Until UK Column starts printing labels, this will remain my favourite.

There will be light (if any) traffic on this channel until January. Thank you very much indeed for subscribing and contributing to what has, I hope, been useful, informative and—largely—positive material.

The comment and debate has been enriching and it feels to me as though 2023 is a year which will conclude with many people feeling that bit more resilient and in better shape to face what comes in the new year. In the absence of white knights on the near horizon, or the chances of any particular movement bursting the dam wall, it falls to each of us to get our own house in order in the first instance.

Building knowledge, skills and strong relationships with those that you can learn from and depend upon strikes me as a better bet than putting your faith in an amorphous organisation. Learning how to deal with each situation as it comes down the track is empowering, and resistance starts with small and simple acts.

I hope you have a very Happy Christmas and that you give yourself enough time to make the most of the people that you care about and I will look forward to pushing on in 2024.

Charles

'As Israel proceeds towards its self-destruction, those who believe themselves to be its friends not only fail to stop it; they profess their unwavering, unconditional support for its campaign of mass murder. A true friend who understands the principle of national karma would counsel the opposite.

A true friend would have said, on October 8, “You have a unique opportunity to break the cycle of hate. When you fly your bombing sorties over Gaza, fill the planes with pictures of the victims and the word, ‘Enough!’ And then lay your proposal for peace and justice before the world. Start with international peacekeepers and truth & reconciliation commissions. Look honestly at how you have contributed to the conditions that breed terrorism against you, and stop! Because if you unleash your vengeance, you will intensify those conditions a hundredfold. But if you make a move towards peace at this crucial moment when the whole world is watching, you will alter the course of history.”'

Charles Eisenstein, 29 Dec 23.

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https://open.substack.com/pub/charleseisenstein/p/friends-dont-let-friends-destroy?

Best foot forward for 2024; a very Happy New Year to you. Thank you for all the comments and considered remarks during the past fortnight. Remember, how this year turns out is up to us.

Charles

Not enough room in Google's bed for wee Sadiq?

In a piece on Bab-al-Mandab Strait, today, from the BBC, it seems to be one rule for them and another for......

'The group of 12 states - Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK and the US - issued a formal warning to the Houthis.

They called ongoing Houthi attacks in the Red Sea "illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilising" and said there was "no lawful justification for intentionally targeting civilian shipping and naval vessels".

They said if the group continued to attack shipping, it would "bear the consequences".

That is widely interpreted as a threat of military action against targets in Yemen, including where missiles are stored and launched.'

The Horn of Africa came up on UK Column News yesterday; the BBC has skirted around the stoking of regional conflict by the UK. HMG has trained Ethiopian and Somali military, as well as funding the development of sea access for Ethiopian military purposes via port of Berbera in Somaliland. Ethiopia now recognises Somaliland as a sovereign state, which has driven Somalia into apoplexy. Your taxes have paid for this.

UKC News segment below this post.

World Powers Scramble For Horn Of Africa: Is Britain Pulling Port Strings? - UK Column News - 3rd January 2024

- United Nations Support Office in Somalia: UK support for Somalia’s security forces: The UK Government announced a further £5 million in funding to support Somalia’s Security Forces
- Addis Standard: ‘Historic’ MoU with Somaliland sees Ethiopia secure access to sea, diversify seaport 
- DP World Berbera Port: About DP WORLD BERBERA
- GOV.UK (2021): UK Ambassador launches construction of the Hargeisa bypass

Sources: www.ukcolumn.org/video/uk-column-news-13th-december-2023

Have you come across the One Small Town initiative? Reports of any engagement with it and comment on the token system (in particular) very welcome.

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https://www.onesmalltown.org/tokens

Good job the Russians don't use Twitter.

Broadcasting the contents of their Christmas Stocking to the world makes the Ukrainians look terrifically juvenile and it completely undermines the suggestion that they are taking part in anything other than a prolonged photoshoot. Wag The Dog had nothing on these guys.

This glossy picture shows an item with just one intended purpose; to end human life. Are there any previous examples of countries at war deciding to advertise their capabilities, dispositions and financial predicament in real time?

Perhaps the definition of OPSEC has been revised in the latest digital edition of battlefield terminology.

Toby Young, who purports to be a champion of free speech and a staunch opponent of 'lockdown', is prepared to admit to surrendering his self-control to an app flogged by the NHS.

To watch such a character willingly and publicly plonk himself into his own social credit prison has provided more irony than I was expecting during the first week of the year.

And, if you were wondering; pun intended.

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https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/could-a-100-bottle-limit-help-me-cut-down-on-drinking/

Despite the best efforts of the No Health Sinkhole and the 'gender and genital' militia, I still marvel at the wonder of rainbows. After all, the original version was around for a few years before anyone tried meddling with it.

Based on the same principle, enjoying the music of The Waterboys still works, even if Mike Scott went off the rails with a case of the sniffles.

As 2024 stretches out ahead of us, the potency of the lyrics to Spirit remains. Even if you're not a fan of the music, the words are worth listening to.

Short version.

Full version.

And, for the indulgent, live from Glastonbury, 1986.

If you've been wondering where a good chunk of your pocket money is going this year, this Briefing Paper has some answers.

Of course, the delivery of military support is balanced by further support to the vast number of Ukrainian migrants accepted into the UK, who are fleeing the violence wrought by the supply of military support.

To June 2023, 179,000 Ukrainians were accepted into the UK as refugees, a figure equal to the total number of refugees accepted into the country between 2014 and 2021.

'Detailed timeline of UK military assistance to Ukraine (February 2022-present)

'The UK is one of the leading donors to Ukraine, alongside the US and Germany. To date, the UK has pledged over £9.3 billion in overall support to Ukraine (PDF), of which £4.6 billion is for military assistance in the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24. The Government has not yet allocated funding for
2024/25. Funding is being met from the Treasury Reserve and will not come from the MOD’s main budget.'

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https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9914/CBP-9914.pdf

G D makes the following suggestion (underneath this post), with which it is hard to argue. Have you any experience of taking such measure?. This is precisely what Chris Coverdale deals with on the subject of Tax Rebellion.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuYiKb9CwQY

When filing your tax returns, all UK citizens should include a note to say that you are withholding the portion that is being wasted on a contrived conflict that has nothing to do with the UK anyway.... and of course withhold the funds too.

TASS reporting that the United States is prepared to jump into action, now that they have confirmed the death of Gonzalo Lira, in Ukrainian custody.

The State Department website makes no mention of this.

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https://tass.com/world/1731827

Good morning. A brief reminder that messages like this are most certainly not from me, and should be disregarded.

Similarly, if you receive a private message from this channel, it is spam, and not the edible kind (perhaps fortunately).

The tells are heart-shaped emojis, inane questions improbable websites.

Charles

We reap what we sow, it seems!

There remains a unique quality to the language used by the British Army. Some will remember with fondness the pages in pamphlets inscribed only with the ironic words ‘Page Intentionally Blank’.

77 Brigade decided to advertise a job with the following text:

‘77th Brigade seeks to deliver non-lethal effects to change audience behaviour through non-kinetic actions, to have a cognitive effect across the Integrated Operating Framework.’

A prize to anyone who guessed, correctly, that this is for a recruitment job. It is not clear whether the post is balanced by another delivering lethal effects.

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https://www.findforcesjobs.mod.gov.uk/vx/mobile-0/appcentre-ext/brand-5/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/3/opp/7486-SO3-Assessment/en-GB

For a detailed account of the suppression of critical thinking and freedom of expression in the education system in the UK, this interview is tremendous and outrageous at the same time. Three young men spoke with admirable maturity to Debi Evans about the efforts made to crush dissent in the young; mostly via the meddling of PREVENT.

I give this a very strong recommendation and if you are aware of any similar occurrences or experiences, please post in the comments. This situation must change. If you think this would strike a chord, please share it.

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https://www.ukcolumn.org/video/prevented-education-controlling-the-narrative-in-colleges-and-universities

For those watching UK Column News Extra this afternoon, the scene I referred to from In The Loop is below. There is something about the fictional Simon Foster which reminds me of Grant Shapps. If only everything Shapps did was so funny, and without the deadly consequences.

Brace yourself for a torrent of profanity.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJpQk6YAw1s