Nicholas

We have a responsibility to each other and the planet - play fair

[Sama Hoole @SamaHoole]

If you had trusted the settled science of the day, here is how it would have gone.

1890s: you dose the baby with Bayer's new cough syrup, the non-addictive alternative to morphine, marketed for children. It was heroin. They named it after the German for heroic.

1900s: you rub calomel teething powder on your infant's gums. It is a mercury compound, and it leaves a generation with pink disease. Swollen, peeling hands and feet, screaming for months, and some of them died.

1910s: you cook in Crisco, launched by a soap and candle company, because cottonseed oil is modern and lard is what your mother used. The process that made it solid produced trans fat, banned outright a century later.

1920s: you drink Radithor, certified radioactive water, on prescription. Eben Byers took fourteen hundred bottles for his vitality. His jaw was removed in pieces and he was buried in a lead coffin.

1930s: a chemist dissolves a new sulfa drug in diethylene glycol, which is antifreeze. It kills 107 people, mostly children, and only then does America give the FDA power to demand safety testing.

1940s: your doctor lights a Camel in the surgery. More doctors smoke them than any other brand, and the advert runs in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which sold him the page.

1950s: DDT is sprayed over your kitchen, your garden and your children at school. The man who found its insecticidal properties has already been given a Nobel Prize.

1960s: your wife takes thalidomide for morning sickness because it is remarkably safe. More than ten thousand children are born with missing and shortened limbs.

1970s: the country puts down the butter and picks up the margarine, on the instruction of the American Heart Association. The fat everybody switched to was banned in 2015 as unsafe at any level.

1980s: the fat comes out of everything and sugar goes back in to make it edible. Obesity begins a climb it has never come off.

1990s: your father is prescribed OxyContin, because fewer than one per cent get addicted. The company later pleads guilty to criminal misbranding, and the overdose count runs into hundreds of thousands.

2000s: you take Vioxx for your knee. It is pulled in 2004, and the FDA's own safety officer estimates tens of thousands of excess heart attacks.

Not one of those was fringe. Every one had a professional body, a literature and a man in a white coat standing behind it.

Nobody who followed that advice was stupid. They were obedient, to the most qualified people available.

Settled is a word about money. It means the questions stopped being funded, so they stopped being asked.

So which of today's instructions will your grandchildren read out in disbelief.

The oil washed in hexane and built into every cell you own. The statin that blocks the pathway making your hormones, to prevent one heart attack per hundred people. The injection where a third of the loss is muscle. The infant formula built out of vegetable oil.

All settled. None of it funded to be otherwise.

[Nick Freitas @NickJFreitas]

And of course, crickets from the mainstream media...

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

JUST IN: Crime analyst forecasts the 2026 U.S. murder rate will be “by far the lowest ever recorded.”

[Proudofus.uk @ProudofusUK]

In April 1878, one woman published an essay. ☘️🇬🇧

By 27 May, Parliament had changed the law of marriage.

Her name was Frances Power Cobbe. ☘️🇬🇧

An Irishwoman, born at Newbridge House, Dublin, in 1822, who taught herself philosophy in her father's library and made her own living in London by her pen.

In the back columns of the papers, one story kept returning. A wife beaten. A small fine. Case closed. Then the law sent her home with him.

That was the trap. ⚖️ A wife could take a violent husband to court, and the court could fine him, even jail him. But when the sentence ended, she was still legally bound to his roof. Her children, in law, were his. Divorce sat in one London court, priced for the rich. For Britain's poorest wives, there was no way out.

So at 55, Cobbe built a case of her own. She went through 3 years of official returns and counted more than 6,000 of the worst cases. She called her essay Wife Torture in England. The Contemporary Review, April 1878. ✍️

It did not plead. It documented. And at the root of it all, she wrote, lay one notion: "that a man's wife is his PROPERTY, in the sense in which a horse is his property." Her exact words. 🔥

The last pages held her remedy. A separation order from the nearest magistrates' court: if a husband was convicted of aggravated assault on his wife, she need never go back, with maintenance and her children under 10 beside her.

Weeks later, Parliament wrote it into law. Royal assent, 27 May 1878. Earlier reforms had reached the drawing rooms. This one reached the terraces. And wives began to walk out of courtrooms free, their children's hands in theirs.

She had already founded the world's first anti-vivisection society. She argued for the vote she never lived to cast. She died in Wales in 1904.

One essay, by one woman. And the law of Britain moved. 🏛️

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

You were taught the law moves slowly, from the top down.

In 1878 it moved in weeks, for an Irishwoman with a pen.

Then Britain mislaid her name.

We keep the names Britain owes.

👉 https://t.co/rih7iKwnvf 👈

Be part of us. ☝️🇬🇧

Be Proud Of Us. 🙏🇬🇧

[Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social @TrumpDailyPosts]

“Let me be absolutely clear: Iran is a grave threat. It has an illicit nuclear program, it supports terrorism across the region and militias in Iraq, it threatens Israel’s existence, it denies the Holocaust.” Barack Obama, May 19, 2008, Billings Montana rally

“A nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential threat to Israel, an unacceptable danger to world peace and security, including the likelihood of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, making everyone less secure. … We will not allow them to possess nuclear weapons.” Joe Biden, 2013 J Street Conference

“The only thing worse than the Iran that exists now is the Iran with nuclear weapons.” July 2022, Interview Channel 12

“Today Iran is the principal sponsor of global terrorism … It seeks to undermine the West and its values by supporting the murderous attacks of the Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. It aims to destroy the Middle East peace process. … The specter of an Iran armed with weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them haunts not only Israel but the entire Middle East, and ultimately all the rest of us as well.” Bill Clinton, 1995

[S Sebag Montefiore @simonmontefiore]

It is interesting to see this Saudi interview with the top Arab officer in the Israeli army - and to learn a useful proverb:
‘’The Arabic proverb applies to me: "O mountain, no wind shakes you."’

[Proudofus.uk @ProudofusUK]

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

The smallest astronomer in England was 4 foot 3, scarred by smallpox and trained as a house servant. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

Then she found something in the sky no woman had ever claimed.

Caroline Herschel was born in Hanover, a bandsman's daughter. Smallpox scarred her face as a little girl. Typhus at 10 nearly killed her and stopped her growing at 4 foot 3. Her mother decided no man would ever marry her, so she was trained for the scrubbing brush, a servant in her own family's house.

Then a letter came from her brother William, a musician in Bath. Keep his house, and learn to sing. In August 1772 she stepped ashore in England. It would be home for the next 50 years.

By day she ran his house and sang his concerts. By night, her brother answered to a different master: the sky. He ground telescope mirrors for hours on end and she fed him as he worked. In 1781, from their back garden, he found Uranus, the first planet discovered in recorded history. The King made him his astronomer, and Caroline came along as the housekeeper. Again. 🔭

Then William built his little sister a telescope of her own. She swept the sky with it, and the night began to give things up. New nebulae of her own, 14 of them.

And on 1 August 1786, with William away and the telescope hers alone, she caught a blur that had not been there the night before. It moved. A comet. The first ever found and claimed by a woman in her own name. The court called it "the first lady's comet". 🔥

A year later King George the 3rd put her on a royal salary. £50 a year, in her own name. The first woman in Britain ever paid to do science. The girl trained to scrub floors was now paid to read the sky.

7 more comets followed. 8 in all.

England kept her for 50 years, until William died. Back home in Hanover she set 2,500 nebulae in order, a catalogue for everyone who came after. In 1828 the Royal Astronomical Society sent its Gold Medal to Hanover. 🏛️

No woman won it again until Vera Rubin. In 1996. 🇬🇧

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Her second comet is still out there, on the long road back. It returns around 2092.

A girl in school today could live to watch it come home.

She should know a girl 4 foot 3, told to scrub floors, got there first.

We are the home of British heroes. There is a place for you in it.

👉 https://t.co/rih7iKwVkN 👈

Be part of us. ☝️🇬🇧

Be Proud Of Us. 🙏🇬🇧

[Overton @overton_news]

This is one of the most important moments ever aired on CNBC.

Billionaire investor Chamath Palihapitiya says the media lied to millions of Americans about President Trump, and that after going back to the original source material, he realized he had been completely misled about Trump’s character.

PALIHAPITIYA: “The reality is that most of us were lied to by the media about President Trump.”

“And if you just go back to the source material, you should take away two things.”

“One, he didn’t say half the things he said, and two, why did these other people just fabricate what they wanted to say so that they could essentially assassinate his character?”

“I think that that second thing is completely unacceptable in America, and there’s still been no repercussions, really.”

“I took the time to learn about it. I admitted where…you know, the way that I met him was, I admitted on the pod, which, you know, has millions of viewers.”

“And I said, I got it totally wrong because I went and I watched Charlottesville.”

“And, you know, the first person to call me? President Trump.”

“And I got to know him and I put the phone down, I called my wife, and I said, we got it TOTALLY, totally wrong. We were lied to.”

“And then I got to know him and he is fantastic!”

@chamath

[Steve Howell @QuaeroBooks]

Remember when Western media told us Russia had blown up the Nord Stream pipelines?

It turned out it was Ukraine, with US and UK complicity.

Be sceptical when the media tells you something that doesn't make sense. Ask yourself whose interests it serves.

Four years apart. 👇

[Joe Rogan Podcast News @joeroganhq]

RFK Jr: "One of my sons, 29 years old, very, very left-wing Democrat, and disagrees with a lot of the policies of this administration, he called me... And he said, 'Dad, I want to tell you how proud I am about this...'"

[DNI Tulsi Gabbard @DNIGabbard]

Today, I’m releasing never before seen intelligence revealing new evidence of past US government funding for more than 120 biolabs in over 30 countries, including Ukraine.

In support of President Trump‘s Executive Order to end federal funding of dangerous gain of function research around the world, and increase transparency and accountability, ODNI will continue working with partners across the Administration to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain, and what “research” is being conducted.

https://t.co/pLMD0krc69

[Secretary Kennedy @SecKennedy]

For years, hospitals kept Americans in the dark about the true cost of care. Families made medical decisions without knowing the price—and too often got hit with bills that drained their savings.

That ends now.

Under President Trump’s leadership, HHS is enforcing hospital price transparency with real consequences. @DrOzCMS and I have a simple message for hospitals: Post your actual prices. Come into compliance immediately—or face serious consequences.

[A View From Yorkshire @models_by_Russ]

Once the workshop of the world. The nation that led the Industrial Revolution, built railways that spanned continents, designed ships that ruled the waves, and gave the world engineering, science, law, and democracy. We didn’t just make things — we set the standard for how the modern world was built.

But look at us now.

We don’t produce the goods that built our name anymore. The factories of the North, the steelworks, the shipyards, the textile mills — many are gone or reduced to shadows. The great British brands we grew up with? Most are foreign-owned. Rolls‑Royce cars are German. Jaguar Land Rover is Indian. British Steel is Chinese. Even Cadbury and our favourite household names belong to companies thousands of miles away. We’ve sold off our heritage bit by bit.

Even our farming — once the backbone of this land — is being pushed to the brink. We have fertile soil, perfect growing conditions, and generations of skilled farmers, yet we import huge amounts of food we could easily grow ourselves. Red tape, unfair pricing, and cheap foreign undercutting are forcing family farms out of business one by one. We’ve gone from feeding ourselves and much of the world to relying on imports, leaving us vulnerable when global prices rise or supplies are tight.

And what of our story? Our history should be taught properly in schools — the good and the bad. We should face up to the mistakes we made, no question — but we should also be allowed to acknowledge what the British Empire achieved too: the spread of rule of law, infrastructure, education, and trade across the globe, things that still shape nations today. Instead, we’re taught only to feel shame, robbed of the full picture of who we were and what we built.

We’re told we’re a “service economy” now — but what does that mean for ordinary people? Instead of building, growing, or making things, we trade, we advise, we sell each other overpriced houses and expensive coffees. We coast entirely on a reputation earned centuries ago, while the rest of the world actually produces, builds industries, and secures their own future.

And it’s not just what we don’t make or grow — it’s how we’ve failed to secure what we do have.

We’ve got vast reserves right here in the North Sea, yet we hold back on proper drilling and production. Instead of using our own resources to keep energy prices down, create British jobs, and stop sending billions abroad to foreign regimes, we tie our own hands. The result? An energy crisis that hits families and businesses hard — all while we sit on what could make us self-sufficient.

Immigration is at levels our housing, schools, and NHS were never planned to support. Public services that were once the envy of the world are stretched to breaking point. Wages stagnate while the cost of living spirals. Our towns feel hollowed out, opportunities feel scarce, and young people can barely dream of owning a home.

Our politicians bicker and break promises while the country drifts. We’ve gone from a nation that led the way to one that just gets by — relying on past glory rather than building anything new or lasting.

This isn’t the Britain that once made history. Right now, it feels like we’re just watching it fade. 🇬🇧

[Gad Saad @GadSaad]

Hmmm. It's as though as I already said all of this.

[Tim Sheehy @TimSheehyMT]

Heartbreaking. Every American who defends these barbarous acts should hang their head in shame.

[Dumisani Washington @DumisaniTemsgen]

Imagine New York authorities allowing Nazi and KKK rallies and cross burnings as the terrorists marched down the streets of Harlem — in 2026.

That’s what’s happening to Jews right now….

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

Two weeks ago, Gazan women testified to a system of rape by Hamas to Palestinian women living in tents.

Last week, Gazan children testified to being raped by Hamas clerics.

This week, a report revealed the extent of sexual violence on Oct. 7th.

The NYT hasn’t written a word.

[Andrew Fox @Mr_Andrew_Fox]

I’ve written and researched the whole seven front war since 7th October. It has been my whole professional life. I’ve written many papers and have just finished my book. I have written both positive and negative critiques of the war.

All of that feels irrelevant in this context. The most meaningful thing I have done since 7th October is bear witness and relay the horrors done that day. I have seen part of the sexual crime evidence in this report (above and beyond the 47 minute reel) and it remains the most horrific thing I have seen in my life. Nothing Israel has done in Gaza comes remotely close to the horrors of 7th October. The Gaza war and 7th October don’t deserve to be in the same conversation when it comes to atrocity. No comparison.

The rapes are the thing Hamas and their supporters are most scared of being exposed to the world. Every time I have written about what I have seen, 5x the usual amount of bots descend upon my replies. Abuse and outright denial.

Now, the evidence I have seen, and more, is out there. When Yoav Gallant said Israel was fighting human animals in Hamas, he was absolutely correct.

Read it for yourself: https://t.co/IxWkDeLxMV

[Natalie Lisbona @NatalieLisbona]

While ordinarily newspapers censor the full horrors of such accounts from Oct 7, today the Daily Mail as hard as it is, publishes the details because unbelievably, some still question the largest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.  Even certain sections of the established media have suggested that the extent of sexual violence committed by the terrorists may have been exaggerated.
The UN, too, dragged its heels in recognising the atrocities committed. It seems 'believe all women' did not apply in this instance. @AndyJehring
Read the EXCLUSIVE report: online Link
https://t.co/YvO07dSDAO

[Piers Morgan @piersmorgan]

Absolutely horrific, and even worse than we already knew, which I didn’t think possible. Including clear evidence of appalling sex crimes by Hamas which their deluded defenders have always denied.