It's officially the hottest June day ever.
We know who is to blame. Fossil fuel firms. The billionaire media. Weak politicians.
We know what we must do. Rapid decarbonisation & adaptation for a healthier, wealthier country safe for future generations.
There were those who doubted us, but a new independent report shows major reductions in air pollution in our city are linked to an estimated 40% fewer annual premature deaths.
There were those who doubted us, but a new independent report shows major reductions in air pollution in our city are linked to an estimated 40% fewer annual premature deaths.
Starmer claiming he inherited a Labour Party that was ‘politically, financially and morally bankrupt’ in his resignation speech is a perfect snapshot of his tenure.
He used the party to settle factional scores, rather than delivering the transformative change people voted for.
EXC
Burnham advisor says government should borrow more
Jim O’Neill tells me as part of Manchesterism film:
“I've tried to encourage this government to be bolder about. I think the second part of the fiscal rule on borrowing to invest I think that could be explored a lot more, and not in a way that freaks out the financial markets.
“I don't think you'd necessarily have to rip up the fiscal rules. I think you just need to be bolder about borrowing to invest. A lot of people right now, given Britain's history for 30 years or more, think any kind of borrowing just means wasted money. But if you borrow for things that have really positive multiplier effects.”
The law should be fair and easy for jurors to understand.
Want to sentence someone as a terrorist, then charge them with terrorism.
How is that controversial?
Among much utter mince uttered by the English Court of Appeal today.
Lady Chief Justice Carr said that the suffragettes were non-violent and did not plan any actions in secret.
Which is so ignorant of history I don't know where to start...
I spent all day in Woolwich Crown Court yesterday for the Filton activists' sentencing hearing with my colleague @daniaakkad.
The court heard that the Terrorism Act was never intended to cover direct action protest.
It heard that all of the defendants had been cleared of violent intent and sentencing them as terrorists would mark a historic first for charges of criminal damage.
It heard that the Suffragettes, who did "a bit of smashing themselves", would have been labelled as terrorists but have now been vindicated by history.
It heard the activists' goal was to stop the supply chain of drones and weaponry to Israel as it commits genocide in Gaza.
It heard that attaching a terrorism connection to a case without it ever being heard by a jury was unconstitutional and posed a threat to the criminal justice system itself.
It heard that the "terrorism connection" has been disproportionately used against minority groups and those advocating for them while not being used for neo-Nazis and white supremacists, including the man who killed Jo Cox MP.
It heard that the law has been reinterpreted since the action took place, meaning the activists could have had no idea that what they did could have been caught up in terrorism laws at the time of the protest.
It heard that the prosecution submitted key evidence just eight days before the hearing, giving the defence no time to review it or even discuss it with their clients.
Despite all of this, Judge Jeremy Johnson, who has already tried to refer the defence's lead barrister for contempt of court and been forced to apologise for it, sentenced the defendants as terrorists.
The judgment was handed down within minutes, indicating Judge Johnson had already made his mind up before the hearing had begun.
Being in court yesterday felt akin to witnessing a colonial crime: punishing activists with terrorism offences in order to set a precedent that taking direct action to stop a UK-backed genocide will not be tolerated.
It seems like the only solution to this is for juries to go with their conscience and not find guilty on ANY charges. If juries aren't being told the implications in advance (terrorism being added) then that's the only moral option left to them.
Remember what the Filton actionists did
They decommissioned the machinery of genocide
The moral equivalent of destroying Zyklon B canisters at Auschwitz
A British judge is now sentencing them as 'terrorists' for it
@KieranMaguire In the context of the modern Premier League £40m isn't a huge sum.
Compare to the £20m that West Ham were made to pay Sheffield United in 2009.
Using your football inflation calculator, what would that be today? £80-100m?
Heartbreaking farewell moments.. Fahd Abu Heikal carries the body of his infant son, Sam, who was killed yesterday evening in the city of Hebron, as relatives and family members bid him a sorrowful farewell.
We're going to have to repeat a lot that many Jewish people don't support Israel's genocide.
Criticism of the Israeli Government and their war crimes has nothing to do with who is or isn't Jewish.
To conflate them like this is both harmful and antisemitic.
“His response has been to appeal for rage. That’s his response to a father who has lost his son and asked for that not to happen. Exploiting this tragedy to create grievance and division would be wrong in any circumstances but to do it when the family are expressly saying please don’t is unforgivable. It shows exactly who he is”
Keir Starmer responds to Nigel Farage at #PMQs
The Irish government’s agreement to supply Russia with vast quantities of alumina is even more concerning than it first appears :
Australia banned the export of alumina to Russia, citing its critical role in the Kremlin's war machine. Meanwhile, Ireland’s exports of alumina to Russia have skyrocketed since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, now providing 99% of all alumina from the EU.
Ireland also approves approx 95% of all Russian visa applications - an extremely high percentage.
Ireland's Russian embassy in Dublin is widely viewed by security sources as a hub for Russian intelligence (GRU/SVR) and influence operations in Western Europe. It has an unusually large staff relative to bilateral ties, and Ireland's neutrality, location (back door to the UK), and open society make it attractive for hybrid activities
Every day, ships leave this russian owned factory in Ireland straight for St Petersburg carrying thousands of tonnes of raw alumina for the war machine.
There’s corruption everywhere. Locals tell me politicians are bought by oligarchs.
Ireland is no longer militarily neutral.
BREAKING:
Israel is dropping white phosphorus bombs on civilian areas in the village of Arnoun, Nabatieh, South Lebanon.
These are internationally banned munitions — and Israel is unleashing them against civilians.