Mick Hartley

Historian Benny Morris, at Quillette, on Israeli concerns over Trump's new “hostage envoy,” Adam Boehler, against the background of the apparent abandonment of Ukraine:

Washington’s grand strategy on the Palestinian issue remains unclear, as does its understanding of the players involved, especially Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007. This is causing considerable anxiety in Jerusalem.

These questions have gained pertinence and urgency following a series of interviews that Donald Trump’s new “hostage envoy,” Adam Boehler, gave to American and Israeli media platforms. Over recent weeks, Boehler has directly negotiated a possible new hostage–prisoner exchange deal with Hamas—at Trump’s behest, but apparently behind Israel’s back. “We are not an agent of Israel. We have specific [American] interests at play,” he stated, apparently in reference to the American/Israeli dual citizens who were among those taken hostage by Hamas in its 7 October 2023 assault on southern Israel and who remain in captivity—whether dead or alive—in tunnels in the Gaza Strip. Officials in Israel are troubled by the thought that Washington may be seeking the separate release of American hostages alone, rather than negotiating a deal that encompasses all those held in Hamas captivity.

But Israel’s irritation about the interviews was more general than this. Boehler has opined of Hamas that, “They don’t have horns growing out of their head. They’re actually guys like us. They’re pretty nice guys.” After this unsurprisingly ruffled feathers in Jerusalem, Washington immediately issued a correction: “They are definitely bad guys.” But Boehler then predicted that Hamas will soon disarm and “fade away” from the Gaza Strip—an idea that is completely divorced from reality. On the contrary, over the past months, Hamas appears to have recovered militarily and is clearly in control of Gaza’s civilian population. In his interviews, Boehler even got the hostage/prisoner terminology backwards: repeatedly calling the Palestinians held in Israel’s prisons—most of whom are convicted terrorists, including mass murderers—“hostages,” while designating the Israelis languishing in Gaza’s tunnels, most of whom are civilians, “prisoners.”

It looks very much like Trump has sent out another one of his seemingly bottomless army of incompetents to deal with a hugely complex and difficult situation. No wonder the Israelis are worried.

America is no longer a serious player in international affairs.

Another Café Royal Books contribution, this time from photographer Don Tonge:

[Photos © Cafe Royal Books/Don Tonge]

Oliver Brown in the Telegraph on how Seb Coe was beaten by the old Olympic guard, determined to keep their gravy train rolling:

In 72 hours here at Costa Navarino, the IOC’s sumptuous retreat on Greece’s Ionian coast, he came face-to-face with the true Machiavellian character of this most fiercely protective of private clubs. Until the last moment, his bid team expressed confidence that he was making progress, only for half a year’s work to unravel in two minutes. Thomas Bach’s stunning announcement that his successor had been found on the first ballot of an election expected to last multiple rounds meant just one thing: that Kirsty Coventry, the outgoing president’s preferred successor, had prevailed.

The publication of the vote breakdown 30 minutes later brought home the full horror, showing a mere eight votes for Coe against Coventry’s 49. All those promises of support he had chased? Too many, ultimately, turned out to be empty. Coe, for the first time in his career, had found himself outmanoeuvred, humiliated by the cold, hard, ruthless politics of Bach, his long-time nemesis.

Bach’s style is that of a benevolent dictator, his iron fist concealed in a velvet glove. While he insisted he had no favourite, everybody knew this was a masquerade, with the 41-year-old Coventry nurtured so assiduously for the role of president-elect that she had been sent to address the United Nations. As the clock ticked down, there was a twin imperative at the highest level: to make sure that she succeeded, and that Coe was thwarted….

One of the IOC’s final decisions here was to host its session in 2027 in Punta Cana, in the Dominican Republic, a palm-fringed resort every bit as luxurious as Costa Navarino. It was one more small signal that the membership, stuffed with superannuated bureaucrats and European nobility, preferred the status quo: the lavish per diems, the exotic travel, the endless gravy train. Why would they want somebody promising profound change? Viewing Coe as the disruptor, they plumped instead for the candidate who would keep their sinecures intact.

 

Before rushing to condemn Israel for every strike, remember: Hamas could end the war instantly by releasing all the hostages.

It’s that simple.

— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) March 22, 2025

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Sarah Ditum in the Times reminds us of some of the history behind the Sullivan Review:

Alice Sullivan — author of the government-commissioned review of data, statistics and research on sex and gender that was published this week — is a sociologist with a neat pixie haircut and a gently sensible tone of voice. Her academic work is careful, analytical and concerned with questions of survey design. With all respect to Sullivan (a professor at UCL), it is hard to imagine anyone finding her terrifying.

That is, until you remember the feverish atmosphere of the gender wars at their peak. In 2019, the Office for National Statistics announced plans for a new, “inclusive” version of the sex question on the national census, which would allow respondents to answer according to their self-identified gender rather than their physical sex.

Sullivan criticised this in an open letter she organised, signed by 80 academics, pointing out that it would “undermine data reliability on a key demographic variable and damage our ability to capture and remedy sex-based discrimination and inequality”.

For such a dry statement of fact, she was no-platformed by NatCen (the National Centre for Social Research), who cancelled a seminar she was due to speak at. Better to pull the whole event, apparently, than be compromised by association with a woman like Sullivan with so-called terf tendencies.

But she was right that the census was badly worded. After a legal challenge, the guidance was rewritten to clarify that the question was about physical sex. Unfortunately, the follow-up included by the ONS — “Is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” — was so confusing that the resulting data on the trans population of England and Wales was a load of hot nonsense.

According to the 2021 census, transgender adults are more religious than the general population, more likely to be Muslim and less likely to be native speakers. Adults with no formal qualifications were three times as likely to fall into the “unspecified gender” category as those with degrees.

Plainly, this was not a reflection of reality. All it showed was that the ONS had embraced a version of gender politics that was deeply confusing to anyone outside the gilded circle of graduates who spend their lives online. In attempting to write an “inclusive” question, the ONS had excluded a huge chunk of the population from understanding it.

It was only when Michael Biggs, Oxford professor of sociology, pointed out that the question asked in the ONS survey – “is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?” – only made sense to gender enthusiasts and was totally baffling to people with English as a second language, and Muslims in particular, that people began to realise how ridiculous it all was. For a while there were actually those lost in awe at the fact that our marvellous immigrant communities were so advanced in their thinking, and so ahead of the curve in embracing trans ideology.

And here we are. Ostracised five years ago for speaking out on the reality of sex, and now lauded for her sensible views. Perhaps a corner has been turned, at last…

Has there been one single institution in the UK that didn't embrace gender ideology? Even the supposedly hard-headed scientists at Porton Down rolled over before the trans juggernaut:

As a scientist at Porton Down developing technology to secure Britain’s defences, Peter Wilkins never imagined he would be considered a threat because of a belief in biology.

But when he stated his gender-critical views and support for the concept of immutable sex, Wilkins was reported for his “ideology” and labelled by colleagues as transphobic, “sad and pathetic” and “a rubbish employee”.

An employment tribunal has found there was a “clear hostile animus” towards gender-critical beliefs at the top-secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL). It found that an intimidating atmosphere resulted in the harassment and discrimination of Wilkins, 43, who was forced to leave as a result.

Senior officials failed to address the behaviour because of an “unblinking desire” to support the pro-trans lobby.

Blossoming earlier than usual, I think.

The impurity threats grow, so the ideological pressure increases. It's the North Korean purity spiral. 

From the Daily NK:

North Korea has increased ideological lectures for young people in Chongjin, North Hamgyong province. These sessions, previously held once or twice monthly, are now mandatory weekly events.

A source told Daily NK recently that authorities now require weekly ideological lectures for students at high schools, vocational colleges, and universities throughout Chongjin.

“Despite creating new laws and even executing people to stop youth from watching ‘impure videos,’ the government hasn’t curbed young people’s interests. So since the beginning of the month, authorities have mandated weekly criticism sessions and ideological lectures,” the source explained.

The regime has intensified these lectures to keep young people vigilant against foreign ideology and culture. On March 8, one Chongjin high school hosted a lecture titled “Let’s strengthen the fight against the frightening toxins that erode young people’s class consciousness and revolutionary consciousness.”

The speaker began: “Impure videos and publications continue to propagate because of our enemies’ plotting. This significantly weakens our young people’s class and revolutionary consciousness. The puppet regime (of South Korea) and hostile forces use these impure materials to undermine youth consciousness.”

The lecturer described outside ideology as part of “our enemies’ strategy of destroying our socialist system” and emphasized that young people must guard against such influences.

“Our enemies ultimately want to tear down our socialist ideology and system. Their behavior isn’t new, but they’re more desperate now that our country is a nuclear power. Young people, as this country’s heirs, must lead in defending our socialist system,” the speaker declared.

“Lasting victory only comes through absolute trust and obedience to the Workers’ Party and Supreme Leader. We must reinforce our ideological struggle to defeat our enemies’ schemes by maintaining revolutionary vigilance,” the lecturer added.

While these sessions aim to prevent ideological wavering among youth, their effectiveness remains questionable. Young North Koreans admit they’re tired of repetitive lectures that cover the same points with little new material.

“Young people already hate the weekly criticism sessions, so adding lectures will only irritate them further. They’ll attend for appearance’s sake, but the effectiveness will diminish over time,” the source concluded.

There seems to be something about Korean women and power. Kim Jong-un's sister Kim Yo Jong is notoriously offensive – her brother's "verbal attack dog". South Korea's first and only female president Park Geun-Hye was impeached for corruption and abuse of power, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison. And now:

The first lady of South Korea told her bodyguards that they should have shot police arresting her husband, President Yoon, media have reported in Seoul as tensions rise before a court ruling that could force him from office.

The country’s constitutional court is expected to deliver a judgment next week on the parliamentary impeachment of Yoon over his sudden and abortive attempt to impose martial law in December. Now his wife, Kim Keon-hee, faces potential criminal proceedings of her own for her reported words following Yoon’s arrest at his presidential residence in January.

According to court documents, quoted by the Hankook Ilbo newspaper, Kim angrily reproached members of the Presidential Security Service (PSS), who had blocked a previous effort to arrest the president for insurrection.

“I am disappointed in the PSS,” she said, according to documents related to the prosecution of two former bodyguards. “Guns are meant to be used in situations like this — what were you doing if you weren’t going to shoot?”

She is said to have spoken of her own desire to murder the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, her husband’s chief antagonist. “Honestly, I just want to shoot Lee Jae-myung and then take my own life,” she is alleged to have said….

Ever since his emergence on the political stage five years ago, Kim, 52, has lent much-needed glamour to Yoon, a solemn and austere former prosecutor. But from the beginning, she has been a figure whose strong opinions have sometimes eclipsed the conservative political agenda pursued by her husband.

During the presidential election campaign in 2021, she apologised publicly for “exaggerating” her academic achievements. In conversations covertly recorded by a journalist, she implied that she was the power behind the throne and would remain so if Yoon was elected president.

“Have you heard of ‘the second VIP’?” she asked, referring to the role of first lady. “I don’t think Yoon Suk Yeol is really the president. That fool is just a puppet.”

With personal assets of close to 50 billion won (£28 million) in 2018, her wealth as a businesswoman far exceeds that of Yoon.

She spoke of her interest in “dosas” or spiritual gurus. Her doctoral dissertation was about fortune-tellers and all of this played into claims, always denied, that Yoon was employing supernatural techniques on the campaign trail, such as writing a mystically charged Chinese character on his hand.

Strange. Very strange.

She took hundreds of photos of men in public loos:https://t.co/dUxrdBm1Pl

— Teesside Live Court (@GazetteCourt) March 19, 2025

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She??

A registered sex offender put her phone under public toilet cubicles to secretly record men using the loo.

Chleo Sunter, 37, was caught with 790 pictures and 15 videos of men inside toilet cubicles and standing at urinals. She took the photos in the men's loos at an Aldi supermarket and a shopping centre in Middlesbrough, and at Darlington Train Station.

Chleo? Can't the idiot even spell Chloe?

Sunter, previously known as John Leslie Graham, admitted her latest offences at Teesside Crown Court on Wednesday.

Still a man. Always a man.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of voyeurism; "recording a person doing a private act with the intention that she herself, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, would look at the image of this person knowing they did not consent to her recording the act" between January and November 2023. She also admitted six breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

Why can't they just report honestly? Does pandering to his ridiculous "Chleo" identity override the requirement to report accurately? – especially when it comes to sex offences.