Kenny Hamilton

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid- Albert Einstein.

[Jack Prandelli @jackprandelli]

Norway and the UK drilled the same North Sea.

🇳🇴Norway got $2 trillion.
🇬🇧The UK got tax cuts.

Same basin,Same era.... Completely different outcomes.

Norway captured $30 per barrel in government revenue. The UK captured $11.

That gap, compounded over 50 years of production, is the entire difference.

Norway's model was simple: tax heavily (78% marginal rate), take direct equity stakes in fields via the SDFI, own part of Equinor, and put everything surplus into a fund invested abroad.

The Government Pension Fund Global now holds over $2 trillion in assets.
That's $390,000 per Norwegian citizen about 1.5% of all listed equities on earth.

The fiscal rule: only spend the 3% annual real return. Never touch the principal.

The UK started producing earlier, at lower prices, with a lower tax rate (40%) and no saving mechanism.

North Sea revenues flowed straight into the general budget.

Economists estimate the UK missed out on roughly £400 billion compared to a Norwegian style regime.

The windfall largely financed tax cuts in the 1980s rather than a fund.

Where things stand in 2026?

Norway's petroleum sector will generate $63 bn in net cash flow this year alone feeding a fund already large enough to cover 10-15% of the national budget from returns alone.

The UK is a net energy importer.
Since 2021 it has paid countries like Norway more than £100 billion for gas.

One country treated oil as a finite resource to convert into permanent financial wealth.

The other treated it as income.

image source:eia

[Sage Despatches @SageDespatches]

The sentence highlighted below is from the attached article. It is possibly the most important. The Ombudsman overstepped the mark. In a nutshell, she was expressing an opinion and reaching conclusions about behaviour, that were not sustainable, wouldn't stand up to scrutiny in a criminal court and it wasn't even within her job description to reach those conclusions.

As I have said before in my blog posts on this matter, the danger of attributing a motive to a behaviour, is that in psychological terms, there can be a "fundamental attribution error". It's very much in the eye of the beholder. The perception of a person's behaviour and the attributed motive, doesn't necessarily reflect what is really happening or the motive for the behaviour. That's why criminal cases require a high standard of evidence, rather than just opinions.

In simple terms, a subjective opinion isn't the same as a fact or a an allegation supported by the type evidence required in a criminal prosecution.

The simple fact that the Ombudsman felt the need to use the term "collusive behaviour", was immediately a red flag that it was an opinion or a perception, not a statement of fact and that it was unsupported by the type of evidence required for a prosecution. The absence of any criminal prosecutions of RUC officers in these cases, simply confirms that.

The retired police officers who were the successful claimants, have taken a pragmatic decision. The reports are already in the public domain and they will remain available but with an explanatory note regarding the High Court verdict.

My opinion is that on balance it's a wise decision because it's a permanent reminder in the public domain, regarding the Ombudsman's behaviour and the errors that were made.

I would also suggest that the conclusions regarding "collusive behaviour" lack any credibility, so good luck to anyone referring to the conclusions as evidence of collusion.

Here's the sentence I referred to: 👇

"In February last year, Mr Justice held that a distinction drawn by the ombudsman between "collusion" and "collusive behaviours" was either unsustainable or insufficiently clear."

BBC News - 'Collusive behaviour' reports must include line that police ombudsman exceeded powers
https://t.co/pOY8R8QyME

[Daniel Epstein-O'Dowd @DODubhda]

Many would rather this story was forgotten.

The Palestinian 'cause' has a long track record of using Irish people for their own gain...

Forty years ago today, a Palestinian terrorist was preparing to kill his Irish fiancée and their unborn child in order to murder hundreds of innocent Israelis and others on an airplane.

The Hindawi Affair remains one of the most chilling examples of human depravity in the history of terrorism. It was not only an attempt to destroy an aircraft; it was a cold-blooded act of ultimate betrayal. Nezar Hindawi, a Palestinian terrorist working with Syrian intelligence, groomed his Irish fiancée, Ann-Marie Murphy, into believing they were headed toward a life of marriage and family. In reality, he was sending her—and their six-month-old unborn child—to a mid-air execution

Forty years have passed since the morning of April 17, 1986, when a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions was narrowly averted at London's Heathrow Airport.

The target was El Al Flight 016, a Boeing 747 bound for Tel Aviv with 375 passengers on board. Among them was Ann-Marie Murphy.

As Ann-Marie approached the El Al check-in desk, she was the picture of an unsuspecting traveller. She had been coached by Hindawi to lie to security, claiming she was travelling alone for a holiday. However, her story didn't hold up under the rigorous questioning of El Al’s security team. When an agent emptied her bag, he noticed it remained unusually heavy.

Hidden beneath a false bottom was 1.5 kilograms of Semtex—a powerful plastic explosive—and a scientific calculator that Hindawi had given her as a "gift." The calculator was, in fact, a sophisticated detonator set to trigger the bomb two hours into the flight, while the plane would have been at 39,000 feet over Austria.

The discovery sent shockwaves through the international community. British authorities quickly arrested Hindawi, uncovering evidence that he had been trained and equipped by Syrian intelligence. The incident led the UK to sever diplomatic relations with Syria, a move backed by the United States and Canada.

For Ann-Marie Murphy, the revelation was a double trauma: the shock of a near-death experience and the soul-crushing realisation that the man she loved had intended to murder her and their unborn baby for the Palestinian cause.

In October 1986, she faced Hindawi in court. During her testimony, the soft-spoken woman finally snapped, shouting at him, "You bastard! I hate you! How could you do this to me?" Hindawi was sentenced to 45 years in prison, then the longest fixed sentence in British legal history.

Following the trial, Ann-Marie withdrew from the public eye. She returned to her native Ireland to raise her daughter, Sara. In rare interviews over the years, she described Sara as the "only good thing" to come from the relationship.

Today, the Hindawi Affair is a mandatory case study in aviation security training. Its lessons impact on us today every time we pass through airport security.

[Eyal Yakoby @EYakoby]

Keir Starmer: “We will arrest Netanyahu if he steps on British soil.”

Also Keir Starmer: *Literally invites a former Al-Qaeda terrorist to the UK*

[Kenny Hamilton @pastybro]

@benonwine

[Fascinating @fasc1nate]

A great way to see Van Gogh's "Starry Night" is to stare at the center of the spiral for 20 seconds and then look at the painting.

Why Starry Night was so famous: https://t.co/P8BvRGohvu

[Brian Allen @allenanalysis]

🚨HOLY SMOKES: Danish MEP Anders Vistisen to Trump:

“Let me put this in words you might understand: Mr. President, fuck off.”

Europe is officially done pretending this is normal diplomacy.

[Kenny Hamilton @pastybro]

@lippyent A Pouffe, colloquially known as a poofy when I was a boy.

[Orla Joelsen @OJoelsen]

Statement from the Premier of Greenland 🇬🇱
6:55pm local time:

“🇬🇱 We have been a close and loyal friend of the United States for generations. We have stood shoulder to shoulder in difficult times. We have taken responsibility for security in the North Atlantic — and not least for North America. That is what true friends do.

Precisely for that reason, the current and repeated rhetoric coming from the United States is entirely unacceptable.

When the President of the United States speaks of “needing Greenland” and links us to Venezuela and military intervention, it is not only wrong. It is disrespectful.

Our country is not an object in great-power rhetoric. We are a people. A country. A democracy. That must be respected — especially by close and loyal friends.

We are part of NATO, and we are fully aware of our country’s strategic location. We also understand that our security depends on good friends and strong alliances. In that context, a respectful and loyal relationship with the United States is very important. That has been the case for decades.

But alliances are built on trust. And trust requires respect.

Threats, pressure, and talk of annexation have no place between friends. That is not how one speaks to a people who have repeatedly demonstrated responsibility, stability, and loyalty.

Enough is enough.

No more pressure.
No more insinuations.
No more fantasies of annexation.

We are open to dialogue. We are open to conversations. But they must take place through the proper channels and in full respect of international law. And the proper channels are not random and disrespectful posts on social media.

Greenland is our home and our territory.
And it will remain so. 🇬🇱”

[Senator Mark Kelly @SenMarkKelly]

Over twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy, thirty-nine combat missions, and four missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our Constitution – including the First Amendment rights of every American to speak out. I never expected that the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense would attack me for doing exactly that.

My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my service and sacrifice for this country. I got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. I commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head– all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder. Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve.

Pete Hegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or Donald Trump doesn’t like, they will come after them the same way. It’s outrageous and it is wrong. There is nothing more un-American than that.

If Pete Hegseth, the most unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country’s history, thinks he can intimidate me with a censure or threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn’t get it. I will fight this with everything I’ve got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don’t get to decide what Americans in this country get to say about their government.

[Kenny Hamilton @pastybro]

@benonwine A stick...

[Kenny Hamilton @pastybro]

@TansuYegen 95

[Sam McBride @SJAMcBride]

Five years after the Good Friday Agreement, Downing Street knew the IRA was still engaged in mutilation, developing weapons, gathering intelligence, targeting & intimidation, with PM telling Adams & McGuinness “they must stop”, declassified files reveal.
https://t.co/UTpYm89y3T

[AccuWeather @accuweather]

Here's when we'll see full moons in 2026! 🌕⁣

There will be 13 full moons in 2026, which includes two in May. The second is known as a blue moon. 2026 will also have three supermoons, the first one is happening this weekend. https://t.co/euOpiK5Ypv

[olexander scherba🇺🇦 @olex_scherba]

No matter the war and horror, this how Ukraine celebrated Christmas… With a sea of traditional Christmas stars.

[NEXTA @nexta_tv]

Russian war crimes continue — here’s what happened near Pokrovsk

Russian troops captured two Ukrainian servicemen near Pokrovsk.

At gunpoint, the occupiers forced one of the prisoners to partially undress — and then executed both unarmed defenders.

After confirming they were dead, the soldiers stripped clothes off the second body as well.

Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets also reports that Russia killed seven civilians in Pokrovsk.

According to him, during the night of December 21, two Russian soldiers broke into the basement of a residential building where civilians were hiding.

They demanded alcohol. When people said there was none, the Russians shot a father and his son, then opened fire on the rest.

Among the dead is an entire family. Only one wounded person survived.

[Visegrád 24 @visegrad24]

Today is the 3rd anniversary of the shocking murder of the Ukrainian prisoner-of-war Oleksandr Matsievskyi.

Captured at Bakhmut, the Russians forced him to dig his grave & say some final pleading words.

Instead, he took a last drag on his cigarette and said “Glory to Ukraine”

[Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 @IAPonomarenko]

Three years ago on this day.

Soldier Oleksandr Matsiyevsky had his last cigarette at his surrounded dugout, shouted “Glory to Ukraine!” and was executed by Russians on the spot.

He lives on with us all forever ever since that day.

Absolute hero of our age.

[Darth Putin @DarthPutinKGB]

Russia will not accept any peace deal that allows Ukraine to aggressively defend itself the next time we invade it

[Captain Allen @CptAllenHistory]

Next time someone tells you the Jews “stole” Palestinian land, remember and use what you learn in this clip from the brilliant @EinatWilf.