Not sure if you folks seen this but seems apt to place it here
https://youtu.be/LSvsGwoEE5U?si=2hZf45b6vCX91kwm

Ireland before ruination

youtube.com/watch?v=6VGRnE2Y3e0

Under ECHR could mandatory digital ID for national security reasons be challenged on proportionality?

Yes. Mandatory digital ID implemented for national security reasons could be challenged under ECHR, specifically Article 8, which protects the right to respect for private and family life. The success of such a challenge would hinge on the principle of proportionality, a key test under ECHR jurisprudence

If the digital ID applies to the entire population rather than just those posing security challenges the disproportionate argument is strong

If the UK left the ECHR what laws could be used to challenge digital ID? There is no general tort of privacy so we would be left with MUCH WEAKER challenges under Data Protection Act 2018, UK GDPR, Equality Act 2010, or common law principles via judicial review

Given the above, I honestly think the ECHR withdrawal argument is connected solely to mandatory digital ID. The argument is being run at the same time as a weakening of jury trials and more intrusive surveillance and data legislation. This doesn't seem by chance

I have a detailed 6,000 word (to date) substack article exploring these issues. Might be out today if I finish it. If not, next week

Friday limerick contest:

Is His Majesty’s Government stoking race riots?

“With so much on the line, it’s not surprising that Slovenia’s moment of dissent was extinguished just as quickly as it flared up. On July 19, Parliament voted 44-7 to cancel both proposed referendums, with most members of Parliament abstaining. […]
Still, the damage was done. The fact that such referendums were proposed at all suggests the first visible crack in NATO’s ideological fortress: A member state’s government publicly acknowledged that loyalty to the alliance is no longer beyond question. The episode may have ended, but the taboo has been broken.”

If as sinner Thou dost see me,
Foul, unworthy to the end,
Still, O Lord, do not reject me—
Be my Shelter and my Friend.

Though my heart is dark and sterile,
Though I stray and stumble sore,
Let Thy blood, Christ, take the peril;
Lift me, cleanse me evermore.

If my hands are stained from burning,
If my prayers are frail and few,
Let Thy mercy, not my earning,
Be the light I journey through.

Though the world may deem me mindless
And the angels weep in grief,
Still I kneel before Thy kindness,
Begging healing, peace, relief.

If as sinner I must murmur,
One whom saints would cast away,
Let Thy cross speak louder, firmer—
Let Thy love my judgment stay.

youtube.com/watch?v=LEgUez7f71w

A more faithful translation.

“On the point of death, I found the Fountain of truth. I heard the call, ‘You who are thirsty, come to the well!’”

youtube.com/watch?v=j7pRXp7DPm8

Friday Night is Music Night
This evening something a little different from a crew I have featured before. A quite extraordinary acapella version of a contemporary pop track just for a change. Anymore acapella covers of popular music tracks? But please not the flying pickets!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcM14Al83Ls

96,477 have signed the petition to Repeal the Online Safety Act. At 100,000, Parliament must debate it.

Many think petitions don’t matter, but it forces a response. https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/722903

Let’s push it over the line.

(The missing ‘h’ in the title wasn’t the author’s error.)

propagandainfocus.com/wither-europe-the-eu-is-poised-for-a-transformation-towards-centralised-control-and-tyranny

“Prayer is mentioned many multiples more than singing in the New Testament. Especially since the 1990s, we have reversed the balance […]

I was a Christian for fifty years before it dawned on me that the Lord’s Supper was a supper.”

youtube.com/watch?v=_H97EZdko0s

CHINA-EU SUMMIT ENDS IN DEBACLE, EUROPEAN DELEGATION LEAVES BEIJING EARLY

The EU delegation left the Chinese capital Beijing after the summit, which lasted less than a day, ended in complete failure.

According to the Australian magazine The Diplomat, the EU-China negotiations did not lead to a rapprochement, despite the transatlantic rift between the EU and the United States.

Reuters reports that the negotiations were very tense, especially on trade and Ukraine issues, and no agreement was signed. "The EU tried to talk to China from a position of strength."

The EU delegation was led by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas. China was represented in person by President Xi Jinping.

Some notes: in order to "talk from a position of strength" you actually need strength, and if at the helm of diplomacy there's the trifecta of those three clowns, failure is guaranteed.

@Slavyangrad

Chief negotiator Yu Jo King told the press conference, “Er Syu La? No can do.”