This morning, the president-elect was sentenced for his 34-count conviction on business fraud and other New York state felonies in connection with silencing a porn actress about their affair before the 2016 election. But despite his crimes, Donald Trump received no punishment.

It would be hard for a novelist to imagine a more telling scene in the larger story of our moment in which a privileged old man can’t say enough to be racist, can’t break enough laws to be incarcerated, can’t fail enough to be a failure and can’t be stupid enough to be stupid.

Van Lathan, Jr., wasn’t talking about the fact that impunity for pretty much everything is the point of Trump, but he may as well have been when he said in June that he’s “the whitest white man we’ve ever seen.”

With this sentencing, it’s official. Trump will be the first president to be a criminal president. This, of course, is only a minor accounting. Trump has been, in fact, a deviant and devious criminal mind for most of his adult life. He enriched himself when he was president the first time. He stole government secrets. He tried overthrowing an election.

With his third campaign, he and his allies, including a murder of billionaires and half a dozen justices on the US Supreme Court, set out to turn the republic against not only itself but against the rule of law.

They succeeded.

Civil institutions could not hold him accountable. The media failed. The law failed. The courts failed. The American people failed. Some still like to say no one is above the law, but it all sounds quaint to me.

The insurrection of January 6, 2021, has been institutionalized. It is now the establishment. It is now “the way things are.” Trump and his allies have achieved what historical figures like Joseph McCarthy, Robert Welch and George Wallace could only dream of: the restoration of “natural order of things” in America. Heads – I win. Tails – you lose.

Some deny it. They insist on the existence of some kind of immutable law, like the force of gravity, that will compel Trump to be presidential.

“There is one thing about being president-elect: You become president. And then you’re in charge. You’re responsible. You have to govern,” William Kristol said. “Beginning January 20, it will be Trump’s show. From the most trivial things to the most weighty, the power will emanate from and the buck will stop at Trump’s Oval Office.”

Made me smile but on the serious side it’s worrying that someone who’s role it was to protect children never met one of the victims
of serious child sex abuse

https://youtube.com/shorts/LleV462sMGk?si=rEv1fTowL_ikVc50

Those who shout the loudest

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/c87dg3x1rd0o

https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/two-charged-as-part-of-investigation-into-fraudulent-covid-19-vaccination-records

The Tories, screaming their heads off , alongside an American megalomaniac call for action , after doing nothing for years, cause a current hardworking MP to receive hundreds of threats

I was moved by her bravery in this interview - and understand that one person has already been arrested for threatening her

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn7r0pzz57vo.amp

For those who want them

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c878d54y0r2o.amp

https://www.change.org/p/mandate-face-to-face-consultations-for-all-gp-appointments

https://atadvocacy.com/impeachscotus-7124?ref=dp

😂

Judge sets date for Donald Trump's sentencing in hush money case, but signals no jail time

Judge Merchan signalled that he would sentence Trump to what is known as a conditional discharge, in which a case gets dismissed if a defendant avoids re-arrest.

But he's done NOTHING WRONG!

Your Thoughts?

Back in 2018 this bas*ard called the rescuer of children that were trapped a paedo

What a piece of sh*t he is

https://edition.cnn.com/2019/12/03/media/elon-musk-testifies/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/09/liz-truss-keir-starmer-cease-and-desist-letter-crashed-economy?utm

https://youtu.be/BKorP55Aqvg

To cover up the fact that one of their Hitler worshipping Nazi’s who helped arrange the riots of last July has been imprisoned for seven and a half years

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/key-organizer-of-far-right-uk-riots-last-year-jailed-for-7-1-2-years/3443922#

More financial burden on the British people and soaring cost of living. More taxes and throwing money away by the £billions, this Government of brainless farts will destroy our country if they survive their term.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/motorists-brace-for-hefty-1-807-car-tax-hike-in-april-2025-with-van-drivers-hit-the-hardest/ar-BB1r8lXv

Keep scrolling down the list of countries.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/average-price-mcdonald-uk-compares-130000629.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYmluZy5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHorh8kD6Yy1qMUnXf8kh6v5tUgj55IJtl0HsjUluoRD63j-pPWSgHqrsZ1bXuTX8O5fE3uASzxf-iGxxHsioLNi_wfjJZLXWVpieD5F5pP6dbnYNkGCmltlpETi75WKcrvlchtmC0qiVX-2zIgdxxcMPFSdtX6U5KPPU6QyNBIf

Ask the man in the street what they think of Musk etc

https://youtu.be/AKUkIofmovI?si=kW0IabgNtlnhH2QI

On a piddling little island in the Indian Ocean.
Labour are a financial PITA, they will make us a third rate nation with living standards, individual wealth and quality of life in accordance.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/labour-offering-to-pay-mauritius-nearly-9bn-in-chagos-islands-deal/ar-AA1xb9eR

They want to overturn an important new bill to safeguard children

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/sir-keir-starmer-accuses-kemi-badenoch-of-lies-at-pmqs-as-tory-leader-demands-national-inquiry-into-rape-gangs-13285485

Asked at a press conference at his Florida resort whether he could assure the world he would not use military or economic coercion as he tries to gain control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, Trump said,

"No, I can't assure you on either of those two. But I can say this, we need them for economic security."

Putin/Ukraine ... Trump/Panama

Spot the difference.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/32664271/britain-borrowing-high-fears-tax-hikes/

Drinking fake plant based milk makes you depressed. I tried Alpro once, it was disgusting.
https://www.hindustantimes.com/lifestyle/health/vegans-more-likely-to-be-depressed-as-drinking-plant-based-milk-increases-risk-of-depression-study-101736221289578.html

Musk now calls for Farage to resign

https://youtu.be/ZsI32gk4e74?si=5W4o1xRKm7ArvfYW

Shocked this morning to see the Drag Queen The Vivienne aged only 32 died over the weekend .

Similar in many ways to the lovely Paul O’Grady, they appeared on Blankety Blank recently and was the first winner of British Ru Paul’s Drag Race

https://amp.theguardian.com/culture/2025/jan/05/rupauls-drag-race-uk-winner-the-vivienne-dies-aged-32

What we need is a new General Election based on no confidence.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/they-re-coming-to-us-inside-reform-uk-s-defection-deluge-as-farage-s-charm-secures-tory-bigwigs/ar-AA1x0pTu

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/the-cheapest-supermarket-of-2024-has-been-named-and-it-s-not-lidl/ar-AA1x0kfq?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=3ee224017ee041c2ce2a4e8496dc1407&ei=16

A year or so old, but worth a look (except if you really hate foxes)🦊

This is in the US

https://youtu.be/u8_fQ0U2UUg?si=pUpKXkIgCgQTd8YG

https://youtube.com/shorts/IE-mpm4nsSk?si=gxaN_UH5EpkYThvI

What worries me, as much as those who walked by, were those online who asked where the parents were. When this was clearly set up as an example.

Go it Granny ! Up and at Him.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1996302/russia-vladimir-putin-ukraine-public-protests

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGdBFhBKm/

World chess number one Magnus Carlsen has quit a major tournament after being told he could not carry on playing while wearing jeans.

The grandmaster said he had offered to change his trousers for the next day, but was fined and told he needed to change immediately.

He said he had been wearing jeans for a lunch meeting, and "didn't even think about" swapping them for a different pair of trousers when heading to the tournament.

He turned up wearing a shirt, blazer, dark jeans and dress shoes and played a few rounds before being asked to change.

In a statement, FIDE confirmed the 34-year-old was fined $200 (£159), and said its rules were applied "impartially".

They cited a case where another player was fined on the same day before changing his shoes...

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/childrens-wellbeing-and-schools-bill-the-15-key-policies/

Besides declining Trump’s humble offer to bring Canada into the United States, Elizabeth May, an MP for British Columbia, offered her own deal instead to neighbours south of the border.

“You think we want to be the 51st state?
Nah, but maybe California would like to be the 11th province,” she said.

“How ‘bout it, California? Oregon? Washington? We’ve got geography in common,” said May, adding that British Columbians are already comfortable with our southern neighbours in the Cascadia region.

“This is what we’ve got for you: Free healthcare, universal, free healthcare...safer streets here, we have strict gun laws, and women have the right to an abortion under the universal healthcare system.

She added an appeal to Trump himself, saying that by Canada taking on those three states, it would “get rid of all these states that always vote democrat.”

A great idea wasted on a man with no sense of humour?

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/02/live-ones-go-in-paper-bags-dead-ones-in-the-freezer-the-volunteers-saving-birds-that-fly-into-windows

https://youtube.com/shorts/6HWv_4WaLwo?si=-yGMm6iD3FGXp595

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/why-labour-can-t-afford-to-lose-more-muslim-votes/ar-AA1wVkmU?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=642c4bc0f71b47da8b9b0c5e5999b851&ei=22

But the pigeons will love it.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/nothing-is-off-the-table-when-it-comes-to-new-46m-tribute-statue-to-late-queen/ar-AA1wVXcx?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=8656af3655074cd08f47c8c58a01d271&ei=71

https://x.com/Otto_English/status/1874791992192065639?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1874791992192065639%7Ctwgr%5E846b2b34c653b92989596df8983f2c0f233fe7a5%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenational.scot%2Fnews%2F24828974.suella-braverman-bonkers-italy-turkey-border-gaffe-lbc%2F

https://youtu.be/vcWmrDZOWBQ?si=noUkbmGuI2PBoZsR

“Do you know what” 😂

https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/hundreds-of-different-dinosaur-footprints-discovered-in-uks-oxfordshire/cid/2075042

I'm not starting a quiz here. I actually can't find the answer.
On a whisky bottle, what does MBa stand for?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14242739/Russia-fines-nightclub-revellers-looking-gay.html

But not seriously hurt 😢

https://www.itv.com/news/2025-01-03/father-of-murdered-schoolgirl-sara-sharif-attacked-in-prison

For those who are interested in avoiding the economic disaster that is being inflicted upon us, there was a well crafted article in Last Saturday's Daily Mail by John Redman.
It is in the form of a letter to Rachel Reeves in which he explains what is wrong and why(supported by fact) and giving sound advice (again supported by fact) indicating how it can be rectified. Well worth reading and I would post a link if I knew how, sorry.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1995352/elon-musk-jess-phillips-oldham

Funny too how those who were in control for fourteen years and did nothing now criticise those new in power for not doing what they did not do themselves

You couldn’t make it up

Seriously though Kia is recalling thousands of its electric cars

https://www.uniladtech.com/vehicles/car-news/kia-forced-recall-23000-cars-forgotten-bolt-seats-120136-20250102

Having forgetful workers isn’t a great advert 🙂

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/agnes-keleti-holocaust-survivor-and-oldest-living-olympic-gold-medallist-dies-at-103/ar-AA1wQO08?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=e1ff91fbb3ca4a31ec8c02a0146ab082&ei=91

https://www.kentonline.co.uk/romney-marsh/news/farage-to-flatten-tired-house-on-kent-coast-for-swanky-new-b-318008/

The author Jaqueline Wilson gets the highest honour for her contribution to literature and Stephen Fry gets an award for his work with mental health

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-celebrates-unsung-heroes-and-community-champions-in-hm-the-kings-new-year-honours-list

https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1995280/bashar-al-assad-poisoning-attempt-russia

The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings for rain and wind across the UK and several New Year's Eve events including London fireworks including part of Edinburgh's Hogmanay activities have been cancelled.

https://www.mirror.co.uk/travel/uk-ireland/new-years-eve-events-cancelled-34399557