In normal times joking in private about tasering and deporting your political opponents would be a resigning matter.
But apparently it's ok to do so in public these days. Absolutely disgraceful from Mahmood.
Reports of a third attempted arson attack on Jewish targets in North London this week. It's getting really scary and more people need to start taking it seriously.
An executive board of 8 meets on a large ship which previously had 8 rowers but now only has one. One of the board members says: 'I don't get it...after all the budget cuts to streamline to work force, why aren't we moving any faster?'
Evergreen.
We're seeing levels of tankie previously unknown to science.
it's george soros saying "tell viktor it was me. i want him to know it was me"
The body kit certainly improves the looks, and any Jaaaag with a V8 is *incredibly* tempting, especially in black.
I'm a very calm Street Preacher.
The gap between the way things are and the way they ought to be as a constant irritation is...extremely spot-on.
For Pilate, keeping-the-peace was worth the blood of an innocent man. end/
Liberation theology rightly reminds us that Jesus is a victim of imperialism: but it is important to remember that imperial violence isn't always driven by malice.
Imperial violence is often motivated by a bloody kind of pragmatism. 3/
The Romans don't think Jesus could actually do anything against *them*, he's just making too much of a fuss and getting the Judeans all rowdy. Pilate kills him by washing his hands of the affair, he kills him to appease the crowds: to keep 'the natives' quiet.
2/
A mosaic depicting Pontius Pilate washing his hands in front of Jesus.
There is a subtlety to the sin of Pontius Pilate. It's easy to miss, especially when we emphasise the role of the Roman Empire in Jesus' death.
The Romans actually don't see Jesus as a direct threat, or even guilty of any crime. Pilate knows Jesus is innocent. But he has him crucified anyway. 1/
The cross is part of the mission. The imperialist occupation of the world is disrupted from within; the violence that until now has been the law is unmasked. The poor, imprisoned, and rejected Messiah descends into the darkness of death, yet in so doing He brings a new creation to light. #HolyThursday
holy smokes
...to confirm whether the guy was 'really' born-again. If their pastor confirmed it, then they could leave. However, they would often be watched for a long time afterwards: if there was even a hint that they weren't serious the paramilitaries would be at their door immediately.
There is a historical analogue to this in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles one of the only ways out of a Loyalist paramilitary gang (many of whose members were forced to join at 16) was to 'get saved.' The paramilitary leadership would then speak to the pastor/rector/minister...
Huge respect for Ed Miliband's refusal to back down to pressure over North Sea oil. The fact is drilling for oil in the North Sea will do NOTHING to fix the Iran crisis. The only long term solution to this crisis, and others that will follow, is renewables. Anyone who says otherwise has an agenda
brb going out to panic-buy Marmite.
RAF Tornado at low level in the famous Mach Loop. The navigator is holding a sign saying "I'm with stupid" and an arrow pointing at the pilot. The RAF's sortie planning is second to none.
The decision also ended the interservice squabbling over the best use of aircraft. The navy wanted maritime reconnaissance and the army the same over land.
The RAF meanwhile decided its core mission was delivering the right sort of chap to the bar to immediately tell everybody he was a pilot.
If we start making it more difficult for children to receive diagnoses of neurodivergence we will simply be letting them fall through the cracks. The kids of the rich will get private diagnoses and all the rest will simply be made to suffer for no good reason. end/
...in order to help me reach my potential. No child should be left behind when we have the knowledge and skills to help them. A child's education should never be compromised because of something completely beyond their control. 7/
I struggled more at High School, but now I had what I needed to get help: an official diagnosis.
I share all this to show that 25 years ago how easily I could have slipped through the cracks of the ed. system. It took dogged determination from my parents, spending money they didn't have... 6/
Once we had that I could receive the support I needed: an Individual Education Plan and extra time in my 11+ if I wanted it. It helped me get an A in that stupid test and get into the local Grammar School. 5/
Today most things fall under the ADHD umbrella but back then the Ed Psych diagnosed me with a Specific Processing Deficit. We were able to take that to an OT at the local NHS clinic who said it was Dyspraxia with an ADD component. Whatever it was, we had something we could take to the school. 4/
So in 1999 my parents paid an absolute fortune to have me assessed privately by an Ed Psych who usually only worked with adults. Remember, I was 7 years old, branded as 'lazy' by my teacher I was now being put through all sorts of tests to find our what was 'wrong' with me. 3/
My teacher said I was just lazy. The school wouldn't do anything. Remember that back then NI still put all children through the 11+ exam. The test determined whether you got into a 'good' school or not. If I was still struggling by then it would have had serious consequences for my future. 2/
Back in 1998 I was struggling massively in school. I would sit in floods of tears at the kitchen table trying to make my hand write the number 5 properly. I was constantly distracted in class and missed huge chunks of what we were learning. My mum was aware of ADHD and talked to the school. 1/
following international law for refugees is a fairytale apparently
