Photo: the yellow door

Westminster Bridge and Big Ben

After the restoration.

The cover-up of Biden’s decline

This is a scandal. 

I watched this interview by Channel 4 with Tapper on his new book “Original Sin”.

It shows that the Democrats were willing to put the nation at risk to hold onto power.  They covered up for a man whose cognitive decline would disqualify him from any ordinary job.

Tapper would have us believe that the American journalistic community were not aware of the senility of President Biden because his inner circle kept a “tight lid” on the situation. 

The omerta-like attitude among the Democrats and the bullying by the Biden administration is interesting … but I’m just a blogger who reads the news, and it was v. clear to me that Biden was losing the plot. He looked like a confused old man most of the time last year, trying to find his words, forgetting names, trying to spit out 2-3 thoughts all at the same time resulting in garballed sentences, wandering around looking confused, falling over. Some people believed his decline was “fake news” until that disastrous debate. Since the mainstream media covered for him.

The truth is that America’s “establishment” journalists, for the most part, knew, or tried to avoid full knowledge of, the situation because (1) Biden was a Democrat, and (2) it could be “justified” because they wanted to avoid a Trump redux.

The scandal is not only about who ran the White House – but how the White House and the Democrat establishments deceived the American people, but how the mainstream media went along with it.

Samson and Delilah by Peter Paul Rubens

Stunning.

There are 2 paintings at the National Gallery by the 17th century Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens which are breathtaking. Truly incredible works which stop you in your tracks. This one is “Samson and Delilah” painted in 1609. The next one to follow.

It depicts the Old Testament tale of Samson and Delilah – a tale of lust, deception, betrayal, and revenge. Delilah was bribed by the Philistines (origin of the word “Palestine”) to seduce Samson and discover the secret of his great strength. God gave him great strength because of his vow to never cut his hair. Delilah kept on pestering him, and eventually he gave in and told her his secret. As he slept in her lap, she beckoned soldiers and an assistant to cut his hair.

In Rubens’s painting, Samson’s crimson dress is incredible. Especially its crevices and folds, on top of a golden shimmering fabric. You can almost feel its sikliness. Dramatic lighting is a nod to Caravaggio. The painting has so many vivid and powerful colours to match the power and drama of the story.

The lust is powerfully depicted. Delilah’s bosoms exposed & Samons is half-dressed.

It’s interesting just how beautifully curly & short Samson’s hair already is!! And I love the curvature of the fingers and the arms. The heel of the foot appears to stick out of the painting (over an exquisitely decorated rug).

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There were interesting articles a few months ago about this painting being a potential forgery. See Dalya Alberge writing in “Fresh doubt cast on authenticity of Rubens painting in National Gallery” (Guardian) and Abigail Buchanan writing in “The National Gallery ‘masterpiece’ that’s probably a fake” (Telegraph). I am persuaded by the NG’s belief it is a genuine painting by Rubens. They examined the painting’s materials and concluded it was consistent with that period. The spokesman said: 

“Samson and Delilah has long been accepted by leading Rubens scholars as a masterpiece by Peter Paul Rubens. Painted on wood panel in oil shortly after his return to Antwerp in 1608 and demonstrating all that the artist had learned in Italy, it is a work of the highest aesthetic quality. A technical examination of the picture was presented in an article in the National Gallery’s Technical Bulletin in 1983. The findings remain valid.”

“Why does Hitler still cast a shadow over the world?”

A fascinating question on the BBC.

I think my answer would be on two fronts:

1. The mechanised nature of human destruction marks it out. More people died under Stalin and Mao. Most of the people died because of disastrous communist economic policies which brought on famine. Otherwise, executions and imprisonments were targeted at specific groups and/or individuals. The Holocaust was a systematic, intentional, industrial killing machine. The Holocaust was organised and operated as a business, with efficiency and cost optimisation.
2. The Holocaust is still very recent & changed our world. Genghis Khan’s empire caused the 10 to 80 million deaths, but the conquest brought gunpowder to Europe, and opened trade between the east and the west (Silk Road) etc. Hitler’s unintended aftermath was laying the foundations of the EU (e.g. through the European Coal and Steel Community), the use of nuclear power as an energy source, and the creation of the state of Israel for the Jews.

Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander released

Back with his family: 🙂 

The TOI suggested a rift between the Trump and Netanyahu administrations on war plans & priorities. All then denied.

See article below. Hamas saw an opportunity to place a wedge between the US and Israel with the Trump Administration and grabbed it. Alexander was released to pressure the cracks between the two administrations. I don’t think it will work.

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Nava Freiberg and Jacob Magid writing in “Witkoff said to tell hostage families Israel pointlessly extending war, US urging deal” (TOI):

US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff recently told families of hostages held in Gaza that he disagrees with Israel’s approach to the war in the Strip, and believes reaching a new ceasefire and hostage release deal is the correct next step to take, a report said Sunday, as reports of the growing rift between the US and Israeli leaders mount.

According to Channel 12, Witkoff told the families that the US “wants to return the hostages, but Israel is not ready to end the war.” 

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What Israel has referred to as the “Witkoff proposal” — which sources told The Times of Israel at the time is in fact more of an Israeli offer — provides for the release of around half of the living hostages in return for an extended truce, followed by the release of the rest of the hostages alongside an end to the war.

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The Hamas statement, issued ahead of Trump’s trip to the region this week, was meant as a goodwill gesture in the hope that Washington will coax Israel to end the war in Gaza, a source involved in the mediation effort told The Times of Israel.

The source said Hamas has received assurances from the US through mediators that Alexander’s release “would go a long way” with Trump, who wants to see the remaining hostages released and for the war in Gaza to end.

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According to a source familiar with the negotiations, the US did not brief Israel on the effort to release Alexander until after the deal with Hamas was reached, saying Israel had generally been aware that efforts were ongoing, but only knew about them from its own intelligence operations.

Hyde Park sunshine

India’s response to Pakistan-sponsored terrorism

India is well within its right to protect its borders and citizens by attacking Pakistan.

India has been fighting a very long battle against terrorism & most of it fueled by Pakistan’s support for extremist groups. India has been putting up with these heinous massacres on her territory for too long. It’s also worth pointing out that India’s secular & democratic credentials have held-up since 1947, flaws included. Pakistan is run by the military with their sham elections.

At best, you could say that Islamabad has completely failed to root out terrorists; or, at worst, complicit in indulging them. Attacks such as the 2001 Parliament attack, the 26/11 Mumbai attacks, and the Pulwama bombing in 2019 were all linked to terrorists based inside Pakistan. Indeed, the Taliban were an offshoot of Pakistan’s ISI to control neighboring Afghanistan. And so, as usual, Pakistan then continued to deny any involvement while giving safe haven to groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

On 22 April 22 2025, 26 tourists (mostly Hindus) were slaughtered in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The details are psychopathically evil. Shooting loved ones in the head at point-blank range and, especially, to a newly-wed couple on their honeymoon. 

India’s response couldn’t be more different. Her defensive moves included surgical strikes and airstrikes on terrorist infrastructures at nine Pakistani sites with “Operation Sindoor.” India’s response makes clear that these barbaric attacks will not go unanswered. 

While everyone in the West seems to urge calm (in responding), there is never any sense of accountability against the perpetrator. India is expected to “reign it in” and bank on Pakistan’s goodwill. De-escalation sounds wonderful; but until Pakistan stops being a terrorist safe-haven, it’s just optics. 

So far, Washington has overseen a ceasefire. Let’s see what happens.

VE Day celebrations of 8 May 1945

The proud time to be American and British, I can just imagine the feeling.

There are some great photos on The Guardian.

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“US soldiers hug a woman in Piccadilly Circus, London, as they celebrate Germany’s surrender on 7 May 1945”

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“Crowds pack Times Square in New York on 7 May 1945 to celebrate the news of Germany’s unconditional surrender”

The expansion of the Gaza offensive

This blogpost covers two issues:

1. The UN’s approach to Israel’s new proposals to reverse its humanitarian blockade which I posted recently (see “The Israeli blockade of aid supplies”) and,
2. Why it makes sense for Israel to expand her military operations to get ready to move into Gaza to seize and secure land.

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The UN’s ivory tower

Why does the UN oppose Israel’s proposals to resume humanitarian aid? 

See details in Amichai Stein in Jerusalem Post (“Israel, US lobby UN to join proposed Gaza aid distribution mechanism - exclusive“). Also, James Mackenzie and Emma Farge writing in “European leaders, aid groups criticise Israeli aid plans for Gaza” (Reuters):

U.N. agencies, aid groups and European leaders condemned Israel’s plans, calling for the aid blockade to be lifted and for supplies to be distributed by humanitarian organisations that are not party to the conflict.

The European Union said humanitarian aid “must never be politicised or militarised”, echoing concerns expressed by leaders including Germany’s newly elected Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, who said the situation in Gaza was “the worst we’ve ever seen”.

I think I know why the UN oppose it. Here’s my rationale.

The UN has the very laudable “humanitarian principles” of neutrality and independence. Those principles are said to kick-in when it comes to the distribution of humanitarian aid.

So far as I see it, the problem is that those lofty principles are abstractions about conduct in conflict. They are rooted in a priori assumptions about states as rational & (somewhat) civilised actors that actually care for their native populations.

So, when it comes to the delivery of aid to Gaza, the UN can only really regard the issue through that conceptual lens. It cannot afford to adapt its historic normative framework for Hamas. It has to pretend that they (Hamas) haven’t thrown a huge wrench through the UN’s entire approaches. Pretend as though Hamas haven’t exploited the UN to harm Gazans.

As we all know, the UN doesn’t really have an effective monitoring or controlling system over how this aid is ultimately used and distributed in Gaza. So, while the UN may condemn Hamas for bullying and intimidating aid groups and Gazan citizens – its “humanitarian principles” mean it cannot say that Hamas can’t control Gaza and, as such, control the food distribution. 

Whatsmore, all hell breaks loose if Israel so much as suggests using its military forces to ensure that the aid gets to the truly innocent and hungry Gazans.

For the sake of appearing to be without “agenda”, or “non-political”, or “neutral” etc.; Hamas gets to maintain ultimate and de facto control over the food distribution. And, as we know, if Hamas controls the food distribution; they are strengthened.

And so the UN towers a strange morally inverted world.

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Gaza expanded offensive

From Times of Israel, “Israel okays ‘conquering Gaza, holding the territories,’ as IDF chief said to warn ‘we could lose’ the hostages”:

The official said it will see the IDF take control of territory in Gaza, move the civilian population toward the south, attack Hamas, and prevent the terror group from taking control of humanitarian aid.

The plan is gradual and focuses at first on a certain, unspecified area within the Strip, before expanding to other places, the Kan public broadcaster reported Sunday, adding that the intense fighting was expected to go on for months.

Additionally, the Israeli official said, the security cabinet approved a proposal to renew aid deliveries into Gaza while overhauling the mechanism in order to minimize diversion of the goods by Hamas to benefit its operatives.

I agree with the proposals. I think it is right that the IDF protect the Gazan population and restore humanitarian aid. Although, as I have argued, Israel is within its rights; it isn’t really any effective tool at bringing pressure to bear on Hamas.

There are two more points to make:

1. Israel isn’t getting anywhere right now. It needs to expand ground operations against Hamas. There can never really be any ceasefire deal that cede to Hamas any legitimacy over Gaza, so these 3-part ceasefire deals were always doomed. The aid blockade was not really sustainable or effective against Hamas. At the moment, Hamas have lost their ability to effectively resist. Veterans have been killed, weapons stockpiles depleted, and command structure completely debilitated. 

2. So far, Israel has been negotiating on a hostage to terrorist-prisoner release ratio. This was always deeply objectionable (see my comments on the “principle of negotiating with terrorists”) but it hasn’t given Israel any more (if any?) meaningful gains. It needs to use conquered Gazan lands to squeeze the hostages out of Hamas’ grip. Only about 40% of the tunnels have been blown up. Israeli strikes can only do so much, and the IDF doesn’t know where the remaining hostages are. So, it needs to seriously ramp up the pressure on Hamas. This must also involve depriving Hamas of its tactical advantage of having human-shields. That’s why the IDF has taken the v. difficult decision to move the Palestinian civilian population out of harm’s way and change the rules of the game.

Deportation via the Alien Enemies Act

Very recently U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. issued a permanent injunction against the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport Venezuelan immigrants from South Texas who have been accused of being members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) gang.

In short, the judge ruled that TdA may be harmful to society, but they did not constitute an “invasion” or “predatory incursion” as per the Alien Enemies Act. Thus, the President did not have lawful authority (under the Alien Enemies Act) to detain or deport Venezuelan immigrants.

Here is a summary of the judgment by Chris Geidner. Also CBS News.

I agree with the judgment, and want to make 4 points.

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1. The President simply cannot give himself war powers (via declaring a phony invasion) to despatch illegal aliens without any notice or hearing. Even if the 10 million or so illegal aliens in the US can be regarded as a “severe threat”, it doesn’t justify shortcuts around the law.

2. The President has no inherent power to deport anyone – that authority rests entirely with Congress. The Executive can only ever act within the terms and limits of legislation (which include constitutional procedural safeguards of due process – not optional). As Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review explained (concluding that Abrego Garcia’s deportation was unlawful):

to the extent he had protection against being deported to El Salvador, it was based on a remedy — withholding of removal — that is implemented by regulations based on Congress’s statutes … the involvement of the courts in immigration enforcement is extremely limited — confined to the narrow authority Congress has vested in them … Illegal aliens detained inside the country, if they don’t agree to rapid expulsion (as many do), are entitled to a hearing before an immigration judge and an appeal to the Board of Immigration Appeals — again, Justice Department tribunals.

3. It is important to remember that these hearings before an immigration “judge” (technically, as McCarthy points out, from the executive and not the judicial branch of government) actually protect Americans. A tiny percentage of detainees, before an immigration judge every year, are accidentally arrested due to mistaken identity & then let go.

4. Respect for the Constitution and the rule of law are solid conservative positions.

Houthi missile attack at Ben Gurion airport

Thank God this missile didn’t hit a plane at the gate, then easily killing over 100 people.

The rebels have been firing ballistic missiles at Israel for some time now; but the IDF appears to have missed intercepting this one.

Every strike from the Houthis should be met with a retaliatory strike sufficient to degrade their ability to strike outside of Yemen. They were a tool to oppose Saudi Arabia, but have now been let loose. And they’ve already been put on notice by both Israel and the US that port infrastructure is not off limits.

Tehran did not directly attack Israel. So Israel should focus on debilitating the proxy.

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Addendum: this is the crater in today’s DT!

The God complex

Trump posted this!   I actually found it funny. 

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From: “Trump criticised after posting AI image of himself as Pope” (BBC News)

US President Donald Trump has attracted criticism from some Catholics after posting an AI-generated image of himself as the Pope.

The New York State Catholic Conference accused Trump of mocking the faith. The post comes days after he joked to media: “I’d like to be Pope.”

The Israeli blockade of aid supplies

Israel has been imposing a two-month blockade of aid and food supplies. As we can imagine, Israel has been endlessly criticised as “cruel” and “harsh” etc.

There are 2 points to make:

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(1) Why is Hamas not being criticised (anywhere near Israel) to release all the tortured hostages, dead and alive; and surrender unconditionally? 

This would end the terror of Hamas – against Israel and the Palestinians. This will ALL end once Hamas releases the hostages and lay down their weapons. 

It’s shocking just how little news coverage is given to the thousands of Palestinians marching against Hamas in the streets of Gaza, as well as Hamas torturing and executing Palestinian civilians who attempt to access aid meant for them. 

In the messiness of war, we must never lose sight of who the bad guys are: Hamas. They’re evil incarnate. 

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(2) Who is responsible for the blockade?

The truth is that – while Israel is fighting to defeat Hamas, save lives and bring the hostages home – Hamas is the one blocking humanitarian aid. There have been endless reports now of Hamas seizing the aid, then SELLING it to Gazans at extortionate prices, and thus starving “their own” people to keep their stranglehold on power. 

(See this recent article at the Times of Israel: “Cash-strapped Hamas can’t pay fighters as Israeli offensive hits funding sources” – “Sources tell Wall Street Journal terror group used seized goods from humanitarian aid supplies to raise money, but with deliveries cut off, it is running out of resources”).

The ICJ case should be easy for Israel. They should be able to prove sufficient calories and nutrition were allowed into Gaza to feed every single person. Much of it was then given to UNRWA and then diverted to Hamas who sold it in Gaza or smuggled it into Egypt to sell.

In effect, this means that the aid goes towards funding Hamas’ war efforts against Israel. That is why it’s reasonable and legal for Israel to stop the transfer of aid.

Israel isn’t blocking the aid. It's trying to stop Hamas weaponising it.

Israel’s responsibility is to allow & facilitate the transfer of aid. It’s the role of the UN, NGOs, and local civilian administrations to distribute it. If there was any credible organisation that could guarantee that aid would actually reach the Gazan civilians – and not Hamas’ pockets; Gaza would be flooded with supplies.

It is worth noting that the UN just rejected Israel’s aid plan proposal (which they’ve been working on with an international humanitarian aid group for weeks and with US backing) which would ensure that people are fed without the aid being pilfered by Hamas. As per the Times (“UN humanitarian agency rejects Israeli plan to majorly alter Gaza aid delivery mechanism”):

... the IDF would not be directly involved in the distribution of aid, but troops would be tasked with providing an outer layer of security for the private contractors and international organizations handing out the assistance. Israel believes this method will make it harder for Hamas to divert aid to its fighters, the officials said.

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It seems to me obvious that Israel is not engaging on blockades as a “weapon of war” (or “collective punishment” etc.) - it is seeking to weaken its enemy while trying to help the vulnerable and weak of Gaza.

Prince Harry, a selfish brat

My God. What a car-crash interview.

For those not in the UK, Prince Harry has just lost a judicial review case about him and his wife not being granted state protection. He does get security every single time he visits the UK. It just isn’t with gun-carrying outriders by his side.

And the first thing Harry did was run to BBC ... and he then wonders why the King wants nothing to do with him.

Everytime he doesn’t get what he wants — he runs to the media, bad-mouthing his family, calling the King’s wife a racist. His father has cancer and he is giving him more stress. Harkles keep telling the world how charming & wonderful they are; but they’re unpleasant and vindictive.

We don’t forget what he did to his ailing grandparents. Now he is doing it to his sick father. He is a selfish delusional spoiled brat.

Venetian doors

I’m going through an old album of photos from my last trip to Venice. Over 2 years ago.

I like taking taking photos of charming and eccentric doors. And there were so many in Venice.

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Little pathway with a small restaurant

Post?

This is someone’s door!