Podcast appearances and mentions of Claire Fox

British libertarian writer and politician

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Claire Fox

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Best podcasts about Claire Fox

Latest podcast episodes about Claire Fox

The spiked podcast
362: Starmer's Brexit sellout

The spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 42:11


Claire Fox, Tom Slater and Fraser Myers discuss Keir Starmer's dreadful deal with the EU, the Lucy Connolly scandal and the cover-up of Joe Biden's frailty.

Academy of Ideas
The scary new powers to trawl through our bank accounts

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2025 48:58


Claire Fox sits down with Jasleen Chaggar of Big Brother Watch and author Timandra Harkness to talk about the latest attack on our privacy. The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill does not sound like the kind of legislation that will set your pulse racing. But one part of it in particular should be more widely known and the cause of great concern: the new eligibility verification powers for welfare recipients. Essentially, if the Bill passes, the government will be able to demand that banks trawl through the accounts of anyone receiving welfare benefits and use algorithms to flag up any possible fraud or erroneous payments. The government already has the power to see bank statements from those who are suspected of welfare fraud, but these new powers go much further, automating these checks on any account receiving welfare payments AND any linked accounts, too. This is guilty-until-proven-innocent stuff. The civil liberties implications are very serious.

Last Orders - a spiked podcast
110: The insanity of the war on vapes

Last Orders - a spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 3, 2025 52:19


The great Claire Fox joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for another episode of Last Orders, the spiked podcast all about freedom and the nanny state. They discuss the latest on the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the anti-terror law that shut down a flower show, and the scourge of the anti-smoking playbook. Listen, share and give us a glowing review on your podcast app. Also, send your postbag questions to lastorders@spiked-online.com and we'll try to answer them in a future episode. Read spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/    Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/ 

The Red Box Politics Podcast
Tit-For-Tat Trade War

The Red Box Politics Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 32:14


As the US and China continue their economic tit-for-tat, the UK is told that even a trade deal may not spare it from 10% tariffs. Can anyone win Trump's trade war?Ed Vaizey unpacks the politics of the day with Michael Binyon and Claire Fox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The spiked podcast
348: The truth about 7 October

The spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 39:58


Claire Fox, Josh Howie and Tom Slater discuss the denial of Hamas's barbarism, the culture war over Adolescence, the panic over Andrew Tate, and the Sullivan Review. Tom will be speaking at the Free Speech Union event, ‘Policing the streets vs policing our tweets', in Belfast on Friday 11 April. Get tickets: https://freespeechunion.org/event/belfast-speakeasy-policing-the-streets-vs-policing-our-tweets/ Take your business to the next level with Shopify. Sign up now and get a £1-per-month trial period: https://shopify.co.uk/spiked  Celebrate 25 years of spiked. Donate £25 or more to get a year's membership of spiked supporters for half the usual price: https://www.spiked-online.com/donate/ 

The Red Box Politics Podcast
Where Do Peace Talks Go From Here?

The Red Box Politics Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 14, 2025 29:22


Russia says there is "a lot ahead to be done" on the Ukrainian ceasefire deal; what concessions can Donald Trump realistically extract from Vladimir Putin? Ed Vaizey unpacks the politics of the day with Michael Binyon and Claire Fox. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Academy of Ideas
Podcast of Ideas: does England need a football regulator?

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2025 59:29


Next week, the Football Governance Bill will go to Report Stage in the House of Lords. While it will then go to the House of Commons, the debates in the House of Lords are a chance to amend a piece of legislation that threatens to damage English football in ways that. as yet, are not getting enough attention. The introduction of an Independent Football Regulator (IFR) has become a controversial subject as the realities are becoming clearer, and unintended consequences are dawning on more and more football owners, managers and fans.  So, to help you to see what all the fuss is about, Liverpool fan Alastair Donald brought together our own Geoff Kidder and QPR season-ticket holder Simon McKeon alongside – hot from the Lords front line debating the legislation – Claire Fox, and two of the most vocal speakers on the topic: Baroness (Natalie) Evans of Bowes Park and Lord (Nick) Markham.

Academy of Ideas
Girls only: Sall Grover and the fight for women's rights

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 20, 2025 48:21


Claire Fox talks to Sall Grover and Katherine Deves about their fight in Australia to reassert in law that a woman is an adult human female. Sall Grover is the founder of the female-only app, Giggle for Girls and Katherine Deves is one of her legal team. Both have been visiting the UK from Australia to get support for their appeal of an important test-case decision on the definition of ‘woman', which Sall lost last year. It all began when then 54-year-old biological male Roxanne Tickle from New South Wales, who identifies as a woman, complained to the Australian Human Rights Commission when moderators withdrew his access to Giggle for Girls, because - well, to state the obvious - the app is exclusively for women. However, when the subsequent case (known as Tickle v Giggle) was tried at the Federal Court, Justice Robert Bromwich concluded that, according to Australian law, sex is ‘changeable and not necessarily binary'. The ruling effectively eradicated the category of sex in law. The decision set a dangerous legal precedent with international implications, summed up by Jo Bartosch's headline at the time: ‘Australia has abolished womanhood'.  They talk about the case, the pros and cons of facial recognition (which the app used to determine who was a woman and who wasn't), lawfare, the #MeToo movement and how human rights NGOs have become enmeshed in trans ideology. They also discuss the real-world impact of this trend for the likes of Scottish nurse Sandie Peggie, who was suspended from Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, in January 2024 after she objected to Dr ‘Beth' Upton (Theodore Upton) - who identifies as a woman but is a biological male - using the female staff changing facilities.

Cross Question with Iain Dale
Luke Pollard, Lucy Frazer, Stephen Bush & Baroness Claire Fox

Cross Question with Iain Dale

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2025 52:23


Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are defence minister and Labour MP Luke Pollard, former Conservative culture secretary Lucy Frazer, Financial Times columnist Stephen Bush and non-affiliated peer Claire Fox.

Iain Dale - The Whole Show
Will Trump's online rants achieve peace?

Iain Dale - The Whole Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2025 144:27


Will Trump's online rants achieve peace?Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are defence minister and Labour MP Luke Pollard, former Conservative culture secretary Lucy Frazer, Financial Times columnist Stephen Bush and non-affiliated peer Claire Fox.

The spiked podcast
324: Syria: has HTS changed?

The spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 12, 2024 43:57


Claire Fox, Tom Slater and Fraser Myers discuss the end of the Assad regime, the ‘hot assassin', the trial of Daniel Penny and the rise of Reform. Get your tickets for Brendan O'Neill online event with James Dreyfus, on Wednesday 18 December, 7pm BST. Sign up here: https://www.spiked-online.com/events/  Please give generously to spiked's Christmas give-a-thon. If you donate £50 or more, you can also get a free spiked mug, while stocks last. (UK postal addresses only.) Donate here: https://www.spiked-online.com/donate/  Take your business to the next level with Shopify. Sign up now and get a £1-per-month trial period: https://shopify.co.uk/spiked  Treat yourself to Beckett's Gin this Christmas. Viewers can get 20 per cent off all spirits, including Beckett's brand new, limited-edition, single-malt English whisky, here: https://beckettsgin.co.uk/spiked 

Cross Question with Iain Dale
Josh Tapper, Baroness Claire Fox, Richard Holden & Ben Lake

Cross Question with Iain Dale

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 53:10


Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are former Gogglebox star turned Labour campaigner Josh Tapper, non-affiliated peer Claire Fox, Conservative MP Richard Holden and Plaid Cymru MP and Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake.

Iain Dale - The Whole Show
Is Donald Trump a fascist?

Iain Dale - The Whole Show

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 29, 2024 146:20


Can the UK put any pressure on Israel to allow UNRWA aid into Gaza? And is Donald Trump a fascist?Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are former Gogglebox star turned Labour campaigner Josh Tapper, non-affiliated peer Claire Fox, Conservative MP Richard Holden and Plaid Cymru MP and Treasury spokesperson Ben Lake.

Democracy Forum
Democracy Forum 9/20/24: Propaganda: Is This For Real?

Democracy Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 20, 2024 57:35


Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We want to talk about propaganda: its manifestations in U.S. history and currently, its hallmarks, its sponsors, its uses and effects. How do we define propaganda? How is this different from mis- and dis-information or from run-of-the-mill campaign messaging? And we want to talk about ways that people can recognize propaganda and push back. Guest/s: Michael Franz, Professor of Government and Legal Studies at Bowdoin College, and co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project. www.bowdoin.edu/profiles/faculty/mfranz/index.html Jason Stanley, the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy, Yale University, and author of the new book, Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future. campuspress.yale.edu/jasonstanley/ To learn more about this topic: Erasing History, Jason Stanley, 2024, www.simonandschuster.com/books/Erasing-History/Jason-Stanley/9781668056912 Letters from an American | Heather Cox Richardson June, 2024 heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/june-12-2024 Russia and China Are Winning the Propaganda War | The Atlantic, Anne Applebaum, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2024/06/china-russia-republican-party-relations/678271/ The Government Needs to Act Fast to Protect the Election | The Atlantic, Gowri Ramachandran and Lawrence Norden, June 2024 www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/06/murthy-v-missouri-supreme-court/678829/?utm_campaign=atlantic-daily-newsletter&utm_content=20240628&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&lctg=6050e9c24c8a1e4095007a21&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20Daily Media Control, Noam Chomsky, 2022 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/213835/media-control-by-noam-chomsky/ Propaganda's Progression | Foreign Policy February, 2021 foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/01/propaganda-russia-trump-misinformation-capitol-riot/ Spending Fast and Furious: Political Advertising in 2020, Michael Franz, et. al, 2020 digitalcommons.bowdoin.edu/government-faculty-publications/5/ How Propaganda Works, Jason Stanley, 2015 press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691173429/how-propaganda-works Master of American Propaganda | American Experience | Official Site | PBS www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/the-great-war-master-of-american-propaganda/ Where Truth Lies | Hidden Brain Media hiddenbrain.org/podcast/where-truth-lies/ Is all Propaganda bad? | Nabb Research Center Online Exhibits libapps.salisbury.edu/nabb-online/exhibits/show/propaganda/what-is-propaganda-/is-all-propaganda-bad- About the host: Ann Luther currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 9/20/24: Propaganda: Is This For Real? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

IEA Conversations
The Battle for Truth: Social Media, Riots, and Freedom of Expression

IEA Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 16, 2024 41:30


In this thought-provoking episode of the IEA Podcast, host Matthew Lesh and editorial director Kristian Niemietz are joined by Claire Fox, director of the Academy of Ideas, to discuss the complex interplay between free speech, misinformation, and recent UK riots. The conversation delves into the challenges of defining and addressing disinformation in the digital age, exploring how attempts to suppress speech can inadvertently fuel conspiracy theories and erode trust in institutions.The panel examines recent cases where individuals have faced legal consequences for offensive social media posts, questioning the balance between protecting free expression and maintaining public order. They debate the effectiveness of content moderation strategies, from government intervention to community-driven approaches like Twitter's "community notes" feature. The discussion also touches on the broader cultural shift away from free speech principles and the potential dangers of overreacting to perceived threats to democracy. Throughout the episode, Fox, Lesh, and Niemietz offer nuanced perspectives on the complexities of managing speech in the modern era. They consider the unintended consequences of well-intentioned policies and emphasize the importance of fostering a culture that values open dialogue and critical thinking. This episode provides listeners with a deeper understanding of the tensions between free expression and social harmony in contemporary society. We bring you a current affairs podcast with a difference. We want to get beyond the headlines and instead focus on the big ideas and foundational principles that matter to classical liberals. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

The Vance Crowe Podcast
Clashing Perspectives: Race Riots, Immigration, and Free Speech in the UK With Claire Fox

The Vance Crowe Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 13, 2024 72:31


Baroness Claire Fox returns to the podcast today. Long time listeners know that I invite Claire on whenever I want to know what's going on with either Free Speech or the UK. It just so happens this week that that is all in chaos right now. We cover questions like: Are there race riots going on in the UK? Are there two tiered police systems? What's going on with the government clampdown on social media? This fascinating conversation may blow your mind, and you'll see me be humbled when my understanding of the situation gets flipped upside down by Claire.Timestamps:0:00 - Intro5:37 - Breaking down the horrific recent events in the UK19:25 - What are the average UK citizens believing?27:59 - It seems like the UK is burning40:18 - Is civil disobedience the right path?47:55 - Where will racial tensions be in 5 years?58:52 - We must stop printing money1:05:46 - The only way to stop the mob1:10:43 - How close is the UK to civil war? Connect with us!   =============================IG: ➡︎   / legacy_interviews  ===========================How To Work With Us: ===========================Want to do a Legacy Interview for you or a loved one?Book a Legacy Interview | https://legacyinterviews.com/ —A Legacy Interview is a two-hour recorded interview with you and a host that can be watched now and viewed in the future. It is a recording of what you experienced, the lessons you learned and the family values you want passed down. We will interview you or a loved one, capturing the sound of their voice, wisdom and a sense of who they are. These recorded conversations will be private, reserved only for the people that you want to share it with.#Vancecrowepodcast #legacyinterviews

Coffee House Shots
Will Starmer crack down on social media?

Coffee House Shots

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2024 17:20


Courts have started giving out severe sentences to those involved in the riots today, but there is a continued clamouring for Keir Starmer to do more. The next step seems to be cracking down on discussions online, where social media platforms such as X and Telegram could be inflaming the riots. Could the government give in to this pressure, and what do we, as a society, lose if so? Cindy Yu talks to Katy Balls and non-affiliated peer Claire Fox. Produced by Cindy Yu.

Woman's Hour
Woman's Hour live from Lord's Cricket Ground

Woman's Hour

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2024 56:34


Today, Woman's Hour comes live from Lord's Cricket Ground as England face New Zealand for the culmination of a five-match T20 International series. To talk us through the upcoming game we are joined by Ebony Rainford-Brent MBE. Ebony is a World Cup-winning cricketer, now turned presenter and pundit. We begin by looking at the grassroots game which is growing at a fast rate. We hear from girls at Carlton Cricket Club about why they love the sport, also from 16-year-old Honor Black who's clothing company, Maiden, designs kit specifically for girls. We also hear again from Ebony Rainford-Brent. Ebony was the first black woman to play cricket for England and founded the African-Caribbean Engagement Programme, ACE, which creates opportunities for young cricketers to take up the game. Nuala gets a tour around the 'Home of Cricket', and the spots of most significance to women's history at Lord's. Woman's Hour also looks at the situation for women's cricket in 2024. How far has the sport come and what is left to do? Beth Barrett-Wild is Director of the Women's Professional Game at the England and Wales Cricket Board and joins Nuala live. They will discuss the many successes in the women's game but also a damning report which found that women were treated as ‘second class citizens' in cricket and recommended that the ECB strive to ensure equal pay on average at domestic level by 2029 and at international level by 2030.Ahead of England's match against New Zealand in the culmination of the five-match T20 International series, New Zealand's star player and former captain Suzie Bates joins Nuala to look ahead to the game and discuss women's cricket in NZ. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce and Claire Fox

Democracy Forum
Democracy Forum 6/21/24: Order in the Court: Who's Your Judge?

Democracy Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 21, 2024 58:22


Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We talk about the Maine judiciary. 1. How are judges chosen in Maine? 2. Compare Maine’s judicial selection process to the federal system and to other states. 3. What standards of judicial ethics apply? 4. Are judges in Maine subject to undue influence by narrow special or partisan interests? 5. Are judges in Maine facing escalating threats, the way judges are in other states? 6. What insulates Maine? How fragile are our protections? Guest/s: – Leigh Saufley, President and Dean of the University of Maine School of Law, former Chief Justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/leigh-i-saufley/ – David Sachar, Director of Judicial Ethics at the National Center for State Courts. www.ncsc.org/staff-directory/staff/david-sachar – Dmitry Bam, Vice Dean/Provost, Professor of Law at the University of Maine School of Law. mainelaw.maine.edu/faculty/profile/dmitry-bam/ To learn more about this topic: 1. Judicial Nominations | Office of Governor Janet T. Mills www.maine.gov/governor/mills/about/judicial_nominations 2. Maine Judicial Branch courts.maine.gov/ 3. State of Maine Judicial Responsibility and Disability Committee www.cjc.maine.gov/index.html 4. How to file a judicial complaint in Maine www.cjc.maine.gov/file_complaint.html 5. Can State Supreme Courts Preserve—or Expand—Rights? | The New Yorker, June 2024 www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/10/can-state-supreme-courts-preserve-or-expand-rights 6. Defense attorneys, ACLU question whether new bail reviews for unrepresented defendants are working | Portland Press Herald, May 2024 www.pressherald.com/2024/05/28/defense- attorneys-aclu-question-if-new-bail-reviews-for-unrepresented-defendants-are-actually-working/?uuid=43807610-1735-4ac6-af9e-fed1faa9554c&lid=12766 7. Probate court reform overdue | Editorials | ellsworthamerican.com, May 2024 www.ellsworthamerican.com/opinion/editorials/probate-court-reform-overdue/article_32f84f7a-eadf-11ee-b70f-0f051fa172be.html 8. Maine officials seek suspension of Hancock County probate judge | BDN, April 2024 www.bangordailynews.com/2024/04/10/hancock/hancock-police-courts/seek-suspension-william-blaisdell-iv-probate-judge-joam40zk0w/ 9. Judges and Prosecutors, Targeted by Trump, Will Not Be Intimidated, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, April 2024 lucid.substack.com/p/judges-and-prosecutors-targeted-by 10. Judicial Leaders Praise Federal Bill to Protect State Judges | NCSC, March 2024 www.ncsc.org/newsroom/news-releases/2024/judicial-leaders-praise-federal-bill-to-protect-state-judges2 11. Maine’s chief justice cites progress and challenges for backlogged court system | Maine Public, February 2024 www.mainepublic.org/courts-and-crime/2024-02-21/maines-chief-justice-cites-progress-and-challenges-for-backlogged-court-system 12. Maine’s Part-Time Court | Maine Monitor, June 2023 themainemonitor.org/maines-part-time-court/ 13. Maine courts may take until 2028 to touch backlog of cases | Maine Monitor, March 2023 themainemonitor.org/maine-courts-may-take-until-2028-to-touch-backlog-of-cases/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 6/21/24: Order in the Court: Who's Your Judge? first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

The Climate Denier's Playbook
Climate: The Movie [Patreon Preview]

The Climate Denier's Playbook

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2024 34:13


How can we possibly be expected to trust settled climate science when we simply refuse to do so? Listen to the full episode on our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/deniersplaybook) SOCIALS & MORE (https://linktr.ee/deniersplaybook)CREDITS Created by: Rollie Williams, Nicole Conlan & Ben BoultHosts: Rollie Williams & Nicole ConlanExecutive Producer: Ben Boult Producers: Ben Boult & Gregory Haddock Editor: Gregory HaddockResearchers: Carly Rizzuto, Canute Haroldson & James CrugnaleArt: Jordan Doll Music: Tony Domenick Special Thanks: The Civil Liberties Defense CenterSOURCES:Battle of Ideas 2015 | speaker | Martin Durkin. (n.d.). Archive.battleofideas.org.uk. Retrieved June 8, 2024British Thought Leaders. (2024, April 23). The Science Simply Does Not Support the Ridiculous Hysteria Around Climate At All: Martin Durkin. YouTube. Burns, D. (2024, April 11). Review of Climate: The Movie (The Cold Truth) reveals numerous, well-known misinformation talking points and inaccuracies - Science Feedback. Https://Science.feedback.org/. Claire Fox. (n.d.). Academy of Ideas. Retrieved June 11, 2024Clement, N. O., Michael E. Mann, Gernot Wagner, Don Wuebbles, Andrew Dessler, Andrea Dutton, Geoffrey Supran, Matthew Huber, Thomas Lovejoy, Ilissa Ocko, Peter C. Frumhoff, Joel. (2021, June 1). That “Obama Scientist” Climate Skeptic You've Been Hearing About ... Scientific American. Cook, J. (2019). Arguments from Global Warming Skeptics and what the science really says. Skeptical Science. Desmog. (n.d.). Willie Soon. DeSmog. Retrieved June 10, 2024Does Urban Heat Island effect exaggerate global warming trends? (2015, July 5). Skeptical Science. GOV.UK. (n.d.). FAST CAR FILMS LIMITED filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK. Find-And-Update.company-Information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved June 8, 2024Hayhoe, K. (2017, November 23). New rebuttal to the myth “climate scientists are in it for the money” courtesy of Katharine Hayhoe. Skeptical Science. Hayhoe, K. (2024, April). Katharine Hayhoe on LinkedIn: There's a new climate denial movie doing the rounds. In the first 42… | 54 comments. Www.linkedin.com. Hobbes, M. (2023, June 18). x.com. X (Formerly Twitter). Jaffe, E. (2011, October 25). Bloomberg - Are you a robot? Www.bloomberg.com. Kriss, S. (2016, May 12). “Brexit: the Movie” Reveals Why the Upper Classes Are So Excited About the Prospect of Leaving the EU. Vice. Lowenstein, A. M. (2024, March 21). A Green New Shine for a Tired Playbook. DeSmog. Martin Durkin. (n.d.). DeSmog. Retrieved June 8, 2024Mason, J., & BaerbelW. (2024, March 23). Climate - the Movie: a hot mess of (c)old myths! Skeptical Science. Overland, I., & Sovacool, B. K. (2020). The misallocation of climate research funding. Energy Research & Social Science, 62(62), 101349. Ramachandran, N. (2021, February 11). Asacha Media Group Takes Majority Stake in U.K.'s WAG Entertainment. Variety. Schmidt, G. (2023, September 6). RealClimate: As Soon as Possible. Www.realclimate.org. Sethi, P., & Ward, B. (2024, May 2). Fake graphs and daft conspiracy yarns in Durkin's latest propaganda film. Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Wag Entertainment. (n.d.). Wag. Wagentertainment.com. Retrieved June 8, 2024Weinersmith, Z. (2012, March 21). Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - 2012-03-21. Www.smbc-Comics.com. Westervelt, A. (2023, March 1). Fossil fuel companies donated $700m to US universities over 10 years. The Guardian. Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, December 3). William Happer. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. Yan, F. (2024, January 29). Fossil fuels fund Doerr School of Sustainability research, data shows. The Stanford Daily. MORE LINKSDurkin on Australian TV (1) -Global Warming Swindle Debate Pt1Durkin on Australian TV (2) -Global Warming Swindle Debate Pt2Prof. Hayhoe on How Research Funding Actually Works - Climate change, that's just a money grab by scientist... right?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last Orders - a spiked podcast
86: Farage, cakes and single-use vapes

Last Orders - a spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2024 31:42


Claire Fox, member of the House of Lords and director of the Academy of Ideas, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss what Nigel Farage's return might mean for the General Election, the panic over nicotine pouches and the pointlessness of the sugar tax.  This episode is sponsored by the Munk Debates: http://www.munkdebates.com/  Use the code SPIKED10 to get 10% off your supporter membership. Send your postbag questions to lastorders@spiked-online.com and we'll try to answer them in the next episode. Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked's newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/

Democracy Forum
Democracy Forum 4/19/24: Clean Elections 24 Years Later (Yes, it's been that long)

Democracy Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 19, 2024 57:00


Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Claire Fox, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Kathy Stark, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We’ll talk about the Maine Clean Election Act — public funding for candidate campaigns– as we move through our third decade. How does our program work in Maine? What have been its benefits and disappointments? How do publicly financed elections fit into the practical landscape for campaign finance reform considering the current legal environment? What trends are we seeing in Maine and nationally? Guest/s: – Anna Kellar, Executive Director, Maine Citizens for Clean Elections www.lwvme.org/lwvme-staff – Ian Vandewalker, Special Counsel, Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice www.brennancenter.org/experts/ian-vandewalker To learn more about this topic: 1. RFK Jr.'s VP Pick and the Dangers of Self-Funded Campaigns | Brennan Center for Justice, Ian Vandewalker, March 2024 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/rfk-jrs-vp-pick-and-dangers-self-funded-campaigns 2. Maine considers expanding clean elections law to county candidates | Public News Service, February, 2024 www.publicnewsservice.org/2024-02-21/campaign-finance-reform-money-in-pol/maine-considers-expanding-clean-elections-law-to-county-candidates/a89001-1 3. Small Donor Public Financing Explained | Brennan Center for Justice, Mariana Paez and Ian Vandewalker, June 2023 www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/small-donor-public-financing-explained 4. 2023 Study Report on the MCEA | Maine Ethics Commission www.maine.gov/ethics/sites/maine.gov.ethics/files/inline-files/2023%20MCEA%20Study%20Report.pdf 5. MCEA Candidate Participation 2022 | Maine Ethics Commission www.maine.gov/ethics/sites/maine.gov.ethics/files/inline-files/2022%20MCEA%20Overview%20for%20VLA.pdf 6. Fight Over Clean Elections Act Won't Be Over Anytime Soon And May Have Consequences In November | Maine Public, June 2018 www.mainepublic.org/politics/2018-06-27/fight-over-clean-elections-act-wont-be-over-anytime-soon-and-may-have-consequences-in-november 7. What is the Maine Clean Elections Law?, MCCE video explainer and fact sheet, www.mainecleanelections.org/cleanelections 8. Cleaning House? Assessing the Impact of Maine's Clean Elections Act on Electoral Competitiveness | Maine Policy Review, 2012 digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=mpr 9. Maine “Clean Elections” Initiative, Question 1 (2015) – Ballotpedia ballotpedia.org/Maine_%22Clean_Elections%22_Initiative,_Question_1_(2015)#MCEA 10. Amplifying Small-Dollar Donors in the Citizens United Era | Common Cause www.commoncause.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/CT_SmallDonorDollar_Report_WEB.pdf About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 4/19/24: Clean Elections 24 Years Later (Yes, it's been that long) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Quantum - The Wee Flea Podcast
Quantum 300 - Euthanasia Special

Quantum - The Wee Flea Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2024 56:39


This week we look at euthanasia/assisted suicide/mercy killing - examining the reasons why this is being pushed - especially in the Western world - including Shakespeare and Laurence Oliver;  Reasons for Euthanasia;  History; Belgium; Matthew Parris; Kevin Yuill; France; the Netherlands; Africa, Asia and the Middle East; Maid in Canada; Australia;  South America; the UK; Claire Fox; Debating Euthanasia; The Church; Archbishop Kanishka Raffel; Hitler; the Christian Answer.  with music from MASH; Ralph Stanley; Disturbed; Ed Sheeran ; Bach; Casting Crowns; and St Peters Free Church. 

The Ann & Phelim Scoop
Is The Abortion Lobby Winning?

The Ann & Phelim Scoop

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 20, 2024 60:38


Welcome back to the Ann & Phelim Scoop! In today's episode, Ann McElhenney takes charge and explains why the Pro-Life Movement is losing ballot initiative after ballot initiative and what we can do about it. The pro-abortion people know that telling stories and producing entertainment that tells a pro-abortion story is very effective, and that's why they spend so much money on it. This is exactly why we need to support sharing the pro-life message in any medium we can, whether it be the arts or the sciences. Then just last week, the UK's National Health Service, the NHS, decided to block puberty blockers for children. Joining us for this discussion is Baroness Fox of Buckley, Claire Fox. She is a member of the House of Lords and the director of the Academy of Ideas, which she established to promote the shocking concept that a public space where ideas can be contested without constraint is a good idea. She explains why and how the world has been captured by this trans-madness. Lastly, we share our latest book recommendation! This is an episode you won't want to miss. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ap-scoop/message

Democracy Forum
Democracy Forum 3/15/24: Unions and Democracy Take Two

Democracy Forum

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 15, 2024 58:51


Host: Ann Luther, League of Women Voters of Maine Production Assistance: Joel Mann The mostly volunteer team at the League of Women Voters – Downeast who plan and coordinate this series includes: Martha Dickinson, Ruth Eveland, Michael Fisher, Claire Fox, Starr Gilmartin, Maggie Harling, Ann Luther, Rick Lyles, Judith Lyles, Wendilee O'Brien, Leah Taylor, and Linda Washburn. Democracy Forum: Participatory Democracy, encouraging citizens to take an active role in government and politics This month: We'll revisit topics from our show in 2021, talking about the historical and contemporary links between labor organizing and expanding political rights like voting. Is union organizing an important, if not essential, tool in building a vibrant democracy – of people having a voice in their self-governance? What led to the demise of unions over the last half century? What have been the political consequences? Are unions making a comeback? Why is that? What new trends are emerging here in Maine? Guest/s: David Madland, Senior Fellow and senior adviser to the American Worker Project at the Center for American Progress www.americanprogress.org/people/madland-david/ Arthur Phillips, Economic Policy Analyst at the Maine Center for Economic Policy www.mecep.org/about/our-teams/ Cynthia Phinney, President of the Maine AFL-CIO. maineaflcio.org/content/32232 To learn more about this topic: 1. Americans' views of labor unions | Pew Research Center, February, 2024, www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/02/01/labor-unions/ 2. State worker union filing charges against Mills administration over pay gap | WGME, February, 2024, wgme.com/news/local/state-worker-union-filing-charges-against-mills-administration-over-pay-gap-maine-gov-janet-mills-low-wages-cost-of-living 3. USPS reschedules meeting on Hampden processing facility | WABI, February, 2024, www.wabi.tv/2024/02/01/usps-reschedules-meeting-hampden-processing-facility/ 4. Local union president shares concerns about proposed changes to Hampden USPS facility | WABI, January, 2024, www.wabi.tv/2024/01/18/local-union-president-shares-concerns-about-proposed-changes-hampden-usps-facility/?link_id=6&can_id=1905c6b9067a4b4bf8e189b166246f7a&source=email-new-take-action-re-mail-service-changes&email_referrer=email_2215388&email_subject=correction-re-mail-service-changes 5. Union membership grew last year, but only 10% of U.S. workers belong to a union | NPR, January, 2024, www.npr.org/2024/01/23/1226034366/labor-union-membership-uaw-hollywood-workers-strike-gallup 6. Maine's labor movement sees big shift from small unions | Portland Press Herald, December, 2023, www.pressherald.com/2023/12/04/small-unions-drive-maines-labor-movement-forward/ 7. Maine farmworkers deserve equal rights | Bangor Daily News, Food and Medicine Op-ed, December, 2023, www.bangordailynews.com/2023/12/25/opinion/opinion-contributor/maine-farmworkers-equal-rights/ 8. UMaine System graduate-student workers win union certification | Mainebiz.biz, October, 2023, www.mainebiz.biz/article/umaine-system-graduate-student-workers-win-union-certification 9. Brief: The state of labor organizing in Maine | MECEP, September, 2023, www.mecep.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-state-of-labor-organizing-in-Maine-Labor-Day-2023.pdf 10. Why Government Unions—Unlike Trade Unions—Corrupt Democracy | TIME April, 2023, time.com/6267979/government-unions-corrupt-democracy/ 11. Chipotle agrees to pay $240 K after closing a store that sought to unionize | CBS, March, 2023, www.cbsnews.com/news/chipotle-union-settlement-closing-store-augusta-maine/ 12. Chipotle workers in Maine file for chain's first union election | The Hill, June, 2022, thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-lobbying/3534270-chipotle-workers-in-maine-file-for-chains-first-union-election/ 13. House sustains veto of bill to allow Maine farm workers to unionize | Maine Public, January, 2022, www.mainepublic.org/politics/2022-01-26/house-sustains-veto-of-bill-to-allow-maine-farm-workers-to-unionize 14. Re-Union by David Madland | Hardcover | Cornell University Press, 2021, www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501755378/re-union/ 15. Democracy, Union Made, Phil Fishman in The American Interest, September 2007, www.the-american-interest.com/2007/09/01/democracy-union-made/ About the host: Ann currently serves as Treasurer of the League of Women Voters of Maine and leads the LWVME Advocacy Team. She served as President of LWVME from 2003 to 2007 and as co-president from 2007-2009. In her work for the League, Ann has worked for greater public understanding of public policy issues and for the League's priority issues in Clean Elections & Campaign Finance Reform, Voting Rights, Ethics in Government, Ranked Choice Voting, and Repeal of Term Limits. Representing LWVME at Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, she served that coalition as co-president from 2006 to 2011. She remains on the board of MCCE and serves as Treasurer. She is active in the LWV-Downeast and hosts their monthly radio show, The Democracy Forum, on WERU FM Community Radio -which started out in 2004 as an recurring special, and became a regular monthly program in 2012. She was the 2013 recipient of the Baldwin Award from the ACLU of Maine for her work on voting rights and elections. She joined the League in 1998 when she retired as Senior Vice President at SEI Investments. Ann was a founder of the MDI Restorative Justice Program, 1999 – 2000, and served on its Executive Board. The post Democracy Forum 3/15/24: Unions and Democracy Take Two first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives.

Academy of Ideas
Podcast of Ideas: 24 February 2024

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2024 40:05


In our latest Podcast of Ideas discussion, Ella Whelan is joined by regulars Claire Fox, Alastair Donald and Geoff Kidder, plus guest Mark Birkbeck from the campaign group Our Fight. They discuss events in the House of Commons this week as an SNP-led debate on the Israel-Hamas conflict descended into farce, leading for calls for the speaker of the house, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to resign. They also take a step back to look at the wider picture. What is to be done to counter the rise of anti-Semitism? What are the implications for democracy if parliamentary procedures are subverted in the name of protecting MPs? What might happen next in the war itself? Can Israel rely on support in the West for much longer? To keep up with our podcasts, events, analysis and publications, subscribe to this Substack here. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Not only will you be supporting our work but you will receive discounts on tickets for our events, including the Battle of Ideas festival on 19 & 20 October in London.

Academy of Ideas
Football fans, farmers and failed pledges - Podcast of Ideas

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 8, 2024 30:02


From the furore over PMQs and jibes about gender ideology to surveillance of football fans, international farming protests and Labour's latest U-turn, tune in to the latest Podcast of Ideas. Featuring the AOI team: Claire Fox, Rob Lyons, Geoff Kidder, Jacob Reynolds and Ella Whelan. Subscribe to the Academy of Ideas Substack here: https://clairefox.substack.com/subscribe

Cross Question with Iain Dale
Jayne Ozanne, Khalid Mahmood, Richard Graham & Baroness Claire Fox

Cross Question with Iain Dale

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 27, 2023 52:22


Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are LGBT+ safeguarding campaigner Jayne Ozanne, Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, Conservative MP Richard Graham and free speech campaigner Baroness Fox.

lgbt baroness mahmood claire fox richard graham jayne ozanne baroness claire fox
The Vance Crowe Podcast
Claire Fox Discusses The Battle of Ideas

The Vance Crowe Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 1, 2023 65:37


This week Claire Fox sits down with Vance Crowe. They discuss free speech, anti-Semitism, radical Islam, cancel culture, and the changing dynamics of public discourse.  Substack: https://clairefox.substack.com/-Book a Legacy Interview | https://legacyinterviews.com/ —A Legacy Interview is a two-hour recorded interview with you and a host that can be watched now and viewed in the future. It is a recording of what you experienced, the lessons you learned and the family values you want passed down. We will interview you or a loved one, capturing the sound of their voice, wisdom and a sense of who they are. These recorded conversations will be private, reserved only for the people that you want to share it with.

Hearts of Oak Podcast
Abi Roberts - Arrested for Swearing, Police Overreach and the COVID Inquiry Whitewash

Hearts of Oak Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2023 52:40 Transcription Available


Show notes and Transcript Arrested for swearing? Yes.  This is what happened to Abi Roberts as she protested outside the COVID Inquiry in London.  Abi returns to Hearts of Oak to discuss exactly what happened.  Why did she feel compelled to protest outside the COVID Inquiry and will it reveal anything or is it just another cover up?  Under what law did the police officer arrest her?  What powers do our police now have in the UK and is this the end of any free speech? Is swearing actually now prohibited or is it just illegal for Welsh comedians? Can we regain our freedom of speech or has this so called 'Conservative' government destroyed it?  Tune in for Abi's analysis following her unexpected night in the cells.  *Might contain swearing!  Abi Roberts is a British stand-up comedian, writer and commentator and is proud to be a stone in the shoe of the cowardly bauble-chasers in politics and the media. All lovers of truth, liberty, free speech and the pursuit of justice for the crimes committed over the last three years, are welcome to her party. Abi became a professional stand-up in 2012, and since then has played some of the biggest clubs across the UK, and had several sold-out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.  She became a comedian because she wanted to write her own material and have the freedom to express her worldview – and make thousands of people laugh at the absurdity and wonder of life.  Abi's stand up show Anglichanka, which was about living and studying in Russia, gained her several 5 star rave reviews and the show toured the UK.  She was the first comedian to do shows in Moscow in both English and Russian, as Abi explains “My father was a spy… sorry, diplomat, so I went to the Soviet Union as a kid and then in the early 1990s I studied opera at the Moscow Conservatoire" Abi hosts a daily podcast and writes regular articles on her Substack.   Follow and support Abi at the following links... Websites:        https://abiroberts.com/                          https://www.cathycrunt.com/ Twitter:            https://twitter.com/abiroberts?s=20 GETTR:            https://gettr.com/user/abiroberts Substack:        http://abiroberts.substack.com/ Podcast:          https://abiroberts.substack.com/podcast Instagram:       https://instagram.com/abirober....tscomedy?utm_medium= YouTube:         https://www.youtube.com/user/AbiRobertsComedyDiva Interview recorded 21.7.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more...  https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Hello, Hearts of Oak, and welcome to another interview coming up with Abi Roberts, who re-joined us. Been a while since she was last with us. And of course, I know many of you will have seen the video of her being arrested for swearing. So she just tells us what she was there for, the Covid inquiry, which is in effect a whitewash, a little spoiler for you. She discusses what was happening there, why she was there at the whole yellow board, what that's about. And then the police telling her she'd be arrested if she swore again. So she did. And she was arrested. How the police have the right to arrest anyone, we look at the legislation and the overreach they now have. She was held in a cell until the middle of the night, then released. Why on earth that would be done? So join us as Abi shares her story in her unique style. Abi Roberts, it is wonderful to have you back. Thank you so much for joining us today. (Abi Roberts) It's my pleasure, Peter, my pleasure. A lot's happened since I last saw you. Lots. We're going to talk about Abi's campaign to make swearing legal again. So we'll get into all of that. For the viewers @AbiRoberts on social media, on Twitter, everywhere else, and her Substack, abiroberts.substack.com. If you don't get that, actually, just if you never signed up simply just to read her article, I think that's a great article on what happened to her as she swore and was arrested. It's a fantastic article, it lays it all out. So it's well worth signing up Substack for that, and then you'll see everything else. But can we start, Abi? I'm going to play one of the video clips that sets the scene and then we'll discuss why we're there, and how in their swearing is not illegal on the streets of Britain. So let's play this two minute clip. (Video plays) Police:  You are perfectly allowed to protest, you are not allowed to swear in the street. Abi:  I'm not allowed to swear in the street? It's OK if our government commits democide, cos' that's what's happened. So you're saying to me, swearing in the street is worse, is illegal, but it's legal to lock people in their homes, and give them, coerce them, you know I'm telling the truth. Police:  Madam, here's your warning. Abi:  Have you been coerced?  Police:  Swear again you're going to get arrested. Abi:  Swear again? Well fuck... fuck you.  Police:  You are under arrest for swearing   Abi:  You are joking, you are joking, you are joking. You've seen this and you're all complicit. You know and you're going to call me an anti-vaxxer. I'm anti-tyranny, I'm anti-democide. You absolute bastards. You're arresting me for swearing, but you're not talking about democide that's been committed against the British people, lockdowns, gene therapies, how dare you. You're getting all this guys, this is Britain, this is United Kingdom. If you're not angry, there's something wrong with you. There's something wrong with you. Police:  Can you stop swearing?  Abi:  If I stop swearing, am I allowed to talk about democide? Am I allowed to talk about crimes against the British people? Do you agree with the lockdowns? Do you agree that the British people, they knew that thousands, hundreds of thousands of people were going to die. They knew at the very beginning that the lockdowns were going to kill thousands and thousands of people. Are you getting this? Are you recording any of this?  Police:  Listen to me. Abi:  So you agree the British government... Police:  I'm not getting into that. Abi:  And all the politicians were against the British people? Police:  We can have a conversation. Abi:  Can we?  Police:  Yeah. All we wanted you to do was stay on that side of the road. Abi:  Are you getting this? I'm being arrested for swearing. Police:  Just listen to what he's saying.  Abi:  I am listening. This is the UK! How dare you! (video ends) So, that's Abi in full flow.  Good grief. You know what, Peter? I don't think I've seen that in full. I'm actually, I feel quite, do you know what? I'm going to say it. I feel damn proud of myself. If only there were more people that told it how it is.  100%. When, you know what I mean? And it's weird. I feel good. God, I've got kind of goose bumps because obviously it was all just happening kind of in the moment. And, but wow, it's weird, you know, it's almost like a lot of the, like a lot of the stuff I've been doing for two and a half, three years has led to that moment, if that doesn't sound too, like, I have a dream, you know, it's like one of those things where you, you prepare for these things all your life, in little ways, you know, saying, saying what you mean, what you feel, without being afraid, and truth. It's weird, pure truth, when you speak it to power, has a way of cutting through any fear that you may have. I didn't feel, I don't know if you saw in the clip, I didn't feel, looking back at that now, I didn't feel afraid at all of the consequences, you know?  Well, let's, so there are two issues here. One is the issue itself, which is the the COVID inquiry whitewash, they should have just just given it a full title. And the second issue is police overreach. Maybe let's start at the first one. Why were you there that fateful day, Abi? That fateful day on the grassy knoll, which I mentioned in my article because it was a little grassy bank where all the the photographers and well, I've got a new collective noun for journalists. It's a shame of journalists. I don't include some people, including yourself. There are some people that stay out of that collective noun, but let's be honest, most journalists are a shame. If you compare them to Woodward and Bernstein, you know, those guys with the Watergate scandal, they dug and dug and dug and dug and dug and dug and got their sources, cross-referenced their sources. You know, you've read, you know the story. What a disgrace the press have been. Anyway, back to the day. So I basically, I went down that Tuesday morning, the 27th of June to meet my good friend Francis O'Neill. Who I believe you know, he was with his Yellow Boards. They do so much great work, they're grassroots activists, so they stand on roads, on roundabouts, and actually they're getting more and more traction, you know, with all sorts of issues, including the COVID-19 vaccines and the ULEZ, all that kind of, basically, yeah, government and overreach. And it's really, they do great work. So I went down to meet him at Dorland House where this COVID UK inquiry, can I just say before I forget, I saw you talk to Steve Bannon about it, it was, this was a, I wasn't really in any place to kind of talk to many people, but I just wanted to say that in answer to Steve's question about is it a whitewash, it's worse than that actually, it's, if you saw Matt Hancock talking on that, he was actually interviewed that day, the day I went down, he said that he thought the next time the lockdowns should be harder, faster, stricter. And that they didn't act quick enough and strict enough. So actually, everything we've said, many of us have said for the last three years, has come true, which is that they're going to, they're trying to corral people into this way of thinking. So I would just like to make that clear that in a weird way, it's worse than the Watergate scandal because so many of the crimes that have been committed as people are off the charts. I mean, I've seen various people I respect very much, including Brett Weinstein on his Dark Horse pod, say that the Nuremberg Code has been violated purely by using coercion and lack of consent, including informed consent. I mean, it's very important that we get these specifics right. And regardless of what is in, this is the point that I make in my article that I made very clear, including to the police, that what's in these gene therapies, these so-called vaccines, is sort of a side issue. The crime is the coercion. And when people say, but I wasn't forced, well, yeah, but you were told if you don't get them, then you lose your job, you can't travel, you lose your friends. Do you see what I mean? If you look up the definition of coercion, it includes blackmail, force, vilification, being told, well, you're a bad person, blah, blah, blah. So it's very important that people understand this. So that's one of the reasons I went down, was because I felt so strongly. Matt Hancock was in there and people, American viewers who may not know and people from around the world of course who watch this, he was the health secretary during the time, during the 2020 and part of 2021 when the vaccine rollout happened. He was cheering for it, he was fake crying going I can't believe it, we've got this miracle cure that we're going to coerce into the arms of the British people, which is a disgrace in itself. So I went down, met my fellow yellow boards, got into a chat with a few people who were kind of lurking by the entranceway. It's in Paddington, by the way, guys, if anyone, again, not from the UK. Paddington is a kind of main part of London, West London. So this building is kind of on a thoroughfare, on a main road. And then there's a little entranceway where it's kind of, it's like an official building where they were doing the inquiry and by the entrance there was a little table with three people and again in my article. My Substack article I mentioned this, there were two, I think two men and a woman and they had this like, I thought well they're on our side, you know because they were standing outside, you know how you just, you assume, they looked like the kind of people who would have been on all the marches that I went on and the woman said, I said I'll presume we're on the same side and the woman pointed over to the road where the yellow boards were and said, the anti-vaxxers are over there. Well, Peter, and viewers who know me, the red mist descended. And I just, and I turned, and I said to them, I thought, well, I'm not going to go into the MRNA. I'm not going to go into the scientific detail about what's in these things, because that's model, it's confused people, including myself by the way, so I thought no I'm going to go for the moral argument, which is that the coercion, the lack of informed or consent, any other consent, meant that it was violating the Nuremberg Code. So serious crimes have been committed against the globe, you know, in 90 countries around the world. So we're talking about millions and millions and millions of people just with this one action by world governments. And I mean, I've made, I said it slightly less, it was a bit shorter than that, just for, I'm just, I'm expanding because we're talking. And then, so I said that to them, and then turn around and I said, and that's not conjecture, that's fact. That's fact. So I'm not an anti-vaxxer, I'm anti-tyranny, I'm anti, you know, as you saw in the video, anti-democide, anti-lies, anti-coercion, you know, all those terrible Free speech, you know, being a free individual, all those kind of terrible things which some people are for.  But can I ask, because obviously the so-called, media on the right that supposedly stand up for free speech, all of that, who were silent for the vast majority and suddenly come out at the very end to say oh look we overspent a little bit on PPE, oh it's really naughty, or the government official got a contract for this, that's really naughty. I mean after you've gone through the last two and a half years of control. So they have, I don't think any of the mainstream media have even called this art as just a whitewash that will hide over everything, because even if you have government failings of spending or the control of cronyism, but it's much deeper than that. It's collusion with the drug companies.  Oh, yeah, completely. It's collusion. Is Hancock, the person who, because it seems so he's been thrown under the bus, kind of, although he'll get a lucrative media career. It's kind of, well, he did some things, but the rest of us, we carry on as normal. That seems to be how this will be the outcome. Well, this is the crazy thing, is that Matt Hancock is, I mean, it's a bit like, I have compared much to people's disgust, what happened to us, to people around the world to the early 1930s in Germany. I make that comparison with no shame, because it's the truth, or you could compare it to the Soviet Union in the first part of the 20th century, everything that was going on there, or name any other regime where they use force, intimidation, segregation, all those kinds of things. So you're talking about, I mean, the reason that Matt Hancock is the poster boy is because there's always gotta be a poster boy for the, what's the word, I was going to say scapegoat, but he's not, he's just a criminal. He's a criminal that happened to be part of a criminal establishment. And I'm very careful by the way to not just to target the Tories because Labour... In fact, everyone in the House of Commons and the House of Lords and the monarchy, you know, and I'm talking, by the way, if you'd spoken to me in 2019, Peter, I would have been like, oh, well, you know, it's really lovely because we've got the two-party system, you know, we've got the lovely Queen, we've got the whatever, blah, blah, blah. Wow, have my eyes been opened? You know, it's not about believing in every single conspiracy theory that anyone utters. You know, I'm always, I'm very particular about, this is why I'm so focused on this one issue, which is the last three years, the lockdowns, especially the vaccines in inverted commas, because I feel that such a terrible crime has been committed by, and also let's not forget the United States, you know, and again, I had nothing but love for the States. You know, I was going to to live there before I met my late husband. So I was going to, I got my visa. I got my O-1, which is a person of exceptional ability. I got that visa. I was going to go, man. I was going to go in 2008. It breaks my heart when I look at New York, what they did to Broadway, the Broadway actors. They made them, they made them get jabbed to like, well, otherwise you just can't work. So you see these wonder people like guys like Clifton Duncan, who's on, he said, well, I'm out then, I'm out. You, this is my body. This is my, this is, you know, my holy, sort of God-given body, get away with that stuff. So the United States, particularly the Democratic, Democrat states, honestly, I never thought I would see America go down that path, but holy shit, balls, guys. I know many people watching will agree with me, Americans. Canadians did the same thing. It is quite astounding the level, and I think people need to be aware of this, the level, the comparator between the 20th century, the first part of the 20th century, with all the dictators, with all the tyrants that there were around and that political sort of shadow that was cast, the similarities that there are with today. Trudeau, Biden, that his administration, in fact most of Europe, many countries, you know Germany and Austria, they were, I mean Austria went full fascist and so did Germany. They fell back into their, those tropes and maybe it's because there were so many marches and that it didn't go quite as, well I was going to say far as camps, but then Australia did have camps, They had lockdown camps in, is it Hope Springs? Or Hope... Do you remember there's a place in Australia, like a really lovely nature reserve, where people would have just been lovely to hang out and people I'm sure watching maybe have been there. I've seen videos of a woman trying to climb over the wall. She's climbing over a wall like The Great Escape, you know, from the Nazi camp. And then she's got those guards who like tug her back down. And then these people sitting there going, doing their video diaries, going, well, I'm sitting here, it's been my fourth day in isolation or whatever, in my, you know, and I'm like, what the hell, what the hell is this? And the same with a friend of mine, a well-known actor, he had to, well, he got the vaccines to go and work in America and he had to stay in a hotel. This is when he travelled for like... Maybe like a week or something, but like in a hotel room with like just a balcony. And honestly, to watch his videos, I was crying. I thought this is against everything that we, all of us, hold dear, you know, left or right. I mean, obviously the left have gone particularly AWOL, you know, but I've started to think, Peter, because you know that I was a small c conservative, I suppose libertarian, you know, so all my thought processes were kind of down that. But I'm starting to think that actually, you know, this is something bigger, but that definitely has, it has echoes of that communist, you know, sort of, what's the word, collectivization, I would say. It has, that's why I think we look at the left and go, oh yeah, the similarities are so obvious, you know, but I think party politics is over. I think we're coming into a new era now. Yeah, because obviously the uni-party is the term used over in the state for the Republican Democrats and it seems to be that's across the world and governments combined to control and coerce everyone. I think the worst one in Australia I came across was a family whose child was seriously ill with some condition, the ambulance took them to a specialist hospital, which was over the state border in Australia, and the parents were not allowed to go and see their child as it lay dying. And what level of evilness would make an exception, whatever, but that didn't matter. It was, no, no, we must follow the diktat.  Yeah, we must follow the, and that's the extraordinary thing, Peter. And actually, very sadly, I mean, I talk about this a lot on my podcast. Abi Daily. Well, I've addressed it so many times, I kind of, it's almost like it's a stock record, where you, the sad fact of the matter is that, and I think Graham Hancock may have said this, he's the guy that made the shows about possibly there being other civilisations that may have been around earlier than us, which is that the human race may suffer from amnesia. So you know how people are always saying, look back at history, don't forget history. You know all these wonderful quotes that float around about the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. I don't know who said that, probably an American, but it's true, but the problem is we forget to be vigilant. What's happened now is that because of that, we're seeing the results of people not turning round and saying, enough. Like I said, I don't want to go into so much the party political thing but with the right, there's been a lot of times where I think to myself, is Roger Scruton enough to fight back, even though he's got great ideas about truth and beauty and goodness, which I totally hold dear, but is it enough for political change? Because at the moment we need more than that, as we've seen with Uxbridge last night. I think people are living in a bit of a cloud cuckoo land. And I say this in all seriousness, it's not going to cut it. With the Tories, we're like, oh, we're anti-ULEZ. Guys, this is the least of our problems and they vote in the Tories. Sorry, did you not see what the Tories have presided over the last three years and further back? I mean, like you said, Peter, though, you're right, it's a uni-party, it's Biden, it's this massive blob of sort of communo-fascist ideology, which is masquerading as, look at us, we're for the people, you know, yeah, we're just like introducing these things, these green things, you know, to save the planet and blah, blah. And of course, like you said, all the while it's for control. It's just to, because human beings, this is an anti-human ideology. Human beings are sort of like Stanley Johnson has said in his books, they're sort of an inconvenience, human beings, that's his view, rather than, you know, it's a gift from God, your life is a gift from God, you do with it. I was thinking about my grandpa, my wonderful Welsh gramps, Bob Roberts, his name was, and I was thinking, and he said, you know, your life is a gift, your talents are a gift. Use it. Use them. Use them as fully as you can. I'm not sure what he'd think about me being arrested. Actually, knowing him, he probably would be going, yeah, that's my girl. God love him, God rest him. But I think it's true. I think it's true. We have one life, so we may as well try and make it count. Not just for us, not just for now, but for the people that come after us. You're 100%. Can I ask you, the inquiry is a tick box exercise, we see through the BS, the mainstream media will play the game and play along. Before we get on to your campaign making swearing legal again, can I ask you about how do you perceive it? Because as you said, three, four years, four or five years ago, you would have thought actually a two-party system, and we have a monarchy, which is kind of good. Now, all that our institutions are good for society. They keep us, all that. And then that's all changed. So we have lost trust in many people, lost trust in the police. There's no longer policing by consent. It is policing by force. Absolute change. Biggest change in what, 200 years in policing. Zero trust in politicians. You see the voting rates so low and across the board. I mean, the even zero trust in our legal system, our courts anyway, have collapsed under so-called Covid. And now it takes you a year. The whole thing has gone to ground. And the Conservatives, what is there to conserve if everything has been burned to the ground? And how do you view that? I mean, we both we both live in the UK and we would like to believe that institutions are positive for society. We're the opposite opinion, as are many others.  Yeah, that's a good point. I've been thinking about this long and hard, actually. I remember having a conversation with Claire Fox. Hmm, how disappointing she is. Amazing, you know, how many communist revolutionaries there are who are far from revolutionary. In fact, if anything, they toe the line, the establishment line. I've met a few of them. I'm like, I actually said to one, I went, you should be ashamed of yourself that I'm one who's doing all the pushing back. So lots of roles have been reversed with this, which many of your viewers will be aware of, this weird inversion of things, as often happens in history. This isn't unusual. Well, it is, but it's not, if you know what I mean, because we have been here. I mean, there are countries that have suffered under tyrants and perverse ideologies, anti-human ideologies. But what was your question again? Oh, that's a two-party system. But all the institutions, we've lost this completely.  Oh, that's it. Yeah, you've reminded me about the Clare Fox chat. This was way back when I used to be on GB News. Mm, that's a whole, aren't they doing well, Peter? Oh, who'd have thought it? Anyway, that's a sight.  And your favourite journalist there calling you an anti-vaxxer on the day, but that's a whole separate issue. Your favourite journalist, Tom, what's his name,  Tom Harwood, yeah. Yes, exactly, who'd look very at home in a Hugo Boss suit and knee-high boots, and that's only at the weekends. That's from my article. Please read it, it's hilarious and sad at the same time. So in answer to your question, when Claire Fox and I had this chat when I was first on and she said that she thought the institutions could be saved from within. And I pushed back on this, I said, yeah, I don't think so, I don't think so, Claire. Because anyone that knows, this is what's so bizarre, Peter, anyone that knows anything, or claims to have read anything about anything, knows that the long march through the institutions that happened in Mao's China, happened in the Soviet Union, it happened in all these Marxist, let's use this paradigm, seeing as, because I know there will be maybe people watching going, yeah, but you've just said there's no such thing as left and right, but let's use this framework, is that the common purpose, this whole collectivization ideology has been creeping in and it's strangled everything like bindweed. So it's been happening for like maybe 30 years, maybe more than that actually. And the problem is, it's everywhere, it's woodworm in all the institutions, so like you said, everything's kind of collapsed. So I think, this is my personal view, is that no, the institutions should be rebuilt. And I don't mean build back better, I mean in the good sense that after the Enlightenment, you know, like Erasmus, you know, where we look around and say where are the good, where are the thinkers, the critical thinkers, I mean like myself, like yourself, can we have institutions that are the green shoots of, you know, for the next generation. So you have kids who go, oh, thank goodness for people like Abi Roberts and Peter Mcilvenna and various other people, because they saw the corruption, the evil that's in everything. Like you said, the judiciary, good grief. I was in the police cell thinking they could pin anything on me, these guys. That's a scary thought. I actually also thought, shall I fake a panic attack in the police cell. I was in there, by the way, viewers, for 17 hours. And I thought, and I'm claustrophobic as well, which didn't, I mean, I honestly, I've never prayed so hard in my life or sang so much to keep myself occupied. But I genuinely thought maybe I should fake a panic attack so that they'll let me out and I'll be with some medics. And then I thought, actually. Given what the medical profession have done the last three years, I would rather stay in the cell. Now that is, if that isn't a soundbite for 2023, I don't know what is. Abi Roberts would rather have stayed in a police cell with two Nigerians next door going, eh oh eh eh oh, like Nigerian Teletubbies, no comment, no comment bro, and smearing, you know, as I was told, because I smelt bleach and one of them had smeared his own excrement up the walls. I would rather have been in that cell, that damn cell, than be with doctors. So that's where we are, guys. But it's not just the UK, it's everywhere. So I hope that kind of answered your question, which is I've always believed in the, what the Russians did in Stalin's time, which is obviously you had many people who went along with it, the whisperers, they were called, you know, who whispered to, I may even have said this on one of our chats, that in Stalin's time, a lot of people just went along with it and used to grass up their neighbours and they were called the Whisperers. It just became this thing. So a lot of people go along with it and actually sort of get quite used to it. Oh, it's quite nice being locked at home. It's quite nice being forced, coerced into having injections. Oh, it's quite nice not being able to travel further than 15 minutes outside. You know what I mean? All these things, that's what happened under Stalin where everyone went, it's quite nice. Just only being able to have one cow, which the Kulaks, you know what I mean? All these little things people sort of started to think, well, maybe this is just our lot. We should rather than thinking, no, this is not our lot. This is not what life is for, what free life is for. But there were secrets of society. There were secret meetings and the catacombs, the true Christians, so not the Orthodox church that was hand in hand with Stalin. And they all met and they all prayed and they all, so children, educated children. So it was all happening, but sort of in parallel. Do you know what I mean? With the, so my view, and again, I said this to Lawrence Fox on a, God blimey, how the mighty have fallen. I said to him on a Twitter Spaces that I thought that we should start to have a parallel society. And he disagreed with that. Well, look what happened in Uxbridge last night. You know, I may be blonde, I may be a comedian, I may be silly and swear and the rest of it, But you know, a sharper mind you will not find talking about this kind of stuff. So you people can believe in their Labour versus Tory and their new parties and blah blah, but it's going to take a lot more than that. It's going to take a hell of a lot more. I mean, put it this way, Peter, I... Never thought I'd be arrested in this country for saying, fuck off, fuck you, whatever, standing with the police and the press, taking photographs of me outside a building where they were essentially lying about what's happened over the last three years. And that, but you know, like I said, I'm proud that I'm, it's something that, Um, yeah, that all, I didn't think I'd be in this position, but I'm I'm glad that I did it. I'm glad. OK, so one ask about the police side. It seems that we are now at the stage and part of this, a lot of this is a so-called conservative government. Laws being put in place that give the police absolute right to make up stuff, and it's this whole thing of offens,e of anything which may, possibly might do in the next 100 years to someone reading it in the far-flung galaxy, may find offense, then that is enough. It seemed as though that was, and it means taking, if you're wearing brown shoes and the policeman thinks, no, I don't like brown shoes, that's offensive. They can literally come up with anything, and it seemed to be what he said it to you, And it was so funny looking back at him saying, what, if I swear again? And you're thinking, if I swear again, I should swear. Well, also, you know, I spoke to an ex-policeman about this, who's on our side, by the way, very much on our side. So he was very high up in the police. And I spoke to a couple of people actually about, and obviously I can't reveal too much to you about things which may or may not happen with the process, but he said that if swearing was illegal, then I would have been arrested the first time. He said that's a point of that. And also, before anyone takes you by the arm, you know, you see the two, I don't know if it's in the clip, but the two policewomen, they really grip hold of me, took my arms. They're meant to say, We're going to now put our hands on you and take you, this is in the old days, the old school, They had to take you through everything. So you're seeing people that have been trained in a police college that is riddled with common purpose. I'm going to go back to that phrase, common purpose, look it up, Peter, you know what I'm talking about. The communitarian, this wonderful idea that everyone, hey, as long as everyone is abiding by this ideology, then it's okay for you to act beyond your authority. That's part of the common purpose thing, which is, by the way, a Marxist organisation. It was set up many years ago by the daughter of a Marxist called Julia Middleton. So look it up. It's all true. Whether that is running in tandem or not with what we're talking about, the global tyranny is kind of another matter. It's almost too coincidental that it's all kind of coming together. This whole offence thing, and in fact, the Public Order Act 1986 should really have been, I mean, it shouldn't even be there. And I'm very worried, Peter, about this online offence, online harms bill. There's a lot of stuff which will be used, stuff maybe we're seeing now in the media being used about people saying certain things, doing certain things, and Oh, in which case, then let's have let's have harsher laws. So I would say.  But on the online city bill, so we've had Signal boss has said they will have to pull out because they do not give back doors to anyone. Wikipedia have said they will have to shut down their operation in the UK. I know Telegram have talked about, Apple have said it is. I mean, everyone is saying this is overreach to the nth degree. And yet the government don't give a damn. so-called conservative government think this is wonderful, let's shut everyone up. Yes, exactly. The so-called conservative. I mean, this is what's weird though is I think we have to... We have to stop thinking in terms of, I'm afraid to say, in terms of Conservative and Labour, because whatever's taken over both those parties and everyone else in the House of Commons, let's be honest, all of them, is a dark force, is a dark ideological force. So we're in a historical, we are in a first, in Britain, in the sense that I mean, I again never thought I'd be sitting here saying that the two-party system, it's I mean, our democratic system is broken. It's completely broken. It's completely, it's been trashed, it's been stamped on and the people of this country need to wake up and realise that, you know, if you want to go to I mean, I heard someone the other day say, well, maybe China, a Chinese system wouldn't be that bad. Really? Really? Yeah. Brilliant. How fantastic. I mean, that's the level. People will go, well, even if we have to live in a tiny flat, a tiny room, you know, with our tokens, you know, with our, what's it? Compliance tokens, I call them. Yeah. All those things. And our currency, and have you been well behaved, all that. People, I'm sorry, Peter, but a lot of people, like I've said in history, will go along with it. They'll go, well, what's the worst that can happen? At least I'll get my food and I'll get my, because they don't prize freedom. They don't prize the idea. And when I say freedom, I don't mean freedom, like it's this weird sort of slogan. I mean the free soul, the spirit, The idea that freedom is not just about a word, it's about you and the extension of you around you. So including things that come out of your mouth, your utterances, all that is sacred. And including swearing, by the way. And I know people say, I know there might be some Christians watching saying, how could you be a Christian? Well, I am, I've got my lovely cross on, which by the way, they made me take off in the police station. I said to them, what am I going to do, stab myself in the eye with it? It's a cross for heaven's sake. Even though I did hear people down the other cells say we need to pray so they were let out. Hmm. That's interesting, Peter.  Look, the thing... And there's so much we could cover, and I won't keep you all day. But I want to, in, you're arrested. I mean, if you are, you've sworn, and that is illegal, and you can be arrested, something like that should be, you would think, well, you get taken down the station, you get like a 50 pound, 100 pound fine, I don't know what. But you were actually kept, probably because they thought you were a danger to society? What is the benefit of keeping you locked in a cell instead of just processing you in 30 minutes and then letting you go? Yeah, well, good question. And when I went down there, they told me that I, and again, it's in the article, they told me, the solicitor on the phone said, they'd agreed, they'd suggested, they'd said that this is the police, so they'd give me a £90 fine, which I could either pay in 21 days or take it to court. So like, you know, dispute it and take it to court. So that was, I was told by the solicitor, she said, you'll be out in the afternoon. That was the first phone call. Hours later, when I started to get the feeling that something wasn't quite right, because I was getting, being told different things by the police who were opening the little cell door where they put the food and water in, I thought, hang on a minute, they're gonna try and keep me in for 24 hours. And according to Francis, who came down to the station, bless him, and stayed there for hours, Francis O'Neill. And I didn't know that he was there until someone had said, by the way, I think there's a friend of yours out there. He's been waiting, I was like, oh my God. Apparently, a separate team got involved, a kind of protest team. But you know what, when I was in there, one of the coppers, and again, this is in the article, said, we're conflicted about letting you go because we don't know who's gonna replace you. And as I was leaving, one of the other police women who interviewed me said, we've talked to all the staff here, and they say you're by far the nicest criminal that they've ever met. They probably wanted to keep you in. Because you would lighten up the mood. They did. Well, I was just there on my plastic mat reading a book. I had, because one of the lovely police, well, I say lovely, he was really, he didn't want to shut the door, the cell door. He didn't want to shut it. And he said, I don't know why you're in here. He said, you know, he whispered. And then he took me out and he, I chose a couple of books to read. So I was reading, I was there with my Bernard Cornwall. Which I only know about because James Delingpole mentioned it on his, mentioned it on London Calling.  Yeah, it must be good.  And then another book. And I was just there, you know, with my cups of tea, you know, nibbling on a little biscuit. And I was just like there, you know, do praying, singing, thinking, this too shall pass. You know, I'm thinking, I was thinking to myself, you're not Solzhenitsyn. You're not, you're not Nelson Mandela. You're not, You know, many, you know, Artur Pawlowski, the lovely Polish priest who, by the way, can I just quickly say, he needs our help. His trial in Canada is, the verdict is going to be on August the 9th. So this man, you know, who told, who they, the police interrupted an Easter service and he told them they were Nazis and the Gestapo, quite rightly. He then made a speech at to the truckers rally in 2022. He was then put in prison for 51 days. In prison. So if he gets found guilty, this is the Canada, the wonderful Canada under Trudeau, he'll get 10 years, 10 years. So to round this up, it was 17 hours, but it was not in comparison to many people many people who have come before me, including Artur, Artur Palowski, sorry any Polish people if I'm getting the pronunciation wrong. God love him. He's one of my true heroes of this time, because he was prepared to say, no, no, I'm not gonna live in a country. I'm not going to give away my freedom to you and the freedom of my congregation, my flock. He said, as a shepherd, he said, it's my duty to protect my flock. And I'm like, oh my goodness, you know? Maybe Calvin Robinson could take a few notes. I told you, you weren't going to get, Peter knows me, that I have to slip in the odd, well, it's true, come on, enough of the tweed and the baubles. What about the people? There are no restrictions, Abi. I don't think we've ever edited, literally, and I say this, start with you. I think the only, we removed one video, but with someone who just went crazy and started just going at us, that was only one. Piers Corbyn we removed because he couldn't use a camera and the internet. So it was just... Oh bless Piers It was embarrassing. But I don't think we've ever actually edited or removed anything. So what's the point? You want the guest on, you want them to talk because you want them to speak. And I am making, I think I'm making, well, you know, I'm making a point. And this is something I've, don't forget, you know, I've, I've had a journey over the last three years. I've contemplate and, and wrestle, struggle with stuff and ideas and, and my faith, and all these kind of things. And all I would say is that, beware the baubles. It's become like my catchphrase in my, on my site with my Abi Daily family, and on Twitter, beware the baubles. And what I mean by that is, the Holy Grail was not a jewel-encrusted chalice. It was a simple wooden cup, and in that cup was the truth.  And that's all you need to know.  100%. Abi, just to finish, just last thought, does this mean that if I go outside now, doing the school run, and I happen to swear, because, I don't know, for whatever reason, a colleague comes to me and I say, holy shit, what was that? Is that now suddenly, I can now be arrested or something over here? Or is it simply that the police now have the power to use and abuse whoever they want to at will? I think it's the latter, you're right. I'm not sure, it's not the, I mean the swear word is part of it, but as Artur Pawlowski says, that when he was living under Soviet, it is in Poland, when the Soviets were around, is that the police could, if they could choose a man, so anyone, and fine something on them. That's what the police motto was in Poland at that time. So, you know, you look around, pick anyone in the street and you'd find they might have a parking fine, they might've had a row with a neighbour a few years ago, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, all these things. And the point is, they could just go, Right, you're coming down with us. So the swearing was sort of incidental to the bigger picture. So you're right that it is the police powers and because they don't know. I mean, the guys at the police desk, they didn't even know what coercion meant. I had to explain to them. I said, don't tell me this is in the police, you know, in full view of all the, everyone working there. I said, don't tell me that there aren't people in this room who were thinking, maybe something might have gone wrong with the vaccines or I might have been harmed. And then the guy behind the desk said, I wasn't forced, I wanted to go on holiday to Spain. So this is the kind of people, this is the kind of, they need to go back to, the rule, what the principles of law actually. So again, we're back to starting new institutions, Peter. We're sort of back to this idea that... That there needs to be a sort of non-violent, philosophical revolution needs to happen. Like a new enlightenment, actually. Completely. We'll finish, Abi Daily, it's in the name, it is Abi every day, tell us what people can find. How do they find it, and how can they actually listen? Yeah, well, so it's abiroberts.substack.com. you've got it under my name there. You just go to that address, you then you can listen for free. You can go on, I don't have any paywall. You can subscribe, you can if you want to donate, chuck in a few quid. I've got people who do that as well. So there's like, you'll see that I did it free for a year, and then there was pledges. So people pledged. Quite a few people went, I want to pledge. So then you switch the toggle on and then it changes to this idea that people can say. So basically, what I'm saying is, everyone's welcome to the Substack family, to Abi Daily family. I've also got some gigs coming up. I wasn't going to because I had a bit of problems with some trolls. So I was a bit like I freaked out, but I thought they're not going to win, you damn bastards, you wankers. So I have got gigs coming up at the next week. I'm doing Newport with Katie Hopkins on Friday the 28th. Then I've got Southampton 29th with a great bill with Alastair Williams. Then I've got various things coming up. Actually, that's the first bit. People will be hearing this on Monday going, we didn't think you were doing any live gigs. Well, fuck you because I am. I don't care if people want to come along and go, you're whatever, I don't know, you're a loon. I am. Yeah, we did a few days before, but it's going out on Monday, the 24th? On Monday the 24th. So everyone will get it. Make sure, and for the viewers, listeners, make sure and follow Abi on her Twitter or Substack. Everything will be up there. And Abi, you're one of the fun people I've gotten over the last few years. It's been three years of meeting a whole new set of people and losing a whole load of people as well. Losing a whole load of, yes.  I know.  To the baubles. Oh, but I love what you do and thank you so much for joining us, Abi, and sharing your crazy experiences getting locked up. It's my pleasure. One last thing before we clock off is We the People, the book that I'm, and this goes back to the COVID inquiry, Whitewash. We the People is an e-book that I released at the end of last year with lots of stories that were written to me about lockdowns, about jab injuries, et cetera, et cetera. And I'm redoing that book. So it's going to to be really going to be like a e-pub, no, published book. And there will probably be hard copies. And there'll be a launch and an audio version. So with Bob Moran's cartoons. So it's going to be laid out. And I'm going to give it to any person I meet. I was going to say MP. What good would that do? But basically, so people can understand the true horror of what's gone on. And if that's my contribution along with being arrested, Like I said, that's fine by me, you know, and I'll try and keep people laughing as well. You always do. I look forward to having that launch.  Yeah, bless you. Come to the launch for sure. Oh, I'm coming anyway, so just tell me where it is. Exactly. Just gate crash.  I'll be there.  All the best. All the best people gate crash. I'll be there. Abi, thanks so much for your time today. Cheers. Not a problem. God bless you all.

Last Orders - a spiked podcast
62: The scourge of the Online Safety Bill

Last Orders - a spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2023 41:20


Claire Fox, member of the House of Lords and director of the Academy of Ideas, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater for the latest episode of Last Orders. They discuss the government's attempt to clamp down on online speech, Panorama's whacky food propaganda, and more. Send your postbag questions to lastorders@spiked-online.com and we'll try to answer them in the next episode. Get your copy of Brendan O'Neill's new book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Heretics-Manifesto-Essays-Unsayable/dp/1913019861  Support spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/support/  Sign up to spiked's newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/ Check out spiked's shop: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/ 

Hearts of Oak Podcast
The Week According To . . . Dr Niall McCrae

Hearts of Oak Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2023 49:44 Transcription Available


Dr Niall McCrae is back in the hot seat for his regular reviewing spot as we look at a couple of recent articles he has written and he offers his unbridled thoughts on some of the news stories that have caught our attention this week including... - The MPs answers to ten big questions. - Empty polling stations – are we still living in a democracy? - Covid: The destruction of medical ethics . - Andrew Bridgen GB News debate, Spiked and Pfizer. - Brits are dying in their tens of thousands....and we don't really have any idea why. - Justin Welby is 'wrong' to condemn Illegal Migration Bill as 'morally unacceptable'. - Britain's services exports are booming despite Brexit. Why? - Starbucks sacks trans worker who accused female customer of being transphobic in 'confrontation over being misgendered' - Fears for free speech after journalists' union refuses to defend gender-critical members MPs answers to the ten big questions... https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/toeing-the-party-line-mps-answers-to-the-ten-big-questions Dr Niall McCrae is an officer for ‘Covid coercion in the workplace' for the Workers of England trade union, the only union standing up for workers' rights and freedoms in the UK during these troubled times. From 2010 to 2021 he was a senior lecturer in mental health at King's College London, and he continues to write on mental health matters. He was also a senior researcher for David Kurten and Peter Whittle on the London Assembly. His publications include several books including ‘Moralitis: a Cultural Virus' (with Robert Oulds), ‘The Moon and Madness', ‘Echoes from the Corridors' (with Peter Nolan) and ‘The Year of the Bat' (with MLR Smith). He is a regular contributor to Unity News Network, Gateway Pundit, Lockdown Sceptics, The Salisbury Review and The Light. Follow Niall on gab social @Dr_Niall_McCrae https://www.workersofengland.co.uk/ Originally broadcast live 13.5.23 *Special thanks to Bosch Fawstin for recording our intro/outro on this podcast. Check out his art https://theboschfawstinstore.blogspot.com/ and follow him on GETTR https://gettr.com/user/BoschFawstin and Twitter https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20  To sign up for our weekly email, find our social media, podcasts, video, livestreaming platforms and more... https://heartsofoak.org/connect/ Please subscribe, like and share! Links to articles discussed this episode... https://rumble.com/v2nmm2a-the-week-according-to-.-.-.-dr-niall-mccrae.html Transcript (Hearts of Oak) Dr. Niall McCrae. Thank you so much for being with us today. (Dr Niall McCrae) Always good to be on on a Saturday evening with you, Peter. What else would you be doing apart from having a one-hour chat with me? Always good fun. So let's play the first one. ChrisDavis33 is first on on GETTR. There you go. No prizes, but good to see you. Anyone else, put your comments and let us know how you're watching, as in where you are in the world. Always good to get an idea. We've got probably a 30%, 30% US, 60% UK and elsewhere. And if you see our nice, do you see the logo? We've just put a half a Stars and Stripes behind our oak and half a Union Jack. So we've tweaked a little bit to represent you, our viewer. But this was a There's a one minute comedy clip that James Wells had put up. I think Steve Kirsch also put it up. So let's play this. (video plays) I regret having gotten the, I really regret having gotten the vaccine. I'm sure it's fine, but I just wish when the state told me to do something, I'd be the sort of person who said no. But it turns out, I'm the sort of person who says, fine, I don't understand, you're telling me it's important, okay, and all they had to do was say, you won't be allowed to go into pubs for like a month, and I was like, put it in me. That's what I'm upset about, is that I had a principle, temporarily. Like, oh, if I was in Nazi Germany, I would have stood up to the regime. I wouldn't stand up to not being able I go to a pub for a month. I would have been like, Anne Frank, she's in that attic. There, I saw her. It doesn't matter what the point of principle was. The point is I would have been a chill. And that, I have to live with that for the rest of my three or four more years before I have a heart attack. Always good to start with a laugh. I think humour is one thing It's probably taken us through the last three years. I don't know about you, but I've certainly enjoyed many of the memes and artists people like Bob Moran, Abi Roberts, I mean tons of people who've helped us all through it. Oh yes, indeed. And a feature of the anti-lockdown rallies was the positivity and, humour and just humanity, really. They were trying to quash us. They were trying to to oppress us and deprive us of our kind of vitality. And it didn't work. And like you say, humour is one of the most powerful things. Definitely didn't work. Let's go to the next story. We might have a slight delay in sound, but let's bring it up. I'll read it and then we'll take it from there. And this is an article by Niall himself. And this is the Conservative Women who are regularly are the only voice on this issue. And they've blazed a trail and speaking truth on this when many others wouldn't. And this piece is towing the party line, MPs answers to the 10 big questions. And in this, I'll just read the first few lines. What do our parliamentary representatives really think about climate change, COVID-19, migrant channel crossings and transgenderism? Two months ago, I presented 10 questions for readers to send to their MPs. By the time of writing, 14 MPs had responded with 11 sets of answers. So you'd put a range of questions down and members of the public have taken those and sent them on to their MPs. And the answers have come back. And I, again, the link to this, if you're watching on, certainly on Rumble, the link will be there in the description. We will certainly be reposting this, if my mod team can hear me, on our social medias. But of course you can find it on Niall's Gab account. Neil, tell us a little bit about this, because what were you expecting? And tell us the response that you got back. Boris Johnson got that huge majority in December 2019, big mandate, and he could potentially have done everything that was pledged in the manifesto. Then COVID-19 came along and, well, you know, whatever you believe about COVID, let's just say that that was certainly a disruptor to the whatever program that Boris Johnson was going to carry out. But if you look at his behaviour, you know, once the sort of urgency of COVID, you know, that first wave, once that settled down, Boris Johnson went straight into this build back better mode, didn't he? Which is all about focusing on climate change. And he was allowing all this, he did nothing really to stop the Black Lives Matter, woke wave in summer 2020. And now that leads me to why we did this 10 questions for MPs. Because when you think about it, Peter, and I'm sure your viewers will be well aware of this, is that almost everything that's being done by those who are leading us are not things that we asked for. None of us asked for mass uncontrolled immigration. None of us asked for net zero. None of us asked for, well, I mean, obviously there was plenty of people that were in support of the COVID regime, but that wasn't part of the manifesto. None of us asked for our teachers in schools to be telling children that they can be whatever gender they want, and this transgenderism ideology. So there's all these things going on. The most prominent things going on in our society that none of us have asked for. So I put together a series of 10 questions for constituents to send to their MPs. And we got responses from just a few. It's just not a scientific survey. We don't know how many MPs were sent the questions, but we got responses from Rishi Sunak, no less, and some of his ministers, mostly Tory MPs. And we, I had this article published on Conservative Women two days ago. Since then, I've had two more responses. So it's just added to it a little bit. So there's an updated version going up on new Conservative website on Monday. But the thing is, Peter, that the sample size would sound very small. So 16 MPs, of which only 13 have actually provided a full set of answers to 10 questions. But what we found, you know, I used to teach research methods in university. And with qualitative research, something you teach is saturation point. Saturation point is where there's no point in carrying on interviewing people, because you're getting the same answers. And we very, very quickly reached what we might call saturation point with our responses to these questions. They are all following the narrative. There is hardly any. I mean, one of the respondents was John Redwood, and he was only one that gave any sign of scepticism about things that were going on, and even then only limited. Look, they're all following the narrative, it's like they're in a parallel universe and you know if anyone wants to look at the response to those, answers given by MPs go on the Conservative Women website where there's a couple of hundred comments from people, you know, just saying, if this is who's leading us, then we really are in trouble. And let me just, just as we finish, the questions are, do you believe there is a climate change? Do you believe that COVID was a deadly pandemic? Do you believe that lockdown was necessary? Do you believe COVID vaccines are safe and effective? So I have to even laugh whenever safe and effective is used now. Do you support billions of pounds of military supplies going to Ukraine? Do you regard the tens of thousands of people crossing the English Channel as refugees? Do you believe it's safe for dozens of undocumented male migrants to be housed in our towns or boats? Do you support teaching of transgender ideology to our children? If you do not agree with any of the above, what are you doing to oppose such a policy? And finally, what is a woman? I mean, it's a beautiful range of questions, Niall. I'd encourage everyone, the article there, toeing the party line on conservative women. Yes, and it's not too late for anyone who's watching tonight, if you want to take those questions and send them to your own GP, MP, sorry. And I'm always willing to update and refresh the results. A couple of interesting things about who answered the questions. So got 16 responses but only 13 actually really answered the questions. Only one of them was female. You know, we have all this much better female representation now, at least in numbers, but the reality is this type of woman who's representing us in Parliament has got little interest in the ordinary wishes of women and girls, for example, to have safe spaces. Their own toilets in a theatre, for example, they don't really care. The type of woman who is in Parliament, they don't care. And I reckon that the question in that survey, what is a woman, that made him think, I'm not going to get into this. Too much for the minefield. Yeah. Well, let's move on to something a little bit different, which is the election. Is this the election, ProJam? No. Let's pull up the election story. Obviously, we've had local elections, and this one was another very good article from Niall McCrae. A pattern here. You have to check out Niall on The Conservative Woman. It just happened these were the first two stories. But on this, empty polling stations, are we still living in a democracy? And Niall, you were pointing out that in many parts of the country the turnout was 30%. Which meant 70%. And I always kind of used, when I was growing up, thinking, well if people don't vote is up to them, it's their problem. But actually, everyone has to participate in the democratic process. If people don't participate, then it's no longer a democratic process. But tell us about your thoughts on this, that people can find on The Conservative Woman. Yes, well, are we living in a democracy when the vast majority of people don't vote? Now, obviously the rebuttal of that is that everyone can vote, you know, it's up to them and if they don't vote that's their own fault. But the trouble is that increasingly, certainly the last three years, people have woken up more and more to the fact that we're run by a uni-party. It doesn't matter whether you've got a Labour government or a Tory government and if we had a Lib Dem government or a Green Party government, we'd still get the same policies. There might be a slightly different flavour and there might be a slightly different presentation, but it would be basically the same thing that's going on. And what we're seeing increasingly, Peter, is that this isn't just something that applies to national government. Up and down the country, you've got councils introducing 15-minute cities and 20-minute neighbourhoods, low traffic schemes, that sort of thing, and they try and make out as if this is just something they've made up themselves, you know, to like make the air healthier and make the, you know, reduce pollution and so on. They're lying to us. This is all Agenda 2030. Right, or Agenda 21, it's basically the same ideas. This is United Nations, this is a globalist, this is a World Economic Forum. It doesn't matter who you've got representing you in your local council, your city chambers, or in Westminster, or in the devolved assemblies in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, it doesn't matter, they're all following the same agenda, as they are in all other developed countries. And people have woken up to this and unfortunately the response is not to all get behind some new party that's going to, overturn this establishment. It's very, very hard to do that. I mean there are some people working very hard such as David Kurten of the Heritage Party, Robin Tilbrook of the English Democrats, for example, and Andrew Bridgen joined Lawrence Fox's reclaimed party. But it is extremely difficult. I mean, we saw that with UKIP. Very, very, very difficult to get. You saw it with the Brexit party. They did very well in the last European elections, but they were not going to get anywhere, not get a single MP in the general election that followed soon after. So it's very, very difficult. And so people are responding to this situation by simply not voting at all, or going and spoiling their paper, saying none of the above, or more choice language than that. And I don't blame people. I don't blame people for feeling that it's futile voting. I wish there was a good party that we could get behind that would readily change things, but there just isn't that at the moment. But as I say, I do admire the people who are trying to change that situation. Can I ask just your thoughts for a minute on that, because I'm the same as you on the side-lines regarding political parties, and I couldn't, I would have difficulty voting at the moment for anyone. And I love what David's done with the Heritage Party. The English Democrats are wonderful in what they're doing. But with Andrew Bridgen speaking at that event I was at today, a name joining reclaim, I'm intrigued by that because he could have stayed as an independent but he's joined a party. Obviously reform were not an option because they've jab, jab, jab. I guess English Democrats could have been an option that's because heritage. But I'm wondering will that, not that that will change the whole landscape of British politics, no. But I think that will be a nudge, quite a big change and what are your thoughts on that? Yes, I've heard people raising this question, why didn't he stay as an independent? What you've got to try and do is put yourself in the shoes of Andrew Bridgen and, you know, David Kurten and I, who, you know, just mentioned a while ago, we've had many chats. David's been a keen student of cultural Marxism for many years. And, you know, one of the books that David and I often talk about is Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals. And, you know, the people that are in charge now are basically the anti-establishment types of the 60s and 70s. And they're now in charge, they've created a new establishment. And one of the rules for radicals is that if there's somebody kicking up some opposition to what you're doing, then you isolate them, you target them, you really freeze your focus on that person, and you make their life utterly intolerable. And that's exactly what was happening with Andrew Bridgen. Has any man been so disproportionately targeted in the last year or so? I mean, we can think of some other examples as well, such as Tommy Robinson or Julian Assange, but at the moment, it's Andrew Bridgen. And so I don't blame him at all for joining a party, a party that stands for free speech, and that he's now a member of a group. He's got people with him to support him. And I think that's important for the establishment to know, that if they do try and isolate people and persecute them, then there are sanctuaries. And that's what I see the Reclaim party as being, you know, Reclaim has got some quite, you know, genuine, really genuine people like Calvin Robinson involved. I've never been quite sure about Lawrence Fox, but he says a lot of the right things. He's doing a lot of the right things, but Martin Daubney was involved as well. So they've got some good people. And I don't blame Andrew Bridgen at all for taking the decision that he did. We'll see a play out in British politics. Let's stay on the Conservative Woman, but we are leaving the authorship of Dr. McCrae. Dr. Ahmed Malik, someone who is new onto my scene, and probably new into many people's scenes. He has written this piece for Conservative Woman, COVID, the Destruction of Medical Ethics and Trust in the Medical Profession, Part 1. It is a fascinating read from a doctor, someone who has qualified 25 years ago and he gave some of his story in this. And he talks about, just starts, when it comes to the last three years, there's a lot I do not know. What I do know is that I have many questions. Was the pandemic a plandemic? It certainly felt like it. Did the virus skip from a lab? What exactly is a virus? What's the role of the US Department of Defence? And he delves into this. And I am thankful to doctors like this for putting their thoughts down so openly and honestly in this article and it gives us an insight into their experience and how they're seeing things because many of us do not have a medical background and therefore we look at things through a simple lens. But Niall, it's people like Dr. Malik actually writing pieces like this and opening it up that will really help us the public. Yeah it's very necessary and you know there's some controversy about Dr. Asseem Malhotra the cardiologist you know because he'd been shilling for the the vaccines early on, but I think we have to give people... The opportunity, the potential, to change their mind. And I think that's what Dr. Malhotra has done. Andrew Bridgen has done that. Ahmed Malik goes a lot further, I think, than Asseem Malhotra. He's questioning the whole basis of the pandemic or pseudo-pandemic, as I see it. This article that you're bringing up is a really useful read because what we've seen over the last three years is a departure from medical ethics. And people may be aware of the white rose people that do the stickers that people put up on lampposts. Many of these stickers are about, if you wondered why the people of Germany fell for the Third Reich, now you know, because all the doctors and nurses in 1930s Germany were on board, you know. And how did that happen? And, you know, partly this was about them just keeping their heads down, but they also enjoyed the pedestal that they were being put on as officers of the regime. And Ahmed Malik has stepped away from that and he has reminded us what are the true ethics of medicine. And they are autonomy, justice, first do no harm. And beneficence, as in that's all doing good. And the first one of them, autonomy, was the one that was most controversially ditched. People were coerced into taking these experimental injections. But the other three principles as well, were just simply no longer followed. And I found this very difficult, Peter, because I sat on an NHS Research Ethics Committee for many years. And these principles were really important that you always stuck to them. Didn't matter how much you thought this research proposal was interesting. If they were going to be doing something which in any way threatened any of these principles, then you would reject the application. And that was for research. Well, this is for the whole of health care, the whole health care system has been poisoning people with Midazolam. Forcing people to take injections, closing down services, stopping screening and treatment of people with cancer. The mental health impact has been immense. It's really quite dreadful and this is still going on. In fact, in many ways, it's getting worse, where it's getting harder and harder for people to get face-to-face contact with practitioners of a service, national health service, that they've been paying for in their taxes and that they've always lauded and now they find that they're not welcome that um, access is often denied and this is really um quite appalling and so to have doctors like Ahmed Malik stepping out and saying this is not right we we need to get back to proper medical ethics as soon as possible. Yeah. Let's actually touch on that, the Andrew Bridgen as well. I don't know if I sent it over to Projam, we'll not play this, I just want to bring up the tweet. And this is, Andrew, the great vax debate that GB News talked about, and obviously, GB News under Ofcom. This is the regulatory body, communication regulatory body, so they can't say anything which goes against government propaganda. And this was basically Spiked, which is a publication here in the UK, and Andrew Bridgen. It was Fraser Myers from Spiked. And it was, I watched the 13 minutes of it and it's... I would have had respect for Spiked if they had put across a different position in this, but they were simply mocking, smearing, calling Andrew Bridgen anti-vaxxer, conspiracy theorist. And it was rolling out the terms the government use. And I know an organization has asked if they have received money from Pfizer, and then Andrew Bridgen has said it'd be interesting to see what happens in that. But I mean, what are your thoughts on this, Niall? When we see organizations which generally are there for free speech, full free speech, and yet you're not allowed to talk about this because it's dangerous to question the government line. Well, Spiked was my favourite website around 2015 to about 2019. It was actually the first website I wrote for. I met Fraser Myers several times and Brendan O'Neill was my favourite writer. I met him once. I thought these were very, very good people. But, you know, others have said to me, well, wait, just be a little bit cautious with how much you like a website that originated in living Marxism, which was a cultural Marxist organization. And people like Claire Fox, who's now sitting in the House of Lords. And Frank Faridi. You know, these are all people that I've really appreciated over the years. But I think what happened with, and their line on Brexit was very, you know, I thought was very, very good. You know, the way that they defended the working class against the sort of metropolitan elites that was trying to impose and, you know, deny them their, you know, the result of the fair election. But COVID showed that they were not quite what what we, people like me naively thought and they seem to take to lockdown and the COVID vaccine regime like a duck to water. I believe this brought out the, a side of them that, you know, they seem to enjoy this statist coup of the COVID regime. And of course, they've been shilling for the vaccines rather too enthusiastically and knocking anyone who, you know, comes, says anything heretical about vaccine injuries like Andrew Bridgen has done. I think they've lost a lot of trust and I think people are wondering what they're really about and I think we do need to look back to how they originated in living Marxism. They are and probably still are at heart cultural Marxists and I think the editor, you know, people call him Tintin, Tom Slater, I think his name is. Yeah, I think that's where they are. And I think for years that they've been fooling us because they've had things that, you know, I'm sure they genuinely believe that, you know, the working class people are being treated badly by the establishment. I'm sure that they really genuinely were writing on that, they were just pretending that they were on our side on that, but COVID has really badly exposed them. And, you know, they chose to write that hit piece on Andrew Bridgen. Andrew Bridgen wasn't coming out looking to attack them. This was a serious own goal. They've lost loads of followers, loads of subscribers and deservedly so, because, you know, if there's one thing that we've had to learn, it's a hard lesson we've had to learn over the last three years, that some of the institutions, some of the people that we liked, that we respected, we've had to think again about some of that and correspondingly people who perhaps we didn't like, organizations we didn't trust. We thought, well, maybe they had something good after all. It's been a steep learning curve for all of us, I think. Yeah. Who thought it would be shoulder to shoulder with Piers Corbyn. It throws out very strange thoughts. But here's the Daily Mirror. This headline really blew my mind. ProJam, if you can just scroll the headline up a little bit. Brits are dying in their tens of thousands. ProJam, can you scroll it up a little bit? So Brits are, no, we're not going to get, yeah, we are. Brits are dying in their tens of thousands, and we don't really have any idea why. And this is looking at excess deaths between May and December 2020 and talks about 32,000 excess deaths. It's this, yeah again the last three years I never thought I would be reading a headline like this that they are seeing the problem still not connecting the dots but it's getting out there that these excess deaths are there and the question is being asked. It's quite unbelievable they refuse to make the connection but it is a headline that will make people think? Yes, I think so. So the mainstream media are just not going to make that connection, as you say, you know, that you could read numerous articles like this now, all the papers are now covering it, but they simply will not make any link to the vaccine. But, you know, if you think about, you know, there's always been this large number of people, large, you know, maybe 50% of society throughout the COVID years that's been going along with their, you know, believing that the fundamental narrative that there was a deadly virus and they had to wear masks and take the jabs and that sort of thing, but increasingly sort of questioning that over time. And now that it's, you know, no longer in any way an emergency situation, people are asking even more questions from the, you know, because they feel safe to do that now. So when they read an article like this, even though it doesn't mention the vaccine. People will know, they will know from their own friends and family that there are vaccine injuries. And anyone goes on social media now. I mean, Twitter is just ablaze with stuff about the harm being caused by these mRNA injections. So it'd be quite difficult for people not to make that link themselves, even though the mainstream media aren't making it. And one other thing on the deaths, Peter, is I heard today that the NHS stopped reporting, or NHS England, whoever it is, it stopped reporting deaths from blood clots. And I haven't looked into this properly, but that they stopped reporting this back in 2020. Before the vaccine rollout. So they knew this was coming. Yeah. Well, they knew if they'd written, read what Pfizer, Moderna were holding back. I don't know if they had access to that, but yeah. Let's move on. We'll try and fly through our last, we'll do four stories. This is immigration. This is Wet Welby. I know it's not his speeding ticket, which is a whole other story. I'll leave the viewers to work that out. But this is the debate in Parliament on the immigration bill and this is the telegraph. Justin Welby is wrong to condemn illegal immigration bill as morally unacceptable. The Archbishop was told he was wrong. Speaking in the Lord's, the most reverent Justin Welby warned it risks damaging Britain's reputation at home and abroad and he failed to take a long-term strategic view in immigration challenges and blah blah blah. You expect this from him but the government are trying to deal with the problem and all Welby can do is criticize him because I guess he's an open border, everyone should come to the UK, but what were your thoughts on Welby? Well I mentioned cultural Marxism a few moments ago and a strategy of cultural Marxism was a long march through the institutions and of course we can see how almost every major institution in society has been well and truly marched through, not least the Church of England. I sometimes want to ask these people, although I'll never get the chance. And even if I did ask it, I probably wouldn't get a straight answer from them. I'd like to ask Welby... Where would you draw the line? What would be your limit? Because right now, there are pictures of tens of thousands of people in the north of France, who are going to be crossing the Channel and thousands of them are going to come over this summer. This is causing despair, anger. It's causing great economic hardship because these people are costing a hell of a lot of money as well. But it's like the government no longer cares for its own people. The first duty of government is to look after the safety of its own people. And that no longer seems to matter. And Justin Welby doesn't seem to give a moment's thought to these people who he classes as refugees crossing the channel without documents. Some of them will be fleeing justice in their own countries. Some of them will be rapists. Some of them will be paedophiles. Some of them will be murderers. Now, somebody might say to me in response to saying that, how do you know? Well, I don't. But how do you know they're not? Because they're not documented. Yeah and so this is what's being done to British society, and it's not just Britain of course, the same is being done to Ireland. Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is a menace to the British people, as are almost all the leaders of our institutions, most of our politicians, as Michael Jackson says, they don't care about us. Exactly. Well, none of the bishops in the house care about any of us. Moving on to Brexit, and this is great from The Economist, trying to work out why Britain would be successful. Britain's services exports are booming despite Brexit. Why? And they try and look into this to try and understand why Britain is not doing worse. And Projam, can you just scroll down to the two graphs there? No, we're not going to get the graphs. But it's really interesting that obviously the left wing media want to bash Britain, and they can't because the service industry is booming in Britain despite Brexit. Who would have thought it, Niall? Yes, well, this is The Economist, so you would think that this is economic experts, but what I've found over the years, Peter, is that economics is not the sort of science of finance at all. It's a social kind of studies field which is heavily populated by people of particular ideological bent who use this kind of, you know, quite sort of serious sounding title of economist to give more value to what they say. But really, they rarely get anything right at all about finance, do they? I mean, the Economist and the Financial Times have been wrong on just about everything. If you look at the inflation problem at the moment, did the Economist and the Financial Times warn you, dear viewers, about that? Did the Economist and the Financial Times warn you about the global financial crisis in 2007, 2008? No, they didn't have a clue it was coming. Because they're not scientists, they're pseudoscientists. They are just social studies, kind of ideological narrative pushers. And of course, Brexit is something that really went against the narrative. Let's finish off on two gender stories. Let me see if we can bring this up. This is, so this is Starbucks Saks trans worker who accused customer of being transphobic then knocked a phone out of person's hands in confrontation after being misgendered. Let me bring, let me actually bring and play the video. The video, give me one second and I will hear it. There, let me see if I can play this. (video plays) I want to leave that. You're rude. Don't ever call me transphobic. Ever. You do not know me. Never. You do not call me transphobic. Ever. I want to leave that. Hi, get out. You are trespassing now. You are trespassing. Get out. Apparently, we said something that sounds phobic. You actually, actually, you actually. You want some, give me the phone. You want some, give me the phone. Let go of me, give me the phone. I've got plenty of witnesses, give me the phone. I said, let go. And it more or less finishes there. The funny thing is that, obviously, after that went viral, that the individual got sacked for that. But it's this sense of entitlement, Niall, and I guess we have a whole education system where people are going through it and told that they shouldn't be offended. And if they're offended, it's hate. And obviously, whenever you go and buy your coffee, if the person is offended by, I don't know, by a look or a walk or whatever it is. But I guess we'll be seeing more and more of this in our society. Yeah, and my advice to people is, if you get into a situation like that lady got into, don't engage, just walk away. Because that person, however unreasonable they are, they have got the law behind them, the Equality Act, and the whole narrative is in their favour. And so in this case, you know, this person was filmed and found out and the company Starbucks had little option but to sack this person. You know, whatever happened to the customer is always right? But no, it's not worth. And this is why I'd say there's one sort of protest that I would not go to, and that's the drag queen, trans child grooming events, which I think are absolutely abhorrent, but I will not go to a protest because you'll get all these shrill socialist worker types and the police will be on their side and anything you say, potentially you could be apprehended for by the police. So I think just don't engage. You can never be forced to use somebody's pronouns, they try and force you to use their pronouns. No, you can't be forced to use that. Just walk away. Now, it's not every situation, you can just walk away. But just don't get into a confrontation. But also don't feel that you have to accommodate some of this madness because it is madness. I'd say that as a mental health practitioner, what's going on now with this transgenderism is lunacy. But I think that there's a danger in tackling it in a situation like this. Best if possible to just walk away. Yeah, yeah. We'll finish off on the same topic but on freedom of speech, journalistic expression. This is a story in the Telegraph on the National Union of Journalists, who are of course the bastions of free speech and journalism. Fears for free speech after journalist union refuses refuses to defend gender-critical members and it's that Britain's leading journalistic union has rejected calls to defend members who cover trans issues and gender-critical beliefs. The National Union of Journalists was called upon at a meeting to issue a statement supporting members who covered the debate on sex and gender and to condemn abuse that they might receive for discussing gender. A gender-critical viewpoint is just a normal gender, that's just how it is. But they refuse to do it. And I guess it's, we've seen the capitulation of our media anyway over the last three years, but there is an absolute, as you said, I think a fear of the trans lobby. But again, you do expect a union to come and back you. Maybe this is why the Workers' England Union are needed so much. So I'll leave that to you, Niall. Yes, so certainly journalists if you have any concerns about the various woke agendas that are going on that you may profoundly disagree with, this is a clear message from the National Union of Journalists. They are not going to stand up for you. So yes, come and join the Workers of England. There's nothing to stop you joining an independent union that isn't tied to the establishment and to the official narratives like the NUJ is. Alongside that story, Peter, there's a school teacher who's been dismissed for refusing to use a pupil's transgender pronoun. So we really are getting into sort of Maoist cultural revolution kind of atmosphere now. And I reckon that it's going to get a lot worse before it gets better. But my hope is that this woke onslaught will eat itself. You know, that they'll cause so many schisms and such conflict with among themselves that they will, that we can just sort of, you know, enjoy the show and get the popcorn, but I think that the heat is going to be turned up quite a lot before we get to the point where we can see it coming to an end. It will come to an end, just like Mao's cultural revolution came to an end in China, but they had something like 12 years of that, and a lot of people died, a lot of people were persecuted during that time and what we've got now is persecution, you know, when people are hounded out of their jobs, prevented from getting any other work, they are, you know, portrayed on the media as being some, you know, diabolical person who everyone has to stay away from. I mean this is like the witch hunt hysteria of the 16th, 17th centuries. Yeah, no, it really is. Well, I think on that, we will finish up. The viewers can obviously, our listeners can find Neil, his handle is there @Dr_Neil_McRae, with two underscores. So it is there on Gab. Do go and make use of Gab, as do we. We post all the videos on Gab. So it is a wonderful social media platform and was free before Musk ever thought of having freedom, supposedly. We'll not even get into that. But Dr. Niall McCrae, thank you as always for joining us. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be on. And sorry about the glitches earlier, but we got there in the end. We always get there at the end, so no problem at all. But I wish our viewers and listeners a wonderful rest of your Saturday, rest of your weekend, whatever you're doing. Have a wonderful time on Sunday. Take some time off your normal work schedule. I say that to me as well as I say to you and on Monday we'll be back with you with Dr Peter McCullough will be with us on Monday evening so tune in for that. And on that, have a wonderful evening and we'll see you Monday.

Academy of Ideas
Cancel culture comes for Claire Fox

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2023 15:11


In this episode of the Podcast of Ideas, Jacob Reynolds talks to one of the students who was at the centre of the controversy surrounding Claire Fox's cancellation at Royal Holloway University, Omar Loubak. Omar was an organiser at the Debating Society, and has a unique insight into how these kinds of cancellations proceed on campus. Listen for an episode of Podcast of Ideas where he and Jacob discuss the case. Read More:  https://clairefox.substack.com/p/cancel-culture-comes-for-claire-fox#details https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/03/22/chilling-truth-cancellation/ https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/claire-fox-trans-joke-ricky-gervais-royal-holloway-university-2023-knj5xwzh6  

Academy of Ideas
Gary Lineker: free speech, political debate and impartiality

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 13, 2023 42:44


BBC Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker sparked an enormous row last week after a tweet comparing the government's language around illegal immigration to 1930s Germany. After he was taken off air, many of his colleagues downed tools in support. While Lineker may have made up with BBC management for now, the affair has thrown up lots of questions. Should we take Lineker's comparison seriously? What does the affair say about the current state of free speech in the UK? Are his defenders being opportunistic in defending his right to express his opinions? Is calling for someone you disagree to be ‘cancelled' ever a legitimate tactic? Is impartiality something worth striving for – and is it even possible? And what have we learned about the way political debate is conducted today? Alastair Donald, Claire Fox, Ella Whelan and Rob Lyons kick some ideas around.

Cross Question with Iain Dale
Nick Thomas-Symonds, Heather Wheeler, Christina Patterson & Baroness Claire Fox

Cross Question with Iain Dale

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 8, 2023 52:04


Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are Labour's Shadow International Trade Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds, Conservative MP Heather Wheeler, broadcaster Christina Patterson and free speech campaigner and Director of the Academy of Ideas think tank Baroness Fox.

Academy of Ideas
Is the Government right to veto Sturgeon's self-id bill?

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2023 55:51


The UK Government's decision to veto a bill passed by the Scottish Government, which would make it easier for children older than 16 to legally change their gender, has set off something of a political storm (a great summary can be found over at Spectator by Iain MacWhirter). Whilst this certainly has ramifications for UK-Scotland political relations, it also has set off a series of debates about gender identity, the rights of women, and even what the bill actually would mean in practice. Without a doubt, these debates are some of the most difficult to navigate in contemporary politics - and also some of the most heated. So we sat down to try and make sense of it all. On this episode of the Podcast of Ideas, Alastair Donald speaks to Susan Smith of For Women Scotland - the heroic campaigning organisation who have been defending the rights of women which are often undercut by legislation aiming to protect trans people. Claire Fox, Ella Whelan and Rob Lyons then join Alastair to mull over some of the implications in a bit more detail.

Academy of Ideas
Podcast of Ideas - Claire Fox: 'Liz Truss is gone, but this isn't over'

Academy of Ideas

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2022 41:54


Liz Truss has gone, and we'll be on to another Prime Minister (or maybe even Boris). At the moment, things seem utterly out of our hands. That is why it's so important we understand what is going on, what historical trends are shaping it, and, even now, what opportunities exist. Claire sat down with Academy of Ideas colleague Jacob Reynolds to do just that. At this moment, the key thing is to listen, read, think and argue. Please share our conversation with everyone you know who is angry, confused and demanding something better.

Rooted Souls
Sacred Sexuality - The Power Of Sex | Ep28

Rooted Souls

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2022 46:09


"Sexuality is one of the most, if not the most primal aspects of our beings- it sits at the core of our essence. The sacredness of it has largely been made taboo, manipulated, and distorted; sometimes leading to abuse and addiction, disconnection. Sex can be used to harm and escape, but it can also be used for connection and healing." Sexuality is more than intercourse and orgasm; it is the experience of being embodied in all of our human senses. Join Claire and me as we discuss... What sex is What it means to be in our bodies and experience the world from a sexually empowered place. Stories from our own sexual journeys. Listen until the end for tips and techniques you can use at home to begin exploring your own sexuality more deeply. Becca is Spiritual Life Coach and Astrologer who supports clients through their spiritual awakening and knowing themselves more deeply. She helps purpose driven people break free from being stuck, step into their natural gifts, & live a life true to their core. Reach Becca online at www.beccaspeert.com or connect with her via social media on instagram: @beccaspeertcoaching or Facebook: Becca Speert Coaching. To follow the podcast you can *subscribe* to get notified when a new episode is released, every Monday. You can also follow and support the podcast on Instagram @_rooted_souls and Facebook: Rooted Souls Podcast. Claire Fox is a Sexuality Practitioner and coach based in Ibiza Spain. She is devoted to supporting people as they claim their unique gifts, unique sexuality and a life lived fully. Claire loves tapping into the intelligence of the body, playfulness, and deep listening as radical tools for personal and collective evolution. Claire's Website Clairefoxmagic on Instagram

Iain Dale All Talk
167. Claire Fox

Iain Dale All Talk

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 21, 2022 74:10


Iain Dale talks to Baroness Claire Fox about her life, her past in the Revolutionary Communist Party, Living Marxism, the Institute/Academy of Idea, the Brexit Party, her time as an MEP and her membership of the House of Lords.

John Anderson: Conversations
John Anderson Direct: with Baroness Claire Fox, Politician, Journalist & Writer

John Anderson: Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2022 58:07


In this Direct interview, John is joined by Baroness Claire Fox for a discussion about British politics and society in the aftermath of Boris Johnson's resignation. The Baroness' fascinating background lends particular weight into her insights into matters including free speech, the power of bureaucracy, the green movement and cultural pessimism, among others.

Last Orders - a spiked podcast
42: The war on smokers, with Claire Fox

Last Orders - a spiked podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 2, 2022 42:08


Claire Fox, director of the Academy of Ideas, joins Chris Snowdon and Tom Slater to discuss the plans for a smoke-free England and abortion rights after Roe. Plus, we answer your questions in our new postbag section. Send your questions to lastorders@spiked-online.com and we'll try to answer them in the next episode. Order your copy of ‘How Woke Won' by Joanna Williams: https://www.spiked-online.com/shop/  Donate to spiked: https://www.spiked-online.com/donate/  Become a spiked supporter: https://www.spiked-online.com/supporters/  Sign up to spiked's newsletters: https://www.spiked-online.com/newsletters/

The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan
Jennifer Senior On Friendship

The Dishcast with Andrew Sullivan

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2022 85:19 Very Popular


Jennifer Senior was a long-time staff writer at New York magazine and a daily book critic for the NYT. Her own book is the bestseller, All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood. She’s now a staff writer at The Atlantic, where she won the 2022 Pulitzer for “What Bobby McIlvaine Left Behind,” a story about 9/11. But in this episode we primarily focus on her essay, “It’s Your Friends Who Break Your Heart.”You can listen to the episode right away in the audio player above (or click the dropdown menu to add the Dishcast to your podcast feed). For two clips of our convo — on why friends with different politics are increasingly rare, on how Jesus died for his friends — pop over to our YouTube page. A new transcript is up in honor of what we are still learning about Trump’s attempted violent coup: Bob Woodward and Robert Costa on the perpetual peril of Trump. Below is a segment of that convo — probably the most significant one we’ve had on the Dishcast yet:Turning to the debate over abortion in the ashes of Roe, a reader dissents:I’m having a hard time understanding why you’re so misleading about abortion rights in the US compared to other nations, and naive about protection of the other rights under the 14th Amendment. Germany allows abortions up to 12 weeks for any reason, but what’s remarkable about Germany is not the 12-week mark, but that Germany offers pre-natal care, child care, employment guarantees, etc. that make it much easier for a woman if she chooses to go through with her pregnancy. The US doesn’t have anything like this. And even with the new right in America pretending to hop on board the social insurance train, passing any laws in a conservative-majority Congress that would provide more social services to pregnant women would deliberately NOT address or protect the right of a woman to control her own fertility — that is, to decide to have a child or not. In other words, the interests of a woman’s bodily autonomy and reproductive control would be denied. That makes women, on the whole, unable to live freely in society. But we don’t have to hop over to Europe to run a comparison. Canada protects abortion rights for any reason, with most clinics providing the procedure up to 23 weeks. This aligns with the (previous) fetal viability cutoff that Roe protected. And recently Mexico decriminalized abortion entirely, which paves the way for full, legal abortion rights.The US is now the regressive anomaly, not the progressive outlier you insist we are. And your idea that abortion can just be decided via democracy is cute — maybe that would’ve been true in the past — but SCOTUS could care less about the legislative process. You only have to look at their recent gun decision to realize that. You should make these things clear when you discuss abortion, instead of conveniently obfuscating the context and facts.As far as your confidence that the other rights under the 14th Amendment — gay marriage, access to contraception, etc. — will stand firm, I’m not sure why. Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett evoked stare decisis in their confirmation hearings, and this turned out to be a shameless lie from all of them. With the conservative majority in place, they could then take up the Dobbs case and use it to overturn Roe entirely — stare decisis be damned.Alito left the door open to address Obergefell, etc. in his draft opinion, so why would you think Thomas taking it a step further is just him “trolling”? The majority of Americans wanted Roe left in place; its provisions were the compromise that balanced the interests of the woman with that of the fetus that you incorrectly thought was lacking. (Listen to Ezra Klein’s podcast with court expert Dahlia Lithwick to understand why that is). Yet despite its popularity, Roe was struck down. The majority of Americans support gay marriage. But the conservative court has publicly stated now that they don't care about what Americans want or think. Alito and Thomas have clearly said what they're willing to go after next. Kavanaugh playing footsie with the idea that those other rights are safe is just another lie that you are too willing to fall for, as I was too willing to think they wouldn't, in the end, touch Roe.As far as healthcare access in Germany, Katie Herzog made that point during our “Real Time” appearance last Friday:From a “Real Time” watcher:I disagree with you on quite a few issues, but appreciated your level-headed commentary on Bill Maher’s show. You’re one of the only people I saw today who forcefully made the point that the SCOTUS decision still allows for action by Congress — it’s a crucial point that has been totally lost in this discussion.From another fan of Bill’s show:I appreciated your take pointing out that the US is the only country that has made abortion rights a constitutional right, and I do understand your argument that this is something that needs to be decided through the democratic process. But I’m wondering if perhaps, on a deeper level, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Your attitude has been for a long time that America is unique, exceptional, in its supposed commitment to individual freedom, as reflected in its constitution. Doesn’t that imply that enshrining personal rights in its constitution is in fact a perfect evocation to our country’s exceptionalism, what sets it apart from the cynical bickering and proceduralism of European parliamentary systems?I believe in democracy, tempered by constitutional restraints. So the kind of judicial supremacy you seem to be advocating seems outside that. I repeat that I would not have repealed Roe, for stare decisis and social stability reasons. But for the same reason, I wouldn’t have voted for it in 1973. I also believe that the Court could approximate your vision, in defending minority rights. But women are hardly a minority, and many women — at about the same rate as men — want abortion to be illegal.Many more dissents, and other reader comments on abortion, here. That roundup addressed the concern over stare decisis that readers keep bringing up. As I wrote then:Yes, I worry about stare decisis — but it is not an absolute bar to changing precedents. Akhil Amar, the renowned constitutional scholar at Yale, rebuts the same argument. Amar also just appeared on Bari’s podcast, in an episode titled, “The Yale Law Professor Who Is Anti-Roe But Pro-Choice” — a great listen.Bari addressed the Dobbs decision in her new piece, “The Post-Roe Era Begins.” Another reader looks at the legislative route:I think President Biden and the Democrats as a whole would be in a far better position with voters today if over the past 18 months they had taken that same “small bites” approach on a variety of other issues: border security, election reform and just about any other challenge where they now have nothing to show the American voters because they approached those issues if they had significant majorities in each house. They could even take this “small bites” approach right now on the abortion issue, given (as you’ve documented) that the vast majority of Americans favor access to abortions with reasonable restrictions. Instead, Chuck Schumer runs a bill that’s even more permissive than Roe.I know it’s naïve to think we can take politics out of policymaking, but maybe, given the election hand they were dealt, it would have been good politics to pursue progress over progressivism. Right now they’d be running on a far different record (one of being the adults in the room) and could present a much stronger claim for leading our nation. Instead, they wasted a lot of time and opportunity pretending they had the clout to adopt the entire far-left progressive agenda.Another reader delves into the Court precedents that Democrats are wringing their hands over:You wrote about Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell: “Thomas also concedes that there could be other constitutional defenses for these previous decisions beyond ‘substantive due process.’”There is one defense, at least. The 14th Amendment has a due process clause and an equal protection clause. When Casey upheld Roe, the right to abortion was based upon due process, not equal protection. Dobbs found that due process did not guarantee the right to abortion. Equal protection of the laws is different. If a state allows an opposite-sex couple to marry or have sex, but bans a similarly situated same-sex couple from doing so, then equal protection of the laws is denied based upon sex, in violation of the 14th Amendment. If there were a state where females were banned from obtaining abortions but males were specifically permitted to have abortions, then that would be a denial of equal protection, based upon sex. But there is, of course, no world in which that would happen, and if there were, the state could simply ban males from having abortions as well and cure the equal-protection problem. Obergefell was based upon both due process and equal protection, so if due process is removed we still have equal protection. Lawrence was decided on due process alone, but it easily could be upheld based upon equal protection. (Justice O’Connor, in concurring in the ruling, said she would have relied upon equal protection instead of due process.) So Lawrence and Obergefell seem safe. Griswold does not seem safe under equal protection, but it may be safe under other provisions, although no state is currently seriously trying to ban the sale of contraceptives. Although Bostock was a decision based upon the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and not on the Constitution, Gorsuch ruled that the law that banned sex discrimination in employment applied to gays and transgender people. His reasoning was that if you fire a female employee for being married to a women but don’t fire a male employee for being married to a woman, then you are discriminating based upon the employee’s sex. There is a very strong argument that the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause works similarly. I broadly agree with this. Speaking of the transgender debate, a parent writes:While I generally agree with your balanced approach, I think you are still missing what is fueling the alarm on the right. As a parent of a 14 year old, I’m very aware of the extraordinary confusion that some teens now face because of the mainstream promotion of gender identities. For many kids, all this is harmless and ridiculous, and they tune it out. For a very tiny number of kids, this information may be extremely necessary, and perhaps even lifesaving, so they don’t feel so alone.  But unfortunately, I believe there is a quite significant number of kids that have come to believe that all their teen problems will be solved if they simply lop off a few body parts. A few days ago I caught up with a friend who is a wreck because her 14-year-old daughter asked if she could cut off her breasts. This girl has some issues with body anxiety and acceptance, like the majority of teen girls, and has now decided she can avoid all the bad aspects of maturing into a woman by simply becoming a man, which in her mind is closer to remaining a girl, which is what she really wants. The mother is trying to help every way she can, and is about as caring and progressive as a parent can possibly be. But you have to understand how parents today are simply helpless to combat the flood of bizarre, foolish, and/or utterly toxic information that their kids find on the internet, or in social media with their classmates. We entirely ban our 14-year-old from all social media, and from all internet sites except for those needed for school, because we have seen time and time again how kids’ lives are getting wrecked from all that sludge. Most parents are simply not equipped to handle it. Many aren’t able to police their child as thoroughly as we do, and for those on the right with kids, I believe this very real damage has caused some to turn to any platform such as QAnon or other fringe groups that can make sense of this real trauma and harm to their kids. If you don’t have kids, it’s very easy to dismiss this as hysteria. But if you are aware of what's happening to kids nowadays, it’s truly terrifying.Lisa Selin Davis would agree; her new piece on Substack is titled, “It’s a Terrifying Time to Have a Gender-Questioning Kid.” And I completely understand where the reader is coming from. I find the relentless promotion of concepts derived from critical gender and critical queer theory to be destabilizing to kids’ identities, lives and happiness. These woke fanatics are taking the real experience of less than a half percent of the population and imposing it as if it is some kind of choice for everyone else. This is called “inclusion.” It is actually “indoctrination.”Telling an impressionable gay boy he might be a girl throws a wrench into his psychological development, adding confusion, possible generating bodily mutilation. Making all of this as cool as possible — as so many teachers and schools now do — is downright disturbing. The whole idea that all children can choose their pronouns because the tiniest proportion have gender dysphoria is a form of insanity. But it’s an insanity based on critical theory whose goal is the dismantling of all norms, and deconstruction of objective reality by calling it a function of “white supremacy.” This next reader has “a theory I’ve wanted to float by you”:I’m increasingly becoming of the opinion that the modern trans/gender movement is the twisted offspring of something in the gay rights movement that we thought was a good thing but actually wasn’t: the notion that someone is “born that way.” Today, we increasingly feel the need to diagnose children who were “born a certain way” and then provide medical interventions for something that is aggressively conflating the physical and the mental. (I’m using the historical Abrahamic distinction between the two here, sure there’s a philosophical debate about whether or not this distinction exists.) And that makes perfect sense if you think that the foundation of acceptability for these immutable identities is determined at birth — we have medicine in service of zeitgeist.I think the original sin here is going with “what we could get done” in the gay rights movement and stopping before we finished the job — of letting everyone know that these are preferences, and you need to respect and love people regardless of the choices they make and not just because they “can’t help it” because they were “born that way.” If we were to do away with this biological imperative driving identity, we’d end up with what we should really be striving for: radical acceptance of personal choices, and deconstruction of gender roles and stereotypes without engaging in pseudoscience.The trouble with this argument, I think, is that it doesn’t reflect the experience of most gay people. We do not “choose” our orientation. That is the key point — whether that lack of choice is due to biology or early childhood or something else is irrelevant. And genuinely trans people do not choose to be trans either. It’s a profound disjunction between the sex they feel they are and the sex they actually are. It also may be caused by any number of things. But it is involuntary.The queer left rejects this view entirely — because, in their view, there is no underlying reality to human beings, biological or psychological. It’s all about “narratives” driven by “systems of power,” and being gay or trans is infinitely malleable. That’s why they continuously use a slur word for gays — “queer” — to deconstruct homosexuality itself, and turn it merely into one of many ways in which to dismantle liberal society. I regard the “queer left” as dangerous as the far right in its belief that involuntary homosexual orientation doesn’t exist. Lastly, a listener “would like to make a couple of suggestions for Dishcast guests”:1) Razib Khan — he has been blogging for 20 years on genetics, particularly ancient population movements (e.g. Denisovans and Yamnaya). His Unsupervised Learning is currently the second-highest-paid science substack after Scott Alexander. To give you a flavour, his post on the genetic history of Ashkenazi Jews was very popular. Khan also does culture war stuff, mostly because he is a scientist and believes in truth and science. He has subsequently been the subject of controversy, as you can see from his Wikipedia page — which isn’t really fair, but gives you a flavor. His post “Applying IQ to IQ: Selecting for smarts is important” is the kind of thing that gets him in trouble. He is my favourite public intellectual, in large part because he combines actual hardcore science information with anti-woke skepticism. And he is just generally a very smart and interesting guy. Though I’m a fan of his substack, I’d like to hear him on your podcast because I’d like to find out more about Razib as a person, how he feels about the controversies, etc.2) Claire Fox — Baroness Fox of Buckley — is a former communist turned libertarian and Brexiteer, once a member of European Parliament and now a life peer in the House of Lords. Her Twitter feed gives a pretty good idea of her interests and views. Here are some clips on cancel culture in higher education; single-sex spaces for women; and a libertarian view on smoking. She broadly belongs to the British “TERF island” of gender-critical feminists. I know you’ve had Kathleen Stock on your podcast already, but Fox’s background, libertarian views and current membership in the House of Lords make her particularly interesting.I know Razib and deeply admire him and his intellectual courage. And it’s true that, in real life, he’s a hoot, a lively conversationalist, with an amazing life story. Because of his views about the science of genetics and human populations, he is, of course, anathema to the woke left. One good reason to invite him on. Get full access to The Weekly Dish at andrewsullivan.substack.com/subscribe

Cross Question with Iain Dale
David Simmonds, Baroness Claire Fox, Kirsten Oswald & Zack Polanski

Cross Question with Iain Dale

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 7, 2022 49:29


Joining Iain Dale on Cross Question this evening are Conservative MP David Simmonds, non-affiliated peer Baroness Fox, SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Kirsten Oswald and Green London Assembly Member Zack Polanski.

oswald baroness polanski claire fox david simmonds baroness claire fox
IEA Conversations
Live with Littlewood | Claire Fox, Lucy Harris, Darren McCaffrey and Victoria Hewson | Ep.63

IEA Conversations

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2022 65:23


All Live with Littlewood episodes are live streamed on the IEA's YouTube Channel fortnightly on Wednesday at 18:00.    This episode was recorded on 18th May 2022.   ON THE PANEL... Baroness Fox of Buckley, Director and Founder, Academy of Ideas Lucy Harris, Political Consultant and former Conservative MEP Darren McCaffrey, Political Editor, GB News Victoria Hewson, Head of Regulatory Affairs, IEA WE'LL BE DISCUSSING... Free Speech The Northern Ireland Protocol The Cost of Living Crisis Support the IEA on Patreon, where we give you the opportunity to directly help us continue producing stimulating and educational online content, whilst subscribing to exclusive IEA perks, benefits and priority access to our content https://patreon.com/iealondon     FOLLOW US: TWITTER - https://twitter.com/iealondon​​  INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/ieauk/​​  FACEBOOK - https://www.facebook.com/ieauk​​  WEBSITE - https://iea.org.uk/ 

The Daily Objective
Free Speech in the Time of War - TDO 470 | Rucka & Claire Fox

The Daily Objective

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 6, 2022 59:50


The Independent Republic of Mike Graham
Planks Of The Week - Kevin O'Sullivan & Baroness Claire Fox

The Independent Republic of Mike Graham

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2022 42:56


Kevin O'Sullivan and Claire Fox join Mike Graham for a special podcast edition of Plank of the Week. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Popular Show
TPS65 TORY TROTSKYISM | Claire Fox

The Popular Show

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2022 69:24


If you dig this unlocked Patrons-first episode, please consider supporting us at Patreon.com/ThePopularPod. Claire Fox's journey to being Baroness Fox of Buckley runs through the Troskyist Revolutionary Communist Party, to Living Marxism magazine, Spiked Online, the Academy of Ideas, the Brexit Party, and now the House of Lords. In this interview, we discuss whether Baroness Fox's perspective on her habitual topics of free speech and Brexit have been changed by COVID and her own elevation to the top of the establishment, and whether there are connections between Britain's peculiar strain of libertarian Marxism and the political of project of Boris Johnson.

The Independent Republic of Mike Graham
Metropolitan Police, Gas Shortage, and an Old Street Protest

The Independent Republic of Mike Graham

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 8, 2021 76:28


Richard Tice joins Mike in the studio, discussing the Metropolitan police, and Polexit. Dr Alan Mendoza chats to Mike about the Russian-inflicted gas shortage. talkRADIO's Ricky Freelove reports live from the scene of the latest Insulate Britain protest. Dai Davies speaks to Mike about the Met Police, and what they should have done in light of the murder of Sarah Everard. Finally, Claire Fox and Mike discuss the power of conversation. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Free Speech Nation with Andrew Doyle: The Podcast

On the latest episode of Free Speech Nation: The Podcast, Andrew Doyle is joined by Baroness Claire Fox - author of I Find That Offensive and Director at the Academy of Ideas.Andrew and Claire talked about her time in the House of Lords, Brexit, the Battle of Ideas festival, the need for free speech and so much more! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Owen Jones Podcast
42. Claire Fox on free speech, Brexit and Trotskyism

The Owen Jones Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 5, 2021 61:00


It's fair to say Claire Fox and I disagree on a lot - she's a former Brexit Party MEP, and last time I checked, I'm not - so we had a chat about the whole Brexit palaver, about free speech and what it actually is, and her political journey from revolutionary Trotskyism. It's spiky stuff!Help us take on the right-wing media here!: https://patreon.com/owenjones84Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/the-owen-jones-podcast. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.