We've lost one of the greats. Not only as an iconic artist of huge originality, but also a public figure with the courage to be a dissident. I once had the honour of chairing David Hockney on a panel. Yes, it was about the excessive Nanny statism about smoking. He made an eloquent case for choice & liberty. I was excessively star-struck. He was excessively modest. Ahh. Such a loss.

Kim Leadbeater’s Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill could be brought back through the Private Members’ Bill process, with MPs successful in the ballot due to present their chosen Bills on Wednesday 17th June 2026. If this Bill returns and the Parliament Acts route is then used to pass it into law without the agreement of the House of Lords, as campaigners are proposing, it could have devastating consequences for people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities, as well as their families. For the past 30 years, the Down Syndrome Research Foundation UK has worked to extend the life, health and wellbeing of people with Down’s syndrome through research and advocacy. We have serious concerns about any change in the law to legalise assisted dying on behalf of our community. The problem with the Parliament Acts route is that the Bill would need to return in the same form as it left the Commons, with only very limited changes allowed. That means the Bill could be revived and become law without the normal opportunity for MPs to add safeguards that were raised in the House of Lords and highlighted by professional bodies and groups representing vulnerable people, including those advocating for people with Down’s syndrome, at a House of Lords Select Committee last autumn. This matters because 61 organisations representing people with Down’s syndrome, learning disabilities and disabled people across the UK have identified specific safeguard gaps in the Bill. Their open letter set out practical issues around pressure, coercion, communication needs, capacity assessments, and whether people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities would have the right support to understand and participate in a process with life-ending consequences. You can read the open letter here: ndspg.org/wp-content/uploads… These issues have not been resolved. In the Lords, several amendments were tabled to strengthen practical safeguards for people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities. These included adding Down’s syndrome to the independent advocate provisions, requiring advocates to consult parents, carers or people appointed by the Court of Protection where appropriate, and strengthening support for people whose communication needs could affect their ability to take part properly in the process. These are basic protections. They should not be treated as optional, and they should not be left out of legislation with life-ending consequences. But they are not in the Bill as it left the Commons. If the same Bill is brought back and passed unchanged, as required if the Parliament Acts were to be invoked, MPs would not have a proper chance to add the safeguards that organisations working with and for people with Down’s syndrome and learning disabilities have emphasised are needed. That is why we are asking supporters to act now.

🚨 ANOTHER BRAND NEW VIDEO DIRECT FROM IRAN: The campaign has escalated to targeting regime mosques. The Iranian people want to be armed to fight back against a brutal regime, and the videos keep coming. Ordinary citizens inside Iran are sending a steady stream of these videos directly to me, risking everything to break through the silence. This latest footage was sent to me straight from Kish Island in the Persian Gulf. Operating under the cover of night, the man in this video has escalated the campaign in a massive way. If you look closely at the building, he targeted a state-controlled mosque and a known hub for regime propaganda. He isn't just holding up a handwritten manifesto declaring "Iranians demand arms for freedom" alongside the name of King Reza Pahlavi. You can hear him whisper "Javid Shah" (Long Live the King) into the dark as the camera reveals he has spray-painted the exact demand, "ARM US," directly onto the regime's infrastructure. Defacing a state religious building with a demand for weapons is an automatic death sentence, but he is doing it anyway. For the millions they represent, arming themselves is now a tactical necessity for survival. Peaceful protest against live ammunition has proven impossible. They aren't asking for foreign boots on the ground; they are asking for the basic means to fight back against a systemic slaughter. And let’s be clear: the only viable path to effectively arming the Iranian people is through direct coordination with Prince Reza Pahlavi and his team. He risked his life in the dark to deliver this proof straight from the ground. More people need to amplify their calls. Do not let the regime bury his bravery.

🇬🇧Baruch, a Jewish NHS doctor, says he decided to move to Israel after repeatedly feeling unsafe in the UK. He revealed that some doctors told him they would refuse to treat dying Israelis in Britain’s emergency rooms.

Pourquoi est-ce que je passe mes nuits à écrire sur des philosophes morts et une idéologie de campus ? Parce que l’enjeu final n’est pas le débat culturel. L’enjeu final, c’est l’Armageddon. Et pour le comprendre, il faut passer par la thèse la plus vertigineuse de Peter Thiel, celle qui fait ricaner les commentateurs et qui est probablement la plus importante de notre époque. Résumé des épisodes précédents : le communisme n’est pas mort en 1989, il a muté (la French Theory), déménagé (les campus américains), et conquis les institutions occidentales sous un nouveau nom. Reste la question simple : et alors ? Que se passe-t-il s’il gagne ? C’est ici que Thiel entre en scène. J’ai raconté comment René Girard, à Stanford, a façonné son esprit. Depuis quelques années, Thiel donne des conférences sur un sujet qui fait sourire : l’Antéchrist. Quatre conférences à San Francisco l’automne dernier. Les gens rient. Ils ont tort. Que vous soyez croyant ou non, prenez ça comme la grille de lecture géopolitique la plus puissante disponible aujourd’hui. Voici la thèse. L’humanité moderne a deux cauchemars. Le premier s’appelle Armageddon : la guerre totale, l’arme nucléaire, la technologie qui échappe. Le second est plus subtil, et le génie de Thiel est de l’avoir nommé : l’Antéchrist. Dans les textes, l’Antéchrist ne se présente pas comme un destructeur. Il se présente comme un sauveur. Il arrive en promettant exactement ce que tout le monde veut entendre : « la paix et la sécurité ». Et c’est au moment précis où le monde entier répète « paix et sécurité » que la destruction tombe. Traduction moderne : la peur de l’Armageddon devient le prétexte de la tyrannie. Pour nous protéger de la guerre, du climat, de l’IA, de la haine, on construit l’État mondial homogène : surveillance totale, régulation totale, redistribution totale, stagnation totale. Thiel provoque en disant que l’Antéchrist de notre époque ne ressemblerait pas à un méchant de cinéma, mais à une activiste climatique ou à un régulateur humanitaire. Relisez maintenant le programme du néo-communisme : sécurité émotionnelle, gouvernance globale, censure de la « haine » et de la « désinformation », décroissance, égalité finale des résultats. Mot pour mot : paix et sécurité. Le néo-communisme ne viendra pas avec des chars. Il viendra avec des conformity officers, et nous l’applaudirons. Voilà la première branche du piège : si le wokisme gagne, nous obtenons la tyrannie douce planétaire. Le monde de 1984 avec le sourire de l’inclusion. Mais il y a une seconde branche, et elle est pire. Girard l’a enseignée à Thiel : quand la force qui retient s’effondre, la violence monte aux extrêmes. Les textes ont un mot pour cette force qui retient : le katechon. Depuis 1945, le katechon a un nom et une adresse : l’Occident. Sa puissance militaire, sa prospérité, sa capacité à dire le vrai. Or une civilisation qui a appris à se haïr ne retient plus rien. Les prédateurs l’ont compris avant nous : Moscou teste, Pékin patiente, l’islamisme avance. Un monde sans croissance est un monde à somme nulle, et un monde à somme nulle finit toujours par la guerre. Si le katechon tombe, la montée aux extrêmes reprend, avec des arsenaux que Clausewitz n’imaginait pas. Armageddon ou Antéchrist. Le chaos total ou le contrôle total. Voilà les deux seules sorties d’un monde où le néo-communisme gagne. C’est pour ça que ce combat n’est pas une « guerre culturelle ». C’est un triage civilisationnel. Et notez la coïncidence des dates, parce qu’elle n’en est pas une. Thiel date la grande stagnation du début des années 70 : l’énergie, les transports, la médecine, tout ralentit sauf les bits. Exactement le moment où la déconstruction achève sa conquête des campus. Nous avons marché sur la Lune en 1969, trois ans après le débarquement de la French Theory à Baltimore. Ensuite, une seule des deux courbes a continué de monter. Nous avons cessé de construire des fusées au moment où nous avons commencé à déconstruire des phrases. Alors, la correction. Elle est simple à énoncer et exigeante à exécuter. Nommer l’idéologie, partout où elle se cache. Couper ses vivres : plus un euro public pour ce qui enseigne la haine de l’héritage. Et reconstruire : l’énergie, l’espace, l’IA, l’école, le courage. Le chemin entre les deux abîmes est étroit, et il porte le nom que cette série répète depuis le début : construire. La croissance n’est pas une option économique. C’est la seule issue de secours de l’espèce. L’Occident n’est pas une civilisation parmi d’autres. C’est la force qui retient. Et la bonne nouvelle, c’est qu’une force qui retient, ça se reconstruit. Au travail.

In approximately year 1070, to boost England’s economy, William the Conqueror invited Jewish merchants and artisans from Normandy to come to England. Below a document written in Hebrew and Latin, attest to Jewish business interactions in England prior to the 1290 expulsion.

This 13-year-old boy brought his new mom to tears when he told a judge how happy he was to get adopted "They're the best thing I ever had". His sweet words will melt your heart.

What was the cheapest ticket across the Atlantic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries? STEERAGE. For millions of emigrants it meant crushing overcrowding and appalling squalor—while luxury existed only a few decks higher on the great liners. Click: bit.ly/4dM9qM1 . #19thCentury #OceanLinerHistory #MaritimeHistory #VictorianEra #AgeOfSteam

The trial of the Algerian-born man accused of stabbing three children outside a Dublin crèche has begun. The mother of a five year old victim has described her injuries:

The BBC is no longer going ahead with a #DoctorWho Christmas special this year and is seeking new production partners after Russell T Davies and Bad Wolf exited the sci-fi franchise. “And so GOODBYE from me to Doctor Who but HELLO to a big new future for the show, as the BBC announces it’s putting the show out to tender," Davies wrote. "You’ll have to wait a bit longer for new Doctor Who… but you’ll be waiting for MORE Doctor Who than a one-off. So it’s worth it!” variety.com/2026/tv/global/d…

David Lammy’s proposals to restrict the right to jury trial have been examined by the Justice Committee of the House of Commons. And. Well. Um. It’s *quite* the report. I think it’s actually worse than politely scathing. It’s embarrassing 👇🏼🪡🧵