National police force of Scotland, since 2013
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Go Help Yourself: A Comedy Self-help Podcast to Make Life Suck Less
In today's episode, Lisa reviews the book LADS: A Guide to Respect and Consent by Alan Bissett. It won The School Librarians' Association Information Book of the Year Award in 2024, and was shortlisted for the Society of Authors Educational Writers' Award the same year.In this LADS book review podcast, we cover the main takeaways from each chapter (+ the introduction), including:Flirting, with DisasterPorn on the RocksLocker Room TalkThe 'Nice' GuysThe Worst GuysThe Good GuysAbout the author: Alan Bissett is a novelist, playwright and performer from Falkirk, Scotland. Formerly a secondary school teacher, bookshop assistant and university lecturer, Alan has been working as a full-time writer since 2007. He was the Glenfiddich 'Spirit of Scotland' Writer of the Year in 2012, and in 2016 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Stirling University for his Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Culture. In 2022, he was one of the writers of the Police Scotland video 'Don't Be That Guy', which looked at toxic male behaviors towards women.If you want to learn more about the author or buy the book, you can visit his website.Want more GHY?Download our secret episode here for FREE!Follow us on instagram @gohelpyourselfpodcastFor self-help tips delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at gohelpyourself.coIf you enjoy the podcast, please leave us a review as it helps other people discover our show.xoAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
This week in what our society now celebrates as a quasi religious festival ' Pride Month' we look at the world through the eyes of 'Pride' - including the decline of Pride events; homosexual laws throughout the world; the death of Sly Stone; censoring Martina Navratilova; the death of Frederick Forsyth; UN warning about fertility; Police Scotland and Trans rapists; Edmonton Christian school defends itself; Kristie Higgs wins long battle against sacking; being expelled from Asylum Hair and Beauty; Greta and Gaza; Lois McLatchie Miller arrested in Brussels; Labour confusion on women; House of Lords 'Rainbow Crumble'; Qualifications for the Archbishop of Canterbury; Canadian Prime Minister speaks of Muslim values as Canadian values; NSW and Gender recognition; Rosario Butterfield on how to view LGBT people; Feedback; Romans 1; with music from Walter Trout; Sly and the Family Stone; U2; Hailey Whitters; Prayer in Songs;
The First Minister answers questions from Party Leaders and other MSPs in this weekly question time. Topics covered this week include: Ben Macpherson To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is supporting film and TV production in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. Roz McCall To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's response is to reports that Police Scotland's national child abuse investigation unit now carries out 700 child sexual abuse investigations a year, representing an increase of 30% since 2015. Mark Ruskell To ask the First Minister what action the Scottish Government is taking to secure a direct ferry route between Scotland and France. A full transcript of this week's First Minister's Questions is available here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/recent-publication?meeting=16416&iob=140223
When you give an interview to the media, you can get powerful results by using a key statistic as a 'hook'. Journalists are trained to look for these as they can make stories more engaging and give them a sense of urgency. There's a great example today in the story from Police Scotland about how easy it is for online paedophiles to make contact with childen 'within 30 seconds' of trying. The use of that tangible number stops the audience in its tracks, gives the whole story a new dimension that we haven't heard before and is being used in headlines across the board. Here's Comsteria's founder and media trainer Colin Kelly to explain more and highlighting what you can learn from this.
In CI News this week: A top lawyer warns Kim Leadbeater's assisted suicide Bill is incompatible with Human Rights law, the Equalities watchdog issues interim guidance on protecting single-sex spaces, and Police Scotland admits that abortion censorship zone legislation may not be enforceable 24/7. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories Leadbeater's assisted suicide Bill ‘not compatible' with human rights EHRC interim guidance: ‘Toilets are restricted to biological sex, not self-ID' Council leaders call for urgent Govt action to tackle gambling harms Police Scotland: ‘No censorship zone prosecutions when abortion centres are closed'
The Cairngorm Funicular Railway is back up and running after some extensive structural works. Mark took a trip up to the snow-covered peak with the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Limited, Tim Hurst, to find out what impact the funicular has for the mountain resort.Farmers and land managers are working together in Moray to investigate how they can tackle environmental challenges such as flooding and decline of biodiversity in the area. Rachel is with Ron Oliveira from Shempton Farms and Charlie Davis from Sylvestris Land Management at Balormie Marsh to hear how their efforts are going.Duke Christie is an artist and cabinet maker based in Moray, who has featured his work in galleries and design showcases across the world and is renowned for his unique use of fire. Mark met up with him at his workshop to learn more about his craft.Historic Environment Scotland recently granted Category A Listed Status to the Glasgow Central Mosque. The building was the first in Scotland to utilise Islamic architectural traditions, articulating these with Glasgow's typical red sandstone. Mark met up with Omar Afzal to hear more about the mosque's design and the important role the mosque plays in Glasgow's Muslim community.Rachel meets up with a colleague and regular Out of Doors contributor Linda Sinclair, after she has recently received a Police Scotland bravery award for her efforts in rescuing a woman from the sea in Orkney.Students from the Sculpture and Environmental Art course at Glasgow School of Art staged a pop-up exhibition at Lang Craigs in Dumbarton, utilising the landscape and environment in their installations. Rachel met up with the students to learn more about the inspiration for their projects and the history behind this transient exhibition.There have been reindeer on the slopes of Cairngorm for over 70 years, with the first animals being established in the area in 1952. Now, the centre has undergone significant renovations, moving into a purpose built centre, complete with paddocks and exhibitions. Mark met with Co-Director of the Cairngorm Reindeer Centre Tilly Smith to hear more about this project and how it feels to move the centre out from its original location - the front room of her house!David Atthowe of outdoor exploration company Reveal Nature is an expert in revealing some of the hidden markings and patterns of the world around us using the magic of UV light. Paul English went along to a late night tour in Bute Community Forest in Argyll to see some of this biofluorescence for himself
Two men, aged 54 and 36, were arrested in England for a cryptocurrency fraud that cost a 75-year-old Aberdeen resident a six-figure sum. Police Scotland, with assistance from West Midlands and South Yorkshire Police, led the operation. Authorities stress vigilance as elderly individuals remain frequent scam targets, with crypto fraud surging globally. -Thinking of buying … Continue reading Crypto Scam Targets Elderly Globally #1801 → The post Crypto Scam Targets Elderly Globally #1801 appeared first on Geek News Central.
Two men, aged 54 and 36, were arrested in England for a cryptocurrency fraud that cost a 75-year-old Aberdeen resident a six-figure sum. Police Scotland, with assistance from West Midlands and South Yorkshire Police, led the operation. Authorities stress vigilance as elderly individuals remain frequent scam targets, with crypto fraud surging globally. -Thinking of buying … Continue reading Crypto Scam Targets Elderly Globally #1801 → The post Crypto Scam Targets Elderly Globally #1801 appeared first on Geek News Central.
Introducing “Who Killed Annalise?” a five-part true crime podcast series from The Courier and DC Thomson. In 2023, Police Scotland claimed they had solved every homicide since 2013. But for the family of Annalise Johnstone, one question remains: Who Killed Annalise? Annalise Johnstone was killed in the shadow of a witch's grave in 2018. Annalise's brother, Jordan Johnstone, and his girlfriend, Angela Newlands, were charged in connection with her brutal killing—but neither was ever convicted. The Courier revisits the cold case of Annalise Johnstone like never before, uncovering new details and speaking with those closest to the investigation: journalists, detectives, and witnesses. The Podcast also features interviews with Annalise's family, which is significant given that one was once a suspect. New episodes of Who Killed Annalise? drop weekly starting February 17, 2025. Listen ad-free and binge the full series now on The Courier app.
Send us a textWhen the Scotland consolidated its police forces it saw an opportunity to add a Service Design team to the new organisation. Not only would this team make a material contribution to Police Scotland's radical transformation, they would also become a core part of the force's new ways of working. In this episode we're joined my Chris Muir, who tells the story of how he discovered service design and how he and the Police Scotland Service Design team work with officers at every level to discover, design and deliver services that keep people in Scotland safer. Chris talks about the benefits of running a design studio in a 14th century castle, once owned by the Blackadder family and of how the design team's six principles helps the to build trust and deliver value through their work. We talk about how spending time out on patrol with officers helps Police Scotland's designers to create services that meet the needs of officers whether they're in high population density Glasgow, or in the rural extremes of the Highlands & Islands.References from this episode. Radical Candor. https://amzn.eu/d/h04WOyVNine Lies About Work https://amzn.eu/d/7m9vFq2This is Service Design Doing https://amzn.eu/d/3DCngOvBeyond Sticky notes: https://amzn.eu/d/j0RFTrHGood Services https://good.services/homeMcDonalds removes AI from their sites https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c722gne7qngo#:~:text=McDonald's%20is%20removing%20artificial%20intelligence,orders%2C%20was%20announced%20in%202019.Service Design YAP is developed and produced by the Service Design Network UK Chapter.Its aim is to engage and connect the wider Service Design community. Episode Host: Stephen Wood Production Assistance: Jean Watanya
Severance Mark leads a team of office workers whose memories have been surgically divided between their work and personal lives; when a mysterious colleague appears outside of work, it begins a journey to discover the truth about their jobs. Season 2 has just been released (Apple TV+). The Night Agent While monitoring an emergency line, an FBI agent answers a call that plunges him into a deadly conspiracy involving a mole at the White House. The second season released earlier this week (Netflix). Karen Pirie After the promotion to Police Scotland's Historic Cases Unit, Karen Pirie reopens the cold case of a murdered barmaid. Her investigation unearths flaws in the original 1995 inquiry (Neon). LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tom and Simon kick off with a discussion about Simon's upcoming trip to Australia for Crime Time Inc., emphasizing the importance of exemplary conduct and noting the organization's tight expense policies. They delve into famous Australian cases, including the legendary outlaw Ned Kelly. The conversation then shifts to a series of topical crimes, particularly those around Christmas time, as noted by their deep dive team. Paul Logan's unsolved murder is highlighted, with Tom discussing the importance of preserving evidence and keeping cold cases 'warm' for potential breakthroughs. They touch on infamous cases like the Sodder children and JonBenét Ramsey, critiquing poor initial crime scene management and exploring potential theories behind the incidents. The pair also reflect on Amelia Earhart's mysterious disappearance and the influence of conspiracy theories, driven by social media. The podcast transitions to a broader analysis of crime scene investigations, the importance of immediate actions by first responders, and conspiracy theories' propensity to thrive in the absence of definitive answers. Notably, Tom praises Police Scotland's Homicide Review Board for their methodical and thorough approach to solving cold cases. The episode also teases a future live show at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow and mentions their special guest, former crime reporter Jane Hamilton, who will bring a unique perspective as a journalist. This episode offers a blend of case analysis, procedural critique, and personal anecdotes, providing listeners with insight into the investigative process and the challenges faced in high-profile crime inquiries.00:00 Introduction and Trip Preparations00:21 Professional Conduct and Expense Warnings01:40 Famous Australian Cases01:57 Christmas Crimes and Cold Cases04:44 The Paul Logan Case06:56 Cold Case Investigations11:50 Forensic Evidence and Lockhart's Exchange Theory16:53 The Sodder Children Disappearance23:06 Violence in Policing26:11 The Importance of Searching Prisoners27:36 Public Inquiry into Sheku Bayoh's Death29:49 Botched Crime Scenes: Jon Benét Ramsey Case35:57 The Maurin Murders: A Complex Case42:20 Amelia Earhart: The Mystery of Her Disappearance46:16 Conspiracy Theories and Social Media48:57 Upcoming Live Show Details Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode of Crime Time Inc., hosts Simon and Tom discuss a range of intriguing criminal cases. They start with a detailed analysis of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous 'Monster', exploring his horrific crimes and psychological profile. They delve into how Dahmer's case influences fictional serial killers and discuss his tragic end in prison. The conversation moves to the murder of Alistair Wilson in the Highlands of Scotland. Tom shares his insights and frustrations about the case, believing it's solvable despite the initial missteps in the investigation. They discuss the complexities and obstacles that have hindered its resolution and Tom's hope that Police Scotland will eventually solve it. The episode also touches on the tragic case of Virginia McCulloch, who murdered her parents and managed to conceal their deaths from her family for four years. The hosts examine her sociopathic behavior and the astonishing dynamics within the family. The discussion then transitions to terrorism, highlighting the Glasgow Airport attack and the pivotal role of public bravery and structural preparedness in thwarting the assault. They reflect on Richard Reid, the 'Shoe Bomber,' and the profound impact of his actions on global air travel security protocols. Finally, the episode revisits the notorious Sheila Garvie case, emphasizing the media's sensationalism and the potential defense elements of domestic abuse that were absent during her trial. With a promise of more gripping content, the hosts hint at an upcoming in-depth look at the Manson case. The episode concludes with the debut of Crime Time Inc.'s theme song composed by their director, setting the stage for more thrilling narratives.00:00 Welcome and Introduction00:51 Discussing Jeffrey Dahmer05:52 Media Influence and Manson Case Preview07:32 Alistair Wilson Case Analysis12:17 Cold Case Investigations21:51 Virginia McCulloch Case22:48 Cold-Hearted Virginia McCullough23:33 Glasgow Airport Terrorism Event25:28 Public Bravery in Crisis28:16 Sheku Bayoh Inquiry and Public Service Challenges31:10 Richard Reid: The Shoe Bomber34:16 Surveillance and Counter-Terrorism Insights38:46 Sheila Garvie Case: Sex, Drugs, and Murder43:30 Wrapping Up and Theme Tune Debut Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
#AskMarkThis week on the podcast, The death of an 18-year-old on his first scuba dive has led to the biggest workplace fine in the history of the US state of Minnesota. Specialist police searches are being carried out in north Wales for a diver identified only as Imrich, 53, from Warrington in Cheshire. British divers among the seven people still unaccounted for after the sinking of the Sea Story liveaboard in Egypt have been named. The Coastguard has stood down a multi-agency search for a scuba diver who went missing in Scapa Flow, leaving Police Scotland to continue with its own investigation.https://divernet.com/scuba-news/health-safety/record-fine-for-firm-that-left-teen-solo-on-first-dive/https://divernet.com/scuba-news/health-safety/diver-searches-continue-in-wales-orkney/https://divernet.com/scuba-news/health-safety/british-divers-missing-from-sea-story-named/https://divernet.com/scuba-news/health-safety/multi-agency-search-for-scapa-diver-called-off/https://divernet.com/scuba-news/new-company-takes-over-scubaverse/Websitehttps://www.scubadivermag.comInstagramhttps://www.instagram.com/scubadivermagazine/Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/scubadivermag/YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/c/ScubaDiverMagazine/Scuba Diver Magazinescubadivermag.com/subscriptions
Contains Distressing ContentScott Joined the Police in 1995. He had been a professional footballer, and his selection process was extremely smooth! He had played for Alloa Athletic and Scotland under 16 and played against Saudi Arabia in the Youth World Cup Final alongside Paul Dickov .Prior to joining the police Scott worked in the travel industry. His first day at training school wasn't the best start. He had been told to wear casual clothing. However, the drill sergeant had other ideas and a public telling off and was one of a handful who had to put their uniform on in the car park! He has fond memories of his time in training school and it was a platform that served him well throughout his career. His conclusion of training he went to his force for local procedure. On his first day, as he sat in the canteen, he was informed that there had been a shooting at Dunblane primary school. Along with his young colleagues he was dispatched to the school and was placed on scene preservation and to prevent the press and parents from entering the area. He saw the aftermath of the shooting and he describes his experiences as unforgettable. His first week became even more memorable when he broke the wrist of a suspect who he had handcuffed.Scott served at the Court in Holland where the Lockerbie Suspects were tried. This experience was carried out in the spotlight of the worlds press. The camp was in lockdown at night and the staff worked hard and played hard. Scott discovered a liking for firearms and undertook the tough process to qualify. His skills were recognised and he became the Chief Firearms instructor. The success in the work place came at a cost. The impact on his family was such that it put an end to his marriage. His depression was overwhelming but the death by suicide of a friend had a significant impact, and he found that with the support of the PFOA he was able to make the changes he needed to put his life back on track.The motivation to retire from Police Scotland was as a result of the pension changes. He wanted to stay but it became cost prohibitive.Since retirement Scott has been working for a number of different organisations and concentrates on wellbeing and has supported organisations such as PFOA Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In today's episode of AI Lawyer Talking Tech, we explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence across various sectors of the legal industry. From the integration of AI tools in court systems to streamline processes and improve access to justice, to the adoption of generative AI in law firms reshaping document drafting and legal research, AI is reshaping the legal landscape. We'll also dive into the latest updates in copyright law, ethics rulings on AI usage, and new data privacy legislation emerging in response to tech giants. Tune in as we uncover how AI continues to push the boundaries of legal practice, offering both new opportunities and challenges for legal professionals. Jon Bartman: “Nothing is a straight path within legal technology”07 Oct 2024Golbal Legal Tech HubInside MinterEllison: A Case Study in Copilot Adoption with Amber O'Meara and Tim Andrews07 Oct 2024The Geek In ReviewWhat happens when 3,000 in-house lawyers gather? Lots of AI talk04 Oct 2024Legal Dive - Latest NewsIncreasing Access to Justice: Innovations now happening in the nation's court system04 Oct 2024Thomson Reuters InstituteAI & Copyright: First decision, and missed opportunity, in Germany07 Oct 2024Hogan LovellsTexas AG Sues TikTok in First Lawsuit Brought Under SCOPE Act04 Oct 2024Kelley Drye & Warren LLPDepartment of Justice Continues to Focus on AI This Week04 Oct 2024King & SpaldingPiloting the New HHS Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule: HIPAA and Provider Updates04 Oct 2024Spencer FaneThe impact of AI on the insurance Industry: novel loss scenarios04 Oct 2024Hogan LovellsGV announces MI government attorney as next legal counsel07 Oct 2024Grand Valley LanthornNavigating the AI Landscape: A guide for charities on opportunities, risks and compliance07 Oct 2024Mishcon de ReyaThe Tech Lobbying Group Helping to Broaden the First Amendment's Reach07 Oct 2024DNyuz‘We Build AI Agents' – Flank's Jake Jones07 Oct 2024Artificial LawyerDeepfake regulation: A double-edged sword?07 Oct 2024TechRadar.pro‘Here to stay': New ABA ethics opinion addresses use of AI by the legal profession06 Oct 2024Virginia Lawyers WeeklyCall for probe into Police Scotland's 'Orwellian' plan to use AI and facial recognition technology05 Oct 2024ScottishDailyExpress.co.ukThe Importance of Law Tutoring in Today's Legal Education05 Oct 2024buzzardblog.comWant Gov Tech Innovation? Consider the Legal Issues Too04 Oct 2024Government Technology USStreamlining Legal Workflows: How Document Automation Transforms Law Firms04 Oct 2024NERDBOTIndiana Takes Steps to Reform Legal Services Delivery04 Oct 2024JDJournalFennemore Craig Expands with Acquisition, Embraces AI for Legal Services04 Oct 2024JDJournalAnother US state joins legal services reform push, citing lawyer shortage04 Oct 2024ReutersHow a Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help Grieving Families in Pennsylvania04 Oct 2024Cerritos Community NewsHow Do You Know You Need A Case Management Upgrade?04 Oct 2024Above The LawIncreasing Access to Justice: Innovations now happening in the nation's court system04 Oct 2024Thomson ReutersAI Training Data Dilemma: Legal Experts Argue For 'Fair Use'04 Oct 2024Forbes.comLegaltech Week: Catch Us Live on Tuesday at ClioCon (and Watch Our Regular Show Today)04 Oct 2024LawSitesEuropean Parliament's legal committee seeks involvement in AI group04 Oct 2024MSN International EditionWhat. Just. Happened? (Week of 09-30-2024)04 Oct 20243 Geeks and a Law BlogBillables AI: Modern Professional Service Providers Platform Secures $3.9 Million (Seed)04 Oct 2024Pulse 2.0ILTA's 2024 tech survey: AI, Cloud, and the tools driving law firm efficiency04 Oct 2024The Daily Record of RochesterLegaltech News Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Wilkins Moves to Legaltech Hub04 Oct 2024LawSites
In this episode of Crime Time Inc, hosted solo by Simon Maclean, the focus is on the multifaceted challenges facing Police Scotland. The show features an insightful interview with David Threadgold, the national chair of the Scottish Police Federation, who discusses the morale of officers, resource constraints, and recent changes within the force. The conversation highlights inefficiencies in the criminal justice system, health-related demands on police resources, and the decline in community engagement due to the hub model. They also address the benefits of body-worn cameras and the impact of rural officer housing policies. A portion of the episode is dedicated to examining current drug policies, questioning the effectiveness of the Misuse of Drugs Act, and considering alternative approaches observed internationally. Historical reflections, such as Jim Duffy's 2005 views on drug policy and Lord John McCluskey's criticisms, underscore the ongoing debate about the 'war on drugs.' The dialogue extends to the potential of safe consumption rooms and proportionate responses to crime. Furthermore, the complex dynamics between maintaining law enforcement standards and societal adaptation, alongside reduced police presence, prison system critiques, and hate crime legislation challenges, are covered. The episode emphasises the importance of public trust in the police and provides information on how to communicate with the Police Federation. It concludes with an invitation to a live Crime Time Inc podcast event in Glasgow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In the news this week: Opposition to transgender ideology is on the rise, implementing the Scottish Government's unpopular hate crime law costs Police Scotland half a million pounds, and a Newcastle United fan stands up to the club and police in defence of biological reality. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories Brits increasingly opposed to trans ideology, survey shows Half a million already spent policing Scots hate crime law Methodist Church in Ireland maintains biblical position on marriage Gender-critical NUFC fan launches legal action against club and police
In the news this week: NHS England agrees to review its trans policies following the Cass Review, schools across Devon and Cornwall have been accused of misrepresenting equality law, and a poll reveals the scale of public opposition to the Scottish Government's new hate crime legislation. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories NHS England to review trans policies for kids and adults Schools undermining trans guidance behind parents' backs Poll: Almost half of Scots want ‘hate crime' law ditched Police Scotland discovers just 3 per cent of 7,000 complaints are actually hate crimes Baby thriving with pacemaker after mum refused abortion
Show notes and Transcript Lois McLatchie Miller is the senior legal communications officer for Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) UK and is a regular media commentator. She joins us to discuss the work of ADF who's tagline, “Protecting everyone's right to live & speak the Truth in the UK”, is needed more than ever. Are Christian freedoms really under threat in the UK? Lois discusses a number of issues which are off limits legally. Speaking up for the rights of the unborn. SIlent prayer on a public footpath. Common sense factual statements on gender and sexuality. Asking people if they want to talk about the sanctity of life. Criminalising thoughts that are the wrong emotion. So many views and actions have been attacked by this so called conservative government. And where is the church amidst this woke wave of censorship? Lois McLatchie serves as a senior legal communications officer for ADF UK . She works with journalists and press representatives to advocate for fundamental freedoms in the “court of public opinion”, both in written pieces and through public speaking. Before beginning her current role, Lois was a legal analyst on ADF International's UN Advocacy Team at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. There, she provided Member State representatives with key legal resources and amendatory language which promotes the inherent value of every person. She is an alumnus of ADF International's Veritas Scholarship, under which she she completed training on on international law, communications and argumentation. Lois also holds an LLM Human Rights Law with distinction from the University of Kent, and an MA (Hons) International Relations from the University of St Andrews. During her studies, she participated in Areté Academy and Blackstone Legal Fellowship, where she completed extensive research on bioethical issues, including surrogacy. Connect with Lois and ADF UK... X x.com/LoisMcLatch x.com/ADF_UK SUBSTACK tradical.substack.com WEBSITE adfinternational.org Interview recorded 5.4.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP heartsofoak.org/shop/ *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 X https://twitter.com/TheBoschFawstin?s=20 Transcript (Hearts of Oak) I'm delighted to be joined today by Lois McLatchie-Miller. Lois, thank you so much for your time today. Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here. Great to have you on and followed you on Twitter, on your many, many different media outlets in the UK, GB News and Talk TV, Talk Radio. People can follow you. There is your Twitter handle and all the links are in the description. You're the Senior Legal Communications Officer for ADF, Alliance Defending Freedom. I followed ADF for many, many years. And it's ADF.UK, but everything is there. And I think the tagline on ADF on the Twitter is protecting everyone's right to live and speak the truth in the UK, which is under attack. And that's truth with a capital T. Maybe we'll touch on that as well. I said before, I've had the privilege of doing work with Paul Coleman, who's your executive director. Great to have you on and discuss this whole area, which I don't know if we've talked about for a long time on Christian freedoms. But maybe I'll ask you a simple question that the left trans say, of course it's not, and that is freedoms, specifically Christian freedoms. How are they actually under threat in the UK? Yeah, well, thanks for that question. Well, I think looking around us as Christians in the UK, we can sense that there is a changing culture, which is fine. Christians at the church have survived throughout thousands of generations of many different challenges. But the one that faces us today is one that's particularly sensorial. I say that because of a lot of the legislation that has been brought in recently in my home country in Scotland, most notably, but also across the UK, where the ability to speak truth. We're taught to speak in grace and truth is increasingly being reduced for the fear of offending somebody sometimes or because, more likely, different ideologies set to take precedence. I think, in Western countries, there has always been one belief or one ideology that is dominant. In and many years ago, that was the church. The church had in place blasphemy laws back in the 1600s. It was wrong to stop people from challenging or questioning the church or even having conversations about what different interpretations of the Bible might mean, of course. We should have allowed those conversations. It was wrong to always impose blasphemy laws with very harsh sentences. But what we're seeing today is in the West, in the UK and across different countries like Finland and across the European Union; we're seeing laws come in which actually just reverse that and we have situations where we can't speak out against what are considered to be the true dogmas or the the most popular narrative views of our day. Whenever we're in a situation like that uh that's a disadvantage to everyone because we don't get to have the conversations about important societal issues that we need and especially right now it is a disadvantage to Christians who are commanded and who love to be able to speak about their beliefs and share and exchange them with other people. And maybe you want to touch on the role of Alliance Defending Freedom. I know that you work here in the UK, but I initially saw it as as a U.S organization. I think it's expanded now to to many parts of the world. It's to my mind, it's probably the major Christian organization defending individuals' rights to speak truth in many areas in society. And the attacks are becoming wider and wider in every area. But maybe our viewers in the UK may not be so aware of ADF. Do you want to just let the viewers know what ADF is and what actually it does? Yeah, absolutely. Well, ADF stands for Alliance Defending Freedom. And the US reference that you mentioned, well, we as an organisation began in the US over 25 years ago. But, 10 years ago, we started up a new branch of ADF, called ADF International, which is headquartered in Vienna. We, as a new international organization, have an eye to keep the right to live and speak the truth free all over the world. So, we have an alliance of over 4,000 lawyers who we support. Whatever their challenges are in their own country, to the concept of being able to speak the truth. They can come to us and we can support them in being able to take these things through courts. And we also have in-house legal teams based in situations of political significance: at the European Union, at the European Court for Human Rights in Strasbourg, or we have a big office in Washington DC because of the Latin American jurisdictions there or the institutions there. Here in London, we have an office ADF UK, and we work in-house to be supporting these rights, to be serving serving those individuals who are dragged through courts unfairly because of their faith. Or to be promoting in the media and in politics, these foundational ideas that are core. For example, over here in the UK, freedom of speech has been a core value to the Brits for a long, long time, as well as supporting things like the right to life, again, which has been secured in our understanding of human rights law in the West for a long, long time. Although, we have an international presence in each location that we're based in, we work locally with a local team working on local issues with local laws. I think there's a big difference between stateside and over in Europe where in the States you wear your faith on your sleeve more. The conversations are, I think, more vocal and more public, where certainly in the UK, your faith is supposedly a private thing that you keep away from your public life. Is that one of the reasons why we've got to where we're going; Christians taking themselves out of the public sphere? I think probably these things are symbiotic aren't they. As laws and culture and this kind of concept of cancel culture increases it can put pressure on Christians and others of minority beliefs to stay quiet and then that can perpetuate the kind of myth that these views are outdated and don't really exist and therefore legislation comes in to make it even more difficult to express our faith and therefore this cycle kind of continues. And that's one of the reasons why it's so important for Christians to be standing up for their freedom of speech. Sometimes, this can be seen as kind of an icky thing to do to be engaging in our rights and we were supposed to, you know, we are called to be persecuted and some people feel awkward or difficult about speaking up for their rights but we're encouraged to do so, because Paul the apostle when he was under pressure for assessing his beliefs he called on the Roman Roman justice system and invoked his rights as a Roman citizen. And it wasn't because he was afraid of going to prison or afraid of suffering, but it was because, for many reasons, firstly, upholding justice in a country is important. Secondly, because this can be an opportunity to share our story with a wider group of people and to secure the right for them too, to be able to live and speak the truth, to share their faith. It's important to engage in the structures of society that we have around us. And of course, we know that the message of Christianity can have a phenomenal impact, not only in the lives of individuals and in us loving our neighbour to be able to share the truth like this, but also in societies. If you look to pre-Christian Rome, for example, the culture was more hedonistic and awful than today. They were engaging in child sacrifice in some instances. Women were treated as about the same worth as a loaf of bread. Babies were exposed on rubbish heaps if they weren't wanted simply because they were girls. Yet, Christianity came in with a transformative message and instituted this first concept that we ever had of having human rights, of having the equal dignity of each person just because they are human. That is a message that we still carry with us today, the equal dignity and worth of each person, no matter black, white, male, female, born, unborn, child, adult, all of these things. We believe that they have equal dignity and worth. We believe that no child has ever been born in the wrong body, for example. And these are values that can be positive and make a hugely positive impact on those around us. There are great reasons to be upholding this freedom, to be able to share our faith, to be able to share this perspective in society and help shape the laws around us to be the best that they can be for the flourishing of everybody. I've been surprised. I mean, I remember back when I was working at Christian Concern and engaging with churches. And you're kind of thinking, well, surely churches should be engaging in this fight. But it seems as though often, and maybe Americans may think, you've got to stay at church. You're in a wonderful position. Well, it's not necessarily so. And it seems that the church have retreated and left the fight to organizations like ADF. That's your job to speak truth and we'll quietly have a Bible study on a Wednesday evening and that's kind of our job ticked. I mean, how do you see that? Because, really it should be the church that are standing up for rights and freedoms and truth in the world. Yeah. So, the church has a commission, doesn't it, to be sharing the message and making disciples of those who believe. And I don't think that everybody in the church has the same necessarily frontline role in the politics that I do. I think that we all are called to have different parts of the body, but especially when we have state churches. But the church as an institution in society does have freedom to be able to speak into the societal issues of our day and to be sharing a perspective about how lives can be approved for everybody. And I think that church leaders have perhaps lost confidence in their ability to do that, that they do have a voice, that they can speak to politicians, they can speak to newspapers, to society and share their perspective and that it isn't wrong to do so. I wonder if there's been a little bit of a shyness over the last 50 years and speaking externally, but also internally about some issues that can be seen as controversial and maybe not having the language to articulate these things well. It is so important that we do so because we know, we believe the Bible as a church, not just because it's the Bible or because we're told to do so, but because we fundamentally do think it's true. We do think it holds valuable knowledge about how to best support everybody in society, best point them towards the way that they can be flourishing the most. If we truly believe that truth, then it is unfair, unjust and unkind of us to not be sharing that message, to not be speaking out. So, if we take our mission seriously, if we think that this is good for society, then we must be speaking about these issues in compassion and grace and holding out the wisdom that we've been taught. 100% Many of our viewers, not necessarily Christian viewers, may be non-Christian, but I think certainly the response we've got is many people looking for what truth is and looking for certainty in life, especially during the last four years of COVID chaos and trying to find that certainty. I want to talk to you about the the pro-life conversation and the Christian freedom conversation wider. I do need to ask you as a scoff of the the chaos that's north of the border. We've all read about uh it wasn't an April fool's joke it was actually the SNP going fully woke and restricting all conversation. As been reported on a lot, but maybe you want to just mention that, firstly, as an example of this wave against the right to speak what you believe. Sure. Well, like I mentioned earlier, it was 1697 that the last man in Scotland was condemned for blasphemy. He had, Thomas Aitkenhead, a 20-year-old Edinburgh student who had questioned the validity of the miracles of the Bible and made some jokes about Scripture. He was condemned for that, and that was absolutely wrong. That law went defunct for hundreds of years nobody used it in 2021 it was repealed finally, but on the same day that it was repealed a new blasphemy law was put into place. That came into action on the 1st of April this year. That law creates a new offense called stirring up of hate. I certainly don't like to be hated. I don't like anyone else to feel hated either and obviously we've talked about Christianity. Christians should never be called to be stirring up hate in any measure. The problem with this law is that we don't know exactly what kind of language can be seen to come under this. There's no definition of what it means to stir up hate and essentially it's been left wide open to abuse for the government to decide what speech they don't like and to ban that now JK Rowling very famously tested this law right in the morning that it came out. She tweeted, of course, some some fiery tweets about trans activists. She asked the police to come and arrest her if she had done anything wrong. The police investigated these tweets that had been reported as a hate crime. They found that they did not meet the threshold and that is good. It is really good that we've had that benchmark set for feminists that these particular tweets did not meet the threshold. However, we don't actually know, because there is no clear definition if different tweets were worded differently on a different day. And perhaps even might I add, coming from somebody who isn't as famous or on a big platform, or doesn't have the world's attention watching them. We don't know if the police will find a different reason as to prosecuting tweets as hate crimes and we don't know also about other topics that haven't been tested so JK Rowling talked about um trans activists and their link to criminality. We haven't tested this out when it comes to speaking about marriage we know one of the protected categories within law is obviously transgender identity and sexual orientation so we don't know about Christians who might speak out about marriage being between a man and a woman and if in different contexts. That could potentially meet the threshold. There's many Questions about this law that we have not been bottomed out. Police of Scotland had three years to clarify you know to a greater extent what this law was really going to mean for us and really all the best they came up with was a kind of campaign about a hate monster and watching out that the hate monster doesn't doesn't get you doesn't cause you to accidentally commit a hate crime I think it's very disappointing from our establishment that we're in this situation. I do see it as a new form of blasphemy law and that can essentially be used in the future to to criminalize people who are simply expressing their beliefs and it creates it's a culture I think of kind of you can't say that. You know, we'll chill conversations about important societal issues even in the home. This reaches into the family dinner table. Where it still applies, and if kids were to report their parents for their quote-unquote hateful beliefs if that's what they've been taught in school or hateful beliefs, then their parents could be ended up in trouble for what they've said there too. I think it's a very far-reaching law. It is something to be concerned about. And it's frightening that a government are trying to legislate feelings. Maybe the first government in the world to say a certain feeling or a certain emotion is wrong. I guess we'll be told what emotions are right and you must feel those emotions at certain times. And then it falls on the police and in some ways although it's the bobby on the beat that they will have to implement this. They're probably thinking this there are no guidelines this is not explained properly and it it's dangerous. We see it time and time again. Legislation coming in that's worded so badly, so widely, that actually it's up to any individual. And on a Monday someone could be arrested, on a Tuesday they're not and that's frightening. I guess no safeguards and it's so subjective. Yeah, that's right. I mean we've seen this actually with hate speech laws across the world, so we kind of have a flavour of where this is going already. ADF International was supporting a case in Finland and still is a politician a parliamentarian of 20 years and a former Home Secretary, and a grandmother mother. Paivi Razanen, tweeted in 2019, she tweeted a Bible verse and she challenged her church leadership as to whether they should really have sponsored the Pride parade in Helsinki. She felt that that was perhaps an inappropriate thing for a church to be doing. She was charged for hate speech. She was dragged to the court. She's been acquitted twice at the district court and the court of appeal, and her case has been appealed a third time to the Supreme Court in Finland. The charge that she has been, or what she's been charged under carries a potential sentence of up to two years in prison. We don't think that she would get the full sentence, but the fact that that hangs in the air is quite phenomenal. We've seen where this lands of grandmothers being dragged through courts for years for tweeting their beliefs. Again, in Mexico we've seen this with politicians out there who we've supported, who were convicted actually of gender gender-based political violence for having expressed their beliefs on biological reality. Their are cases being appealed to the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, but there are two politicians whose careers have been severely jeopardised because they simply tweeted their well-founded beliefs about reality. They spoke the truth. We know where this goes. We know how the story ends. For Scotland and Ireland are now looking at putting in place their own hate speech law as well. It is concerning, but we're going to have to wait and see how this shakes out. Of course, like you say, it comes down often to an individual police decision on the day, and Police Scotland are now a centralised unit. There's no kind of peer review between different forces in Scotland. It really is down to just one hive mind making the decision on what could count as offensive in the future. The police recently in Scotland said that they were no longer going to be investigating over 24,000 crimes including some examples of theft, because they simply don't have the resources, but we're told that they are going to be investigating every single report of hate speech that comes in. And we've had over 4,000 so far. Bear in mind that this law has been enacted for four days. If you can compare the before and after the effect this is going to have on our resources of policing in the country when it comes into looking about who said what on Twitter. It's a phenomenally interesting place for a country to be, but we're going to see how it shakes out in the next few weeks, I imagine. It really is weird whenever politicians are more concerned of hurdy words than rape, because the rape convictions are, what, one and a half percent, I think, is a conviction from an allegation to conviction. And yet, it's falling over themselves to find a word that may cause someone offence somewhere and to go after that. It is unbelievable the waste of finance and police resources of going after something while you've got these massive problems in society and simply turning a blind eye to it. Yeah, no, absolutely. And you're right. Hate isn't a human emotion. It's a motion of the human heart. It'd be as well trying to ban greed or envy or lust. Hamza Yusuf. Justin Trudeau. Simon Harris. All of these guys can try to ban hate, but that's not essentially what it's going to make the difference in society. Do we have societal issues, societal tensions, of course we do, but resolving those conflicts is going to take more conversation not less. Telling people that that their views or that they are bad people for expressing beliefs is not going to be helpful in engaging those societal conversations. If we let bad speech go underground and be hidden, then it festers into even worse speech for the issues that the government is concerned about. Having conversations out in the open is really the best place for a democracy to be. We need to have these types of conversations and the marketplace of ideas will sort itself out. The ideas that need to be fleshed out can be done so with debate and discussion. I think that's the direction the West needs to be headed. It was certainly historically where we seem to be headed for a long time when we've taken this U-turn back to a kind of more authoritarian, censorial approach, which I think is going to not have the desired consequences of our government. I want to move on to life. Lots of conversation, probably in the UK more on what they call assisted dying or assisted suicide, which is assisting someone to end their life, so to murder. We've seen that, especially probably during COVID, it's becoming even a bigger conversation. I see a number of MPs just get rid of the older members of society and that fixes us, the survival of the fittest. It's a frightening. I guess, where the conversation goes when you don't have any Christian ethos or belief of the value of life. But the value of life at the beginning as well; I mentioned to you before we went on we've had uh some great individuals: Scott Klusendorf and Seth Gruber, and Janique Stewart. It's always great to drop this in the conversation, because when you look at the other alternative media, I think this is a topic that people are afraid to go on and choice seems to trump life and the right to the individual. Maybe you want to touch on what the situation is in the U.K for me for U.S audience who aren't sure. What is the life abortion situation in the U.K? Legally speaking our uh our laws in effect allow abortion for any reason up till 24 weeks. Then after 24 weeks there's three reasons why it could go all the way up to birth. One is in cases of disability. For the child, one is if the mother's life is at risk, and one is if there's a risk of serious risk of physical or mental injury to her as a result of the pregnancy. That's as things stand now. We are are a bit of an outlier in Europe. Average kind of benchmark for European abortion caps between 12 and 15 weeks. At 24, we're almost double. We are much, much more liberal in our abortion law than others. But an amendment has been put forward as part of the criminal justice bill in our parliament by a politician who would like to see abortion decriminalised all the way up till birth in the UK for any reason. Whether you count yourself as pro-life, or pro-choice, or pro-abortion or whatever label you hold, this iteration of an abortion law is extremely dangerous and should be opposed. The reason is that it puts women's lives in danger. We have a scheme in the UK called Pills by Post. Since the pandemic and now permanently, a woman can call up an abortion provider, say that she is less than 10 weeks pregnant, and the abortion provider will be able to administer her by the post Misoprostol pills for her to perform her own abortion at home. The danger with this, of course, without saying obvious, is also that a woman can essentially acquire these medicines very easily, even after the 10-week mark all the way up to the 40-week mark. And this has happened in various instances. There was a case over the summer of a lady called Carla Foster who performed an abortion by obtaining pills in this way on, I think it was, between a 33 and 35 week old baby I believe. She had a very traumatic experience performing her own abortion in her bathroom at home and she talked she later named her baby who she had to give birth to of course, after having performed the abortion she named her baby Lily. She talks about the traumatic experience that was. Now, if we we take away laws which prevent women from doing this, because a small number of women have got around the system to do it. If we take away laws that prevent many more women from doing it, we'll have so many more women like Carla who obtain a very dangerous style of abortion at home like this. It would be an absolutely traumatic result for women. So, no matter what your ideological stance on abortion is, this is something to write to your MP and oppose, because no woman should be going through an abortion alone at home. We're told it was meant to be safe, legal and rare. There seems to be none of those things. Now, there's also been another amendment proposed to the same bill that MPs will have to pick between. The second amendment looks at this 24-week mark and says, well, hang on. This means that now that babies are surviving from 22 weeks outside the womb. We now have situations where in the same hospital; there can be a woman having a 23, 24 week baby aborted whilst the same age of baby is fighting for their lives and we're supporting them to survive. How can we just be discriminating against these two children simply because one is wanted and one is not. That doesn't seem just at all. They're taking the very they made the very modest and moderate proposal of simply lowering that limit on abortion from 24 down to 22 in line of the current state of viability in the UK. Now, of course this still makes us very much out of sync with Europe which is 12 to 15 weeks, but it is a step towards a more humane view of life. I think it's something that should be definitely supported by all MPs. Again, it's not even a defining ideological stance. It's not the Only pro-life. People should think this... It is just a reasonable measure to take to ensure that babies of all, at least at the same age, are treated equally. That no baby's life is being ended in the womb that could be surviving on the outside. My hope is that plenty of people in the U.K will see the sense in this, see the justice in this, and write to their MP and encourage them to support the amendment for 22 weeks and opposed the amendment for 40 weeks. Sorry, that was a lot of information in one go, but I hope that it came across okay. No, it did. And the changes in legislation are often incremental that you don't go for it straight away. It is a conversation and slowly you have to move people with you. But it's interesting, the state, the conversation in the legislation, acouple of states on the heartbeat legislation, and that goes around actually what is life? Can we define what life is? And I've been perplexed with conversations with those who are are absolute desperate for abortion. It's actually something that people are really fired up with, certainly in the left. And I remember touching on different issues, and it's fine, you touch on the issue of abortion, how dare you stop a woman taking the life of her child. But that conversation of life, and I don't see that as much in the UK, because the Harvard legislation, what is life? You feel the pulse, actually the heart's beating, and that makes sense. I would go down to conception, but hey, let's have a conversation. But no one seems to understand what life is and that seems to be the crux of the problem, I think. Yeah, and I think ideologically we're always put into this debate mould where we're told that we have to pick between a woman or her baby, you know, it's like pro-woman or pro-baby. Some people say that, you know, we should protect the woman at all costs and therefore if she doesn't want to have a pregnancy in her body at at all, then like it's absolutely her choice and the child gets no rights. There's not many people who go to the full extreme of saying that at any point up to birth, she should be able to make that choice or even after birth. Very few people would go to that extreme. But there are some. And on the other side, we have this kind of polar opposite opinion of only the child's life matters. And the woman doesn't matter at all. And forget about her. We just have to protect this baby's life. I personally never met anyone who said that, but I'm sure that there have been instances where that's come across. And that's obviously not right either. We're kind of locked into this strange polarization where actually very few people think on these extremes. And I think what most of us want to see is an option where we can protect both. Can we find solutions where we can protect both mother and baby? And I think that's what needs to come through far more in this debate into the mainstream and stop feeding this idea that we can now just have to pick a tribe and in fact look to solutions where we can support mothers and support babies far better. I know the U.S have a great network of pregnancy help centres, which I think do a great service to women, because many, you know, in one in five women in the U.K who have had abortions say that they didn't want to, they felt pressured or pushed into it. So, if we had better options of support, and I think we can all work towards situations where we can be doing more to support and encourage women to take the empowered step to choose motherhood, to choose life. In a culture where so often they're told that the only option is abortion and that they have no future apart from that. So, I'd love to see further changes in our culture towards supporting women. And I guess the danger is the organisations that provide abortion make money from it. BPAS are not going to provide a conversation with a mother saying, actually, these are your options. The option for them is one thing because that's their business. We don't seem to have a, mothers don't seem to be able to have a conversation, actually, of the options. And it seems to be if a mother is thinking of ending the life of her child, then she's kind of funnelled into one direction, and that is abortion. I think that probably needs to change. I guess that partially is the role of the church to have that conversation. Yeah, there's a lot more we can be doing for sure. I think we can all agree that women deserve far better than abortion. When we think about it no little girl ever grows up saying I would love to have an abortion when I'm older. It's never an ideal choice so, the fact that we are in a culture where one in three or one in four women are ending up having abortion is a great failure on society. It's a great failure in the rhetoric that, you know, my body my choice is so empowering when in fact it's really allowed men and family members and people that were meant to be rallying around women in crisis pregnancies to say, well, your body, your choice, your problem, I'm out. And the kind of abandoned woman to a responsibility that was always meant to be shared. So, I do think there's a lot more churches and charities and things to be doing, but we also, we do have great charities in the U.K who do volunteer support. Outside abortion facilities and have made a real life difference in the lives of many women who have chosen help and decided that they would like to continue their pregnancies if only they could have support. But unfortunately, we're seeing a clampdown on their work at a governmental level, which I think is the most anti-woman policy that this government has ever proposed. Completely. And you've written to Rishi Sunak. Have you got a reply back to your letter? I did not. You know it's so funny I I wrote that letter it wasn't an ADF initiative I would just write to my MP, but my MP is standing down and I knew that she wouldn't agree with me anyway on this. At the last minute I said, oh I'll write to Rishi, and I put it on on Twitter. So thank you for saying and noticing that, I'm glad I'm glad somebody did. Yes, no. I wrote to Rishi because I think that we've had a quote-unquote conservative government for 14 years in this country. But in the course of those years, we have seen the destruction of the family. We've seen no support for mothers. Our maternity policy, in essence, has really amounted to just cheaper childcare, which, of course, cheaper childcare is fine and good. But many women feel that they would love to be able to invest more in their families, in their children by staying home, by having tax rewards for being able to put those years into early motherhood. Yet we have very little support for the idea of a family other than getting women back into work as soon as possible. We've had an abortion rate that's only growing under the Conservative government. We've had pills by post implemented by this government and now potentially abortion up to birth under the the criminal justice bill amendment. So I think it's an absolute blight on any party that calls themselves conservative, who should be standing up for family, for freedom of speech, for life and for cherishing these values that are so important to so many of us in society. I felt frustrated that that had not been done. And so I wrote a letter. If only in the manifesto, all lives matter and both lives matter were two policies, I think, actually would have a very different society. You know, it's funny, in the Conservative manifesto; I checked in the 2019 manifesto and family is mentioned dozens of times as support for the family as this campaign was promised to us. But I personally have not seen any measures taken to support and uphold families. I've only seen the opposite. So I think that's a real miss by a government who could have done much better. Yeah, if only we could listen to Hungary and have the most family friendly policies in Europe, it could be quite different. I saw you, I think, recently, back in March, you'd been with, I think, Right to Life had been outside Parliament, highlighting what was happening. Just mention that because it's important for the public to come around initiatives and to try and let MPs know that there is vocal support for policies like this. Yeah, absolutely. I really encourage everybody in the U.K to be writing to their MP about this. The group right to life. I think it's https://righttolife.org.uk, have a tool on their website where you can very easily write to your MP. Put in your postcode and they'll let you know who it is and provide you with information that you can send on to your MP. It's very easy, just takes a couple of clicks and, yeah, even if you want to do it in a different matter you just get in touch. I think there's so many, I wasn't really aware until recently about the number of methods we do have available to us to engage in really important decisions that are made in Parliament. Writing to your MP can make a difference if they're on the fence, or at least letting them know that people in their constituency do care about this issue. It's something important to them and they of course are elected to represent you. There's also things like public consultations that frequently come up, and it's always worth just filling out that consultation and making your voice heard and engaging with these tools that we have before us, because other people do. And so if we're not voicing our own opinion in these measures where the government is looking for opinions, we won't be heard. I really encourage everyone to engage with those tools. Completely. And one MP who I saw you retweeted, a former guest of ours, Andrew Bridgen. His tweet was there should not be double standards when it comes to free speech, yet repeatedly we see evidence that Christian expression is harshly censored while the right to voice more fashionable views is protected. This was a sign, someone holding up a sign if you want to talk you can talk, and this I think fits in with the buffer, so do you want to fill the audience in on that? Yeah, of course he was referring to the case of Livia Tossici-Bolt Livia has been volunteering to help women outside an abortion facility for quite a few years now. She's a retired medical scientist, and so she frequently has has held a sign that says here to talk if you want, or she's provided information about a helpline and just giving women that chance to talk over their options to hear about resources available to them, if they want, to consider keeping their child if it's if they're at an abortion, but they're not sure about whether they want to go ahead. It's a chance just to look at other options. I think you know pro-life or pro-choice, especially if you're pro-choice, you should be pro having having these conversations, looking at all the true choices. However, Livia was recently charged and now faces trial because she held this sign near an abortion facility in Bournemouth, where there is a buffer zone, or a censorship zone, as we sometimes like to call them. Placed around the clinic. These buffer zones have been rolled out in five places across England and Wales so far, and under new legislation coming in soon, they will be rolled out across the country, and it makes it a crime to engage in influencing within 150 metres of a clinic. The law, the regulation that Livia was charged under prevents her from agreeing or engaging in disapproval or approval of abortion. So again, it's very, in both instances, it's very vague, ambiguous language and the authorities have deemed in Bournemouth that just by offering to talk. They're here to talk, if you want; that Livia has committed a crime. We're thrilled to be defending or to be supporting Livia's legal defence, because we believe that everybody should have the right to be engaged in these conversations. Nobody should be on trial just for having a belief about abortion or for offering to talk in any circumstance. The UK has public streets. We've always been able to express our views. We have a culture of democracy here and we can't understand why some issues are banned in certain places just because the government might not like what we have to say. So, that's one to watch out for. We're grateful that five politicians last week, as you alluded to, have spoken out for Libya. They've seen what happened in Bournemouth and they're aware that the new legislation coming in will roll this out across the U.K and we could see many more cases like Libya's. We've already seen a few. There was a priest, Father Sean Gough, who was arrested and put on trial, unfortunately vindicated, for holding a sign saying, praying for free speech. There was Isabel von Spruce, of course, most famously, also supported by ADF UK, who was arrested, actually twice, for a viral video for praying silently inside her head. So, this law has a very far-reaching consequence, even into the minds of individuals who are poor life. So something that whatever you think about abortion, we should be concerned about any form of censorship in our country and be able to keep those conversations open. Well, that, I mean, no one would have five years ago have said actually praying silently would be illegal in the UK. But in effect, that buffer zone legislation forced through by my MP, sadly to say, actually is, it means that prayer is now criminalised 150 yards from every abortion centre. That's how it's been acted on by the police. Well, we do have an opportunity to engage here for the better. So, the legislation that has been passed by the government bans influencing, like we talked about, very vague or unclear exactly what this means. Now, because it's so unclear the government are going to provide or the home office are going to provide guidance within the next few weeks to explain to police and prosecutors exactly how they should act outside of buffer zones and we know of course that freedom of thought is protected absolutely in human rights law as incorporated into the U.K law as well. It is wrong that Isabel was arrested for praying inside her head and the government have a chance to clarify here what the line is for being able to at least hold thoughts and conversations in public. Now, let's be clear for a second. We all disagree with harassment or intimidation or violence or anything like that. Nobody should be engaging in harassment of women in any situation. Of course, not here either. So, we're all comfortable with laws, which have already existed for a while, that ban that. But the government must clarify that while this legislation applies to harassment, It must not apply to silent prayer or simply peaceful prayer on the street or conversations like the one that Livia was trying to hold. A consensual conversation between two adults. So, that kindness is going to drop fairly soon. You know, there's still opportunities to engage with that. Again, you write to MP and encourage them to contact the Home Office about this and encourage them to do the right thing and clarify that we need freedom of thought and freedom of conversation. I mean, why not write to the Home Office as well and give your opinion? There is a chance still that we'll be able to preserve this and we'll have something to watch out for in the next few weeks. And just to finish, Lois, let me reiterate your comment about engage with MPs. You mentioned there was five and one of them, the awesome Carla Lockhart, DUP from Northern Ireland. And you realize there are voices, there are MPs who actually do have a belief. They are conviction politicians and they may be fewer of them than there used to be, but actually they are still there. And I think it's vital for us, whether you're watching it as Christians or not, whether you just believe in these fundamental rights that actually do engage with your MP, because you will you will find there are good MPs and you may be blessed by actually having a good MP different to Lois or myself that maybe don't have. Yeah Lois, there is, just want to reiterate that because there are good MPs and they will be fearless on speaking up on these issues. Yeah, yeah, absolutely I mean the the buffer zones debate in parliament before it was passed It was a very fiery debate and we were encouraged, although unfortunately the vote did not go in our favour when it came to the amendment. We were encouraged about the number who did stand up and in fact mentioned Isabel von Spruce by name in their speeches. So, we can see that these stories do have an impact. And hopefully because of the attention that has been shown to Isabel and the unjustifiable arrest that was made for the thoughts that she had inside her head. We hope this information will trickle through to MPs and government officials in places of power and we will be able to protect that freedom to pray silently at least. Lois, thank you so much for your time. It's great to have you on. As I said at the beginning, I followed ADF closely and people can find all the links. If they just go to your Twitter handle, they can find the links for ADF and find the links for your Substack and everything is there and it is in the description. So thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you so much. Thank you for all that you do.
Welcome to our regular review of some of the talking points and headlines of the past seven days and we are joined by the brilliantly outspoken David Kurten. David is full of common sense and fearless in his use of free speech as the listeners to his weekday show on TNT Radio will very well know. Plenty to get stuck into as we dig a little deeper into some of the posts David has made on his very popular X social media account and we discuss some of what has caught our eye in the press and from across the web, including... - He needs to be gone: The unelected UK foreign secretary wants more LGBTQQIAAPPP+ in Africa. - Not Our Flag: What is this woke abomination? - Former foreign minister being investigated after he said pro-Israel “extremists” in the party should be kicked out. - Police Scotland has received more than 3K hate crime reports since a new law was introduced. - US Secretary of State Blinken says Ukraine will be NATO member. - BULLSHIT ALERT: 'This could be 100 times worse than Covid' Bird flu warning from scientists. - Poll putting Tories on 98 seats shows ‘real anger' of the public. - Illegal migrants are eligible for £1,600 a month under a “nonsensical” system in Labour-run Wales. David Kurten is the leader of the Heritage Party, a political party in the UK which stands for free speech, traditional family values, national sovereignty, and defending our culture and heritage against extreme political correctness and ‘woke' ideology. He was a London Assembly Member from 2016 to 2021. Before entering politics, David was a Chemistry teacher and taught in high schools in the UK, Botswana, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the USA and Bermuda. David presents his own show on TNT Radio, weekdays 10-11am (gmt) Connect with David and The Heritage Party... WEBSITE heritageparty.org X x.com/davidkurten TNT RADIO tntradio.live/presenters/david-kurten Recorded 5.4.24 Connect with Hearts of Oak... WEBSITE heartsofoak.org/ PODCASTS heartsofoak.podbean.com/ SOCIAL MEDIA heartsofoak.org/connect/ SHOP heartsofoak.org/shop/ Links to topics... Foreign secretary https://x.com/davidkurten/status/1775762615093923973 Not our flag https://x.com/davidkurten/status/1775199279218373079 Conservatives https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/tory-peer-israel-gaza-investigation-duncan-b2523466.html Police Scotland https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-68721208 Ukraine https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-secretary-state-blinken-says-ukraine-will-be-nato-member-2024-04-04/ Bird flu https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-13268235/This-100-times-worse-Covid-Bird-flu-warning-scientists-say-HALF-infections-H5N1-people-fatal-White-House-says-monitoring-situation.html real anger https://web.archive.org/web/20240403015344/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/03/31/sir-iain-duncan-smith-votes-are-angry-at-government/ nonsensical https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1884146/illegal-migrants-basic-income
In the news this week: Rishi Sunak defends the right of those who wish to speak up for the reality of biological sex, the Institute tells the Scottish Government it will go to court to protect the ordinary work of churches from a new conversion therapy law, and in a House of Lords debate, Peers highlight the plight of persecuted Christians across the world. You can download the video via this link. Featured stories Rishi Sunak: ‘People should not be criminalised for upholding biological sex' Police Scotland ‘not ready' as 4,000 hate crime complaints filed in 24 hours Times readers slam columnist Parris for pressuring elderly and infirm to kill themselves CI: ‘Scot Govt will land itself in court over new conversion practices law' Peers highlight global persecution of Christians
Join Our Discord Community: Discord Email Us: TheDayAfter@THENEWBLXCK.com WhatsAPP: 07564841073 Join us in our twitter community - Twitter Subscribe NOW to The Day After: shorturl.at/brKOX The Day After, (00:00) Intro: (17:44) Headlines: Rishi Sunak facing pressure over UK arms sales to Israel, Israel will pay compensation to dead aid workers' families, NHS waiting list could be 2 million higher than thought (22:14) What You Saying: Black Celebrities & Influencers: Should we have a line drawn or should our love & support be unconditional??
Welcome to The Weekly Sceptic, episode 82! This week: -JK Rowling dares Humza Yousaf and his goons in Police Scotland to arrest her for the crime of ‘misgendering’. -A devastating new poll has the Conservatives winning just 98 seats — and Rishi’s might not be one of them! -Team GB says to the Football Association: […]
Glesga Da goes behind the scenes of one of the UK's largest police forces. From Jo Farrell, Chief Constable of Police Scotland getting a lift home to having to shave your beard Glesga Da looks at the inner workings of Police Scotland.Whether you're interested in law enforcement or simply a bam that's got the jail this episode is one of our best yet!Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe!Send Glesga Da your voice notes on Whatsapp: +44 (0)7386 891 812!Subscribe now and hit that notification bell for not-to-be-missed content.Make sure to check out:Glesga Da Podcast | https://linktr.ee/glesgadaGlesga Da Live Shows (Glasgow - March 2024) | https://linktr.ee/glesgadaLive Show Tickets | https://linktr.ee/glesgadaDon't forget to hit subscribe and hit the wee bell so you receive the next episode!#glasgow #podcast #comedy #scotland #funny #comedian #JackieBird #BBC #edinburgh #Smeato #terrorism #fyp #joke Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to The Weekly Sceptic, episode 82! This week: -JK Rowling dares Humza Yousaf and his goons in Police Scotland to arrest her for the crime of 'misgendering'. -A devastating new poll has the Conservatives winning just 98 seats -- and Rishi's might not be one of them! -Team GB says to the Football Association: "You think you've desecrated a British flag? Hold my beer." -Plus everyone's favourite section, Peak Woke, and premium content on www.basedmedia.org, which this week includes: -Just 38% of American voters think Biden will remain alive long enough to see out a second term. -Matthew Parris says the quiet part about euthanasia out loud. -And in the Based Department, Nick and Toby praise the President of Guyana for putting a sanctimonious BBC interviewer in his place on the subject of Net Zero. Go to www.basedmedia.org to sign up as a premium subscriber for as little as £5 a month! Buy tickets to The Weekly Sceptic Live: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-weekly-sceptic-live-tickets-861636396657?aff=oddtdtcreator This week's sponsor: Thor Holt Go to GrowthPresenter.com To advertise to our large and loyal audience, drop Toby a line on theweeklysceptic@gmail.com You can listen to or watch the podcast at: www.basedmedia.org Donate to the Daily Sceptic www.dailysceptic.org/donate/ Join the Free Speech Union www.freespeechunion.org/join/ Listen to Nick's podcast – The Current Thing – https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-current-thing/id1671573905 Subscribe to Nick's Substack www.nickdixon.net Help Nick keep both of his podcasts going by buying him a coffee https://www.buymeacoffee.com/nickdixon Produced by Lambeth Walk Productions. Filmed at the Westminster Podcast Studio. Music by Tinderella www.tinderella.info
The Hate Crime And Public Order (Scotland) Act is now in force, and more Police Scotland is logging yet more complaints, so what happens next? Calum, Geoff and Andy discuss JK Rowling's comments - which are not being treated as criminal - as well as a new MRP poll predicting a Conservative wipeout to less than 100 seats across the UK after the General Election, but the SNP holding onto 41 seats. Plus, as discussion continues from our 25 Years of Devolution event, what has the last quarter-century actually brought about? Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/holyroodsources. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today, we look at the new hate crime law in Scotland and the killing of three British aid workers in Gaza.Police Scotland say that comments made on X by JK Rowling about Scotland's new hate crime law are not being treated as criminal. The author described several transgender women as men in a challenge to the new crime of "stirring up hatred" against protected characteristics such as transgender identity. But what does the new law actually mean?James Cook is joined by political correspondent, David Wallace Lockhart, senior lecturer in law, Dr Andrew Tickell and Susan Smith from For Women Scotland.And three British aid workers have been killed in Israeli strikes in Gaza. Foreign secretary, David Cameron has called for Israel to explain how this happened. The BBC's Middle East correspondent, Lucy Williamson tells us what we know so far about the strikes. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by James Cook. It was made by Jack Maclaren with Gemma Roper and Joe Wilkinson. The technical producers were Ricardo McCarthy and Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The senior news editor is Sam Bonham.
Scotland's new Hate Crime and Public Order Act came into force on Monday - and within 48 hours at least 800 'hate crimes' had been reported to Scottish police. So, what's in it? And why has it put Scotland once again at the centre of the culture wars?This podcast was brought to you thanks to the support of readers of The Times and The Sunday Times. Subscribe today: http://thetimes.co.uk/thestory Guest: Kieran Andrews, Scottish Political Editor, The Times & Sunday Times. Host: Manveen Rana. Clips: BBC, Sky News, This Morning, JRE, The Daily Mail, ITV News, BBC, TalkTV, BBC, GB News, Police Scotland, Get in touch: thestory@thetimes.co.ukFind out more about our bonus series for Times subscribers: 'Inside the newsroom' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Welcome to the PoliticsJOE Podcast.Ed, Oli, and Ava are re-united in the ideal podcast form: two boys, one girl.The discuss why DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson resigned as Party Leader, following police charges; why JK Rowling's begging Police Scotland to arrest her; and why Germany's kit is causing more controversy than England's.Presenters: Oli Dugmore, Ed Campbell, and Ava SantinaProducer: Laura BeveridgeSting design: Chris WhiteProduction: Seán Hickey and Oli Johnson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2023 on Saturday 28 October at Church House, London. ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION The self-image of Western societies as cosmopolitan, liberal and tolerant has collapsed of late, with a darker view taking hold of people as extreme, hate-filled and hurtful. For example, in the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel, anti-Semitism – ‘the oldest hatred' – has come forcefully into public view. Accordingly, controlling ‘hate speech' has become a major focus for critics and campaigners, as well as legislators and regulators. They proceed in the belief that, as one Guardian commentator put it: ‘Words of hate create an ethos of hate, an atmosphere of hate, a political, social Petri dish of hate. Eventually, spoken words become deeds.' Campaigners say escalating incidences of hate justify interventions. The most recent published date show 155,841 offences recorded in the year to March – up 26 per cent from the previous year – with hate crimes against transgender people seeing the biggest increase, jumping by 56 per cent since last year. Meanwhile, in the past five years, the number of recorded non-crime hate incidents (NCHI) has grown to 120,000. Critics say the nebulous definition and subjective interpretation of hate, which is largely in the eye of the victim or reporter, is trivialising such ‘crimes'. But is there more to this issue than definitional disarray? Some say the problem is being inflated by ‘fishing' exercises. The Citizen's Advice Bureau, for example, says ‘it is always best' to ‘act early' and report incidents even if ‘unsure whether the incident is a criminal offence… or serious enough to be reported'. Meanwhile, Police Scotland has promised to set up a new unit to tackle ‘hate crimes' such as misgendering and denying men access to ladies' toilets. Some say that what is labelled ‘hate speech' is increasingly being weaponised to silence opponents and narrow viewpoint diversity. Groups such as Stop Funding Hate aim to persuade advertisers to pull support from broadcasters and publications on the grounds that views aired spread hate and division. More broadly, fuelled by identity politics, competing groups too often accuse other identities of hate and bigotry – demonising those we disagree with is a tactic used across the political spectrum. On one side, people are labeled hateful TERFs, gammon, alt-right or xenophobic, while the other side are hate-driven snowflakes, misogynists, Remoaners, pinko commies and cry-bullies. What are the prospects of making political exchange less toxic and productive, if labelling those we disagree with as hate-mongers continues to escalate? How should defenders of freedom best make the case for free speech over hate speech? How should we understand what counts as hate speech, and how do we account for its rise to become central to how Western societies are organising their legal systems and public life? SPEAKERS Kate Harris co-founder and trustee, LGB Alliance; formerly Brighton Women's Centre and Brighton Women's Aid Eve Kay executive producer unscripted; International Emmy winner; Realscreen and Critics Choice Award winner; Creative Arts Emmy winner Winston Marshall musician; writer; podcast host, Marshall Matters; founding member, Mumford & Sons Faisal Saeed Al Mutar founder and president, Ideas Beyond Borders Martin Wright director, Positive News; formerly editor-in-chief, Green Futures; former director, Forum for the Future CHAIR Alastair Donald co-convenor, Battle of Ideas festival; convenor, Living Freedom; author, Letter on Liberty: The Scottish Question
A new law has Police Scotland saying that they'd investigate every online hate crime. But what they've categorised as a hate crime has caused controversy. Why? And should the state decide what is and isn't a protected characteristic?And - Israel accept responsibility and apologise for a rocket strike that's killed foreign aid workers in Gaza. It comes after a precision stirke on the Iranian consulate in Syria. What is the IDF doing - and is it ostracising their greatest allies the US even further?Editor: Tom HughesSenior Producer: Gabriel RadusSocial Media Editor: Georgia FoxwellVideo Production: Shane Fennelly and Arvind BadewalYou can listen to this episode on Alexa - just say "Alexa, ask Global Player to play The News Agents"!The News Agents is brought to you by HSBC UK - https://www.hsbc.co.uk/
In this episode, I tell the story of Mary McLaughlin, a 58-year-old woman killed in Partick, Glasgow, in September 1984.Mary was last seen in the company of a stranger, a man, on September 26, 1984, after spending the evening in a pub with her friends.Six days later, her body was found in her home on Laurel Street by Martin Cullen, one of her 11 children, and his then-partner. Somebody had strangled Mary with the cord of her dressing gown.Thirty-five years would pass before Police Scotland arrested serial sex offender Graham McGill after advances in DNA technology placed him in Mary's flat at the time of her murder.Judge Lord Burns handed McGill a life sentence with a minimum term of 14 years in May 2021, almost four decades after Mary's murder.Join my Patreon community at patreon.com/britishmurders for exclusive perks, including early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, exciting giveaways, and much more!You can view the video version of this episode at youtube.com/@britishmurders. Remember to subscribe and ring the notification bell to stay up-to-date with my latest releases.Do you have a case request? Please send it to contact@britishmurders.com or fill out a Contact Form at britishmurders.com/contactIntro music:David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet'davidjohnbrady.comReferences:britishmurders.com/marymclaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this episode, I tell the story of Mary McLaughlin, a 58-year-old woman killed in Partick, Glasgow, in September 1984. Mary was last seen in the company of a stranger, a man, on September 26, 1984, after spending the evening in a pub with her friends. Six days later, her body was found in her home on Laurel Street by Martin Cullen, one of her 11 children, and his then-partner. Somebody had strangled Mary with the cord of her dressing gown. Thirty-five years would pass before Police Scotland arrested serial sex offender Graham McGill after advances in DNA technology placed him in Mary's flat at the time of her murder. Judge Lord Burns handed McGill a life sentence with a minimum term of 14 years in May 2021, almost four decades after Mary's murder. Join my Patreon community at patreon.com/britishmurders for exclusive perks, including early access to ad-free episodes, bonus content, exciting giveaways, and much more! You can view the video version of this episode at youtube.com/@britishmurders. Remember to subscribe and ring the notification bell to stay up-to-date with my latest releases. Do you have a case request? Please send it to contact@britishmurders.com or fill out a Contact Form at britishmurders.com/contact Intro music: David John Brady - 'Throw Down the Gauntlet' davidjohnbrady.com References: britishmurders.com/marymclaughlin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
So, what do we have in store for you on this week's 'Echoes From The Void!' #EFTV, you may ask!?! We do our thing with the news, picking stories to light up, but still have fun with. Like how Police Scotland's Chief Constable really took the piss during Storm Babet, or New Zealand getting back on tobacco's teat. There's plenty to say about the 70 year old Ugandan woman who just spat out twins from her Arrakis! Then there's 'Life at Sea', the company that conned people to sign up for a three year cruise, when they didn't even have a boat!!! AND, we had to talk the cry baby Contestants from 'Squid Game: The Challenge' who are suing cause they got cold!?! THEN, we giddy up to AppleTV's @appletvplus and immerse ourselves in all things 'Slow Horses'!!! We checkout 'season one', 'season two', and the first two episodes of the brand new 'season three'!!! This week: - Scottish Chief constable gets police ride home because her train is cancelled!!!! Watch the whole piece, Here: https://youtu.be/4q4xv8Iyo3M - New Zealand isn't scrapping smoking after all!!! Watch the whole piece, Here: https://youtu.be/vVAySzPxdjI - 70 year old woman has twins!?! Watch the whole piece, Here: https://youtu.be/ZuPn7OIJDTI - Three-year cruise sunk in conception!!! Watch the whole piece, Here: https://youtu.be/7Fl1bHPyBbY - Contestants on Squid Game: The Challenge want money for a bad experience!?! Watch the whole piece, Here: https://youtu.be/nnTGkER2x4c REVIEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS - TV: Slow Horses - Season One - thoughts Watch the review: HERE! https://youtu.be/7Td-dbk3aiU - TV: Slow Horses - Season Two - thoughts Watch the review: HERE! https://youtu.be/pegmocPPqD0 - TV: Slow Horses - Season Three - Episode 1 & 2 - thoughts Watch the review: HERE! https://youtu.be/J-V_yW5D7AQ --------------------- *(Music) 'Intrigued' (Instrumental) by EPMD - 2020 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eftv/message
On March 21, 1979, 18-year-old Carol Lannen was found tied up and nude in the Templeton Woods in Dundee, Scotland. She had been strangled to death. Almost exactly a year later, on February 26, 1989, the partially nude body of 20-year-old Elizabeth McCabe was found less than 150 yards away from where Carol had been discovered. Elizabeth had also been strangled to death. Are these murders connected? Police have officially said no, but with all the similarities many others believe yes, they are. If you have any information concerning either of these cases please reach out to the Police Scotland at 101 if you are local. If you are calling from outside the UK you can call (+44 (0) 141 308 1070. Click here to join our Patreon. Click here to get your own Inhuman merch. Connect with us on Instagram and join our Facebook group. To submit listener stories or case suggestions, and to see all sources for this episode: https://www.inhumanpodcast.com/
The Today Debate is about taking an issue and pulling it apart with more time than we could ever have during the morning. Join Today presenter Mishal Husain, as in front of a live audience in Glasgow, a panel of guests discuss the problem of drug abuse and drug deaths in Scotland. Together they look at different approaches and ask whether decriminalisation is the answer. The panel includes people with personal experience of addiction and those who have seen loved ones derailed. We will also be joined by people working on the frontline and Police Scotland. If you need help with any of the issues raised in the programme there's advice and support on the BBC Action Line website https://www.bbc.co.uk/actionline
Watch on YouTube:https://youtu.be/pxOJyHhas_E Follow and connect:https://linktr.ee/islesofmistery Special thanks to the Patreon supporters! XxxxSupport and watch more episodes here:patreon.com/islesofmistery Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland's non-emergency line:Email: coldcaseunit@gcu.ac.ukCall: 0141 331 3235 Crime Stoppers Scotland:crimestoppers-uk.org/about-the-charity/crimestoppers-in-scotland NCA preferred method of contact is via e-mail at:ukmpu@nca.gov.uk or ukmpu@nca.police.uk References:https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-64370083https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/11-007783https://dentistry.co.uk/2011/05/20/missing-tooth-holds-clue-to-strangers-identity/https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/11-000105https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/cold-case-cops-launch-appeal-12646462https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/07-028106https://doenetwork.org/cases-int/332umuk.htmlhttps://crimestoppers-uk.org/about-the-charity/crimestoppers-in-scotlandhttps://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/06-025463https://missingpersons.police.uk/en-gb/case/06-025161
What role should men play in stopping sexist behaviour? Several campaigns have aimed to tackle this, the most recent being the Mayor of London's Maaate initiative. To discuss we're joined by Karen Whybro, a woman's safety consultant and Graham Goulden, the former Chief Inspector at Police Scotland who now offers training to organisations to improve team culture. This year marks the sixth anniversary of the Grenfell Tower fire where 72 people lost their lives. A new play created from interviews conducted with a group of survivors has opened at the National Theatre. Grenfell: in the words of survivors follows the lead up to the disaster, the night of the fire, and the Grenfell Inquiry which followed, and is still ongoing. We're joined by its writer Gillian Slovo and actor Pearl Mackie. ‘Date stacking' is the latest trend being tried by single people to find love, quickly. The concept, designed to save time by squeezing in several dates in the space of a few hours, went viral on TikTok earlier this year. But can you really decide if you like someone while preparing for the next date? We discuss the pros and cons with journalist Roisin Kelly and dating strategist Johnny Cassell. Anna Sewell was the author of Black Beauty, one of the bestselling novels of all time. Despite suffering ill health throughout her life, she managed to rouse the conscience of Victorian Britain and make her mark upon the world. Dr Celia Brayfield tells us about her life and the impact of the book on animal rights. How much time would it take to photograph every single item in your home? Photographer Barbara Iweins spent four years documenting the 12,795 objects she owns. She explains the inspiration behind the project. Presenter: Krupa Padhy Producer: Lucy Wai Editor: Sarah Crawley
Jay Lafferty hosts Scotland's topical panel show. This week the teams take a look at Alison Rose and the storm over the “mishandling” of Nigel Farage's bank accounts, Police Scotland's position on facial hair for officers, the latest white paper on Scottish Independence, solo dining, the newest and youngest member of the House of Lords and TikTok star Josh Donaldson.
What role should men play in stopping sexist behaviour? Several campaigns have aimed to tackle this, the most recent being the Mayor of London's Maaate initiative. To discuss Nuala is joined by Karen Whybro who is a Woman's Safety Consultant and Graham Goulden, the former Chief Inspector at Police Scotland, and who now offers training to organisations to improve team culture. The play, Beneatha's place, currently running at the Young Vic, shows the main character Beneatha in two different periods of her life. First, in 1959, as a young black activist. Then 50 years later, as a renowned Dean of an American university. With Nuala to talk about the play is Cherrelle Skeete who plays Beneatha and Nicola Rollock, Professor of Social Policy and Race at King's College London who worked as a cultural consultant to the play. Earlier this month the Taliban ordered the closure of women's beauty salons in Afghanistan. Faranak Amidi speaks to Shekiba Habib from BBC Pashto and Aaliya Farzan from BBC Dari about this latest restriction. The International Confederation of Midwives has appointed the world's first ever Chief Midwife. Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent joins Nuala to talk about the challenges midwives face across the world, and how she hopes to combat them. The podcast The Girlfriends follows a group of women coming together to investigate their ex-boyfriend. It begins in 1989 when a man named Bob Bierenbaum moved to Las Vegas. When a group of his ex-girlfriends discover that his wife, Gail Katz, went missing and is presumed dead, they go from dating him to investigating him. Almost 30 years later, Carole Fisher, one of the women who dated Bob, joins Nuala to discuss how she finally got justice for Gail. Presenter: Nuala McGovern Producer: Emma Pearce
A cowardly murder, insufficient media attention, lack of resources and silent witnesses, made for a devastating combination to a family simply trying to get justice.If you have any information relating to this or any other case, contact;Police Scotland on 101 and quote incident number EB06340802 of 28 August 2002 orCrimestoppers UK anonymously on 0800 555 111 or crimestoppers-uk.orgSOURCES:Please see our website for all source material and photos at https://scottishmurders.com/episodes/darrenbirt/ SHOW:Support Us: ko-fi.com/scottishmurdersPatreon - patreon.com/scottishmurdersMerch - teepublic.com/user/scottishmurdersWebsite - scottishmurders.comTwitter - @scottishmurdersInstagram - @scottishmurderspodcastFacebook - facebook.com/scottishmurdursYouTube - @ScottishMurdersLinktree - linktr.ee/scottishmurdersCREDITS:Scottish Murders is a production of https://www.cluarantonn.com/Hosted by Dawn YoungResearched, Written and Produced by Dawn YoungProduction Company Name by Granny RobertsonMUSIC:Dawn of the Fairies by Derek & Brandon FiechterScottish Murders is a member of the Darkcast Network.This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5530461/advertisement
Nicola Sturgeon has been arrested in connection with the probe into SNP finances. A spokesperson for Nicola Sturgeon confirmed: ‘Nicola Sturgeon has today, Sunday 11th June, by arrangement with Police Scotland, attended an interview where she was to be arrested and questioned in relation to Operation Branchform. Nicola has consistently said she would co-operate with the investigation if asked and continues to do so.' Katy Balls, Fraser Nelson and Iain Macwhirter discuss. Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
On Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, we discuss a Just Stop Oil activist is hosed down at the Chelsea Flower Show, Tory pledge to build 40 'new' hospitals in England is likely to be delayed, Heathrow workers strike on busiest day for air travel, leaked documents show Braverman's plan to deport 3,000 asylum seekers every month, GPs could get a bonus if their patients take part in clinical trials, US diplomat Henry Kissinger turns 100 over the weekend, Police Scotland's Chief admits the force 'is institutionally racist and discriminatory' and a Just Stop Oil activist is hosed down after 'ruining' a garden exhibit at the Chelsea Flower Show.
"I would like to see a complete rewriting of the narrative around autism. Because girls are still getting told their lives are going to be over. That they're not going to be able to have babies or work with children, which there's no evidence for any of that nonsense at all! About half the women in SWAN had families or are raising families. I've got two adult daughters I'm incredibly proud of, they're fabulous, good people", says Dr. Catroina Stewart. Dr. Stewart joins this episode to discuss the intersection of women and the autistic experience, growing a non-profit from an idea to a sustainable organization, and writing a brief on autism for Police Scotland. To learn more about Dr. Stewart visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-catriona-stewart-obe-frsa-145bb920/ . If you could subscribe on your favorite listening platform we would really appreciate that. If you are looking for extraordinary support support to live self-sufficient and purpose-driven lives through customized coaching then visit https://www.autismpersonalcoach.com. If you would be interested in being interviewed on Autism Stories or would like to be a sponsor send an email to doug.blecher@autismpersonalcoach.com.
The team catch up post-recess, following the arrests of Peter Murrell and Colin Beattie. Both the former SNP chief executive Murrell and the now former treasurer Beattie were released without charge, in an ongoing investigation into the SNP's finances, which Police Scotland launched in July 2021 under "Operation Branchform" after receiving complaints about how donations were used by the party. Meanwhile in Westminster, a report on allegations of bullying by Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has been received by PM Rishi Sunak. Raab denies the allegations, and has said he would resign if they are upheld.
A week is certainly a long time in Scottish politics these days and we begin with our thoughts (within the boundaries of the Scots Law of Contempt) on the arrest of Peter Murrell and Police Scotland's search of his and Nicola Sturgeon's home.This inevitably leads us on to the current state of the SNP given the admission of the interim Chief Executive, Mike Russell, and the new leader Humza Yousaf that the party is not in a great place right now.This week also saw the battle lines being drawn up for the next UK General Election with the launch of the Labour Party's attack ads. We ask what the thinking was behind this strategy and speculate on its potential to backfire.Labour, under Starmer, has wrapped itself in the Union Flag and trumpeted its "patriotism" and the media is currently awash with dewy eyed enthusiasm over the coronation of King Charles. Lesley reflects on not just this spectacle and the central role of the monarchy in the UK's class ridden society but the future constitution of an independent Scotland.All of this plus the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement and President Joe Biden's visit to both the Republic and Northern Ireland . ★ Support this podcast ★
Are you tired of feeling misunderstood or struggling to connect with others? Join us for this episode of My Kind of People Podcast, where host Meg Walker sits down with Cathy MacDonald, founder of The Art of Communication and former Hostage and Crisis Negotiator with Police Scotland. In this insightful conversation, Cathy shares her expertise on different communication styles, her journey to becoming a hostage negotiator, and the true meaning of emotional intelligence. Discover the key principles that can help you better communicate, connect, and lead in both your personal and professional life. Don't miss out on this opportunity to learn from Cathy's valuable insights and experiences. Subscribe to the channel for more episodes of My Kind of People, and leave a comment below with your thoughts on the importance of effective communication. Guest: Cathy MacDonald Social Media: @artofcommunication Website: www.artofcommunication.co.uk Host: Meg Walker Instagram: @themegmethod YouTube: @themegmethod Coaching Podcast: THE MEG METHOD Website: www.themegmethod.com Sound: Brooklyn Fraser and Alicia Navarro
THE THESIS: The Sexual Left runs America, along with Pharma, Tech and Fiance. If you ever question who is in charge, determine who you are not allowed to criticize. Even at Elon Musk's Twitter, we are not allowed to point out that men like the one above are clearly, unambiguously, inarguably suffering from a documented mental illness. The Sexual Left runs America. THE SCRIPTURE & SCRIPTURAL RESOURCES: 1 Timothy 4:1-3“Now the Spirit speaketh, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils [demons]; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron…” .WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DEMON POSSESSION? With rampant growth of the occult and Satanism in our societies, and with the exploding popularity of New Age spiritualism, the spirit world is receiving more attention than ever before. But is there a spirit world? Are evil spirits real? If so, what are they? Where did they come from? And what about demon possession? Does this phenomenon really exist in our world today?THE NEWS & COMMENT:Good Housekeeping listed "gender-inclusive" period panties as one of their favorite products for 2022. "TomboyX offers a variety of styles designed to be affirming to menstruators of all genders"Texas Father Provides Heartbreaking Update to Transgender Custody Battle Against Ex-Wife Working to ‘Transition' Son James Into Girl Named “Luna”BREAKING: “Trans” Against Groomers director SUSPENDED from Twitter after saying “trans” is a 'mental disorder'; A tweet from the group to Twitter owner Elon Musk reads, "our Director of Communications was just locked out of her Twitter account for saying that we shouldn't stigmatize mental illness?"[AUDIO] - “You're gay, sure. You're gay. That's not the same as queer… queerness is supposed to be radical” - The quiet part out loud…[AUDIO] - A teacher encourages educators who don't have access to the GLSEN Rainbow Library program to develop their own LGBTQ+ classroom library “under the radar.” Saying if you get “slapped down” you can “apologize and move forward.”CDC Instructs Schools To Measure Their Commitment To ‘LGBT Inclusivity'[AUDIO] - This is trailer for the 2019 documentary “Drag Kids” and it's disturbing.[AUDIO] - CAUTION, grossness and NSFK: ‘I do experience trans periods. We have the same symptoms-bloating, gas, irritability, mood swings, like PMS.'‘During back door play, which I like to do on myself, I even bleed during that time.'BREAKING: Trans Against Groomers director SUSPENDED from Twitter after saying trans is a "mental disorder"New studies prove puberty blockers are not reversibleA “GOP' (LOL) Mega-Donor who is same-sex attracted bought into Twitter and, according to Jack Dorsey, successfully pressured Dorsey into becoming a censor . . . especially, it seems, on anyone questioning the agenda of the Sexual Left. Who runs the U.K.?Anger as EU project sees Police Scotland rebrand paedophiles as 'Minor-Attracted People'; The term – described as 'deeply disturbing' and 'baloney' – was included in the Chief Constable's year-end report as part of an EU project to tackle child abuse and exploitation[AUDIO] - Remember the British woman who was arrested for praying silently? She's been charged.
Violence and how we can tackle it in our communities with Graham GouldenGraham is a former Chief Inspector with Police Scotland, and he spent the last part of his 30 years of service working on the violence reduction unit. He's now a consultant trainer. His interest in developing personal and organisational brands and how individual and societal attitudes and behaviour often negatively impact reputation performance, absenteeism recruitment and retention. Graham has experienced delivering bystander training in a host of establishments, including schools, universities and workplaces. He's the director of cultivating minds in the UK and states it's all about relationships.We need to move into this conversation where we start with how we influence people in our communities to come along with us? This is not about saying 'we are going to do this, you need to come with us'. More and more, I have thought about prevention; it's about how we will be persuading people to go with us? For men, how are persuading them to take this role as leaders? How are we going to persuade communities to follow us and work with them and take some proactive action, for me, we need to look at the science of persuasion. Graham GouldenToday on The Community Safety Podcast: Graham's early life and how he ended up joining the police in Scotland as a 19-year-old boy.How he started changing his transformation in thinking in 2018. How he started challenging himself asking ‘if I am really making a difference?The power of community ‘there will never be peace in the streets if there is no peace in the home'.Prevention bystanding programme - how we can intervene as early as possible.The power of healthy relationships. Every child needs a champion.How early trauma can affect someone's future.How can we get more boys and men to communicate? Break down of ‘boys need stuff'.What is psychological safety?How important is good quality neighbouring policing?The importance of developing young people's character. Developing their own brand. Character matters. Connect with Graham Goulden:Graham Goulden LinkedInGraham Goulden Cultivating Minds Website Connect with The Community Safety Podcast:● TheCommunity Safety Podcast Website● TheCommunity Safety Podcast on Facebook● https://www.instagram.com/the_community_safety_podcast