Loose Ends

 Justice:noun (fairness) Fairness in the way people are dealt with. A little over 3 years ago. PC Andrew Harper was responding to a routine burglary case, little did he know but it would end up with him losing his life in what is probably one of the most agonising ways possible. Story here So horrific was this tragic loss of life that a campaign led by his grief-stricken widow has led to the government passing "Harpers Law" which mandates life sentences for the killing of emergency workers, it came into effect on 28th June 2022 We very nearly came to using this law less than 3 months later. This is an active case, so there is very little to go on, but that doesn't stop the court of public opinion shifting into overdrive. So other than the initial report that has comments of a few witness's there is very little else Initial report including witness claims We also know that armed police were involved in the chase because the vehicle had been flagged by ANPR as being use...

Whether you're a monarchist or a republican, one has to admit that we have reached the end of a rather astonishing era. For the past 7 decades the Queen has been a constant reminder of not only who we are now, but where we have come from, a lot has happened in the last 70 years. But for our monarchy, at its absolute barest, very little has changed. The Queens reign has certainly witnessed the evolution of Empire into what we now call the Commonwealth, but for all this time, Queen Elizabeth has largely performed little more than a ceremonial role steeped in tradition that most of us are unwilling to disband. I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong. Strong words from our (what was then Princess Elizabeth) spoken in 1947, 5 years before she became the Queen. Even her worst detractors wouldn't be able to argue that she didn't do exactly what she s...

Quite a thought provoking statement, after all it was a well respected French philosopher of the enlightenment who wrote it. Except it isn't a Voltaire quote at all, it was actually lifted from a 1993 essay written by Neo-Nazi Kevin Strom. Now, try reading it again and the whole meaning feels very different. Language is a very powerful thing, its created civilisations our ancient African ancestors would never be able to comprehend.  So when we look at language, its worth remembering where its come from, who is using it and what agenda do they have? But most importantly, are they providing any balance? Every critical thinker should have his or her own personal devils advocate looking over their shoulder. So with that in mind, I stumbled across an article from the far left extremist group hope not hate. Its about as one sided an argument you could possibly get, so I thought I would provide some much needed balance. Now you could easily be forgiven for thinking that organisations like...

I love the internet.com. Everything is just right there at ones fingertips. So much information a mere click of a button away. Its not all good though obviously, there is probably a lot more bad than there is good. I have my interwebs browser set up in a very specific way. One bunch of links labelled left wing thinking and another for the right wing. Its by no means infallible, there is plenty of overlap. But it isn't a bad rule of thumb. So I was looking through my left wing list to find something interesting when I found this link on the Huffington post from 2016. I had a shrewd idea where it was going to go, and I normally give up reading something from an extreme left wing media outlet if it doesn't grab my attention. But I was immediately swept up in how well crafted this article was. I must doff my cap to the author. It highlighted rather succinctly how historians study the past, and although it missed out a few key elements, for its length, he made his argument very wel...

"If fascism ever comes to America, it'll come in the name of liberalism" Ronald Reagan: 60 minutes 1975 Of course, its very easy to quote from the past and attach it however liberally you like to pretty much anything you want in order to back up your beliefs. Just take a look at how many people quote Orwell out of context or any host of eminent academics of the past. Yet having devoured Douglas Murray's latest book "The War On The West" my mind was immediately drawn to this Reagan quote from almost 50 years ago before I had even finished the introduction. Divided neatly into 4 easily digestible chunks and 3 very interesting interludes, the final conclusion leaves not only Murray admitting he has no definitive answer, but to leave the reader in the belief that at this point even token resistance is futile. In fact, what I found was most interesting about the whole book was one could imagine Murray typing himself into a depressed stupor and leaving the book al...

In 1976 little known US female Tennis player Renee Richards was outed publicly as a man by local Tv anchor Richard Carlson. It caused such a stir that it prompted the USTA, WTA and the USOC to require all athletes who wish to compete in the female category of sports to subject themselves to the Barr body test of their chromosomes to ensure that they were biologically women. (Fun fact: Richard Carlson is the father of Tucker Carlson) In the 1976 US open, Richards applied to compete as a woman but refused to take the test so was not allowed to compete in that years open, Wimbledon or the Italian open. In 1977 Richards sued the USTA in the New York courts alleging discrimination by gender. On August 16th 1977 Judge Alfred M. Ascione found in Richards favour. While her tennis career never quite hit the heights that many predicted, a precedent had been set and nearly a half century later sport is still struggling with this difficult legacy. How much of an advantage do transgender women have...