New Neighbours
Brendan O’Neill on life in an age of euphemism:
The footage from Ceuta is extraordinary – throngs of foreigners, mostly men from Morocco, gatecrashed an enclave of the Spanish kingdom. They scaled fences, kicked down gates, colonised the beach. Some punched the air with glee, clearly delighted with their successful storming of Spanish territory.
All cheered on by ladies of a certain kind.
Says Mr O’Neill,
At which point, the reliably ludicrous LBC presenter James O’Brien comes to mind.
With all of the earnestness he could conjure, Mr O’Brien described the intruders as akin to “climate refugees… moving from inhabitable to habitable,” before referring to Ceuta as “nowhere near as inhospitable” as Morocco. Despite Ceuta’s climate being indistinguishable from, say, Tangier or Tétouan.
“There was something about the footage that shook me to my core,” said he. Though the scenes of mass invasion and subsequent looting and disorder – described as a “wave of humanity” – were much less of a concern to Mr O’Brien than the prospect of some onlookers, and perhaps quite a few local residents, regarding the violation as less than ideal.
And clearly, these immensely vibrant young men, overwhelmingly of fighting age and remarkably unencumbered by women or identifying documents, are merely using other people’s cars to start fires of neighbourliness. Arson being the universal language of warm feelings.
It’s all one big expression of gratitude. Of common humanity. The ennobling effects of which can be found with little effort.
Because sharing and caring, right?
And when the uninvited newcomers swarming through your streets start desecrating your ancestors’ graves while hurling rocks at you, it’s just a sign that they want to get to know you better.
I’m reminded of the scene in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, in which Zaphod Beeblebrox visits the headquarters of the eponymous publication, which is under attack, being bombarded from orbit. Despite the thunderous explosions, he encounters obliviousness. In disbelief, and trying to be heard over the explosions, he shouts, “Do you know your building’s being bombed?!”
As a summary of our times, and in more ways than one, it does have a certain resonance.
Update, via the comments:
Chow Bag quotes this,
And replies,
Well, setting aside Mr O’Brien’s limited grasp of the Mediterranean climate, he did bring into relief one of the key ideological differences of our time, one that blurs into fantasy and psychodrama.
I mean, if you can watch the footage of the invasion and the almost immediate looting, arson, assaults, etc., and feel – or pretend to feel – an urge to indulge the invaders, to side with them over the people whose neighbourhoods, homes and businesses are being trashed and plundered, that’s… quite something.
It’s a line that divides, and in a significant way. It does suggest a rather fundamental incompatibility.
But remember, citizen. Feelings of foreboding are not permitted.
Grok is telling me they have mostly all been sent back as of this morning. Mostly. I’m guessing they left their defications behind tho. As something to remember them by.
There’s your problem.
The words testing for weaknesses came to mind.
But no, I denounce myself. It was merely a Sudden Unsolicited Population Surplus. A chance to mingle, make friends, and become enriched.
DO YOU NOT WISH TO BECOME ENRICHED?
Richard Fernandez comments:
There was much yelling of Allahu Akbar. The reply should have been sustained rifle fire until the Allah apes were silent and absent. No mercy. Leave a legacy of terror.
David, how do you feel about these long comments in which I include all or most of the text found in the link? Do you feel it is excessive? I’ve been doing it to avoid losing content due to inevitable link rot.
He insists he is innocent, and yet:
And all evidence shows that the left wants more cultural enrichment.
No. And the Laurence Fox clip is well worth watching. He’s not wrong, as I’d say he demonstrated quite effectively. It is fear in a drag of tolerance and niceness.
A civilised society that wishes to remain civilised should not have a Muhammadan population of any social or political significance. To have one entails costs that are much, much higher than any benefit.
And that is a problem. This is an act of war in a time of peace, performed by an army without uniforms. They should have been treated as pirates and terrorists.
They should not have been released back to their homeland, where they can do it again. They ought to be sent home in body bags. Or tossed into the sea for the fish.
Does that sound too harsh? It sounds too harsh for me, but I think it’s true. I’m a giant softy, but this is too much.
What Europeans and Americans liberals fail to understand is: If we don’t do some moderate, humane, restrained housekeeping now, rough justice is coming.
On a related note, I wonder if Spain is going to declare war on Morocco. They certainly have it coming.
I don’t think that person is cheering? Or, a lady?
Should we wish to preserve our civilisation in some vaguely recognisable form – answers on a postcard, please – I suspect a little harshness will, alas, be required. It having been made necessary by people who recoil at the very idea and whose repeated and bewildering perversity has brought us to this unhappy situation.
As I said yesterday, regarding these vibrant features of modern living, “If you need these things, you have already made a terrible mistake.”
The young woman seen in the first few seconds of the video, by the roadside railing in the centre of the shot. The one holding up her phone to film and waving the swarm inland.
Not entirely unrelated to the post above.
From what little I know of the current Spanish government I’d bet on Spain apologising to Morocco.
Thank you. I’d hate to discover I’m becoming an annoyance–although nothing will save me from occasionally up-buggering links. [ Points Fickle Finger of Falsity at Muldoon. ]
Well, sometimes it’s fear of Islam. But often enough it’s malice towards us.
Fear of the tool they’ve employed to perform their malice.
Agree. Some strong show of force was required. Haven’t seen any video of these tens of thousands returning but if they aren’t running for their lives back across the border (which I highly doubt) it’s a W for Islam and a hard L for Spain and, depending on how the rest of Europe and the US react to how Spain handled this, the West as well.
The quintessential “progressive”:
Not just a commie, but a commie with a mental disease for which there is no cure.
And a white-hating racist.
At her age there is no cure for anything that ails her.
And finally: a nice compilation of her deranged and evil opinions.
I think it was Amy Wax who said something to the effect that progressives are remarkably skilled at presenting their actual feelings as something entirely different.
No. Not yet anyway. But Sánchez and Interior Ministry statements have expressed regret over the loss of life and condemned the mafias for deceiving people (many of whom drowned while swimming around breakwaters or died in crushes near the Tarajal fence).
They’re spending money on a 500-meter-long pneumatic (inflatable) floating barrier 30–70 cm (roughly 12–28 inches high, about 1 meter submerged, reinforced by an outer line of anchored buoys provided by the Spanish Navy (Armada). Oh, and they made sure it’s as marine animal safe as possible. Which made me wonder if the same sort of barrier would have been permitted in that area for any commercial or other productive purpose.
Not just a commie, an obscure outlier whom we should just point at and laugh. Per Grok:
Francesca Hong is currently leading the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor.
Recent polls (late July 2026)
• State Navigate poll (July 23–26, sponsored by UpNorthNews/Main Street Action; ~1,085 likely Democratic primary voters, ±3% MOE): Hong 44%, David Crowley 15%, Mandela Barnes 14%, others in low single digits, 13% undecided.
• Marquette Law School Poll (July 22–27; 407 Democratic primary voters, ±6.6% MOE): Hong 38%, Barnes 16%, Crowley 7%, others at 2% each, 34% undecided. When including leaners, Hong rises to about 46%. This marked a 12-point jump for her from the prior Marquette survey.
Earlier July polling (before some candidates dropped out or re-entered) also showed her ahead, typically in the mid-to-high 20s, with her support growing over successive surveys. She performs especially strongly with younger voters (often 60%+ among those under 45) and very liberal voters.
—
Latest available head-to-head numbers for Francesca Hong vs. Tom Tiffany (from the Marquette Law School Poll conducted July 8–16, 2026):
• Among registered voters: Tiffany 43%, Hong 40% (Tiffany +3).
• Among likely voters: Tied at 44% each.
Other recent or nearby polling shows a similarly close race:
• An aggregate/average of available polls around late July puts the race at roughly Tiffany 43–44% to Hong 42–43% (Tiffany ahead by about 1 point).
• One earlier July poll (Wedgewood) had Hong ahead 47%–44%.
A little bold goes a long way. Just sayin’.
[ Post tweaked slightly. ]
Can i quote this
and this
And how about
in one swell foop?
Let’s see…
Apparently, as previously experienced, that’s a nope on the list stuff. Would italicizing be preferred to bold? WordPress hasn’t learned WYSIWYG yet.
Heh. God, no. That would be all but illegible, especially for people reading on phones. I’d go with blockquote, with maybe a sparing use of bold or italic for the key phrases, or a sentence or two. In my experience, more than that and readers just tune out and move on.
#DaveDoesStyleTips
[ Imagines entire paragraphs italicised. ]
[ Eye twitches. ]
She seems nice.
Eva, quoted here, has pronouns in her bio.
Fake ultrasound to cure junk food habit
Eva thinks that differences in wealth are not a consequence of an inferior culture.
Eva needs a brain transplant.
One of my – admittedly ancient – wireless earbuds has died. I can no longer listen to my Rogue Defence gameplay in stereo.
[ Consoles self with Snickers Creamy Peanut Butter bar. ]
[ Orders new earbuds. ]
[ Consoles self further with large rhubarb and ginger gin. ]
It is curious that there is not a single caucasian country that is as violent and under-developed as all arab and black countries. Asian countries in 1950 (including Chna) were very backward and are now on par with western, in most cases (N. Korea a stand-out exception). It is a mystery,
That tweet about Culver’s:
This R Crumb cartoon applies:
We may never know why. (TM)
Not getting the impact I used to, I’m thinking of changing my name to Muldoon or Trump, cast your vote now!
WTP writes: “Grok is telling me they have mostly all been sent back as of this morning.”
I find Grok’s claim extremely implausible. Unless Ceuta is a place with no hiding-holes and no sympathizers. Also, who is supposed to have performed this herding of vast crowds?
Maybe Sikh immigrants aren’t such an asset after all.
Meanwhile back at the Oxford Union debate, the Union president is on the other side but apparently is arguing for Fox’s side.
The best and brightest.
what would have to have happened to your brain, such that being called a “dog racist” would function for you as a biting criticism in the first place
Agree. I did dig up some video of a few hundred…maybe…walking back toward a border crossing that matches up with what I see on google earth but they don’t seem to be in much of a hurry and it looks nothing like what the incoming videos showed. The story smells quite suspicious. It would be interesting to hear from some native Ceutans(sp?). Odd that I haven’t seen some pissed off people on X. Not that I’m trying all that hard but seems like there should have been some outrage.
The Moroccans have done this before.
In 1975, shortly after the death of Generalissimo Franco, Morocco asserted its claim to Spanish Sahara by moving 350,000 people across the border in what was called La Marcha Verde.
Spain lost its claim to that territory. (But to be fair, it’s not much of a loss. I did a Google Street View tour of the area, and it’s more barren than Mars.)
So, transporting 50K young men to the border with Ceuta so that they could literally invade was the repeat of a prior tactic. It had jack-all to do with immigration or wanting a better life.
I didn’t know about the 1975 action until I heard about it here, yesterday.
I had SUCH a crush on Hathaway in Inspector Lewis.
Who is the bloke in the picture he shows?
Jacob Rees-Mogg?
…
Aw fer the sake of Pete. Can’t support webp images.
…
I need some Sherpa notes here. Who are the folks here and what’s the inside joke?
Again, what’s the joke?
“Always respect the media!”
Yeah, I didn’t get the specifics of that either except as general contempt for the Euroweenie so-called leadership.
Not to change the subject, but in the context of our elites knowing what is best for us and their complete f*** up regarding Fauci and the scamdemic (no, I will not get over it), do you suppose this might be part of the problem?