Mick Hartley

Author: Mick Hartley

  • Starting a war

    Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

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    Also:

    The FBI should investigate who is spreading Russian propaganda in the White House, a senior Ukrainian MP has said, after President Trump described a Russian ballistic missile strike which killed at least 34 people as a “mistake”.

    I think it's that Donald Trump.

  • The case of the disappearing mouse pointer

    t-size: 11pt”>Yet the function doesn’t work universally. For instance, in the “Collected Works” app—which contains the works and revolutionary history of North Korea’s supreme leaders—screenshots don’t function on the starting screen or with saved documents. This appears to be intentional, as authorities may consider using a downward swipe on content related to the supreme leader disrespectful.

    This restriction parallels how the mouse pointer disappears when hovering over Kim Jong Un’s face in photos on North Korean media websites like the Rodong Sinmun newspaper or KCNA. This prevents the pointer from obscuring the leader’s face—a measure tied to North Korea’s leader idolization policies.

  • “Wait until it’s safe to say it”

    Women cannot count on behind-the-curve politicians for this. It’s still grassroots women’s organisations, such as For Women Scotland in its current case against the Scottish Government, which are focusing on the here and now. It’s better than nothing, but Labour has a lot of catching up to do.

    I'm not sure that there were many in the Labour Party – Rosie Duffield aside – who saw the dangers of embracing the new Stonewall-led trans push. While gender ideology was the latest progressive fad Labour were happy to jump on board, claiming that women could have a penis and men could grow a cervix. Now the tide is turning they're singing a different tune. It says little for their courage or their principles.

    But yes, it was always the grassroots women’s organisations, the Terfs, who led the fight.

  • The 20th century expulsion of Jews from Egypt

    >These were Jews who built Egypt’s economy, spoke its languages, and contributed to every sector of society—until the Muslim Brotherhood made Jewish life in Egypt impossible.

    This wasn’t some ancient tragedy—it happened in the goddamn 20th century. And you wonder where Hamas came from? The Muslim Brotherhood—the same fascist, Jew-hating ideology that turned Egypt Judenfrei.

    Egypt didn’t just erase its Jews — it robbed them, lied about it, and hoped we’d forget. We didn’t.

    Report here:

    A newly released report by the organization Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC) sheds light on the rich cultural legacy and the eventual persecution and expulsion of Egypt’s Jewish community during the 20th century. The report also estimates that the Egyptian government unlawfully confiscated assets from these expelled Jews, with the current value of those assets reaching approximately $59 billion.

    Jewish presence in Egypt stretches back to biblical times, with the Exodus from slavery in ancient Egypt to freedom in the Land of Israel remembered annually during the Passover holiday. The JJAC report serves as a reminder of that ancient connection while drawing attention to a more recent chapter of suffering and displacement endured by Egyptian Jewry.

    "Unlike its ancient counterpart, the modern-day uprooting of Egyptian Jewry is not a tale of triumph but of tragedy," the report stated, noting that the 1930s marked the beginning of the end for Egyptian Jewry with the rise of the antisemitic Muslim Brotherhood, which blended militant Islamism with European-influenced fascism.

    “From this point on, things began spiraling downward for Egyptian Jews,” the JJAC report noted. “Violence, arrests, bombings, blood libels, and the virus of Jew-hatred had spread like a biblical plague throughout Egypt.”…

  • Darts cheat

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  • The Dylan Mulvaney question

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    Not knowing the difference between a man and a woman: not a good look for a gynaecologist.

  • Former ambassadors

    A strange letter in the Times this morning from a bunch of superannuated British diplomats, displaying those familiar signs of blinkered incomprehension that never stopped them in their chosen ambassadorial careers – largely and unsurprisingly in the Arab world. 

    Sir, Rightly, the stated aim of British Middle East diplomacy is to help restore the Gaza ceasefire with the release of all hostages and an end to Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war. A political horizon beyond war is needed. France (world, Apr 11) and Saudi Arabia are shaping a June Middle East peace conference for co-existence based on international law and self-determination for both peoples, Palestinian and Israeli. The US attitude is beyond prediction.

    Britain has “form” on Palestine/Israel and should give a lead to increase momentum, working with France and like-minded partners in Europe, the Middle East and the global south — just as Sir Keir Starmer is doing commendably on Ukraine. President Macron speaks publicly of recognising Palestine. British leadership entails recognition of that state alongside Israel, on the land that the International Court of Justice advises is unlawfully occupied by Israel.

    Israel is not using starvation as a weapon of war. That would be Hamas, who seize the food trucks coming in and  co-opt the food for themselves. Nor is there any indication on the side of the Palestinians, anywhere, that they're willing to live in co-existence with a Jewish state. The policy of Hamas is the destruction of Israel in the name of Islam, and the slaughter of the Jews. 

    And if they want a cease fire (Hamas, that is), all they have to do is release the hostages.

    The signatories:

    Sir Vincent Fean, former consul-general, Jerusalem; Sir Edward Clay, former high commissioner to Kenya; Sir Richard Dalton, former ambassador to Iran; Frances Guy, former ambassador to Lebanon; Lord Hannay of Chiswick, former ambassador to the United Nations; Rupert Joy, former EU ambassador to Morocco; Robin Kealy, former ambassador to Tunisia; Robin Lamb, former ambassador to Bahrain; Peter Millett, former ambassador to Libya; Richard Northern, former ambassador to Libya; Sir William Patey, former ambassador to Afghanistan; Sir Harold Walker, former ambassador to Iraq; James Watt, former ambassador to Egypt; Jon Wilks, former ambassador to Qatar

  • GPs told to refuse requests for puberty blockers

    If GPs are still doing this – well, they shouldn't be. Another small step in the right direction.

    Trans activists and unregulated clinics have sought to pressure GPs into illegally prescribing puberty blockers, the NHS has said.

    Health leaders issued new guidance to GPs that orders them to stop prescribing trans drugs to children, after requests for clarification from doctors.

    GPs have been told that they “must refuse” requests to prescribe puberty blockers because it is a criminal offence and “should refuse” cross-sex hormone requests to children unless carefully considered.

    It is understood a number of GPs have felt pressured into prescribing the drugs to children or entering agreements to supply the drugs on behalf of transgender clinics.

    The NHS guidance specifically singles out two unregulated clinics to be avoided – GenderGP and Anne Transgender Healthcare Ltd – both of which have “published statements that oppose the restrictions that have been put in place” by the NHS and the Government.

    Good, but could be better.

    The guidance stops short of telling GPs not to prescribe cross-sex hormones at all. The NHS says they should not be used in children under 16 but has resisted calls for a ban for under 18s.

    Dr Louise Irvine, a GP and co-chairman of Clinical Advisory Network on Sex and Gender, said: “GPs can come under considerable pressure from patients to prescribe on the advice of unregistered gender clinics and this advice will give GPs much needed support to refuse in the interests of patient safety.”

    But she said it did “not go far enough” because it was “not mandatory” and some GPs are “operating outside NHS prescribing protocols”. She also said it did not protect adults from the same risks.

  • The damage done in the name of gender ideology

    On the subject of "not our crimes", here's a Telegraph View – Labour must show it understands women’s rights:

    We are only now discovering how much damage has been done in the name of gender ideology. Last month, a review led by Professor Alice Sullivan revealed that official records, ranging from those held by the NHS to the criminal justice system, have been “corrupted” for years, and on a large scale, by the usurpation of biological sex by self-declared gender.

    Statistics on sex offences are being distorted by male offenders identifying as female. Defendants have been allowed to change their identities before trial, potentially affecting the verdict or sentence. Now, at last, the courts have been given notice to deny defendants this wish automatically….

    The legal system retains, however, a systematic bias in favour of self-ID. For example, the Crown Prosecution Service still instructs prosecutors “to address trans victims, witnesses and defendants according to their affirmed gender and name”. It may be a while before courts revert to using objective rather than subjective criteria – a practice they should never have abandoned.

    Fortunately there are courageous individuals in the public arena who are standing up against the tyranny of identity politics. Perhaps surprisingly, some of these intrepid spirits work at the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Last week, the commission submitted a 310-page revision of its Statutory Code of Practice. If fully implemented, this code would protect the sex-based rights of women and represent a welcome victory for campaigners such as Maya Forstater….

    The new court guidelines and the proposal by the Equality Commission are both important steps towards a more rational approach to sex and gender. Public opinion has never supported the tiny minority of gender extremists who have sought not only to cast doubt on the facts of life, but also to criminalise common sense. Yet this arena of the culture wars is still fiercely contested. Why has the pushback taken so long? And when will the Prime Minister get off the fence?

  • Facing animal torture charges

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    The Independent report doesn't even bother with a picture so we can see we're being lied to:

    A Detroit woman is facing animal torture charges after she stabbed her dog and posted footage of the wounded animal online, police say. Jordan Love, 29, of Detroit, was charged with the killing and torturing of animals in the second degree as well as abandoning and cruelty to four to ten animals when she was arrested almost 700 miles away from her home Monday afternoon…. 

    …though they do manage a picture of the street corner where this stabbing was alleged to have occurred.

     

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