Alex retweeted
People who think gambling should be banned are absolutely deluded.
Millions enjoy a recreational bet, just as millions enjoy a beer or glass of wine. Neither makes you an addict.
Almost anything can become harmful without self-control.
Should we ban alcohol because some people can't control their drinking?
Stop treating everyone like they can't make their own decisions. Freedom comes with responsibility. Decisions have consequences, mistakes are part of life, and that's how people learn.
Alex retweeted
Under the UK's new law, someone who lawfully purchased consensually produced adult content in 2025 could face criminal liability for keeping the same content after November 6, 2026, even if they bought it directly from the performers depicted. The maximum penalty is two years' imprisonment.
Adults producing content with other consenting adults and selling it to consenting adults is now a crime in the UK if the content is not approved by the paternalistic government.
The parliamentary record identifies several important lobbying organizations:
End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAW)
UK Feminista
Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation (CEASE)
CARE (Christian Action Research and Education)
As usual, the radical feminist organizations have colluded with the Christian right to control what consenting adults buy from other consenting adults to watch in their own homes.
Well done.
Alex retweeted
There is a risk people don't realise how much the ground has shifted among the public on need to get welfare under control. We hear it not just those 'on the right' or language of 'shirking', but those who approach from a position of wanting to help but think we're at a limit
Uh oh… after John Healey clearly promised on @BBCr4today that the benefits bill will be cut before the next election, @ChrisMasonBBC tells listeners the Treasury have since been on the phone disputing he said this and that he wasn’t putting a timeline on welfare reductions.
Alex retweeted
He was born in a small village in West Yorkshire. His father was a WW2 vet with PTSD from Dunkirk- but Stewart never thought that excused the man's violence towards his kids and his wife. They were poor, it didn't stop him
A teacher put Shakespeare in his hands. Dropped out of school at 15 to pursue acting. First kid to get a grant to study at the Old Vic who wasn't from Oxford or Cambridge.
And then he became... anyone he wanted to be. Roman emperors, Russian revolutionaries, a starship captain. The last changed his life.
See, when he got to Star Trek, he had a massive stick up his ass about acting. But there were long shooting days and to make the time go easier, the rest of the cast loved to play pranks and make jokes. Eventually, Stewart HAD it with them.
"This is acting- it's not supposed to fun!" He famously bellowed at them. The rest of the cast broke out laughing. And Stewart says that chilling out over those 7 seasons, embracing the humor the rest of the cast used to get through those long days, changed him as an actor and a person. He learned to loosen up, to take himself less seriously all while still bringing it to every performance.
He died today in the Hollywood Hills, thousands of miles from the humble circumstances of his birth. Acting took him around the world, and into the hearts of millions.
Alex retweeted
This is why the Liberal Democrat’s are a joke I’m sorry
11 years ago they would’ve been fighting against this ridiculous law (or at the very least pretending to)
Alex retweeted
Capitalism isn’t about greed or profit.
It’s about freedom, growth and personal responsibility.
Alex retweeted
What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor. From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did. Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work.
My heart goes out to Sunny and his family. He will be deeply missed.
I don't agree with this. I think communism is bad but it should be faced with social shame and ridicule, not censorship.
The Czech Republic has officially criminalized the promotion of communist movements that suppress human rights, placing them on the same legal footing as Nazi movements.
The amendment, signed by President Petr Pavel, explicitly targets anyone who establishes, supports or promotes Nazi, communist or other movements seeking to suppress fundamental freedoms or incite racial, ethnic, religious, national or class hatred.
Offenders face prison sentences ranging from one to five years, with additional provisions addressing the distribution of extremist propaganda and symbols.
The legislation follows decades of debate over the country's communist past. Czechoslovakia endured more than four decades of communist one-party rule, beginning in 1948 and ending with the peaceful Velvet Revolution in 1989.
Supporters, including historians from the Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, argued that communist totalitarianism should be treated as seriously as Nazism under criminal law.
What a terrible loss. Such a legend.💔
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to:
Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Fund
alzresearch.org/giving/
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America Caregiver Resources
alzfdn.org/donate/
Photo Credit: Tommy Garcia
Then why did he just raised it by £97.5bn in the budget?
Burnham says he wants to cut welfare bill 'as soon as we possibly can' bbc.in/4iq10L0
Alex retweeted
The mental breakdown from some people to completely ban gambling is the same people that claim they don’t want to live in a nanny state and want less government control… 😂
Alex retweeted
Journalists and commentators again have fallen for the govt crafted talking points in their headlines about the budget.
Below is the reality for UK business owners and families.
At least you can save £2 a year in pickles and marmalade though…
Alex retweeted
Today, Ofcom said age verification for social media could support a ban on under-16s. It will mean showing your passport, face, bank details or digital ID before being able to post on Instagram.
Yet Ofcom and the government refuse to admit one big problem: there's no evidence Australia's equivalent ban is working.
Australia's ban has dented account numbers but barely touched usage, and there is no sign of better mental health or safer children, if anything the opposite:
- The eSafety Commissioner's own evaluation undertaken by Stanford found that account ownership fell from 52% to 42%, yet use of banned platforms only fell from 86% to 82%.
- The same study concluded there had been "little to no change" in children's wellbeing, offline activities or problematic use.
- Parents who did not know their child had used social media rose from 23% to 33%, raising serious safeguarding issues.
- A seperate BMJ study found that more than 85% of under-16s were still using banned platforms.
- An NBER working paper estimates that just 6% of 14–15-year-olds were complying by June.
- Complaints about cyberbullying and image-based abuse show no notable change since the ban was implemented.
Ofcom has claimed that Australia only required "reasonable steps", while Britain will demand "highly effective age assurance". But that is untested hope, not evidence. Ofcom also admits that no method is robust against circumvention, VPNs remain legal, and already a quarter of children have used a VPN in the past six months.
This is a dangerous game, and the consequences fall on the rest of us. Ofcom has admitted that 16- and 17-year-olds will, in effect, need photo ID to get online, even though many don't have it, while many adults will have to scan their faces or upload documents to access social media.
The UK's ban is set to start in March, well before Australia's 12 month results or statutory review. We are supposedly learning the lessons from a policy implemented elsewhere, while practically learning nothing.
Alex retweeted
In my Substack analysis at rwerner.substack.com I show how exactly the Bank of England toppled a sitting Prime Minister.
Ex-PM Liz Truss deserves all credit for her courage to battle the unaccountable central planners & not being intimidated by their vast but covert powers.
Former UK PM Lizz Truss says unelected central bankers wield more power than democratically elected world leaders.
She attributes the pound's "massive inflation" and devaluation to money printing by the Bank of England, which she describes as "completely unaccountable".
"The Bank of England governor can't be sacked, as I found out, but the prime minister can be."
"Why do you think young people can't get on the housing ladder? Again, it's because of the actions of this organisation, and yet nobody will hold them to account."
Alex retweeted
Ofcom now wants every British adult to prove their age with photo ID, banking details, facial scans or digital ID just to use social media.
Protecting children is the pretence. A surveillance state is the result.
As a grown adult, I shouldn’t have to prove my age and identity to use the internet.
Tim Berners-Lee made it free for all to use!
The responses are overwhemingly negative but they are still ploughing through with it.
This is not about protecting children and it won't do that. It is about state surveillance and control. This will kill off online annoyminty and privacy.
Alex retweeted
"Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), warned [about] reinforcing the dangerous misconception that vaping is as harmful as smoking." <- I reckon the massive new vaping tax that ASH supported has already done that! 🤦♂️dailymail.com/news/article-1…
Alex retweeted
“If an experiment in private enterprise is unsuccessful, people lose money and they have to close it down. If an experiment in government is unsuccessful, it’s always expanded.”
Alex retweeted
We warned that a social media ban would force digital ID and biometric scans just to go online. Now Ofcom has confirmed it.
To prove you're over 16, Ofcom recommends methods like banking checks and facial age estimation.
All of this invasive infrastructure - and they STILL admit "the risk of circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated, and some children will succeed in bypassing age checks".
The death of online anonymity will come at the expense of a policy that doesn't even work.
