BrianHeg

The record-shattering warmth in Europe in recent days is the most severe heatwave ever recorded in the region and is unequivocally the result of climate change driven by the burning of fossil fuels, according to World Weather Attribution climate scientists rte.ie/news/europe/2026/0626…

Remember the 14-year-old boy who was brought out yesterday from Azov’s secret detention facility in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka, near Kyiv, where mobilized men and deserters were allegedly being beaten and held against thier will? Well, the boy is now in hospital. He has recorded a video telling his side of the story. And what a charming little tale of military honor and Ukrainian democracy it is. According to the boy, he came to the protest and climbed onto a fence. That's when soldiers struck him with a shovel, knocking him down onto the facility's grounds. They then dragged him inside and started beating him. Yes, beating a 14-year-old child. Not that his age was some great mystery. One look at his face and you can see he's a kid. Apparently, that wasn't quite obvious enough for these brave warriors. But it gets worse. The boy says they didn't just beat him. They cut the clothes off his body, including his underwear, leaving him standing in front of them "almost naked." And that, dear friends, raises serious questions of sexual violence and degrading treatment of a child. Allegedly perpetrated by Ukrainian servicemen. The beating, he says, stopped only when Budanov arrived. Meanwhile, Azov's propaganda machine and its loyal cheerleaders have already rolled out their crisis-management circus: the boy was a "provocateur." Ah, yes. The classic defense. When a child ends up in hospital, simply rebrand him as a national security threat. Problem solved. Perhaps they'll award themselves medals for neutralizing a teenager armed with the terrifying weapon of climbing a fence. Except the story appears to be rather more complicated. The boy alleges he was a victim of violence at the hands of Ukrainian soldiers. So who is going to answer for the ill-treatment, humiliation, and degrading treatment of a child? Where the hell is Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman? Has he misplaced the address of the hospital? Or is visiting an allegedly abused Ukrainian child simply not on today's democracy-defending itinerary? And where is Zelensky? Why hasn't he visited the boy in hospital? Oh, right. He had more pressing business in Germany, asking for more money. Zelensky does love telling the world how much children matter to him. Apparently, some children make better speeches than hospital visits. So when, exactly, does this grotesque circus of the Zelensky mafia finally come to an end? And how many more victims will it take before someone remembers that human rights are supposed to apply to actual human beings — including children — rather than merely serving as decorative slogans for international donors?

This is eye-opening. Europe’s share of global tech R&D has collapsed from 23% in 2005 to just 8% today, while the US has climbed to 62% and China has risen from near zero to 15%. South Korea now outspends Germany, France, the UK, and Italy combined in tech R&D. Yep, you read that right. This is the predictable result of policy choices that systematically favor control and redistribution over growth. Layered regulation, data rules, AI restrictions, labor rigidities, and precautionary frameworks, raises the cost and slows the pace of turning ideas into products, forcing companies to spend scarce resources on compliance rather than experimentation. High taxation and expansive redistributive systems extract capital that would otherwise fund private R&D and risk-taking, while shrinking the after-tax reward for building something new and scaling it. The broader left-leaning mindset that prioritizes equality of outcome over dynamism treats entrepreneurial success as something to be managed, taxed, or shared rather than unleashed and rewarded. Places that protect the returns to innovation and keep barriers low continue to pull ahead, attracting talent and capital that Europe increasingly loses. Europe’s relative decline is the cumulative outcome of treating dynamism as a problem to be regulated rather than the engine of prosperity. Without a shift toward lighter rules, lower burdens on enterprise, and greater tolerance for unequal outcomes from unequal effort, the gap will keep widening, and Europe will become an open-air museum for wealthy Americans and Asians.

I would contend that many opposition accounts who don't recognised the use of the advert as a distraction from the Triple Lock are in fact operatives or effectively enabling the State and NATO. Now is a moment for Irish Nationalists to pay attention.

BREAKING: Iranian officials are deliberately dragging out negotiations with Washington to completely crush Donald Trump’s hopes of a diplomatic victory ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, per senior Iranian officials cited by Reuters. Tehran believes keeping the conflict unresolved and refusing major concessions could intensify political pressure on Trump as the war drives up energy prices. “Iran is preparing for renewed Israeli and US attacks, not for a deal with America to end the war,” one Iranian official said. Iran also says its military remains at the highest state of alert, preparing for the possibility of renewed attacks.

France can also do it easier than most places in Europe due to not ratifying the 1997 European Convention on Nationality. France would have to change its constitution (article 25), leave ECHR (reforms are under way though) and TFEU article 20’s proportionality interpretation.