so she could watch me until I felt better.
After I ate, I waited for a quiet moment and then went back to Tina’s window. I took a picture and told her boss what she had done for me.
If you think Tina Hardy did something special, please share this story. I hope Tina gets the thanks she truly deserves from the public and from Burger King’s managers.
Credit: Rebecca Boening

Credit always goes to the original author!

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

BREAKING: Ilana Gritzewsky, who was held hostage by Hamas, just took the floor at the United Nations to confront Reem Alsalem, the UN rapporteur on violence against women. Her dramatic testimony:

Special Rapporteur, your report speaks about violence against women. Why is there no mention of Hamas?

On October 7, terrorists stormed our Kibbutz — murdering, kidnapping, and burning.

I was beaten and mutilated before blacking out.

I woke up half naked with seven terrorists standing over me, not knowing what happened to me in those lost moments.

I went through days of pain and horror in captivity, and even now the feeling of being powerless and violated still lingers.

I came back with a broken hip, a broken jaw and a shattered soul.

People see my face and think I’m free. But freedom is not a switch. Trauma doesn’t vanish once you are released.

Now, every air-raid siren, and every rocket from Iran, throws me back into that hell.

On October 7, and in captivity, Jewish women were raped, abused, and humiliated.

And you, Special Rapporteur, you chose silence and denial.

Ms. Alsalem, you said there was no evidence of sexual violence on October 7.

I am standing here today — not as a report, not as a statistic.

I am a woman who survived. I am the living proof of sexual violence by Hamas.

When I and other Israeli women begged not to be raped, why were you silent?

Please look at me. Do you believe us now?

Will you apologize?

[Nick Wallis @nickwallis]

NEW: For Women Scotland win again! Scottish government's policy of putting men in female prisons ruled unlawful.

Full judgment: https://t.co/1ApTIJfBV2

[J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling]

Polite notice to schools still breaking the law by failing to provide single sex bathrooms: you will be sued and you will lose 👇

[Hen Mazzig @HenMazzig]

British Jews in Edgeware, London today, joyfully dancing next to the hateful crowds who came to protest at a synagogue.

We will always love being Jewish 100x more than anyone could hate us for it.

Video Credit: Heidi Bachram

[Hadley Freeman @HadleyFreeman]

The Nova exhibition in London is absolutely incredible and everyone should see it, whatever your politics or religion. Immersive and unforgettable, tragedy narrated with devastating clarity

[Freedom_In_The_Arts @Freedom_in_Arts]

Maureen Lipman is currently the target of a campaign of personal vilification and antisemitic abuse intended to secure her cancellation.

For those committed to dismantling racism, it must be stated with absolute clarity that such tactics have no place within our cultural life.

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

Myth: "I only wear vegan fabrics. Better for the animals, better for the planet."

Let's check in on Doris's annual contribution.

Once a year, in late spring, Doris is sheared. The procedure takes approximately three minutes. Doris does not enjoy it. Doris does not, by any visible measure, suffer from it. Doris is, immediately afterwards, a noticeably more comfortable animal in the British summer.

The fleece weighs approximately 3 kilograms. It is sold to the British Wool Marketing Board for, depending on the year, between £0.40 and £2.50 per kilogram. The shearing costs more than the wool fetches. Brian is shearing Doris at a loss.

The wool is then:
- Naturally flame-retardant
- Naturally antibacterial
- Moisture-wicking
- Biodegradable
- Renewable, annually
- Carbon-storing while in use

The replacement, in performance fabrics:
- Polyester
- Polyamide
- Acrylic
- Polypropylene
- All petroleum-derived
- All shedding microplastics on every wash
- All requiring fossil fuel inputs to produce
- All non-biodegradable, with a typical landfill lifespan of 200-500 years

A single wash of a polyester fleece can release up to 700,000 microplastic fibres into the water system. These fibres are now in: every tested water source on earth, every tested human placenta, every tested rainfall sample, the deep ocean, the Arctic ice, and the lungs of marine mammals.

A single wash of a wool jumper releases: nothing. The wool, when eventually disposed of, returns to soil within a few years.

The fabric being marketed as the "ethical" alternative to wool is plastic.

The plastic is "ethical" because nobody has been asked to slaughter the polymer.

The polymer also has not been asked.

Doris, by being a sheep on a fell, is producing the most thoroughly sustainable performance fabric humans have ever made.

Brian is selling it at a loss.

The fashion industry, meanwhile, is selling petroleum at a profit and calling it ethical.

Reject plastic. Wear wool.

Doris is, this morning, growing next year's batch.

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

Albanese frequently spreads disinformation to promote her false narrative.

Last year, she told a U.N. press conference that 380,000 children under the age of 5 have been killed in Gaza — more than the entire population of that age group.
https://t.co/FZg0nswyLD

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

The U.N. tells the public to “fact-check” before posting — while its own rapporteur Francesca Albanese shares fake AI-generated images to elicit support for the regime in Iran.

[UN Watch @UNWatch]

New testimony: Children in Gaza are being raped by Hamas-affiliated clerics and then blackmailed into joining the terror group.

Why are you silent, @FranceskAlbs? Don't you care about Palestinian human rights?
https://t.co/YoWp0xMk8r

[M.A. Rothman @MichaelARothman]

𝐊𝐄𝐌𝐈 𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐇 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐃𝐎𝐃𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐃𝐄.

An LBC caller asked Badenoch how a Muslim could trust the Conservative Party after Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy criticized mass Ramadan public prayer in Trafalgar Square as “an act of domination.” Badenoch did not duck.

Her opening:

𝘔𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 50% 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮. 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘭. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘮.

Then the line:

𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘐𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮.

Then the closer:

𝘐𝘧 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘤, 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.

British law over religious law. British culture over religious deference. The right to criticize ANY religion — Christianity, Islam, all of them — is a non-negotiable feature of a free society, not a privilege the majority granted to the minority.

This is the Western mainstream conservative position. Badenoch — daughter of Nigerian immigrants, raised Christian, lived among Muslims her whole childhood — said it on national radio without hedging, without apologizing, and without softening it for the audience.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝘝𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 @𝘓𝘉𝘊.

[John Martin @JohnMartinComic]

Super congratulations to my friend @andyreid2506 who has just completed the London Marathon. He’s a triple amputee from an IED in Afghanistan. What a guy and an amazing achievement #LondonMarathon

[Dr. Calum Miller @DrCalumMiller]

The tide has turned. The suicide bill is dead.

[Karen Lee @Karen_karenelee]

I am utterly fed-up of seeing comments about the failure of the assisted suicide Bill. As a nurse of 20+ years & a Mum whose daughter died of cancer I opposed it & would fight it with every breath in my body should it ever reappear. Focus instead on improving Palliative care.

[Claire Fox @Fox_Claire]

Before the weekend, I gave my last speech on the last day of the Assisted Dying Bill, which has run out of road. Despite conspiratorial smears about filibustering peers, there were actually lots of fine speeches about the challenges of legislating to allow the state to assist people in taking their own lives. The problem for Kim Leadbeater and Lord Falconer is that they were more interested in parading celebs and winning the media war to bully peers into nodding the Bill through, and also seemed uninterested in winning over critical members of the public or worried disabled people. And just a bloody cheek to blame the Lords for eroding trust in parliament - have they looked at the shenanigans of their own Party/leader?