🐾 Dave – The Rambling Donkey

  On 6 January 2021, thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered in Washington, D.C., near the White House for what was billed as a “Save America” rally. It was a cold winter morning, and the outgoing president took the stage to speak for more than an hour. His tone was defiant, his message familiar: that the election had been stolen from him, that his supporters had to fight to save their country. He told them, “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol … to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” but he also warned, “If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” After the speech, the crowd moved towards the Capitol, where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s victory. Among them were ordinary citizens, political activists, and organised extremists. Within an hour, the protest became a riot. Barricades fell, windows were smashed, and the chanting of slogans gave way to shouts and screams. The mob flooded the steps and c...

Every year, as October draws to a close, the same chorus rises from pulpits and Facebook feeds alike: “Christians shouldn’t celebrate Halloween. It glorifies evil. It opens the door to darkness.” Yet few feasts are more deeply rooted in Christian imagination — and few refusals less so — than Halloween. To understand it rightly is to recover a truth the Gospels teach again and again: that the quiet faith of the humble outshines the loud virtue of the self-righteous, and that light is never found by hiding from the dark. The very name “Halloween” means “All Hallows’ Eve,” the night before All Saints’ Day. Like Christmas Eve, it began as a vigil — the Church gathering at night to remember the faithful departed, to light candles against the darkness, to proclaim that Christ’s victory extends even to the grave. The flicker of candlelight in a pumpkin is not a flirtation with evil; it is an act of defiance. It says, in the language of children, that the darkness does not win. It ...

  The decision to bar fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending their Europa League match against Aston Villa in Birmingham has exposed a deeper fault line in British life — the persistent blurring of Judaism with the state of Israel, and the confusion that follows when identity and politics merge. The city’s Safety Advisory Group, backed by West Midlands Police, deemed the 6 November fixture a “high-risk” event, citing intelligence and the violent clashes between Maccabi and Ajax supporters in Amsterdam last year, which Dutch officials described as a “toxic mix of antisemitism, hooliganism, and anger” over the Gaza war. Birmingham officials insisted the restriction was purely a safety measure. Yet the political and moral aftershocks suggested something far more complex. Within hours, Keir Starmer condemned the move, warning that “we will not tolerate antisemitism on our streets.” Kemi Badenoch called it a “national disgrace,” saying it implied “there are parts of Britain where Jew...

The debate over Reform UK’s stance on immigration has reignited questions about racism in British politics. A new YouGov survey (29–30 September 2025) , conducted for ITV’s Peston , provides fresh insight into how Britons see the party, its policies, and its voters — and how these views compare with what people think Prime Minister Keir Starmer believes. 1. What Britons Think When asked directly about Reform UK: The party overall : 47% say “generally racist,” 36% “not racist,” with around 17% unsure. Its policies : 46% say “racist,” 35% “not,” 19% don’t know. Its voters : 43% say “racist,” 35% “not,” 22% don’t know. 👉 In all three cases, more people say “racist” than say “not racist,” but the country is still quite divided. 2. What People Think Starmer Thinks The survey also tested perceptions of the Prime Minister’s stance: Party & policies : About 60–61% think he sees them as racist. Voters : 49% think he sees them as racist. 👉 Britons believe Starmer...

  Every few years the same stories about Nigel Farage’s schooldays at Dulwich resurface — claims that he sang Nazi songs, marched about with Hitler Youth chants, or held racist views as a teenager. He’s always denied it. Now, here’s the thing: if those stories were completely false , why hasn’t Farage ever taken his accusers or the newspapers to court? 📌 Under UK libel law, it would actually be quite easy for him to try. All he’d need to show is that his reputation was damaged (hard to deny when it’s splashed in national papers). The burden would then fall on the journalists and former classmates to prove their claims were true. So why no lawsuit? Why no courtroom showdown? Because a court case would drag all the old evidence into the spotlight: The 1981 letter from a Dulwich teacher warning the headmaster about Farage’s “racist and neo-fascist views.” Classmates who say they remember the chants and the provocations. Years of consistent testimony from people who knew him ...

Inspired by:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martial-arts/articles/c9390dlg637o   Washington, D.C. It’s Independence Day, but the South Lawn is unrecognisable. Floodlights bathe a colossal octagonal cage in artificial daylight. Drones circle overhead, streaming every moment to an audience of hundreds of millions. President Trump, deep into his third term, presides in a glass pavilion, grinning and waving, flanked by billionaire sponsors and viral personalities. The main event—the Declaration Rumble —features a line-up of faded celebrities and digital gladiators. The winner takes home a golden medal and a lucrative reality contract; the rest leave with bruises and trending hashtags. “America was built on competition!” Trump declares, his words thundering over the bloodthirsty crowd. As the fighters circle, the Capitol dome flashes with the sponsor’s logo, a rotating carousel of crypto, delivery, and casino empires. On-screen, the “Secretary of Entertainment” hands out com...