Mick Hartley

Politics and Culture

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  • Trans roommate

    The New York Post:

    Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson was living with a transgender partner who was in the process of transitioning from male to female, a law enforcement source confirmed to The Post Saturday.

    That individual, who has yet to be publicly identified by the authorities, is now fully cooperating with the FBI on its investigation into the fatal shooting of the conservative activist, the source added. The relationship was first reported by Fox News’ Brooke Singman.

    According to public records, Lance Twiggs, 22, resided at the same address where Robinson lived. A relative of Twiggs confirmed to The Post Saturday that “yes, they were roommates.”

    Hmm. True or not? Relevant or not? We don't know.

    Also:

    On the morning of September 12th, 2025, a press conference was held revealing details about political commentator and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk's alleged shooter. Prior to this, rumors that the bullet casings had references to "transgender ideologies" inscribed on them spread online. Now, it's been confirmed that the fired bullet casing had the phrase "Notices bulges, OwO what's this?" inscribed on it.

    Notably, this phrase is not a reference to transgender ideology, but a meme. It is a reference to furry and online roleplay culture, largely used in an ironic and demeaning way.

    Social media users were quick to share the news of the inscription, finding it both absurd and shocking. Some have taken this to mean that Robinson was a furry, while others are hypothesizing that it's just a dark joke.

    The other, unfired bullet casings were also inscribed with phrases, including, "O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao" (an Italian song dedicated to the Italian resistance fighting against the occupying troops of Germany), "If you read this you are gay lmao" and "Hey fascist! Catch! up arrow, right arrow, three down arrows," which is a reference to the Eagle 500kg Bomb from the video game Helldivers 2.

    Not everyone agrees about that "Notices bulges, OwO what's this?".

    "notices bulge OWO" means that Tyler Robinson is a chaser (also known as GAMP). He is a man who is sexually attracted to transgenders.

    I'm out of my depth. Will slowly walk away…

  • Gender Expression Funds

    Well…this seems now to be a thing across UK universities. UCL, for instance (via):

    Many people experience feelings of stress and anxiety at the disconnect they feel between their gender identity and appearance. We have created the Gender Expression Fund to provide financial assistance for students to purchase items that will make them more comfortable with their gender presentation and, we hope, improve their wellbeing.

    Grants can be used to purchase gender affirming products such as clothing, binders, packers and beauty products.

    Grants can also be used towards travel to medical or therapy/counselling appointments, but we are not able to provide funding for treatment or other medical procedures.

    Manchester:

    The Students’ Union recognises that widespread transphobia and cisgenderism can lead to feelings of distress among trans and gender-diverse students.

    We also acknowledge that expressing and embodying your gender in ways that feel good can be financially challenging, especially in light of the present cost of living.

    We’ve created the Gender Expression Fund in the hope of reducing financial barriers to gender affirmation and improving the wellbeing of our students.

    LSE:

    We have created the Gender Expression Fund to alleviate financial strains for trans, non-binary, intersex, and any gender non-conforming students to break down some of the barriers they face in their daily lives. While the fund cannot assist with medical or legal costs, we hope this financial assistance can contribute to students’ wellbeing and make resources for gender expression more accessible.

    A little cash to help these poor gender-distressed individuals to buy their second-hand bras from the local charity shops. How lovely.

  • Gender critical women as “neo-Nazis”

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    Only in academia.

  • Spain’s animosity to Jews

    Spain has been upping the war of words against Israel. From the Jerusalem Post:

    In his speech on Monday, Pedro Sanchez said “Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves. We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying, because there are causes worth fighting for even if it’s not in our sole power to win them.”

    Sanchez then introduced nine new measures, including a full arms embargo on Israel and a ban on imports of goods from illegal Israeli settlements.

    So if Spain did have nuclear bombs…

    There's a long history here, starting with the 1492 expulsion of the Jews. Eliana Silver at the JC – From expulsion to charges of genocide: Spain’s animosity toward Jews endures:

    I’m the daughter of a US diplomat, and when my father was posted to the embassy in Madrid the summer before my 13th birthday in 2012, I was thrilled. Back then the city felt different: its walls were alive with graffiti, peace signs and colourful murals. A decade on, those same streets are littered with Intifada pamphlets, and Palestinian flags hang from countless windows.

    But antisemitism was already there in 2012. It hadn’t exploded the way it has today, but it lingered beneath and sometimes above the surface.

    My secular parents enrolled me in a Catholic boarding school to “improve my Spanish”, without really considering what that would mean for an American child who barely spoke the language… and more importantly, for a Jew.

    Up until then, my Jewish identity was pretty simple: spinning dreidels, eating matzo, the occasional synagogue visit. Because my dad’s diplomatic career kept us moving, I hadn’t grown up with much of a Jewish community, and I had very few Jewish friends. I had also never personally experienced antisemitism.

    So when I casually mentioned to a new friend at school that I was Jewish, I was completely unprepared for her reaction. She was stunned, genuinely shocked. She had never met a Jew before, let alone had a Jewish friend.

    Spain’s Jewish population is small, around 50,000, but nearly 20 per cent of Spaniards are believed to have Jewish ancestry. Yet ignorance and prejudice about Jews runs deep. When classmates learned I was Jewish, their questions drew on centuries of antisemitism – from medieval myths (“Do you have horns?” “Didn’t you kill Jesus?”) to the gutter caricatures of Der Stürmer (‘Do all Jews have big noses?’).”

    High school brought a new group of boys whose antisemitism escalated. For three years, they threw Nazi salutes, yelled “Heil Hitler,” scrawled swastikas, and told me to go gas myself – all while denying the Holocaust.

    When I tried to explain that members of my family had been killed in the Holocaust, they laughed and called me a liar. Nobody defended me – not friends, not teachers. Once, after I complained to the director, he brought one of the perpetrators into his office with me and told us to “talk it out”. I was stunned. How do you “talk it out” with someone who wants you dead?…

  • A whole new level of insanity

     Lynsay Watson strikes again. From the Telegraph:

    A gender critical campaigner was accused of a hate crime after celebrating the dismissal of a trans police officer who had harassed him.

    Harry Miller, a former police officer who now campaigns for free speech, was questioned under caution by Lincolnshire Police for a tweet welcoming the officer’s removal.

    Mr Miller had been the victim of a sustained campaign of harassment by Lynsay Watson, a transgender constable with the Leicestershire force who was the complainant behind the arrest last week of Graham Linehan, the comedy writer.

    Watson was sacked for gross misconduct in October 2023 after being found guilty of sending more than 1,200 messages to Mr Miller over an 18-month period, branding him a “Nazi”, a “bigot” and “wife beater”.

    Yet the police, for reasons still to be explained, always do his bidding.

    Mr Miller was also accused of misgendering Watson in an article he had written about his stalking ordeal for The Critic magazine.

    He was informed he was being questioned on suspicion of a breach of the Online Safety Act, which makes it a criminal offence to send a message knowing it to be false and intending it cause non-trivial psychological or physical harm without a reasonable excuse.

    The Online Safety Act gained Royal Assent on Oct 26, 2023, the day before Mr Miller posted the tweet, but did not become law until Jan 31 last year, so could not have been applied in this case.

    Mr Miller was subsequently released with no further action.

    However, earlier this year, he submitted a formal request to Lincolnshire Police to establish how the force had recorded the incident.

    He said he was alarmed to discover it had been officially recorded as a stalking offence and a hate crime, which could show up on any enhanced DBS check.

    The letter he received stated: “The occurrence … in which you were interviewed in relation to on 20 November 2024 has been recorded as a hate crime. The crime (stalking involving serious alarm or distress) has prejudice flags attached.”

    Mr Miller said that the whole sequence of events was extremely sinister and that he had now instructed lawyers to begin legal action to have the record expunged.

    He told the Telegraph: “This incident has revealed a whole new level of insanity. I was coerced into attending an interview under caution by Lincolnshire CID under threat of arrest, and questioned about breaking a law that did not exist.

    “Additionally, without charge, caution, referral to the CPS, or bothering to tell me, the police then gave me a criminal record for the imprisonable offence of stalking, adding for good measure the additional element of hate. Imagine that coming up in an enhanced DBS check.

    “Lincolnshire Police are criminally negligent. Every officer involved in this case needs bringing before a disciplinary tribunal, and the Chief Constable must personally apologise. It won’t stop me suing them, but it will be a start.”

  • The Flanders Festival Ghent

    From the Flemish nationalist Belgian Prime Minister:

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    Full text:

    I have understandably received many questions from abroad regarding the recent decision of the Flanders Festival Ghent to ban the Munich Philharmonic on the basis of the conductor’s nationality. This decision has rightfully provoked great consternation and has been characterized as antisemitic. To impose a professional ban on someone solely because of their origin is both reckless and irresponsible. Equally troubling is the unprecedented requirement that artists provide written statements of their political views. This runs directly counter to the very essence of artistic freedom. I deeply regret the festival’s decision, which has inflicted severe damage on the reputation of our country.

  • Burning down the MP’s office

    This story hasn't had quite the coverage it deserves. From the JC:

    Police are investigating an alleged arson attack on MP Sharon Hodgson's constituency office.

    A fire broke out at the office in Vermont House, Washington, last night. The cause is not yet known, but the incident is being treated as suspicious.

    Hodgson, whose father was Jewish, is the vice-chair of Labour Friends of Israel. Last year, in a Westminster Hall debate, she condemned the increase in antisemitic incidents in the UK and has also pushed the government to look into allegations of sexual violence carried out by Hamas on October 7.

    The office was also graffitied with the words: "328 days [of] blood on your hands," which the Campaign Against Antisemitism has suggested relates to the time since the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli drone strike.

    It is not clear whether the graffiti is related to the alleged arson. If it were drawn on the same day as the fire, it would have been 329 days since Sinwar’s death….

    A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: "This attack, which is particularly distressing both to Sharon Hodgson’s constituents and to the Jewish community which she has vocally supported, must be met with unequivocal condemnation.

    "Violence has no place in our civic discourse. This must be the moment that the authorities finally clamp down on harassment of those we elect to represent and govern us.”

    More from the BBC:

    A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire at a building containing the office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson…

    Images also show graffiti on the side of the building which reads "328 days blood on ur [sic] hands," but it is believed to have been there for around a year.

    A Labour source confirmed there had been a number of incidents of vandalism at Hodgson's office recently, including smashed windows.

    Hmm.

    Burning down an MP's constituency office – that's quite a big deal, isn't it?

  • At the Oxford Union

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  • Pure malevolence

    Suzanne Moore in the Telegraph on "how many progressives have become the very fascists they claim to deplore": :

    There are people who will celebrate the murder of a father of two young children and still think themselves on the side of the angels.:

    We have seen this play out in real time. The appalling killing of Charlie Kirk, a Right-wing influencer, key Trump supporter and the founder of the youth activist group Turning Point, has produced widespread shock and horror, and so it should.:

    Others, though, have reacted with a smirking celebration of Kirk’s death.:

    This is pure malevolence, dressed up in the form of chirpy memes and TikTok videos catapulted into the moral vacuum in which parts of the Left now operate. It is disgusting.

    When they say no debate, they mean no debate.

    The truth is that anyone who wants to debate or challenge Left-wing orthodoxy in Britain also faces risks, from losing their jobs to constant verbal abuse and serious physical threats. Women who are deemed “gender critical” receive threats of assault, rape and death. That has been my life for more than 10 years.

    We have not been protected by the police or by parties of the Left. The brave MP Rosie Duffield, for instance, was warned not to go to the Labour Party conference because of such threats. Kathleen Stock had to attend debates with bodyguards.

    The new parties of the hard-Left, the Greens and the Corbyn/Sultana effort, will not accept women members unless they agree that some men (those born male and who now claim to be female) are in fact women. This is the level of intolerance we have now reached.

    The cheering at Kirk's murder has been particularly noticeable from trans activists, which makes the latest reports – that authorities found ammunition etched with “expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology” inside the killer's rifle – sound alarmingly plausible.

  • Two tier Keir

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