Sunday 9 February: Boris Johnson must put a stop to the wasteful vanity project of HS2

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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Today’s letters (visible only to DT subscribers) are here:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2020/02/09/lettersboris-johnson-must-put-stop-wasteful-vanity-project-hs22/

837 thoughts on “Sunday 9 February: Boris Johnson must put a stop to the wasteful vanity project of HS2”

    2. Boris and Javid must kill these ridiculous, unconservative tax plans
      TELEGRAPH VIEW – 8 FEBRUARY 2020 • 9:31PM

      It is starting to feel as if Treasury mandarins have forgotten who won the election. They have been busy in the past few weeks dusting off every absurd anti-Tory and anti-supply side idea cooked up by Left‑wing think tanks and technocrats these past 20 years, and trying to convince the Chancellor and the Government to adopt them.

      They are using Sajid Javid’s fiscal rules as an excuse to call for the kinds of tax increases that even Gordon Brown wouldn’t have dreamt of.

      Readers will have been shocked by our front-page story today that one idea under discussion includes an Ed Miliband-style so-called mansion tax. A substantial number of families would be hit by this, principally in the south of the country, where property prices are higher. It is not clear exactly what form the tax would take if it were included in the Budget, but options might range from an annual wealth tax to a higher band of council tax, with an impact that would be highly negative at best and catastrophic at worst. No decision has been taken, fortunately, but this idea has been discussed at the highest levels, repeatedly, as we reveal.

      Last time we checked, the electorate had rejected such absurd proposals in 2015, 2017 and 2019, but apparently that doesn’t matter to the nomenklatura running this country. It is vital that Mr Javid and Boris Johnson veto this ridiculous project before the housing market – which is currently riding a Boris bounce – slumps back into despair.

      In fact, Treasury officials have been privately compiling an almost unbelievably destructive list of tax hikes, many of them utterly crippling, dressed up, as ever, under the guise of closing loopholes. The current system of pensions tax relief could be for the chop, in a £10 billion raid that could hammer the income of 40p taxpayers and see their marginal and average tax rates shoot up. This (large) group includes the core, traditional Tory voters and activists that make up Mr Johnson’s base, and who have spent the past few years fighting for him.

      There is also talk of stealth increases to inheritance tax – in other words, an assault on the family – and to hike or extend the scope of capital gains tax, which would reduce incentives to invest and accumulate, with deleterious effects on savings and economic growth. We already know that there is going to be a reduction in entrepreneurs’ relief.

      There is, of course, a strong case to reform the entire tax system. But this should be done in a spirit of revenue-neutrality and with the aim of boosting economic incentives and growth. Under such a root and branch revolution, pension relief could be axed, but replaced with a lower overall tax rate. Mr Javid should appoint a tax reform commission to investigate this. Meanwhile, he should slap down the officials who just want to raise tax receipts in indiscriminate, haphazard fashion, regardless of the damage caused to the economy and personal finances.

      But there is certainly no case whatsoever for imposing Britain’s first ever wealth tax, however it is dressed up. One idea would be to cut stamp duty on those seeking to buy homes, while simultaneously imposing a mansion tax on existing homeowners – but this would be equally wrong. By all means slash stamp duty, a very bad tax that depresses transactions and activity; but it shouldn’t be replaced by anything else.

      A mansion tax would hit older residents on low incomes. Do we want to force them to move out of their family home? It crosses a line of principle. We don’t tax wealth. We tax transactions, spending, income, profits, flows of all kinds, but once you’ve earned something and it’s yours, it is private property and none of the business of the state. A property tax is essentially a form of rent paid to the government: it transforms the homeowner from a freeholder to a leaseholder. This runs entirely counter to our tradition and would undermine one of our key selling points as a country. Britain must become more competitive, not less so, or else Brexit will be undermined.

      What the Government has correctly spoken about is “levelling up” – helping the Midlands and North to achieve prosperity by promoting business creation, investment and infrastructure, by cutting red tape and taxes via free ports, and turning these areas into a magnet for research and innovation. It’s an incredibly exciting agenda. But what these tax proposals amount to is “levelling down”. This is the sort of thing Conservative governments, including the first nationally representative one since the Eighties, are elected to stop, not to encourage.

      Had the new Tory voters in the North and Midlands wanted a virtue-signalling “squeeze the rich” government, they would have voted for Jeremy Corbyn. Traditional (and new) Conservative voters might eventually come to terms with HS2 (a horrendous waste of money) or Huawei playing a role in the 5G network, but these tax plans being pushed by Whitehall technocrats are beyond the pale. Mr Johnson and Mr Javid must make sure they never see the light of day.

        1. I recall being heavily criticised for putting in an SDP leaflet in the 1980s that the proposed “Community Charge” could raise the bill to householders from about £100 on the Rates to about £250 on the new system. I was being alarmist, although that is precisely what happened.

          Today, my bill on my Band C cottage in a small village, from which I get very little in return, and living alone, is over £1000.

          The Rates were originally there to pay for initiatives set by elected local councillors. These days, the Council Tax is there to fund statutory obligations (particularly over adult social “care” (which actually means sending in bailiffs to raid the assets of the demented), child protection (which actually means shutting out anyone trying to get kids off their smartphones) and diversity (which actually means excluding “positively” anyone that does not comply with select identity groups).

          For those that must lump in environmentalists with the woke squad (probably because “business” interests tell them to), may I remind them that environmental protection is one of the first things to be cut, when trimming away essential services in a drive for “austerity” (which actually means bigger Chelsea tractors to run the kids to school in).

          1. Over £1500 for a one-bed flat (it’s nice, and handy for the shops). Bur yes, local authorities are increasingly agents of central government (and the EU).

      2. There will be a large black hole in he Treasury if we are prevented from buying petrol and diesel.

        1. ‘Morning Delboy,

          HMG will simply increase the tax levied on electricity – having cut off other means of fuel supply.

  4. Brexiteers must not let their guard down

    SIR – Robert Tombs points out that the EU has always lacked a clear moral purpose. Brexit has raised the perennial moral issue of the fallibility of human nature when exercising authority.

    Given power without adequate accountability, human beings will err. The only protection that those who are governed have from their rulers is the power to remove them. The relentless centralisation of the EU ignores all the lessons of history. Indeed, the “insolence of office” is already all too evident in Brussels.

    Due to the huge funds that the EU has at its disposal, there are many vested interests in its survival, including in the British establishment – whose reluctant surrender to public opinion demonstrated the wisdom of the referendum result.

    Victory is by no means complete. Euphoria must not impair our vigilance. The Remainers are down but by no means out.

    Chris Jones
    Croydon, Surrey

    1. SIR – Robert Tombs gives an excellent summary of Britain’s relationship with the EU. It is indeed ironic that Charles de Gaulle understood so well the significance of our island and maritime history, and our pride in our democratic heritage and rule of law.

      More important, however, is the fact that Britain has always rejected bullies – whether they be absolute monarchs , tyrannical replacements, continental and local fascists, autocratic bureaucracies or self-appointed elites. And perhaps it will finally be recognised that British voters have always made up their own minds about what matters to them.

      John Hanson
      Canterbury, Kent

    3. Chris Jones has written probably the best short description of the ghastly crooked EU and why we must be free from its influence at every level.

  5. SIR – It is time to ban the physical punishment of children.

    This week Wales introduced a ban on smacking, following similar legislation in Scotland. The children of England and Northern Ireland should be protected too. Physical punishment can lead to a lower quality of the parent and child relationship, poorer mental health in childhood and adulthood, higher levels of aggression and antisocial behaviour, and an increased risk of being a victim of physical abuse. It is not an effective strategy to bring about long-term improvements in children’s behaviour.

    The current law allows a defence of “reasonable punishment” – but as this relates to the intent, rather than the impact of smacking, it is almost impossible to prove that punishment is unreasonable. Smacking is outdated and we believe there are many more effective ways of teaching children to behave appropriately than by hitting them. Sixty countries have banned smacking. It is now time for a ban across the whole of Britain.

    Kate Fallon
    General Secretary, Association of Educational Psychologists

    Professor Russell Viner
    President, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health

    Professor Martin Marshall
    Chair of Council, Royal College of General Practitioners

    Julie Bentley
    Chief Executive, Action for Children

    Jo Hobbs
    Chief Executive, British Youth Council

    Makes one want to give them a good slap.

    2. These self-indulgent fools obviously have no idea about actually bringing up children.

      It is precisely because of unenforced discipline over the past 30 to 40 years that we have the ‘entitled’ snowflakes of today, with little or no idea of self-discipline, just the ability to lie on their backs, drumming their heels and yelling, “It’s my right!”

      1. That is another part of the problem, NtN. The issue of issuing threats then not following up simply teaches the child that they can push the boundaries ad infinitum until the parent in exasperation lashes out with all their might. The child then (correctly) sees (feels?) the punishment as unduly harsh and the adult’s behaviour as totally irrational and contradictory (one minute they don’t carry out their threats for major misbehaviour and the next minute they do for a minor misdemeanour) and so resentment is built up. This in turn leads to the little person – who is unable to “fight back” against the bigger adult physically – to get their “revenge” by tormenting the parent, resulting in even greater punishment. In the end the rapport between parent and child can be totally broken.

    4. “There are many more effective ways of teaching children to behave appropriately than by hitting them.” This is absolutely true, but not all parents are perceptive enough to see this. And a parent at the end of their tether is not always able to restrain their anger and find a better way. A one off threat of “Do that once more and you will be smacked” may not be the perfect way of solving the problem, but the brief sting to their legs may end with a good result and the simple threat in future may then be enough of a deterrent. It’s not as if such a physical punishment is comparable to marking the child with a branding iron!

    5. So smacking children is wrong but mutilating them a la “Mermaids” is fine and still no prosecution or deportation in response to
      fgm.

      Morning all!

  6. SIR – The late Edward Bishop was a first-rate obituary writer for the Telegraph, specialising in the lives of RAF heroes.

    He told me that it was his custom to visit future subjects, prior to their demise, to make sure that he had “all the facts straight”. On one occasion he raised the subject of navigators (Letters, February 2) and asked for an opinion.

    The response: “Pound for pound, I’d rather have fuel.”

    Philip Armstrong
    Windmill Hill, East Sussex

    1. SIR – As an RAF navigator in the Second World War, I was given a high-quality watch (Longines) and told that the only acceptable excuse for not handing it back later was to have my arm shot off above the wrist.

      Duncan Bradbury
      Bristol

  7. PETER HITCHENS: I love what the BBC used to be, but I can’t defend it any longer
    By PETER HITCHENS FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY – UPDATED: 22:20, 8 February 2020

    I don’t think I can defend the BBC much longer. For years, I’ve been one of the few conservative patriots I know who still stand up for the licence fee.

    But I’m losing the will to do so. I can’t find it in myself to say they deserve it any more.

    But I’ll still pay it till the day I die. I was brought up partly by the BBC. I recall rapt 1950s moments with Listen With Mother.

    If anyone says ‘It’s a quarter to two’, it still sets me off into a dream of memory. They called it the Home Service, and has any radio station ever had a better name?

    My growing consciousness of the world came first out of our old brown Bakelite wireless.

    I can just recall the words ‘Suez Canal’ and ‘Colonel Nasser’ whispering from it, words which heralded an utter revolution in my life and in the country.

    As for the old World Service, it was ‘the truth, read by gentlemen’ and hearing its calm and decent tones in remote and awful places has often filled my heart with unexpected pride.

    In the past 25 years or so, I’ve got to know it better. I’ve been on it, a bit (though nothing like so much as my Left-wing equivalents), and even made the occasional programme for it.

    I’ve met BBC people with a genuine concern for impartiality and justice, and a true love for the institution as it should be and as it ought to be.

    But I’ve come across the others too, the ones who think it belongs to them, the ones who don’t even understand their opinions are opinions and need to be challenged.

    In the past two or three years it has grown sharply worse. There has been a crude slide into open partiality on so many things.

    This is not about party politics. How could it be? The major parties have no major differences in practice.

    The radical sexual politics of the far Left, which were way out on the fringe of opinion when I was a fanatical revolutionary 50 years ago, are now universally accepted as unchallengeable.

    The intolerant zealotry of the climate change fanatics cannot even be discussed. To express the faintest doubts about it is heresy.

    And then there is the legalisation of drugs. Any lobby group, however insignificant, can produce a call for marijuana legalisation, however feeble, and the BBC will give it prominence.

    Legalisers are invited to make programmes. The opposing view is swiftly silenced if it appears at all.

    Two heroes they cannot silence
    Nasty slurs were levelled this week at two of the bravest and most principled people I know.

    These are the courageous arms inspectors who, for absolutely no gain or self-interest, told the truth about the flawed investigation into the alleged use of poison gas in Syria in 2018.

    If Hollywood made a film about them, everyone would be cheering for them.

    But at the moment their official and media enemies (such creeps and toadies) think they can scare them – and me – into silence. Not a chance.

    I shall soon be providing a full and detailed defence against the attacks made on them by their former employers, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

    I complain about these things here but I also think it my duty to see what happens to private citizens who try to get justice, so I make official complaints to the Corporation itself.

    Last week, I received the final, insulting reply to a complaint I made about the sympathetic portrayal of marijuana on the Christmas special of Gavin & Stacey.

    This was a direct breach of the BBC’s own rules about what may be shown before the 9pm watershed (the show began at 8.30pm and the offending material was broadcast before 9pm).

    Guideline 5.4.41 says: ‘The use of illegal drugs, the abuse of drugs, smoking, vaping, solvent abuse and the misuse of alcohol… must generally be avoided and must not be condoned, encouraged or glamorised in any programmes broadcast pre-watershed.’

    ‘Must generally be avoided’ seems clear enough to me.

    But I was wasting my breath. They ignored what I had said, and responded to different points I had not made.

    I added this to another occasion when I actually won a complaint – a blameless and saintly clergyman had been described quite falsely as a proven child abuser on a news programme.

    They admitted this was wrong, but the programme was not obliged to transmit a correction.

    And I thought: ‘Why am I trying to disturb the consciences and sense of justice of people who plainly have neither?’

    I will not call for the abolition of the BBC. I love what it used to be, and what it ought to be, too much for that.

    I have seen the moronic inferno of American broadcasting, where there is nothing like the BBC and never has been.

    But I cannot see why I should bother to defend it any more against those who wish to dismantle it.

    One day YOU will face a mad knifeman

    Well, the policy of treating mad knife attackers as political and religious fanatics is not working.

    Still these crimes keep coming, and even squads of trained officers just yards away cannot stop them.

    Only a Babylonian tyranny can lock people up for ever.

    And only crummy Third World countries change the law retroactively, a desperate and despicable policy which will rot what is left of our liberty and make us no safer.

    In any case, are we paying attention? Are we even thinking? Many of us will face a crazy person with a knife, but in most cases this will have precisely nothing to do with terrorism or Islam.

    In the year ending March 2019, there were about 47,000 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in England and Wales.

    In London alone, knife crime is at a record high with 15,023 offences in a year. The London tally does not even include offences of knife possession.

    But it does include 79 attempted murders as well as 63 homicides and 4,855 assaults using a blade.

    There were also 164 knifepoint rapes or sexual assaults and 812 threats to kill using a blade. All that real terror, and almost none of it due to ‘extremism’.

    Whereas can anyone explain to me how knifing a cyclist in Streatham High Road in any way advances the cause of Islamic State or Al Qaeda?

    No, you can’t. It’s futile by any measure. These people are off their heads.

    So why is there so much more knife violence? As most of these cases go virtually unreported, we do not know.

    But I think we get a pretty good clue from the supposedly Islamist cases, such as last Sunday’s in Streatham.

    I knew as soon as I heard the news that Sudesh Amman would probably have a record for marijuana, and so he did.

    I knew he would be a chaotic, disturbed, mad person. And so he was.

    His schoolfellows said: ‘At parties he was always in the garden smoking weed’ … ‘He was very weird and everyone thought he was strange.

    ‘He stuck out like a sore thumb… He was always smoking weed.’

    There are people like this in most schools in the country, including ones near you.

    Their numbers grow weekly as our increasingly useless and politicised police defy the democratic will of Parliament and refuse to enforce the drug possession laws.

    If you really want these horrible events to be reduced and stopped, enforce the drug laws.

    They do it in Japan, and I can’t begin to tell you how much more civilised it is than modern Britain.

    Will America ever escape this awful legacy?

    Most interesting movie of the moment is the so-called Black Bonnie and Clyde, actually named Queen & Slim.

    The film tells the story of two decent young Americans who run foul of a bigoted police officer and are hurled into a vortex of flight and fear. Many take their side.

    I was gripped, but the thought nagged away at me the whole time: Is America really as bad as this?

    Must it go on for ever? I was reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s terrible warning in his 1865 inaugural address that American slavery was so dreadful that ‘every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword’. Are they still paying?

    https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/02/08/20/24483990-7982061-image-a-1_1581194575623.jpg
    Most interesting movie of the moment is the so-called Black Bonnie and Clyde, actually named Queen & Slim, which stars Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith

  9. The bit about John le Carré is pure gold.

    It’s official: we all hate London. Could it be the greed, the elitism or the hypocrisy?
    Rod Liddle – Sunday February 09 2020, 12.01am, The Sunday Times

    I know a couple of people in London who voted Labour at the last election and then, having done so, prayed fervently to the Lord Jesus Christ that the madman didn’t get in. This is what is known as invisible virtue signalling, a new phenomenon for a bright new age. Nobody can see what you get up to in that booth — I once voted Green when my wife was looking the other way — but such is the piety of these people that I don’t doubt their account for a moment.

    An act, then, of self-deluding futility. An exercise in tribal identification, too, even though this pair knew full well that the tribe with which they were identifying was full of people like Emily Thornberry and Richard Burgon. A very London thing to do.

    A new survey from YouGov shows that most of the rest of the country really hates London. If you live in London, this may shock you. If you live somewhere else in the country, known to Londoners as “not-London”, it will generate much the same level of startled surprise as did the revelation that the television presenter Phillip Schofield is gay.

    The gap between London and not-London has been widening for many years, and the disdain and outright dislike of the capital among those who don’t live in it has increased exponentially. London, in its echo chamber, doesn’t really get it. Like the BBC and the Labour Party, both now in a state of crisis, it doesn’t understand why the rest of the country does not subscribe to its values.

    We don’t subscribe because they are stupid values, riddled with contradictions, like a mohair jumper knitted by an imbecile. Pull on one thread and the whole thing unravels.

    The survey suggested that Wales, Scotland, Yorkshire, the West Midlands, northwest England and especially my manor, northeast England, all had very negative opinions of London. Of course, some of this is to do with Brexit. Every region of England, except London, voted leave. A difference of opinion over a political issue is one thing, but to be told by the affluent London demi-monde that we were troglodytic, mouth-breathing Neanderthals who, once we left, would not have enough money to feed our whippets, grated a little. That and the fact that we were racist, of course. London seems to think almost everything is racist. The word is rarely far from its lips, ready to be shrieked in self-righteous denunciation.

    Brexit did not actually cause that divide; it merely made it more transparent. There has long been a resentment over the widening gap in wealth between the capital and the rest — especially in those areas of the country that once made up our manufacturing base and could thus hold their heads up with a degree of pride.

    All that has gone: by and large, the north of England is low-waged, often very low-waged. The bitterness deepened after the banking crisis of 2007-8, when the very poorest of British citizens suffered most and yet there was no punishment for those in London who had caused it — instead, taxpayers’ money was poured in to prop up the banks.

    But it goes deeper than that, too. Many of us beyond the North Circular do not like what the writer John Gray calls the “hyper-liberalism” of the capital’s institutions being imposed upon the rest of us. We resent the obsession with identity politics and the imposition of a secular, right-on “wokeness”, visible every day on the BBC, within the Labour Party and even in the Tory party.

    We do not see things the same way, elsewhere. We have a much greater appetite for a sense of community, patriotism, religious faith and rootedness. We prefer to cherish the things we have in common rather than create never-ending hierarchies of often imagined victimhoods.

    And while the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, might believe the capital to be an exemplar of a hugely successful city underpinned by an agreeably multicultural ethos, many of us outside London see an exploitative city state that rewards white people with unfathomable wealth and keeps its poor, ethnic-minority population in squalor (Grenfell Tower, anyone?). A kind of ultra-secular Dubai, then. We think London is kidding itself and that the progressive multiculturalism is a cloak for economic self-interest.

    The December election may just have been the first step in healing the divide. Neo-liberal economic policies and liberal social policies have not served the rest of the country, beyond London, terribly well. How long will it take for us to become one country again? Ah. The Great When.

    How safe are our streets?

    https://www.thetimes.co.uk/imageserver/image/%2Fmethode%2Fsundaytimes%2Fprod%2Fweb%2Fbin%2Feeb2b6bc-4a8c-11ea-b97e-a09c2d3db629.jpg?crop=1500%2C1000%2C0%2C0&resize=1022

    I spy no joke by Le Carré
    Congratulations to the writer John le Carré for winning the Olof Palme prize. He wrote of his delight in a very lengthy article in a Guardian supplement, spending most of it talking about how ghastly Brexit was.

    There was one excellent line in his piece, however. Speaking of the assassinated former Swedish prime minister, Le Carré wrote: “I don’t know whether Palme read me — you’d be amazed how many people haven’t.”

    I wondered briefly if this was a joke – but, having read one or two of Le Carré’s novels and not stumbled across any evidence of humour, I concluded that he meant it.

    With friends like these . . .
    I am not sure why the Conservative MP Daniel Kawczynski attended a “far-right” political meeting in Rome last week alongside the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orban, and a member of France’s Le Pen clan.

    Perhaps his partner had suggested a weekend in Ikea and this was the straw at which Daniel clutched.

    “Oh, I’d love to, but I’ve got that tiresome fascist thing to attend. Drat. Have you seen my armbands anywhere, by the way?”

    Mind you, the double standards of the left are remarkable. Labour called for the Conservative whip to be withdrawn from Kawczynski because he communed with democratically elected politicians. This is the party that had no problem with its own leader repeatedly meeting terrorist organisations and calling them his “friends”. Oh, and holding solidarity events in support of the communist dictatorship of Cuba.

    Just old enough to topple a minister
    So, let’s see about this. The Scottish National Party has kicked out Derek Mackay because of his unsolicited messages to a 16-year-old boy.

    The anger has come because of the age of the boy concerned. Fair enough. It is indeed, as some politicians put it, tantamount to grooming. And it is tantamount to grooming because we accept that 16-year-olds are vulnerable and not properly part of the adult world.

    So, if this is true — and I think it is — why do they have the vote in Scottish elections?

  11. BBC Radio 4 reporting that the American lady who killed the motorcyclist in a crash outside her airbase is a CIA agent more senior than her husband

    1. He seems to have little knowledge of the law, Just because you have lived in the UK for x number of years does not make you British citizens nor does it give you automatic right to reside in the UK. Even being born in the UK does not automatically make you a British citizen as many seem to think

  14. Britain has a moral duty to bring back Shamima Begum. Kenan Malik. 9 Feb 2020

    Most will think it right that Begum be stripped of her citizenship because of her support for Islamic State. The real issue, however, is not about what Begum did or believed. It’s about Britain and its moral responsibilities. She is a British citizen. However terrible the acts she may have committed, she remains Britain’s responsibility, not the responsibility of the Kurdish forces who hold her, nor of Bangladesh, the country of her parents’ birth.

    Morning everyone. What Malik is not saying here because it would bring down his whole argument is that Begum is a Brit simply by virtue of being born in the UK and that because of this we have a lifelong obligation to her. This is not simply wrong but ridiculous. It would in effect mean that you could never leave the UK. Whatever you did, wherever you went you would remain a citizen and since we are not unique it would apply to every other country of the world as well. Emigration would be meaningless, the seeking of asylum pointless. You would always be where you came from. Worst of all it would mean that you would always be subject to the laws of the land that you sought to escape. No matter where you were or what you did the country you are in could deport you without objection and the one you have left apply for your extradition on the irrefutable grounds that you are subject to their laws however unjust.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/09/britain-has-moral-duty-to-bring-back-shamina-begum

    1. Born in India,revoke his citizenship as well,another race-baiting UK hating clown
      3000 hard core jihadis on the watchlist,strip them all of citizenship and deport the lot

    2. A common myth. You are not automatically a British citizen by virtue of being born in the UK

      1. These are the current rules (Before this date different rules applied)

        Born in the UK on 30 April 2006 onwards

        Whether you’re a British citizen depends on where your parents were from and their circumstances. There are different rules if when you were born:

        at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen
        at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country
        neither of your parents was a British, Irish, EU or EEA citizen
        You’re automatically a British citizen if you were adopted by a British citizen in a UK court.
        If at least one of your parents was a British or Irish citizen when you were born
        You’ll be a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was either:
        a British citizen

        an Irish citizen living in the UK

        If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

        If at least one of your parents was a citizen of an EU or EEA country when you were born
        You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born all of the following applied to at least one of your parents:
        they had citizenship of a country that was in the EU or the EEA at the time
        they lived in the UK

        they had ‘indefinite leave to remain’ (ILR), ‘permanent residence status’, ‘right of abode’ or ‘right of re-admission’
        If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

        If you’re not a British citizen and you live in the UK, you’ll need to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to carry on living here after June 2021.
        Countries that are in the EU or the EEA (other than the UK and Ireland)
        Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland were in the EEA by 20 April 2006.

        Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU on 1 January 2007.
        Croatia joined the EU on 1 January 2013.
        If your parents were not British, Irish, EU or EEA citizens when you were born

        You’re automatically a British citizen if when you were born at least one of your parents was living in the UK and had any of the following:
        indefinite leave to remain (ILR) right to re-admission right of abode

        If the parent that meets these conditions is your father and you were born before 1 July 2006, he must have been married to your mother when you were born.

        You’re also automatically a British citizen if at least one of your parents was in the UK armed forces and you were born after 12 January 2010.
        You can check if your parents had ILR, right of abode or right to re-admission.

    3. The UK has a moral and legal duty to protect British citizens. If that means denying someone with dual nationality from the UK in order to protect the nation then that in my vie is the right thing to do

    4. My understanding was that she repudiated her citizenship.

      Any declaration of disloyalty followed by a declaration of submission to an enemy is a repudiation. If the enemy state then ceases to exist (for example being defeated in combat), then responsibility passes to its successor (in that case, the victors) to be dealt with as it sees fit.

      The question then lies whether Shamima Begum was below the Age of Consent when repudiating her citizenship. If she was, then responsibility for her actions lies with her legal guardians, who should be held to account. The crucial issue is not the age she was when she eloped abroad to serve the Islamic State, but the status of her repudiation on her 18th birthday, the time when she was of the Age of Consent to set her citizen status.

      Begum was born in 1999. She therefore came of age some time in 2017. I do not have access to her birth certificate, but what needs to be decided is her date of birth, and to whom she pledged loyalty on her 18th birthday. If, as I suspect, she was still a fighter for Islamic State, then her citizenship was set at this point as a mercenary belonging to an outlawed and unrecognised state, and she has effectively rendered herself stateless. This was resolved when a Coalition comprising largely Kurdish militia supported by the United States of America took her into custody, thereby claiming the sovereign right and obligations over her. When the Kurdish forces were betrayed by their former American allies, and were themselves under attack from Turkey, they needed to decide whether to release their prisoners back into statelessness, whether to hand them over to invading Turkish troops, or whether to execute them. It is a Kurdish problem.

      The Kurds in the region came to a fresh alliance with the sovereign forces of Syria, led by Assad and supported by Russia. It may well be that Begum’s fate is now in the hands of this fresh Coalition, and it is they that should dispense justice.

      1. Since justice for Begum should equally apply to me personally, I cast my mind back to what I was doing on my 18th birthday. It so happened that there was a General Election on my 18th birthday, and I did indeed vote in this election. My own sovereign loyalty is therefore beyond reasonable doubt.

        I was thinking of the citizen status of those people under occupation by a foreign force, such as residents of the Channel Islands during WW2. They were, I believe, citizens for a while of the Third Reich of Germany and subject to their law and sense of justice, however wrong. However, when the islands were liberated by the Allies, then the victors set the future citizenship of the residents, and that was for them to resume British citizenship. At any time of those dark days of occupation, any resident could escape, repudiate their citizenship of the Third Reich, and be accepted by their enemies (for example the United Kingdom), thereby taking up fresh citizenship, even though it may appear that were were in spirit merely coming home.

      2. There is a formal procedure for repudiating British citizenship, and I doubt that this woman has undertaken it. It’s a bit more complicated than saying “I divorce thee” three times.

        1. I would have thought that joining an enemy army was fairly formal. Do you really expect her to break off from throat-slashing somewhere in the Levant, and nip over to a Commissioner for Oaths in Blighty just to comply with formal procedure?

  15. Britain has a moral duty to bring back Shamima Begum. Kenan Malik. 9 Feb 2020

    Most will think it right that Begum be stripped of her citizenship because of her support for Islamic State. The real issue, however, is not about what Begum did or believed. It’s about Britain and its moral responsibilities. She is a British citizen. However terrible the acts she may have committed, she remains Britain’s responsibility, not the responsibility of the Kurdish forces who hold her, nor of Bangladesh, the country of her parents’ birth.

    Morning everyone. What Malik is not saying here because it would bring down his whole argument is that Begum is a Brit simply by virtue of being born in the UK and that because of this we have a lifelong obligation to her. This is not simply wrong but ridiculous. It would in effect mean that you could never leave the UK. Whatever you did, wherever you went you would remain a citizen and since we are not unique it would apply to every other country of the world as well. Emigration would be meaningless, the seeking of asylum pointless. You would always be where you came from. Worst of all it would mean that you would always be subject to the laws of the land that you sought to escape. No matter where you were or what you did the country you are in could deport you without objection and the one you have left apply for your extradition on the irrefutable grounds that you are subject to their laws however unjust.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/09/britain-has-moral-duty-to-bring-back-shamina-begum

    2. Cables under the sea from Europe are all pretty well maxed out on import, and frequency under 50hz means demand exceeding supply.

  18. Edward Sturton is rebuking some Christian for saying disobliging things about the Religion of Peace.

      1. A Radio 4 broadcaster. Roman Catholic in a big way, wrote a book called It’s a PC World, in support of the intellectual cancer which is destroying Judeo-Christian civilisation (my words, not his). Useful idiot.

  19. I was in a pet shop when I noticed a Muslim with the most amazingly coloured
    parrot perched on her shoulder.

    “Where did you get that from?” I asked.

    “Birmingham! There’s ***** thousands of ’em!” said the Parrot.

    2. ‘Morning, Tom.

      Nearly right, the parrot actually said was:

      “Whut yow on about? Thems frum Berming’um, loike. There’ ******* thousunds of um thur in Dud-lie. It’s bostin’.”

  20. New homes will be 30% cheaper for local first-time buyers under new Government scheme

    Unfortunately all this will do is push up prices and distort the market

  21. The Observer view on the war in Syria. Sun 9 Feb 2020.

    The war in Syria, which will enter its 10th year next month, shames the world. Powerful western countries, namely the US, Britain and their European allies, could and should have done more to stop it. Instead, they have failed to act decisively as Bashar al-Assad’s regime perpetrated countless repeat atrocities against the Syrian people, assisted by Russia and Iran. This butchery continues.

    In actuality the UK and US have done everything possible to extend and widen the war even to assisting the Jihadists with military supplies and in the UK’s case the creation of the False Flag chemical attacks purportedly carried out by the Assad government.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/09/the-observer-view-on-the-war-in-syria

    1. I love the claim that they will build HS2 as there are no shuffle ready other projects. There are hundred of rail projects shuffle ready. All they need is the funding. How many rickety old train are their in the North that they cannot replace because of lack of funding. How many rail upgrades and new lines held because of no funding

      1. Well I would suppose building HS2 would sink the Assad Government even more effectively than Chemical Attacks or anti tank weapons. I’m only surprised MI6 hasn’t tried it already!l

    1. Anyone who calls Maths “Math”, uses commas for decimal points, or gets days and months the wrong way around shouldn’t be trusted with any form of data (that is: data pronounced “dayta” not “darta” or, worse, “dadda”.)

        1. I’m sure that I recall in the original ancient Greek neuter plurals of this sort take a singular, but I can’t remember whether data comes to us direct from the Greek or via Latin and what it does in Latin. I think data is more comfortable being singular, whatever the pedants think.

          1. A datum is a reference point – in Jaffa, I saw the datum for the British survey of Palestine. Data is another word for information. And what about agenda?

  23. Irish Election exit poll results

    It is certain to be a coalition between FF & FG. Who will lead the coalition will depend on which of the two en up with the most seats

    Fianna Fáil: 22.2 per cent
    Fine Gael: 22.4 per cent
    Sinn Féin: 22.3 per cent
    The Green Party: 7.9 per cent
    Labour: 4.6 per cent
    The Social Democrats: 3.4 per cent
    Solidarity-People Before Profit: 2.8 per cent
    Independents/others: 14.5 per cent

    2. They remind me of a prestigious girls’ school once visited by the Duke of Edinburgh, who had a similar uniform. He suggested that there were “daughters of Dracula”.

    3. It is a good job the English language has a word that accurately describes the folk who take part in, or support this movement; it is ‘Tossers’

    1. And all said in so few carefully chosen words! Another thing wrong with the 21st century – mistaking quantity for quality.

    2. Modified Version

      We will not pursue crime committed by racial or religious minorities as that can be deemed racist and will damage integration

      We will pursue what e regarded as hate crime but only if reported as being against a racial or religious minority. No evidence that it is a crime is needed as long as the religious or racially minority regard it as a crime that is sufficient

      Note: WE will not take action on any hate crimes reported by white British people as they are not a priority

    4. I remember being told the objective was to “protect life and property”. And that ‘life’ came well ahead of ‘property’.

      1. In November 1973, Tim, when I started at the regional police training school, Pannal Ash, Harrogate, I had to learn the following definitions,• verbatim:

        “A constable is a citizen. Locally appointed, Who derives his authority under the Crown.”

        “His prime remit is:

        ● The protection of life and property.
        ● The prevention and detection of crime.
        ● The preservation of order.
        ● The prosecution of offenders against the peace.”

        How abominable is it that matters have deteriorated since then!

    1. That is your East patio, yet the wind a is a strong Westerly?

      Wow! How is your house still standing? :•)

      [PS Get your mawn lowed!]

      1. I’m more mortified by the state of the flags, they’ve attracted a lot of moss and algae over the winter ( if you hadn’t guessed it “the East Patio” is a family joke as there’s only one small flagged area.

        2. My “West patio” is about a quarter of the size of your “East patio”.

          [And three of the flags need replacing!] :•(

    2. Rain due to start at around 11am in these parts. I’m off to do some shopping at 10am and will then hunker down indoors for the rest of the day.

          1. No. Of the…

            Awful bursts of wind tore past us, lifting the very stones and soil before them, and with the wind went hail and level, hissing rain, made visible by the arrows of perpetual lightnings that leapt downwards from the sky and upwards from the earth. It was as she had warned me.

            It was as though hell had broken loose upon the world, yet through that hell we rushed on unharmed. For always these furies passed before us. No arrow flew, no javelin was stained. The jagged hail was a herald of our coming; the levens that smote and stabbed were our sword and spear, while ever the hurricane roared and screamed with a million separate voices which blended to one yell of sound, hideous and indescribable.

            …kind!

          3. It is here too. That kind. An adjacent home’s permanent gazebo is shredded. We opened the door for the dog to go into the garden first thing. She said “no, thanks very much, I know already what it’s like outside from inside” standing in the middle of the kitchen. However, she tentatively plodded to the door, and then backed off within a foot of the threshhold giving us a reproachful “I told you so!” sort of look.

      2. Morning (nothing good about it), Elsie.

        I decided that the walk to the shops is too risky from my end so I’m staying indoors with her indoors.

        1. In a warm and cosy place with hot chocolate and a
          open log fire ( in case of power failures )
          and watching Monty Python things during the afternoon
          or a book by candlelight ( not kindle, a paperback ).

        2. Good morning, Grizzly. I think that was either a mis-spell or the auto-corrector auto-corrected me. I meant to write “anchor down” as in anchoring myself to the kitchen sink to avoid a Mary Poppins experience!

          :-))

    5. Good Morning Mr Viking ,
      It’s exceedingly gusty .The lights just
      flickered, it doesn’t take much to do that,
      unfortunately.

    1. Good Morning dear Father :))
      It’s good for flying Woodpigeons and kites .

      Very windy in East Anglia, hope the dark ages don’t appear,
      with power cuts .

      1. Good morning daughter
        We had two minor power cuts the night before last. Only realised it as the phone pinged when the power came back on. Take care.
        Dad

        1. I don’t want to jink it but we get so many power outages here
          being close to woodland the trees pull the lines down with
          the slightest breeze. People are always complaining to
          the local council and energy suppliers to no avail .
          Hope you don’t have any more of them, keep warm xx

  30. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ‘dined with Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez after their JPMorgan summit speech’ – before the pop superstar ‘asked the couple to bring baby Archie to her Miami mansion’. Mail. 9 February 2020.

    Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, are said to have instantly ‘bonded’ with J-Lo, 50, and A.Rod, 44, during the dinner date, which took place at Habitat – a ritzy restaurant located inside the 1 Hotel South Beach.

    Another 3 months and he’ll be spouting Woke, black consciousness, White Racism.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7982905/Meghan-Markle-Prince-Harry-dined-Jennifer-Lopez-Alex-Rodriguez-JPMorgan-speech.html

    1. I was hoping we’d heard the last of them and I’m certainly not interested in where they dine or with whom.

      1. I would think it is her PR, at her behest, trying to keep them both relevant. She is completely irrelevant without his name attached to hers. I shouldn’t think Harry cares, though – even if he is still with her. It is the strangest marriage ever.

        Good morning, vv.

    3. Poor chap, like his mother he was born without a very high IQ. However, even without much academic IQ his mother had the ability to charm, deceive and manipulate. Without Meghan Harry will be lost but I fear that once the novelty has worn off his wife will desert him.

  31. I’m just re-reading Clifford Simak’s ‘Time is the Simplest Thing’. It would seem our host also operates on a different time line, since it’s March the 9th…

      2. New page set up in the early hours of the morning. Tiredness more likely than time travel but you never can tell. We’re certainly experiencing March winds.

    3. Snap! I’m re-reading that book at this moment. Well, not exactly this moment, but currently in the evenings.

    1. Good morning all.
      Au contraire, keep your enemies close, and then make them into your best friends.
      I would be happy to have a few hundred violent religious criminals living down the road.
      Preferably in some form of gated community. (several gates)

    1. Are you saying that softy southerners eat plastic (cotton wool) pseudo-bread in huge quantities? :•)

      1. Afternoon Grizz
        It seems most of the bread you allude to, pseudo-bread, is made by softy northerners, Warburton’s, in Bolton!

        1. Afternoon, Grumps.
          I think all plastic bread, whoever makes it, is not even fit for feeding to ducks.

    2. And a roll-back of those in place?
      Maybe charges of corporate manslaughter might concentrate minds.

      1. I was not aware until today that some of these Smart Motorways are part time which makes them even more dangerous in my view

        1. Neither was I. I knew that odd stretches of motorways are ‘smart’; add in odd timings as well, and you have perfect conditions for confusion and deaths.

  38. Wexford

    Early tallies, with about 50 per cent of boxes open, suggest Sinn Féin Johnny Mythen will comfortably top the poll in the county, according to reporter Conor Gallagher.

    Mr Mythen who lost his council seat in last May’s local elections is polling at 30 per cent.

    Fianna Fáil TD Malcolm Byrne looks set to retain the seat he won in the bye-election in Wexford last November. He is capturing about 21 per cent of the vote.

    Fine Gael’s Michael D’Arcy, a Minister of State at the Department of Finance, is on 16 per cent followed by Fianna Fáil TD James Browne at 11 per cent.

    Minister of State for Defence Paul Kehoe (FG) may be in trouble. He is currently polling at just under 7 per cent.

    Labour leader Brendan Howlin is on just over 5 per cent but his outlook is expected to improve once the boxes from New Ross and Wexford Town are tallied.

    Verona Murphy who is running as an independent is on less than 5 per cent of the tallied vote.

    Ms Murphy was deselected as a Fine Gael candidate last year following controversial comments about migrants during November’s bye-election campaign.

    Her prospects are also expected to improve somewhat are more boxes from her strongholds in the south of the county are opened.

    Dublin Central

    Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald is set to top the poll in Dublin Central with a massive 36 per cent of first preference votes, according to tallies, reports Jennifer Bray.

    With almost all of the boxes opened and tallied in the four seat constituency, Ms McDonald has sailed ahead into first place.

    The Minister for Finance and Fine Gael candidate Paschal Donohoe is also polling well in second place with 13.32 per cent of the vote. Only marginally behind him is Green Party candidate Neasa Hourigan.

    According to the tallies, Fianna Fáil’s Mary Fitzpatrick and the Soc Dems Gary Gannon are also in with a chance of a seat with 10 per cent and 9.3 per cent respectively.

    However there is uncertainty around where Mary Lou McDonald’s transfers will land. It is likely that many of her second preference votes will go to the Greens, Labour and the Social Democrats.

    Labour’s Joe Costello is hovering around the 5 per cent mark, the tallies show.


    Donegal

    The tally is in for all of the 58 boxes in Inishowen. Padraig MacLochlainn (SF) is on 39.6 per cent, and has already exceeded the number of first preference votes he received in 2016, when he narrowly lost out in the race for the final seat in the constituency.

    The Independent Thomas Pringle, who pipped him to the post the last time, is on only 1.2 per cent, reports Freya McClements.

    From Killybegs, his support base is in the south and west of the constituency, where the boxes have not yet been opened, but he will certainly be under pressure to retain his seat because MacLochlainn has polled so strongly thus far.

    Among the other outgoing TDs, MacLochlainn’s party colleague Pearse Doherty is on 12.4 per cent; Fianna Fáil’s Charlie McConalogue and Pat the Cope Gallagher are on 27.6 and 0.7 per cent respectively.

    Fine Gael education minister Joe McHugh is on 8.1 per cent, with his running mate Martin Harley on 0.8 per cent.

    The Independent and former Presidential candidate, Peter Casey, is on 3 per cent, while Michael White of the Green Party is polling at 2.5 per cent and Mary T Sweeney of Aontú on 2.3 per cent.

    Galway East

    Kevin O’Sullivan tells us that with 82 out of 139 boxes open in Galway East at the count centre in Headford, the strength of the Sinn Fein (Louis O’Hara) vote at 15 per cent is the big talking point.

    Whether it’s enough to pull of a surprise win and take a seat from three sitting TD remains to be seen, he says.

    Independent and former minister of state Sean Canney has 23 per cent of the vote, according to tallies but the boxes are mainly from his stronghold of north

    Galway.

    Fine Gael had 26 per cent of votes with outgoing TD Ciaran Cannon running behind running mate Pete Roche, who is in with a chance of a seat, according to tally experts, but many boxes from the former minister of state’s stronghold of south Galway had yet to be opened.

    Fianna Fail candidates, out-going TD Anne Rabbitte and Cllr Donagh Killilea, were running neck and neck with a combined 26 per cent.

    Sinn Fein’s rise is reflected in a box in Clonfert, near Ballinasloe, where it secured 94 votes (32 per cent) out 290 votes.

    Of the smaller parties, Green candidate Eoin Madden was performing best at 3.2 per cent.

    1. The “absolute disgrace”, Caitlin, is that you are commenting [sorry: “pontificating”], publicly, without knowing the full circumstances of what that “under 16” had done!

      Trial by mobile phone?

  40. I see from the Sunday headline date above that the date posters are celebrating what would have been my dear old mother’s 116th birthday a month too early

    She was born in Crewe on March 9th 1904.

      1. No idea

        Plaid Cymru and the Scottish National Party protested after they were blocked from voting on an “English-only” NHS bill.
        Mr Crabb said the rule was “bizarre”.

  44. “Fourth UK patient falls ill as country faces ‘major’ coronavirus outbreak

    Rapidly spreading disease could overwhelm NHS”

    Well, if the NHS can’t cope with four patients, it’s time to close it down and let health care go fully private.

    Media scaremongering. Bah !!

  46. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02/08/bill-gates-becomes-first-buy-500m-hydrogen-powered-super-yacht/

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/news/2020/02/08/TELEMMGLPICT000223981274_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqDfH7F16Xk0VA0Enc8HeGHngd3fgrDJosLPoCFaQZ_-s.jpeg?imwidth=1280

    “The designs for Aqua include two 28-ton vacuum-sealed tanks to store liquid hydrogen at minus 252 Celsius.”

    Please let us know the routes it take so we can stay well away from the big bang…

      2. Vanity was the downfall of the British Government’s concept of the future of aviation using hydrogen albeit for providing lift rather than propulsion.

        As with Concorde, it crashed in France soon after the beginning of the flight after encountering unexpected climate change:

        (Concorde would still be flying if the French cleaned their runways and R101 would still be flying if the French took more control of their climate.)

        https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4634528/The-British-behemoth-brought-vanity.html.

        1. R101 was the goverment-funded competitor to R-100. R-101 was grossly overweight, so much so they had to let in one or two extra bays for extra lift. It also had separate engines for reversing (R-101 used a gearbox to reverse thrust) and the Minister absolutely insisted on the maiden flight even though neither the airship nor weather were ok.
          Result: government failed. Private industry version was a success.
          It was ever thus.
          The hangars at Cardington were built for these two.

          1. The engineer & author, Neville Shute Norway worked on the R100.
            The failure of the R101 was actually a blessing in disguise as the switch to conventional aircraft research meant that Britain was well placed for producing heavy bombers when WW2 started.

          2. I thought it was Shute I wss channelling, but wasn’t sure. Slide Rule was t’book, iirc.

    2. Billy Goats showing off some of the profits he made from persuading millions of halfwits to buy his sub-standard software.

  47. Schofield: I knew I was gay when I got married 27 years ago

    He is looking more and more deceitful each day. I dont thing he has anything at all to be proud about. His wife must be devastated . He claims he is not involved with anyone else but is that likely to have been true over the last 27 years? I think not on the balance of probabilities he has probably in my view had affairs with men

    Why as well did he have to make it even worse for his wife by making such a big deal of on live TV ?. He seems to be trying to play for the sympathy vote when it is his poor wife and children that need the sympathy

    Phillip Schofield has admitted he knew he was gay when he got married in 1993, and tried to suppress his sexuality until his bombshell announcement.
    The popular television presenter came out in an emotional statement posted on Instagram on Friday morning, followed by an appearance on ITV’s This Morning when he was interviewed by his co-host Holly Willoughby.

    1. For how much longer are you going to keep shit-stirring the story?

      What’s done is done, enough has been said, time to give it a rest.

  48. A little slack the last few days. This is a clip from Pat Lang’s blog in the United States. Colonel Lang is an author, a former Green Beret in Vietnam, an intelligence officer in the Middle East and a sort of American Nottler. He doesn’t believe in Climate Change, the Steele Dossier, the Skripal Saga, Chemical attacks in Syria or Socialism. Enjoy.

    I gave up my Friday Night trivial enjoyments to watch the Democratic Party debate in New Hampshire. I did it for you, pilgrims, for you and because SWMBO forced me to do it.

    As you can see, I support TG for president, whatever the odds, but she was not allowed on the stage. This morning she was on the TeeVee with one or another of the babbling anchors and when pressed over Trump’s expulsion from his household of Sunderland, the EU ambassador and the execrable Vindmans from the NSC staff said reluctantly (and correctly) that the president has a right to whomever he wants as his subordinates in the Executive Branch. BTW, something generally ignored is that the two Vindmans are still US Army officers. What they have lost are their current assignments.

    But, to return to the subject of last night’s debate – it was evident that all of them (even Joe) are running on the basis of Rousseau’s bald assertion that mankind has fallen from a “state of nature” in which humans existed in a classless economic equality and that said humans are hopelessly corrupted by the chains created by the notion of private property. To one extent or another all the Democrats in the debate say they want “social justice,” meaning a basic re-distribution of goods, (well, maybe not their own goods) as well as a way of life (for most people) in which Mother Earth is not despoiled of her treasures. In such a world bison and bears would presumably roam Central Park in The Big Apple where they could be played with by shaggy men and women in costumes made from grass and other Vegan materials. In that world there would a somewhat higher incidence of infectious diseases but there would be balance in the universe.

    It is no wonder that the absent Bloomberg (the littlest one) thinks he can win the nomination.

    https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/

        2. I have not downvoted you, Merry Mac, I have downvoted that appalling creature in the photograph. Those responsible for her promotion should face a firing squad!

          1. I would put them in a deep cell where the lights are low but never turned off. There would be a constantly running slide show of the 10,000’s girls who have fallen victim to those they have allowed to operate with barely a slap on the wrist. Discordant noises would be played at random intervals along with the sounds of deeply growling animals.

            That should have them nicely incoherent after a while.

        3. The person inside that uniform looks suitably attired for a fancy dress party….. it must be the medals… no, it is the girdle-cordy thing draped from the right shoulder…. No! It’s the pink ribbon necklace…. All topped off by a ridiculous too-big hat to convey an air of authentic seriousness. The complete parcel makes my blood boil.

  50. ‘Up To 50 MPs Preparing To Quit Labour’ If Rebecca Long-Bailey Wins Leadership

    What they say and what they will. do might be a very different thing. She is though in my view the worst of a very bad bunch.

    Scores of Labour MPs are preparing to leave the party if Rebecca Long-Bailey wins the race to become leader, HuffPost UK has been told.
    It is claimed as many as 50 will not serve under the shadow business secretary and would instead stage a walkout, according to party insiders.

    The split could see some continue as independent MPs but refuse to take the Labour whip while others may quit parliament altogether.
    Long-Bailey is often described as the “continuity Corbyn” candidate and has been effectively endorsed by the leader.

    1. They are all as bad as each other, Becky Wrong Daily
      Is at least truthful with her Corbynsky tendencies.
      Starmer is devious. They are all doomed and so is Liebour .

      1. Good morning one and all.

        “They are all doomed and so is Liebour”. So are the Conservatives if the DT headline is correct – “Tories eye mansion tax and raid on pensions”. What are they thinking? They want to scrap gas boilers, scrap diesel and petrol cars, go ahead with HS2 – my god have we made the biggest mistake ever?

        I feel a strong letter to my MP is needed.

        1. Well the electorate voted for more spending and that money has to come from somewhere. Who do you think should be paying ?

          1. There are areas where spending and fraud can be reduced eg Overseas aid, stop HS2 and Heathrow expansion. Stop illegal immigration by deporting them and not allowing them free legal aid. In the NHS collect payment from all non life threatened patients who are not entitled to free treatment. Reduce drastically the numbers in the House of Lords and cut the number of MPs.

          2. I agree clydesider. Overseas aid should certainly not be a percentage of GDP, it should be in relation to natural disasters , as it used to be. Stop HS2 also. Cull the HoL and reduce the number of MPs. Legal aid should not be given to illegal immigrants, they should be returned whence they came and they can mount their appeal from there.

            The NHS should be collecting payment from all overseas health visitors, in fact, I used to be against ID cards but now I think we should have them, only for that purpose, not with lots of other bits added on to make the cost extortionate. We should have to present the card at the GP surgery and hospital as proof we do or do not need to pay.

        2. I’ve already sent the article to a couple of local MPs + various councillors implying that I’m not impressed.

  51. Good Morning from a Saxon Queen with the soul of Terpischore .

    It’s very windy today, I shan’t wander just outside within my
    woodland today. Shall stay warm and cosy and not aim the long bow .

  52. Just 1% of voters concerned about Brexit, poll suggests

    Leo Varadkar’s attempt to frame the General Election around his Government’s Brexit work appears to have failed, after just 1% of exit poll respondents said this was a factor in how they voted.

    The figure – which may lead to questions within Fine Gael over the decision not to call the election last November – was confirmed in last night’s exit poll, which saw respondents rank the issue joint last alongside “immigration” as a deciding factor in their vote.

  53. Coronavirus turns busy Chinese cities into ghost towns. Reuters. 9 February.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e32c7df015fb42627ac2048efbc2e45630a5676b6d4c25573625b735ff9078b0.png

    BEIJING (Reuters) – After making sure everyone’s face mask is on and sanitizer is to hand, the Qiao family heads out to Jingshan Park, a former royal sanctuary beside the Forbidden City in China’s capital Beijing.

    Snow has fallen for a second day, a rare event in the city of 21.5 million that would normally bring hundreds of thousands of people out to take photos and play. But the streets are empty and the parks are so quiet the only sound is of birds chirping.

    This is more like a scene from I am Legend or The Walking Dead. There is surely no way that the coronavirus with its modest symptoms and low fatality rate warrants such measures?

    https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-health-empty-city-widerimage-idUKKBN20300N?utm_source=34553&utm_medium=partner

    2. Lots of figures about numbers infected and number of dead. No figures about the number who have recovered.

  54. I see Our Grizz definitely had something to grizzle about when he stayed in London Docklands.
    BTL under the Kate Morley column on Suffolk Secrets shortcomings in the Sunday Tellygraff:

    Alan George Barstow

    “I booked a three-night stay at an apartment in London Docklands through Airbnb in November last year. The brochure showed a photograph of a lovely clean and tidy bedroom in the apartment. We arrived, cold and tired, after a long journey (from Sweden), late at night to find a lovely apartment as promised. The only problem is that it had not been cleaned or prepared prior to our arrival.

    The bed was unmade (no linen on the duvet or pillowcases), the floor was covered in dust (our socks were filthy), and the bathroom had not been cleaned (urine stains all around the rim). Frequent telephone calls to the owner went straight to voicemail. We had no option at that time of night but to sleep in an unmade bed!

    The next day we found some washed, but not ironed, bedding on a clothes’ dryer in an adjacent room so we made the bed ourselves. We then managed to contact the owner, who effectively told us we were lying as her cleaner had told her that the room had certainly been cleaned and prepared for our visit.

    We completed our stay and then complained to Airbnb when we returned home. The owner repeated that we were lying since we had not taken photographs (I am 68 and don’t yet have the mindset to photograph everything).”

  55. Brockley Hill tube station: The abandoned London Underground line which was never built

    Well not quite true it was largely built including the depot and many of the stations. For very many years you could see the steel work at Finsbury Park which was for the new platforms and for quite a few yeas a number of stations showed the new line or more correctly extended line

    I always found it slightly odd when one of the stations was called Highgate High Level when it was in a very deep cutting

    n scrubland north of Edgware stand the crumbled remains of a Tube line that was never finished and has largely been forgotten about.
    All that still exists of Brockley Hill Tube station are a few stone arches now covered with moss and graffiti.

    But back in the 1930s, the station promised to a new frontier for the London Underground system which was planned to eventually stretch as far as Hertfordshire.

    From Edgware, a new branch of the Northern line would have extended north to Brockley Hill and then a further two new stations – Elstree South and Bushey Heath.

    However, due to a succession of town planning failures and a world war it was never completed.

    The extension became a part of the failed Northern Heights Plan which aimed to extend the Northern lin north west.
    It would have seen miles of extra Tube systems and the housing developments in the area.
    Clues about the plans remain in several places, including the Mill Hill East station which was the beginning of a connecting line between Finsbury Park and Edgware stations where it would have connected too with Brockley Hill station.

    However, the Tube line now terminates at Mill Hill East – the least used station of the Northern Line.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ae02b41ced7b9c107cd9ecc786da09972713b5f0e57651c5c332d620d6995659.jpg

    2. There’s a massive amount of house building going on very close to Mill Hill East Station, Bill. It won’t be the least used station for much longer.

  56. Met Office forecast 60MPH wind gusts all day..

    Local weather station, Maximum gust so far today 39 MPH at 13.28 hrs.

  58. Police have ‘new information’ in Barrymore pool death probe

    Detectives investigating the death of a man whose body was found in entertainer Michael Barrymore’s pool say they have new information about the case after a renewed appeal last week.
    Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead at Barrymore’s home in Roydon, Essex, on 31 March 2001, having suffered serious sexual injuries.
    Police offered a £20,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.
    They are now following up several calls, as the Mirror reported.
    As they relaunched the appeal, Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings said: “I believe that [Stuart] was raped and murdered that night.
    “One or more of those party-goers are responsible for that serious sexual assault on Stuart Lubbock.”
    The new senior investigating officer said three people previously arrested, including

    1. As they relaunched the appeal, Det Ch Insp Stephen Jennings said: “I believe that [Stuart] was raped and murdered that night.
      “One or more of those party-goers are responsible for that serious sexual assault on Stuart Lubbock.”

      This was pretty obvious at the time!

      1. Very unusual to name people

        The new senior investigating officer said three people previously arrested, including Barrymore, had not been “completely eliminated”.

        1. There was practice prevalent at the time called Jellybanging where groups of homosexuals would tour London’s nightspots looking for a heterosexual victim and then lure him away, administer a cocktail of drugs and then gang rape him. Barrymore provided the venue for that nights proceedings and is guilty of murder for that reason alone!

  59. Morning all.
    Now stirred and awakened as the proud and happy grand parents of a second grandchild. Aka me and my missus celebrating the birth of an 8.5 pound little boy born at 1:30 am. ‘Face time’ is a wonderful piece of tethnology. Baby Mother and Father doing well after rather an eventful day.
    And also i might add a new grand daughter by elder son and his lovely wife, and sister for Harry, is due any time soon.
    Happy times. 😆

      1. Thanks and we do indeed.
        We’ll be seeing them today.
        We resisted the temptation many times to pop off and live in the sun. We’d already done that.

    2. Congratulations to the happy trio and we’ll done Eddy and wife for producing half the wherewithal. 😂😂😂

      1. It’s a great feeling it takes us back to when the little fella’s father was born. 30 odd years ago.

    6. Thank you all for the best wishes.
      At only 14 hours old, we spent part of the afternoon with the new parents and the little fella. He’s lovely. 😊

  61. When, in 1973, the killer of Sir Richard Sharples, the Governor of
    Bermuda, had his appeal against the death sentence rejected, his last
    hope was a plea to the Queen for mercy. A Privy Counsellor of my (Chris Mullin)
    acquaintance was dispatched to the Palace with the relevant paperwork.
    Needless to say the advice was ‘reject’. She duly signed away the
    culprit’s life, remarking as she did so: ‘Fancy appealing to me for
    mercy. Do you know he even shot the dog?’

    This is a woman who has served us faithfully all her life. Long may she reign.

  62. Good morning, everyone. Blowing a hooley. Five different kinds of tit on the feeders plus a nuthatch.

    3. Half a Ninch of rain here since10pm last night. Bit of a breeze, blew a plastic chair over but that’s it…

      1. Same here Phizzee.

        We will be having a late lunch .. roast pork, but I have a cooked chicken in the fridge just in case .

        This is a real old fashioned gale .. strange thing though, the wind doesn’t smell salty , but rather like manure or gas .. Foul air?

        We had to buy some milk an hour or so ago from our local shop, and the village had a strange aroma.

          2. Garlands had paid for a bottle of Champagne we had on arrival and the coffees, desserts and cognacs were on the house. When the candle lit plate came out the whole restaurant sang happy birthday. Birthday not actually until the 11th but i wanted a Saturday night for the atmosphere. It’s a great restaurant run by friends of mine http://www.lauros.co.uk/#

    2. Afternoon TB,
      You cannot stop nature causing sheer havoc no matter what that little twerp says.
      By the same token,
      We could stop political
      parties / politicos’ causing sheer havoc if we had a mind to.

    3. If this was going to happen it’s a shame it didn’t happen in June when the town is overrun with Pikeys!

    2. UKIP is only far-right if you position those lovely murderous slammers and their leftie chums in the centre (which is what has happened).

  65. Here’s an interesting article to take your mind off the storm.

    China & Africa – No one in Africa has the corona virus. (Possibly because there were no testing kits available on the continent until the 7th of Feb). However, until very recently on an average day 1500 Chinese nationals arrive at Ethiopia’s main airport from mainland China.

    http://www.golemxiv.co.uk/2020/02/3225/

      1. If the Chinese “made” it, and it was genetically aimed, I doubt they would have targeted themselves. And I don’t think for a minute that any African country has the capability to produce such a bug. Or much else either, except war and poverty.

        2. jackthelad – There is the “Occums Razor” approach to the origins of this virus. The basic source that has been suggested might actually be the truth – the food market. There are many virus’s in nature in many creatures. Many of them do not cross species because they do not survive outside of their host animal.

          If there were 20 virus’s casting themselves about in the market that month, the one that had mutated most effectively to latch on to the predominantly Chinese hosts would be the one that survived the best and spread. The virus that found it very hard to jump species would stay in the soup.

          The virus that would thrive and spread among “white Westerners” might not get a look-in because there were so few of the potential carriers around. So it could actually just be natural evolution with Nature exercising “survival of the fittest” among the virus’s. There might have been 1,000’s of viral non-starters who fell at the first gate, but this one, which was attuned to the Chinese physiology has made the leap.

          But “weaponized virus” sounds so much more interesting. 🙂

          1. I seem to remember that the Chinese don’t tolerate lactose terribly well.
            Would that be a marker?

          2. I have no idea. We know how terribly lax the Chinese are with security and their “Lets have a chuckle” approach to military research and keeping it secret. If it was a targeted attack than we will never know because those who might talk will already have had “accidents.” But it is a story that gives people something to talk about.

            As it has been noted, this was such an obvious scenario for a good yarn, that an author has already written a book about it happening. Which is not as prescient as it may appear, as it is the equivalent of a UK author writing about Porton Down, or a US one writing about Fort Detrick in Maryland.

            https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/21cb5719287456b09f6fa9423eed09021cc237dec154029d97583c797a323bbd.jpg

    2. When is someone in our own Government going to recognise that infected carriers don’t show any symptoms for up to two weeks after they catch it? Talk about bolting the stable door…

      1. I can appreciate that.

        But say, for sake of argument, that that push was happening at ground level and the plane was moving at 800mph, because of the push, would the plane be flying faster than the speed of sound?

        1. No because the speed of sound is relative to the air in which the aircraft (and the sound) is travelling, not the ground speed. In this case the air was being pushed from behind along with the aircraft in it. The aircraft was travelling at about 600mph relative to the air, but that air was moving at about 200mph relative to the ground. The aircraft’s airspeed was only 600 or thereabouts, so the speed of sound in that air at that altitude wasn’t broken.

        2. No because the speed of sound is relative to the air in which the aircraft (and the sound) is travelling, not the ground speed. In this case the air was being pushed from behind along with the aircraft in it. The aircraft was travelling at about 600mph relative to the air, but that air was moving at about 200mph relative to the ground. The aircraft’s airspeed was only 600 or thereabouts, so the speed of sound in that air at that altitude wasn’t broken.

    3. It happened to us on Thursday night. The groundspeed was approaching 800 mph but that was 600mph from the jet engines and 200 mph wind assist.

      It ruined the schedule, almost no time between supper and breakfast.

    3. “Never show vulnerability to those that you pretend to control. They can turn nasty.”

      2. My understanding is that HS2 was originally an EU directive. You’re right, we could have just left cleanly on 31st October if Johnson had advised the Queen not to give the Benn Act Royal Assent, or for the Lords to filibuster it. Why didn’t he do that? Because he wants Brexit to slip off the radar, and a BRINO to be delivered in these eleven months.

    2. I am beginning to think that HS2 is a good thing. Don’t worry about the cost. If it hadn’t been wasted on this, it would have been wasted on something else.
      The thing that has been wrong about it from the beginning is that the work starts at the wrong end. If the idea was to open up the North, it should have started at Leeds.

          2. Not sure if you are right, but I always upvote you anyway, as a sign of appreciation……….:-)

    4. It’s too early to say definitively Kuffar but I am getting the idea that this is Blair Mark 2

          1. Decisions without explanations ? Explanations you want ? Like ” Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction pointed directly at your back side ” ?

          2. Why the government is planning a tax raising Budget. 9 February 2020.

            Tory activists are in uproar this morning over varying reports of tax raising measures Boris Johnson and Sajid Javid are considering for next month’s Budget. Plans currently being mooted include cuts to pension tax relief and the introduction of a recurring property tax that could replace stamp duty. Critics have been quick to say that neither proposal fits with what the Tory party traditionally claims to want to do – rather than new taxes and limits Johnson ought to be pushing for tax cuts.

            https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2020/02/why-the-government-is-focussed-on-raising-revenue-in-the-budget/

            That sort of explanation!

          3. During the election campaign Johnson & Co promised all sorts of spending that “the people” voted for. If the people are too stupid to appreciate that the expenditure must be funded by the people more fool them.

          7. I hope it’s better than the last series, John. It lost a bit when the excellent character, Peter Quinn (played by Bristol-born, Rupert Friend), was killed off.

          8. Indeed, George. The Quinn character was quite something, especially his final act of self-sacrifice.

    1. Bet the passengers were relieved to land safely. I have friends stuck in Gib. But better to be bored than dead.

        1. Good pilot skills.

          I always let out a loud squeak when landing on a wet runway because the pilot pushes the plane hard onto the tarmac to gain traction. Much to the amusement of other passengers.

  70. A comment by another Rick

    The government has given up the pretense that it serves the people.

    You WILL pay taxes to fund the caliphate.
    You WILL pay taxes to fund Greenscam Industries.
    You WILL pay taxes to fund foreign aid to countries that hate you.
    You WILL pay taxes to fund QUANGOs, charities, departments, policies, projects and schemes that you neither need nor want.
    You WILL pay taxes to fund legal aid for terrorists, criminals and freeloaders.
    You WILL pay taxes to fund the pay, perks and pensions of pointless parasitic bureaucrats.

    You will NOT be represented in parliament which will appease deviants for a time and moslems forever.

    Government OF the people BY the bureaucrats FOR the corporations.

    2. Boris has a majority that could allow him to do anything that he wants, including dealing with all of those problems you list and more. He has a few short months to show us whether he is waving the flag of the United Kingdom or hiding behind the blue rag of the EU / globalists.

      Someone may wish to slip him a few of these, if he shows signs of forgetting why the British people voted for his party in the first place.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f08c0570532bacb780b36f1f8af1ab7c9eda710b9b21d53912b8a52ee1a6814f.jpg

    1. A sensible proposition that requires looking at and exploiting if it is viable. However, the cynic in me says that any proposal that isn’t supported by the ‘Green Blob and St Greta’ will end up in the filing cabinet under the desk followed by the government buying something similar from our competitors a few years down the line.

  73. Volunteers from more than 10 animal rescue groups are racing against the clock to save thousands of unattended pets in Wuhan after the coronavirus-triggered lockdown has prevented many owners from returning to their homes.
    https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/article/3049116/coronavirus-race-save-wuhans-starving-pets-owners-unable-return-homes

    That’s dinner sorted….

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f4dfb631562aed52b43afd941fcbb020fe82f44edbcc237e72486b79679c34c7.jpg

    1. I expect he would have refused. One can only spend so much time in the company of sanctimonious virtue signalling hypocrites before you feel the need to get the machine gun out.

  75. Bloody Nora!
    Absolutely chucking it down and very gusty this morning, with a continuous roar of the wind over the top of the valley.

      1. Exactly what I thought would happen to Spartie.
        So far, he’s been well impressed by a dodgy tree being blown over but less keen on his ears being ruffled.

        1. Our Cavalier never liked having her trousers blown about. She used to turn round in high winds to find out what was doing it.

    1. I have witnessed people doing that with locusts and other things, and it would be the same fate as a “normal” predator finding them, but it is still grim to watch a human doing that. What about the bones and the internal organs, beaks, offal and excrement? I like my food cooked and “cleaned” at the very least.

      1. I suspect they may not be of even average intelligence. They simply don’t think that deeply.

      2. She would probably retch at the thought of eating a Quiche Lorraine.

        Apparently, to the Chinese, the thought of eating curdled milk is emetic.

  77. Funny thing the weather, I’ve been reading the reports of gales and severe floods down South and in England.

    Here (Loch Ness-side), it’s been just another dreich February day. There’s just a moderate breeze, blowing up the Great Glen from the SW, the barometer’s steady and now even the rain has stopped.

    “Sen custodit Dominus omnes diligentes se et universos impios conteret”
    — Ps. 144:20

    :¬)

    1. Lucky you Duncan. Yorkshire and Cumbria have floated away again. Some people hadn’t long recovered from the last onslaught.

      My place is on a small rise so it never gets flooded. Unlike the neighbours down the road. (said smugly) :o)

      1. That’s pretty much what my cousins in Kendal told me this morning. They’re fine ‘cause they’re on a hill. Neighbours down the road not so lucky. 75 mph wind there. Only got up to 23 here in Hammersmith, now 18 mph and damp but mild.

        1. We’re on the side of a hill so never get floods here. The wind was ferocious this morning and our shed
          (fortunately no hedgehogs in residence) took a beating as it whips up the valley when it’s in this direction. It’s eased off a bit now, and still raining a bit but not so much.

        2. I looked at lots of bungalows in the area and thought long and hard as this would be my final move.

        3. Supposed to have been 80 mph here; not sure it was that bad, however one fence panel gone and a one-hour power cut.

    2. People in the UK seem to be complaining about some inclement weather.

      It must be this “climate emergency” that everyone seems to be talking about.

      1. Salve, Rex Latinorum!

        Not in St. Jerome’s Biblia Vulgata, from which I quote. The numbers of chapter and verse sometimes greatly vary between the BV and the Douay-Rheims Bible.

        All very confusing.

  79. (BBC 24/7 News 2 am, Sunday 9 February)

    Newsreader: “Storm Ciara has been battering Britain with winds up to 130 km an hour …. over to our weather expert …”

    Weather Expert: “Yes, there is damage to property, and travel disruption, as one would expect with gusts up to 90 miles per hour …. “

    1. But 130 km/h is equivalent to 80 miles per hour, so which is it you scientifically illiterate numpties ?

  80. Wonderful weather you are having, so glad that we are here.

    Went to air museum, closed Sundays.
    Decided to go to Duxton, we found that the A14 and M11 were closed, we then hear that a hanger roof blew off at Duxton.

    Give up, set off back to Spalding the long way round. Got to Wisbech, road closed because stadium roof from football ground had blown off.

    So much for a day without MIL.

      1. You win the prize for correction.

        At least we were not trying to fly home today, just getting to Gatwick would have been interesting and WestJet have cancelled today’s flights.

        Just give me a nice snowstorm

  81. Premium: Nigel’s holiday letter from D.C.

    Donald Trump genuinely likes Boris Johnson, but Huawei row could damage the Special Relationship
    NIGEL FARAGE IN WASHINGTON DC – 9 FEBRUARY 2020 • 2:36PM

    After the thrill of giving my last ever speech in the European Parliament, and the joyous the scenes in Parliament Square on Friday night, I found myself out of a job. After 20 years as an MEP, I had finally managed to make myself redundant. So I took the opportunity to head off to Washington DC for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, being made at this dramatic time in US politics.

    I knew there were many friends in the Republican Party and many commentators in the wider political sphere who would be delighted that Brexit had finally been achieved. During the week, the bar of the Trump hotel was full of these like-minded individuals. The chief reason for their optimistic mood, of course, was the barnstorming performance which the president put in on Tuesday night and, the following day, the Senate acquitting him of charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress. But many told me they saw Brexit as a hammer-blow to globalism and were looking forward to a US/UK trade deal.

    Despite it being such a busy week for the President, I was amazed that he found the time to meet me in The Oval Office. First, accompanied by Texan Congressman Louie Gohmert, I talked to Vice President Mike Pence outside. Then, I went into the most famous office in the world for a one-to-one meeting with Mr Trump. The office was smaller than I had expected but was, nonetheless, a beautiful room. It was particularly good to see a bust of Winston Churchill there, which President Obama had removed. I remember discussing its reinstatement with the President a few days after his election back in 2016.

    As with all of my meetings with the President, I am careful never to reveal exactly what was said. What I can confirm, though, is that he genuinely likes Boris Johnson and is the most pro-British President for years. He believes that the removal of barriers could leave us with a trade deal that would be good for both sides. He has been through a torrid time throughout the impeachment process and was relieved it was all over. My strong sense is that the Democrats have only succeeded in making him and his core supporters even more determined to win the election later this year.

    On the vexed issue of Huawei, I told him that I would be asked for his response. His official word on the issue was: “The United Kingdom must do whatever is best for United Kingdom.” All over Washington, however, there are darker words being spoken. Because at the very moment when the special relationship should be going into overdrive, I fear that we could soon see it going into reverse.

    Much has been reported over the last few days about the Trump/Johnson phone call in relation Huawei. Most of it is speculation. What I can say with certainty is that I was shocked at the strength of feeling I encountered from the many Congressmen and Senators that I met. Take Jim Banks, a pro-Brexit member of Congress in Indiana. He is so concerned by the UK decision to involve Huawei in 5G that he told me with bewilderment: “The British reclaim their sovereignty from Brussels and now they’ve abdicated it to Beijing.” He has now introduced a bill that would prohibit the US sharing intelligence from countries that allow Huawei to operate their 5G networks. Many others US politicians I met agree with Jim Banks.

    Now consider Australia. Despite its strong economic ties with China, the government has banned Huawei from operating in its telecoms sector. It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership is under threat. Nobody in Britain should underestimate this.

    Worse still is the potential impact on a UK/US trade dal as a result of this inexplicable tie-up with Huawei. A quick negotiation with America would significantly help our ability to talk terms with Brussels. Has this trick been missed?

    During my time in Washington this week I was left in doubt that all technology-based projects and services will now be removed from any UK/US deal. Senior Republican senators have told me they see it as extremely unlikely that such deals would pass Congress given the deep distrust of Huawei. At the very moment when we should be making great progress, it seems we have shot ourselves in the foot.

    There is one way that a compromise could be reached, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo hinted a little of this is his recent visit to London. The UK government’s defence of its decision rests on the assertion that Huawei will not be involved in the core of the 5G network, only up to 35 per cent of the periphery. If the US administration can be convinced that this is true then the situation may be saved.

    I am sorry to report that those to whom I have spoken, who have considerably better technical understanding of the situation than me, are far from convinced of this. They have suggested that the idea that the core of 5G is protected by encryption codes simply doesn’t hold water. Indeed, the more 5G evolves, they say, the less the difference between the core and the periphery becomes.

    Donald Trump is right, of course, that a sovereign United Kingdom must make its own decisions and should not be dictated to by others. It is also true that doing business with Huawei will be cheaper, and has incentivised the telephone companies to support use of their equipment. But I am told by extremely well informed sources that serious alternatives to Huawei are very close at hand, if only Boris Johnson will reconsider them.

    Given what is at stake, Johnson must suspend the Huawei decision straight away. Otherwise, irreparable damage may be done to the special relationship at this crucial moment in our nation’s history.

    1. There is no such thing as a ” special relationship ” Mutual interests determine behaviour.

    2. Not bothered about Huawei. Am bothered about borrowing another 100Billion pounds for a 19th century train set.

    4. Anyone believes in the “special relationship” is a deluded fool. The US, rightly does what’s best for the US. The UK should do likewise and stop messing around.

      1. Thing is, since Maggie Thatcher, the UK has never had a Prime Minister who has put the interests of the UK first. I can’t think of any other country where its leaders consistently display such a lack of patriotism.

        And what I don’t understand is “Why?”.

        2. It could be argued that those who find themselves “at the top” have been allowed to get there, or just plain put there full stop. Theresa May’s farcical election process that made her leader would make a banana republic blush in embarrassment. Many of those who ARE patriotic are sidelined, not promoted at all, or weeded out.

          As to why this happens, those people who do get to the top mainly believe in something different to the vast majority of the rest of us. They do not believe in Nation States existing in the future, and foresee a world of bland sameness full of poorly-educated citizens who accept their lot in life. They are easier to control than a nation of people who know their history and are proud of it. Cultural distinctiveness needs to be removed in their eyes.

          They believe in different things and have different goals. That is why we feel let down so often.

          (Edit: I have just read another comment above that also used the words “banana republic blush” – that is 2 independent people using the same words 10 minutes apart. We must be in trouble. 🙂

  82. Just had a quick look on John Redwood’s Diary -Catching Criminals, where presently there is a total of 12 comments. Redwood is asking questions about what his readers want the police to do regarding crime; the answers are not good reading for the Tories who are getting a bit of a bashing in the comments and it’s unlikely that that will improve as the comment count increases.
    How’s that honeymoon period going?

    BTL

    Stephen Priest
    Posted February 9, 2020 at 5:58 am | Permalink

    I still think the Government are going to let the police prioritise arresting people for sending so called offensive tweets before arresting anyone for burglary.

    I might be wrong but so far Johnson is just Continuation Blair Part 3.

    HS2
    Hauwei
    Banning Petrol cars by 2035
    Mansion Tax
    Forcing people to rip out gas boilers
    Lords Hammond and Clarke

    The Government is more interested in keeping a 17 year old Swedish Schoolgirl happy than it is in helping British voters.

    Less than 2 months since the General Election and a very BIG disappointment.

    Why vote Conservative again?

    Nig l
    Posted February 9, 2020 at 6:32 am | Permalink

    I am not going to detail a reply. Thinking about your acceptance of crime makes me too angry. With that and suggested tax rises, {Sunday Telegraph) we might as well have elected the Socialists.

    Shirley
    Posted February 9, 2020 at 6:49 am | Permalink

    I’ve lost trust in Parliament. Totally.

    Once we leave the EU, I do NOT want to see foreign criminals given £thousands in Legal Aid to enable them to remain in this country. We have enough home grown criminals that ply their trade with impunity, mostly with the full knowledge of the police.

    I will never forgive those who allowed the rape gangs to operate for so long (and probably are still ongoing). It appears some ‘minorities’ are allowed to break the law with impunity unless someone is brave enough to blow the whistle and inform the public thereby forcing action against these crimes.

    Lifelogic
    Posted February 9, 2020 at 7:44 am | Permalink

    Indeed some police officers are indeed excellent people risking their lives every day who know what is needed and are doing their best. But they are being misled by management and politicians. Just listen to Cressida Dick whose main agenda seems to be having a diverse police force that reflects London’s diversity. This rather than one that actually works efficiently, saves lives and actually deters crime. Just listen to all her interviews she is totally the wrong person for the job.

    They even announce that they have given up on things like shoplifting how does that deter crime.

  83. The Myth of Single Parent Poverty

    The vast majority of single mothers do not need to live in poverty. Most of the poverty is down to fecklessness and not poverty

    These 3 are a prime example of it all three living on benefits and all three getting themselves drunk. At leas it appear they had paid for baby sitters and can even afford taxis, Chav’s “R” Us comes to mind

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7977615/Three-single-mothers-started-3am-catfight-told-set-bad-example-children.html

    1. The two are not remotely similar, much less a mirror. The strait between Denmark and Sweden at Oresund is less than ten miles wide with water depths of less than 10 metres. No problem bridging that.

      From Portpatrick to Northern Ireland coast is over 23 miles, with water depths of up to 300m and most of it over 100m deep. Stormy water, strong tides and passingTrident submarines to accommodate. Good luck with building bridge piers in there.

      What are those dopes in government pushing up their noses?

      1. I think most of us have realised that Government projects are frequently untainted by actual reality – “they” won’t thank you for pointing out that this idea is a complete lemon!

        1. SB,
          Political lifestyles must be upheld.
          The keep in / keep out
          party before Country will ensure that the politico’s are given carte blanche regardless.

      2. Morning B,
        Large wodges of wonga rhetorically speaking.
        If HS2 funding, supporting life styles without a rail being laid
        has taught the peoples nothing,
        then they deserve being financially raped time & time again.

        1. And the caravans of caravans holidaying in England for free.

          Sunday. Park up on the cricket pitch.
          Monday. Shit all over the cricket pitch.
          Tuesday. Steal tarmac.
          Wednesday. Flytipping.
          Thursday. Steal laundry.
          Friday. Shoplifting.
          Saturday. Fight.

          1. You’ve forgotten ‘nick all the playground material and flog it off to cousin Mick’.

    2. The two are not remotely similar, much less a mirror. The strait between Denmark and Sweden at Oresund is less than ten miles wide with water depths of less than 10 metres. No problem bridging that.

      From Portpatrick to Northern Ireland coast is over 23 miles, with water depths of up to 300m and most of it over 100m deep. Stormy water, strong tides and passingTrident submarines to accommodate. Good luck with building bridge piers in there.

      What are those dopes in government pushing up their noses?

    3. Please don’t mention the bridge from Denmark to Sweden – we were supposed to travel first class from Copenhagen to Stockholm recently as part of a deluxe multi city break – sounded a lovely thing to do. As far as we are aware (and information was very hard to come by) the Swedish police closed the bridge to rail traffic for some reason, and the train was cancelled. To say we were very unimpressed by the resulting action by Copenhagen station would be a massive understatement – a truly awful display of “not our fault chief” incompetence.

    4. BJ,
      We have very near got rid of the eu scam, the global warming is getting a good hammering as a scam, so one scam at a time.

  89. And the Via Gellia (A5012) is closed due to a tree coming down.
    Bloody annoying really. My van is VOR otherwise I’d be up with my chainsaw clearing the tree & loading up with firewood for next winter!

  90. Timber! Timber!
    Our garden fence is now in pieces all over the grass.
    The sky is turning black and the wind is roaring through the bushes.
    If it was somewhere else it would be fun to watch.

    1. Are the pieces broken or will it be possible to rebuild? Not sure how things are in York. Is Leeds on higher ground?

          1. I was in Leeds in October, 2019. I bought a wonderful pork pie in Kirkgate Market and had a delicious cappuccino and bagel in Bagel Nash (behind City Varieties).

            It was my first time on foot in Leeds, I quite liked the city centre. [And that is saying something from a chap who spent his formative years in Sheffield!]

          2. Used to get some brilliant pies from Doncaster Market when my shift roster had me lodging there!
            Always used to over estimate how many I needed so at the end of the shifts I was away for, I’d often have one or three spare.

          3. That’s why I make my own over here (to an old Yorkshire recipe).

            Problem is, now that I’m on a Keto diet they have to lie in the freezer, tempting me!

      2. Pieces broken – actually blown out of the base hole, so must have been a hell of a gust. York is all flat!

        1. York is sheltered. It floods but I’ve always noticed that if I go up to Harrogate, the winds are much stronger.

          5. Excess too high. Plus one claim and the premium escalates. Insurance claims are for the big stuff.

    3. Phillip is a hero of the snowflake woke generation.

      R.I.P to L/Cpl James Ashworth VC. A true hero of our times trying to make the world a better place.

    4. Hero?

      This disgusting piece of talent-free, squeaky-voiced noncehood (the BBC permitted him close contact with children in his early career) presumably poked his innocent wife, on occasions, with the same priapic wand that he also routinely inserted into where it wasn’t designed to go, on members of his own (presumed) sex!

      Whether or not he washed it first is anyone’s guess!

      Hero? Send the twat to Helmand for a couple of years and we’ll see how heroic he it is!

      1. I was quite surprised when he ‘came out’.

        Not surprised at his revelation at all, but surprised that he had a wife of the female sex.

          1. If I’m in the car I’m forever having to turn the radio off when he comes on the adverts with his annoying voice.

      2. Does he have ‘mental health issues’? Do most analists need analysis? Do bum botherers need barbiturates?

      3. ‘Hero’ indicates the depths of depravity to which the bbc has sunk. Below the depths, actually. A couple of years’ conscription for all in bbc-world in Afghanistan would re-establish their perspectives. How absolutely sick and depraved is their world.

    5. My sympathy is totally for his wife who has been deceived on a grand scale. She must be gutted.

      James Ashworth VC selfless actions. Total admiration.

    6. My sympathy is totally for his wife who has been deceived on a grand scale. She must be gutted.

      James Ashworth VC selfless actions. Total admiration.

    7. It has been suggested that PS only “came out” because he was going to be “outed” by a set runner he had been having a liaison with.

      Hero? Ha bloody ha.

  93. Has anyone heard any alleged information from Shanghi
    regarding the virus being ‘ airborn’ apparently a person with the
    virus doesn’t have to be present or even near. The particles of
    infection travels in the air. I vaguely heard this somewhere but cannot
    find more info. Also whatever objects infected people touch
    such as doors, elevator buttons etc will become infected and
    those objects remain infected for 5 days.

  94. Now there a challenge. We have millions of cars lorries and buses going up and down roads each day. There must be a way to use them to generate electricity

      1. Could you lift yourself up by your bootstraps to remove the need for lifts and staircases in buildings?

    5. It appears that France returned them straight away.

      Why oh why can’t we do the same to the daily boatloads?

    6. Let’s carry on the good work.
      How else can we make the UK even more unwelcoming?
      Thinking caps on.

  97. One of the garden fence panels has come out of its joint and is open
    like a door. Husband says leave it for now as it’s difficult to place
    back, hmm hope he does it tomorrow and I’m glad the lady next door l
    doesn’t have a dog or it’ll be in this garden.
    The wind has lessened but it’s still raining cats and dogs .

    2. Same with mine – I’ve propped it up and tied it with rope for the time being. If I hadn’t, the whole panel would have come down leading to a more expensive repair.

  98. The storm seems to be abating here. The rain has stopped & the wind has slackened a bit.

    1. The same here Mr Viking,
      Neptune has been stampeding the heavens with his spears
      of golden light and buckets of water.

          6. He can compare himself to whatever he likes. Elton John’s middle (renamed by him) name was Hercules. Nuff said.

            Anyway these frogs and belgies are a funny lot – Belgium has a lager called Jupiler. Tastes likes…

          8. So perhaps he should have re-named himself Elton Steptoe John. Doesn’t quite have the same ring.

          9. He was the Roman God of war .
            Poseidon was the Greek God of the sea and that of
            storms ( i used his Roman name above but the same one ).

          16. Poseidon was the Titan / Olympian God of the
            sea, earthquakes, floods and storms .
            Orphic hymn 17 speaks of the ruler of the seas
            and whose liquid grasp begirds solid ground,
            earth shaker and the opening of the heavens
            from above his swelling Brine.
            Those Romans nicked rather a lot from the Greeks.

          19. Hertslass and Nvodu!

            How the hell do you two know about “golden showers”? What does your bedtime reading literature consist of?

            Are there deep, dark aspects to your characters that have been kept hidden? Come on, we must be told! :•)

            [I’m only asking because I am an innocent ingenue!]

          20. Who said anything about bedtime reading? Personally I like to go to bed with something light, like Nancy Mitford.

          25. I could tell you a raunchy story or three about my personal experiences with “golden showers”.

            However, I don’t piss and tell! :•)

          33. At the moment my bedtime reading is “Born Free”, the story of Elsa the lioness. We might make a pilgrimage to he grave in a couple of weeks’ time.

  99. – Climate emergency latest breaking news, record temperature recorded in the Antarctic, Attenborough admits to putting thermometer where the sun does shine

    1. I think everyone is reading the poor beleaguered man wrongly. Have a heart.

      Normal people would know that matters were worse without being reminded. However, if you are a camel-shagging disciple of a sixth-century nonce, from the same sect that thinks females (especially white ones) are trash and for your personal pleasure, how are you expected to know right from wrong? Decency from abomination? Or lawful acts from unlawful ones?

      Then again he was elected for office by a majority of the clowns living within the confines of the M25. You reap what you sow.

      1. A fair few of us didn’t vote for the bloke. However, given the likely future demographic either he or his ilk will continue to be elected until the GLA and its Mayor are abolished by Government. I’ve decided to retreat and move out of what is becoming a pseudo war zone. All being well I will be far away by Easter.

        1. We are thinking the same. Are you also thinking of the SW or a different place altogther?

          2. We’re finding the West a little pricey, except if you go west beyond Herefordshire etc. Of course one could go to Ireland, or even the USA… :o)

          3. Good for you but eventually the PTB will ensure that every corner of this island will get its share of diversity.

          5. Funnily enough, for a pair of Brexiteers, we are actively considering the Lot-et-Garonne in France, once the house in Flowton is tarted up and sold.

            Best Beloved’s daughter has a house and gite in Duras and BB wants to be near – I think it is because it is an area of France she knows – I would prefer to live closer to the Pyrenees on the warmer and more storm-free Mediterranean coast but, hey-ho, we shall see.

          6. How lovely – I have no connection with France, not does D, so we’ll stay in the UK.

            The very best wishes for successful and happy move to you both!

  101. Important, very important, and very depressing – this article by Douglas Murray:

    We are coming to the end of almost a decade of Conservative-majority rule in the UK. And what do we have to show for it?

    Obviously the Conservatives now have a majority in Parliament. But what about in the wider technocracy? In all those quangos, government appointments and other gifts that come through proximity to power? Those baubles (or balls-and-chains, depending how you look at it) that constitute the gift of the government of the day?

    During its 13 years in government Labour used these gifts well. So well that even now, a decade after they left office you still find Labour functionaries perched, like partisans, in every other tree.

    Take the Royal Society of Arts, a well-funded, ancient and influential institution which is precisely the sort of outfit which directs the cultural weather. Today its mission statements still constitutes that bland, dated New Labour guff about “human potential” and “challenges”. And why might that be? Perhaps because the Chief Executive since 2006 has been a man called Matthew Taylor, whose previous role was as advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair and head of the policy unit at Number 10 during Blair’s government.

    There are so many roles like this – ones into which Labour apparatchiks slipped with considerable ease and there remained. James Purnell’s career as a Labour MP reached its height with his role as a minister in the government of Gordon Brown – a CV-point that ought to have all the appeal of the Coronavirus. And where does Purnell perch now? Why, at the loftiest heights of the BBC, as the corporation’s Director of Radio and Education.

    When you see the BBC pump out another unadulterated piece of Left-wing grudge-whisking it may not be only because of Purnell, but it certainly is because people like him so dominate our cultural institutions that their now dated values and worldview are believed to be the norm even when they have been rejected at the ballot box.

    The job of a Conservative government ought to be not just to seek, and keep, a Parliamentary majority, but to ensure that the cultural winds begin to blow the other way. To ensure that conservative-minded people and even (shock, horror) Right-wing figures are placed in positions of responsibility. Imagine what could be achieved if the soft-tools of British diplomacy, never mind the harder ones, were in the hands of non-Leftists.

    Imagine if organisations like the British Council were headed by people who actually believed in the good that our country has done and can do, rather than these expensive and timorous entities which never saw a self-hating trend they did not prostrate themselves before.

    If you point this failure out to Conservative MPs and party workers you always get a certain number of ripostes. In the first they try to name successful, non-Left wing political appointments of the last decade. The one name that always comes up with is William Shawcross, the author and royal biographer whose successful two-term stint as head of the Charity Commission helped turn around a woefully wet and wasteful institution.

    Go beyond that and some people might quietly add Roger Scruton, the conservative philosopher who spent the last year of his life writing a report at the request of Theresa May’s government, only to have been treated as disgracefully as it is possible to be treated by the government of the day. Beyond these two names the party loyalists flounder.

    Recent analysis by the Tax Payers Alliance (TPA) proves the trend. Its scrutiny of appointments to public bodies or quangos over the last decade breaks down appointees by declared political activity. Over the last decade Labour appointees exceeded Conservatives in almost every year.

    Even in 2018-9 there were 54 appointees who declared significant political activity in the Labour party as opposed to 36 who said the same about the Conservative party. Given some of the other numbers over the decade it is surprising the Conservative presence was so high. But it is also a demonstration of a pathetic and craven oversight by three consecutive Conservative governments.

    Of course we then get to the other excuse that Conservatives give when this is pointed out: which is that the party was held hostage throughout most of the last decade. For five years every appointment had to be agreed, or bartered over, with their Liberal Democrat coalition partners. Nick Clegg – now of Facebook – had considerable veto powers and could tell David Cameron and co who he would and would not approve. What could the Conservatives do before such mighty powers?

    Which brings me to the third excuse of the party faithful. “We just can’t find people willing to be put forward” they say. To which – assuming that is true – one might pertinently ask “And why might that be?”

    One reason is because of something like what happened to Toby Young during the weakest days of the Theresa May minority government. Readers will remember that over New Year’s Eve 2018 the Conservative government slipped out the news that Young – a prominent, writer, journalist and founder of and campaigner for free schools – was to be appointed as a member of a 15-member advisory board called the Office for Students.

    Now frankly the whole OfS is the sort of entity that shouldn’t exist. If the entire board of the OfS agreed as one to do something bold it would still merely land as a recommendation to sit as a paper on a ministerial desk and possibly provide a blueprint for future consideration and action. I am amazed that Young wanted anything to do with such a eunuch-like body.

    But the Left went for him when it discovered one of its toys might land in his hands. They picked his life apart, found some sophomoric tweets from a decade earlier and destroyed him in public view. During the ensuing firestorm the government allowed Young to step down from the role he had not started. So it isn’t exactly difficult to work out why Right-wing, or even just vaguely conservative people, might not find the whole appointments thing attractive.

    Well here is a thought. I would think that the present government has no more than three to six months to enact it. Flood the public sector with Right-of-centre cultural and political figures. Change the weather. Re-centre the culture. If they don’t do it now they never will, and the frit-ness of the last decade will remain the default position of this one.

    As well as all the other appointments the Conservatives should also focus on making appointments that enrage their opponents. To demonstrate that the era of Clegg-ism and May-ism is over. Appoint Toby Young – and worse – to meaningful, “damaging” roles. Watch the Left scream and stamp their feet once more. At which point we can all turn round to them and say “Well, perhaps you should have won a majority of 80 at the last election”. And “Isn’t this what you would do?”

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/02/09/conservative-thinkers-should-rebalancing-public-life/

    1. And the top two BTL comments:

      Andrew Kevill 9 Feb 2020 8:16AM

      “The job of a Conservative government ought to be not just to seek, and keep, a Parliamentary majority, but to ensure that the cultural winds begin to blow the other way.”

      That is the key sentiment of this article and for the government to do it would be the political equivalent of pushing at an open door. There would be much support right across the political spectrum, given the country’s small “c” social conservatism. It would be a far more important project for the good of the country than e.g. H2S would.

      The harder nut to crack would be academe but cracked it must be too.

      Flag102LikeReply
      IAN BIO 9 Feb 2020 8:45AM
      @Andrew Kevill

      Academe is indeed the hardest and most important area. The problem is that academe is always full of those who are scared of getting out of the comfort zone of education so will always be left wing.

      The best that I can come up with is to put right wing folk into the top positions (that would mean replacing 90% of vice chancellors, and making career progression for everyone dependent on establishing support from industry – including for the arts subjects.

    2. Douglas Murray ought to be aware that golden-haloed Professor Roger Scruton was not averse to litigation for gain, and he was allegedly not pro-gay.

    3. Afternoon LD,
      The great willy the bard would have been hard pressed to pen a better post.
      My personal feeling is that as an anti English / GB political coalition you cannot fault lab/lib/con.
      I, via ogga1 get castigated for being a
      REAL UKIP party member ( not to be confused with the current ersatz NEc UKIP) & the past leaders we have had.
      I would like to point out that all but one
      never dealt in treachery towards Country or peoples.
      How do the lab/lib/con party leaders over the last three decades stack up in the treachery against the British Realm department ?
      Judging by recent events it looks like
      the tory party could keep it’s near unbroken run of political pro eueerrrs.

    1. They are not North London men. They are men (query) who live in North London…whether they happened to be dropped here or not.

      1. HL,
        They are unacceptable in decent society why the lab/lib/con coalition want to import more of the same ilk is beyond me.

  103. I have just received a text from our elder son who was off to Jersey this afternoon (work). He said take-off was hilarious (well, he spent 10 years with the RAF) and the landing was sideways, but otherwise all was good. I am so relieved he has arrived safely.

    1. My goodness…I bet you are relieved indeed. I was in a bad enough state when my daughter was driving home in high wind last week.

      1. Thank you. Our son did five tours in Afghanistan. He was an avionics technician. I thought he would be quite safe looking after Chinooks on base. It never occurred to me that they would have to go and rescue and repair downed helicopters away from the site, sometimes with a firefight going on a kilometre away – and out into the hills when nothing doing on site. I learned about this only afterwards, from his brother.

        1. It doesn’t bear thinking about. We never stop worrying about our children….best to hear afterwards I think.

      1. Jenny of course……:-) You would not believe all the ‘wren’ stuff I have…bought by friends and family. Our cottage is called Wren Cottage as we have quite a lot of them….

        1. I used to live in Cosy Cottage. It’s a bit naff but I didn’t choose the name, it was chosen by someone in the past 125 years.

          It was rather cosy though.

          4. ‘Evening, Lass, that’s one downside of Brexit I hadn’t thought of – our continental quilt doesn’t work anymore.

        2. I used to live in a Rose Cottage in Jacobs Knoll ,
          Golden Valley in the West Country. Thought it a beautiful
          name. Wren Cottage sounds a delight.

          2. Minchinhampton common.
            Stroud being the nearest town. Had to close the garden gate
            because cows used to come into the front garden,
            It was beautiful there but I didn’t drive at the time
            so had to wait ages for the very rare bus .

          3. It sounds heavenly. My aunt lived on a farm and many happy days I spent there in my youth.

          4. That’s the one – we can see Jacob’s Knoll from our house. We used to get the cows in the garden occasionally, till the cattle grid was installed ( much against the residents’ wishes) a few years ago.
            That’s why I hardly ever use my bus pass as I have to walk to Brimscombe to get the bus. That’s not too bad, but coming back up is a killer, especially in the dark.

          5. I remember Brimscombe, my dogs vet was nr there,
            those buses took forever. I didn’t drive then but remember
            my husband not liking that first gear drive back up
            that hill, I used to look over the edge on the passenger
            side. Whenever people here in East Anglia whinge about
            The smallest of hills to drive up ( it’s quite flat here )
            I remember that drive back up.
            My dog ( he’s passed away now ) used to enjoy walks
            on Minchinhampton common very much,
            those cows liked gardens;)
            This area is semi rural and I’ve ancient woods and
            fields just outside, it’s a little pocket in an area which
            cannot be called ” out in the sticks “.

          6. Yes – it’s certainly a bit hilly round here – but at least we don’t get floods. We’ve lived in our house for 25 years and have no intention of moving.

          7. My friend lives in Foxglove Cottage!!….I do love these little old worldy names. We are not posh…but very cosy. More ‘Shabby Chic’ than anything else. We lost some of the cladding in storms so we are having it all repaired this spring and repainted. It will do my heart good to get that done. I rather fancy a nice very pale green…..it will give me something to look forward to.

          11. I don’t know where it is but it is called Fig Leaf Cottage. As soon as i saw it – I was looking for inspiration – I loved the colour. I will post an image of our cottage when all finished.

      1. When I worked at Eastleigh loco works, we used to watch the Trilanders come in to Eastleigh Airport from the Channel Islands in windy weather.

  105. We’ll never make Huawei ‘safe’. It must be stripped from UK networks as quickly as possible
    IAIN DUNCAN SMITH – 9 FEBRUARY 2020 • 4:18PM

    The other day in the House of Commons, the Foreign Secretary admitted that the Government accepted that China was a threat to the UK. Yet at the same time, the Government decided to give Huawei significant involvement in our next generation communications structure – 5G.

    This makes no logical sense. It is inconceivable that such a decision should be made in the face of all the evidence of the threat that China poses to us and our allies.

    Consider that evidence. All Chinese firms are required to help with all intelligence gathering requests made by the Chinese authorities, and the Chinese state enjoys access to all data held by Chinese companies. Article 7 of the country’s national intelligence law states: “All organisations and citizens shall support, assist, and cooperate with national intelligence efforts in accordance with the law”.

    While Huawei says it would refuse any such demand from the Chinese government, this is not credible. After all, Huawei has an intimate history of involvement with the Chinese military and security services. Numerous leaders of Huawei, both past and present, have had ties to the People’s Liberation Army, the Ministry of State Security (which focuses on external intelligence), and the Public Security Bureau (which focuses on domestic intelligence).

    In 2013, the House of Commons Intelligence and Security Committee criticised the way in which Huawei had been allowed to build a position in the UK. It noted “a complacency which was extraordinary.” Vitally, when the decision to include Huawei was made, the Committee were astonished to find that ministers weren’t even informed.

    We are told that the UK believes there is no alternative, claiming that it is possible to protect the core of the 5G network while having Huawei only on the periphery. However, our main allies disagree. Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership, alongside Japan, the Czech Republic, India and Vietnam, all believe strongly that Huawei poses a clear and present danger to their security. They also think there are alternatives: France, for example, has announced that it would instead build its 5G network using Ericsson.

    Simeon Gilding, formerly of the Australian Signals Directorate, led the team tasked with seeing if cybersecurity controls could be designed to prevent hostile intelligence services leveraging their national vendors to gain access to Australia’s 5G networks. He concluded that it was not possible. Even the UK’s own Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre’s oversight board stated it could only provide limited assurance that all risks from Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s critical networks could be sufficiently mitigated over the long term.

    The problem is that nearly two decades ago, the Communist government of China made it a national priority to capture the global market in telecommunications. On the current trajectory, in 10 or 20-years’ time, that domination will be complete.

    The excuse that Huawei’s involvement enables wider market provision is utter nonsense. On the contrary, it limits it. As one successful security software provider said to me, market access is not reciprocal. China doesn’t operate anything like the open market the West does. It is impossible to bid in China for the same access as Huawei gets from the UK. Furthermore, Huawei effectively receives support from the Chinese state, which means that it can undercut any commercial fair price offered by a western telco. That puts permanent pressure on Samsung, Fujitsu, Nokia and Ericsson and feeds dependence on Chinese services.

    I believe that the best course for the Government, given that it has inherited the existing involvement of Huawei, is to plan to clear the firm out of our systems as quickly as possible. Defence of the realm is the Government’s number one priority, and this includes cyberspace. There can be no room in our systems for companies such as Huawei.

    3. IDS gets an awful lot of bad press, yet he’s ultimately correct surprisingly often.

      His greatest problem was that the civil service always did its damndest to undermine whatever he tried to achieve

    4. It’s clear that something or someone has more clout within our government than IDS’s logical argument and the remaining members of the Five Eyes Group’s concern. It’s unlikely that the 30 year rule will expose exactly what drove the decision.

    5. Well in which case MPs should do what they are paid to do, and try to avert a decision disastrous to this country, being made.

  108. A little slack the last few days. This is a clip from Pat Lang’s blog in the United States. Colonel Lang is an author, a former Green Beret in Vietnam, an intelligence officer in the Middle East and a sort of American Nottler. He doesn’t believe in Climate Change, the Steele Dossier, the Skripal Saga, Chemical Attacks in Syria or Socialism. Enjoy.

    I gave up my Friday Night trivial enjoyments to watch the Democratic Party debate in New Hampshire. I did it for you, pilgrims, for you and because SWMBO forced me to do it.

    As you can see, I support TG for president, whatever the odds, but she was not allowed on the stage. This morning she was on the TeeVee with one or another of the babbling anchors and when pressed over Trump’s expulsion from his household of Sunderland, the EU ambassador and the execrable Vindmans from the NSC staff said reluctantly (and correctly) that the president has a right to whomever he wants as his subordinates in the Executive Branch. BTW, something generally ignored is that the two Vindmans are still US Army officers. What they have lost are their current assignments.

    But, to return to the subject of last night’s debate – it was evident that all of them (even Joe) are running on the basis of Rousseau’s bald assertion that mankind has fallen from a “state of nature” in which humans existed in a classless economic equality and that said humans are hopelessly corrupted by the chains created by the notion of private property. To one extent or another all the Democrats in the debate say they want “social justice,” meaning a basic re-distribution of goods, (well, maybe not their own goods) as well as a way of life (for most people) in which Mother Earth is not despoiled of her treasures. In such a world bison and bears would presumably roam Central Park in The Big Apple where they could be played with by shaggy men and women in costumes made from grass and other Vegan materials. In that world there would a somewhat higher incidence of infectious diseases but there would be balance in the universe.

    It is no wonder that the absent Bloomberg (the littlest one) thinks he can win the nomination.

    https://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/

    1. To show my lack of knowledge of some aspects of current politics in the United States, can I ask who this “TG” is that he says he would support to be President? I tried a search engine and it came up with Transgender supporters in the US. I suspect that this is not something that this man approves of. 🙂

      2. Tulsi Gabbard. She’s the “military” candidate which is why they keep her out of sight!

        1. Unless I’ve got it very wrong TG has stated that she wants to remove US troops from the ME

          1. Yes and so does Lang and for the same reason. They only provide targets for the Jihadists!

        3. Thank you for that information, it was a name that I had not heard before. As far as the military in office goes, I would not shed a tear to see Army, Navy and Air Force uniforms going in and out of Number 10 at this point, although they could wear civilian clothing to avoid scaring the snowflakes.

          I would trust them to act in the interests of the United Kingdom far more than many of the politicians that we have at the moment.

    2. ‘Evening, George. At 9 years old, I remember that ‘North Sea Surge’ and being taken by my father to Lowestoft and seeing the sea defences smashed into a mountain of broken concrete slabs.

      We also owe a lot to a Dutch civil engineer for revitalising the Fens. In the 1970s, I used to drive from Wilburton, near Ely to work in Peterborough alongside Vermuyden’s Dyke, part of the defences and drainage he built in the 1650s.

      1. ‘Evening, Tom.

        We could do with a latter-day Cornelius Vermuden today to unblock all the drainage channels that idiotic politicians have allowed to silt up.

  110. Still persisting it down here. Well on the way to receiving our historical monthly average rainfall for February and there’s still another 20 days to go….

    1. That’ll give the Climate Extremists another string to their wobbly bow.

      ‘Evening, Stephen.

  111. What a day, started by helping a neighbour who had 3 fence panels down and across the road. Progressed on to returning another neighbours ridge tile that has been dislodged and finished outside by making safe 4 of my fence panels that came down during the winds on that squall line this afternoon.
    To cap it all, Mrs VVOF switched on the grill in our built in oven which tripped out our mains. New element now ordered.
    After seeing todays storm news, I still consider myself lucky compared to others.
    I think I’ll have a whisky and retire for the night, time enough later in the week to replace fence posts, panels and cooker elements.

    2. Oh dear…..enjoy some peace and rest before tackling problems….we may not be done yet. I hope so.

    3. Same here. Running repairs, sort things out later in the week. Thankful the damage wasn’t worse (1987, I lost half of my back roof!)

    4. I’m with you, troop, no point in getting in a lather about it, enjoy your whisky while planning tomorrow’s strategy.

  114. Breaking news ….

    Simon Jones

    A big search is underway in Hastings for a missing surfer – last seen around an hour ago. Police, three Coastguard teams, a helicopter and lifeboat are all involved.

    No comment needed, really!

        1. I would rather that police, coastguards, helicopter and lifeboat teams didn’t risk their lives for a certifiable numpty.

    5. What an earth was he thinking of going out in this weather? So now others are risking their lives trying to find him

    2. I have read the first 2 Deathworld books, but cannot remember if I have read the 3rd. If not, then it is another one of those “on the shelf” books. I like the 1st one and quite a bit of the 2nd. But the “hero” didn’t half talk bowlocks at times with his views about reality. I don’t tend to remember things like that but even I thought “Yes, yes, we have heard all of that before from people who thought that they were independent thinkers. Now go back to school little one until you have grasped the real world.”

      But I liked the idea of the planet that had become so hostile. 🙂

  116. Night All

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/53035515857bbb28702b3a74b2edee5ecce78e814da9ccf4bccc7143684ecc96.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f554fa52a852ae02bdaf004b43dc63dd81e74eebd1d0d34bb0f505951407646c.png

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b8bdb548afe5d58153a77a0ac6ae006ef688ccca7aa4096cee3c4846579723e5.gif

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f1db96931a8128e736bce52d0217061c941e5fb63c7578c6be83524924d259b9.gif

    https://files.catbox.moe/x62efa.gif

  118. The wind and rain are both very bad atm,
    I’ve just made a chamomile and honey tea and will
    hanker down for awhile, brrrr .
    I shall catch up on some Charles I writing for the monarchy
    course too.

    3. Lovely, plaintive voice. Beautiful guitar playing and arrangement. How tragic that she died so young

      1. I know!…..I thought you may like to hear her if you did not know of her already….Night R….xxx

    2. It lasts for weeks, Jenny. Mine started on 28 December. It keeps coming bak for another bite. My guess is it will not be gone ‘ere the spring equinox.

    1. With all due respect, I think that much less than 29/160 percent of people over here give a damn.

      1. … but I think majority of us would enjoy the schadenfreude of seeing Varadkar unseated.

        2. Varadkar is not worried. He will have a job lined up in the EU having served as their puppet for the past several years. Bum-boy to Verhofstadt even.

        3. Here you go Nanners. Varadkar came 2nd in his district but keeps his seat. Big surge for Sinn ‘Knee Cappings R us’ Fein

          COFFEE HOUSE – Varadkar’s election gamble backfires as Sinn Fein surge
          Steerpike – 9 February 2020 – 6:55 PM

          Irish election results are being counted and it seems that Leo Varadkar’s snap election gamble has worked out as well as Theresa May’s. Support for his Fine Gael has suffered a last-minute collapse and a Sinn Fein surge is now turning Irish politics on its head. Varadkar has just made history by being the first Taoiseach to be forced into second place in his own constituency, beaten by a Sinn Fein candidate. Under the Irish system, between three and five representatives are returned for each seat so he is through. But as what? He is now talking about his hope of being “part of” a new government: but will only stay as leader “if my party will have me.”

          The exit poll (and results so far) suggest that Sinn Fein, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are all on about 22 per cent. An astonishing turnaround for Sinn Fein who were on 15 per cent to Fine Gael’s 29 per cent just a few months ago.

          And what about Brexit, supposedly Varadkar’s strongest election suit – alongside the economy? The Irish, it seems, were not as impressed as he thought they’d be. “Others took the view that the economy would look after itself and that the Brexit talks would look after itself,” he glumly admitted to RTE radio.

          You can see reflections of UK political trends in these results: the general decline of political tribalism, which seems to have allowed mass switching from Fine Gael to Sinn Fein. There’s also a Corbynesque effect of young urban voters switching to Sinn Fein, not being put off by associations with an IRA that they can barely remember. Sinn Fein has served up Corbynesque policies: a three-year rent freeze, a pledge to build 100,000 houses, a tax credit offering a month’s rent cashback. For young parents, it promises to cut childcare costs by two-thirds. And to pay for it all a tax on (you guessed it) the rich and the banks. A new wealth tax, more inheritance tax etc.

          Perhaps unduly pessimistic about its own prospects, Sinn Fein only fielded 42 candidates – so has no chance of winning the 80 seats needed for government. Its best bet, now, may be to sit this out and see if Fine Gael and Fianna Fail will get together and form a ‘grand coalition’ – then sit back, be upgraded to the status of main opposition, and wait for a government of losers to struggle.

          Michael Martin seems to have worked out that it would be better if he dipped Sinn Fein’s hands in blood (so to speak) and got them into government – he is quickly backtracking on what had been outright opposition to this.

          But Mary Lou McDonald,Sinn Fein’s leader (who topped the poll in Dublin Central) looks unlikely to take the bait, saying that Ireland needs rid of both of these parties and that she won’t enter coalition with either. Varadkar has sounded open to talks not just with Fianna Fail but not Sinn Fein.

          The night is young, there’s a lot more counting to do and results to announce. That counting has a sound: silence, as the results of various candidates are read out and then a huge cheer as a Sinn Fein vote turns out to be far bigger than anyone expected. Even in places like Tipperary, was to Sinn Fein’s equivalent what Bishop Auckland was to the Tories.

          It does seem that the century-old duumvirate of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail has just ended – Varadkar himself has accepted that “It seems that we have now a three-party system” which he says will “make forming a government quite difficult”. There might be another election, as after 1927’s inconclusive election. But for now, the shape of the next Irish government is anyone’s guess.

          1. My big question, concerning the Irish electorate, is why do the Irish still have a vote in UK elections and why do we allow a political party (Sinn Fein) of a foreign country, stand in our elections?

      2. Try to get your head around this

        Read carefully as you will be tested on this.A cold compress is recommended to keep your brain cool

        If for instance in a 40,000 votes are cast in a three seat constituency the quota is calculated by dividing the number of votes by 4 and then adding 1 to make it 10,001 The formula means no more than 3 candidates can reach the quota

        After the first count when all the number one have been counted the first thing to happen is the surplus votes of a successful candidate who has exceeded the quota will be distributed. This is done by checking the second preferences on all the ballot papers of the candidate and distributing his number twos in proportion

        When all the first count surpluses have been distributed the returning officers will then move on to eliminating candidate with the lowest number of votes. The number twos will be counted and distributed to the other candidate. The next candidate will be eliminated and so on

  124. I thought the wind died down, it seems to have changed it’s
    mind, climate change for you, er. Don’t tell the environmentalists
    that the climate has been here since the beginning of time
    and that it and the weather does whatever it wants and we
    lìckle humans cannot change it.

  125. It’s horrible outside so I’ve decided to make a hot chocolate
    and go to bed early and read. I’ve a Thomas Cromwell book
    that s quite meaty. My goose feather duvet and Norwegian
    winter duvet cover are just too warm and cosy to be ignoreď
    even if it’s before 9pm.

      1. Yes actually, the Thomas Cromwell book was a
        bit meaty and I need to be less tired.
        Decided upon Man in the Brown Suit
        one of the first Agatha Christie books I read
        and very different .

          2. I just loved reading the book – I like Dorothy L Sayers – I haven’t heard the adaptation. I think Sayers knocks Christie into the dust.

          4. At times I find I can be schizoid when it comes to the BBC. Unwoke radio and TV dramas can be superb as can a number of true (as opposed to consensual) science programmes. However, the so called unbiased ‘News’ is a complete and utter turn off.

          5. A great writer, T. As were Ellery Queen, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and many more I read as a child while the books were en route to or from my Gran and the library. (Dad did the fetching and carrying.)

  126. Where are all the conservative thinkers who should be rebalancing public life?
    DOUGLAS MURRAY – 9 FEBRUARY 2020 • 8:00AM

    We are coming to the end of almost a decade of Conservative-majority rule in the UK. And what do we have to show for it?

    Obviously the Conservatives now have a majority in Parliament. But what about in the wider technocracy? In all those quangos, government appointments and other gifts that come through proximity to power? Those baubles (or balls-and-chains, depending how you look at it) that constitute the gift of the government of the day?

    During its 13 years in government Labour used these gifts well. So well that even now, a decade after they left office you still find Labour functionaries perched, like partisans, in every other tree.

    Take the Royal Society of Arts, a well-funded, ancient and influential institution which is precisely the sort of outfit which directs the cultural weather. Today its mission statements still constitutes that bland, dated New Labour guff about “human potential” and “challenges”. And why might that be? Perhaps because the Chief Executive since 2006 has been a man called Matthew Taylor, whose previous role was as advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair and head of the policy unit at Number 10 during Blair’s government.

    There are so many roles like this – ones into which Labour apparatchiks slipped with considerable ease and there remained. James Purnell’s career as a Labour MP reached its height with his role as a minister in the government of Gordon Brown – a CV-point that ought to have all the appeal of the Coronavirus. And where does Purnell perch now? Why, at the loftiest heights of the BBC, as the corporation’s Director of Radio and Education.

    When you see the BBC pump out another unadulterated piece of Left-wing grudge-whisking it may not be only because of Purnell, but it certainly is because people like him so dominate our cultural institutions that their now dated values and worldview are believed to be the norm even when they have been rejected at the ballot box.

    The job of a Conservative government ought to be not just to seek, and keep, a Parliamentary majority, but to ensure that the cultural winds begin to blow the other way. To ensure that conservative-minded people and even (shock, horror) Right-wing figures are placed in positions of responsibility. Imagine what could be achieved if the soft-tools of British diplomacy, never mind the harder ones, were in the hands of non-Leftists.

    Imagine if organisations like the British Council were headed by people who actually believed in the good that our country has done and can do, rather than these expensive and timorous entities which never saw a self-hating trend they did not prostrate themselves before.

    If you point this failure out to Conservative MPs and party workers you always get a certain number of ripostes. In the first they try to name successful, non-Left wing political appointments of the last decade. The one name that always comes up with is William Shawcross, the author and royal biographer whose successful two-term stint as head of the Charity Commission helped turn around a woefully wet and wasteful institution.

    Go beyond that and some people might quietly add Roger Scruton, the conservative philosopher who spent the last year of his life writing a report at the request of Theresa May’s government, only to have been treated as disgracefully as it is possible to be treated by the government of the day. Beyond these two names the party loyalists flounder.

    Recent analysis by the Tax Payers Alliance (TPA) proves the trend. Its scrutiny of appointments to public bodies or quangos over the last decade breaks down appointees by declared political activity. Over the last decade Labour appointees exceeded Conservatives in almost every year.

    Even in 2018-9 there were 54 appointees who declared significant political activity in the Labour party as opposed to 36 who said the same about the Conservative party. Given some of the other numbers over the decade it is surprising the Conservative presence was so high. But it is also a demonstration of a pathetic and craven oversight by three consecutive Conservative governments.

    Of course we then get to the other excuse that Conservatives give when this is pointed out: which is that the party was held hostage throughout most of the last decade. For five years every appointment had to be agreed, or bartered over, with their Liberal Democrat coalition partners. Nick Clegg – now of Facebook – had considerable veto powers and could tell David Cameron and co who he would and would not approve. What could the Conservatives do before such mighty powers?

    Which brings me to the third excuse of the party faithful. “We just can’t find people willing to be put forward” they say. To which – assuming that is true – one might pertinently ask “And why might that be?”

    One reason is because of something like what happened to Toby Young during the weakest days of the Theresa May minority government. Readers will remember that over New Year’s Eve 2018 the Conservative government slipped out the news that Young – a prominent, writer, journalist and founder of and campaigner for free schools – was to be appointed as a member of a 15-member advisory board called the Office for Students.

    Now frankly the whole OfS is the sort of entity that shouldn’t exist. If the entire board of the OfS agreed as one to do something bold it would still merely land as a recommendation to sit as a paper on a ministerial desk and possibly provide a blueprint for future consideration and action. I am amazed that Young wanted anything to do with such a eunuch-like body.

    But the Left went for him when it discovered one of its toys might land in his hands. They picked his life apart, found some sophomoric tweets from a decade earlier and destroyed him in public view. During the ensuing firestorm the government allowed Young to step down from the role he had not started. So it isn’t exactly difficult to work out why Right-wing, or even just vaguely conservative people, might not find the whole appointments thing attractive.

    Well here is a thought. I would think that the present government has no more than three to six months to enact it. Flood the public sector with Right-of-centre cultural and political figures. Change the weather. Re-centre the culture. If they don’t do it now they never will, and the frit-ness of the last decade will remain the default position of this one.

    As well as all the other appointments the Conservatives should also focus on making appointments that enrage their opponents. To demonstrate that the era of Clegg-ism and May-ism is over. Appoint Toby Young – and worse – to meaningful, “damaging” roles. Watch the Left scream and stamp their feet once more. At which point we can all turn round to them and say “Well, perhaps you should have won a majority of 80 at the last election”. And “Isn’t this what you would do?”

    1. BTL:

      Andrew Kevill 9 Feb 2020 8:16AM
      “The job of a Conservative government ought to be not just to seek, and keep, a Parliamentary majority, but to ensure that the cultural winds begin to blow the other way.”

      That is the key sentiment of this article and for the government to do it would be the political equivalent of pushing at an open door. There would be much support right across the political spectrum, given the country’s small “c” social conservatism. It would be a far more important project for the good of the country than e.g. H2S would.

      The harder nut to crack would be academe but cracked it must be too.

      IAN BIO 9 Feb 2020 8:45AM
      @Andrew Kevill

      Academe is indeed the hardest and most important area. The problem is that academe is always full of those who are scared of getting out of the comfort zone of education so will always be left wing.

      The best that I can come up with is to put right wing folk into the top positions (that would mean replacing 90% of vice chancellors, and making career progression for everyone dependent on establishing support from industry – including for the arts subjects.

  127. Donald Trump just posted.

    Director Christopher Wray just admitted that the FISA Warrants and
    Survailence of my campaign were illegal. So was the Fake Dossier.
    THEREFORE, THE WHOLE SCAM INVESTIGATION, THE MUELLER REPORT AND
    EVERYTHING ELSE FOR THREE YEARS, WAS A FIXED HOAX. WHO PAYS THE PRICE?
    This is the biggest political crime in American History, by far. SIMPLY
    PUT, THE PARTY IN POWER ILLEGALLY SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, BOTH BEFORE AND
    AFTER THE ELECTION, IN ORDER TO CHANGE OR NULLIFY THE RESULTS OF THE
    ELECTION. IT CONTINUED ON WITH THE IMPEACHMENT HOAX. Terrible!

        1. Because they are all in it together. There is no-one of any integrity, everyone has something on everyone else, they are all corrupt. This is the swamp, and they all sleaze and slime and slippily slide around together.

        1. Thank you. His sensational posts are usually on ZH within minutes – maybe they are asleep!

          4. ZeroHedge – Originally a finance website but it has morphed into a geo-political gossip site with some respectable contributors. However, one needs to cross reference what is being reported. Many of the items you won’t find on the Beeb or US MSM. However, recently a number of stories have been picked up by the UK Press three or 4 days after appearing on ZH.

    3. I am glad he has been exonerated. It is what most thought on this site to be true. The same lies and Left wing nonsense has been happening in the U.K . And continues to do so. Anyone who could possibly think Bernie Sanders as a POTUS has serious mental health issues.
      *You know who you are !

      1. Some fools thought Corbyn Prime Ministerial so there is a correlation between our fools and American fools who think Sanders is potentially Presidential.

        2. Not just some but many. I think one would find that most are or were idealists and never had to get up at 4.am to do a 12 hour shift.

          1. ‘….and never had to get up at 4 am to do a 12 hour shift.’

            Lazy idle idealists……..I certainly did not support HM’s
            Government by ‘doing’ only twelve hours per shift and
            more I know did even more hours than me!!

          2. There was a time when the business was paying well and we were getting contracts. My brother being my brother had pre-booked a holiday camping on the Isle of Wight for his wife and his son Ben and his daughter Emma. He had worked very hard and they did need a break.

            I worked myself ragged to fulfill the contract in his absence. 18 hours a day for 9 days. I slept on the premises because there was no time for anything else.

            I called him when i ran into a problem that i needed help with and he told me i was in charge and had to deal with it.

            I fulfilled the order. Packed my bags and left.

            Ben and Emma are horrible.

          5. I think we are at cross purposes. I have no problem with idealism. I have a problem with people that use it as a vehicle to not actually contribute anything to our society but actively try and destroy it.

          6. Good morning, Phizzee.

            I agree with you, my post was a sarcastic response
            to those very people you describe.

      2. I have a white English female ‘acquaintance’ who now lives here in Sweden, who spends every waking hour “chatting” to her “friends” on FaceAche in the good ol’ US of A.

        She is drumming up support for the saviour of the world, her “Bernie”. Anyone badmouthing him (and they are legion) is given short shrift by this deluded Pinko, who thinks she is living in a socialist utopia, here in Sweden (she is not!).

  129. From info@ukunity.org.uk (you may have to copy and paste)

    “As we reported the other day David Lammy & Diane Abbott are trying to stop a deportation flight for foreign criminals back to Jamaica.

    Diane & David say this is a breach of the criminals Human Rights and people convicted of Rape, Violent Assault, Class A Drug offences etc deserve a second chance.

    On tonight’s show, starting at 19:00, we will be looking into this in more detail to expose the level of threat that these politicians represent.

    Hopefully you will also have read how Sadiq Khan plans the largest Postal Voting campaign in London’s history. Khan argues that it must be done in order to encourage people to vote early. What we have seen over the last few years in terms of Postal Voting fraud would make a banana republic blush but still nothing is done about it?

    Whilst Boris has delivered Brexit major concerns continue around the direction of the Government. Giving over a contract to Huawei against the important advice of President Trump as well. It looks likely that the white elephant of HS2 will get the go ahead while the recent announcements on banning Petrol/Diesel cars early as well as Gas boilers is only going to make us all poorer at the expense of the globalists!

    There is so much happening in the world and we want you to know that UNN is there for you to bring you all the best news and opinions. Thanks to your support we will now be able to show you key events LIVE on social media such as Prime Ministers Questions or any major breaking speech/event.

    Our shows are now on 6 nights a week as well broadcasting across social media in the UK’s only fully live and fully interactive news show.”

    [On facebook and youtube – links via email address above.]

    1. So they are condoning the criminal breach of human rights ?
      Working along the lines that if the felon gets it wrong he’ll get it right next time.
      That really is progress made according to the lab/lib/con coalition party.

      1. Well, the criminals are being sent back to Jamaica, so what can we expect from Lammy and Abbott. (By the way, her son is hardly someone we particularly want around either. Or her, come to think of it.

  130. It’s absolutely disgraceful that there’s not many Black people appearing at the Oscars.
    They can’t all be appearing in court.

    1. Maybe those that aren’t should just up their game and get better at their job instead of bleating.

      It worked in basketball, boxing and football..

  132. American friend joined QM2 in Dubai at end of January for 18 day Far East cruise due to end in Hong Kong. Today Cunard have cancelled the remaining cruise and heading for Perth, Australia where she will fly home. Nobody allowed to leave or join the ship. Can’t find anything on Google or Cunard site.

      1. No, can’t be. No flashing lights or mega-loud music. And the girls are still girls. And James is still white and a man.

    6. It does show how timeless some things are when you start looking out into space. Here is a photo that I took 9 years ago showing the same sunlight reflecting from the walls of a crater on the Moon. It looks to be the same area as that shadow at the top of your picture near the 1 o’clock position.

      Mine was only taken with a cheap Pentax held up to the telescope’s viewer. The image through the scope though was pin-sharp.

      https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a5acb153fb2e64d22fda8ea0b38b28ffcabcd2c869dd3da1298cdf3d04128a8c.jpg

        1. Not with mine. I have a Nexstar 6 which are cheaper now (£750) that there is a Nexstar 8 about. The 6 Inch one is very good for looking at the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, but not to the resolution to see anything small enough to be the remains of a lander. You can see small mountains and the shadows that they cast. I’m not that into photography or I would buy a real camera. This one is from the Pentax again. The image is crystal clear to the naked eye:

          At the middle of the first image you can see a curve going up to the right. That is the edge of the crater and it is photoed again with a greater magnification in the last one. It was strange to be looking down on mountains. 🙂

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/eba267ae33a9eadf15fd8c72a159cfb480e3aa5e65a939c0af17a15864aec76d.jpg

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/410cdac7de222aa8cb991f14545c905c10f6783f8de3ff3a02e70289f4c22444.jpg

      1. I believe it is liveable in. Donald Trump is establishing a penal colony there for Democrats. We were planning to join him to deal with Labour, but the Huawei dispute has put that on hold.

  135. Apart from the urgency of government action against the BBC, surely we now need action to prevent and where possible minimise flooding.

    I would suggest the reinstatement of the Waterways Board with proper people involved viz. those with local knowledge and experience of our rivers and flood plains. Supposed EU environmental policies should be dropped like a hot potato and measures such as dredging and clearance of river plant obstructions should be put in place.

    Flood prevention schemes must be devised and implemented for cities such as York and comparable vulnerable towns and cities.

    1. Evening C,
      These all party political pro eu rubber stampers have amassed a mountain of
      priorities to overcome & rid the Country of, will this johnson chap start with
      HS2 ? that remains to be seen.

      In point of fact the need for actions in regards to many priorities is mounting, and as yet remains to be seen.

      1. You seem to have your knife into Johnson. You must have been reading the Guardian and the BBC too much.
        Boris is doing a great job.

        1. T,
          Are you sure, was you also sure of major, camereron the wretch,
          mayday ?
          The johnson chap is just a pawn in the lab/lib/con coalition party.
          Try judging them by their past / present actions.

        2. ‘Boris Is doing a great job.’

          Oh dear, Oh dear, Oh dear!

          If you believe that you will believe anything.

        3. Really, you think he is doing a great job?
          He is talking a great job, but since returning to Government with his majority, he has continued to disappoint with such decisions as Huawei and likely the HS2 fudge.
          I never read the Guardian or watch the BBC, I just stand back and see a continuation of Cameron and May, and time will show the country just how he deals with the EU.
          On present form, I am not hopeful.

          1. And if he had immediately capitulated on Huawei, eveyone would be saying that he is in Trump’s pocket (not that there is much wrong with that)
            The main things wrong with HS2 are just that it costs too much and takes too long. It seemed a good idea at the time. When was a politician of any party worried about wasting money ?

      2. Hello ogga 1.

        I think we are all watching Boris to check whether he acts in our interests. So many wasted years of Cameron/Clegg and the useless May have taken a toll on all of us. We distrust all politicians so Boris and his cabinet need to extract the finger and do as promised.

        1. C,
          The warning signs have been in place for years but sad to say
          so has the voting pattern, political musical chairs three parties
          three chairs, alternating governance, all the same mindset.
          All the while the electorate have been voting in the
          keep in / keep out mode others have been building a solid resistance to our way of life.
          How can people get behind a leader / party they have doubts about ? especially knowing that person / parties pedigree.

    1. The coincidence of Chinese New Year and the Wuhan virus occurrence has seriously affected SoHo’s Chinatown and I suspect other concentrations of Chinese where folk are expected to have travelled over this period.

    1. Good morning Geoff
      Having problems with your months?
      Yesterday you had 9th March and today 10th January. What does tomorrow hold for us.
      Hope you are keeping well.

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