Military Memories
TONY BLAIR SAID THE WEST SHOULD INTERVENE IN IRAQ
He said we have all kinds of options, like drones or airstrikes
Blair and his old war buddy George Bush (Photo via)
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Tony Blair has said that the West should intervene in Iraq, a day after Iran sent 2,000 troops to help battle the violent ISIS insurgency.
The former prime minister said that we don’t “need to engage as we did in Afghanistan or Iraq” – i.e. sending ground troops – but suggested that Western governments should consider other options, like drones or airstrikes.
Labour’s former international development secretary, Clare Short, criticised Blair, saying he had been “wrong, wrong, wrong about Iraq”, adding: “More bombing will not solve it, it will just exacerbate it.”
While they have ruled out full-scale military intervention, UK government officials have confirmed that British military personnel could be deployed in Iraq.
Separatist Shootings
PRO-RUSSIAN REBELS SHOT DOWN A UKRAINIAN MILITARY PLANE
The attack killed 49 people – the biggest loss suffered by government forces so far
A Ukrainian Il-76 transport plane, like the one shot down this weekend (Photo via)
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Pro-Russian separatists have shot down a Ukrainian military plane, reportedly killing 49 people.
The strike is the largest loss suffered by the government forces in one single incident since Kiev launched an operation to fight the insurgency in eastern Ukraine.
A defence ministry statement said that the rebels “cynically and perfidiously” shot down the plane using heavy calibre machine guns and anti-aircraft weapons.
On Friday the US state department said a convoy of military vehicles, including three tanks, had been transported from a Russian depot into Ukraine.
Kiev maintains that the pro-Russian separatists are being covertly supported by Moscow, but Russia has denied direct military involvement in eastern Ukraine.
British Pride
DAVID CAMERON WANTS PEOPLE TO STOP BEING ‘BASHFUL’ ABOUT BRITISHNESS
He blamed a rise in extremism on a failure to promote “British values”
(Photo via)
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David Cameron has blamed an increase of religious extremism in the UK on a failure to promote “British values” in a “more muscular” way.
Responding to allegations of Islamic extremism at schools in Birmingham, the prime minister urged the UK to stop being “bashful” about Britishness, adding that it has sent out a “worrying” message over the past couple of years.
“[The message] that if you don’t want to believe in democracy, that’s fine; that if equality isn’t your bag, don’t worry about it; that if you’re completely intolerant of others, we will still tolerate you,” he said. “This has not just led to division, it has also allowed extremism – of both the violent and non-violent kind – to flourish.”
Cameron announced that his grand plan to quash religious extremism is to have schools teach their pupils about the Magna Carta.
Riot Parties
AN EAST CROYDON RAVE ENDED IN CLASHES WITH THE POLICE
The window of a police van was smashed and “missiles” were hurled at cops
People fleeing the rave after police arrived (Photo by @LiannaBrinded)
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An illegal rave in a disused post office in London’s East Croydon ended in clashes with the police.
Around 1,000 people were outside the building, and another 300 were estimated to be inside. Some of them clearly weren’t happy that the cops decided to turn up, as the window of a police van was smashed in and “missiles” were thrown at officers.
Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, said the disruption was “unacceptable”, adding: “I’m all for people having a good time, but it has to be in a safe environment.”
Two people were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder, and seven others were also arrested in connection with violent disorder, drugs offences and money laundering.
Shitty Deals
A MAN IS SUING A HOSPITAL FOR MAKING HIS PENIS SHORTER
He lost “about an inch” after an operation
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A Canadian man is suing a hospital for negligence, claiming that an operation on his penis left it “about an inch” shorter, preventing him from having sex for two years and ultimately ruining his marriage.
The man, who is paraplegic, injured his penis while having sex with his wife in 2011; he claims the operation to fix it left permanent scarring, as well as reducing its size.
“This has caused a greater impact on my life than when I lost the use of my legs,” he said.
It’s currently unclear why having a slightly smaller penis than he’d had before made it impossible for the man to have sex.
