“Peak Woke”

Hypocritical, purely performative land apologies from leftists have become a boring trope from coast to coast.

I will happily admit that I know almost nothing about the current pop music scene. My former range stretched from Ritchie Valens to Tyrone Davis to Ronnie Spector to Bob Dylan, and the Kinks (See, e.g., this.) When California singer/sensation Billie Eilish made a splash at the Grammys two weeks ago—“No one is illegal on stolen land”—I could only wonder, “Who?”

Billie Eilish got me deported from the US

I spent 30 hours in custody at LAX trying to explain to the agents that my shitposts about moving into her mansion on stolen land were just a joke

Her lawyers seem to have actually compiled a dossier on me because the agents were asking… pic.twitter.com/y38z3EEBRH

— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦🇹🇼 (@DrewPavlou) February 15, 2026

WHEN the University of Washington began requiring academics to issue ‘land acknowledgements’ in a shamelessly politicised attempt to suggest indigenous ownership of the land on which the campus stands, one professor responded by tucking a witheringly satirical version into his course syllabus. You may not have heard of Stuart Reges, but his small act of intellectual resistance led ultimately to a significant First Amendment ruling that strengthens protections for all public-university academics who refuse to turn themselves into ciphers for progressive pieties.

It has been a longstanding gripe of the Welsh that they exist on the political as well as geographic fringe of the UK. A debate on BBC Radio Wales at the start of the year seemed to offer proof of this complaint: here were the senior figures from the major Welsh political parties (except Reform UK), having it out in the first formal, official debate before May’s Senedd election – theoretically one of the most significant domestic political events of the year. And not a soul in Westminster appeared to notice.

What is going on in The People’s Republic of Minnesota? The Democrat establishment in the Gopher State is nothing like it was back in the Reagan years, with ex-vice president Walter Mondale or Gov. Rudy Perpich. The insurrectionist echoes of their language about immigration-enforcement cops is eyebrow-raising in the same week the elitist media somberly mourned the attack on police at the January 6 riot.

Donald Trump’s issuing of over 200 executive orders back in January 2025, which banished DEI policies and recognised officially that there are only two genders, prompted an avalanche of assertions that woke is finally over. This auspicious start to Trump’s second term set the mood for much of the conversation on both sides of the Atlantic, with British writer Andrew Doyle publishing his book, The End of Woke, in May.

Ratings on the latest episode of Netflix’s Stranger Things took a downturn this week after the character Will Byers came out gay to his friends in a dramatic reveal.

Released on Christmas, the Season 5 Vol. 2 episode of the hit sci-fi show has been getting review bombed on various platforms, per Variety.

“The recent episodes have dragged the season’s fan-driven Rotten Tomatoes score from the 70s down to 56 percent, a stark decline from the show’s previous seasons,” noted the outlet. “For reference, the Season 4 Popcornmeter sits at 89 percent, Season 3 at 86 percent, Season 2 at 90 percent and Season 1 at 96 percent.”

Netflix has ruined many good programs with unwanted awkward woke eruptions.

I haven’t watched Stranger Things, this probably means never but  I feel sorry for the many fans who were let down.

West Side Story should only be watched by children over 12 because it features “transphobia”, a regulator has ruled.

Sexism, racism, violence and sexual threat are other issues that have led to the classic 1961 film musical being changed from PG to 12 by the British Board of Film Certification (BBFC).

Films are regularly reviewed to ensure that their certificates are appropriate for the current audience. The home entertainment rating of West Side Story was changed to reflect that the language and attitudes of the 1960s are less acceptable in the modern world.

That “regulator” should be beaten with sticks.

A former university football player who sexually assaulted two women has been sentenced to just two years in prison because he is black and was feeling intense pressure around the time of the attacks, the judge said.

Omogbolahan Jegede, 25, had choked one of the women almost into unconsciousness.

TRIGGER words, chocolate money and a winter fair fundraiser, it’s been a busy few weeks at Rayner’s Lane Comprehensive, the school that’s always on the front foot.

We start this end of term newsletter with a special message from the Headmaster.

According to multiple media reports this week, a teacher was sacked from working at a London primary school in early 2024 after making allegedly hurtful comments about Islam. The teacher, who does not wish to be named, was not only sacked but also blacklisted from working with children, after the local authority claimed that he posed a substantive risk to children, causing them ’emotional harm’.