Friday 29 January: True to form, the EU has resorted to bullying to mask its vaccine failure

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2021/01/29/letterstrue-form-eu-has-resorted-bullying-mask-vaccine-failure/

852 thoughts on “Friday 29 January: True to form, the EU has resorted to bullying to mask its vaccine failure”

      1. There you go, Bob. Two upvotes from me (one via notifications, the other direct!)
        Can’t say better than that!

  3. ‘Morning, Peeps.

    The first of today’s crop:

    SIR – The European Union has once again demonstrated a its bully-boy mentality in its stance on the supply of Covid vaccines by AstraZeneca (report, January 28).

    It was three months behind Britain in agreeing contracts and its production facilities are failing. Despite this, it insists on being given priority and that supplies produced in Britain be shipped to Europe.

    The EU always behaves true to type. But the bully never wins.

    Robin M Phoenix
    Gisburn, Lancashire

    1. Further to the letter from Robin Phoenix, some of the leading BTL comments…seems I’m not alone in regarding the turning over of AZ extremely disturbing:

      Andrew Babb
      29 Jan 2021 12:22AM
      Does anyone know under what powers the AstraZeneca plant in Belgium was raided/inspected? Obviously there is a public health imperative that such facilities can be inspected. I’m pretty sure that right of inspection does not extend to what may have happened if you read this:

      ‘The Belgian Health Minister said that the raid was carried out on behalf of the commission. It was aimed at proving whether or not AstraZeneca’s explanation for the failure in supply was genuine.

      An EU official said: “We discussed this matter with our Belgian colleagues, We want to see whether what we’re being told is correct or not. So I would like to thank the Belgian authorities for undertaking these efforts”.’

      Tom Archer
      29 Jan 2021 4:29AM
      @Andrew Babb

      Whether the raid was legal or not, you can bet your bottom dollar that no big pharma company is going to consider investing in new facilities in any EU country for a very long time..

      1. Businesses being raided by government appointees ….. no, don’t tell me, it’ll come to me in a moment.
        (ponders deeply).

  4. One thing about this pandemic, just as one side think they have the upper hand then a few months down the line it all turns around.
    Germany was once seen as the most efficient with it’s better equipped health service and fewer deaths, now they are on the back foot.
    But what if their caution over approving the vaxx proves correct and it doesn’t work on the over 65’s or there are major side effects?

    1. Cases are falling in Germany now – in fact, they are following the same form as the normal curve of winter virus.

    2. I lived and worked in Germany and it is a much overated country. Very good at blowing its owntrumpet.

  5. SIR – Much was made of “good faith” by the EU during Brexit negotiations.

    Recently there have been reports of its officious customs staff rejecting export documents for ridiculous reasons and even of lorry drivers’ sandwiches being confiscated.

    Now, in an attempt to draw attention away from its sclerotic vaccine procurement and approval process, the EU threatens to stop the export of vaccines from factories in continental Europe and demands that it be sent supplies produced in Britain.

    The EU would do well to remember that good faith works both ways.

    Adrian Waller
    Woodsetts, South Yorkshire

    The signs are that, after all these years, the EU still shows no sign of understanding the concept of ‘good faith’. ‘Me first’ is their guiding principle. Thank goodness we walked away, although our timing could have been better! We should have been waving bye bye at the time of Maastricht – at the latest.

    1. 328894+ up ticks,
      Morning HJ,
      There was only one way & that was explained by Mr Batten ( alledged far right racist) in “Road to freedom ” published in 2014.

  6. SIR – Much was made of “good faith” by the EU during Brexit negotiations.

    Recently there have been reports of its officious customs staff rejecting export documents for ridiculous reasons and even of lorry drivers’ sandwiches being confiscated.

    Now, in an attempt to draw attention away from its sclerotic vaccine procurement and approval process, the EU threatens to stop the export of vaccines from factories in continental Europe and demands that it be sent supplies produced in Britain.

    The EU would do well to remember that good faith works both ways.

    Adrian Waller
    Woodsetts, South Yorkshire

    The signs are that, after all these years, the EU still shows no sign of understanding the concept of ‘good faith’. ‘Me first’ is their guiding principle. Thank goodness we walked away, although our timing could have been better! We should have been waving bye bye at the time of Maastricht – at the latest.

  7. SIR – Sir Keir Starmer (Leading Article, January 28) has fallen into the trap that has caught out Labour leaders for the past 10 years: misjudging the mood of the British people.

    The people do not want to see our leaders playing politics with the tragedy that is Covid. They do not want to consider recriminations at a time of great danger. This can be done in the future, when the counting of the dead is over.

    What the British people want is for our leaders to come together and graft day and night to banish this disease once and for all.

    W G McLellan
    Northampton

    Fat chance, WG McLellan; that is not how politicians operate.

    2. It is also not how viruses work.
      Like politicians the virus is with us forever. I know which one I look forward to the demise of.

  8. SIR – Now that the return of children to school is likely to be after Easter, why has there not been a discussion about extending the summer term?

    To have a longer term, with a two-week half-term break, would allow more of the syllabus to be delivered in person, and help to identify those who may need to re-take a year. The warmer weather will reduce the risk factors that concern the teaching unions.

    Gillian Mansbridge
    Tongham, Surrey

    Good luck with persuading a bunch of leftie-indoctrinating, self-centred teachers who have a loathing for Conservative governments! They are determined not to cooperate in any way, and that is not about to change.

  9. Ha ha, very good, David Fisher…

    SIR – Nicola Sturgeon is apparently not happy about the Prime Minister of the UK visiting Scotland. I wonder if it’s a once-in-a-lifetime visit.

    David Fisher
    Westhill, Aberdeenshire

    Once upon a time I would have resisted Scotland’s departure from the Union, but I have come to the conclusion that it is sink or swim time for the Fishwife and her whiners. They can leave, on the condition that they take with them their fair share of the national debt. It is very difficult to see how they could possibly survive financially.

    1. I’d hate to punish the Scots for what their First Minister has turned out to be. That would be unfair – just like punishing the English over how feeble and utterly useless Baris & Patel and the rest of those sorry apologies for ministers are.
      Give the poor buggers a break. They have to live with it.

      1. ‘Morning, Herr Oberst. The answer is in their hands – don’t vote SNP while the ghastly Fishwife is in charge (although not for much longer if the Salmond enquiry sinks her).

        1. She is beginning to look quite demented; given that Scottish politics have always been a vipers’ nest, I really wonder what is going on.

      3. I agree, but – the Scots keep voting for this shower.
        Ultimately, they have to take responsibility for that action.

        1. 328894+ up ticks,
          Morning Anne,
          Especially since major, sad to say we share the same political malady.

        2. In about the same numbers as the UK voted for Johnson’s tories.

          SNP had just 46.5% of valid votes in the 2016 election and are a minority government with just 63 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament. They are propped up by the 6 seats of the Green Party who have thrown their hand in on the side of separatism – in the meantime.

    2. They could also donate the whole of their UK allowance of the AstraZeneca vaccine to the EU.
      The Pfizer one is more expensive but it is starting to prove even more effective than first claimed.

      1. Many DT posters have made that very point.
        What’s few Scottish lives compared with the Glorification of the Fishwife?

    3. The problem with that is that they wouldn’t sink or swim by themselves. Scotland would belong to either Brussels or Beijing. And Sturgeon is quite malign enough to sell her country to the CCP.

      1. There are postings in the DT suggesting that by her latest blabbing, she has broken the Official Secrets Act.

        1. If Boris has any sense he should instruct the Attorney General to seek an injunction against her. Since relations with Scotland are at rock-bottom there isn’t much to lose by doing so.

          1. He could, but doing that at the moment risks creating a MASSIVE sympathy surge for her. Far better to wait until the Fish Stew case is concluded.

          1. Only some 40% or so of fertilised ova become viable human beings. This does not include any human intervention to prevent them from doing so.

    2. Morning, Angie.
      It is perfectly possible that mRNA vaccines will prove to be a huge advance in technology.
      However, they have been produced in a hurry in an hysterical atmosphere.
      Personally, I will sit back for at least five – preferably ten – years before considering them. Deo volente, natch.

      1. I’ve had the Pfizer jab.
        So when I die I shall have
        I told you it wouldn’t work
        carved on my tombstone.

    3. Bit of a rushed out result as it’s only been around for a month?

      Sounds dodgy to me.

      1. Life’s dodgy at the best of times.
        I would have been dead had I not been thrown up in the air whilst my bke was being crushed under a lorry that failed to give way at a junction.
        Just as well because the Government hasn’t funded the proceueremt of a vaccine for that sort of risk.

  11. SIR – I wear my late father’s French wellies (Letters, January 27), made by Le Chameau, on average about 100 days a year on the farm.

    He died in 1995.

    Jonathan Dixon Smith
    Braintree, Essex

    SIR – I too bought Aigle wellies (Letters, January 27) from my local outdoor store.

    They were out of stock of green but I told the assistant I wasn’t bothered about being part of the green-welly brigade and was happy with black.

    I was corrected – they were noir.

    Bridget Gavin-Brown
    Winchfield, Hampshire

    SIR – I bought a pair of green Le Chameau wellington boots 20 years ago. I was somewhat shocked at the price of nearly £150, but was assured that they were the best-quality rubber boots available and worth every penny.

    In 2019, after years of trouble-free wear and tear, one boot began to leak. While distraught at the demise of these trusted wellies, which had become old and dependable friends, I was uplifted by the opportunity to buy another pair of luxury, pristine Le Chameau boots.

    Due to Covid restrictions, I had to get them online, and when they were delivered to my door I must confess to the tiniest sense of excitement. This, however, turned to dismay when the replacements proved to be of considerably inferior quality.

    After some intense investigation, I discovered that my new pride-of-la-belle-France wellies were in fact a product of Morocco.

    Nothing, apparently, is sacred.

    Les Mills
    Peterborough

    It is hard for me to think of anything less important currently than the purchase of Wellington boots…but for the record I have a pair of Dunlop boots that cost me £12.50 some years ago now, and they were not made in France or China, so job done. The day I consider paying £150…!

    1. My (safety) wellies date from 1990. Bought in Aberdeen. Still going strong.
      Green Hunters, bought in 1977, the tread pattern wore down to a slick, and they were lethal on stone wetted with cowshit. Excellen boot otherwise.

        1. I’m a reclusive Imelda Marcos. Massive amount of footwear. Wellies also balanced by high leather hunting boots, and favourite reindeerskin snow boots. Safety boots (not welly), shoes, sandals… lots of shoes so they can dry out properly befiore wearing again (sweaty feet syndrome).

      2. Wet concrete floors are murderously bad for rubber soled boots, but studded boots aren’t ideal either. Most cowmen buy cheap boots every few months, they are almost as much of a “disposable” in a milking parlour as the nitrile gloves and blue paper towels.

        I’m about to enter the Flexothane season, as all the sheep farmers invest in new waterproofs for lambing.

    3. I was forced to wear wellington boots when I was a child in the winter. I had them issued to me in various jobs. I even bought a pair of green Hunter boots when I was a bird ringer.

      My opinion of the bloody things has never wavered. They are the most gruesomely uncomfortable footwear that it is possible to imagine. They do not keep your feet warm; they are the height of discomfort. They chafe your calves; the amount of sweat they produce nullifies the water they are supposed to keep out; your socks invariably work their way off; they get stuck in soft mud and come off; they are utterly useless footwear.

      Give me a comfortable pair of stout leather walking boots any day.

      1. We lived in gum boots as children. As an adult, I tend to share your opinions, but still there is no better way to cross a flooded field!

      3. I pull my socks up and over the cuffs of my trousers. Stops socks going down and trousers riding up.
        Otherwise, they generate vast amounts of sweat internally, but keep cow-poo off your clothing to a reasonable extent – unless you are doused in about 20 gallons of the stuff by a broken shit-sprayer … but I’d rather not go into that :-((

        1. Wouldn’t it be much better to keep away from the sort of places where you ‘need’ to wear such footwear? 😉

          1. Difficult, if you are a farm labourer. My second-ever job, and now part-time/weekend employment also.
            What comes around goes around, I suppose.

        2. The main use for my wellies is to control the amount of sawdust getting onto my clothes when I’m chainsawing logs. Wearing the legs of my overalls outside the boots stops it messing up my socks & shoes.

  13. SIR – Some years ago I attended a Schools Council course called Structuring Play in the Early Years, presented by Kathleen Manning and Ann Sharp. It encouraged the use of real things, rather than plastic imitations.

    Luke Mintz (“Which age group is hardest hit by homeschooling?”, Features, January 26) reports that, at the age of five, “playtime is heavily structured”, and gives an example of children pretending to cook in a plastic kitchen.

    Homeschooling offers opportunities for real hands-on experiences: helping with washing up, laying the table, cooking. These provide much better understanding and help children to learn skills for later in life. Plastic imitations are barriers to real-world learning.

    Sue Adams
    Wellington, Somerset

    Why am I not surprised? A couple of generations of ever-more plastic parents and plastic teachers (aided and abetted by plastic politicians) have created a completely new generation of plastic children who inhabit their plastic world.

    Reality—now a museum piece—is nothing more than an illusion.

    1. In kindergarten (barnehage – a direct translation) Second Son aged about 6 was equipped with a real, sharp knife (point ground off) to go and whittle a stick to put his jotdog on so it could be grilled over the fire – that was standard practice. Any silly wee bugger cutting themselves after being told what to do learned to be more careful next time, but I don’t recall any injuries being reported.

    2. Fortunately for him our 5 year grandson loves making gingerbread men, chocolate brownies and helping his father make pizzas.
      No place for plastic in the kitchen.
      But he loves his plastic Lego.

      1. You are a comment thief, Bob. I’m going to come and arrest you, then frogmarch you to a decent pub!

          2. Timmy Taylor’s Landlord? Aarrgghh! Stop torturing me I beg you. I’m a member of a very nice club full of oldies like me and I normally enjoy Wye Valley Butty Bach, but during the inter-lockdown period, they tried Landlord bitter and it was so popular, they intended to have it in permanently.

  14. Britain launches visa scheme for Hong Kong citizens. 29 January 2021.

    Millions of Hongkongers will be able to begin applying to live and work in the UK when a historic immigration scheme for British National Overseas citizens finally opens its doors on Sunday.

    On Friday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed the scheme, which offers a route to British citizenship, saying it honoured the UK’s commitment to its former citizens.

    Under the scheme, the UK estimates nearly three million Hongkongers and their dependents will be eligible to move to Britain for five years and apply for full citizenship.

    Morning everyone. The inhabitants of Hong Kong are neither former nor present citizens of the UK. We are under no obligation either moral or legal to take them in.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/britain-launches-visa-scheme-for-hong-kong-citizens

    1. Blair’s wrecking crew stated that very few Eastern bloc EU citizens would take the opportunity, does Boris imagine that it couldn’t happen again?

    2. Blair’s wrecking crew stated that very few Eastern bloc EU citizens would take the opportunity, does Boris imagine that it couldn’t happen again?

    1. Once a bloke, always a bloke. Face size, adam’s apple, hands, hair… Ugh. How you ladies can fancy blokes is a mystery to me. If I were a woman, I’d have to be a lesbian.

      1. More to the point, Paul; if you’re an ugly bloke, then nothing on earth will make you stop being an ugly faux-woman.

        [BTW: ‘Morning.]

        1. It’s the beard that gives it away!
          Morning, Grizz. Cold, where you are? We have a cold snap, so it’s somewhere between -20 and -8 at the moment.

          2. We had rain a week or so ago, most of the snow is gone. At Firstborn’s place, it fell as snow, and is now about a metre deep or so. Daft bugger wasn’t paying attention last Friday after work, got his tractor out to clear his driveway and got it stuck. Had to get help from a neighbour with a tractor the size of a house to get his one out.

          4. He ran a little too far forward and went slightly nose-down a slope. The treads and chains filled up with wet snow so they became slicks. Couldn’t back up, so House Tractor gave it a wee tug & problem solved.

          6. We had more snow than that last week Grizz. At about 12 degs I had to strip down to my tee shirt yesterday afternoon after I arrived home with doggo.
            I was Sweating bouquets.
            It must be all the wheel spin with the wellies in all that mud.
            Ten 250 gram loaves baked as well. Have to drop a couple off later at my sister and BiL’s.
            I made two rye and wholegrain with chopped nuts. Very tasty.

      2. Yo all

        Being a bit crude

        When I were growing up in the 60’s , it was an ambition of myself (and all my mates) to have ‘ladies bitz’

        Similarly the lasses wanted the comic character ‘Oor Wullie’

        It all seemed so normal then

      3. If a person’s born with bollocks they’re a bloke,
        If a person’s born with bollocks they’re a bloke,
        If a person’s born with bollocks,
        Though you call them Betty Swollocks,
        If they’re born with bollocks they’re a bloke,

      4. One of my best friends used to say that he liked lesbians as they had the same sexual tastes as he had. However, he could not understand or empathise with male homosexuals even though he used to be a nice young man who sold antiques in the Guinea Lane Market in Bath.

          2. Only in some things. Well, maybe on a few things. Actually I cannot think of anything much, except a dislike of Salmond possibly. Oh, what were you referring to?

      5. I “played” rugby for a number of years. Some of the posh clubs had communal baths. It there ever was a cure for homosexuality the sight of a dozen or so naked, fat, ugly, hairy old blokes shedding and sharing muddy water is surely it.

        (The less posh clubs had a shed at the side of the sheep field that was the pitch. With one sink and no hot water, no one hung around after the match.)

    8. My parents – ordinary people but decent – forbade (trust be there is such a word) laughing at people with disadvantages, staring or pointing included. Still, …

    2. But to think, people who cut real heads off real people are going to be allowed back into this country, housed and supervised at great cost. Thank goodness we did not extend human rights to snowmen.

  18. I do wish Blair would stop interfering. No one cares what he thinks – he’s yesterday’s man. The only ex PM, I would be interested in hearing from is MT.

    2. MR Blair, emphasis on the Mr.
      He sounds like an irascible old jerk.
      Its fairly obvious what the ruling classes think of him and his insignificant opinions. I think that probably goes right across the media spectrum.

    3. On the contrary, Stormina, a lot of people listen to him carefully.

      We recognise that whatever he says or does is really bad for Britain and the British people, so thinking, saying and doing the opposite

      is good for our nation.

  19. The rise of the far left in the US, the UK and other western countries is a great worry for those who do not want to see the demise of western civilisation. With Biden as POTUS and Boris bowing and scraping to him, this inexorable trend will gather pace. But some of the lefts’ pronouncements are so absurd that one can’t help laughing. Apart from racism and all the other isms and phobias du jour, we now have specism!

    Animal rights activists under the name of PETA say that we must “stop using animal names as verbal insults to other humans because it is “supremacist language”. For example,”if you want to insult someone for their lack of bravery, call them a “coward” instead of a “chicken” because the term is demeaning to chickens.” It is apparently a myth that humans are superior to other animals. “Using animals as insults perpetuates specism”.

    “Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language.”

    I absolutely love animals, but PETA doesn’t speak for me!

    2. It seems pretty obvious that Western Culture has become neurotic; self- destructive, self- hating. Unless a major war intervenes it will probably implode.

    3. Suppose this means I’ll have to pig-out on roast coward on Sunday.

      Ain’t life a bitch?
      :¬(

    6. When I read that a Labour Women’s group had banned (sic) the use of ‘dear, darling, sweetie and or love’ I began to use these as frequently as opportunity allowed. Such ideas need to be faced down with ridicule. Fortunately, the British, especially the English, are past masters at this form of sarcasm. Olympic class one might say.

      1. That’s what we need in general against the politicians/scientists who are coming up with all these ridiculous strangulating policies. The meeja should start laughing at them and their pronouncements. Unfortunately it is way too late and the MSM are part of the conspiracy.

    8. These asses should either be ignored or laughed at. Who’s giving these lice so much publicity?

    9. To be fair, I’ve been campaigning against the use of “weasel” in a derogatory sense [being linked to scumbag politicians, for example] for a while!

    10. They worry about demeaning a dim creature like a chicken, that you are about to eat – and, in any case, chickens don’t understand English!

  22. China says it will no longer recognise British passport for Hong Kong residents. 29 January 2021.

    China has said it will not recognise the British National Overseas (BNO) passport as a valid document for Hong Kong residents from Sunday, after the UK said it would allow it to be used as a route to British citizenship.

    The announcement from Beijing is the latest in a series of moves – including a strict new national security law passed in June last year – to exercise tighter control over the former British colony, which was returned to China in 1997 on a promise that its autonomy would be maintained.

    Three cheers for China! (Not often you see that!)

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-hong-kong-british-passport-bno-b1794566.html

    1. So much for the ‘inclusive’ tone of Xi the Pooh’s WEF speech. It lasted all of two days. Still, it didn’t beat the record of ‘President’ Biden’s ‘unity’ inauguration speech…

      1. A remain tosser who is also anti-white and, despite being as thick as two short planks, (in fact he could double for the original two short planks) is often on the MEEJAH to whine & whinge.

        1. I’m just so happy that I don’t spent any time on MEEJAH in order to even know about such sordid wastes of oxygen.

  24. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c8ace48d37a62bf12206d6fcea3bac408d373cd28c8a16da38fb73a5f7b14bef.png Time was, in living memory, that all the numerous reports in newspapers about teachers having sex with their pupils involved MALE teachers shagging young GIRLS.

    For the past decade-or-so, however, every reported occurrence seems to now be cases where FEMALE teachers are getting shagged by young BOYS. When (and how) did that evolutionary change take place?

    1. I wonder how many men have mixed emotions reading that, wondering why we they didn’t have teachers like that?

      1. We only had a septuagenarian music teacher called Dulcie Knowles; all the other staff were males at my boys’ school.

        We did, though have a young, mini-skirted school secretary who had a habit of standing on a chair in the staff room (ostensibly to reach for books on a high shelf). That and her propensity of wearing a low-cut blouse on a Monday morning, when we queued up to pay our five-bob dinner money, made her the subject of a thousand schoolboy fantasies and wet dreams.

      2. I went to a Catholic Boys’ grammar school. The only females were dinner ladies and a couple of blue-rinsed teachers.

    2. The only female teacher I had a crush on was Miss Andrews when I was 6 or 7. She was smashing.

      1. We had several much lusted after woman teachers in 2ndary school.
        And not just by the pupils!

        1. Only had one female teacher at my grammar school, Mrs Gould, the music mistress. She was known as Oh ma gawd (old ma Gould)

    3. The only female teacher I had a crush was Miss Andrews when I was 6 or 7. She was smashing.

    5. Ah, the field trips. I had a close call with a geology lecturer on a field trip in SW England. I was a mature student though.

    7. That was perfectly normal in the grammar school I went to in the 1960s and 1970s. The French teacher, who was married in her thirties, according to third year gossip, went through the entire sixth form. In my form though, we fancied more the assistant who was younger and prettier, but she didn’t fancy any of us.

      1. At my girls’ grammar school, the majority of teachers were elderly women. A new male teacher excited some interest.

      1. Second Son is very much in demand for kindergarten & as a teaching assistant, as tere are pretty well no adult males in the school.

    2. It would be nice to see a graph of birth rates for the years 1945 to 1960. compared to the number of deaths over the years 2005 to 2020.
      The profiles may correspond. We may be looking at the entirely natural pattern of life and death?

  26. The Adjutant
    In the great days of the British Empire a new commanding officer was sent to a remote African bush outpost to relieve the retiring colonel.

    After welcoming his replacement and showing the usual courtesies, gin and tonic, cucumber sandwiches etc, decreed by protocol, the retiring colonel said, “You must meet my Adjutant, Captain Smithers. He’s my right-hand man and is really the strength of this entire post. His talent and energy is simply boundless

    Captain Smithers was summoned and introduced to the new CO, who was surprised to meet a hunchback, one-eyed, toothless, hairless, scabbed and pockmarked specimen of humanity, a particularly unattractive man less than three feet tall.

    “Smithers, old man, tell your new CO about yourself”.

    “Well, sir, I graduated with honours from Sandhurst, joined the regiment and won the Military Cross and Bar after three expeditions behind enemy lines.

    I’ve represented Great Britain in equestrian events and won a Silver Medal in the middleweight boxing division of the Olympics. I have researched the history of…..”

    At which point the colonel interrupted, “Yes, yes, never mind that Smithers, he can find all that in your file. Tell him about the day you told the witch doctor to fuck off.

        1. ‘Morning, Belle.

          Or Moenie kak praat nie!

          I was referring to the thread of 2 days ago. 😉

  27. Good morning, all. Made it. Covid jab done and dusted. Very efficient operation at GP surgery. In and out in five minutes. The MR drove me home – so I could avoid the 15 minute wait to see if I died. On arrival home, I did begin to feel a touch woozy – as the MR said – “Just as you came out of the waiting room and drove yourself home!.”

    Will report further if need be. The jab was given by the GP surgery Sister – to whom the MR taught English!

    Now for a coffee and piece of toast – and a couple of kittens to help me relax.

    1. One on the toast and one dunked in the coffee? The Lurg Jab hasn’t given you Chinese tastes has it?

    3. Which one did you have?
      Our surgery group are really tonking along with the job.
      Now let my grandchildren have a normal teenage life.

      1. Unfortunately, Anne, it doesn’t work like that. Soon you’ll have the Essex variant and when they run out of counties they’ll move on to the Colchester variant etc.

        It’ll be never ending now they know the people will do, and believe, whatever they’re told.

      2. Oxford.

        I am afraid your last sentence will not come true for at least six months – probably a year.

        Having been vaccinated, one must still wear masks, keep apart; stay a home apart from “essential” outings. And have an effing expensive PCR test if you want to leave the area (sort of)….

        Makes me wonder the point of the needle….(I thought that was quite good as I feel a bit peculiar (well – more than usual)…)

  28. I see that the Establishment cronies in the MSM, big tech, big finance and politics are all bandying together because the plebs have given them a taste of their own medicine regarding short-selling on Gamestop etc.

    Ironically this could, if handled correctly by the anti-establishment people or, if handled badly (as they are currently doing) by the Establishment, lead to the significant backlash against all the decade-plus (but especially since the start of the pandemic) culture wars and moves towards woke authoritariansim and crony corporatism.

    The powers-that-be trying to lean on share dealing app firms and brokers to benefit hedge funds and banks (many of whom were saved, directly or indiriectly, by taxpayer bailouts in 2008) to stop small investors buying shares because they want to ‘stick it to the man’ and stop hedge funds artificially pushing companies below viability to make profits will, I think, backfire spectacularly.

    Hopefully Biden’s team will side with his Wall Street financial backers etc and make a complete hash of it all in a very public way, one that the MSM liars won’t be able to spin as ‘a bunch of white supremacists and N@zis’ this time around.

    I’ve been laughing so hard at this the last few days – what a refreshing change.

    1. On a similar subject, I think

      SIR – Charles Moore (Comment, January 23) says that the “takeover artists” tried to persuade AstraZeneca to succumb to Pfizer’s offer.

      While I will not comment on that directly, a little extra history may help to redress the balance.

      I was such an “artist”. Having helped see off Hanson’s bid for ICI, and then demerged Zeneca once the smoke had cleared, I feel some credit
      is due to the City ecosystem that facilitated this.

      Zeneca’s freedom as an independent company allowed it to merge withAstra, to further demerge Syngenta and to subsequently develop as a
      focused pharma company into the force it is today.

      Without the odd artist around, it is pretty much inconceivable that any of this would have happened.

      Mark Seligman London W8

      A translation of this post into understandable English will be made available to DT subscribers
      at a cost of £5.00, payable to the English Speaking Union.

    2. On a similar subject, I think

      SIR – Charles Moore (Comment, January 23) says that the “takeover artists” tried to persuade AstraZeneca to succumb to Pfizer’s offer.

      While I will not comment on that directly, a little extra history may help to redress the balance.

      I was such an “artist”. Having helped see off Hanson’s bid for ICI, and then demerged Zeneca once the smoke had cleared, I feel some credit
      is due to the City ecosystem that facilitated this.

      Zeneca’s freedom as an independent company allowed it to merge withAstra, to further demerge Syngenta and to subsequently develop as a
      focused pharma company into the force it is today.

      Without the odd artist around, it is pretty much inconceivable that any of this would have happened.

      Mark Seligman London W8

      A translation of this post into understandable English will be made available to DT subscribers
      at a cost of £5.00, payable to the English Speaking Union.

    3. Oddly enough, it is similar to an approach I would like to have seen taken when the UK was forced out of the ERM.

      A temporary revaluation of Sterling to a fixed rate, well above the short-sellers positions, followed by forced settlement at the new rate to bankrupt the short sellers. Probably difficult to keep secret and hard to enforce but I am sure something could have been done; followed by reversion to floating currency unhampered by the ERM rates.

      1. Sounds good. (Although I have no understanding of how these mechanisms work. I’d rather smell the flowers.)

        1. Never harsh enough and if it could have been, it should have been done the instant we knew we were leaving.

    4. Agree but I must point out that the Culture Wars have been going on for way longer than a decade.

  29. To save the world we need to eradicate the elite who own it….

    Interesting that the BAME community is refusing the vaccine…

    Well…the global leaders have form for culling their numbers. Famine…genocide…dirty drinking water…bombing several ME countries etc. The British people hand over £billions of their tax money for overseas aid and charity donations that never reach those in most need. Instead it’s absorbed by NGO’s and bent politicians.

    Ever wonder why the elite live to ripe a old age despite partying 24/7? They pay to remove vital organs from those desperate to fund their family’s existence.

    Just because they are from the BAME communities doesn’t alter the fact that there’s no such thing as a free lunch when they are put up in hotels after boating it across the Channel.

    The above deserves more debate until it becomes topical which in turn will focus the minds of those heading our way in droves.

      1. …… when the reality may be that it is the vaccine causing the problem. Cunning, when one’s overlords are into depopulation.

    2. Don’t worry, mum.

      Even now there are lots of healthy young men being imported through Dover.

    3. Get in quick with the excuses…

      If the new vaccine is intended to lower the fertility rate then they will refer back to…

      “It’s covid what done it”

      1. There have been scare stories re people who have taken one of the potions becoming very ill/dying if they are exposed to the ‘wild virus’. How would anybody know?

    4. Seems like scaremongering – as they go on to say that flu or any fever can damge sperm but not necessarily permanently.

    5. This was news some time ago, just after the announcement that pregnant women or those women intending to become pregnant shouldn’t have the potion. Some clever people had a look at the data and came to the conclusion that men could also be affected by the potion. A couple of days ago I read an application – not that I understood all the technical details – to the EMA(?) from a German expert and co-signed by Dr Michael Yeadon asking that the potion not to be licensed. As the stuff is being rolled out I suspect their application failed.

      1. The pharmaceuticals have got round this by calling the roll-out ‘Approved’. This is pulling the wool over the public’s eyes. ‘Approved’ means approved for testing. A vaccine is ‘Licensed’ when it has run through the whole gamut of testing, which these so-called vaccines clearly have not. There are so many aspects of which they do not have data, so many unknowns. There is a big difference between being ‘licensed’ and ‘approved’.

        1. Absolutely, poppiesmum. That’s why I do not want to have it put in to my body.

          I found another long read on these potions, especially the Phizer one. That’s the third one I’ve read and none of them have convinced me to have it, the opposite in fact. The article is here. It’s quite a read and not for the faint-hearted.

          1. Thanks so much for the article, it is a chewy read and I will need to read it again to absorb it completely. It is terrifying. If you had arrived from Mars with no knowledge of what had been happening and read that for the first time you would wonder what on earth was going on and for whose benefit are these vaccines – certainly not for the people for whom they are intended. Secondly you would wonder exactly what was the purpose, what was the underlying agenda. The rapidity of the roll-out smacks of ‘let’s get this done and quickly before we’re found out’ and hopefully that will be their undoing, although it is very cunning – all vaccine deaths will be attributed to ‘covid’ and/or swept under the carpet. Any whistleblower will be silenced as our system is riddled with corruption through and through (and there are whistleblowers out there as we can see from the articles). I am amazed that so many people have been taken in by this and are enthusiastically going along with this vaccine, even on this blog. Just amazed. I can feel my heels digging in ever more firmly even as I write. I will not succumb to emotional blackmail (the fear) or coercion.

            I have read so much on this subject but I think this article is the most comprehensive.

          2. Too many people have been scared by the MSM’s hysteria and government spread gloom. There are many sources of information out there written by responsible people that give an alternative view. Only by reading the latter can one make an informed decision about what is best for themselves. I am not against vaccination per se and I have taken the annual flu jab since I became eligible. However, this set of “vaccines” appear to have been rushed into service and the fact that they have been “prescribed” by politicians instead of by my GP makes me extremely wary. Here is another site you may find informative:

            Principia Scientific

          3. Thank you for that, a very interesting site. I realise now that it is the political aspect of this entire covid scenario which alerts one’s antennae to all is not well this fact tends to get lost in the mishmash and wefts, weaves and threads of this saga – it is all underlined politically. We are not anti-vaxxers although we do not have the flu jab, it is the cumulative effect of the year-on-year vaccinations that worries me. I think as a society we do tend to over-vaccinate these days.
            Here is a site I have found helpful https://www.coronababble.com/post/vaccination-against-covid-19-need-to-know-information-to-ensure-informed-consent

          4. Thank you for the link.

            I earnestly hope that all goes well for everyone who takes these medications – my sister-in-law, a bother-in-law and a friend (yesterday) have had the ‘Oxford’ and my daughter-in-law (nurse) both Phizer jabs. However, the unknowns are worrying. This headlong rush to jab everyone may be storing up problems for the future. Not using readily available medications – in fact banning them in the UK although being used successfully elsewhere – to cure this viral attack makes no sense.

    6. A comment that I posted but which appears to have disappeared into the ether:-

      Am I the only one who finds it disturbing that, just as the West’s population stabilises and begins a slight decline to a more sustainable level, the Powers That Be decided they want to flood Europe, Australia and the USA with 3rd world migrants with a fecundity level several times that of Western Society. Almost as if they want to replace us.

      1. That is all caused by the GDP obsession. If they went for GDP per head of population it would be a different story.

  32. A bizarre event yesterday. A friend – deeply intellectual, well-read and highly intelligent – wants me to read the draft of his latest biography. He rang to enquire whether I would be in yesterday afternoon. When I said yes, he said he’d leave the MS in the porch. I said that it would be a pleasure to see him and he could ring the bell…. He declined. “I don’t like meeting anyone these days – in fact I run away from them.” We had a long chat and it is clear that he has fallen for Project Fear hook, line and sinker. Extraordinary. He said that he found Witless and Unballanced “reassuring” and was glad that nay-sayers were not allowed any space. To say I was bewildered is putting it mildly…..

    1. Daft teacher friend the same, Bill. Don’t understand the fear, myself, let alone believing anything from government.

    2. Hi Bill. I am getting a bit of stick from people because I refused the vaccination. Apparently I am now going to kill a number of people.

        1. I am cutting these people a bit of slack as they have been genuinely terrified by the government.

      3. We have been met with total amazement on informing people, when asked if we have had our jab, that we will be declining. Such is their amazement and their inability to comprehend, we have decided it would be prudent to declare ‘we had it last week!’ in case their amazement develops into a mediaeval-style witch-hunt at a later stage.

        Edit: in my haste I omitted ‘to comprehend’ – now amended.

        1. A couple of days ago, I had a text message from the doctor offering vaccination appointments to Mrs.Mac and me and asking us to contact them if we were unable to attend. Neither of us wishes to be vaccinated and so not wanting to waste anybody’s valuable time, I called the surgery and politely declined the kind offer.

          The receptionist – a very understanding lady – chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?” she said.

          1. I declined with, “maybe further down the line but no, not at this time, thank you” and the response was, “oh, alright then”. Just an admin thing, I guess. Fine, you’re ticked off the list.

    3. Highly intelligent, well read; but as one frequently finds, absolutely no common sense. These people simply cannot cope when life comes and smacks them between the eyes and there is no escape.

    4. Intelligence does not always mean common sense. I have worked with people who have doctorates whom I would hardly trust to tie their own shoelaces.

      1. My father was a rare exception in that he got a 1st class Cambridge degree in Classics, painted beautiful watercolours, wrote poetry, had a brilliant way with words, played rugby and rowed for his college and yet was down to earth, practical and common sensible.

        By contrast, many of my friends with degrees – and often those who are teachers – seem to be divorced from reality and are muddle-headed. This does not stop them from being good company and agreeable people with whom to talk and interact socially. Academic intelligence and success can be greatly overrated as any honest teacher should be capable of admitting.

        However it is just as big a mistake to say that somebody who does well academically must lack all practical ability.

      2. Intelligence is a vastly overused word.

        Humans are an exceptionally clever species but, at the same time, they are one of the least intelligent. Intelligent species do not breed out of proportion to their living space; they do not routinely lay waste to their environment; and they do not invent weapons of mass destruction. Only clever-clogs humans perform those crass abominations against nature.

        Being clever and being intelligent are often falsely and erroneously conflated.

    5. I had the heating engineer come the other day to fix my boiler. He almost had a stroke when I made to invade his six foot space; assuring me when I made light of it that several people he knew where dead from the dreaded pox. Since only one in every five hundred people have succumbed to this affliction he has either been very unlucky or he was afraid!

      1. The ONS tell me that 5 people have died of Covid, across all months, in my post code. They call it Shepherds Bush South and the council website has Addison Ward but the two are more or less the same. Addison is maybe slight larger. The population was reckoned to be 11,166 in 2018.

      2. We’ve got the man from Mira coming tomorrow to service our shower – will have to try that!

        1. Bloody Hell!
          The Motor Industry Research Association have branched out a bit!

          https://www.horiba-mira.com/

          Back in the early ’90s, as part of the Post-Clapham investigations & research, they did a lot of investigation into passenger survivability in railway accidents.

    7. Could you tell us the subject and title of his latest biography, Bill?

      He sounds the kind of deeply intellectual biographer I would wish to avoid. Like the plague.

      1. He writes books about little known literary figures. The books sell in their dozens…

        They are – actually – very good books, though a bit too long in my view.

        And he is a thoroughly nice, companionable chap – apart from being a covid-cultist

    8. This past year has been quite an eye-opener.
      I know which friends I will put at the top of my list in future; it won’t be the bed wetters.

    9. I think one of the reasons that some people do so well academically is that they have a form of OCD in that they go above and beyond to investigate sll leads and information connected to their subject of interest; their OCD forces them to do this and they actively shepherd and hone this facet of their personality as it satisfies their OCD and enhances their sense of well being. So when project fear and covid kicked off, the OCD also kicked off in this direction and went into overdrive as it had never before needed to be challenged by its ‘owner’.

  33. If you saw my post yesterday evening about the old photo of my Mum and me – with an unwanted ex-friend…….. here are the before and after results. I probably should have scanned it at higher resolution but I was quite pleased with the version here. The photo was taken at Easter 1989. Mum died in September 1989.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/693a4b10a063967717fe8a91bd5a7714818887a4afe298198afa22eceb17406b.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2ead60fa6215d4e8698c2c85318ba92d120ec3845ab8010764aaee9ce2f21fb7.jpg

      1. She’s been ‘disappeared’……….and good riddance! I can’t tell you how pleasing it was to delete her.

    2. That’s a very clever piece of editing, Jules. Way beyond my limited computer skills, I’m afraid to say.

    3. One of my favourite singer/song writers is Jim Croce. This song includes reference to his best old ex-friend . Some of one’s best friends remain special friends for ever while others just fade away. I don’t remember ever having a dramatic or bitter ending to a friendship – but family relationships can often be more complicated as can the end of a love affair. (Mind you Caroline has met a few of my exes and can tell them what lucky escapes they have had!)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RA4MykPm4s

          1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._J._Croce
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjd4f6FCnXQ
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhdIAPry7kY
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scToTWBKnM0
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlKcR91tKug

            Indeed I do. Have you ever come across his son? Adrian James (‘A.J.’) Croce is a formidable singer-songwriter in his own right. YouTube has most of his catalogue of songs available for playing. He also sings some of his dad’s song as a tribute.

  34. Welcome to the Free Speech Union’s weekly newsletter. This newsletter is a brief round-up of the free speech news of the week sent to our members.

    Facebook

    Facebook temporarily suspended the Socialist Workers Party, in a rare example of social media censorship of the left. But, as Brendan O’Neill points out, the SWP has been at the forefront of No Platforming efforts on university campuses for years, and “once you accept the logic of censorship – the logic that says some ideas are too dangerous for public expression – you immediately open yourself up to censorship.” The solution is to “reiterate, loudly, this very simple point about freedom of speech: it is either enjoyed by everybody or it is enjoyed by nobody. The clue is in the name: freedom of speech.”

    Sir Nick Clegg, former Deputy Prime Minister, now Facebook’s Vice President of Global Affairs and Communications, announced the launch this week of Facebook News, a new app from the social media giant that will aggregate online news content from mainstream media sources. Although Clegg insists Facebook is neither a publisher nor a utility, Facebook News will remove content it considers harmful and “where content is considered borderline or misinformation, it reduces its distribution”.

    Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook will minimise political content because “people don’t want politics and fighting to take over their experience on our services”.

    Misinformation and censorship

    Twitter is currently testing a pilot project called Birdwatch which will allow users to identify “misinformation” and flag up misleading tweets. Twitter’s Vice President of Product Keith Coleman admitted that one major concern was “ensuring it isn’t dominated by a simple majority or biased based on its distribution of contributors”.

    Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch received a lifetime achievement award from the Australia Day Foundation. In his acceptance speech he said: “For those of us in media, there’s a real challenge to confront: a wave of censorship that seeks to silence conversation, to stifle debate, and ultimately stop individuals and societies from realizing their potential. This rigidly enforced conformity, aided and abetted by so called social media, is a straight-jacket on sensibility. Too many people have fought too hard in too many places for freedom of speech to be suppressed by this awful woke orthodoxy.”

    Child spies

    The Government is trying to pass into law the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill which would allow children as young as 16 to be used as spies by more than 20 state agencies against their own parents and in their own homes. The proposed legislation, which has already been blocked by the House of Lords once, would also permit children to break the law in the course of their covert activity. Campaigning against the plan, Labour MP Stella Creasy pointed out that police are required to inform parents if a 16 year-old child is arrested but “here they are creating a loophole to recruit child spies without any such protection. The Government faces strong opposition in the Lords and in the Commons too and must urgently rethink their plans”.

    Federation of Small Businesses

    FSU member Roger Tarrant has written an article in the Critic about his experience being cancelled by the Federation of Small Businesses, of which he was the South West National Councillor. His sin? Questioning the FSB’s uncritical acceptance of the BLM narrative in a private WhatsApp group chat. He was removed from his voluntary position and barred from running in future elections. “It seems extraordinary,” Roger concludes, “but I was hounded out of the organisation that is supposed to be pro-business for cautioning a group of high-ups not to celebrate a movement that wants to dismantle capitalism.”

    Duke and Duchess

    Archewell, the charitable organisation set up by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is a supporter of the Center for Critical Internet Inquiry at UCLA, a research outfit devoted to “reimagining technology, championing racial and economic justice in the tech sector, and strengthening democracy through culture-making and public policy work.” FSU founder Toby Young said: “Under the guise of protecting people from ‘hate speech’, they want to cleanse the internet of people they disagree with.” He then asked, “Does Prince Harry know who he’s gone into business with?” Read more about Harry and Meghan’s new adventure in online censorship in this article by Emma Webb, the FSU’s Deputy Research Director, in Spiked.

    Employment law

    Andrew Tettenborn, law professor and member of the FSU’s Legal Advisory Council, has called for more free speech protections for workers, saying: “It is high time we had legal protection for employees’ speech on private social media – and indeed in a private capacity generally, whatever a contract of employment might say to the contrary.”

    Similar protections might be needed in America as well, where Colleen Oefelein was sacked from a New York City literary agency merely for having accounts with Parler and Gab, two of the popular alternatives to Twitter, and the New York Times sacked editor Lauren Wolfe for tweeting “Biden landing at Joint Base Andrews now. I have chills”.

    Call for evidence

    The FSU is conducting an investigation into academies, looking at any politically biased teaching by individual academy schools as well as the insufficient safeguards imposed by the Department for Education. Given the current restrictions, online teaching from home presents a great opportunity for parents to see what their children are being taught – and even record, download, and screenshot the material. This isn’t a request to spy on your kids’ schools, just to flag up any concerns you have about the political indoctrination of your children by their teachers, which is against the law. Any FSU members with children or grandchildren at academy schools, who are concerned about what they find, or are able to substantiate any previous concerns, are encouraged to share this evidence with the FSU. Please email help@freespeechunion.org and write “Schools” in the subject line.

    Kind regards,

    3. And the mafiosi get themselves into gear again.

      Ursula von der Leyen has said it is “crystal clear” that AstraZeneca is bound by its contract to deliver coronavirus vaccine doses produced in the UK to the EU to make up for a shortfall in production in Belgium.
      Your’e own version of social evilness caused the problem dear,……….. you sort it your self.

    4. Doesn’t Eamon Butler know that if illegally here foreigners try to smuggle themselves back OUT of the UK they are arrested and jailed?

    6. Glad to see that the remaining DT readers are absolutely castigating Matthew Lynn for his disgraceful piece, which would not look out of place either in The Global Times or Pravda of old.

    1. Boris Johnson to meet Bill Gates to plan national vaccine rollout euthanasia programme with pharma giants

          2. I have neither experience nor knowledge of anything called ‘Windows’.

            I’ve never put a single penny into the pocket of Billy Goats.

          3. I must admit I’m sorely tempted to have my next computer running on Linux rather than the Vaccinator’s platform or the expensive, woke Apple.

          4. We’re complete non-techies here but seldom have any bother with our Linux set-ups.

            If we do it’s generally our own fault for deleting or losing something we didn’t intend to.

          5. The other good thing about platforms like Linux (apparently – I’m not computer expert either) is that the producers don’t deliberately include a use-by date to make users buy a new operating system, and, in my case, be forced to buy a complete new computer (my current one won’t work with Windows 10, for example).

  38. I’ve just had the Astra Zeneca vaccine jab – all done within the space of two minutes, in one door and out the other. The only advice was not to drive for 15 minutes but I’d walked there. Given a card to say when you’d received the first jab and an information leaflet about what to do if you have any side effects and that was it. Had a sit down in the park afterwards because the sun and the crocuses were both out and it’s supposed to be snow and freezing temperatures again at the weekend.

    I’ll let you know if I suddenly turn blue or start barking like a dog.

    2. Ditto – except that I feel distinctly woozy. I can carry on as normal – but me ‘ead’s ar’ ov orda…(Nothing new there, i hear you say).

    3. Careful JS – you might have your collar felt by NuPlod for the uber crime of Jay-sitting.

    4. 328895+up ticks,
      Afternoon JS,
      As long as no dog like actions take place as in licking your assets, that could lead to serious neck problems.

      2. The have nuclear weapons and a space programme, yet there is no discipline—whatsoever—in any other area of their everyday lives.

      3. vw said is that a diagram of a woman’s brain?

        I certainly wouldn’t have said that to her. 😂😂😂

    2. They believe if they commit crime the next step is to claim they’ll be punished ( back home ) for committing that crime here. Judges agree – He stays, then Right to family Life is triggered – and his family can come, hands out. His aim has been completed. In the UK, House, Free cash, NHS schooling etc etc.

      Why was the FAILED asylum seeker who killed three here allowed to be free after his asylum claim had been turned down? – He is now jailed here for his whole life, costing us millions. I have NO doubt whatsoever his family will be allowed into the UK to visit him – and an instant asylum claim will be made from the lot of them. Job done.

      1. 328852+ up ticks,
        Afternoon W,
        The real crime is repeated on a regular basis via the polling booth
        pointing out EVERY time no lessons have been learnt.

  41. I have frequently castigated people for being as ‘thick as a plank’. As of yet, though, no plank has ever reported me for using supremacist language.

    2. Some in the comic book fandom similarly castigated actress Brie Larson for her portrayal of the ‘superhero’ Captain Marvel as being like a ‘plank of wood’. Speaking personally, I found those comments offensive…to planks of wood.

      1. As an amateur carpenter I value the wit and wisdom of all my scraps of timber over that possessed by many people.

    2. They should have checked that he had no metallic parts in his body before turning on the microwave.

          5. Not my taste. En papillote for me.

            I thought you didn’t like the pollution of our culture with Americanisation !

          7. Nope. Pan fried in butter, oil and herbs yes. I’m not keen on my food tasting of charcoal.

          11. An Englishman abroad remains an Englishman abroad.

            So so. To add woe i have now had to use the Tens machine because of my collapsed disc in my neck.

          12. This will cheer you..

            The word is from the Old French ( c. 1300) disner, meaning “dine”, from the stem
            of Gallo-Romance desjunare (“to break one’s fast”), from Latin dis-
            (which indicates the opposite of an action) + Late Latin ieiunare (“to
            fast”), from Latin ieiunus (“fasting, hungry”).

            Dinner – Wikipedia

      1. I’m actually having deep-fried cod in beer batter, chips and mushy peas tomorrow, John. I rendered down some beef tallow last week so I can’t wait to have my fish and chips properly fried in it.

        The Swedes don’t get that Friday tradition!

          1. Roast beef on a Sunday,
            Leftovers on a Monday,
            Soup on a Tuesday,
            Shepherd’s pie on a Wednesday,
            Rissoles on a Thursday
            Fish & chips on a Friday,
            Meat and potato pie on a Saturday …

            Other foods are available.

        1. Its his age I think. He will be taking saunas next and being bashed with birch twigs. I do worry about him.

          1. Nah! I’m still making my own mushy peas and eating them with black pudding (though not from Bury!).

  44. Coincidence? or being watched? I get regular updates ( virtually daily ) presumably from MSoft. An update a few days ago sent the video settings a bit haywire. I tried to get to the video card makers settings page ( Radeon ) to check but – – ALL mention of Radeon had vanished. So I got onto the Windows feedback form to send them what had happened. Literally a few minutes later an icon changed to let me know there was another update – set it to download and install. Miraculously Radeon video card controls has reappeared. Thanks to the MSoft person for the quick fix !!!!!!

    1. Was that the MSoft person who phones from India and then takes over control of your computer? Even though you haven’t got one?

  45. Two-thirds of French people polled said that they would welcome a THIRD “confinement” (lockdown)….

    Barking people are universal.

  46. ‘We need a completely new approach to Covid-19’. 29 January 2021.

    We should recognise that, so far, the virus has moved with greater agility and intelligence than humanity. The virus has mutated; the new strains are more transmissible yet not apparently less deadly. It will continue mutating. Vaccines will likely require adjustment to beat such mutations; and there is an outside, but not unfortunately negligible, risk that, at some point, unless we get ahead of the virus, there will be a mutation not susceptible to vaccine, in which case we will need a new range of antiviral and other biologics to counter it, as the world has learnt to do with HIV/Aids.

    I hate to say it but Blair may very well be correct here. It is quite possible that we may eventually be looking at something on the scale of the Black Death! All Nottlers should take their own precautions just in case. Plenty of grub and booze in stock!

    https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/tony-blair-covid-uk-vaccine-b1794135.html

    1. The lockdowns have enabled the virus time to mutate. We should never have locked down and just dealt with the virus as fast as possible. The way we have done it has been a complete failure.

          1. Lockdowns do work, Johnny. The figures are falling. The problems are the stupid antics people get up to when lockdowns are eased.

          3. Your logic is impeccable. Unfortunately, you haven’t grasped the meaning of my last sentence.

          4. “The problems are the stupid antics people get up to when lockdowns are eased.”

            Like going out, visiting family and having some kind of social life? So lockdowns work, provided people continue to live under the same conditions that lockdowns imposed, after said lockdowns are eased?

            Ah, of course … and here’s me thinking the Government is manipuIating the figures, but I see it all now.

          5. No, I wasn’t referring to sensible everyday activities; I meant mass raves, demos, crowding on beaches, etc. All without s-distancing & masks.

          6. What antics would those be?
            D-i-L tested positive 10 days ago and son and grandson tested negative. Today all three tested negative. Why didn’t the other two get it as they all lived in close proximity using the same bathroom, toilet, cooking facilities etc etc.
            They were all locked in but no cross infection. Something very fishy about the continuous stream of fear we’re being fed and especially surprised that people who one would think are intelligent and free thinkers have swallowed it hook line and sinker.

          8. Yes I saw that and no they didn’t (anti) social distance in their home and they didn’t wear masks either. How many mass raves do you know of near you, demos and crowding on beaches during this winter.

            The virus is with us forever and will act like other SARS viruses over time. The more people who’ve had it the less virulent it will become. Like similar viruses it is unlikely, in the near future, there will be vaccine that will bestow any immunity. We have to learn to live (with it).

    2. The worst scaremongerers always give the virus human-like attributes to make it more frightening.

  48. I see that “The two Sues” are both saying they won’t be vaccinated. I really don’t want them to die the horrible death that is Covid, and as neither of them are in the first flush of youth, so they are at substantial risk. The idea is really quite upsetting, they are both warm and generous ladies and I don’t like the thought of it. But the real point here is that my posts are going to feel horribly lonely with out their upticks. Now that just will not do.

    1. But, but… they are emancipated ladies of this day & age & can make their own minds up.

  51. Had to go into town earlier. I tried to get the weather app on my phone but was prevented from getting onto the internet by Bath City Council who’s Free WiFi in the city centre required me to log in via Facebook, Twitter or complete a form! There was no option to say No Thanks leave me alone I quite like being free to do my own thing. What’s more I couldn’t get rid of the Free Wi Fi page. I’m sure 10s of thousands of students appreciate Free Wi Fi. I just appreciate being Free.

    1. Easy workaround is to turn off Wi-fi in “Settings”, then the phone will default to mobile data…

      (OK – I’ve scrolled down, now, so I’m behind the curve…)

    2. And the comments nicely highlight the stunning hypocrisy of the EU. The EU is saying that on moral grounds the UK must share it’s supplies of vaccine because the EU has none so it’s the only ethical thing to do. OK so far, but …. are they offering to share their supplies with the rest of the world who have none? No? Oh dear.

      Not often you see thoughtful comments BTL on the Graun, but these are good.

    3. Particularly liked this one:

      ‘Let’s be honest, if Donald Trump and his outriders were behaving like the EU, demanding vaccines produced in and intended for the UK be redirected to the USA, the Guardian would be orgasming with indignation above and below the line.

      But because it’s the EU its bending itself like a pretzel to find reasons they are in the right.

      Tomorrow: why cute talking cartoon puppies think the eee-woo should get all the nice medicines in the whole wide world.’

  53. AstraZeneca must deliver vaccine doses from UK to EU, says Von der Leyen. 29 January 2021.

    Von der Leyen told the German radio station Deutschlandfunk that the company’s stance was unacceptable. “There are binding orders and the contract is crystal clear,” she said. “AstraZeneca has also explicitly assured us in this contract that no other obligations would prevent the contract from being fulfilled.”

    She said the “best effort” clause in the AstraZeneca contract with the EU was supposed to refer to the period during which the company was developing the vaccine. “This is now in the past … Once a vaccine is there, there were very clear rules regarding amounts as well as timeframes – they are in the contract – and there are also locations where the vaccine should be produced.”

    What has happened here is transparently obvious. The EU hierarchy has screwed up and is trying to weasel its way out of the responsibility. “Supposed” is not a word that appears in contracts. That is why they are written!

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/29/astrazenecas-vaccine-duty-eu-ursula-von-der-leyen

    1. Read the comments BTL on the DT. They have a lot of lawyers and they eviscerate the EU argument. Basically, the EU didn’t read it properly and saw what it wanted to see (a disastrous mistake with contracts). I would add the point that the ECJ never finds against the Commission in important matters – if you have the Court in your pocket, you get sloppy.

    2. I worked with a business that sold to the largest supermarkets in Europe. There were no contracts. The view was that if the relationship goes sour, why make it worse by paying lawyers vast sums to haggle over the terms of a contract. Just walk away.

      1. If I’d been born a woman I would have been a Right bitch!

        Well, anything is better than being a Left bitch!

  56. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/1442b8d50f2ac376245d0c83adb349f478b0fb35d7f8edb0ca6ded578f2eab1c.jpg

    https://www.specialforcesroh.com/index.php?threads/stansfield-walter.45424/

    How times change. My first Chief Constable was Lt. Col., Sir Walter Stansfield, MC, Croix de Guerre, who was decorated for his wartime rôle in the SOE in France.

    If I had still been employed by the Derbyshire Constabulary today, this would have been my Chief Constable:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lec3qjma4MY&list=WL&index=58

    Rachel Swann, Common Purpose.

    1. And you gave her the thumbs up a few month ago, Grizz.

      When we were – rightly – shaming her for dressing like a doxy.

    3. Grizzly

      Was Sir Walter Stansfield a Scotsman.. A girl in my class when I was at b/ school in N Yorks was called Stansfield .. just asking that’s all .

          3. Maybe try reading the link you posted…

            Chief Superintendent
            Applications are invited from internal and external superintendents seeking promotion and external chief superintendents who wish to transfer to Dorset Police on a level transfer.

            This is an exciting opportunity to join a force which covers a hugely diverse geographic area, from the dramatic cliffs of the Jurassic Coast to rolling hills inland. Although Dorset is predominantly rural, we also police Bournemouth & Poole, an urban area larger than most British cities, and many towns and villages.

            Applicants who are interested in this opportunity should read the process booklet thoroughly and then complete an application form. Application forms should be returned via the apply now button below by Friday 12th February 2021.

          4. T_B

            Coming your way soon

            Non white
            Non Christian
            Passable knowledge of English Language
            Not Hetero-sexual
            Chronic health problems
            Will commute from where he?/she?/it (tick) used to live
            Will demand travelling expenses
            Will immediately change everything
            etc

          5. Who knows what it will mean in the future? As for now it simply means officers already holding Superintendent rank from either Dorset or other UK forces.

    3. Is the government deliberately trying to piss off the majority of the British people? What other motivation could they have?

    5. ‘Care4Calais’ offers vindication for their actions as follows:

      ‘A fire has broken out & fire engines have been called to Napier Barracks in Folkestone after an upsetting afternoon for residents.

      They received notice via impersonal letters from accommodation provider Clearsprings of a split to new ‘bubbles’ to self isolate for 10 more days.’

      Suppose most of us have reacted to upset at one time or another by setting light to someone else’s property.

    6. That’s what I’d call Yasmin Alibhai-Brown syndrome – to show complete ingratitude for being given refuge in our country and denigrating that country at every opportunity.

    1. We had our letters this morning , Moh is quite excited , I am not so because I have had various allergic reactions to different antibiotics and other things like latex!

    1. Tim Lightoller RN Captain (retired), grandson of Charles Lightoller is a friend who lives in Helensburgh, sweetie x

    4. I popped round to see my elder sister, (they are quite posh, bridge players and churchie), this morning to drop off the baking sheets roll she lent me because we had run out and to hand her two loaves of Home made.
      We had a brief discussion on the door step about Netflix and how they are not happy with the content. She mentioned her an BiL watch Vera, i said i find that it goes on a bit too much for my liking. I asked do you watch Foyle’s War ? No she said I’ve never heard of it……… what ? I replied, “you’d love it, it’s all about WW2, great acting and you’d find it interesting”. “Why do you say that” ? “Because you are a bit older than me” !

        1. Which reminds me. Visited the ex last week, possibly illegally. “Can you have a look at my fridge? It’s not very cold. But I’ve put it on the highest setting…”

          “Quite so”, says I – “you’ve set it to 8 degrees, which is the highest temperature” 🙄

          1. Oh? Is London on a different planet? I always suspected it was!

            Lightest quarter of year (everywhere in northern hemisphere): May 5 to August 5.
            Darkest quarter of year (same as above): November 5 to February 5.
            Intermediate daylight quarters: February 5 to May 5 and August 5 to November 5.

        3. Been too much dark recently. Getting itchy for a shopping trip to Dubai, for some light and HOT!

          1. My brother, who lives in Dubai, keeps sending me photographs of him and his family on the beach. Today he sent me photographs of a charcuterie and pork supermarket that is out of bounds to Muslims. It actually has a sign over the door that reads “For Non-Muslims”.

          2. I’d like to thank the Nottl Academy and especially its founder Geoff Graham for awarding me this most prestigious of Prizes – Winning the entire internet for the day (even if there is only six hours left). I’d also like to thank my Mum and Dad and my agent without whom I wouldn’t be the person I’d hoped to be. Finally in the words of some Irish Bloke: “Just give me your effing money’…..

  63. I am logging off. Still feel a bit odd. Nothing one can define – just woozy.

    I only had the jab because we both want to be able to travel (in 2025 when this malarkey ends) and without evidence of a useless jab, one will not be allowed on a train or plane.

    Anyway – I may see you tomorrow, if I am spared.

    A demain…

    2. ‘Night Bill!

      If the jab turns out to be merely useless then I may take if and for the same reason!

      1. The only reason I’m not going to refuse it is just so I can say I’ve had for travel purposes. I think it will be a requirement if we want to go anywhere in future.

    5. 2025? Actually, you may not be far wrong. Just had a letter from DWP, saying that they would not now be reviewing my PIP until 2024, due to Covid… :-((

    6. I had side effects but they soon went Bill – the good news is your immune system reacted and therefore it’s working

  64. Anyone wondering where this season’s flu has gone?

    Interesting 3 minutes read of an interview with Prof Dolores Cahill – Professor of Translational Science, School of Medicine & Principal Investigator, Conway Institute

    A snippet:

    “I’m launching a project in the last few weeks to sequence PCR tests because this whole lockdown is based on positive PCR tests but actually
    in the diagnostic world in PCR you would never diagnose with just a positive or negative you have to actually sequence what is the test measuring.

    And there were 1500 PCR tests that were sequenced in October 2020 and all of them were influenza A and B. Not one was SarsCov2.

    World Doctor’s Alliance

    1. I’ve seen here feature regularly on Dave Cullen’s Computing Forever channel on YT (now continuing on BitChute and Minds). She’s not afraid to speak up. A shame ours are, or are ‘involved’ with the propaganda operation.

        1. Could it have been made private if they are going to court about the test results? I don’t understand exactly how her tests worked, so I was hoping the video would explain more.

    1. I was best man at a friends wedding in the early 70s he married an ozzie girl.
      As part of my speech i included a joke……….well you would eh !

      The wedding was going well, until the brides father stood up and banged on his glass with the spoon and shouted, You have to do the accent. “Right that’s it……..the wedding’s off, the Poms have already drunk all the beer and the bride has run off with the best man”. The guests started to stir and get ready to leave. 15 minuets later he stood up and bang on his his glass again and shouted. “Right the weddings back on again, the pom’s have brought in 6 more crates of coldies”.
      It went down as well as the beers.

        1. I must tell you that girl he married was the niece of one of founders of MFI, Donald Searle. His brother lived in Oz. Most of the family came over. But nice bloke, (came from a council estate in Burnt Oak noorff Lundun), lovely home near Pinner. He caught me putting coins into the hub caps of the getaway car. Naughty boy.

          4. This idiot once had quite a few MFI items when away in the Army, but I always used to buy extra wood glue and panel pins for the cardboard back panels.
            I once ordered a reasonably sturdy (for MFI) unit which was in their Antibes range.
            At the cash desk, I placed my order using the correct French pronunciation. Blank looks from the assistant. “I’ve never heard of that one.” she replied. I took her to the display and pointed to it.

            “Oh you mean the Antibbies?”

          5. It was his wife’s maiden name Mullard Furniture Industries. He and his business partner Noel Lister started in Edgware buying surplus army hospital beds, cleaning and re spraying them and selling them to Poland. The bought a lot of US army surplus including heaters missing an essential part managed to obtain the bits and pieces and the rest was history. They were both multimillionaires. Donald died in a gilder accident some where over Cambridge. He left a legacy to sailing his donation is in his name and used in the tall ships and for training purposes.

  67. I’m no fan of AEP, but I’m glad he’s publicising the dictatorial measures that may well be implemented by the EU next week to get vaccines by any method they can:

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/01/29/eu-threatens-war-time-occupation-vaccine-makers-crisis-spirals/

    We should now start to put the word out that the EU does not respect property or intellectural rights and we’ll welcome any reasonable, law-abiding firm from the Continent to set up shop here instead. I mean, why would anyone trust them again?

    I wonder what all the remoaners have to say about this, given it has been well documented that the EU delays are their own fault. One more great reason to prove that we were right to leave the EU.

    1. And imagine how many we would have been allowed/graciously permitted to apply for by now had we still been in the EU.

    2. This could become interesting. Canada gets all of its vaccines from the EU, the powers that be are dragging their heels on approving the astrozeneca product and as for the other newer vaccines, who can tell. This week the country received zero doses because Pfizer claimed to be upgrading the factory, next week deliveries are supposed to resume but if the EU imposes export controls we could still be locked down until next year. .

      Despite assurances from pretendy pm, it doesn’t look good for vaccines or the value of the EU canada trade deal.

      The only good thing is that it might shake up a few of those liberal voters and make them realise what an awful job he is doing.

        1. is it globalism or trudeau? It doesn’t matter, he will continue down the same path towards our ruin.

          Oh look a global climate crisis, let’s change the subject.

      2. EMA has approved the OAZ vaccine today, for all adults. Approval was sought on 12th January, so I don’t think that can be described as “dragging their heels”.

        1. Thats the EU though, approval was requested in Canada back in late November.

          Not dragging their heels by normal standards but when the whole country is locked up at home, faster results are needed.

          1. Sorry, misread “the powers that be” as being attached to the EU, rather than to Canada. Have Pfizer and Moderna been approved?

          2. They are the only two so far. In the past few hours moderna have also announced a cut in deliveries.

            Trudeau brags about the number of orders placed, ignoring deliveries. He started with a big order for the Chinese vaccine but even though he sent lots of (our) money to help with the research, the Chinese reneged on the deal when it came to delivering trial vaccines. I guess thats a saving grace.

            Just say that we look on the UK vaccination progress with envy.

    3. If there’s anyone who did think the EU respected property or intellectual rights then they have not read the human rights treaties.

      Yours to enjoy until we want it is basically what the right to property says. And people wanted more of this hideousness!

      2. One elderly lady neighbour had the jab at Lavenham Guildhall. She is allergic to bee stings and the doctor recommended she have the Oxford Astra Zeneca jab as opposed to the Pfizer. This suggests that those with allergies might opt for the Astra Zeneca jab.

        On my walk today I chatted with two elderly lady neighbours both of whom had the first shot of Pfizer. One wishes to visit family in the USA and the other felt it was on offer and should be taken up. They were both ecstatic and proclaimed themselves to be free of restrictions.

        I am happy that such folk are finding some relief in having been vaccinated. I would not touch the stuff with a barge pole and did not advertise my views.

        1. Unfortunately they, amongst many other vaccinated people, will find themselves disappointed, given the US authorities (especially now that Biden is president) have said that being vaccinated is no guarantee of not passing on the virus to others, so it’s likely travel from abroad will be severely restricted, especially from countries like ours that have a ‘severe mutated virus’.

          1. But hell (apostrophe left out deliberately) be quite happy to allow America’s natural Islamic enemies to come in without problems.

          4. Re-read what you wrote.
            Try substituting “one” for “you”.

            I’m giving you the benefit of the doubt…

          5. I have re-read it. I said what I said quite carefully. You want to tell him what he ought to do, you think you should make his mind up for him? That belongs on the Graun, not here. OK I should have said ‘most’ not ‘everyone’. Mea culpa.

          6. I’ve read enough of your posts to be fairly confident that you wrote what you did deliberately, and specifically to be unpleasant to corrimobile.

            If that isn’t the case, I apologise, but I am aware that he isn’t everyone’s favourite poster and that he gets snide comments from many directions.

          7. He has been extremely insulting to me on many occasions, and to anyone else who has the temerity to disagree. Those who are polite, I am carefully polite. For the rest – those that live by the sword, die by the sword.

          11. Thank you sos. It is a bit depressing to find yourself targeted by three or four ‘sensitive souls’ with no empathy or sensitivity in their own arsenals.

            I just live with it but it does leave a bad taste in the mouth and being only human after all I occasionally bite back. This is not helped by the hostility of a rogue moderator who also apparently has it in for me.

            I try to resist reacting to their provocations. Others on here know me to be a constructive commenter keen to impart knowledge gained from years of experience in my field and associated studies in literature and fine art.

            Likewise I learn so much from numbers of genuine and good constructive commenters and remain in their debt.

            As we all know it takes just a few rotten apples to ruin the barrel.

      3. I too share concerns but when I said rabid I was referring to the collection of oddballs who insist that the vaccine also contains nano robots for mind control backed up by chem-trail drugs sprayed on them by passing 747s at 30,000ft. 😱

    2. If any vaccine is given to 80-100 year olds and clinically vulnerable people first I’d have thought five years to subsequent death is a reasonable claim, given that there’s a good chance they’d be dead anyway according to mortality tables. Now, extrapolating that to the under 80s is an entirely different matter, but then using that type of spurious extrapolation is what drives conspiracy theorists.

    3. I don’t understand why they haven’t been introduced to the Gurkhas – I’m sure the barracks would be restored in no time….

    5. The first mistake was putting the fire out.

      The second mistake was treating anyone in there.

      The third mistake will be repairing any damage.
      The fourth will be not shooting any of the scum who try to leave.

      They made their bed. Let them burn in it.

  70. From Spiked Online:

    BRENDAN O’NEILL

    EDITOR

    “Europe’s vaccine debacle is the greatest vindication yet of Brexit. In 2020, Remain campaigners cranked up their old Project Fear and warned us that being outside of the EU would make it difficult for us to get vaccines. People will die, they shrieked. The opposite has been the case. The UK is storming ahead on the vaccination front, while the sclerotic EU falls badly behind, with deadly consequences. This is no time for Schadenfreude. Our friends in Europe deserve so much better than the failing EU. They deserve the thing us Brits secured in 2016 – the democratic right of nations to make their own decisions in what they consider to be the best interests of their people. The vaccines disaster should re-inject momentum into the argument for Frexit, Grexit, Italeave and the rest, and for greater democracy across Europe.”

    1. 328895+ up ticks,
      Evening Anne,
      Would it be impertinent of me to want us to sort out democracy on the home front first
      which means the building of a
      pro English / GB party.

      The handling of the Brexitexit post referendum brought to the surface a multitude of political rodents that have proved in the main beyond doubt, to be totally unfit for purpose.

      I wonder how deep does pharmaceuticals
      go into the current 650 investment plots / plans ?

      Methinks we need a reset alright and with the greatest urgency, a peoples reset, led by the people for the people.

      –

  72. A few weeks ago I mentioned unexpected that I had received several unordered items in the post and wondered what type of scam would post stuff to you without any charges going on your credit card.

    An explanation has surfaced and it is a scam of kinds.

    Online shopping sites like Amazon will only let you post a review if you are a valid purchaser. Unscrupulous vendors are simply finding a way to enter phony reviews:

    The scammers place an order through the shopping site for their high price goods and give some random delivery address. They then ship something really inexpensive like a pack of seeds by registered mail.

    The post office delivers the packet and records delivery which triggers the shopping site to allow a review to be entered.

    So if anyone believes online reviews, here is another reason to be doubtful.

    1. Why would a packet of seeds trigger a review of another item? Perhaps I am just particularly dense today.

      2. Say the scammer sells really duff expensive “stuff”.

        He wants to get some really good reviews for his junk.

        He puts in a valid order via amazon for his duff junk, and puts a light, cheap, item in the post so that Amazon will think they’ve delivered the real item to a genuine buyer.

        They then ask for a review, which unsurprisingly is 5*

        1. Ah, I’ve got it!
          S/He posts a pack of seeds instead of the duff junk that was “ordered” by a fake account, presumably.
          Richard seems to be unlucky that someone has got hold of his address, then.
          Thank you!

          1. At some later point, quite possibly.

            The aim is to get people to your site to try to sell them tat where they think they are getting quality

          2. re my earlier reply.
            Sending seeds when one orders an all singing, all dancing, thingamajig is fraud.
            Sending a thingamajig that is vastly inferior and overpriced isn’t quite.

            Hence the desire to be able to place rave reviews on tat, to gull other potential buyers.

      4. They generate a order for their product through Amazon then instead of shipping the ordered product they send something worthless as registered mail.
        The post office doesn’t know whats in the package, they just deliver the registered package and report back to Amazon that it was delivered.
        Amazon doesn’t know what was in the package, all they know is that registered package xxxxx that supposedly contains the ordered goods was delivered. At that point, reviews on the item are enabled.
        The scammer can also see that the package was delivered, they then use the account that placed the order to place a glowing review of their product.

  73. Definition of “investment” and differentiation of pre-payments.
    The three types of investment.
    Ownership Investment
    This type of investment is what primarily comes to one’s mind when he or she hears the word “investment”. Some examples of ownership investment include stocks, businesses, and real estate. They are purchased with the intention of reselling them at a higher price to earn a profit.

    Lending Investments
    This type of investment has a lower risk compared to ownership investment because with this, you act as the “bank”. The return is less than that of an ownership investment, though. Bonds do not come with that risk and bondholders typically get their money back.

    Cash Equivalent
    These are considered to be as good as cash. A good example would be money market funds.
    Gaining financial growth through investment requires patience and a thorough understanding of the different types of investment and not just their definition. Of course, knowing what makes an investment different from a purchase is a good place to start.

    Purchases and Pre-payments.
    Pre-paid purchases. This is where buyer pays for an item in advance of delivery. This term generally applies to situations where the product is in stock and will be despatched immediately on receipt of cleared payment.

    Up front non-returnable deposits. This is where the buyer makes payment for something that doesn’t not yet exist but is prepared to pay in advance in order for an item to be made to a specification, style, quantity or measurement to the buyers requirements. Examples include bespoke hand-made shoes and Covid-19 vaccines.

  74. ‘Evening, Peeps.

    This quite took my breath away. On the plus side I imagine that the pharmaceutical companies will be shifting out of the EU pdq. From the DT – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard :

    The EU sledgehammer is coming down. The European Council is preparing to invoke emergency powers of Article 122 against AstraZeneca and Big Pharma within days.

    This nuclear option paves the way for the seizure of intellectual property and data, and arguably direct control over the production process – tantamount to war-time occupation of private companies. This is Europe First pushed to another level. It takes the EU into the territory of 1930s methods and an authoritarian command economy.

    Charles Michel, President of the European Council, is being badgered by member states to take action before the escalating vaccine crisis mutates into a political crisis as well and starts to topple governments. He is offering them the most extreme option available in the Lisbon Treaty.

    Article 122 allows the EU to take emergency steps “if severe difficulties arise in the supply of certain products”, or “if a Member State is in difficulties or is seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control”.

    Mr Michel raised the idea in a letter to four prime ministers on Wednesday night. He is now canvassing all 27 leaders. The clear intention is to hold AstraZeneca’s feet to the fire.

    “We can do this very quickly,” said one EU official. “We have to be prepared. That does not mean we will necessarily use it.”

    The process requires a proposal from the Commission, followed by a qualified majority vote in the Council. Article 122 could be activated within days.

    Germany has become the hardest of hard-liners, departing ever further from its traditional role as a good global citizen and defender of markets. The dirigiste economy minister, Peter Altmaier, says he favours seizing control of the production process and ordering companies to manufacture vaccines at multiple sites, with a gun to their head. Germany has moved a long way from the Wirtschaftswunder of Ludwig Erhard.

    Lost in this squalid saga is the relevant fact that AstraZeneca is not making money out of the vaccine. It is producing it at cost as a service to the world. It has produced a miracle in 10 months as its exhausted staff are working gruelling hours to lift output as fast as they can. Their reward is a police raid at the behest of the European Commission.

    Britain is vaccinating rapidly today because the Government began preparing the ground last February, three months before it ordered the AstraZeneca vaccine. It bathed the pharma companies with love. It fast-tracked clinical trials. It waived normal liabilities rules. It did not haggle over prices.

    The EU spent one-seventh as much per capita launching the process. It failed to suppress its bureaucratic and legalistic urges. It treated Big Pharma as a foe. It tried to win tactical victories.

    It drifted through 2020 and failed to adapt to the nature of the emergency. The empty vaccination centres in France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany are the result of a planning failure that dates back 11 months.

    Brussels is again losing sight of the core imperative, this time playing a legal ‘gotcha’ game to distract attention. Its release of AstraZeneca’s contract does show that the company should supply doses, if necessary, from manufacturing sites in the UK, but the wording is loose and generic. It does not substantiate the “crystal clear” claims of Ursula von der Leyen.

    On the contrary, the text confirms AstraZeneca’s claim that the company is bound only to make “Best Reasonable Efforts” to meet targets. The Commission’s redacted version blanked out details on the delivery schedule. As a publicity stunt, it is a damp squib. Commercial Pharma barristers will eat the Commission’s lunch if this ever gets to a genuine court.

    Such biblical exegesis is in any case a parody of Brussels bureaucratism. To reduce this drama to a legal technicality is to compound the error that led to today’s impasse. The EU’s lawyers have been the problem all along.

    The Commission itself is aware of the dangers ahead. It is almost the ‘moderate’ in the EU system at this juncture, trying to restrain near-hysterical politicians and to limit action (for now) to an ‘export authorisation mechanism’.

    It still hopes to defuse a diplomatic crisis with the UK, the US, Canada, and the World Health Organization. It wants to head off lasting damage to Europe’s reputation as a safe venue for free markets and commercial contract law. “Producing a vaccine is an extremely complicated endeavour that involves very sophisticated tools,” said Eric Mamer, the Commission chief spokesman.

    The corporate backlash is building. The International Chamber of Commerce in Brussels warned that export bans could lead to retaliation and “very rapidly erode existing supply chains.”

    Belgium is in the cross-fire. It lent its police to the AstraZeneca raid, but in doing so it has endangered its reputation as a biotech and pharma hub. Belgian premier Alexander de Croo has been gently reminding fellow leaders that mass-producing a coronavirus vaccine in an emergency is not as easy as “making bread”.

    It is hard to see what can be achieved by resorting to Article 122. Muscling in on vaccine plants or seizing intellectual property will not conjure extra doses within a meaningful time-frame. It is more likely to set off a downward spiral.

    Nor is it clear what can be achieved by ordering AstraZeneca to divert doses from its UK plants. If the company complied, it would be in breach of an even more explicit contract with the British Government. And Britain calls the shots.

    Brussels can shut off shipments of the Pfizer-BioNTech jab to the UK (by now just a fifth of the daily vaccines). But that would be injudicious. Europa may later need Valneva and Novavax doses manufactured in this country.

    The EU’s demarche is a misreading of British public emotion, not for the first time. This nation might well respond with altruism to a request for shared doses, if asked in a spirit of fraternal solidarity. It reacts very badly to threats.

    Downing Street does not want a fight. It wishes to be reasonable. The European Council would be well advised to dial down its rhetoric and seek a cordial way out of a disaster of its own making. It would be courting fate to push this dispute into the geo-political realm.

    1. Astra-Zeneca is described as a British company. It is headquartered in the UK. Seizing the assets of a British company is tantamount to an act of war.
      I would suppose that the EU ambassador will be summoned to explain. Oops excuse me, I suppose that the ambassadors of the remaining EU countries will be summoned to Downing Street to explain their actions. Perhaps they will be asked to close their embassies, and why not?

      1. If I may offer an amendment, H ….

        They should be told to close their embassies, and why not?

    2. The beauty of them even considering it suggests that any company would think twice and go for GB rather than EU to set up any manufacturing.

      1. That, of course, terrifies the commissars.

        After all, it would openly reveal their desperate desire for communism and a command economy.

    3. The EU desperately wanted Brexit Britain to fail. We didn’t. The first crisis that arose and the nation state smashed the communist empire to dust.

      That’s embarrassed the career eurocrats and they want revenge. As for instatiating a command economy – it was inevitable. This is what they’ve always wanted. It’ll start with ‘we needed to’ and end with we had no choice’. The madness will spiral from there into other industries. Eventually there will be political officers in businesses and then absolute state control and total collapse.

    4. The European Council is playing games with the same fuses that ‘inadvertently’ ignited two World Wars …

      1. Thanks to all the wazzocks since Thatcher, this time we would lose, particularly since Biden’s election..

        {:-((

    5. Secondary thought for yet another miserable day.

      Export and employ the boys from Napier barracks to burn down a few vaccine producing sites.

      Out of gratitude for the way the EU forced them to flee across Europe to the UK.

    6. They really cannot help themselves, can they.
      Any opposition and the knee jerk goose step reaction sets in.

    7. “The EU is likely to unveil special powers later to help ensure its supply of vaccines, including a possible limit on the export of vaccines produced in the bloc.
      There is speculation that these powers could also see companies being forced to hand over production to other firms inside the EU and share intellectual property.
      However, the European Council is stressing the need for negotiations in order to reach a solution before enforcement becomes necessary.
      Meanwhile, EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders has warned of a “vaccine war”.
      Speaking on Belgian radio, he said: “The EU commission has pushed to co-ordinate the vaccines contracts on behalf of the 27 precisely to avoid a vaccines war between EU countries, but maybe the UK wants to start a vaccine war?
      “Solidarity is an important principle of the EU. With Brexit, it’s clear that the UK doesn’t want to show solidarity with anyone.””
      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-55852698

      1. It took M.Reynders a while to twig that we are not in solidarity with the EU having left that monolithic, anti-democratic construct….

      2. I have this very big stick and this knife. I don’t want to use them on you in order to get all your money. I’d rather negotiate.

    1. Bill, you know by now that it is their chair, that they deign to let YOU use, when they want to.

      Dogs have masters

      Cats have staff

  77. An interesting point is that if the EU takes the drastic actions it plans under A122 then, what will that achieve? They have the Pasteur and the other French company who have also just abandoned their vaccines (I can’t find their name, sorry), but those two have now made an agreement to manufacture Pfizer so they are full tilt on that. What spare capacity does the EU have that is ready to rock & roll with the AZ vaccine? I don’t know, but you can bet it will take a while to complete re-purposing and get the yield up on the specific kit being used. That’s excluding any re-engineering that may be needed for the different production disciplines required. I just have a feeling it will be hard to make this fly.

    If the EU go this route, it also voids their agreement with AZ under any legal system I have ever worked with (although the ECJ might not consider stealing from a supplier any kind of misdeed), and AZ would be quite entitled to scale down manufacture in Belgium and put the effort elsewhere.

    1. I doubt if the EU have thought this through. If they can take over any critical manufacturing process, why should multi-nationals invest in EU countries in future?

    1. ‘Travel Regulations for UK Citizens

      On the 29th January 2021 travel regulations stated that freedom to travel for individuals within the Uk was limited to a range of 100 km without prior authority.

      Travel without a passport would be very risky as the Passport Act stated that, “whoever is leaving the UK to abroad or from abroad without authorization, or who is leaving the prescribed destinations, travel routes and travel dates and other restrictions on the trip, shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years.’

      Actually, I made that up. This is the original:-

      ‘Travel Regulations for East German Citizens

      On the 15th December 1952 travel regulations stated that freedom to travel for individuals within the DDR was limited to a range of 100 km without prior authority.

      The earliest DDR passports were issued in the mid-1950s. However, they were very difficult to obtain and only a small percentage of citizens was in possession of a passport. Even by 1989, it was reported that only 25% of citizens had a passport.

      Travel without a passport would be very risky as the Passport Act stated that, “whoever is leaving the German Democratic Republic to abroad or from abroad without authorization, or who is leaving the prescribed destinations, travel routes and travel dates and other restrictions on the trip, shall be punished with imprisonment up to three years.”

      1. My cousin had one, but he worked for British Intelligence (when we had some )

        Now he would have to prove he was gay etc, before he go the job

        1. UK vows to help Hong Kongers escape Chinese communist oppression as ‘weak, bullying and petulant’ Beijing is blasted for refusing to recognise the British National Overseas passport for citizens of the former colony
          Plans set out for British National (Overseas) (BNO) citizens to apply for visas
          Net impact from arrivals could be between £2.4 billion and £2.9 billion revenue
          From Sunday, BNOs can apply for 30-month or five-year visas to live in the UK

          https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9200743/300-000-people-Hong-Kong-begin-arriving-Britain-Sunday-visa-route-opens.html?ito=push-notification&ci=72796&si=7271111

    2. Exception:

      Obviously, it is OK to visit France by RIB ?

      I have faith in Priti’s Border Control to provide a Naval escort on departure ?

      Obviously, I can rely on the French Coastguard for a reciprocal welcome ashore at Calais or thereabouts ?

      1. In Bath the council has permitted the use of Electric Scooters (in baby pink) to be used anywhere. I saw a couple of plonkers riding them in traffic (without crash helmets) down the middle of the busy A36. I suspect those waiting for a donor kidney won’t have much longer to wait…..

        1. AFAIK they can’t be used legally on pavements, which is presumably why they are using them on roads.

          1. As Rose will tell you in Bath practically anything goes (except the adoration of personal motor vehicles) I’ve seen them being ridden on pavements…

          3. In Bath 50 are dotted around the city for use.Over the next 12 months, residents and visitors will be able to hire an e-scooter for their commute to work or for travelling around the cities. The new carbon-neutral e-scooters will also take pressure off public transport, helping people travel in a socially-distant manner and leaving their cars behind.
            To ride a Voi e-scooter, a user must have a provisional driving licence and be at least 18 years of age. Riders can download the Voi app for free in the Apple App Store or Google Play.

    5. I’m reminded of one of my old projects- Sainsburys at Pound Lane, Norwich. The white lining happened within a couple of days of handover. Leaving aside the fact that the Architect detailed give way lines at the exit, despite the fact that it was a junction controlled by traffic lights (cue hasty removal of double-dotted white lines), our Regional Director came out on the last weekend, to join the troops in the final push. Around Sunday lunchtime, he rounded up myself and the Project Manager, pointed to the freshly-laid tarmac at the front of the store, and asked, “what exactly is this?” Carefully signwritten in thermoplastic road marking paint (which is a bugger to get rid of) was the word B I C Y C I C L E S…

      2. Brilliant. That reminds me of the stencilled instructions on the underside of some folding tables that were used in an organisation I once worked for. They read:

        “Open legs
        Push Down Stays and
        Insert Lifting Bar”….

          2. ’36-24-36′ surveyor’s rules clearly state “Slide legs apart slowly, like you would a fanny”.

        1. It’s been extended somewhat since I was involved. When I was still living in East Anglia, I used to call in occasionally for old time’s sake. On one occasion, a spotty oik at the checkout didn’t believe my signature (this was back in the day of signing for card payments). Asked me to do it again. Still didn’t believe it. “I can’t understand it”, said I, flippantly. “I’ve been practicing it all day”. Not understanding irony, he got exceedingly stroppy. I pointed out that a ball point pen looks different on hard plastic, compared to three layers of paper. He wasn’t moved. To my shame (for I wouldn’t do it anywhere else), I asked whether J*hn S*ll*rs was still the store manager? He didn’t know. “Just get a manager, and we’ll sort this out”, said I. Whereupon Tracey the assistant manager appeared, we greeted each other like old friends, chatted for ten minutes about the store, and Oik was firmly put in his place. I wasn’t particularly proud of myself, but I wasn’t in the wrong, and sometimes “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” comes in handy.

          While under construction, we noticed that there was an ocean-going yacht visible from the roof. We explored one lunchtime, to find “Bellissima” under construction on the River Yare. You can work out the owner if I translate the name into Narfulk – “Bootiful”…

          1. Who you know…
            A pitiful gloat from the late 1980’s:

            I was enjoying a beer in the beer tent after a particularly successful, but stressful, football fiesta when one of the visiting managers turned to me and asked:

            “do you happen to know the guy who handles all the real-time results at this weekend, because we would like him to run our event? At these competitions it makes such a difference not having to wait ages before knowing who has qualified for the knock-out stages.”

            “yes, go and speak to the guy over there”.

            At that point I made a hasty retreat, because running ours was Hell on Earth! I used to give up a week of my annual leave to work on it and the real-time results was my pride and joy, no other fiesta could get close to matching us, but I was damned if I wanted to get involved elsewhere.

          2. Bernard Matthews. I had all but forgotten about him. He set up his turkey sheds on a WWII airfield. I forget the name but it was a stinking place and I thought unhygienic.

          3. Bernard Matthews. I had all but forgotten about him. He set up his turkey sheds on a WWII airfield. I forget the name but it was a stinking place and I thought unhygienic.

          4. The owner of that yacht, Geoff, who owned a factory at Great Witchingham, had a private plane at Norwich airport parked in the hangars away from the ‘restricted zone’. This meant that he and his pilot could access his aircraft without going through the screening process that all other passengers had to endure. I never met him but he was known to be an arrogant bastard towards everyone he met and no one who ever encountered him had a good word to say about him.

      1. Don’t know but its a pretty good approximation of driving through Camden – Road signs (mostly prohibitive) every 3 yards….

    2. Sums it up from according to my C of E education.
      Hollow bible.
      Apple ogies to the believer’s.

    1. I wish a journalist would ask Boris and his wingmen in one of the No 10 briefings what proportion of COVID tests are actually picking up flu…

      1. I still don’t understand the technical details. I hope they will publish more information about this.

      1. Reuters fact check is also too partisan to be trustworthy though.
        Reading their article, I still don’t feel that I’ve got enough information to judge for myself. I shall follow any developments with interest.

        edit: funded by Facebook, run by a former Sky news editor
        https://www.reuters.com/fact-check/about

        1. Unfortunately the MSM are prejudiced and have interests in telling lies. Their fact checking is both dishonest and deceitful and just another device designed to mislead the public.

          We saw this with the cancelling of President Trump even though this cost dramatic falls in the share price of companies such as Facebook and Twitter as subscribers cancelled their accounts.

          These abusive acts will now put hundreds of journalists out of work simply because without Trump to ridicule daily there is no one of equivalent stature to feed their frenzy.

          We already have the shit on Obama, Clinton and Biden and no MSM outlet is about to publish the truth about those crooks.

          1. The knife job done on Trump was appalling. It was tantamount to psychological warfare. Four years of every mainstream outlet telling us that he was a lunatic and anyone who voted for him was a half-wit.

      2. “PCR tests are developed specifically to diagnose a disease, for example COVID-19.”
        There is the first lie! The PCR test was designed for research purposes only and the person who invented the test said it should never be used for clinical assessment.

  83. Beautiful night out here in the wilds of Norway.
    Absolutely still, bright full moon, snow, the trees casting shadows, bright light in a way that actually makes it a bit difficult to focus, and silent. Temp dropping now below -20C,
    It’s a pity I only have the phone camera, as it can’t cope with the conditions to show even an idea of how it it. SWMBOs proper camera with a tripod would make some really atmospheric pictures.

          1. According to the Aurora app, on my iPhone, the best chance right now (23%) is Russia, Svalbard and Jan Meyen.

    1. The EU has a huge spade (other digging tools are available) and they just can’t help digging themselves in deeper.

      Perhaps the UK should ensure no vaccines can get into Eire.

      1. Based on the article I assume this is a prelude to banning exports of vaccines to Great Britain i.e. they feared NI would become a backdoor into GB. I guess avoiding a hard border isn’t quite as important as claimed.

        2. If my understanding is correct, the facilities in the UK probably produce more, and more different, alternative vaccines than the rest of the EU combined.
          This could really blow up in their faces:

          “UK states that all non UK use vaccines will be sent to Africa and South America where the need is greatest.”

          That will wake the woke.

    2. I wonder if the BBC will interview any prominent Remainers on this latest development. Where is the twat in the hat?

      1. Ah yes, the man who came 5th (if i remember correctly) at the GE in his home constituency. LOL.

    3. Apparently they’ve backtracked as the retaliation would be to tear up the withdrawal agreement.

    2. The only prize for them is for worldwwide anarchy

      No government/organisation dare challenge them, just look what happens at ‘Taking the knee’ and you do not agree

      Arrests

      1. The only legit winner should be:

        Robert Oppenheimer, “father of the atomic bomb.” On July 16, 1945, in a remote desert location near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the first atomic bomb was successfully detonated—the Trinity Test. It created an enormous mushroom cloud some 40,000 feet high and ushered in the Atomic Age.

    5. Nobel, during his life, he was dubbed the “angel of death” by the press. Nobel was a 19th-century Swedish chemist whose explosive success seems to have led to regrets …

  87. From the Penarth Times, a headline you won’t see very often:
    ‘Internationally important’ dinosaur footprint found by four-year-old in Barry

      1. We now know how the dinosaurs died out. If they were anything like Drakeford, they bored each other to death.

    5. An excellent find. Some folks, and the little girl is obviously one of them, can spot fossils when most can’t.

  88. I think some of our American Cousins will shortly be changing the title of their National Anthem to: “The Star Mangled Banner”.
    “Democrat lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill dubbed the “Vote at Home Act,” which seeks to “massively expand vote-at-home ballot access,” enacting automatic voter registration and providing voters with pre-paid ballot envelopes…

      1. From the pen of John Ward:

        The US may have the largest national debt in its history, but enormous military budgets are in the offing, probably because the usual neocon suspects are already in his Cabinet.

        The new Secretary of State is none other than Antony Blinken, an invasion expert who for once deserves the title, having been centrally involved in every single US military intervention this century. Alongside Blinken as Defence Secretary is Lloyd Austin, a one-time 5-star General who now works for Raytheon Technologies, an arms manufacturer and military contractor and thus no conflict of interest whatsoever. Nestling beneath these two charmers as Under Secretary of State is Victoria Nuland, the key US spook fomenting the 2014 coup in the Ukraine. So it’s hardly surprising that President Trump’s anti-escalation policies in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq have all been reversed…..Whoosh! Gone. Just like that.

        You have to hand it to Joseph Robinette Biden Jr, he’s already proving to be a man offering enormous generosity to the Free World: US troops will be ever-available to establish his version of liberty wherever there are uppity Arabs, Indians, Koreans and Mogherinis just gagging for it; and his policy of removing freedom of speech, assembly and movement on the domestic front is yet another sign that the US State is keen to move its liberties offshore. Never before in history have so many American citizens given up so many rights in order to further enrich so few. It brings a tear to my easily dampened eyes.

        1. Look on the bright side.
          Without Trump demanding that other nations pay their fair share of the cost of Nato, the US will be left to pay for everything themselves.

          1. Have you seen the latest headlines about Chinese Aircraft practice targeting the US Carrier group in the South China Sea? I understand an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all…

          2. I haven’t seen that item, I suppose everyone is going to try it on with Biden in the belief that he is weaker than Trump.

            Despite the love match between Biden and Trudeau, Biden has done more to harm canada than Trump did. He cancelled that pipeline on day one, now there are threats to shut down an existing pipeline that runs through Lake Michigan. The fact that the pipeline supplies most of eastern Canada doesn’t matter.

          4. I did indeed. The Canadian establishment effectively worked around him though, they worked with state governors, cabinet appointees and anyone else they could talk to and came up with a mutually beneficial united front.

            Trudeau probably loves Biden and doesn’t want to upset a fellow traveller on the way to a great reset.

          5. Proof that Biden is positively a danger to the world. At some point the military will have to act to depose this villain. There are 80 million American voters who feel defrauded and they carry.

            Likewise there is a National Guard who have been treated abominably by the Democrat elite, an elite bunch of politico criminals who hate the Armed Forces. A National Guard who turned their backs on that pathetic staged Presidential* inauguration.

    2. They just cannot get anything right, one party goes one way the other party does a knee jerk response and goes the other.

      All they need to do is increase the number of polling stations so that people can vote in a reasonable time and not wait in line for hours. Extend the advance polls az well and very few would need to use postal votes.

      There are issues with demanding government photo ID, some people just don’t drive or have a passport but shouldn’t stop them coming up with a mandatory ID system that doesn’t exclude valid electors.

    3. Introducing a Bill such as this should not come as a surprise to anyone.
      The events in November has shown how advantageous certain methods of voting has been for the Demorats, why would they do anything other than set those methods in stone.
      2020 was in all probability the last time any chance of fair elections was possible.
      I wonder how things are going to turn out in “The Peoples Democratic Republic of America.”
      I predict not too good at all.

  93. Extract from a DT BTL Comment:

    “The EU have let their people down. Don’t they realise Bloc Lives Matter?”

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