Friday 31 May: Labour’s feuding over Diane Abbott should make voters think twice

Posted on by Geoff Graham

An unofficial place to discuss the Telegraph letters, established when the DT website turned off its commenting facility (now reinstated, but we prefer ours),
Intelligent, polite, good-humoured debate is welcome, whether on or off topic. Differing opinions are encouraged, but rudeness or personal attacks on other posters will not be tolerated. Posts which – in the opinion of the moderators – make this a less than cordial environment, are likely to be removed, without prior warning.  Persistent offenders will be banned.

Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here.

680 thoughts on “Friday 31 May: Labour’s feuding over Diane Abbott should make voters think twice”

  1. GOOD MORROW, GENTLEFOLK. TODAY’S (RECYCLED) STORY
    <B>CELEBRATING JANUARY 1ST 2021</B>

    A little celebration may be in order:
    A great way to hear the first part of Beethoven's fifth symphony. On the Facebook page, click on ‘Not Now’ and then on the action screen
    https://www.facebook.com/bombeirovix/videos/2188077837892515/
    …and then:
    There’ll Always Be An England:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qhLPWcm-0w

    …and some memorabilia

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c6112b060d03301c7609d3b5ce7cd6f1d03e12a47fdacfaaf6bb8441e7eac08d.jpg

  3. Labour’s feuding over Diane Abbott should make voters think twice

    Bit ironic how the Left are gloating over Trump and at the same time crying over Abbott when the same global forces are behind purging of both

  6. 387906+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    aussie17
    @_aussie17
    🚨🚨🚨🚨
    Explosive Hearing: Philippines' House of Representatives Investigates 290K+ Excess Deaths Correlated with Experimental Vaccines

    Highlights
    ….there are Filipino people who are sick and tired of how the DOH(Department of Health) has let us down, has refused to admit that people are dying, turning a blind eye to the people who are getting sick, turbo cancers, myocarditis, children who are suddenly sick as if they are 60, 70-year-old people.

    …there does not seem to be any sympathy for the people who have died, for the people who are now physically disabled because of these vaccines.

    …And that's the reason why the chair believes that there is really a correlation between these two….

    …those pharmaceutical companies provided us the vaccines before the vaccination rollout. There's really an agreement that indicates that they cannot be sued. …
    Why would a pharmaceutical company insist on not being sued if there will be injuries or fatalities that may come after as a result of that?

    …We've been a part of that mistake because we approved the law that mandate the pharmaceutical to be responsible. And now we learn from that mistake. And there's a reason why we are so serious about finding out those amendments. Because we've already learned. That's what we should do from that mistake. Moving forward, we will correct the mistakes.

    https://x.com/_aussie17/sta…

    1. 387906+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      Surely ,surely, surely we must have answers on excess deaths and life long injuries before we consent to support & vote in any lab/lib/con
      coalition party politicians.

      Unless we believe that the alledged culling is the way to go.

  8. Trump guilty on 34 counts.

    Democracy is dead once political opponents can be lawfared into oblivion.

    But who, if anyone, can realistically replace him as the Republican nominee in the available time?

  9. 'Morning All
    Funny Old World,I thought buying and selling human beings was frowned upon these days……
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/918662d63872ff25dd9ed10b6b147093b59cbf9b0091d6a9eb1c87e7c281f8b2.png
    Rest
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a674cfc4a6127e3a4f0975926f4013bda61d637de712a2471988b999eb46cdf4.png
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/9fa3e6f83268a8184b59f3d42990eda2ade02bca8c5039cbb70a6d544b840aab.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/091aa15c1265739c15cb0a3fcbc7b106ba76cc38f58fad86bb3a7eced3f7a4e3.jpg
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/74f1a420f280aa2fa83c8a9ea7c410d30b1e06cbd23ed0b460344e59e72a8146.gif

  10. Trump vows to ‘keep fighting’ after guilty verdict 31 May 2024.

    Donald Trump has vowed to “keep fighting” after he was found guilty of all counts in his New York hush money trial.

    Mr Trump looked furious after he left the courtroom where he became the first former president to be convicted of a crime.

    He declared to reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse on Thursday night that he was a “very innocent man” and said America has “gone to hell”.

    A good day for the Democrats. A bad day for the Republicans and the end of Democracy.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

  11. Trump vows to ‘keep fighting’ after guilty verdict 31 May 2024.

    Donald Trump has vowed to “keep fighting” after he was found guilty of all counts in his New York hush money trial.

    Mr Trump looked furious after he left the courtroom where he became the first former president to be convicted of a crime.

    He declared to reporters outside the Manhattan courthouse on Thursday night that he was a “very innocent man” and said America has “gone to hell”.

    A good day for the Democrats. A bad day for the Republicans and the end of Democracy.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

  12. Stephen Fry on the MCC:
    “Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) “stinks” of privilege and is full of “beetroot-coloured gentlemen”, Stephen Fry, its former president, has said.
    The actor and writer has spoken of the “disturbing” image of the 237-yearold MCC, which he led from 2022 to 2023. Fry said that the “privilege and classism” exemplified by the MCC “just stinks”, as he addressed issues of diversity and inclusion in cricket.
    Speaking at the Hay Festival, Fry said that the annual Eton versus Harrow match, traditionally hosted by the MCC at Lord’s, typified this class privilege.
    Fry, 66, skewered his fellow MCC members, saying of the club: “It has a public face that is deeply disturbing, sort of beetroot-coloured gentleman in yellow-and-orange blazers sitting in this space in front of the Long Room and looking as if they’d come out of an Edwardian cartoon.”
    It was suggested that MCC’S image could be a barrier to inclusion, during a discussion of class and racial hurdles to young people enjoying the sport.
    Fry’s comments came during a panel discussion on diversity in cricket featuring Azeem Rafiq, the former Yorkshire cricketer who from 2020 raised concerns about racial abuse at the club.
    These complaints ultimately led to Yorkshire receiving a £400,000 fine and having 48 points docked. There was also a further review of English cricket launched by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which concluded that the sport was racist, sexist and elitist in a report last year.
    Fry has previously claimed that the sport would die if issues of racism were not addressed. During a 2021 lecture at Lord’s following Rafiq’s initial claims of racism, Fry said: “Unless all our nation’s sons and daughters with the talent and desire to have a life in cricket are confident that cricket will want to have a life with them, the spirit of cricket, its very flame, will flicker and go out.”
    Fry said it was awkward to be MCC’S president as a white man when allegations of racism were first emerging. He said: “I felt slightly embarrassed to be president of the MCC at exactly this time, because I thought I’m the perfect example of the problem has been for hundreds of years, largely, fleshy, white Englishmen, public school, Oxbridge, that are running things.”
    Speaking at Hay, Rafiq countered by saying that simply increasing diversity at a high level was not enough, and cited Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, as an example of diversity alone not solving problems.
    He said that “middle-aged white men” had been his greatest supporters when he first levelled his allegations of racism.”

    The Editorial Comment:
    “Stephen Fry goes looking for the latest trends in the strangest of places. He has described Marylebone Cricket Club as “disturbing” and its denizens – or at least their most public-facing representatives – as “beetroot-coloured” gentlemen in yellow and orange blazers “looking as if they had come out of an Edwardian cartoon”. You might imagine Mr Fry would want to stay away from such an outmoded institution, yet he was its president only last year. This is not the only instance of the raconteur’s immersion behind enemy lines – the Garrick member threatened to resign from the club this year if it had not decided to admit women. Perhaps Mr Fry and like-minded folk should be more discriminating in where they join. It is surely exhausting to be part of a club when you seemingly dislike the attitudes of much of its membership.”

    1. Maybe Stevie would like to join the Women's Institute.
      The he could campaign for it to admit men.

    2. He's a good friend of Emma Thompson. They used to always be photographed mincing about together. Nutters. He's right in that nutters from Oxford dominate the downward spiral of our culture. He is the prime example of such.

  13. Stephen Fry on the MCC:
    “Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) “stinks” of privilege and is full of “beetroot-coloured gentlemen”, Stephen Fry, its former president, has said.
    The actor and writer has spoken of the “disturbing” image of the 237-yearold MCC, which he led from 2022 to 2023. Fry said that the “privilege and classism” exemplified by the MCC “just stinks”, as he addressed issues of diversity and inclusion in cricket.
    Speaking at the Hay Festival, Fry said that the annual Eton versus Harrow match, traditionally hosted by the MCC at Lord’s, typified this class privilege.
    Fry, 66, skewered his fellow MCC members, saying of the club: “It has a public face that is deeply disturbing, sort of beetroot-coloured gentleman in yellow-and-orange blazers sitting in this space in front of the Long Room and looking as if they’d come out of an Edwardian cartoon.”
    It was suggested that MCC’S image could be a barrier to inclusion, during a discussion of class and racial hurdles to young people enjoying the sport.
    Fry’s comments came during a panel discussion on diversity in cricket featuring Azeem Rafiq, the former Yorkshire cricketer who from 2020 raised concerns about racial abuse at the club.
    These complaints ultimately led to Yorkshire receiving a £400,000 fine and having 48 points docked. There was also a further review of English cricket launched by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket, which concluded that the sport was racist, sexist and elitist in a report last year.
    Fry has previously claimed that the sport would die if issues of racism were not addressed. During a 2021 lecture at Lord’s following Rafiq’s initial claims of racism, Fry said: “Unless all our nation’s sons and daughters with the talent and desire to have a life in cricket are confident that cricket will want to have a life with them, the spirit of cricket, its very flame, will flicker and go out.”
    Fry said it was awkward to be MCC’S president as a white man when allegations of racism were first emerging. He said: “I felt slightly embarrassed to be president of the MCC at exactly this time, because I thought I’m the perfect example of the problem has been for hundreds of years, largely, fleshy, white Englishmen, public school, Oxbridge, that are running things.”
    Speaking at Hay, Rafiq countered by saying that simply increasing diversity at a high level was not enough, and cited Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, as an example of diversity alone not solving problems.
    He said that “middle-aged white men” had been his greatest supporters when he first levelled his allegations of racism.”

    The Editorial Comment:
    “Stephen Fry goes looking for the latest trends in the strangest of places. He has described Marylebone Cricket Club as “disturbing” and its denizens – or at least their most public-facing representatives – as “beetroot-coloured” gentlemen in yellow and orange blazers “looking as if they had come out of an Edwardian cartoon”. You might imagine Mr Fry would want to stay away from such an outmoded institution, yet he was its president only last year. This is not the only instance of the raconteur’s immersion behind enemy lines – the Garrick member threatened to resign from the club this year if it had not decided to admit women. Perhaps Mr Fry and like-minded folk should be more discriminating in where they join. It is surely exhausting to be part of a club when you seemingly dislike the attitudes of much of its membership.”

    1. Just for a moment, imagine if Russia had been supplying Cuba with "defensive" weapons with the specific caveat that they were not to be fired into America, and then Putin bowed to internal pressure and rescinded that requirement.
      And specifically gave Cuba the right to fire the "defensive" weapons it had supplied into Florida.
      An act of war that would be retaliated with overwhelming force.
      Biden & Co really are looking for a NATO war.

  15. and also this, from Jen in Berks.

    My question is: does the Terriblegraph makes these letters up to rule me, or does our Jen actually exist? If so, Jen, may I politely remind you that the GE is about the future of the UK, not the future of Gaza (which, if you knew anything, you would know has defied all attempts to settle its own future prior to its latest murderous onslaught of 7/10):

    “Sir – Since attaining the right to vote in 1968 I have always exercised it.
    Now, for the first time, I will not be voting. I have been horrified at the major political parties’ stance on the situation in Gaza, and their unwillingness to call Israel to account.
    I absolutely agree that any sovereign state has the right to defend itself, but this cannot be done at the cost of so many innocent lives.
    Jennifer Cooney Wargrave, Berkshire”

    1. She should try the comments. Any attempt to present a balanced view of Ukraine is jumped on by Nudge Unit Trolls.

    3. Can we assume that Jenny has no grandchildren who attend music festivals?

    5. How does this idiot think a sovereign state can defend itself against an organisation dedicated to its total destruction without costing lives? If she knew anything about the history of the last war, she'd know that war had become total and everyone was on the front line.

  16. 387906+up ticks,

    This will have to be kicked into touch, bloody upstart,
    mindset of a majority voter,

    Andrew Bridgen
    @ABridgen
    I am no longer an MP. Parliament has been dissolved.
    On HS2, the Horizon scandal, infected blood, vaccine harms and much more besides, I have stood up for you for fourteen years.
    Will you stand with me on the 4th of July?
    If you crave REAL change, free thinkers must retain a toe hold in Parliament. Vote Independent.

    https://x.com/ABridgen/stat…

    1. I hope his supporters will vote him in again. He has more integrity than most MPs, regardless of his business difficulties.

  17. I am having difficulty commenting today. All I get presented with is the grey box with my greyed-out avatar to one side. Other options (such as being able to type or post) appear very briefly and then vanish, as if some additional code is removing that facility.

    I had to type this on Brave on Windows 7 guest OS, which is extremely slow and painful to use, so I might be forced to give up nottling.

    1. Is it because Disqust has been updated again with the option to use the classic format removed? Maybe you'll need to reload it.

      1. Tried that, and even rebooted, but went back to New Improved non-functional version. At the moment, I can respond in the normal way via ‘Notifications’, but for how much longer?

        I was watching ‘Mr Bates and the Post Office’ yesterday, which describes how corporations build in a facility to interfere without the knowledge or the consent of the user, and the only tears come for a while when they get caught and have to grovel before a select committee for a day or two before being let off.

        I had an email from Facebook this morning saying that they claim the right to use their exciting AI developments against me, but might honor (sic) any objections, if I expose my private information to them, so they can take measures to blacklist me from anywhere I might cause trouble for them. Their lawyers call it “legitimate interest”, which is the standard get-out clause giving them a licence to do what they want.

      2. It is trying to run the following javascripts:
        disqus.com
        disquscdn.com
        googletagmanager.com
        doubleclick.net
        osano.com
        amplitude.com
        rfihub.net
        amazon-adsystem.com
        mediatradecraft.com
        google-analytics.com
        privacymanager.io
        facebook.com

        None of the website pages I am visiting (i.e. Disqus) are prepared to divulge what javascripts are engaged and why. Perhaps we should be told? In the old days of Netscape, there used to be a little notification banner telling us what remote users were up to.

    2. Had that a few days ago, Jeremy. The solution for me was a reboot of the PC, and it cleared.
      Don't give up with NoTTL.

      1. Just to let you know that I generally use Whyte & Mackay 1 L,but the Glenlivet is going down well, with a wee drop of water – a deorch and doris in the local parlance. Once again, my thanks, Paul.

      2. I’m weary with fighting through hoops trying to do things in hours that fifteen years ago could be done in minutes. Maybe that is their intention – only those with AI-compliant Cloud-monitored smartphones with upgraded and supported analytical apps and of course the capacity to install spyware and bloatware remotely without the knowledge or consent of the user can trusted with free speech. They don’t care about the rest of us.

        Bit like this election really – streaming Leadership statements from the mainstream parties is deemed sufficient information upon which to vote for Starmer.

      2. I am cursed with Win 10 (I don't like it) and I'm using Firefox, but it all seems normal here.

    4. This is just a test to see if the 'new and improved' Disqus editor works for me….

  18. Good morning, all. Raining. Gale blowing. Just going down to light the stove…

  19. Interesting word today bearing in mind the events in the US

    Wordle 1,077 3/6

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    1. I almost blew it.

      Wordle 1,077 6/6

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  20. Letter & BTL Comment:-

    SIR – Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet have been unable to resolve the Diane Abbott situation decisively and elegantly (“Diane Abbott says she will not be ‘intimidated’ as she vows to remain MP”, report, May 30).

    How, then, will they cope with the much more weighty and complex issues that will face them if Sir Keir wins the keys to No 10 on July 4?

    Natural supporters of the Conservative Party and its traditional philosophy should think very seriously before they give the Tories a bloody nose.

    John Kellie
    Pyrford, Surrey

    Michael Geddes
    14 MIN AGO
    JOHN KELLIE
    I HAVE thought very seriously and I WILL be carrying out my small part in giving the conservatives a bloody nose. Why? Because over 14 years the party in government has done little to earn my trust and loyalty. An obsession with inaction is evidenced everywhere, not least by meek surrender to the intimidating hordes that rampage through London every Saturday, loudly screeching their hatred of Jews. Appeasement can only bring one result. Always. The policy of doing nothing became even more pronounced following the 2019 election and a vote for conservative now would be a mandate for more of the same. They've had over a decade to get the important issues resolved, yet these extremely serious problems STILL await attention. Here's an example. A Bulgarian gang defrauded our DWP of £50 million, a crime exposed by a Bulgarian police officer. Is anything being done to recover any of this cash and has there been an internal investigation to discover how it could have happened with a radical change made to the system? Probably not. The judge presiding over the Bulgarians trial, described the DWP as "woefully inadequate." Those words are valid when describing any and all government "organisations." There is a cancer that spreads from Downing St. contaminating the entire nation with a couldn't care less approach. Why would anyone vote for that?!
    There are choices and I have made mine. Reform.

      1. A 80 seat majority, seems impossible to believe that it was a conservative one.
        Years of wasted opportunities

    3. Yo B o B

      "as she vows to remain an MP"

      Shirley, we have not got to the stage whereby, at a General Election, sitting MPs decide if they are going to stay,
      and not the votes of their constituents

      1. After the dissolution of Parliament, there are no MPs. The best that Abbott could describe herself is as a prospective Parliamentary Candidate for her constituency.

  21. Letter & BTL Comment:-

    SIR – Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet have been unable to resolve the Diane Abbott situation decisively and elegantly (“Diane Abbott says she will not be ‘intimidated’ as she vows to remain MP”, report, May 30).

    How, then, will they cope with the much more weighty and complex issues that will face them if Sir Keir wins the keys to No 10 on July 4?

    Natural supporters of the Conservative Party and its traditional philosophy should think very seriously before they give the Tories a bloody nose.

    John Kellie
    Pyrford, Surrey

    Michael Geddes
    14 MIN AGO
    JOHN KELLIE
    I HAVE thought very seriously and I WILL be carrying out my small part in giving the conservatives a bloody nose. Why? Because over 14 years the party in government has done little to earn my trust and loyalty. An obsession with inaction is evidenced everywhere, not least by meek surrender to the intimidating hordes that rampage through London every Saturday, loudly screeching their hatred of Jews. Appeasement can only bring one result. Always. The policy of doing nothing became even more pronounced following the 2019 election and a vote for conservative now would be a mandate for more of the same. They've had over a decade to get the important issues resolved, yet these extremely serious problems STILL await attention. Here's an example. A Bulgarian gang defrauded our DWP of £50 million, a crime exposed by a Bulgarian police officer. Is anything being done to recover any of this cash and has there been an internal investigation to discover how it could have happened with a radical change made to the system? Probably not. The judge presiding over the Bulgarians trial, described the DWP as "woefully inadequate." Those words are valid when describing any and all government "organisations." There is a cancer that spreads from Downing St. contaminating the entire nation with a couldn't care less approach. Why would anyone vote for that?!
    There are choices and I have made mine. Reform.

  22. Britain needs to debate the limits of multiculturalism. 31 May 2024.

    You don’t have to agree with everything Nigel Farage said this week about immigration, Islam, and multiculturalism to think he opened up a subject that needs discussing. And when are we going to discuss these things if not in an election campaign? Yet most Conservatives have said little on these issues, even though I find them very much on the minds of Tory voters – actual, potential, and (perhaps especially) previous.

    Lol. Twenty years too late. It’s all over. The Caliphate is here. Disguised to some extent it is true but it is the power behind Labour.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/30/britain-needs-to-debate-the-limits-of-multiculturalism/

    1. This kind of ignorant, inadequate tweetling from the likes of the Daily Telegraph, after they've been calling us nazis for years for raising this subject, really annoys me.

      Next time they report on Tommy Robinson, they'll still call him far right, even though he's never said more than that islam is dangerous. And they ignore the ex muslims like Momus Najmi who say the exact same thing.

      1. TR is marching to parliament Square tomorrow. I expect to see a heavily policed event with tactics bordering on provocation. The counter demo however… I shall wait and see.

    2. Didn't somebody who has subsequently been vilified and scorned warn us several decades ago about the dangers of mass immigration?

      Was the word racist in common use before then? I cannot remember ever hearing it when I was a child.

      1. To be honest, Richard, I can't remember seeing any bleks when I was a child.

    3. 387906+ up ticks,

      Morning AS,
      It's here alright, beneath a lab overcoat,as with the tory (ino) party, the lab/lib/con those supporting, voting lab/lib/con coalition, are consenting to more paedophilia and open season on children.

    5. It makes me feel physically sick to think what our grandchildren will now have to live through. All because of a few hundred stupid and useless people in politics, who sit on their backsides talking all day.
      It makes no sense at all, why and what this minority of a few hundred useless idiots have done to our country. Once proud of its culture and traditions. And safe for all to live in.

      1. It isn't right that they have done this and that we have no redress. And look at the calibre of many MPs. Many would be derided in ordinary life. Many would not be employed in a decent job never mind promoted. There has to be a better system of selecting MPs and there has to be more stringent criteria to kick them out of office. And there should be emergency measures, able to be implemented by the electorate, to remove inept governments. Lack of commitment to manifestos should be used to help dislodge them. After two years there should be a referenda on whether a party should be allowed to continue to rule. If the vote goes against them an interim government should be installed made up of cross party members until the next GE.

        1. Hard hat, hiviz jacket, safety glasses, steel toe cap boots ? Bbc compliant.

          1. I should have thought bbc compliant would have been keffiyeh and anti-Jewish placards.

  24. The "You couldn't make it up files" gets an outing………

    "HMS Black Joke was once a slave ship herself, sailing under the Brazilian flag and known as the Henriqueta. But when the British captured her in 1827, this brave little vessel was transformed into the scourge of mercenary slavers who traded in human beings.

    On the last day of January 1829, Black Joke sighted a Spanish vessel, the El Almirante, sailing toward Havana in Cuba. She gave chase. And she kept on chasing for 31 long hours, until she came within firing range of the Spaniard.
    El Almirante sported 14 cannon to Black Joke's two but, after 80 bloody minutes of broadsides, the British prevailed and 466 African slaves were set free — at a cost of six wounded sailors, of whom two subsequently died.

    In another engagement two years later, Black Joke (named after the filthy lyrics of a street ballad, the sort enjoyed by sailors through the centuries) captured a 300-ton ship called the Marinerito, also flying the Spanish flag, and saved 496 slaves.

    Landsec, the commercial owner of Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, has turned down plans for a statue honouring these ships and their crews. This week it announced that, after consulting its 'employee diaspora network', it had decided the tribute was out of keeping with the 'inclusive environment' and lacked 'sensitivity to what is a very emotive topic and dark part of our history as a nation'."
    What a farce……

    3. It seems to me that the greatest mistake Britain ever made was to end the Transatlantic slave trade.

      We should have let it continue to flourish so that whoever did eventually do something to end it could be blamed rather than Britain!

    4. The truth might cause some hurty feelings to some of the many dipsticks with no knowledge of historical facts. Far easier to hide behind a balaclava and keyboard rather than learn something.

  25. Thought for the day:
    Trump will run for President, whatever the ongoing legal issues.

    Consider if Biden grants Trump a Presidential pardon and positions himself as the standard bearer for the democratic process. Biden can still state at every opportunity that it is clear that Trump is a convicted felon, who has been graciously pardoned, but is unsuitable as President.

    He could easily hoover, (ho ho) up the undecided voters as well as the rule of law people on the right.

    1. He can’t pardon him because the conviction was at state rather than federal justice level.

  26. A belated Good Morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff for today's NoTTLe page. I did rather well with today's Wordle.

    Wordle 1,077 3/6

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    1. Took me rather longer!
      Wordle 1,077 5/6

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  27. Good morning all and the 77th,

    A lovely start to the last day of a rather cool May. But it's going to cloud over. Wind in the North, 13℃ and forecast to be no more than 15-16℃ this afternoon.

    Says David Frost, the man considered too far right to stand as a Conservative candidate:

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/5c4dc19fc561ba7e9585d361a48af0c789ebf941127ea12a86d0afeca5c11ae4.png https://www.telegraph.co.uk…
    No, we don't, David. We need to end it and soon.

    1. Hamtramck
      It is notable as the only Muslim-majority city in the United States. Known in the 20th century as a vibrant center of Polish-American life and culture, Hamtramck has attracted new immigrants in the 21st century, especially from Yemen, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

    1. No, I haven’t heard anything about this. Marcus is just back from leading a group on retreat in Rome. Will let you know if he has anything to say on the subject.

      1. Parliament has been dissolved anyway. Is someone floating the idea to try and guage the level of outrage?

        1. Possibly. There are many within the church who’ve long argued for disestablishment. Synod meets in the week of the election, I believe?

    2. Yes, it be.

      https://humanists.uk/2023/12/06/disestablishment-of-the-church-of-england-bill-has-first-reading-in-parliament/

      https://www.secularism.org.uk/news/2023/12/bill-to-disestablish-the-church-of-england-introduced-in-parliament

      https://freethinker.co.uk/2023/12/this-is-not-rocket-science-the-disestablishment-of-the-church-of-england-bill-2023/

      But is thought to have little chance of passing.

      https://international.la-croix.com/news/politics/british-lord-presents-bill-to-disestablish-church-of-england/18817

      1. Thanks. Charles is appalling (paedophile friends, satanist imagery) but disestablishment would be even worse.
        There is one of those megalamaniac plans by the parasite class in existence to get rid of religions in the name of tolerance and harmony, and have everyone belonging to one world religion that would coincidentally be controlled by them. I hope it never comes to anything.

          1. Although I dislike and reject much of the koran and the hadiths, I also recognise that pitting us against muslims is part of the parasite class’s game. 9/11 kicked off a new era of conflict for them, a baddie that they could encourage everyone in the west to hate, while they carry on promoting the old Babylonian religion with its sxual depravity and paedophilia, its small elite and large mass of humanity that are treated no better than animals, its dual gender god and its ridiculous earth worship.
            Many people have already been converted to this religion, they just don’t know it yet.

    3. Will this cause a revolt in favour of the established church?

      Will the word that used to be deemed the longest word in the English dictionary come back under attention:

      Antidisestablishmentarianism

      1. The Conservatives need 160 candidates in a hurry.
        Watch CCHQ self-combust.

      2. That's why the Dopey Wokies don't like him because he's right and unlike most other 'leaders' sticks to his guns.

      3. Vlad would certainly be a better UK PM than either Sunak or Starmer!

      2. Morning Citroen,

        Starmer doesn't have the balls to stand up to the despots and bullies he will encounter when he / if he wins the election.

        He won't dare say boo to a goose, especially so that he has allowed some real lefties to remain in situ .

      3. He should be kneeling on her neck in sympathy with BLM. She has to say the password 'I carnt breeve' at least three times before he sits on her instead.

    1. Yep. First the ridiculous verdict in the Michael Mann vs Mark Steyn libel case, now this. The common link? Both 'trials' held in a Democrat justiciary area before a Democrat judge and with a Democrat jury.

      1. All further evidence of why Prince Andrew's legal advisers told him not to put himself in front of an American court.

        And on the subject of the Epstein – why has the only person to be imprisoned been an English woman while the likes of Clinton and Gates, both frequent visitors to Epstein's Paedophile Island, have avoided the attention of the US courts?

      2. If it was a fair trial they might lose, so they rig it. It keeps the veneer of respectability while ensuring it is not at all.

    2. This case against Trump and the verdict it has produced must surely reinforce the view that Biden and the Democrats did not win the 2020 election they stole it.

  31. Judge General Melchett asks Stormy Daniels..
    "Did you own a lovely speckly pigeon called speckled Jim? Which you hand-reared from a chick, which was your only childhood friend. And did the guilty bad orange man Donald Trump shoot the aforementioned pigeon? (now shouting) Can you see the guilty bad orange man Donald Trump anywhere in this Court room?"

    1. As HRH Prince Andrew discovered, hell hath no fury like a scorned prossie. As the saying goes, she wasn't paid to f*ck, she was paid to f*ck off.

    2. There is a lot of doubt as to whether the "incident" with Daniels actually occurred or whether it was a scam claim that Trump paid up on simply to avoid the bad publicity publicly refuting it would bring.

      1. kangaroo courts in banana republics couldn't careless about the details.

  32. Judge General Melchett asks Stormy Daniels..
    "Did you own a lovely speckly pigeon called speckled Jim? Which you hand-reared from a chick, which was your only childhood friend. And did the guilty bad orange man Donald Trump shoot the aforementioned pigeon? (now shouting) Can you see the guilty bad orange man Donald Trump anywhere in this Court room?"

  34. Ah the anniversary of May 1791.. how appropriate..
    On a proposal of Robespierre, the Assembly votes to forbid members of the current Assembly to become candidates for the next Assembly.
    Classic libtard overreach.. they can't help themselves.

  35. Ah the anniversary of May 1791.. how appropriate..
    On a proposal of Robespierre, the Assembly votes to forbid members of the current Assembly to become candidates for the next Assembly.
    Classic libtard overreach.. they can't help themselves.

  36. Ah the anniversary of May 1791.. how appropriate..
    On a proposal of Robespierre, the Assembly votes to forbid members of the current Assembly to become candidates for the next Assembly.
    Classic libtard overreach.. they can't help themselves.

  37. "Cricket must move away from its alcohol culture or it will continue to alienate Muslim fans, one of the game’s most high profile figures has said.

    Azeem Rafiq, the key whistleblower in the Yorkshire racism scandal that rocked the sport, said club cricket “revolved around alcohol”, which “excludes Muslims specifically, but everyone that doesn’t drink”."

    Oh, how sad.

    1. "it's never enough for them.. they expect us to refrain from liking; bacon, women, gays, music, Christians, Jews, museums, artefacts, our law, our culture, alcohol.."
      Christopher Hitchens

        2. Which is why you can't trust them. Anyone who doesn't like dogs, piggies and such like is shifty.

    3. Sorry my comment would be unprintable. But eff off you dick head Azeem Rafiq.
      Get back to where you belong.

      1. in case you haven't noticed, since Blair.. the UK government & every single institution insist that it is you that must do the accommodating.. or get back to where you belong.

      2. in case you haven't noticed, since Blair.. the UK government & every single institution insist that it is you that must do the accommodating.. or get back to where you belong.

    5. The first time I have ever heard this. I never knew that cricket had an alcohol culture. And I thought it was very popular on the Indian sub continent.
      If Muslims have taken a dislike to it I’m sure it’s a recent phenomenon.

    6. It's a little unclear whether Rafiq means participants or spectators when referring to "fans". There's certainly been no shortage of Pakistan spectators in their just concluded – and all too rain-affected – series of matches in England this month.

      <blockquote><b>Ex Yorkshire cricketer Rafiq says club cricket revolves around alcohol excluding Muslims</b>

      Azeem Rafiq, the key whistleblower in the Yorkshire cricket racism scandal, has told an audience at the Hay Festival that cricket must move away from its alcohol culture or it will continue to alienate Muslim fans. Rafiq, formerly with Yorkshire, said club cricket revolves around alcohol which excludes Muslims who don’t drink. He said attempts to set up Asian cricket clubs outside the mainstream were because many felt excluded. British Asians represent 30 per cent of players at recreational level, but only four per cent at professional level. The Times reports that Rafiq told the festival he had been forced to leave Britain for Dubai because of the fallout from the Yorkshire racism scandal.</blockquote>

      https://religionmediacentre.org.uk/news/religion-news-31-may-2024/

      It's not the first time Rafiq has raised this matter. 2½ years ago, former team mate Tino Best related conversations he'd had with Asian cricketers, including Rafiq, and the difficulties they had fitting in if they were not part of the drinking culture.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/59327872

        1. There are no details about how this culture can be changed. Perhaps a combination of disapproval from club officials and a call for self-restraint on the part of those inclined to resort to alcohol in excess.

          One notable action on the part of the England cricket team was to celebrate a tournament win by including its two Muslim team mates in the photo shoot, cheering and trophy lifting, then allowing them to step aside before shaking up the champagne bottle and spraying its contents around.

      2. My local home cricket club up in Wolverhampton is in a pickle. Lots of Muslim members. They don’t stay for tea, they don’t mix, they don’t take part in any other aspect of Club life. They turn up and play. But getting subs out of them is a different matter. It’s killing the club.

        1. But it's our fault, as always, shame we can't deport the lot of them.

      3. Mr Sapola hardly ever drinks alcohol and managed just fine playing club cricket and coaching colts cricket. In fact, had he been a drinker he would have found getting to the matches difficult.

  38. Morning all 🙂😊
    My word the outlook is awful outside today.
    The weather is better in the middle of winter in Victoria but Bruce has still been splitting his logs.
    I'm absolutely fed up with all this election garbage already.
    It's pretty obvious to anyone by now that our political classes are utter garbage. They are not even worthy of a tick.

    1. It's quite nice here! Sun and a nice breeze. I'm tempted to put the quilt in to see if I can save on the tumbling, but I think that's a necessary either way.

      Don't really want to buy a new one.

      1. We changed our winter duvet to the lighter summer version over a week ago.
        Going to stick it out not going back yet.

        2. We've got a couple of lovely wool ex-BR Sleeper Coach blankets as a standby for cold snaps.
          Not had to use them yet.

      1. I did get a nasty bite on my left arm from sitting next to our wildlife pond a week ago.
        Antisan is a very good pacifier.

    4. Yes, it's grey and cheerless here, too. No rain, as yet, but chilly and windy.

          1. Takes cover……
            Our next-door neighbour was a hospital sister……. she’s banned age.

    3. I saw and mentioned that earlier this week. That might have been last weeks QT.

    4. I gave up watching it years ago.
      Yes – she's right but she obviously slipped past the vetting process.

  40. Morning all. The insanity of finding Trump guilty.

    To make it clear Trump was already investigated on these "crimes" and found not guilty by the Feds who ranking in the hierarchy of legality in the USA outranks any State. And, in fact non of these charges are actually crimes, they are all civil matters. I think that what I'm saying here makes it perfectly clear that this was a political trial. What's worse is that the judge is not even a regular judge but substitute brought our because other judges in New York are indisposed by to much work, sickness etc. Furthermore this judge,, prior to the trial actually said he hated Trump. So not exactly a neutral party in this matter at all. The guilty verdict is a farce and a dangerous one at that because now the majority of Americans are pro-Trump and if this judge tries to jail him, I would expect violence in the streets.
    So, here is Meghan Kelly, who is a lawyer as well as a TV commentator and podcaster o political matters take on the matter.
    I'll also attach Nigel Farage's comments on the Trump verdict.

    Trump Found Guilty in New York: Megyn Kelly Gives Her Instant Reaction and Analysis
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FJznXgDfss
    Nigel Farage vows to FIGHT Donald Trump's corner after GUILTY verdict
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj2R9wuwhDc

    1. The entire farce was politically motivated to do Trump in. They're terrified of him. The Left have done this throughout history. Pot, Mao and Stalin used to just have their enemies killed. Biden's Left wing cabal would probably love to do the same but thought a show trial would give them the pretence of legality.

    2. Steve Bannon has revealed that this anti-Trump judge was "randomly" selected from the pool of New York judges to officiate on Trump's, Bannon's and another case involving the Trump Organisation's CFO.

      Statistically, what are the chances of this happening?

        1. Well, New York is currently very blue politically but that could change.

    1. You'd soon get fed up if he was indoors kicking his heels all the time. He gives you the freedom to be online here and on Tw@tter.

        1. Oh good heavens , well I hadn't thought of that , really and truly .

          15 years ago a friend bought me a rail ticket to visit London , to visit an art exhibition and much more , to visit nice places etc .

          The fuss was appalling , disgraceful, embarrassing , shocking and wiped out any bit of confidence I had .

          1. Gosh! whatever happened? I haven't been to London for five years now but when I did that kind of thing didn't happen.

          3. They need a dose of reality. Just go and don't let them know next time. If they kick off when you come back, tell them you had such a wonderful time when you were away it's made you reluctant to come back.

      2. No , the freedom to stock the fridge , do the laundry , sort his and son no 1's clothes out .

        Looking after two old chaps is difficult , especially when they row with each other

        Cleaning the loos , scrub scrub scrub !

        I sit down here for a break , or to vent my spleen .

        1. Well I've only got one old chap to look after but I know what you mean. Can't they sort their own clothes out? I'd draw the line at that one. But he's always done the ironing here so I can't complain on that score.

        2. You should go on strike. Take yourself off somewhere with pooch for a weekend. They don't know what they've got, but they will when it's gone.

    2. Back in the mid 70s when I was an art student living as a lodger in a private home during term time, one of my fellow lodgers (there were three of us) linked up with a neighbour who was also a keen golfer. That was where I first heard the expression "golf widow", as applied to the wife of the neighbour.

    3. I feel like an abandoned woman at times but there aren't many in my area

  44. Ofwat and sewage

    SIR – Water companies have got into unaffordable debt to pay for shareholder dividends (and, in turn, bigger bonuses for directors) while ignoring the necessary capital investment to fund their businesses responsibly. The result is that sewage pollutes our rivers at an ever-increasing rate.

    Yet instead of tackling the root cause of the pollution, Ofwat appears to suggest more pollution should be allowed – in effect to pay for excessive dividends and bonuses (“Sewage dumping limits may be eased for failing water firms”, report, May 30).

    If these companies are unrecoverable, they should be allowed to fail and be taken over by competent management. How long before another head of Ofwat is awarded a highly paid directorship at one of these very polluters?

    Declan Salter
    Chenies, Buckinghamshire

    2. I honestly don't understand what's gone on with water. We have a regulator that refuses to diverge from EU rules, we have state organisations, quangos galore who fiddle and poke in on these areas and yet we still have sewage in freshwater.

      If the state isn't interested in doing anything, it should be shut down. What's happened must surely be monitoried over time? The company accounts audited to see where the money is going? Or do all civil servants really just sit there poncing about on completely useless and unnecessary make work?

      Why is there never any consequence for those really responsible? Why does the sate machine continue to bumble on, incompetent, useless, pointlessly?

    1. I don't think anybody should feel pressured or bullied into consuming alcohol for any reason. If being teetotal excludes you from career opportunities, then something is wrong.

      1. I think Rafiq is talking about club cricket (which is mostly amateur), so not really about career opportunities. There must be non-Muslim teetotallers playing for these or some of these clubs – do they feel excluded? Sorry, but I think Rafiq is playing the victim card again.

      2. I wasn’t saying anything about alcohol but the Muslim need to integrate into the British way of life, rather than expect us to conform.

      3. I've known teetotallers who had no problem fitting in. They just drank soft drinks. I'm usually driving so I only have soft drinks. I don't feel excluded – but then I'm not a muslim.

  46. Asians do not "feel excluded", Muslims feel excluded because the clubs are not under their control by observing Sharia laws.

  47. Asians do not "feel excluded", Muslims feel excluded because the clubs are not under their control by observing Sharia laws.

  48. Has the government – either side of it – realised that socialism does not work? That if you rob Peter continually to given Paul stuff, eventually Paul's brats never bother and pretty soon after Peter's don't either?

  49. SIR – How is it possible for HMRC to clear Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, so quickly when my co-executor and I have been waiting more than 18 months for a letter from HMRC to finalise my late father’s estate (“Angela Rayner ‘cleared by HMRC’ over second home row” report, telegraph.co.uk, May 30)?

    Sue Beale
    Maidenhead, Berkshire

    Because Sue, you are a nobody. Like the rest of us grunts.

    1. I thought it was the perlice that had "cleared" Gobby – and that HMRC was going to take ten years to "investigate…"

      1. It’s taken 9 years up here to work out that a Macplod sergeant was at fault for not logging the report of a car accident, in which a man died and his girlfriend was left for 3 days before they decided to ‘rescue’ them. The girl later died, but could have been saved. The sergeant has issued an apology (so that’s OK) and has ‘been tormented by guilt’ all this time. Apparently it was a ‘lack of training’ which caused this ‘organisational failure’. I despair! 🤦🏻‍♀️

  50. John McDonnell hasn't been expelled though , and he is keeping his head down .

    In May 2003, he made controversial comments about the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), saying:
    It's about time we started honouring those people involved in the armed struggle. It was the bombs and bullets and sacrifice made by the likes of Bobby Sands that brought Britain to the negotiating table. The peace we have now is due to the action of the IRA.[23]

    Threatened with expulsion from the Labour Party, he went on to offer a rationale for his comments in an article written for The Guardian in June 2003 ("Expulsion would be an odd reward for telling hard truths"), stating:
    Let me be clear, I abhor the killing of innocent human beings. My argument was that republicans had the right to honour those who had brought about this process of negotiation which had led to peace. Having achieved this central objective now it was time to move on. The future for achieving the nationalists' goals is through the political process and in particular through the Northern Ireland Assembly elections … Irish republicans have to face the fact that the use of violence has resulted in unforgivable atrocities. No cause is worth the loss of a child's life. No amount of political theory will justify what has been perpetrated on the victims of the bombing campaigns.[24]

    In 2006, McDonnell said that "Marx, Lenin and Trotsky" were his "most significant" intellectual influences.[34] Footage emerged of McDonnell in 2013 talking about the financial crisis of 2007–2008 and stating, "I've been waiting for this for a generation! We've got to demand systemic change. Look, I'm straight, I'm honest with people: I'm a Marxist."[35] He was accused of celebrating the financial crisis of 2007–2008; McDonnell denied the allegation and claimed he was "joking".[35] During an interview with Andrew Marr when the footage was played and McDonnell was asked, "Are you a Marxist?", he replied: "I believe there's a lot to learn from reading Kapital, yes of course there is, and that's been recommended not just by me but many others, mainstream economists as well."[36] In 2018, McDonnell attended the Marx 200 conference, where he said, "Marxism is about the freedom of spirit, the development of life chances, the enhancement of democracy."[37] In 2019, McDonnell stated during an interview that Marx's Kapital is "one of the important analyses of the modern capitalist system".

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McDonnell#:~:text=Look%2C%20I'm%20straight%2C,I'm%20a%20Marxist.%22

    Look , the hard left of Labour are staying quiet , apart from Rayner and co

    1. I doubt if Rayner knows how to be quiet. So McDonnell is a Marxist – I think that's been known for many years.

      1. Rayner for all her recently exposed sins should also have been kicked out.

        1. But she's been found not to have done any of the things she was accused of….

    2. "Marxism is about the freedom of spirit, the development of life chances, the enhancement of democracy."

      Come again, lad?

      1. How come that, when it fails as it always does, so many people get their spirit freed from their body?

      2. Marxism is about the destruction of the human spirit and despair. It's about bringing people to the belief that since there's no hope then any level of degeneracy is justifiable.

  52. Really? He’s clearly short of dosh for his gambling debts (isn’t that haram) and decided to stoke a few more fires. Revolting little anti-Semitic race baiter.

  53. Good morning, all. Wet and breezy.

    This is a very good 30 minutes or so interview by Jim Ferguson talking to defence analyst David Ellis. The latter's inside knowledge and contacts in areas of government are extensive and his opinions on the civil service, including the Cabinet Office, will confirm many people's views that the elected government is no longer in charge.

    https://x.com/JimFergusonUK…

    1. The earth gods must be pacified. Human sacrifice is the tried and trusted method. Shoving virgins off mountain tops is awfully crude so instead you and I must be punished via higher taxes and lower living standards. Possibly being threatened with the wrath of Demeter was always a power grab. Who knows?

      1. Greta is very likely to be a virgin! Can’t we try that first?
        Please note – Not an original thought!

      2. Morning Sue. I like it. I'm sure that it will be far more effective than higher energy bills.

    2. I'm somewhat puzzled that a volcanic eruption is a matter for a meteorological office, other than the effects of ash clouds. Were no geologists available?

  58. A toughie today:
    Wordle 1,077 4/6

    ⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
    🟨⬜🟩⬜⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Worked for me

      Wordle 1,077 4/6

      🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
      ⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  59. Poole Harbour Ospreys

    The 4th egg has hatched. Mum looks rather confused…she may be related to a certain MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington and counting is not her forte. I don't know what child benefits they qualify for but Dad has his work cut out keeping them all fed. Doubt if the two smaller ones will survive.

    https://youtu.be/n4KE0nQm7I4

    https://youtu.be/7YwNjU9UZ50

  60. This wind is wrecking a beautiful Dog Rose I pulled from a hedge row 25 years ago. It has now reached the top of a Rowen tree in our garden and was covered in blossom until now. Small Flowers with four heart shaped pink petals on each bloom of probably 60 or more.
    Most of all on the ground.
    So disappointing.

  62. In Heaven, Saint Peter is at his desk near the Pearly Gates when a dirty white Ford Transit pickup stops at the entrance. Inside are three travellers. He looks at them with distaste and asks “What do you want?”

    “We’ve just been killed in a road crash and we want to come in.”

    Peter replies “We don’t want any of your sort up here.”

    “Well this is the Kingdom of Heaven, you don’t refuse anyone if they’ve repented their sins.”

    Peter says “Wait here a minute then, I’ve got to go and ask the management.” He goes off to find the Almighty.

    Peter finds God sitting on his throne, and tells him what has occurred.

    “Go back and tell them all are welcome, let them in.” says God.

    “Oh, very well then” says Peter, not very enthusiastically.

    Five minutes later, Peter returns.

    “They’ve gone.”

    “What, the travellers?”

    “No, the gates…..”

  63. 387906+ up ticks,

    Stef Anthony Coburn 🗣
    @Stef_Coburn
    ·
    28m
    The corruption that riddles society!

    A problem SO HUGE & disgustingly EVIL it boggles the mind; but which MUST be dealt with or we have NO chance at all for a decent future.

    18 YEAR UK POLICE VETERAN EXPOSES THEM ALL – GARY WATERMAN AND CHRISTOPHER JAMES

    If this proves to be true facts then banks will soon be issuing
    £5,£10, £20 & nine bob notes.

    https://x.com/Stef_Coburn/status/1796485931991749105

    1. Completely out of character. Much respected friend and neighbour. Always ready with a helping hand. Loved his several wives and two dozen children to bits.

  68. Germany to allow Kyiv to use its weapons to strike Russia. 31 May 2024.

    The German government has announced that it will give Ukraine permission to use weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin this morning.

    The government gives its blessing to Ukraine to use German weapons across the border into Russian territory bordering the Kharkiv region, after days of debate in Berlin as to whether it was willing to risk being labelled a party to war if it did so.

    We are on our way fellow Nottlers. Get stocked up and prepare for the end.

    https://www.theguardian.com…

    1. The good ol' EU might be first to feel the response to the warmongering, and I don't think the Europeans are going to like it up 'em..

        1. Quite! Perhaps we should send Vlad the coordinates of EU central and Rotherham.

    2. Couldn't they have just said nothing and left Ukraine to do whatever it wants?

      If When it all goes apeshit, they could then have wagged a finger at naughty Zelensky and claimed that they didn't authorize.the attack.

      1. Afternoon Richard. In all my imaginings of a Third World War I never concieved that I would utterly loathe the West and its leaders.

        1. You might be safe in Europe. Trudeau has done so much to shut down our military that this country is effectively defenseless. It would be easy for Russia to avoid you pesky europeans and fight the ensuing war on our land.

          Either that or we wil find that we are on the flight path for missiles aimed at New York and Washington.

    3. Putin's major personality-based strengths in a political role are his commanding demeanor and confident assertiveness. 👿 His major personality-based shortcomings are his uncompromising intransigence, lack of empathy and congeniality, and cognitive inflexibility.🚀

  69. Germany to allow Kyiv to use its weapons to strike Russia. 31 May 2024.

    The German government has announced that it will give Ukraine permission to use weapons supplied by Germany against military targets in Russia, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin this morning.

    The government gives its blessing to Ukraine to use German weapons across the border into Russian territory bordering the Kharkiv region, after days of debate in Berlin as to whether it was willing to risk being labelled a party to war if it did so.

    We are on our way fellow Nottlers. Get stocked up and prepare for the end.

    https://www.theguardian.com…

  70. Far-Right activist stabbed by knifeman during rampage at political rally. 31 May 2024.

    A far-Right activist who compared Islam to facism is believed to have been stabbed in a knife attack by a man who was shot by police in northwest Germany.

    Bystanders stepped in to try to stop the knifeman but he broke free and stabbed a police officer in the back before being shot by another officer.

    The unidentified attacker’s first victim was reported to be Michael Stürzenberger. The 59-year-old is known for his anti-Islamic views.

    Oh! That’s alright then. As long as he wasn’t someone who didn’t deserve it. Lol!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/31/germany-stabbing-knifeman-stabs-people/

    2. Knifeman stabs multiple people. The start of The Beginning.. that's all.
      This year's election will be the first of the Islamist Referendums building up to the showdown in 2028.

      Sir Keir says.. "We don't have an issue with Muslims at all.. stop talking about it, and stop feeding the faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar right (in familiar nasal tone)."

      1. All the deeply entrenched left seem to do is emphasise just how thick they all are and how much they hate this country.

  72. When you are losing the debate, silence your critics.

    Trudeaus mob are introducing a law that will fine oil and gas companies for making claims about their conservation efforts unless they can prove that their claims are true when measured against recognized international methodologies. The law does not define which methodologies are to be used.

    Obviously they don't want the companies showing how much they have achieved in cleaning up their act.

    1. Do the reservations still have a Medicine Man? I see "international" slipped in there as if there really is any such thing as a set of rules agreed by all nations. The "rules based order" is whatever a handful of powerful people want it to be.

      1. Yes – but there is a month's wait for a consultation by smoke signals.

        1. I'm reading Mark Twain's account of his travels and he compares the heartrending poverty and complete utter uselessness of the Bedouin Arabs to the injuns back home.

  73. Love or hate Trump, this rotten trial is an assault on justice. 31 may 2024.

    Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in a trial in Manhattan on May 30. Democrats are singing with joy, but it was a truly sad day for America.

    This was a prosecution that never would have been brought had the defendant not been Donald Trump, and had Trump not run for reelection in 2024. Rather than prosecuting an obvious crime, prosecutors set out to prosecute a political opponent. And to do so, they invented a criminal theory to pursue.

    Of course it is and it is an opening shot for an American Civil War. The Democrats (ironically) have revealed themselves to be the enemies of Freedom and Democracy. Whether they can ever be restored is doubtful. We are entering a Dark Age where all that the West has achieved is going down the tube.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/31/the-trump-verdict-will-tear-america-apart/

    1. an American Civil War.. Red states vs Blue states.
      Nah, as Matty Taylor says (the angrybootneck) and he's living there.. even in the outer areas of California no less.. the silenced majority loathe the Libtards.

    2. Whether Trump fiddled the books to hide payments to a not so attractive porn star is irrelevant. It is all dirty politics at its worst.

      The Republicans have no choice but to support Trump for president, it is too late to change course. What matters now is how those middle of the road voters react to this verdict – will he lose votes or gain votes from the floaters?

        1. She surfaced recently and made a speech about how it wasn't her that lost the election, it was all of those women that did not vote for her.

      2. It will not change the voting intention of his supporters but it is likely to persuade the floating voters and those who are Republicans but not enthusiastic about Trump to vote Democrat or not vote at all. This will not gain him more than a few votes but lose him many.

  74. I can make golf last over four hours but a love tryst of that duration stretches more than the imagination.

      1. The Met will ensure it will be confrontational to keep the extreme right curtailed. The counter demo will be afforded their right of protest, no doubt.

          2. Tommy's appearance and persona work against him but without them he would never have survived.

        1. Why do you ask that? I simply know from their past behaviour that the “hearts and minds” of the Muslipolitan Police are with the slammers and NOT with any group that doesn’t like slammers.

    4. Be careful, Sue, if you're going.
      I used to go on demos – for rhinos, elephants, lions etc, against trophy hunting and so on – never any bother and we had a lot of fun on those – but times have changed in the last five years and I don't think I'd go now.

        1. I was on one of those. Fortunately, I was in Mongolia for the march that the police turned into a bloodbath.

  77. Keir Starmer has just announced that Diane Abbott is free to stand as a Labour candidate!

    2. The wind changed. So did his opinion.

      Frankly he knows she'll win because of the diversity in her constitutency. Fielding against her is pointless, so easier to gain a seat than lose it.

      2. Hackney N and Stoke Newington was not quite as Afro-Caribbean as many think. There has been a lot of gentrification over the many years that the fragrant Diane has been the MP. But I think her constituency will now include some of David Lammy’s old turf in Tottenham while Lammy gets a bit of the old Hornsey and Wood Green.

    1. This is only going to get worse as they're emboldened to act as they wish by the state.

    1. No comments on that one. "Far-right activist" – that's most of us here who aren't that keen on Islam.

  82. Au contrair mes ami, plod are sheep, they do what their programmers tell them.
    You have to look higher up the food chain to see whose lubricating the cojones to do the 'radical ' work on the indigenous population. When you find the nadir, you will have achieved sentience, then you will be happy and own nothing….

    1. I see. I thought for one awful moment that you were under the impression that I thought the perlice were doing a grand job….

        1. Yer Cherman press says: "significant injuries". The SS were asked for a comment.

  84. If Putin wins, expect the worst genocide since the Holocaust. 31 may 2024

    For the next seven days The Telegraph is running a series of exclusive essays from international commentators imagining the consequences if Russia were successful in its war.

    These “essays” are to provide propaganda cover for the escalating situation in Ukraine. They have extensive back up below the line where Nudge Unit trolls try to suppress any dissenting opinion. Since the threads are the last survivors of Free Speech in the West this actually tells us how nervous the PTB are about the Russian response.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/31/europe-see-the-worst-genocide-since-holocaust/

  86. Will Putin go nuclear if western weapons hit targets in Russia?
    Nato, the US, Britain and France are in favour of Ukraine using their weapons for cross-border attacks, but Kremlin is almost certain to strike back in some way

    Britain, France and the United States have all supplied Kyiv with powerful long-range missiles to strike President Putin’s invading forces since Russia launched its assault on Ukraine in 2022.

    The western missiles have been deployed with devastating effect against the Kremlin’s army in occupied areas, including Crimea, but Kyiv has had to use its own rockets and drones to hit targets inside Russia itself. That may be about to change.

    As Putin’s forces pound Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, from across the border, Britain and France have given Kyiv the green light to use their weapons to hit military targets in Russia. Britain has provided Ukraine with advanced Storm Shadow cruise missiles, while France has supplied its own version of the missiles, called Scalp. Jens Stoltenberg, the head of Nato, is also in favour of using western weapons to take the war to Russia.

    Will Putin go nuclear if western weapons hit targets in Russia?
    Nato, the US, Britain and France are in favour of Ukraine using their weapons for cross-border attacks, but Kremlin is almost certain to strike back in some way.

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Cuban_Missile_Crisis
    The crisis lasted from 16 to 28 October 1962. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.

    1. In that crisis, the USSR blinked first. Let's hope it will be NATO this time round.

      1. The USSR agreed to withdraw its nuclear weapons from Cuba but only if the Yanks withdrew theirs from Turkey. That last bit doesn't get mentioned often. Most people didn't know that.

    2. In that crisis, the USSR blinked first. Let's hope it will be NATO this time round.

    3. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.
      Until now. Afternoon Belle.

    4. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.
      Until now. Afternoon Belle.

    5. The confrontation is widely considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into full-scale nuclear war.
      Until now. Afternoon Belle.

    6. The Russians are aware that no advanced Cruise missiles can be operated by Ukrainians. The targeting systems have to be operated by experienced technical staff from the countries providing the systems with the aid of AWACS and Satellite positioning.

      President Putin has given stark warnings as to the consequences for any western countries engaging in this escalation.

  88. Is Geoff or any moderators around, a Nottl has contacted me to say he cannot post here, is it a disqus issue or Nottl issue .

    1. Disqus has done an update which seems to be causing a few problems. Perhaps he needs to log in before he can post.

      1. I had a failure to load captcha on my iPad yesterday . I went online and managed to get it back after deleting cookies and website data in settings.

  89. What is supposed to be new about Discurse? I notice no difference. Just asking.

      1. Copying <b>X</b> addresses no longer shows the tweet, it just copies in the link.

        Edit: it appears that the basic HTML commands no longer function.

        Rounded corners.

  90. Cur Ikea Slammer does a U-turn about Abbototamus. Now there's a surprise…

    1. Type in the word you want to hide behind the spoiler block. Highlight the word. Then choose the spoiler icon.

  92. This lot are marching at the weekend as well. I have sympathy with both causes, Tommy and the British Friends of Israel. I also have a full size Israeli flag among my Last Night of the Proms flag collection but would probably leave it at home.

    "As time grows desperately short, there will be a march this Sunday 2nd June at 2:00pm in London to join the worldwide call to demand the immediate release of hostages.

    The 7/10 Human Chain and The Hostages and Missing Families Forum UK are joining many organisations of different faiths and communities from 24 countries to highlight the plight of the hostages.

    Marching through the streets of London, they will send a global message to the world that there is nothing more urgent than reaching a deal, and that any solution to end the suffering must start with releasing the hostages.

    Join them:
    Sunday 2nd June
    2.00pm
    Central London (exact location to be announced later)

    Please sign up to register your interest and to find out the exact location of the march: http://www.710humanchain.com/unitedmarch

    Look out for our banner and please do come and say hello. Bring your own British Friends of Israel flag if you have one!

    Warm wishes,
    British Friends of Israel."

    1. All roses round here have been bashed and battered by rain and gales. They look awful.

      1. I know from the GB presenters that the weather in the south-east and East Anglia has been pretty awful …

        1. Unspeakable. Apart from the winter greens that I planted out three weeks ago – everything else is barely surviving. Tomatoes prolly a write-off. Fortunately, I have 12 spares that I was going to give away and – phew! – didn't.

        2. Yes it is. They are also saying it has been the warmest May since records began. I should cocoa!

  94. Colonel MacGregor giving his opinion on the Ukraine situation and the outlook is bleak for Ukraine and the West. He expects the Russians to make their major move in June when the land has dried out.

    MacGregor is clear about who is pushing war, and why. Resources and the money that will flow from the exploitation. The same was the plan for Russia but some miscalculations were made by the elites.

    https://x.com/PWestoff/status/1796447009018396995

  95. Always on the ball, that Pope chap:

    "Leave the gossiping to women, Pope Francis tells priests"

    3. Hasn't read his Bible. The NT specifically warns older women against gossiping and drinking too much wine!

  96. Always on the ball, that Pope chap:

    "Leave the gossiping to women, Pope Francis tells priests"

  97. A bedraggled Birdie Three?

    Wordle 1,077 3/6
    🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
    ⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Back to boring after yesterday's debacle…..

      Wordle 1,077 4/6

      ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
      🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    2. Me too.

      Wordle 1,077 3/6

      🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
      🟩🟨🟩🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. A close run thing on 6.
      I was searching for consonants not vowels.

      Wordle 1,077 6/6

      🟨⬜⬜🟨⬜
      🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜
      🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  98. Six planets to appear in alignment next week in rare celestial parade

    Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus will be visible but viewers may need some equipment to see them clearly

    Stargazers are in with a chance of a celestial treat on Monday with six planets appearing in alignment.

    Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune and Uranus will take part in the parade – which occurs when planets gather on the same side of the sun.

    Prof Danny Steeghs, of the University of Warwick said the event, which should be visible around the world, was due to occur around sunrise and would be rather low in the east, meaning the alignment would need some equipment to see properly.

    “Uranus and Neptune will be faint, so viewers will require good binoculars to see them,” he said, adding that the proximity of Jupiter and Mercury to the sun would restrict their view.

    Some of the planets may be visible to the naked eye, although scattered light might still cause difficulties. “Mars and Saturn are the more accessible ones to view, you can see them ahead of the other planets rising and a bit higher in the sky,” Steeghs said, adding that mobile apps could help show where and when to look up.

    The planets will appear in a diagonal arrangement across the sky, with Saturn highest, followed by Neptune, then Mars, Uranus and Mercury. Jupiter will appear closest to the horizon.

      1. No idea, but I bet where will be plenty of idiots on Twitter ready to give us the benefit of their deep experience in such matters…

    3. Six planets to appear in alignment next week in rare celestial parade.

      It's a sign. End of the World.

          6. Dear Father Christmas,
            I have been a sarcastic little shit all year but if you don't give me a Scalextrics i'll kick you in the balls and roast Rudolph. :@)

  99. Are not grandchildren a constant delight? My beloved grand-daughter missed my birthday (in January) and the MR's (in April). Not a card, message or text. Bit disappointed.

    However – this morning the post brought a parcel from her with "goody-bags" for each of us, cards, presents and tons of love.

    Made us both go gooey inside!

  100. That's me for this very cold, gale-ridden wet day. Thank goodness for the stove – and a novel. Re-reading C P Snow. He has gone right out of fashion, hasn't he? Apt for an old fogey such as I am!

    Have a spiffing evening.

    A demain – no rain expected for once – just the sodding gale.

    1. In No Highway, Neville Shute appears to presage some later real-life disasters and is based on just-emerging knowledge of metal fatigue

        1. Nicholas Monsarrat, a great story teller .

          The tribe that losts its head is one , and then the drama of the Nylon pirates .

          The Nylon Pirates

          The 'Alcestis', a British luxury liner, moored in New York and bound on a cruise to the Caribbean, South America and Africa, awaits her exclusive passengers – businessmen with mid-life crises, large bank balances and unforgiving wives; legacy-laden women looking for love and adventure; and divorcees with settlements to squander. But another group of passengers threatens to upset their opulent trip. These are the twentieth-century pirates – suave, elegant, discreet and utterly unscrupulous, with a singular purpose in mind and a collection of ruthless strategies.

        1. I visited Alice Springs a few years ago and expected to see it looking something like a township from a Clint Eastwood Western. It was actually a rather nice, well-kept, modern small town, albeit in the middle of the biggest expanse of “no-where” you could imagine.

          1. 🎵I have never been 🎵
            Priscilla did though. They even have cocktail Bars !

          2. When I was there, they had some very good bars although I don’t recall specifically any cocktail bars. I must have missed Priscilla!

          3. We went just about everywhere else but didn’t make it to a town like that. 🤠
            One of my niece’s was there during a working holiday, she and her friends were chatting to some people on the next table in a pub. And one of the guys asked where she was from.
            She told him and he said you don’t know Ready Eddie (not my real name) do you ? …….yes he’s my uncle. Martin B, was my apprentice 30 years before that.

    2. Apparently, its been the warmest May ever. Probably assessed by the same type of people who awarded the benefit scammers £50m+

      1. Had a bit of an argument at today’s wedding with delightful relatives on my cousin’s side – both old and young.- who believe in “climate change” and the planet being the hottest ever and May being the hottest on record etc. They have swallowed the global warming bollox hook line and sinker. Sad.

    1. 387906+ up ticks,

      Evening Rik,

      So it seems that the political department of strongly alledged murder inc. are flexing their power muscles in a more odious manner, will issues of this calibre be seen among the majority voters as a vote winner, right up until
      "they come for them".

    2. Its quite shocking the level of corruption in the deep state. These sanctions do not come from the prison Governor or his staff. I'm waiting to see what they will do to kick off trouble tomorrow.

    3. Patriotic Alternative is a self-avowed neo-Nazi site, take a look if you dont believe me.

      They had a regular contributor on the Speccie website called Guessedworker (or Gastarbeiter…. subtle, eh?).

      However, this sounds very strange – do we have all the information here? I dont want to cast aspersions but….

        1. I dont know the full details of what you're on about but I agree, it doesnt look (or smell!) that good.

          Sam Melia and Laura Towler, however, are seriously unpleasant neo-nazi nutcases and I find it difficult to feel any sympathy whatsoever.

          Despite this, they do deserve equal treatment before the law and I would accept that this might have been compromised, wrongly, by their extremist views.

        2. I agree. And in view of the neo-nazis that are commandeering the streets of London every Sabbath day In the name of "freedom of speech" (and Palestine, whatever that is) I do not see why the people you champion should not also be free to express their views

      2. Your run-ins with GW BTL were always good to read. I've not seen his contributions since the Disqus shake up.

        1. Thanks, AA, I got banned for fighting with that tw*t – unbelievable…..

          2. I got barred off Disqus, but I did threaten to hospitalise him so really not that clever – came back with a different mail address… (not for the first time ;-))

            PS and enough with the strange acronyms – IHTLTOU – (I had to look that one up)!!

          3. Sorry – I can't even remember what it meant myself (ICERWIMM). What a world, eh?

          4. You got banned?! How does that work? GW is very fluent and articulate in his rhetoric. However I sensed an ideological position he was welded to. It was a script. There was no dialogue with his own thinking or honest engagement with others. I believe as well as having a position based on sound reasons; ambivalence, doubt, agnosticism and not knowing are important to honest thinking.

            Sometimes he let the mask truly slip. I recall commenting one time "and there it is".

            FYI There's a real life Socialist Warrior new to the sight. Something like GloatingLeftyDestroyTheRight. Proper on one. Like GW in enthusiasm for their cause. Worth checking out for the dangerous levels of foaming.

          5. In my case I wasnt informed, but when I posted, the posts just didnt appear on the site…. it also happened with my long running feud with Bellwether/Elinor Dashwood – in both cases I think I was the 'innocent' party but ballsed it up with my bone-headed approach. C'est la vie….
            I'm still getting the Speccie and I look at the BTL – but on a point of principle will not contribute – I see you there and a number of others I remember fondly, but there are also some new idiots to supplement Bidochon and Carter… God give me strength!

          6. Ah Elinor. She was a funny one that Dashwood. Intellectually formidable. Very lucid in outlining how psychology manifests on a societal scale and mapping on how Marxism uses those impulses. However if disagreement arose she sadly became paranoid and foaming. In typical and justified Spectator style she got a kicking for that, but took it as a group think activity instead of self-reflecting for a moment. The allegation is silly as that’s like herding cats over at the Spectator BTL. Online pile-ons do exist, but calling bullsh*t on unjust paranoid bullies is different. I could never grasp why PetaJ and Sue Ward got such a kicking from her. Both ladies robustly stood their ground without being offensive. I hope she sorts that all out, I did greatly value her insights. I think of the Pink Floyd song “Shine on…”.

          7. You got banned?! How does that work? GW is very fluent and articulate in his rhetoric. However I sensed an ideological position he was welded to. It was a script. There was no dialogue with his own thinking or honest engagement with others. I believe as well as having a position based on sound reasons; ambivalence, doubt, agnosticism and not knowing are important to honest thinking.

            Sometimes he let the mask truly slip. I recall commenting one time "and there it is".

            FYI There's a real life Socialist Warrior new to the sight. Something like GloatingLeftyDestroyTheRight. Proper on one. Like GW in enthusiasm for their cause. Worth checking out for the dangerous levels of foaming.

      3. I've never heard of Patriotic Alternative but I do remember Guessedworker on the Speccie site, and it figures.

        1. What was weird about GW was that he was (is) a self confessed nazi but got extremely upset when that was pointed out,

          1. He was just so OTT I rarely responded to any of his comments. I sometimes wondered if he was a spoof anyway, but apparently not.

    5. The judicial system very strange. Yet thinks it’s “the good guy”. What are we not being told? It seems very OTT.

    6. The judicial system very strange. Yet thinks it’s “the good guy”. What are we not being told? It seems very OTT.

  102. Where Ukraine could strike inside Russia after Biden authorises cross-border attacks. 31 May 2024.

    BELOW THE LINE.

    Jonas Cresswell
    British weapons being fired by British soldiers into military targets inside Russia. Utter bleeding madness.

    Bob James
    And your point is ? Does it worry you ?

    Jonas Cresswell.
    My point is I have children.

    Bob James.
    So do I and again so what ? You're not seriously worried about drunken Russian threats are you ?

    This is a typical exchange on all the Telegraph threads at the moment. The Nudge Unit Trolls are not remotely concerned with even making sense. Their primary, indeed only, concern is to suppress any native qualms about the course the West is taking.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    1. Dear Bob James,
      What worries me is that the idiots in charge of NATO and the US are as stupid as you are, and start WW3 by accident.

      And looking at Biden, I'm fairly sure they might even be stupider, although I must admit that you've set the bar fairly high.

  103. Where Ukraine could strike inside Russia after Biden authorises cross-border attacks. 31 May 2024.

    BELOW THE LINE.

    Jonas Cresswell
    British weapons being fired by British soldiers into military targets inside Russia. Utter bleeding madness.

    Bob James
    And your point is ? Does it worry you ?

    Jonas Cresswell.
    My point is I have children.

    Bob James.
    So do I and again so what ? You're not seriously worried about drunken Russian threats are you ?

    This is a typical exchange on all the Telegraph threads at the moment. The Nudge Unit Trolls are not remotely concerned with even making sense. Their primary, indeed only, concern is to suppress any native qualms about the course the West is taking.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

  106. Starmer had a good day in Scotland today

    I've just come up
    And I had to fly
    I'm not very green, so I'll just lie,
    And the lassies shout when I go by
    Sir Keir, where's your flip flops?

    Let the wind blow high
    Let the wind blow low
    Through wind farms in my bare feet I go,
    All the lassies say hello
    Sir Keir, where's your flip flops?

    1. From Spectator comments thread

      M
      Murray Steele
      3 hours ago
      Pollsters have a great track record:-
      2015 GE: forecast, hung parliament, result small Tory majority
      2016 Brexit Referendum: forecast Remain victory – need I say more
      2017 GE: forecast Tories to increase their majority, result Tories lose majority
      2019 GE: forecast hung parliament or small Tory majority – who can forget the gasps from the Channel 4 lefty audience when the exit poll predicted a massive Tory majority.
      Would you bet your own money on a prediction by a pollster ? If not why should you believe them ?

    2. Oh, that’s wonderful, Bob! Visions of Andy Stewart and his swinging kilt….

  107. Message received by text from Stephenroi:

    Hi Geoff. My apologies that I didn't have time to sign off from NotTL but was in a hurry to catch the ride to go boating

    Currently at Monkey Marsh which is rather disappointing as there are no monkeys nor indeed a marsh. Heading west on the K&A.

    Although I can read NotTL I don't have my sign in details with me 🙁

    So I noted the comments re the inclement weather. It's not so different to June 1944. But thank goodness no one is currently firing at us although that may change with the stupidity of the idiots in charge!

    Perhaps you would let t'others know?

    Kind regards,

    S

    2. Thanks Geoff. At least there'll be plenty of water in the K&A for a change.

  108. Comfort food when the weather's this miserable.

    Carrot, walnut and raisin cake with butter, cream cheese and icing sugar filling and topping.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/d95c52260543807e185891dba0634ad4ebecfea3d328f29b25866d5d970943c3.jpg

    Hot water pastry, triple egg-washed minced beef and onion pies. Keeps me out mischief if I'm unable to get out into the garden.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/7cb73b97faede1948c65dfbb3b75e2a76515baf3622c0c80e4131d602e4d0ded.jpg

  109. I enjoy a well made Vodka Martini. I have even heard of dirty Martini's where you put some of the brine from the olives into the cocktail. What i hadn't heard of before was how to make your dirty Martini dirtier.
    You stuff the olives with blue cheese !
    I'm definitely going to give that a try.

    1. Cripes, I shudder to think what you'll be suggesting after drinking that lot. When's your party..

      2. I had two James Bonds on the cruise ship to the Fjords a few years ago. I nearly fell off the bar stool.

        1. “I like to have a martini,
          Two at the very most.
          After three I'm under the table,
          after four I'm under my host.”
          ― Dorothy Parker

          1. Good old Dozzer.
            I use to go to an evening session once a week for a few weeks with some mates when I lived in Adelaide. The guy who ran the cocktails and mixed drinks 'class' was an ex Quantas senior steward. Blimey oh Reily, good job it was before the drink driving ban was brought in and started in Oz.

          2. Qantas?
            'Queers and nymphomaniacs traveling as stewards'. :@)
            Gay men do do a good job in hospitality.

          4. Of course. You don't want some hairy arsed lumberjack type serving your pink Gin do you !

          5. Not bloody likely mate.
            Did hear the one about the 4 sheep shearer's who came into town.
            They turned up at the hotel ordered a crate of beer. And some women.
            When they'd showed and came to the bar two of the ladies were bending over. The guys said hang Sheila's we want a few coldies first. One of them answered, yeah don't you wanna open the bottles first ?
            I'll get me bathers…….🩳 mate.

          8. My heroine. On a forum asked to discuss gardening: "You can take a whore to culture, but you can't make her think"

          9. She was terrific!

            I'd rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy…

      1. I like those too. Then…
        When i go Greek it is always Kalamata. Great on pizza too.

      1. You could always come to my party and try one !
        As i said it is new to me.
        I think possibly besides providing paper plates and napkins ….personal mini sick buckets. What do you think?

        1. Thought you'd never ask! Too difficult for me logistically, as are most things, but I will be with you in spirit. Not the sick buckets. Perlease.

          1. Then i will post some pics. Someone mentioned zooming it. I do have cctv but i thought given the amount of Nottlers coming i wouldn't make plod's job any easier. :@)

    5. To quote Doug Stanhope "There's no situation in life that isn't improved by pouring booze all over it".

    6. I mix my vodka with my lime simple-syrup slush.

      2 parts sugar, 1 part water, 1 part lime juice and zest. Bring to boil, steep, cool then strain. Place into a plastic tub and freeze until it becomes a slush.

      Pour some vodka from the bottle kept in the freezer, add a teaspoonful-or-two of lime slush, stir and sip. Utter bliss.

  110. They look deep fried ! Might try that. Just discovering recipes for pastry dough that has been fried. Like Pannelle.

  111. From the Spectator

    What to do if you’re being sued
    Don’t assume you’ll win

    Comments Share 31 May 2024, 5:00am
    In each country where I have sued or defended a client, whether in England, France or the US, an often bitterly fought dispute ends peacefully. Given the brutal nature of our species, this could be considered surprising. For most of the 30,000 years we have roamed the planet, disputes have ended with one party killing the other. Drug disputes are still settled this way. Yet we rarely notice that ending a dispute peacefully is an historic leap forward.

    Judges are fallible. Even the most competent ones make mistakes
    You may enter the legal system of your own free choice or you may be dragged into it as a defendant. In either case you come to court thinking there will be a fair decision. In your mind, that means winning the case. Yet my client’s cheerful expectations are not always met, nor are those of my client’s opponent, but one of them will come off better than the other. Why is this so? Plato had Thrasymachus say that ‘justice is nothing more than the interest of the stronger party’. Two and a half millennia later things have not changed. The party who pays for the best lawyer normally fares better.

    My half century of representing clients leads me to a somber conclusion. If I were accused of a theft which I had not committed or sued for breach of a contract which I had not breached, I would not be serene in any one of the three legal systems with which I am familiar.

    Judges are fallible. Even the most competent ones make mistakes. A judge may misapply the law or read reports too quickly or be prejudiced against one of the parties. The judge may in good faith find me guilty of a crime I did not commit or proclaim me liable for a breach of contract that I did not breach. I can appeal to a higher court and hope for a better result, but as long as my conduct is judged by human beings, there will be errors, often the result of negligence, incompetence, prejudice, fatigue and, more rarely, corruption.

    Most popular
    John Sturgis
    The Beckham rumour that refuses to die

    Yet a judicial proceeding is not like going to the roulette wheel in a casino. It is more like a poker game with players of varying skill. What cards each player gets is the luck of the draw, but how a professional poker player uses those cards is not. Over many poker games, or many court cases, luck will cease to be a dominant element, but in the short run, which is where my client will be in a court proceeding, luck may prevail. The professional poker player and the skilful lawyer will in the long run have a favourable win rate, but may lose in the short run. As the client only plays the game in the short run, the client’s odds don’t look quite as good.

    So if you are about to be sued, what should you do? The best thing may be to settle. A Gallic proverb runs that a bad settlement is better than a good lawsuit. Even if you are certain that you are right, you should reflect on a gypsy curse, ‘May you have a lawsuit in which you know you are in the right.’ Of course, the other party may refuse to settle under any terms. What then? If you are the demanding party, your choices are to abandon your claim or to find the best lawyer you can. If you are the defending party, your choice is more limited. If you can’t settle, all you can do is defend. You must then diligently search for the best lawyer you can find, pray that you can afford the legal fees and hope for the best.

    When a client asks me to take on a case to sue or to defend and assures me that victory is certain, I quote a French philosopher, ‘There is no certainty; there are only those who are certain’. It rarely works.What I do say to my client with considerable confidence is that if you sue or defend, the judicial pace will be painfully slow; fees will be exorbitant, but eventually the case will come to an end, and when it does, the probability is that the client’s life will not be in jeopardy. That is civilisation.

    1. Why sue the bastard when you can shoot the bastard and have a better than even chance of getting away with it?

      1. Hertslass has my address if you find yourselves free. I'm still looking for someone who can play piano. Geoff is the obvious choice but for some reason he doesn't want to 'sing for his supper'.

  114. From Coffee House, the Spectator

    Young people are right to resent national service
    Comments Share 26 May 2024, 1:59pm
    Young Britons like me have already done our fair share of national service. For two gruelling years, we sacrificed the best years of our lives to protect the elderly from Covid, dutifully abiding by each arbitrary restriction on our freedoms. Parties were cancelled, concerts were postponed, and evenings were spent alone, all in the name of national solidarity. Like most of my peers, my memories of university life will forever be tarnished by lockdowns, social distancing, and Zoom lectures.

    Even now Covid is over we still face sky-high house prices, crippling student debt, and a historically high tax burden, which squeezes working-age people in order to fund the ever-increasing cost of social care and the state pension. For our troubles, we are rewarded with endless columns from ageing commentators about how we are all lazy, petulant snowflakes. Our institutions preach about the inherent sinfulness of Britain and its past, while our politicians fail to rescue us from our impending national decline.

    If we want young people to step up and take responsibility, we must also make sure that Britain is a country in which they can prosper and put down roots
    Last night, the Conservatives announced that if elected they will seek to reintroduce national service for 18-year-olds. Young people will either be able to apply for the armed forces or give up one weekend a month to work for the fire service, NHS or other public services.

    The words ‘national service’ may evoke nostalgia about the ‘good old days’ for some. When it was last in place, from 1947 until 1960, we are told it gave young people discipline, and helped to bring the country together by forcing people of different backgrounds to meet and mix.

    But in reality these new plans would only serve to build resentment amongst a generation of younger people who feel that they have been consistently let down by their government. Unlike the disciplined, regimented military obligation of the 1950s, this modern iteration of national service would look more like a glorified National Citizen Service, with conscripts deployed to support municipal busywork or plug gaps in our ailing social care system.

    As a country, we have given young people little to be proud of. Is it any wonder that my generation isn’t racing down to the recruitment centre?

    The idea that our country’s decline in social cohesion can be fixed by forcing young people into a year of meaningless work is ludicrous. For decades, the British state has proven exceptionally ineffectual at building social cohesion, with a storied legacy of cringeworthy ‘hug a hoodie’ style initiatives. This policy is just the latest madcap idea from a political class which is increasingly out of touch.

    As Edmund Burke understood so well, society is predicated upon an intergenerational contract, which balances rights and responsibilities at different life stages. If we want young people to step up and take responsibility, we must also make sure that Britain is a country in which they can prosper and put down roots. Give working-age people homeownership, support to start a family, and a safe, clean public realm, and you’ll also be giving them something to fight for.

    It is these conditions, not Whitehall bureaucracy, which creates the kind of vibrant civil society that has social cohesion and intergenerational harmony. Working-age people are far less likely to be resentful of granny if they are able to properly enjoy the fruits of their labour. Instead of trying to instil patriotism through sharp-tongued sergeant majors, the Conservatives should be trying to turn Britain into a country that young people can genuinely be proud of.

    Of course, we shouldn’t ignore the cynical electoral politics in all of this. The idea of instating some form of national service is popular, particularly amongst the older, Reform-leaning voters that Sunak is desperately attempting to court. Still, as early polls show that the Conservative party is less popular amongst voters under-40 than the Greens, it’s high time that it showed some love to the younger voters who have abandoned the party in droves. Voters are for life, not just for the general election, and there’s no time like the present to start rebuilding the Conservative coalition around the kind of young, ambitious professionals who once propelled Thatcher into government.

    Instead of subjecting Britain’s young to state-sanctioned litter-picking and lectures on ‘British Values’ from moustachioed drill sergeants, Sunak should be working to address our unsustainable intergenerational imbalance. As long as the British state continues to punish young people in this country, young people will continue to be apathetic towards the British state – and deservedly so.

    3. The first paragraph of your post brought tears to my eyes – what a load of sanctimonious, entitlement-centred, self-congratulation. If that is the level of resilience, confidence and community-spirit that characterises young people, we are truly stuffed. Actually, spend a bit of time examining youth organisations such as the RAF, Army or Navy Cadets and you will see a very different picture from the pathetic creature who is show in your post. And stop banging on about the new National Service as though there will be battalions upon battalions of cannon-fodder being beaten literally by “moustachioed drill sergeants”. There will be only 30,000 a year for National Service in the armed Forces and they will be the best of our youth. There are many on this forum who served in the Forces, some of them in their early teens, and I bet that most would say that the experience was entirely beneficial and valuable (OK, jankers wasn’t much fun and the pay was a fraction of what the whinging youth in your first paragraph gets).

      1. I think we all suffered lockdown. Some more than others. My children in their thirties with small children of their own didn't find it much fun: Luckily my wife and I had already closed our business and spent much of our time at the seaside. Isolated but I felt for people struggling to maintain their businesses against all the odds and steadily going bankrupt. Worse than not being allowed to have a party.
        I didn't have to do military service, and would not have welcomed such an intrusion into my life. Some of the older men I knew considered it a positive experience but not many.
        Here in Spain where I've spent most of my life, the Mili was obligatory until the end of the last century and vey unpopular with Spanish families. Amongst other negative experiences most young men got their first introduction to drugs whilst doing military service in Spain. I remember a guy I knew who did his service after finishing his degree and so achieving officer status. He'd never seen kids so dexterous, able to roll their joints on wobbly buses climbing up mountains without spilling anything.
        It was finally abolished in most Western European countries even in Germany and France although they too are making noises about reintroduction and I don't believe their reasons are altruistic.
        Some men get misty-eyed when they think of military service. Others regard it as the administration wasting their time.

        1. You are focussing on military National Service and the sort proposed by the Tories makes it clear that the “service” will not be in the military for the vast majority of young people. We will be doing much the same as, for example, Norway.

          1. Difficult to know exactly what they have in mind and perhaps unnecessary as they are not going to win the next election.
            I think the idea of conscription has been in the air for some time in Britain and in the EU. Whether or not what is suggested might be some decaffeinated version, sooner or later the real thing will be installed.
            You may remember that the Common Market was first presented as a loose trading agreement and some people actually believed that. In the same way Sunak has put forward the mirage of national service as a cute Saturday job for older teenagers.
            The question is if a new non-Conservative government might be pressured by NATO into continuing with these plans.

    4. I was amazed when it mentioned university! I’d put it’s age around 16.

    5. Young people really have little idea about what life was like for the young fifty, sixty years ago.

    6. Not going to parties is hardly national service. The writer should get some in.

  115. Why does GBN keep trotting out ignorant narcissistic young socialists who keep repeating the mantra that a quarter of pensioners are millionaires? What they mean of course is that the property that with hard work and saving was affordable when you bought it is now worth a great deal more. It’s hardly a disposable asset. You’ve got to live somewhere. Even my tiny studio has risen in value from the £36.5k I paid for it to £200-250k now but if I sell, I won’t find anywhere else around here that’s affordable.

    1. They don't have a clue.
      Three quarters of pensioners are struggling on the state pension.
      MPS take home more in expenses in two months than a lot of pensioners take home in 12 months.

    2. Absolutely – if you live anywhere in the Home Counties, for instance, chances are you may have a house that is seriously valuable. However, you cannot recognise that value unless you are prepared to down-size – and not everybody wants to do that in later life. You also can still face significant costs regarding Council tax, Energy bills etc etc
      It means you end up sitting on a pile of money with your beneficiaries hoping that you die sooner rather than later! Lovely!!

      1. Crazed teacher friend did that – sold up in Surrey, bought in Dorset for cash, no mortgage, plus a reasonable pile in savings account.

      2. Pensioners have the responsibility of their own parents care in Nursing homes , then money runs out .

        If an elderly person with dementia has over three years in a nursing home , that is roughly over £3 k a month .. when Mohs mother was taken into care , we had to sell her little home , the money was gobbled up in fees , we had a lot of running around to do prior to her being taken into care , rushing backwards and forwards to Southampton for 10 yrs or more . Poor woman was in a care home for over three years .

        Many families are lucky enough to inherit from parents .. We just ended up with a spare bedroom full of paperwork and junk , and my parents in SA , deceased , father had HUGE humungous hospital bills for his care .

        I only have half a state pension .

        People will have a few hard shocks if they assume they are going to inherit anything , my two sons will be in for a shock , because we have a house that is expensive to up keep and it needs more work , so this myth about wealth and inheritance works for lucky families , but not for us .

        1. 3K? Mother is costing £5,5k pm.
          Now that's money.
          House sold 18 months ago, but plenty of stuff in our spare bedroom still. I have given up on any inheritance, apart from the "missing half" picture of my Father that should be standing next to the corresponding picture of my Mother, at home.

          1. Mother in law died 8 years ago .. fees escalated every year .

            When she was a resident , the first year , then second year then 3rd year rose hugely .

            Her poor little home sold for a minimal amount in 2013 .

        2. So true, Belle (see what I did there!),

          My wife’s parents were relatively well off but my mother-in-law (God bless her, I adored her) lived for ever – the last 10 years in a home – net result we ended up with just a little bit more than f’all.
          My folks didnt have a lot and I have three siblings – so, again, nothing life-changing.

          My wife and I decided we would do as much as we could for our two sons ‘up-front’, as it were, and invested heavily in their education and life opportunities.

          They probably still want us dead, however…..

          1. Sods law, and yes mother in law was nearly 92 !

            Why does life fly by so quickly, things we are unprepared for just happen , there is no trial run .. woomph , decisions decisions and money ..

          2. As the saying goes ‘Life’s a bitch – then you die…’

            I try to make the most of it and battle continuously to keep a positive and upbeat view, otherwise I might just go mad….

        3. Once your assets reach £26k the local council should take over partially until you reach £14k (I think) then the council have to fund you completely and although they'll take your pension they give you £25 a week to live on – that was up in Scotland 3 years ago, the sums will have probably changed now. They can't take your house while a family member is living in it but they can put a charge on it if the family member isn't a part owner – again this Scotland, it may be different darn sarf.
          When I knew it was inevitable that my late wife was going to have to be in a care home I did some financial jiggery pokery (all fairly legal) to minimise the outgoings

          1. MOH, being convinced that money was made flat to stack, had considerable savings, so when a care home move became inevitable, I spent as much as that as I could on repairs to the house. Social services didn't like it, but I had receipts for all of it and they could hardly stop me having the house maintained, the roof repaired, etc.

    3. I hazard a guess these are "the property is theft" imbeciles. Very extreme.

      1. ‘This ‘eres the wattle
        The emblem of our land
        You can stick it in a bottle
        Or ‘old it in yer ‘and’!

        1. Amen!! Altogether now…..

          Immanuel Kant was a real pissant
          Who was very rarely stable
          Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar
          Who could think you under the table

          David Hume could out-consume
          Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
          And Wittgenstein was a beery swine
          Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel

          There’s nothing Nietzche couldn’t teach ya
          ‘Bout the raising of the wrist
          Socrates, himself, was permanently pissed

          John Stuart Mill, of his own free will
          On half a pint of shandy was particularly ill
          Plato, they say, could stick it away
          Half a crate of whiskey every day

          Aristotle, Aristotle was a bugger for the bottle
          Hobbes was fond of his dram
          And René Descartes was a drunken fart
          “I drink, therefore I am”

          Yes, Socrates, himself, is particularly missed
          A lovely little thinker
          But a bugger when he’s pissed

  117. As above not Bothers Bathers.

    I'll be happy when I've had my cataract op I might be able to read very small print.

  118. Australia. It's hot. It's dry…very dry. There was this thing once they called 'The Wet', which no one believes in.
    Practically everything not poisonous is venomous. But it's the best bloody place in the world all right ?
    Terry Pratchett.

    1. I use to help my mate Trevor catch Death adders.
      He was in charge of birds and reptiles at Adelaide Zoo..

    2. I remember the summer of 1978 45 centigrade shade temperatures.
      The beach at the end or road was packed at night.

  119. Turning in now, also turned off the heating.
    Fed the neighbours thirty fish. Every other day.
    Cleaned and refilled the bird bath.
    Watered the green house plants.
    Tomorrow is another day, so I've heard.
    Goodnight all. 😴

      1. The neighbours live in France Bob I'm just a decent bloke. IMHO of course..
        I still feel guilty that I had left my wallet behind when I met you BTW. 🤭
        Next time.

  120. Mass immigration is about to tear apart British society

    Nobody voted for mass migration; taxpayers have had no say in it; and everybody has been told that they must accept it. It is simply wrong

    NIGEL FARAGE • 31 May 2024 • 10:10am

    For the first time in my life, sectarian politics has become a part of English political life. The rigid adherence to a narrow set of beliefs – whether religious or ethnic – is beginning to cause serious problems. This intolerance seems to be growing in tandem with votes being cast en masse along certain lines.

    Evidence is not hard to find. Just this month after a local election in Leeds a Green Party councillor called Mothin Ali shouted "Allahu Akbar!" after being elected to a city council. This shocked many people and outraged others. On Wednesday, a pro-Palestinian protest near Downing Street turned violent after thousands of people staged an "emergency rally". A policewoman suffered facial injuries from a glass bottle. In the summer of 2022, there were ugly clashes in Birmingham between Hindus and Muslims.

    Political disagreements from other parts of the world have been imported into this country, principally from the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent. Those of us who live here are being forced to deal with the consequences.

    The major worry is that sectarianism often leads to extremism. Sectarian beliefs are a breeding ground for terrorist groups who may then commit atrocities at will. We should all be fearful of that.

    According to a poll published by JL Partners in April and commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society, 23 per cent of 18-34 year old British Muslims support the concept of jihad. One in three Muslims in this age bracket want Sharia Law to be imposed in Britain – that is, death for apostasy; amputation of a hand for theft; stoning or lashing for adultery. Granted, this was just one poll of 1,000 people, but those statistics should ring a very loud alarm right around the country.

    If anybody doubts the extent to which political parties are now in thrall to this phenomenon, just consider how a few days ago Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, sat in a room full of Muslim men in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency begging them for their vote on 4 July and thanking them for getting her "over the line" in 2019.

    Rayner, whose 4,000 majority is being targeted by George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, promised her audience that Labour "supports" the International Criminal Court's decision to arrest Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and Hamas leaders – over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

    The paradox here is that some groups are perfectly relaxed about women being reduced to second class citizens with no vote at all. And so what this country faces is a situation where the democratic rights of women risk being set back by almost a century, universal suffrage having been achieved in 1928.

    Can the situation be reversed? That is a very hard question to answer. Perhaps in the first instance it would be best to say that we should all be working to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

    My view is that mass immigration over the past 25 years under Labour and the Tories is responsible for the rise in sectarian politics. Nobody voted for mass immigration; taxpayers have had no say in it; and everybody has been told in no uncertain terms that they must accept it. But in so many ways it has caused more problems than it has solved.

    A third of a million people from the subcontinent and 140,000 from Nigeria came to live in Britain in the last year alone, according to the ONS last week. Will they all integrate fully into British society?

    What is more, these islands have never before experienced large numbers of young people living here who not only refuse to adapt to our way of life but who wish for their way of life to become the norm for everybody else as well.

    An uncomfortable reality must be confronted. No matter how long he has left in power, Sunak must address it head-on. Sir Keir Starmer had better have something meaningful to say and do about it as well if, as the bookmakers reckon, he is going to be in Number 10 from 5 July. I for one will hold his feet to the fire if he is in charge.

    Nobody else in this election campaign but me would dare to make these points but I suspect that in the privacy of their own homes, many politicians from the Left and the Right are as concerned as I am about this disturbing trend. They owe it to the country to have an honest debate before things get any worse.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    1. It's only taken our media morons and political idiots 14 years to realise this.

      1. I lived in London for five years. It was clear to me that if you had a good wage or your benefits paid for everything you had no worries.

        1. I work in the UK for 47 years.
          When I retired I discovered that I'd been ripped off. By Department of pensions.

          2. Nothing I did enquire 2 years in SA 4 in Oz but nothing not even a response.
            All of friend’s from England that have been in Oz for at least 40 years or more still get a part UK pension.

    2. Politicians might "be concerned" but most can't see further than the next election and what being an MP will mean for their own bank balance. Most of them are despicable scum.

    3. The uncomfortable truth is that neither Sunak – nor Starmer – are likely to produce any meaningful solutions by election day.

    5. "British muslims" is a misnomer. They are muslims who happen to have a British passport (whether they were born here or not). Their first allegiance is to islam.

    6. It has finally dawned on most people that Enoch Powell was right.

      How long will it take for it to dawn on the MSM and the PTB that Farage is right about immigration?

    7. "Nobody voted for mass migration"

      It's true that mass migration was not at the forefront of previous election manifestos and campaigns. In that sense, "nobody" voted for it, although we have evidence that some have welcomed it in the past and continue to do so. I strongly suspect they are in a minority, without the figures to prove it. On the other hand, some of those who object to it will, nonetheless, vote for parties in favour of it, not because they strongly support that particular policy, but because other factors weigh much more heavily in their minds than that one. That's one of the problems of our electoral system. It doesnt tell anybody which specific measures meet with public support.

  121. Mass immigration is about to tear apart British society

    Nobody voted for mass migration; taxpayers have had no say in it; and everybody has been told that they must accept it. It is simply wrong

    NIGEL FARAGE • 31 May 2024 • 10:10am

    For the first time in my life, sectarian politics has become a part of English political life. The rigid adherence to a narrow set of beliefs – whether religious or ethnic – is beginning to cause serious problems. This intolerance seems to be growing in tandem with votes being cast en masse along certain lines.

    Evidence is not hard to find. Just this month after a local election in Leeds a Green Party councillor called Mothin Ali shouted "Allahu Akbar!" after being elected to a city council. This shocked many people and outraged others. On Wednesday, a pro-Palestinian protest near Downing Street turned violent after thousands of people staged an "emergency rally". A policewoman suffered facial injuries from a glass bottle. In the summer of 2022, there were ugly clashes in Birmingham between Hindus and Muslims.

    Political disagreements from other parts of the world have been imported into this country, principally from the Middle East and the Indian sub-continent. Those of us who live here are being forced to deal with the consequences.

    The major worry is that sectarianism often leads to extremism. Sectarian beliefs are a breeding ground for terrorist groups who may then commit atrocities at will. We should all be fearful of that.

    According to a poll published by JL Partners in April and commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society, 23 per cent of 18-34 year old British Muslims support the concept of jihad. One in three Muslims in this age bracket want Sharia Law to be imposed in Britain – that is, death for apostasy; amputation of a hand for theft; stoning or lashing for adultery. Granted, this was just one poll of 1,000 people, but those statistics should ring a very loud alarm right around the country.

    If anybody doubts the extent to which political parties are now in thrall to this phenomenon, just consider how a few days ago Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, sat in a room full of Muslim men in her Ashton-under-Lyne constituency begging them for their vote on 4 July and thanking them for getting her "over the line" in 2019.

    Rayner, whose 4,000 majority is being targeted by George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain, promised her audience that Labour "supports" the International Criminal Court's decision to arrest Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and Hamas leaders – over allegations of war crimes in Gaza.

    The paradox here is that some groups are perfectly relaxed about women being reduced to second class citizens with no vote at all. And so what this country faces is a situation where the democratic rights of women risk being set back by almost a century, universal suffrage having been achieved in 1928.

    Can the situation be reversed? That is a very hard question to answer. Perhaps in the first instance it would be best to say that we should all be working to make sure it doesn't get any worse.

    My view is that mass immigration over the past 25 years under Labour and the Tories is responsible for the rise in sectarian politics. Nobody voted for mass immigration; taxpayers have had no say in it; and everybody has been told in no uncertain terms that they must accept it. But in so many ways it has caused more problems than it has solved.

    A third of a million people from the subcontinent and 140,000 from Nigeria came to live in Britain in the last year alone, according to the ONS last week. Will they all integrate fully into British society?

    What is more, these islands have never before experienced large numbers of young people living here who not only refuse to adapt to our way of life but who wish for their way of life to become the norm for everybody else as well.

    An uncomfortable reality must be confronted. No matter how long he has left in power, Sunak must address it head-on. Sir Keir Starmer had better have something meaningful to say and do about it as well if, as the bookmakers reckon, he is going to be in Number 10 from 5 July. I for one will hold his feet to the fire if he is in charge.

    Nobody else in this election campaign but me would dare to make these points but I suspect that in the privacy of their own homes, many politicians from the Left and the Right are as concerned as I am about this disturbing trend. They owe it to the country to have an honest debate before things get any worse.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

  122. Yes, it can be fantastic if it works for you that way, but it just doesnt for everybody!

  123. It appears Stepson refused to be assessed at the hospital and walked out at about 04:00 this morning.
    VERY long story that I am not in the mood to fully relate, but I am unaware of his whereabouts.
    Did put a missing person report in, but then he was found by a neighbour at a bus stop opposite A&E at the hospital this afternoon.
    No idea where he is now and to be honest, I've reached the stage where I can not be bothered.

    I'm now off to bed.
    Good night all.

    2. Sometimes one simply can't do any more. Sleep tight and sweet dreams, BoB.

    8. There has to come a time when you realise you've done all you can. Happy birthday for the 1st.

    9. I can understand your frustration and exasperation, Bob. Some people just don't want to be helped. As for where you go from here, I cannot offer you any practical advice. All I will say is if you do conclude you can help him no more, be assured you've already done more than most would. Sleep well.

  124. I heard that at my fathers knee…! He made up what he couldn’t remember, but had a great voice!

  127. A 20-year-old man has been charged with murdering a woman who was fatally stabbed on a beach.

    Two women from Poole, Dorset, were attacked on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth at about 23:45 BST on 24 May.

    Amie Gray, a 34-year-old personal trainer, died at the scene, while a 38-year-old woman was taken to hospital with serious stab wounds.

    Nasen Saadi, from Croydon, London, who is also charged with attempted murder, is due to appear before Poole Magistrates' Court on Saturday.

    3. "Nasen Saadi, from Croydon, London,"
      Yes, but where is he really from?
      That should get me cancelled 😄

    4. "Nasen Saadi, from Croydon, London,"
      Yes, but where is he really from?
      That should get me cancelled 😄

    5. Q: How many generations do Nasen Saadi's folks or Nasen himself go back in Croydon

      A: Let me guess, 0.05

  128. 387906+ up ticks,

    Blokes like these still give me a high degree of hope.

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021

    2h

    Tomorrow’s 1st June Rally in Westminster.

    The Met Police are demanding to see Tommy’s new film on two tier policing before he shows it. He’s refusing.

    I have been invited to speak for a few minutes from the platform. Hope some of you will be there.

  130. Every news site shows the woman murdered. We don't really need a picture of the assailant. We know what they look like.
    BTW. I am now a racist.

  131. Evening, all. The fact Diane Abbot ever became a Labour MP should have made voters think twice, but you can't fix stupid.

  132. <b><i>@aldomojica1422</b>
    5 months ago (edited)
    What a remarkable and expertly composed end to the first movement, from 12:14 to 14:13. The violins set a polite and steady pace for the orchestra’s orderly march towards the exit. The flute chimes a gentle reminder for all to be patient. The cellos cordially comply while keeping a nervous eye on the door. There’s an anxious undercurrent, with everyone barely holding it together. Suddenly, the bassoons and clarinets impetuously demand that the whole affair be speeded up. Unwilling to wait any longer, the trumpets also loudly protest their impatience, greatly ramping up the tension. After one final, futile attempt by the flute to establish a sense of order, it surrenders to the overwhelming and growing confusion. Trombones and horns boisterously assert their presence and enthusiastically enter into the fray. All sense of decorum is completely abandoned and from here on it’s every instrument for himself. A wonderfully controlled chaos ensues as the entire orchestra is caught in a frantic mad dash to be the first to cross the finish line. The vivid symphonic imagery that Sibelius manages to create here in just a few bars is sheer genius.</i>

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egl3KPW4q3Q&t=218s

    1. Bloody hell, Bob of Bonsall, you are older than me by about 24 days.

      Very many Happy Returns and keep chopping down those Elms with your chainsaw and burning the logs. I no longer have the energy.

  137. Well, chums, it's time for me to say Good Night, and wish you a good night's sleep. See you all tomorrow.

  138. Yesterday Starmer he told us that he found it easy to be RUTHLESS.

    He looked as if he would stand up to Ms Abbott, and then had a bit of T and we can see that he finds it even easier to be TRUTHLESS.

    1. Starmer even as a supposed top lawyer is stupid. The bogus trial of Trump in New York gave him the perfect platform to speak out against lawfare. The stupid coward declined to do so.

      I would not wish to be subject to the legal representation of this Starmer goon.

      1. I cannpt understand how a man of his dullness cold have been a top lawyer. There is absolutely no sprarkle in him at all.

  141. The idiots in the Biden administration have martyred President Donald Trump with their crazy mad lawfare.

    A failed war in Ukraine, chaos in the Israel Hamas confrontation, the alienation of two superpowers viz. China and Russia. The bringing together of China, Russia, India and a number of important BRICs nations.

    Joe Biden has to be marked as the most ignorant and damaging US President in its history.

  143. Another day is done so, I wish you a goodnight and may God bless you all, Gentlefolk. Bis morgen früh. If we ae spared!

    1. Heh, you went to bed and I got up! Dishwasher on, a new load of washing in, the last lot hung out.

        1. I came to, I thought 'best get on with it.' I'll likely fall asleep later on.

          It's supposed to be a good ish day, so the more than can be got out and into the sun for as long as possible the less work there is to do later.

    1. He must but he won't.

      I fear we have got to the stage where civil war in both the US and the UK looks unavoidable.

    1. ' Morning, Geoff and thank you for all your care you have lavished on us, on our behalf.

Comments are closed.