David Claridge

What makes this criminal damage acceptable? Sometimes red paint can get you 14 years. Sometimes it is tolerated. When did intimidating your neighbours become acceptable?

14 years for red paint if you're an activist. Zero arrests for red paint when it's used to intimidate immigrants in our communities. Prof Richard Murphy re-examines the idea of two-tier policing.

@eastangliabylines.co.uk @richardjmurphy.bsky.social

Reform UK, which has a grand total of four MPs, was just given an uninterrupted platform for an hour and a half on the BBC and Sky News channels, in order to talk about its plans for mass deportations

When was the last time the Greens (with four MPs) or the Lib Dems (with 72) were given the same?

Without immediate intervention, the last reporters in Gaza will die - AFP, July 21, 2025 AFP has been working with one freelance writer, three photographers, and six freelance videographers in the Gaza Strip since the departure of its staff journalists in 2024. Along with a few others, they are now the only ones reporting what is happening in the Gaza Strip. The international press has been banned from entering the territory for nearly two years. We refuse to see them die. One of them, Bashar, has worked for AFP since 2010, first as a fixer, then as a freelance photographer, and since 2024 as the main photographer. On Saturday, July 19, he managed to post a message on Facebook: "I no longer have the strength to work for the media. My body is thin and I can no longer work."

Bashar, 30, works and lives in conditions equal to those of all Gazans, moving from one refugee camp to another as Israeli bombardments dictate. For over a year, he has lived in absolute destitution and works at enormous risk to his life. Hygiene is a major problem for him, with periods of severe intestinal illness. Bashar has been living in the ruins of his Gaza City home since February with his mother, his four siblings, and the family of one of his brothers. Their house is devoid of any amenities or comforts, except for a few cushions. On Sunday morning, he reported that his older brother had "fallen from hunger." Even though these journalists receive a monthly salary from AFP, there is nothing to buy, or only at exorbitant prices. The banking system has disappeared, and those who exchange money between online bank accounts and cash charge a commission of nearly 40%.

AFP no longer has the means to have a vehicle, let alone the fuel to allow its journalists to travel for their reports. Traveling by car is tantamount to running the risk of being a target for the Israeli air force. AFP reporters therefore travel on foot or by donkey cart. Ahlam, for her part, survives in the south of the enclave. And she is determined to "bear witness" for as long as possible. "Every time I leave the tent to cover an event, conduct an interview, or document a story, I don't know if I'll come back alive." The biggest problem, she confirms, is the lack of food and water. We see their situation worsening. They are young, and their strength is failing them. Most no longer have the physical ability to travel the enclave to do their job. Their heartbreaking pleas for help are now daily.

Over the past few days, we have understood from their brief messages that their lives no longer depend on much and that their courage, devoted for many months to informing the whole world, will not help them survive. We risk learning of their deaths at any moment, and it's unbearable. This Sunday, Bashar wrote: "For the first time, I feel defeated." Later that day, he told one of us that he thanked him "for explaining what we live daily between death and hunger." "I wish Mr. Macron could help me get out of this hell." Ahlam is still standing. "I try to continue practicing my profession, to carry the voice of the people, to document the truth in the face of all attempts to silence it. Here, resistance is not a choice: it's a necessity." Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing a colleagues die of starvation.

“Since AFP was founded in August 1944, we have lost journalists in conflicts, we have had wounded and prisoners in our ranks, but none of us remembers seeing our colleagues die of starvation.”

The AFP news release has been released in French. Below is an English translation via Google translate.

Credit goes to the Philadelphia Phillies for their innovative take on the Coldplay Jumbotron incident. 🤣

Elon saying he’s going to reprogram his chatbot’s view of history is a perfect example of why these kinds of AI products aren’t the neutral “tools” people always defend them as. They’re little political projects reflecting the ideologies of their creators

As predicted, the front pages of BBC & CNN are full of Israel-Iran.

Nothing on Gaza or West Bank. Remember that all comms are cut in Gaza as they starve.

Exactly what Netanyahu wanted.

They can do anything they like now as the vapid MSM chase the new squirrel released for their distraction.

My thoughts on what’s going on in Los Angeles:

Trump to UAE president: "We have a term 'groceries.' It's an old term but it means basically what you're buying, food, it's a pretty accurate term but it's an old fashioned sound but groceries are down."

Donald Trump’s unhinged & hate-filled Easter message.

He’s got away with untold crimes, lies & offences. He’s achieved the highest office in the land. Twice. He’s lining his pockets on an industrial scale & persecuting his enemies for fun. But he’s still a miserable, bitter, humourless & furious man. Because deep inside, he knows *exactly* who he is.

Email from DHS revoking parole, unnamed recipient, received by Nicole Micheroni. Part 1

Email from DHS revoking parole, unknown recipient, received by Nicole Micheroni. Part 2

Some personal news: the Department of Homeland Security has given me, an immigration lawyer born in Newton, Massachusetts, seven days to leave the U.S. Does anyone know if you can get Italian citizenship through great-grandparents?

The White House. The actual White House.

This is the attitude of every abuser, who is now fearful of the consequences of their abuse.

The front dust jacket art of the first edition, of the Great Gatsby with a paining known as Celestial Eyes. White text. Blue background. A pair of sad eyes hover in the sky over a bright yellow-lit cityscape.

Today marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of “The Great Gatsby”

I’m all for celebrating with a jazz-age soirée, but given the current moment, let’s also honor F Scott Fitzgerald’s work by thinking about how unregulated wealth, casual racism & convenient fatalism color the American dream.

Mining firm withdraws plan for UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years Move ends bid for site near Whitehaven, Cumbria after planning permission was quashed by high court The Whitehaven coalmine’s planning application has been withdrawn, bringing an end to a process that could have created the UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years in Cumbria. Planning permission for the mine was quashed in the high court last year which meant the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government had to reassess the planning application. However, the company has now written to the government withdrawing its planning application. Continue reading...

Mining firm withdraws plan for UK’s first deep coalmine in 30 years

A cartoon is headed “How tariffs work”. It proceeds to show a cartoon of Trump in his suit and red tie taking a piss towards a fan with a Canadian maple leaf on it. The fan blows Trump’s piss back into his face. It was drawn and is signed by Bruce MacKinnon and is dated November 26, 2024

Bruce MacKinnon, the editorial cartoonist at the Halifax Chronicle-Herald, drew this last November.

No newspaper would print it.

It now deserves an outing.

We took over the giant screen at Farage’s big rally in Birmingham

Post from user @acnewsitics 'Alex Cole' states, "If boycotting Tesla is making conservatives buy electric vehicles, I think liberals should start boycotting books next and see if MAGA accidentally discovers reading."

It. Could. Work.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨

The European Federation of Journalists representing 300,000+ journalists have announced they are leaving Elon Musk's X and will no longer be posting.

More women leaders would solve our autocracy problem Watching Bishop Budde stand up to Trump was inspirational

“If speaking truth to power is nasty, for God’s sake let us have more of it. Jesus was pretty nasty to the moneylenders in the temple,” writes Sheila Hancock.
www.prospectmagazine...

No schadenfreude or satisfaction in seeing ‘prominent’ Trump
cheerleaders in the UK finally see the light & change their tune (Andrew Neil is just the latest). Just a low simmer at their toxic blend of arrogance, cupidity & ignorance & the knowledge that the media will still promote their ilk.

Trump is obviously manipulating the market so he and his friends can make money off of our suffering

We should demand to see the stock trades of his closest allies

Government AI, defending DOGE and more: Takeaways from Elon Musk’s three-hour interview with Joe Rogan The wide-ranging interview between the two prominent Trump supporters comes as Musk remakes the federal government.

Musk states "the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy". Charles Darwin, who actually researched this stuff, showed it was empathy, specifically, that enabled humanity to flourish.

(1/3) It needs repeating: in 1994, Ukraine was persuaded to give up its nuclear weapons to Russia in return for the US, the UK, and Russia guaranteeing Ukraine’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

Important to take the week as a whole. Statement from Dominic Grieve:

Reality check.
Thank you, Financial Times.

The conservative commentator Bret Stephens in the @nytimes.com The @washingtonpost.com has, so far, very little to say

Let's just be clear: the reason they were gathering was NOT for a made-for-TV, Jerry Springer-style drubbing. They were gathering for private, serious talks that Trump deliberately torpedoed by forcing Zelensky to endure a 45-minute impromptu press conference & a premeditated American mugging.