Brian Francis Collins

Sometimes it feels us ordinary people are being checkmated, by rising housing costs, food bills, energy costs and a world changing faster than they can keep up. Some call it the “Great Reset.” Australia. Britain. Across the world, people are feeling the pressure. But never confuse hardship with defeat. The King still has one more move. ♟️ Don’t surrender hope just because the board looks lost. #CostOfLiving #EverydayPeople #EconomicPressure #Checkmate #TheKingStillHasOneMoreMove #hopefortnite

In Australia are you better off than you were four years ago? Most people I talk to aren't. The cash rate is 4.60%. Highest since 2011. Perth prices up 3.8%. Shops are shutting. Investors have left. People are broke. And the government is still pouring money into renewables that are nowhere near ready. The technology has not evolved enough to carry the grid, and we are years too early to bet the country on it. Power bills are the proof. A rate rise is not a recovery. If you can't buy what you bought four years ago, don't let anyone call this fixed. #AusPol #CostOfLiving #RBA

Cambridge said it would investigate how Jason Arday was made a professor. Then it wrote terms that refuse to judge the thesis, the qualifications or the life story, and that start at the first complaint rather than the hire. The Times says the second half will not even focus on him. Cambridge says that is wrong. I don't believe them until the terms are published. No misconduct finding. Liverpool John Moores waved the plagiarism through as "honest error" and kept the report private. The inquest is still open. He was useful as a poster. The moment the questions got hard, the inquiry was built to avoid them. That is the cover-up.

Five men from London, aged 23 to 25, were arrested at Whelford, next to RAF Fairford, early Sunday. Suspicion of explosives offences, then preparing a terrorist act. Released on police bail Monday. Not charged. Still “under investigation.” The woman who called 999 says she saw eight to ten masked men, three vans, and has had no callback. Police arrested five and said it was contained. Wes Streeting says she only had a “partial picture.” Trump says they were watched for a long time and he would not have bailed them. Those three accounts do not fit together. Questions that need an answer: 1. Viable bomb, or not? CTP has confirmed neither. 2. If she saw eight to ten, where are the rest? 3. If they were under surveillance, why did a farmer’s 999 call stop them at the fence? 4. Why police bail, with unpublished conditions, instead of charge or continued detention? 5. Why no callback to the only civilian who says she broke it up? 6. Which foreign state, if any? “Proxy” is a line of enquiry, not a finding. 7. Two clocks: police say 00:45, she says 999 at 01:36. Who called first, and who was already there? In 2024, social-media posts drew 20 to 38 months after guilty pleas. These five are at home. Different offences. Still explain the bail.

The great delusion of modern government is not wanting a cleaner environment. We all should. It is the ideological belief that a country can tax, regulate and legislate its way to “net zero” while dismantling the productive economy that pays for our hospitals, schools, roads, jobs and living standards. A government can squeeze a local factory, mine, refinery, farm or power generator until it closes, then congratulate itself on a lower domestic emissions figure. But the demand for steel, cement, fertiliser, food, energy and manufactured goods does not disappear. Production simply moves offshore, often to countries with coal-heavy energy, lower environmental standards and fewer worker protections. We then import those same goods back at a higher cost and pretend the planet is better off. That is not climate leadership. It is accounting theatre. The consequences are predictable: higher power bills, weaker energy security, fewer skilled jobs, less investment, reduced national resilience and families paying more for the essentials. Then the people carrying the cost are told it is a “just transition”. Protecting the environment should mean practical engineering, reliable and affordable energy, better technology, stronger infrastructure and an honest assessment of total global emissions, not just a prettier domestic spreadsheet. If a policy shuts down local production, exports emissions and imports economic decline, it has not solved the problem. It has simply moved it somewhere else and called it virtue.

Some stories end when the courtroom doors close. Others stay with you for the rest of your life. At just 22 years old, I expected to complete jury service and return to my ordinary job as a hotel gardener in County Down. Instead, I was selected as Juror No. 12 in one of Northern Ireland’s most controversial murder trials. The accused was Susan Christie. The victim was Penelope McAllister, whose life was brutally taken in the isolation of Drumkeeragh Forest. For weeks, I sat only feet from the accused as prosecutors, witnesses, forensic experts and psychiatrists presented a disturbing story of obsession, betrayal, deception and psychological collapse. Then came the verdict. The courtroom erupted. Newspapers condemned the jury, and the sentence shocked even those who had followed the trial closely. More than 30 years later, I am finally telling the story from a perspective never previously published—the view from inside the jury box. Jury Member No 12 is part true crime, part courtroom memoir and part psychological drama. But above all, it explores what happens when 12 ordinary people are asked to make an extraordinary decision—and what it feels like to carry that decision for the rest of your life. Watch the short preview below. 📖 Read Jury Member No 12 here: books2read.com/u/3yqYQL If you enjoy compelling true-life stories, courtroom drama or true crime, please take a look—and share this post with anyone who may find the story interesting. #TrueCrime #TrueStory #CourtroomDrama #NorthernIreland #TrueCrimestory

If you enjoy a gripping true-life story, read this. At 22 in 1992, myself became Juror No. 12 in a controversial Northern Ireland murder trial. Over 30 years later, I tell the unforgettable story from inside the jury box. books2read.com/u/3yqYQL #TrueCrime #TrueStory

Sometimes history has more character than modern luxury. #CullodenEstate #NorthernIreland #Travel #Architecture – at Bangor, Northern Ireland

“From the moment he arrived at Shawshank I knew there was something wrong with Andy”

If the powerful prey on the innocent, they are not elite. They are criminals. Protect the children. Expose the truth. Demand justice.

Australia: One Nation, One People United We Stand My heart aches profoundly over the Bondi Beach massacre, where terrorists claimed the lives of 15 innocent people, including the young Matilda. This act of senseless violence is devastating, and it demands collective attention. I extend my deepest condolences to the community in Bondi and all those affected. We stand with you, share in your grief, and hold you in our prayers. As a nation, such tragedies should not define us without pushing for meaningful change to bring the country back from the brink. I am an ordinary citizen who has made Perth my home for the past 19 years, having emigrated from Belfast. Upon arrival, I integrated fully into Australian society, working diligently without seeking any assistance. Had I not possessed the necessary qualifications or skills, I would have accepted repatriation without complaint. This rigorous process of vetting should apply universally to those entering Australia, as it has for so many. Today, I provide consultancy services to people across all walks of life and nationalities far and wide. Neither my family nor I harbor any prejudice. We embrace diversity, offering mutual support, guidance, and friendship across communities. Yet, in the aftermath of this atrocity, it is evident that the voices of everyday citizens are being overlooked. Governments appear committed to agendas that align with broader international patterns in Western nations, often at the expense of their own people. The emphasis on firearms overlooks the reality: those driven by radical ideologies will acquire weapons or alternative means regardless. Meanwhile, expressing an unpopular opinion on social media can invite police scrutiny, while individuals on watch lists such as the perpetrator flagged six years earlier travel freely to places like the Philippines. For a decade, I faced repeated questioning at the border due to a minor detail in my British passport, despite an impeccable record, and I respected that diligence as a safeguard for security. However, when ASIO fails to act on known risks, it raises serious questions about our intelligence services. Are they influenced by governmental directives that prioritize other interests over public safety? ASIO must function autonomously, overseen by an independent regulatory body free from political interference. This is not the Australia I encountered 19 years ago. The shifts are palpable nationwide, a growing unease, akin to the tense prelude to conflict I once knew in Belfast. What was once a serene tranquility now feels like an ominous calm, with divisions being actively fostered. This post is simply an expression of concern for the safety and cohesion of the country, which stands on the brink and needs to be brought back through urgent action. It is essential to consider: - Robust border protections that ensure thorough vetting and swift deportation of risks. - Genuine independence for intelligence agencies to identify and neutralize threats without political meddling. - Policies that confront underlying issues like radicalization head on, prioritizing citizen safety over external pressures. From Perth, Brian

I am heartbroken. Charlie Kirk is gone, shot for daring to speak. The sadness and emptiness are hard to describe. We only knew him through his talks and debates, but he showed kindness, conviction and courage to face anyone. This world is broken. People kill over opinions instead of debating like humans. Hate has poisoned us so badly it makes me sick to live in a time like this. If your politics need a bullet, you have already lost. Enough of this hate. Enough of this evil. #CharlieKirk #FreeSpeech #StopTheHate #PoliticalViolence #EnoughIsEnough #AmericaInCrisis #TruthOverViolence – at Banten, Indonesia