728 thoughts on “Thursday 10 October: Extinction Rebellion’s disruptive tactics are killing any public support”

  2. Good Morning, all

    SIR – Since the referendum, Remainers have depicted their victorious opponents as thick peasants, too stupid to understand the issues.

    With EU and Irish connivance, they have transformed the Irish land border into an insuperable obstacle to Brexit, ignoring the practical solutions exercised for decades at the EU’s thousands of miles of land borders. Michel Barnier forced Theresa May and her chief Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins into a capitulation that even this Remainer Parliament rejected three times.

    Now, with the Benn Act, they have undermined Britain’s negotiating position and are attempting to force our valiant Prime Minister to sign a surrender letter begging for an extension.

    They cannot much longer deprive the British people of a general election. Gulliver-like, we will rise up and sunder the bonds being woven by the EU and its fifth columnists. Will those “thick peasants” submit, or set Britain free, once again to be independent, globalist and prosperous?

    Jacques Arnold
    Former MP for Gravesham
    West Malling, Kent

    I hope that is true but on The Andrew Neil Show last night, Blair was angling for a fudged 2nd Referendum before any GE. Devious so-and-so.

    1. I watched a programme the other night about the creation of the Boeing 747 plane.

      When Boeing’s management voted to create it, they hadn’t a clue about the journey they were to embark upon, let alone the obstacles they would face. How could they? Their vote wasn’t for the journey but for the destination.

      Similarly, when I voted to leave the EU, I hadn’t a clue about the nuts and bolts of doing so, how could I? I voted for the destination, not the journey.

      Morning zx.

      1. I didn’t care how we got there as long as we escaped completely. It’s turning into Stalag Luft III.

    1. ‘Morning, Rik.

      How ironic that that is a premium article, i.e. readable only after paying an opt-in subscription.

      1. The BBC licence fee should be scrapped and replaced with a subscription model, according to a new report from an think-tank with close links to Downing Street.

        The Institute of Economic Affairs [IEA] is calling for the £154.50 yearly payment to be axed, with a new opt-in system established in its place.

        Subscribers would have a say over how the BBC is run by voting in trustees of the organisation in a similar manner to how the National Trust operates.

        Viewers opting not to subscribe would no longer receive BBC channels, although there should be a special provision for the funding of radio stations.

        –– ADVERTISEMENT ––

        The IEA has strong ties to Downing Street, with former staff members working for two Cabinet Minsters, while the think-tank’s top Brexit analyst Shanker Singham has had a strong influence on Boris Johnson’s Irish border plans.

        Its campaigns against minimum alcohol pricing in England and charities using taxpayers’ money to lobby the government have proven highly influential in Whitehall.

        Author of the TV licence report, Professor Philip Booth, said: “The BBC funding model needs to be pulled into the 21st century.

        “The UK has a long history of successful mutuals and co-operatives that are popular with their members. “Such an ownership model for the BBC would be fit-for-purpose in the modern broadcasting world, detach the BBC from the state, and promote real diversity of corporate structures in the world of media.

        “A re-modeled BBC could better leverage its brand internationally and be a commercial success as well as perform other less-overtly commercial functions that its member-viewers value.”

        The BBC’s funding strategy has come in for scrutiny in recent months after the organisation announced it was scrapping free TV licences for over-75s from June 2020.

        Some 3.7million pensioners are set to be affected by the change, which the broadcaster said would cost the organisation £745million if the reform was not brought in.

        Conservative MP Julian Knight, a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, welcomed the report by the IEA, and said: “The debacle over the BBC reneging on its agreement to cover the cost of the over 75 license fees has rightly brought the whole idea of the license fee into question.

        “At the last charter renewal, the Government failed to get the BBC to reform, as a result radical options like the one set out by this think tank must now come into play.

        “Personally, I think the next license fee will be the last.”

          1. Yes, it’s rather an easy task to appear to do well (attract lots of visitors) with 1. all those wonderful assets under your control, and 2. these assets being so nice that lots of volunteers can be attracted to provide free labour. Additional attractions for both visitors and volunteers: a day free of 1. chavs 2. effnics …

          2. With an ultra PC agenda which turns off a lot of visitors and an attitude which overturns the stipulations in the bequests of some legacies.

      1. Yo Rik

        Good morning to you

        Am I too late to grow a pair, I need my pension topped up

        Now, if there were pills for MPs of all 123,987 sexes/genders to get some balls, then I would support that whole heartedly

  7. SIR – Allison Pearson’s review (October 9) of the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s hopeless report on blunders committed by senior Met officers during Operation Midland leads her to conclude, quite rightly, that “Priti Patel simply cannot allow this appalling whitewash to go unchallenged”.

    The only comments so far from the Home Office have come from her junior ministers, who have dealt very gently with the IOPC. On October 8, Baroness Williams of Trafford assured its critics in the Lords that “progress has been made and we expect that trajectory to continue”. There was no hint that the Government might take any action. Astonishingly, she told critics of Cressida Dick that “it is a matter for the Metropolitan Police to hold the Commissioner to account”.

    At least the public figures traduced as child sex abusers by the Met have been freed from the slurs inflicted on them, thanks to the courageous report by Sir Richard Henriques. Something similar is now needed to secure justice for Sir Edward Heath, who was the victim of police misconduct during Operation Conifer, when Wiltshire’s chief constable reportedly said he was “120 per cent certain” the former prime minister was guilty of child sex abuse. Seven unsubstantiated allegations were left open. Was this to save the chief constable’s face?

    Baroness Williams has repeatedly turned down calls for an independent inquiry, despite overwhelming support in the Lords. There is much work for Priti Patel to do.

    Lord Lexden (Con)
    London SW1

    Astonishing…..?…..The Presidium will tell the boss she’s been naughty?

    Secondly, I’m 120% sure that former Chief Constable of Wiltshire, Mike Veale is in deep doo-doo.
    Cleveland Police slammed by watchdog following exit of chief constable Mike Veale
    https://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/17933553.cleveland-police-slammed-watchdog-following-exit-chief-constable-mike-veale/

    1. The IOPC are a cardboard cut-out bunch of civil servants of the type that slide invisibly but expensively from one sinecure to the next. If the IOPC were to do its job (which it never did while called Independent Police Complaints Commission, packed with former policemen) it would need hard-nosed professional tough guys with sharp teeth.

  9. Morning all

    SIR – We are all rightly concerned about climate change, but for a group such as Extinction Rebellion to dictate to the rest of the population through extreme acts of “defiance” goes too far.

    What we are witnessing in London is not peaceful protest; it is designed to disrupt. Any public support will dissipate rapidly if it continues.

    Dr Gerald Edwards
    Glasgow

    SIR – Were I to erect a scaffold tower or anything else on one of London’s bridges, I would soon be arrested – so how is it that the current rent-a-mob is not treated in the same way?

    Demonstrating is one thing; the building of structures, parking of boats and other disruptive tactics are entirely different.

    Anthony Pilling
    York

    1. SIR – If the police can deploy 12,000 officers for the Notting Hill Carnival, why not for this rabble?

      Roderick Stuart
      Epsom, Surrey

    1. Orange Man Bad
      Stop the war coalition
      Troops out now!! troops out now!!
      No more foreign wars!!
      Oh bugger I didn’t think he meant it

  12. How the BBC can achieve real diversity. Rod Liddle. 12 October 2019.

    How does one begin to explain its insouciance, its aloofness from these charges? The only answer I can see is that so unanimous is the weight of opinion within the BBC that it is impartial that there must be something errant and amiss, or simply politically motivated, in the attacks which pour down upon the corporation. And that, following from this, perhaps it has taken the novelist Ian McEwan’s view that the time has long since passed to stop pretending that the two sides to the Brexit debate are equally valid and that quite plainly Remain is in the right. But I do wish sometimes the BBC bosses would read the comments left by readers (and therefore, whether they like it or not, licence-fee payers) below the line on newspaper articles dealing with the BBC’s bias. They are almost always 80 per cent hostile to the corporation, regardless of what newspaper the story is published in. The BBC is somehow losing touch with the public which pays for its existence.

    Morning everyone. The real secret to the BBC’s indifference to public opinion, aside from its armour plated arrogance and Cultural Marxist doctrine, is its funding. Without this morally insupportable system of legally enforced extortion it would collapse tomorrow. No one should be in any doubt about the nature of this Elite Propaganda outlet. Like its Soviet fore runners Izvestia and Tass it exists only to propagate a World View that is opposed both to the interests and beliefs of those forced to follow it!

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/10/how-the-bbc-can-achieve-real-diversity/

    1. I see that Shell is promoting “carbon free motoring” – for every top up of its Go+ members, they’ll plant a tree. A pity their fuel isn’t a reasonable price.

  14. SIR – Extinction Rebellion’s key demand for carbon neutrality by 2025 is completely unrealistic. Even if it were possible and desirable, it would make no difference to man-made climate change, given that Britain contributes so little to the problem.

    Andy Brown
    Allestree, Derbyshire

    1. We contribute nothing to the problem which is an invention designed to wreck our economies which it would surely do were it to be acted upon. The idea that a vital trace gas, already worryingly low, might be responsible for the chaotic vagueries of weather is hopelessly wrong and dangerously so.

      1. The soundest three word piece of advice I have ever read on this issue was contained in a strip of the New Zealand cartoon ‘Footrot Flats’ from about 40 years ago. When a flood was threatening to wipe out Wallace’s farm, and the farmer and Dog were clinging onto the one tree left standing, Dog cried out “plant more trees”.

        Never has that advice been more apt than today.

        1. Indeed, but the drawback is that there are too many people needing room to live in and food, to make that easy.
          Contraception would be a good start.

        2. That was a brilliant cartoon series. It was almost worth buying Eddy Shah’s Today newspaper just for that alone.

          1. I had a Kiwi friend who used to send me the annual compilations. Christmas was incomplete without Wal and his dog, along my my copy of the new Giles. IRO the latter, I’m proud to say I have a complete set going back to 1946.

    2. Given our planet is carbon based it is totally unrealistic. The 2025 is a year just plucked out of the air. Our rapidly growing population alone will mean it can never be met

      Zero Carbon is impossible to achieve in any case. Most of thee figure quoted about CO2 are little more than made up in any case

      1. No, not impossible. Neutron bombs, ebola, nerve gas and a few ICBMs. Mixture of a nuclear winter and viruses could eventually extinguish all ‘higher’ forms of life and the planet Earth would recover in a few hundred thousand years.

    3. You can tell that 2025 was chosen by someone under the age of 25 because to them it will seem an extraordinarily long way in the future, while the rest of us know it’s just round the corner.

        1. Still just around the corner. That we might not be around to welcome it in is another issue…
          Morning / afternoon, Tom.

        2. Too late to return the ‘Morning, but good afternoon. I certainly hope I’ll be spared – I have more than enough to keep me occupied if I can manage to retire next year. My immediate concern being a massive solar farm (231 acres of solar panels) that has just been proposed for our parish.

          2. We already have two, technically in the adjacent parish, though closer to our village than the neighbouring one so plenty of eyesore already. This one is much bigger than the others. I was doing some local comparisons last night and the area is equivalent to Salisbury city centre within the ring road (excluding the Cathedral Close) or the same area as the not so distant from us village of Durrington. I think there could be a lot of fallings-out over it as the owner of the local Estate has agreed to it for the money, his son and the estate workers are against it and I would guess the village will be divided between the complacent (I can’t actually see it from my house) and the latent ERs who will think it’s a good thing to save the planet from extinction whilst extinguishing the local landscape and countryside.

            Thank you for tolerating my rant.

          3. I sympathise. The landowners wanted this for the cash. There has been a bit of money available to the community as a sweetener. I drove past it the other day and couldn’t help thinking what a mess it looked.

    4. But when the government suggests building more nuclear power stations, the same “lefties” go ballistic and protest.

      Sane thought isn’t their strongest asset.

      Which is why I’m so very surprised that the Government is so afraid of them.

  15. The DUP’s support for Soldier F protests shows how extreme it is

    Roy Greenslade
    The party’s leader, Arlene Foster, says people have the ‘right to support’ a soldier charged with two Bloody Sunday murders
    https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/fcd877074738cdce6a86091e836a2f7356e042cf/0_0_3500_2100/master/3500.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0658033106af78f9da665847920c0f3c
    *
    *
    “Much of this, especially the Soldier F protests, will come as a shock to the people of England, Wales and Scotland because the sad truth is that what happens in Northern Ireland tends to stay in Northern Ireland. Although certain flashpoint moments, such as the killing of Lyra McKee in April this year, are covered, too much of the daily grind goes unreported. Newspaper coverage is patchy, and its occasional snapshots fail to convey the real picture.”
    *
    *
    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/09/dup-soldier-f-protests-arlene-foster-bloody-sunday-murders

    These people at The Guardian don’t understand a darned thing outside the M25.

  16. China and Russia join to battle ‘illegal internet content,’ which means what you fear it does. Kieren McCarthy in San Francisco 9 Oct 2019.

    Details are currently vague but for several years, both countries have passed increasingly restrictive laws on what people can post on the internet and how users can access it. Most importantly, however, is the fact that Russian authorities said the agreement would have the status of an international treaty.

    That means that it is likely to be just the start of a broader effort by both countries to expand their vision of what should be allowed on the internet to more countries across the globe. It is also a sign of a growing partnership between the two countries, which will worry Western states that have long sought to protect the liberal information-sharing that the internet has traditionally embraced.

    I don’t doubt that this is true if not in detail then certainly in intention. It is the hypocrisy of it that is breathtaking. The attack on the internet in the West is continual and unremitting, usually disguised under concerns about Fake News and protecting the vulnerable etc. It is a salutary lesson that all government East or West sees its prime enemy as the people they govern because without their subjugation their power is nothing.

    https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/10/09/china_russia_internet_treaty/

    1. …which will worry Western states that have long sought to protect the liberal information-sharing that the internet has traditionally embraced – except hate speech, of course, which means anything that anyone might personally, or on behalf of anyone else, find offensive.
      So, not free at all.

      1. Morning Rik,
        Agreed, a certainty if we carry on with the same voting pattern, look at what that has achieved
        to date.

  18. British television shows must meet a range of racial and gender targets in order to win awards at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) ceremony, the Radio Times reported on Tuesday.

    Under the new changes, entries will be assessed against the British Film Institute’s Diversity Standards to ensure they meet a range of new eligibility rules. and we though Communist China was crazy and controlling

    These people are totally mad. So if the have a program based around a maternity hospital half the cast have to be men? How does that work?

    There good be a program about a boys football team but have the team will have to girls?

    Then a program about the COE where have the cast will have be Muslims or Catholics etc.

    1. You are behind the times there. Half the patients in a maternity hospital would have to be men, wouldn’t they?

  19. The Lunatics have escaped again and some of them are working in the NHS

    Ban snacking on public transport, top doctor says

    What needs to be done?

    Dame Sally has put forward a wide range of measures. Some are about extending existing policies, while others are completely new.
    They include:

    Phasing out all marketing, advertising and sponsorship of unhealthy food and drink

    Banning food and drink on local transport with exceptions for water, breast-feeding and medical conditions

    Free water refills to be available at all food outlets, transport stations and public sector buildings

    Regular car-free weekends across the country to encourage physical activity

    Changing planning rules to make it harder to open fast-food takeaways

    Extending the sugar tax to include milk-based drinks

    Adding VAT to unhealthy food products that are currently zero-rated, such as cakes

    Capping calories in food served out-of-the home to combat rising portion sizes

    Consider plain packaging – as for tobacco – for junk food, if firms fail to reduce sugar, fat and salt in their products quickly enough

    All nurseries, registered childminders and schools to adopt water and milk-only policies

    1. Dame Sally’s experience of the world is so far removed from “normal” life as to be laughable.
      For example, she confuses a “Safe weekly drinking level” with what we used to call “lunch” in the 1980s.

    2. It is big news on the BBC morning TV though unlike the Bercow chat which seems to be unreported!

      (I excuse myself for watching, I don’t get many chances to see how bad it is)

    3. Banning food and drink on local transport with exceptions for water, breast-feeding and medical conditions

      Who is going to police this on a bus? Is the bus driver going to get out of his seat at every stop and search for banned food/drink items?

      1. I’m generally not in favour of bans, but given the smell of the food, it would be a good idea to have no eating and drinking. I’d prefer it if breast feeding were banned in public, too. What’s wrong with a feeding bottle?

    4. Every time despotic old bints like her open their mouths, we remember what freedom was like under the rule of white males.

    1. Glad that I am this side of the Atlantic this week, I can read your words of wisdom before the crash of 2019.

  21. “In broad terms, this is what Team Hammond agreed with the EIB. As a

    16.1% shareholder at the bank, the UK would be due on departure a

    repayment of €11 billion in capital.

    But Hammond wrote off – gifted – €7.5bn of UK taxpayers’ money. For no reason that makes sense for Britain.

    Further, the remaining €3.5bn will not be available in cash.

    Hammond has agreed that the sum can be paid back interest

    free over the next 12 years. By which time the euro probably won’t

    exist.

    If only it ended there.

    Hammond has put Britain on the line for another €36 bn of

    capital help – with no preconditions – to help underwrite the EIB

    should the eurozone collapse.

    Still not worried? During the Brexit transition period (currently

    standing at five years and counting) Britain would be liable as per its

    percentage of EIB ownership for a share of this bizarre bank’s loan note

    risk arrangements.

    Hammond has given a guarantee that we will cough up this sum of €80 bn as and when required.”

    https://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2019/10/09/revealed-how-hammond-the-hypocrite-gave-away-an-nhs-budget-to-help-save-his-brussels-cronies/

    1. Rik, the truth of what the May/Hammond axis has given to, promised and agreed with the EU is slowly emerging. This week the truth of the real reason behind the infamous Backstop and now this, donating billions of our money to a corrupt political construct in order to keep it afloat.
      I often commented on here that May was determined to shovel OUR money, money that is badly needed here, to help the EU survive. No warm glow from being proved correct when the scale of the treachery is so great. In a well ordered and run country both May and Hammond would be under close scrutiny for their actions. Brown sold our gold for a knockdown price and now this: what the hell have we done to deserve these useless political pygmies?

        1. Conway, I’ve been mentioning that ever since I came across the Veterans for Britain website. Must two years ago. May and her co-conspirators kept what she was doing in that area quiet, even after Chequers it wasn’t obvious what she had agreed to. The VfB people have done a great job getting senior people on board; but is Johnson listening?

  22. Excellent comment from BTL in a Conservative Woman article.

    Oaknash believes a number of MPs are incurious about the EU: I would contend that a majority of MPs are incurious about what the electorate in this country thinks of our current mouldering majority of MPs. If they were curious they would be seriously worried for their position.

    Any emphasis is mine.

    Oaknash • 29 minutes ago • edited

    I know it is a somewhat exhausted phrase, but power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutly. And surely what we see in the EU (which appears to be the main actor of the globalists) the pursuit of absolute power at any cost.

    As for the weaponisation of the N Ireland I expected no less, what is the potential death of a few thousand Brits when it comes to keeping Verhofstadts and Tusks pockets stuffed with cash and Junkers mouth stuffed with wine. These people are utterly corrupt and utterly cynical and will stop at nothing to keep the wobbling wheels on their ailing and overloaded decaying cart on the road.

    It was obvious from the word go that the EU would throw everything at preventing Brexit. It is unfortunate that in this country we have a BBC led media and a majority of self regarding MPs that are so arrogant, greedy, corrupt, incurious or panicked that they refuse to see this ill formed and twisted organisation for the corrupt and ill conceived plague pit it has turned into.

    You may enter it relatively healthy, but do not expect to leave it untainted, recuperating from any unpleasant infection always takes a little time.

    Regarding those such as May, Hammond, Grieve, Swinson, Stammer, and in particular that ugly little dwarf that squats in the speakers chair (standing out like something unwholesome floating in the swimming pool) – there is only one word for what they have done and what they are doing and that is treason. No wonder “parliamentarians” are so concerned about the language the brexit side uses.

    In more enlightened times these sort of people would have been considering their deservedly short future in the Tower of London, but such are the times that we live in they can now consider their future in the House of Lords.
    How times have changed

    1. You may enter it relatively healthy, but do not expect to leave it untainted, recuperating from any unpleasant infection always takes a little time.

      You cannot jump into a sewer and come out smelling of roses!

      Morning Korky.

      1. Morning AS,
        If there was a General Election tomorrow would these same political participants / parties still be supported in the keep in / keep out manner, as in
        hold the nose / best of the worst / as in
        party first ?

      2. Morning, Araminta.

        Your comment is very apt, the EU is a sewer stuffed full of suppurating turds and the stench of corruption is everywhere, including the HoC.

  23. Watched another episode of the N Ireland docu last night. Two things struck me.

    One – that it was an early example of something we now take for granted (sarc) – a minority refusing to accept the views of the majority.

    Two – that despite all the efforts of the UDR, UVF, UFF, South African weapons, the British Army, MI5, MI6 – they still couldn’t kill Adams. One gets a feeling that the PTB didn’t want him dead.

    1. The “Troubles” encouraged and allowed the UK Government to introduce draconian measures to control dissidents and intrude on people in all walks of life to an unprecedented degree. If the IRA (and others) had not existed the Government would have had to invent them.

      I remember a time when, if you were flying somewhere, you showed your ticket and climbed on board. No searches, no pat downs, no X-Rays and no queues.

      1. Until August 1914 a sensible, law-abiding Englishman could pass through life and hardly notice the existence of the state, beyond the post office and the policeman. He could live where he liked and as he liked. He had no official number or identity card. He could travel abroad or leave his country for ever without a passport or any sort of official permission. He could exchange his money for any other currency without restriction or limit. He could buy goods from any country in the world on the same terms as he bought goods at home. For that matter, a foreigner could spend his life in this country without permit and without informing the police. Unlike the countries of the European continent, the state did not require its citizens to perform military service. An Englishman could enlist, if he chose, in the regular army, the navy, or the territorials. He could also ignore, if he chose, the demands of national defence. Substantial householders were occasionally called on for jury service. Otherwise, only those helped the state who wished to do so. The Englishman paid taxes on a modest scale: nearly £200 million in 1913-14, or rather less than 8 per cent. of the national income. The state intervened to prevent the citizen from eating adulterated food or contracting certain infectious diseases. It imposed safety rules in factories, and prevented women, and adult males in some industries, from working excessive hours. The state saw to it that children received education up to the age of 13. Since 1 January 1909, it provided a meagre pension for the needy over the age of 70. Since 1911, it helped to insure certain classes of workers against sickness and unemployment. This tendency towards more state action was increasing. Expenditure on the social services had roughly doubled since the Liberals took office in 1905. Still, broadly speaking, the state acted only to help those who could not help themselves. It left the adult citizen alone.

        A. J. P. Taylor.

        Downhill all the way since then Horace!

        1. “…a foreigner could spend his life in this country without permit and without informing the police.”

          But their number was tiny and they were not of ill-intent.

  24. I wonder what Dom has up his sleeve….

    Is it the missing ace which would tsunami away Boris’ enemies into the limitless void ?

    6. Over here, you can buy tents that you hang off a cliff with a rope to the apex, and nothing underneath… for those taking their time to ascend a rock wall. You’d never get me in that, ever, at all.

  27. James Forsyth has written a fairly brilliant article in the Spectator about where Brits are and what happens next.

    He assumes though that the Remainers now coming together into the Remain alliance are all innocent and genuinely doing what they think is best…

    Lol….

    How very British !

    1. Hammond should be a very worried man but he isn’t because he knows that not one powerful politician will attempt to hold him to account; not now and not after a GE, unless in the unlikely event the Brexit Party were to form a government. Hammond has pushed the economic case for remaining in the EU but then when he thinks nobody will notice he gives away billions and promises many billions more to keep the rotting edifice standing. If the EU is built on such good economic foundations why does it need this level of support?
      However, the Remainers holding us in the EU are not quite as smart as they believe themselves to be. As time moves on more and more information is oozing out from the dealings of May, Hammond etc with Brussels. It’s not good news as it exposes their lack of patriotism with regards to the UK and on the other hand their allegiance to the Brussels cabal.

      1. There are times – and this is one of them – when I can fully understand the bloodbaths of the French and Russian revolutions.

  29. James is presumably pretty brainy so why hasn’t he mentioned the G S and E U undercover agents ?

    4. TB, did you read this yesterday?

      Addressing the EU Parliament, it’s President, David Sassoli, let slip that he is now bypassing the UK Government and talking
      directly to Bercow about how to delay Brexit.

      Bercow has always claimed he isn’t a Remainer and just wants the Commons to have its say – according to Sassoli, Bercow
      is actively lobbying against No Deal behind the scenes…

      Upon hearing this startling claim, Brexit Party MEP Richard Tice tried asking an urgent question on what authority Bercow and
      Sassoli had to have said discussions, an attempt that was quickly quashed by the Parliament’s President.

      2. Good morning Janet

        Yep, I caught a smidgin of that on Twitter , and lost the link. I feel utterly shocked .

        Who on earth does Bercow think he is .. I reckon he has flip flopped to Labour , and is in cahoots with Corbyn and co , who in turn have had their own secret talks with the bods over there.

        Our politicians are blind to to any sense of integrity .

        The media are distracting us with trivia where as we are really in a constitutional crisis.

        2. Grey, Scrope and Cambridge.
          Henry V was a pretty unsavoury character, but he had his strengths.

  32. Yesterday the Remain Alliance plotters proudly showed off their Italian connection which was really quite significant..

  33. Full fibre – Hull shows the way

    There is a reason for this as by some historical quirk BT never provided Telecom service in Hull
    If it can be done in Hull and Hull is an area with a lot of poverty and is not a rich town it could be done in the rest of the UK

    The problem we have i the rest of the UK is BT. It faces no real competition outside of the cabled areas. If you want a phone or Broadband you need a BT line . There is a small amount of competition moving in but not a lot

    BT is happy to drag its heels and not invest as it faces little pressure from the government at BT’s current rate of progress it will take 50 years to Cover the UK

    Hull has become the first city in the UK where everyone can get full fibre broadband.
    This achievement has come after a seven year investment programme – and the fact that this city has led the way in developing this vital technology tells us an interesting story about the UK’s broadband strategy.
    Full fibre, where a fibre optic cable comes right into your home rather than to a streetside cabinet, is the gold standard of broadband, available to only 8% of UK premises.
    We lag far behind many of our European neighbours, a fact which has dismayed the Prime Minister.
    Boris Johnson has promised that everyone in the UK will have access to this ultrafast service by 2025.
    That is a pledge that has left the internet industry and BT in particular with a mountain to climb – quite literally in some parts of the country.
    It was not BT which laid fibre down every street to reach 200,000 homes in Hull and East Yorkshire but the local telecoms firm Kcom.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49995406

    1. Bill, back in the days when privatisation was all the rage BT appeared from the old Post Office regime. I recall hearing at the time that the chairman had offered the government a deal whereby the new company would start to ‘fibre’ the country, starting with every school and every public library: this was in the ’80s. The offer was refused as the government were convinced that competition would provide the impetus. It hasn’t.
      Again, a group of people with little or no experience of the cost and planning required to provide a network of cables underground took, as it has turned out, an uninformed decision.
      As young apprentices we were educated about the investment in the network and I was surprised that all the clever techy stuff in the exchanges and repeater stations was the minor part, underground was where the majority of the money was invested.
      That underground network had taken the best part of a century to provide so how could a new company hope to build something similar in short order? BT should have been left to get on with the job: after all the company demonstrated its abilities by replacing the entire switching component of the network in around a decade or so. By the time I left BT in 2004 the original replacement System X trunk switches were being replaced – an individual trunk exchange replaced in a few hours on a Saturday night, that was how good that team was – with an enhanced switch to meet increased demand for capacity. There are times when the experts should be listened to and allowed to get on with job. As you have written, Hull is the prime example of that, albeit on a small scale.

      1. When excavating deep basements in London I came across the iron pipes which were originally the pressurised mains of The London Hydraulic Lift Company. These were under most streets and were stuffed with telephone cables. BT had the wherewithal to purchase the redundant mains.

      2. I remember NTL (?) ripping up pavements and often killing trees by cutting through their roots.
        Some 20 years later, our pavements still bear the scars of that fruitless action.

        1. They also trapped people in their drives by cutting the trench and failing to provide a temporary steel cover to allow vehicles to cross.

  37. Of course the biggest surprise of all is that anyone imagines G S would let his Britain go without a fight.

    After all, it looks like he’s been running it since 1990 !

  38. ‘Austria was Hungary, Very Very Hungary, Ate a bit of Turkey, Dipped in Greece. Long-legged Italy, kicked poor Sicily, Into the Mediterranean Sea.

    My late grandfather used to talk about Turkey a lot .. the semi feudal Ottoman Empire caused hell on earth..

    2. He has never known anything about geopolitics or history and so as long as he stayed away from anything to do with them i.e. Foreign Policy he was OK. Now he’s begun to meddle he will become increasingly vulnerable.

      1. Like withdrawing the last 50 US marines in Syria ?

        Arming the Kurds ?

        Bringing peace to Korea ?

        Do explain….

      2. He’s been in the job now for three years and not put a foot wrong, always ahead of the game.
        Why do people still talk about him like he is an idiot?
        He knows far more than us to be fair about what is happening out there, interfering has never been any good, always made things worse.

        1. You could be right , but now that Turkey has entered the fray, one feels concern .

          There is a giant gas pipeline that keeps Europe warm .. Nabucco or similar?

          4. not with Uncle George sabotaging our self sufficiency in energy supplies with his green energy scam

          6. Clearly not, he is having none of it. which just proves that he is a lot smarter than any other world leader.

  41. These are actual comments made by South Carolina Troopers that were taken off their car videos:

    1. “You know, stop lights don’t come any redder than the one you just went through.”

    2. “Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch after you wear them a while.”

    3. “If you take your hands off the car, I’ll make your birth certificate a worthless document.” (My Favourite)

    4. “If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

    5. “Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? Because that’s the speed of the bullet that’ll be chasing you.” (LOVE IT)

    6. “You don’t know how fast you were going? I guess that means I can write anything I want to on the ticket, huh?”

    7. “Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I’m the shift supervisor?”

    8. “Warning! You want a warning? O.K, I’m warning you not to do that again or I’ll give you another ticket.”

    9. “The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?”

    10. “Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy and corn dogs and step in monkey poop.”

    11. “Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”

    12. “In God we trust; all others we run through NCIC.” (National Crime Information Centre)

    13. “Just how big were those ‘two beers’ you say you had?”

    14. “No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to, but now we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we can.”

    15. “I’m glad to hear that the Chief [of Police) is a personal friend of yours. So you know someone who can post your bail.”

    AND THE WINNER IS….

    16. “You didn’t think we give pretty women tickets? You’re right, we don’t. Sign here.”

    1. Strange how infuriated some people get when a politician actually carries out his promises.

    2. Someone replied to a comment I made on another thread, which is worth exploring.

      If we do thrown Erdogan’s Turkey out of NATO, close down his embassies throughout the civilised world, and throw Godwin at him, which is the very least of what he deserves for annexing Kurdish-liberated Northern Syria, then what is to stop him going into full-blown alliance with the Russians, and stitching up a deal with Assad in Syria? Islamic State fighters can then be pushed onto the Greek islands, where the gullible EU, under UN direction will have to distribute them into sleeper cells in every major city in Europe, except Russia and perhaps bolshie Budapest. Too far for them to swim across the Atlantic, so not Trump’s problem.

      Maybe this is why Trump had to swallow the West’s pride and negotiate Peace in our Time with Erdogan?

      1. It seems pretty obvious that the world system is breaking down and Amageddon is approaching. Fortunately all of us on this Blog are well past our Prime!

          1. No Jeremy, it’s not fun, I’ve had three and I know.

            The next one will probably carry me off.

  43. We may leave the EU on WTO terms……

    According to the BBC – We may leave the EU on a chaotic, cataclysmic, crashing, cliff-edge, suicidal, apocalyptic no-deal……

  44. What would likely have happened in Korea if Hillary had been elected ?

    Probably the very worst.

    With Donald everyone just carries on quietly with their normal lives.

    Which is better ?

  45. I see Philip “ I took the Cons to 9%” Hammond has been shooting his mouth off this morning and, of course, getting an easy ride (approving tones from interviewers) from the RemainStreamBroadcasters (exception was Andrew Neil).

    And on LBC, a guest on Nic Ferrari giving big support was Denis McShane, formerly of the House of Commons and HM Prison at Doncaster.

  46. Ah! It’s Thursday Police Training Day!
    We’ve just had 2 x unmarked and 1 x marked cars going up the Via Gellia with blues & twos.

  51. Daily Brexit Betrayal

    Yesterday afternoon all hell broke loose

    when the Speaker of the EU Parliament – or ‘president’, because in the

    EU every top position has to be filled by a ‘president’ – announced that

    he had been in ‘private talks’ with the Speaker of the HoC, a certain

    Mr Bercow. You may have heard of him.

    Mr Sassoli, an Italian socialist,

    had visited Johnson in No 10 that same day. His meeting with Bercow was

    not a courtesy visit between parliamentarian ‘officials’, there was a

    reason. Mr Sassoli wanted to “discuss their ‘shared’ desire to to avoid No Deal Brexit” (here). Here’s the report in the DT:

    “Britain will only be

    granted a Brexit extension by the EU if it agrees to hold a general

    election or a second referendum, it emerged on Wednesday night. David

    Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, set out the condition

    during a debate in Brussels. Mr Sassoli revealed he discussed the plans

    directly with John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in

    London on Tuesday. Mr Sassoli told the European Parliament: “I had a

    fruitful discussion with Speaker Bercow in which I set out my view that

    any request for an extension should allow the British people to give its

    views in a referendum or an election.” (paywalled link)

    In other words a top EU official is colluding

    with Bercow, supporting the Remainers in their aim to get a 2nd

    Referendum, with or without a preceding election. I think Belinda de

    Lucy MEP (TBP) spoke for all of us in the EU Parliament – you can listen

    to her speech here!

    We mustn’t use the word ‘traitor’ because it’s ‘hurtful’,

    so let’s call Mr Bercow a double-crossing, deceiving, sneaky turncoat.

    It is however perfectly acceptable for a certain Mr Guy Verhofstadt to

    call Johnson, our PM, a ‘traitor’ – see here, here, and the actual quote:

    “Guy Verhofstadt […]

    accused Mr Johnson of seeking scapegoats for a no-deal Brexit. “The only

    one who is not to be blamed is Mr Johnson apparently,” he said. “All

    those who are not playing his game are traitors, are collaborators, are

    surrenderers. The real traitor is he or she who risks bringing disaster

    on his country, its economy and its citizens by pushing Britain out of

    the EU. That in my opinion is a traitor.” (link, paywalled)

    Had Mr Verhofstadt actually consulted a dictionary, e.g. this one,

    to check out the definition of ‘traitor’? If so, we can conclude that

    he and by extension the EU believe that the EU is the ‘country’ which

    Johnson and all Leavers betray. Striving for independence from that

    ’empire’, as Verhofstadt called it, evidently is treason.

    https://independencedaily.co.uk/your-daily-brexit-betrayal-thursday-10th-october-2019/

    2. “…….. Britain will only be granted a Brexit extension by the EU if it agrees to hold a general election or a second referendum.”

      A referendum is a waste of time unless there is a Parliament which will carry out the result. An overwhelming referendum result for a clean Brexit would never be enacted by this parliament but a general election could produce a Parliament in favour of enacting Brexit properly if the Conservatives deselected all remainers and made an electoral pact with Mr Farage.
      .

      1. We have had a referendum we don’t need a second one as they have not implemented the first one yet

        Lets Leave the EU and then have a general election

    3. Mr Sassoli revealed he discussed the plans directly with John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, in London on Tuesday.

      This is an act of treason! He is conspiring with a Foreign Power against the State!

    4. Don’t want a brexit extension thanks. Oct 31st is when we leave. Under WTO. They want to discuss trade after we’ve done that, fine.

  52. My mail today to Mr Redwood… which he never publishes……………

    So what would happen if Donald hadn’t applied tariffs to China ?

    The loss of even more US jobs.

    In any case, you have ignored the corruption of the Obama administration which saw US trade deals favorable to China instituted on the back of huge payments from China in favor of certain US politicos which President Trump is now exposing. See research by Peter Schweizer.

    How are things going with Brexit ?

    Not very well, and that looks to be because Brits have allowed G S to run rings around them for many years. Maybe as far back as 1990.

    £52 million spent in 2018 shows that the G S empire in Britain is huge, and yet Brits are doing nothing about it.

    Yesterday was a big day. It looked to me that G S got some of his agents lined up, and that my post to you ”The Beaconsfield Coincidence” looks more likely to be true with every hour that passes.

    I hope the G S conspiracy is going to be exposed because exposure looks like the Brits best hope.

    Is that the ace which Dom has up his sleeve ?

    Polly

    8. “I had to chop off my hand and lay it on satan’s altar to prove my loyalty. Look at this replacement that they gave me… It’s not even the same colour.”

  54. Just catching up on the news and I see that “Coleen Rooney claims she caught fellow WAG Rebekah Vardy giving fake stories to tabloids”.

    ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿

    I’ll be nipping into town for a pint tonight and, by choice, will be frequenting two pubs which aren’t the poshest in town.

    Give me, any day, the places and people I’ll be seeing in preference to the false, pretentious, look-at-me world our media think we aspire to.

    Cheers.

    1. I cannot understand why this is being splashed across the media. One of the main items on BBC Breakfast this morning, and it’s prominent on the Telegraph web-site. Is it just me who couldn’t care less?

      2. It is almost as if some media are using “distraction techniques” to stop people looking too closely at what is happening in the EU at the moment.

        The Romans used “Bread and Circus’s” to keep people distracted. We have meaningless “fake celebrities” and their non-lives to fill up the air time.

      4. Most NEWSPAPERS are no longer newspapers they are little more that gossip and so called celebrity stories and pictures of them on their endless holidays

      5. Well, there’s nothing else going on ….
        I mean, we ain’t got no constitooshunal crisis nor nuffink.

    2. I have a horrible feeling that is rapidly becoming a bad joke.
      I would love to be proved wrong.
      How long does champagne last in a chiller cabinet?

    3. If Pigs had wings we would be out of the EU for good on 31st October.

      Sadly several porcine MPs show no sign of growing wings and want to keep us grounded while they remain contentedly and forever wallowing in the sty living high on the hog gorging themselves on EU pigswill.

  56. Was listening to some MP’s on LBC and the sheer hypocrisy of some of them. A question come up about MP’s defecting to the parties or becoming independents, Sam Gyimah waffled and went on about electing a person and not a party . Saran Woolerston name also came up her hypocrisy was even worse she had actually tried to get legislation passe to stop MPs flitting from party to party

    The only time you really only elect a person is when they stand as an Independent for MP’s to try to claim you are electing a person when they stand on a party ticket is totally false

    1. ‘Morning, Tony, I cannot read the whole article and, indeed, I don’t want to, as it contains this lying filth:

      “Leaders of the Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), which has been said by Mr Corbyn to represent “all that’s best in Islam”, speak of “apartheid London”, label anti-terrorism laws a “war on Muslims” and condemn English as a “colonial language that will always subjugate you”.

      As for anti-terrorism laws being a “war on Muslims”, I can only say, “If the cap fits…”

      1. Well, I can’t read the rest of it either. Not paying them to read their crap. ( Waitit until you see me in jail for not paying my TV licence ).
        The article is of course not supportive of that paragraph.
        It does no harm for everyone to be reminded that the IHRC gets money from us, that some of the most evil Islamists are supported by us, and that Corbyn is also evil and should be thrown out of Parliament on the next bus, if there is room with Bercow and the remainers,

  59. Monday will be when we start seeing the sparks flying as that when the Queens Speech is. There has to be a vote on it. If it is voted down then a General Election takes place well unless Bercow invents a new rule. The important bit is the budget for it, If that is voted down the Government cannot carry out its program or work. Even without the Queens speech the government cannot really function as it has no majority

      1. A VONC, followed by an immediate GE……..Boris wins and we’re out. Or, during the turmoil and having no government, we’re out on 31st October by default.

        1. WE never have No government. We have no MP’s but the Ministers remain in post until a new government is elected

          2. There is an interesting situation when ewe have no MP’s the convention is the Ministers just keep things ticking over . THe interesting thing is could they take us out of the EU during that period. ? and I dont know. It would probably go against convention but thats all

  60. This just about sums up the world today, especially our politicians and the climate protest people:-

    “One
    of the painful signs of years of dumbed-down education is how many
    people are unable to make a coherent argument. They can vent their
    emotions, question other people’s motives, make bold assertions, repeat
    slogans– anything except reason.”

    Thomas Sowell

    1. I would enjoy watching this eminent man debate with Lammy and Abbott.
      He would show very clearly that Black people actually can bring something other than racisim to an argument.

      1. Thomas Sowell debating Lammy and Abbott would demonstrate that despite their shared colour, they are not of the same species.

        Lammy and Abbott have long been misclassified as homo sapiens when, in fact, they are the “Missing Link”, somewhere between Australopithecus and the bivalve mollusc.

  61. We have the most brazen piece of war criminality commited since the Nazis invaded Poland on a pretext (it seems that the Poles, like the Jews, were “terrorists”, so that made it all right then), and we still have diplomatic relations with Erdogan’s Turkey and consider the United States of America a reliable custodian of NATO and trading partner?

    Trump’s defence seems to be that the Kurds in 1944, acting without any national sovereignty granted to them under Sykes/Picot and from the mountains beyond the Euphrates, could somehow assemble a task force, march across occupied Europe and help out with the Normandy Invasion. For this, they deserve to be wiped out in 2019.

    Edit – would the person who has downvoted my post please come out of the shadows and give us an explanation?

    1. Morning Jeremy. Unfortunately War Criminality is standard fare in today’s world, witness the last twenty years. Even here in the UK, an emasculated version of its former self; we have our own perpetrators Blair (Iraq) and Cameron (Libya), what these two and their foreign equals all have in common is that none of them have ever faced personal danger or risk on the battlefield. All have shirked or avoided military service for themselves and usually for their families. The sons of better men are sent to die in that place usually reserved for leaders. History tells us that this situation is not viable over the long term; eventually those who take the risks will demand the reward of power.

      1. You’ve been reading Starship troopers again haven’t you??
        ” It all started with the veterans”

        1. Rik – A fine political model for society disguised as a science fiction novel. Only those who had carried out military service in some form were allowed the right to vote as full citizens.

          It’s ideas REALLY annoyed those who want power with no risk to themselves or their cronies. Which is good.

          (The film should be ignored obviously. I think that there was only one scene in a classroom that dealt with what the book was trying to say.)

          1. ‘Morning MM one of my favourite books,reread at least once a year
            As for the bastardised film,if I ever meet the producer or director I shall promptly punch them on the nose,it was an abomination

          2. Alas, there was more than one: (from Wiki) The film series has four sequels which includes two live-action films, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2004) and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008) and two animated films, Starship Troopers: Invasion (2012) and Starship Troopers: Traitor of Mars (2017).

            There was also a 1999 spin off CGI animated half-hour television series entitled Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles, which ran for one season and ended on an unresolved cliffhanger.

  63. Why Economists are n early always wrong

    Economist are really specialised accountants they just crunch numbers. If you feed in poor data you get poor data out and thatch what they normally do

    When we Leave the EU we should save Billions. We will also see good growth in the Non EU trade.. WE will still trade with the EU but may see on average a small dip in that trade due to tariffs . WE though do more trade with non EU countries and the economies of those countries are growing unlike the EU. WE also have a positive trade balance with the non EU countries. That tells me we will be better off . THe only two groups that have high tariffs are cars and food so we may get a small set back there but the EU are likely to quickly reach a trade deal with us on those groups

    1. Canada has a 6 percent import duty on cars. You still see lots of German cars on the road – although they are more luxury end than Honda or Toyota.

      1. It is hard to say how many cars we export to the EU as for some reason they are unable to differentiate between cars whose final destination is the EU and those that go to the EU for onward shipment. Then there is the other side of the coin. THe UK is a big consumer of cars produced in the EU if they face a 15% tariff the likely outcome is production will be increased in the UK

    2. Economists can only predict the performance of the economy in retrospect.
      They are no better at forward predictions than astrologers.

    1. So what you are saying is that Trump is being threatened with Impeachment because he is trying to have the corruption of a senior American politician investigated????

      2. You clearly don’t understand.
        Investigating corruption of a presidential candidate is far, far worse than the actual corruption.

  66. In other news:
    “Fears are brewing over the future of Greene King’s 3,000 pubs after shareholders approved a £4.6bn takeover by Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-Shing.

    A total 98.8pc of investors waved through the deal at a meeting on Wednesday, which will see the 220-year-old chain fall into foreign hands.

    Well clearly the investors are Ka Shing in…….

    2. Old new it was announced weeks ago. I guess this is the shareholders formally approving he deal

  67. Chaos at London City Airport as Extinction Rebellion protestors get on board a PLANE and onto terminal roof in major security breach – but what if they had been terrorists?
    Scores of police officers descend on London City Airport today as flight passengers brace for chaos
    Police arrest 12 people with ‘Fly Today, No Tomorrow’ demonstration only 30 minutes old since 9am start
    Passengers arriving for flights not allowed to enter terminal without showing their boarding cards first
    Activists want to emulate protesters who cancelled flights in condemnation of Hong Kong police brutality

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7556855/Extinction-Rebellion-eco-mob-threaten-chaos-travellers-London-City-airport.html

      1. Seriously, enough of this we have had.Good that a mass of police were on hand, diverted from other duties. Time for the protesters to be treated as they deserve, before it becomes a habit.

  68. Passengers revolt and riot aboard Norwegian Spirit cruise ship

    The disappointment started mounting the first day of a two-week Norwegian Cruise Line voyage in Europe.

    So by the time the Norwegian Spirit had diverted to several alternative ports — spending extra unplanned days at sea — passengers were on edge. They had already missed out on Iceland, the trip’s main attraction. By Monday, a week and a half in, travelers were gathered with their bags and cameras, looking forward to being on land again in Scotland.
    As the 2,018-passenger vessel neared shore, according to two passengers, a voice came over the public-address system announcing that weather would prevent it from making yet another stop.
    Subscribe to the Post Most newsletter: Today’s most popular stories on The Washington Post
    “That’s when the riots broke out on the ship,” says Cody McNutt, 31, of Denver, who was onboard with his girlfriend and family members.

    1. ” “That’s when the riots broke out on the ship,” says Cody McNutt, 31, of
      Denver, who was onboard with his girlfriend and family members.
      ” Where is Scotland, anyway ? Is it in Asia ? “

    2. North Atlantic waters in autumn and they had some bad weather?

      There’s a shock.

      They should wait a couple of months and book a cruise to Murmansk. That would be fun.

        2. These guys are working to save the ship and their lives as the ship is top heavy and could capsise at any time.

      3. I went to Murmansk (or as near as makes damn all difference) by sea in late November a couple of years ago. Cold, clear and wind-free was my experience.

    3. The Norwegian Coast Guard have been monitoring the situation closely.

      A spokesman said that rumours of discontent and suspicions of impending trouble on the Norwegian Spirit were first aroused by reports of the eccentric behaviour of the ship’s First Officer, Mr. Fletjar Kristiansand.

      2. Did you see my post yesterday about the lovely yacht Creole and why I prefer my own boat, Mianda. I think my preference explains why I am a Brexiteer: I like to take my own decisions, be in control of my own destiny and not be dependent on the state or on others.

        The EU seems to be committed to stamping out and suppressing the individual.

      4. You’ve just reminded me of something I posted elsewhere last year to accomany a photo I’d just taken overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar, with the Moroccan coast and the Spanish town of Ceuta in the distance. It kind of fits my view.

        ‘A prison ship passing through the Strait towards the Atlantic.

        You can just make out some of the inmates on the top foredeck, or whatever it’s called, out for their morning walk in circles before being taken back below decks and subjected to ‘Entertainment’ until they promise to be good and in the opinion of the parole board, headed by the Entertainments Officer they are sufficiently reformed to be freed.

        In some severe cases they are made to stay while the ship circumnavigates the world and are made to listen to ‘I Will Survive’ every evening. Fortunately these cases are few.’ https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/e2386561e213330ef06ee80207342aed86d1666c6afd0221013b0e0ad02e0058.jpg

        1. Bleugh!
          You can work out from the number of lifeboats how many people also be on board (over 3,000, plus crew). My idea of he11.

  71. Strange how this is low key perhaps it is because GDP went in the wrong direction for the BBC

    GDP grew by 0.3% between June and August compared with previous quarter

  72. Police ‘aware’ of claims about dogging on Felixstowe seafront

    On the sands of Felixstowe beach after dark, it is reported that groups are gathering and having sex in public, close to Felixstowe pier and the beach huts nearby.
    Taking to Facebook to describe the scenes they had witnessed, one anonymous resident said: “Late at night by the beach huts, to the right of the pier, I have seen about 15 to 20 different people laying on blankets between the huts engaging in group sex.
    “Sometimes two of three [people], last night I saw five and one very large lady with two men in a car in the car park behind.
    “They are often wearing masks and hoods up.”

  73. MSPs set to approve powers for workplace parking tax

    Plans to give local councils the power to charge a levy on workplace parking are expected to be passed into law.
    The proposal is part of a series of changes to transport in Scotland being put to a final vote at Holyrood.
    An attempt by Scottish Labour to remove the parking levy aspect was defeated during a debate on Wednesday.

      1. Good morning, Spikey

        For PR reasons It will be applied – but they will make sure that the amount spent on parking will be fully reimbursed through MSPs’ expenses claims.

  74. Especially for Stig who confesses to liking this sort of thing….
    “When Hunter joined the Navy Reserves in May 2013, he required several waivers (at 42, he was above the age of enlistment, and there was an unspecified ‘drug-related’ incident that also would have disqualified him).

    Despite his apparent eagerness to join, Biden was discharged from the Navy the following year after testing positive for cocaine. Soon after, his more successful older brother, Beau, passed away, and his wife Kathleen filed for divorce, citing Hunter’s “spending extravagantly on his own interests including drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, strip clubs and gifts for women with whom he has sexual relations.”

    Next, he started dating his brother’s widow.
    But in between trips to rehab and legendary drug benders. In 2016, shortly after he started dating Hallie Biden, Beau’s widow, Hunter made plans to stay at a detox center in Arizona. But he somehow got sidetracked during a stopover in Los Angeles, and ended up missing the next wing of his flight. Instead, he traveled to Skid Row, where he was reportedly held up at gun point, but nevertheless apparently succeeded in buying and using crack, causing him to return several times over the following days. Eventually, Hunter Biden took a Hertz rental car to his treatment center in Arizona, but workers at the Hertz office called the police after finding a crack pipe and baggie of crack, along with Biden’s license and a badge from Beau’s time as Delaware AG.
    According to the FT, Biden’s business interests “often show up in unexpected places.”

    More here about the Bidens’ potential conflicts of interests:https://www.zerohedge.com/political/inside-hunter-bidens-dealings-shadowy-foreign-firms

    :

  75. A chap called Robert Polatajko made a very good comment in the DT comments this morning:

    Brexit has opened our eyes.

    The greatest threat to Britain is the entire UK political class.

    We are losing, or have already lost, almost all of the greatest things about our country.

    We have lost the ability to set and protect our culture through extreme multiculturalism that allows parallel societies , freedom of speech to political correctness , a free press, control of our borders, the ability to set our own laws, control of our state finances, we’ve lost marriage only between a man and a woman and even how gender is defined.

    Our institutions including Parliament, the civil service, education, judiciary, police, health, the media are all run by the Left or globalists.

    Democracy is now dead in Britain.

    People think that if we have different parties, that means we still have it.

    But since all main parties are controlled by the globalists & the Left, democracy is now nothing more than an empty bit of theatre maintained so that people don’t realize that Britain is now a globalist Police State.

    A proper Brexit will draw us back from the precipice of political Armageddon because where democracy fails dark things happen.

    2. Morning R,
      The very reason that UKIP get a daily kicking and a great many fools agree whilst on their way to kiss a lab/lib/con candidate in the ballot booth, once again.

    3. People think that if we have different parties, that means we still have it.
      In other words, we can vote to choose between a rock and a hard place.

    4. Yep, Brexit has fully revealed the fact that parliamentary democracy was only ever an illusion of democracy which relied entirely on the electorate entrusting their sovereignty to elected representatives. Untrustworthy elected representatives are effectively dictators, we’ve had nothing like true democracy for decades ( if we ever had democracy at all! ),we no longer have even the illusion of democracy. It’s also obvious that we are no longer served & protected by ‘the rule of law’, it is rapidly being ‘spun’ to the dictatorial ‘subservient to rule by law’, with precious little protection from it.

    1. One must shudder at the mindset of the down-voter on
      such odious issues, it must float in a bed of sh!te, ah well takes all sorts.

      1. Well if its who I think it is – he supports shite so he is quite happy scrabbling around in it.
        The dunghill.

  77. Londoners snort 23kg of cocaine a day… twice as much as any other European city

    I think Cressida really meant to say Extreme right wing middle class users

    The quantity is twice that of any other European capital, and more than that taken in Barcelona, Amsterdam and Berlin combined. But the rate consumed per person is less than that of Bristol, which came top of 75 European cities studied by King’s College London

    London’s daily cocaine market is worth an estimated £2.75 million. A gram costs about £40. Experts say the purity has increased from below 10 per cent to about 30 to 40 per cent, meaning users are more likely to get addicted.

    Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has blamed middle-class cocaine users for fuelling the drugs trade and the capital’s knife and gun crime.

    2. People who snort cocaine usually have one nostril larger than the other .

      Some one drew my attention to that useful little fact, and now I have fun spotting bods with odd looking noses.. and dilated eyes!

      It is the same as viewing ciggy smokers or red wine drinkers who have rather blackened things between their teeth ..

      I guess I am a judgemental little wretch really ..

      1. Ciggy smokers get wrinkly before their time………..I like red wine but I don’t think my teeth are blackened yet.

        Remember that actress on Eastenders who destroyed her nose with Coke?

  78. That American diplomat’s wife involved in a fatal motor accident who has done a runner back home to the States, refuses to come back to face the music.
    This of course is great for the BBC to publish another attack on Donald Trump.
    Apart from biting the ear of her husband, I don’t see what Trump can do. He can hardly put her on a plane and ship her back.

    1. It looks like a simple accident to me so even if she were returned there would be no great outcome for the boys relatives. As you say it is being used to beat Trump!

      1. At least careless driving if the reports are correct as she was driving on the wrong side of the road

        1. Yes I don’t believe there is any suggestion of Drink or Drugs or even malign intent but as Tony has pointed out it has been blown up by the MSM’s latent anti-americanism and of course the opportunity to bait Trump!

      2. There are several accidents in Scotland every year where foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road. Some of the accidents are fatal.
        Tourists stay overnight in B&Bs in lonely places. When they leave in the morning there are no other vehicles in sight. So they drive on their merry way gawking at beauty spots, wee houses and so on, until … suddenly … a local comes around the corner and ..bang!

        1. Nearly happened to me if Switzerland. I know it’s no excuse but it’s easily done.

          1. Particularly after turning around or coming out of a single track road or parking area.

            I say to myself “drive on the right” here and in the UK “drive on the left.”

          3. I look at the steering wheel and check that it’s on the side closest to the central white line on the road, but it works for me only because I use a hire car abroad.

          4. It might seem strange, but I’m more inclined to do it shortly after I get back to the UK after a holiday (which usually entails more intense driving than I do at home – longer distances and more frequent journeys).

          5. Not at all, I’m at the most vulnerable just after I get back to either the UK or France.

          6. There’s one place near home that’s a beartrap for me.

            A narrow foreshore road where the beach is visible for a short section. Little traffic (it’s a dead-end in both directions) and no road markings. The usual scenario is that I’m just a few days back from Spain, driving north and I pull over to the ‘wrong’ side of the road to stop and scan the beach and rocks for seabirds through my side window. I then pull away after a brief stop and after about 20 yards I turn left, onto a similarly narrow and unmarked road that leads away from the beach. As I pull away I revert to Continental mode and it’s only after I’ve made the turn that I realise that I’ve just done a ‘Spanish’ left and after a few yards I have to swerve back onto the proper side of the road.

    2. She was shipped out of Mildenhall back to the US on a “private plane” along with her family. I will take bets that it was not her decision, but rather a US Intelligence/Military command decision as they did not want any questions about her husband’s work at the “base within a base”. We do not know how senior a person her husband is, but I would suspect his career prospects just took a serious dive.

      1. p.s. everyone who works at that secret “base” has diplomatic immunity per a US/UK agreement, as against the husband being a diplomat.

  79. VLAD’S HITMEN. Putin deploys secret GRU death squad to assassinate targets and ‘spread turmoil in Europe’. 10 Oct 2019, 6:48.

    Those include the Salisbury poisonings of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March last year.

    Along with two unsuccessful operations, one to destabilise Moldova and a coupe (sic) in Montenegro.

    They also attempted to assassinate arms dealer Emilian Gebrev in Bulgaria twice.

    They are obviously right on top of their game. What’s next? Getting the Teletubbies to launch a coup d’état?

    https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/10103849/putin-gru-death-squad-turmoil-europe-assassinations/

  80. The Metropolitan Police have agreed to pay compensation to the family of Mr Duggan who was shot dead by an anonymous policeman. The amount being paid is being kept quiet at the request of the family.
    The secret pay-out is of course public money. The policeman is a public servant (unless he is not a policeman).
    Are democracies not supposed to be open and transparent?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-49997178

    1. Are democracies not supposed to be open and transparent?

      We are long past that stage!

  81. The b liar accused Werzel Gummidge of making no deal possible, which
    goes to prove that there is a streak of goodness in everyone.

    GOOD OLD WURZEL.

  83. Boris Johnson’s father Stanley backs Extinction Rebellion’s airport protest but says he won’t stop flying because he is usually travelling by air ‘to do a speech about the environment’

    Stanley Johnson says he has a ‘relaxed view’ on Extinction Rebellion protests
    Former Tory MEP defended his use of planes to speak about the environment
    He also insisted that climate change is one thing that unites the Johnson family
    Yesterday, rubbished son’s dismissal of protestors as ‘uncooperative crusties’

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7557645/Boris-Johnsons-father-Stanley-backs-Extinction-Rebellions-protest.html

    2. I got a job with Stanley
      He said I’d come in handy
      And started me on Monday
      So I bought some glue on Sunday
      I sat stuck for 11 hours,
      Through wind and heavy showers,
      The plane will not function,
      I’m really up the junction.

        1. That’s always been a tune that seems to be without a beginning to me.

          It sounded as if it was falling off a cliff from the opening line, or rattling down a very long and very steep staircase.

    4. XR were suggesting that people should only be allowed one flight every five years.
      Or, in other words, you can fly where you like, but you’ll have to wait five years before you can fly back home again…

    5. The Johnsons are a totally dysfunctional family as I said earlier today. Rachel, Boris, Jo and Stanley all need psychiatric help.

  84. Uganda has announced plans to reintroduce a bill which would bring in the death penalty for homosexuals in the East African nation.

    The legislation – known as the ‘Kill the Gays’ bill – was nullified five years ago on a technicality, but the government now has plans to resurrect it within weeks.

    ‘Homosexuality is not natural to Ugandans, but there has been a massive recruitment by gay people in schools, and especially among the youth, where they are promoting the falsehood that people are born like that,’ Ethics and Integrity Minister Simon Lokodo said.

    ‘Our current penal law is limited. It only criminalises the act. We want it made clear that anyone who is even involved in promotion and recruitment has to be criminalised. Those that do grave acts will be given the death sentence.’

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7558727/Uganda-announces-Kill-Gays-bill-bring-death-penalty-homosexuals.html?ito=social-twitter_mailonline&__twitter_impression=true

    1. That’s a lot of the BBC giving Uganda a swerve for future documentaries, but since it’s ‘cultural’ perhaps they won’t be too critical.

      How is Elton John’s new book selling in Kampala, I wonder.

      1. I guess they will be offering broadcasting jobs to Ugandans , and we will see a few more parking wardens , security staff in Waitrose , and Costa staff?

    2. Don’t like watching that. The stunt pilot crashed the plane and was killed during filming.

      1. Moh has just told me that and it is on U tube, horribly tragic.

        My lot also love making and flying model aircraft .. Shed full of stuff and a house full of mini drones .

          1. Cleveryou ..

            I read somewhere that school children are not allowed to throw paper planes in class or the playground anymore . Health and safety !

            Probably an EU rule!

  86. This is some good news for a change –

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49995909

    The ISIS Beatles, as they were called, have been removed from Syria to the State of Virginia by the Americans, apparently to prevent them from getting away if things get difficult over there.
    They have the death penalty in Virginia, so our wimpy government are refusing to assist with information unless we are sure that they are treated nicely.

    This pair are the ones who chopped peoples’ heads off after treating them rather badly.

    2. The political class will forgive any outrages against Britain and the indigenous British people. ‘Kill us and brutalise us and don’t expect any punishment or reprisals’ is the message they send out.

      This masochistic perversion explains why they want us to be punished, bullied and dominated by the sadistic and nasty EU.

  87. https://medium.com/@plaosmos/extinction-rebellion-isnt-about-the-climate-42a0a73d9d49

    Extinction Rebellion isn’t about the Climate
    “I’ve been with Extinction Rebellion (XR) from the start. I was one of the 15 people in April 2018 who came together and made the collective decision to try to create the conditions that would initiate a rebellion. I was a coordinator of one of the original five working groups, and I’ve been organising with XR day-and-night since then (frugally living off my savings so I don’t have to work, having quit an industry that paid me £1000/week). And I’ve been in RisingUp (the organisation from which XR has emerged) since the first RisingUp action in November 2016. I’m a RisingUp Holding Group member, and a member of the XR Guardianship Team.

    Yes, yes, I know. The climate is breaking down. It’s urgent. An emergency. We’ve only got a few years left to ‘fix’ it.
    Indeed, we won’t fix it. Weather patterns will become increasingly unstable and unpredictable, and the effects it will soon have on how humans around the world grow food will be devastating, likely causing harvests to fail across entire continents and food prices to sky-rocket. Millions have already suffered due to the amplified instability. We’re facing imminent societal collapse (whatever that means), both around the world and in the UK. All of our lives are soon going to radically change.
    None of this is particularly controversial. When a bus is driving with a certain momentum towards a person, it gets clearer and clearer that it will hit the person. After a certain point, it’s inevitable. And that’s where we stand now, with regards to the momentum of climatic change. The bus is about to hit us. Our lives are about to change. It’s not clear whether or not we’ll survive (as a species). Many species have already been run over. Two hundred species each and every day go extinct.”

    Two hundred species go extinct every day: name some of them. Any of them.
    And everything predicted will come true if these people get their way, people will die in their millions because of starvation and cold, not because of the climate.
    They are social justice warriors, and this climate alarmism is nothing more than a means to an end.

        1. I wonder how many of the “uncooperative crusties” realise they’re being used by this man and his ilk.

          1. The really interesting thing would to see to whom all this money was given. Individuals by name, organisations and so on.
            Charities don’t have to publish accounts with cash flow details, I think. In any event Accounts are not lodged with Companies House till around six months after the end of the Financial Term of the organisation.

    4. No, they will be investing in alternative ID; 400 x 2 = 800. In fact, for that sort of money you could pay Mr Rashid to organise some sub-contractors.

  90. No ‘white smoke’ after the meeting with Johnson and Varadkar, just another meeting to agree to have more meetings…

    What on earth is the point of continuing this process? The EU is not going to give us a deal that any sovereign nation would sign up to. There is no free-trade agreement to be had this side of Brexit. For the love of God, why can we not just leave?

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/10/brexit-latest-newsboris-johnson-leo-varadkar-no-deal-irish-border/

    1. If we just left it would entirely the UK’s fault and the EU would have won the blame gain.
      Now whose fault was it that WWII started?

        1. If we lose the blame game the EU might claim we owe them £39bn plus the membership fees for the next EU parliamentary period but then I suppose we would see the end of 7,000 ton Lithuanian trawlers and shocking Dutch fishing vessels.

    3. What on earth is the point of continuing this process?

      The billion a month club fee might ease their pain at what they call negotiating i.e. bullying. In addition they’re waiting for either, the UK government to accept the original WA or the ‘GNU’ to usurp the legitimate government and then call a rigged, Remain or Remain second referendum. They are in no rush as long as the cash cow continues to produce the money.

  91. James Brown disabled athlete has glued himself to a BA plane.Last month he was trying to fly drones at Heathrow
    Time this loon was banged up

    1. Just leave him there, trim the aircraft to suit and take off as planned. He was boarding the plane, so he’s got a ticket and paid his fare.

      1. Ah, I see that I agree with you Basset. I’ve said similar but maybe it can’t be said enough.

        Similarly, those that glue themselves to anything – just pull ’em off and if it takes a yard and a half of skin, tough titty, self-inflicted injury. NEXT!

        1. Leave the buggers stuck & arrest anyone going to help. A few days cold and wet in caccy trousers might be educational.

  92. Just in from my former Borough:

    We’re contacting you as you are currently registered as a British Citizen living overseas, who is registered to vote as an overseas elector (place named). Ahead of any potential unscheduled poll, we thought it prudent to contact you to inform you of the options available to you as an overseas elector. To be clear, we don’t have any more information than the public at the moment about future elections.

    We note that you currently have a postal vote in place. While we do everything we can to ensure this reaches you as soon as possible, including prioritising the despatch of overseas postal packs before all others, the very tight statutory timescales between the close of candidate nominations and the date of the election means that postal votes will only be able to be sent out around 10 days before polling day. Some overseas electors may not be able to return their completed packs by the deadline of 10pm on election day. Legislation does not currently permit us to email postal vote packs and there is no online voting facility for UK elections.

    We would therefore urge you to consider whether a proxy vote would be a more appropriate absent voting method for you. If there is someone in the UK who is a registered voter and eligible to vote in General elections (i.e. a British or Commonwealth citizen) that you trust to cast a vote on your behalf in the polling station for your qualifying address in (place named) then please complete the application form available at https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/how-cast-your-vote/voting-proxy

    and return it to us. Once set up, your proxy can then choose to request a postal proxy vote from us so even if they do not live near your polling station they can still vote on your behalf by post.

    As most British people I speak to here are ardent remainers I wonder how many might be caught out by this, or whether all Boroughs are doing this.

  93. EU citizens who miss registration deadline face deportation – minister

    They have plenty of time to register. IT is quite common in EU countries for people to have to register. If they cannot be bothered to register tough thats their choice

    The UK will deport EU citizens after Brexit if they don’t apply for the right to remain in time, Home Office minister Brandon Lewis says.
    He told a German newspaper they would have to leave even if they met all the criteria for a residency permit.
    Campaign group the3million, which represents EU citizens in the UK, said this was “no way to treat people”.
    The Home Office said 1.8 million people had applied to the scheme and others have until “at least” December 2020.
    It said those with “reasonable grounds” for missing the date would be granted an extension to apply for the right to live and work in the UK.
    Currently, EU nationals – and their families – living in the UK by 31 October have until the end of 2020 to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme in the event of a no-deal Brexit, or the end of June 2021 if there is a deal.

    1. Any of these eu citizens should lose any right to remain if they are not employed – Big Issue selling to not be counted as employment – and if they have any criminal convictions. We should not be expected to continue funding the dross of the eu. Those working and settled here are welcome.

      1. I can’t understand why Priti Patel is bigging up plans for an Australian Style Points System whilst NOT applying this to the Settlement Scheme (and rubberstamping every Big Issue seller). Sorry, I can understand ….

      1. When I find I have posted the same thing as a prior poster I apologise when I notice what I have done. It is only polite to do so.

  95. Apprentice told he couldn’t have sex for five years

    Imagine landing an apprenticeship – woohoo! – and then reading the small print. Teenager John Raynham found there was a price to pay if he wanted to learn the secrets of his chosen trade. No fornication for five years, thank you very much. No getting married. Don’t gamble your money away on cards or at the dice tables. Keep clear of taverns and playhouses, too.
    That wasn’t all. The 16-year-old’s dad had to supply meat, drink and clothing, and pay the firm £20. (Easy terms: two instalments.)
    Welcome to Victorian Suffolk.
    In return, young John would be paid one shilling and sixpence a week, rising annually to seven shillings and sixpence in the fourth year. If he kept his nose clean, he’d also be taught the “art” of the ironmonger.
    His employer in the 1870s was Graham & Joslin, whose site is now occupied by the traditional and independent home and garden store Partridges of Hadleigh.

    1. As an articled clerk to a Chartered Accountant in 1954, my impoverished parents had to pay £200. and i was paid a pound a week for the first two years and one pound ten (now £1.50) for the next three. Taking inflation into account, the ironmonger apprentice in 1970 was much higher paid.

      ” Don’t gamble your money away on cards or at the dice tables.”
      All seven and sixpence of it ? And sex you want as well?

    1. What is Boris’s father doing there?

      With Jo, Rachel, Boris and Stanley the Johnsons must be one of the most seriously dysfunctional families in Britain.

      But this will not matter one jot if Boris secures a proper, ‘No surrender or Compromise to the EU Brexit’ giving Britain back her democracy and political freedom.

    2. The ER should get over to Europe and block the Brussels – Strasbourg road that convoys of lorries and other vehicles use to remove the EU Parliament lock stock and barrel each month. They might get a little support for stopping that expensive pantomine.

  98. Dyson has scrapped its £2.5bn electric car project

    Dyson, the UK-based company best known for its vacuum cleaners, has scrapped a £2.5bn project to build electric cars.
    The firm, headed by inventor Sir James Dyson, said its engineers had developed a “fantastic electric car” but that it would not hit the roads because it was not “commercially viable”.
    In an email sent to all employees, Sir James said the company had unsuccessfully tried to find a buyer for the project, launched in 2017.
    The division employs 500 UK workers.
    In October 2018 Dyson revealed plans for an electric car plant in Singapore,
    It was expected to be completed next year with the first vehicles due to roll off the production line in 2021.
    The company also revealed it would invest £200m in research and development and test track facilities in the UK, much of which has already been spent. Dyson said the site would now be used for other projects.
    The first cars had already been developed and were being tested.
    But in an email on Thursday, Sir James revealed that Dyson was closing electric car facilities both in the UK and Singapore.

      1. There are many problems with battery powered cars. The initial cost of them. The cost of replacing and disposing of the batteries. Charging times and range

      3. Well, there must be a million cars in Birmingham alone which are parked in the street overnight, rarely adjacent to their owner’s house. How the hell are they going to be charged to be usable next day?

  99. That’s me for the day. Up early to morrow. CH fuel being delivered – and they often come at 08.00….

    Have a jolly evening playing Backstop.

  100. After daring to face down Brussels, Boris Johnson risks being ‘toppled’ in a ruthless EU plot. SHERELLE JACOBS. DAILY TELEGRAPH COLUMNIST.

    It was like watching a hostage bite at their torturer’s dead grip, before making magnificently to flee. A cornered No 10 got the better of a complacent Brussels this week, leaking details of a phone call in which Angela Merkel exposed the bad faith with which Brussels has negotiated for years. This bolshy move has given Mr Johnson a much-needed upper hand in the “blame game” as talks collapse. It has also sent Brussels into paper-shuffling paroxysms of pathological fury. The EU will now deploy every instrument of imperial torture in its toolbox to destabilise Boris Johnson, maybe even topple him.

    Can someone put up Sherelles latest offering please? I would like to read it all!

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/10/daring-face-brussels-boris-johnson-risks-toppled-ruthless-eu/

    1. Here you go, Minty

      After daring to face down Brussels, Boris Johnson risks being ‘toppled’ in a ruthless EU plot
      SHERELLE JACOBS – 10 OCTOBER 2019 • 6:00AM

      Brussels is incensed at the PM, and may seek to ‘blow him up’ with the help of Remainers

      It was like watching a hostage bite at their torturer’s dead grip, before making magnificently to flee. A cornered No 10 got the better of a complacent Brussels this week, leaking details of a phone call in which Angela Merkel exposed the bad faith with which Brussels has negotiated for years. This bolshy move has given Mr Johnson a much-needed upper hand in the “blame game” as talks collapse. It has also sent Brussels into paper-shuffling paroxysms of pathological fury. The EU will now deploy every instrument of imperial torture in its toolbox to destabilise Boris Johnson, maybe even topple him.

      As extreme as this sounds, it is worth remembering that Brussels is in the business of undermining European governments that refuse to toe the line. Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi maintains that he was ousted at the height of the eurozone crisis by conspiring EU officials, and replaced by a government of technocrats led by Mario Monti (a former EU commissioner, no less). During the same period, Brussels forced Ireland to accept a punitive bailout, which precipitated the downfall of the sourly uncooperative Brian Cowen, and his eventual replacement with cloying sycophant Leo Varadkar.

      Full regime change has not always proved necessary, of course – the EU is talented not so much at tying the hands of democratically elected mavericks as screwing their thumbs. Take the EU debtor colony, Greece, where Left-wing populist Alex Tsipras was tormented with tactics ranging from post-truth information chaos to maddening negotiational “sequencing” In 2015, he accepted astonishing bailout terms despite having a referendum mandate to torpedo them.

      Why wouldn’t Brussels apparatchiks seek to abuse the UK Government using similar methods? Although Britain is not economically vulnerable in the same way as Greece, Italy or Ireland to the EU’s financial black magic, it is already waging a war of attrition against the Prime Minister, safe in the knowledge that Remainer MPs are determined to block a general election until at least spring 2020.

      Although the French yesterday said that a second referendum or general election might be the conditions of an extension, it is more likely that Brussels will deliberately grant the Prime Minister a fudged and essentially pointless delay. This would be just about tolerable if the PM were to spend this time negotiating a pact with the Brexit Party and ferociously planning for no deal. But government sources are briefing that Mr Johnson wants to fight the eventual election on a confusing “my deal or no deal” platform to appease centrist Tories.

      Brussels will seize on this to lure Mr Johnson into another round of talks, which will again swing between controlled detonations of tyrannical silence and mind-numbingly circular discussions, barbwired with polite threats. If the EU strategises like Stalin, it speaks like a legal consultancy audiobook .

      The EU may also now try to blow up the Government by trashing the idea of a managed no-deal exit. Instead of “side deals” to mitigate against disruption, they could commit to “unilateral contingency measures” which, in theory, invite London to reciprocate on an equal footing but, in practice, utterly shaft Britain (for example, allowing UK flights into the EU, in order to allow EU flights into the UK – but not allowing UK airlines to fly within the EU).

      It would be self-destructive for the EU to weaponise no-deal preparations in this way. But EU psycho-bureaucratic logic judges the impact of all things relatively, not objectively. Thus it is fine to sabotage an orderly no deal, because Britain would be worse hit than the EU.

      Then there is the open dealing with the Government’s political opponents. The president of the European Parliament sparked widespread outrage when he admitted yesterday that he had met John Bercow and discussed how to stop a clean-break Brexit,.

      Perhaps there is a naive intention to send a message to British voters that the PM is too extreme to negotiate with – thus the need for undemocratic back channels with the “adults” in Parliament. Collusion might also have helpfully practical consequences for the tyrannical Remainer cause. Brussels could, for example, explode into confected consternation, and make an immediate demand for clarification, if Mr Johnson signs the letter requesting an extension, but sends a separate communiqué stating that No 10 does not want to stay in the EU.

      No doubt, such gothic global theatre would provide a useful backdrop for the launch of a leaky impeachment case against the Prime Minister (the Establishment will need a lot of black political sequins to cover up all those legal gaping holes).

      Rumours are rife that Mr Bercow, a man with a chip on his shoulder and despotism tattooed on his soul, will arrogate to himself the power to choose Britain’s next EU Commissioner, before appointing Amber Rudd. Brussels would then seek to derail Mr Johnson in the chaos of “two-track” Brexit talks.

      Antics like this are usually the preserve of superpowers seeking to bring about regime change in small states. But such is the frightening self-assessment of the delirious and dangerous EU.

      2. You could say that the EU having shot themselves in the foot are now happy to cut off their noses to spite their faces.
        The EU have a lot to lose, but are too arrogant to see it.

      3. If Boris decides to fight an election on “My deal or No deal” the conservatives will lose. He must get us out cleanly on 31 October. I wonder what his Saturday recall of parliament is about. Is it to try and win a vote on a WA2?

      4. I’m not sure that the UK would be worse hit than the EU. We need to stop buying their goods. We can rename VAT “purchase tax” and stop sending part of it to Brussels, not to mention not giving away the “divorce settlement”. Without our money, they would grind to a halt.

  101. Taxpayers foot £490 bill for a new washing machine

    Taxpayers have footed a £490 bill for a new washing machine to go in the flat where Speaker John Bercow’s nanny lives.
    The public purse also paid for a Christmas tree in Mr Bercow’s grace-and-favour residence at Parliament, according to details released to MailOnline under freedom of information rules.
    Another £1,000 has been spent on fixing doors in the opulent home where the Bercow family has lived for the past decade.
    The costs of maintenance at the Speaker’s residence over the past 16 months were disclosed by the House authorities in response to an FOI request.

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7553967/Taxpayer-buys-washing-machine-flat-John-Bercow-s-NANNY-lives.html

  102. A bit of a mystery

    Arrested Lowestoft priest re-released as police investigation continues

    A vicar who was suspended after being arrested has been re-released by police as an investigation continues.

    Matthew Payne was vicar of Christ Church, Lowestoft, until he stepped down on Sunday, September 29.

    The vicar was arrested on Thursday, September 19 as part of a police investigation, and was released on bail until Thursday, October 10.

    Mr Payne was arrested as part of an “ongoing police investigation”, officers said, and was taken to Great Yarmouth Police Investigation Centre for questioning until he was released on bail.

    He has now been re-released under investigation as officers continue to gather evidence and follow enquiries.

    A Suffolk Constabulary spokesman said: “The individual concerned is no longer on police bail and is released under investigation, pending further enquiries.”

    Police officers are still not saying what the vicar’s arrest was in connection with.
    The Diocese of Norwich confirmed the vicar had stepped down from the church as a result of the police investigation.

    “Matthew Payne has stepped back from the ministry at this time as a matter has arisen which is now being investigated. He was arrested on September 19 in connection with an ongoing police investigation and was subsequently released on bail.

    “Under the Clergy Discipline Measure he was immediately suspended from all ministry and will remain so whilst the police investigation and legal processes are completed.
    “We follow police guidance as to what we can and can’t say publicly and therefore cannot comment further at this stage.”

    1. What are little boys made of?

      What are little boys made of?

      Slugs and snails

      And puppy-dogs’ tails

      That’s what little boys are made of

      What are little girls made of?

      What are little girls made of?

      Sugar and spice

      And all things nice

      That’s what little girls are made of

  103. Katie Price is BANNED from driving for two years

    Katie Price has today been banned from driving for two years – but failed to turn up to court because she was abroad.
    The mother-of-five was charged with withholding the name of the driver after her Range Rover was involved in a collision in Bexley, south east London, last November.
    Price, who pleaded guilty to the charge at a hearing in August, did not attend today’s sentencing hearing at Bexley Magistrates Court, claiming she was only due to return to London Gatwick Airport this morning.
    This is the sixth time the former glamour model has been banned from the roads.

    1. She is not a very quick learner!

      But wasn’t she imprisoned when she was married to Chris Huhne for pretending to have been the driver when he was?

      1. I don’t think Huhne’s missus would ever have been described as a ‘former glamour model’.

        Wrong Price.

    1. It’s about time that demonstrators wearing masks were arrested on sight and their faces publicised.

      1. Tut, tut – that would not please yer slammers…..who now run the perlice, Border Farce etc etc etc

  105. A conditional Brexit extension is the Eurocrats’ latest slippery deflection tactic
    CHARLOTTE GILL – 10 OCTOBER 2019 • 2:40PM

    Has the Brussels elite no shame?

    In psychology, there is a theory called “learned helplessness”. It suggests that when someone is repeatedly exposed to an unpleasant situation from which they cannot escape, they become miserable and fed up with the world. Thanks to our prolonged and much contested EU departure, many are already feeling like this.

    By all indications, we are about to become even more entangled in the EU’s clutches. That’s because David Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, has put a hideous condition on the table in exchange for a Brexit extension. Britain will only get one, he says, if it agrees to hold a general election or second referendum.

    Has the Brussels elite no shame? Britain is not theirs to lock in, for a start. Sadly the proposal looks like more than just a eurocrats’ pipedream. Sassoli reportedly discussed it with none other than parliament’s rigged referee, John Bercow, whose departure as speaker cannot be celebrated strongly enough (that is, if he ever leaves – so convinced is he of being the messiah of Westminster).

    Then there was Tony Blair to offer his much-unneeded opinion. On The Andrew Neil Show, he argued for a second referendum, but couldn’t justify why a general election would be unfathomable. “It’s not a general question of politics, it’s Brexit”, he blathered on. Let’s face it, though: the reason for the resistance is he knows Boris Johnson and/or the Brexit Party – and therefore No Deal – would win.

    Learned helplessness is prevailing around the nation. What can we do, after all, while these powerful individuals act against their own country’s will? They believe a second referendum can erase 2016’s vote. You can bet they will connive to remove No Deal from the list of options. How did this shocking Remainer proposition even become normalised in our political discourse? “Second referendums” may be standard practice in the EU, but they are no more familiar to UK politics than a squirrel becoming prime minister or Greta Thunberg being awarded GQ’s Man of the Year (oh, wait…).

    The Brexit blockers clearly think the electorate is stupid and will not notice what is happening. A noble parliament would have got us out of the EU long ago, not used delays and ineptitude to justify ignoring the past.

    These are slippery tactics, designed to deflect from their anti-democratic behaviour – take the faux outrage over Boris Johnson using the word “surrender”. Never mind that Guy Verhofstadt called the Prime Minister a “traitor” yesterday. When he uses wartime rhetoric, it’s fine! He’s special, just like everyone else trying to sabotage the mandate of 17.4 million people.

    Fanatical Remainer MPs have not only damaged democracy in this country, and indeed the West, but forever tarnished our reputation on the world stage. They have allowed us to be controlled by the EU in humiliating ways, merely exposing why people want to leave in the first place, so their destiny is their own to choose, never anyone else’s.

    Most in other member states will not be envious of the UK’s position. But far from solidifying their respect for the EU, the latest extension debacle must make some worry about the future of their own country under this superstate. One suspects others will be plotting a better escape.

    1. We made the mistake of being too wary of the gift the Greeks gave us, demonstrating very clearly just how intransigent is the EU.

      Any other country wishing to leave (Hungary?) will do it better.

    2. “so convinced is he of being the messiah of Westminster”. He may think that. I think the role of John the Paptit is probably more like it

  106. That idiot who got onto the aircraft at London City to protest about climate change?

    After making a fuss and upsetting everyone on board he was arrested and carted off.

    His contribution to reducing carbon consumption?

    Well according to the Mail, because of the time wasted on the tarmac the plane had to take on extra fuel before it could take off.

    Prat.

    1. I hope his name is put on a blacklist for airlines to check if he wants to book another flight in future.

  107. For Polly ?

    Orators of the Democrat Party –from the distant past:

    “One man with courage makes a majority.” ~Andrew Jackson
    “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” ~Franklin D. Roosevelt
    “The buck stops here.” ~Harry S. Truman
    ” Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” ~John F. Kennedy

    But wait ….There are more Great orators of the Democrat Party –MORE RECENT GEMS of wisdom:

    “It depends what your definition of ‘is’ is?” ~William Jefferson Clinton
    “Those rumors are false. I believe in the sanctity of m arriage” ~John Edwards
    “Gorsuch isn’t fit to serve because he uses law and not emotions.” ~Kamala Harris
    “What difference does it make?” (re: Benghazi) ~Hillary Clinton
    “I invented the Internet.” ~ Al Gore

      1. ‘I wonder how it is with you, Harold? If I don’t have a woman for three days, I get a terrible headache,’
        President John F. Kennedy told the British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan.

  108. As armies of fixed income strategists battle over whether US Treasuries are facing higher or lower yields, Greece has no such qualms and in a historic shift today, the former bond market pariah and Eurozone’s most indebted nation, joined the exclusive club of negative-yielding European nations when bond investors lined up to pay the nation that was at the heart of Europe’s sovereign debt crisis.

    A sale of €487.5 million of 13-week bills on Wednesday drew Greece’s first-ever negative yield of minus 0.02% as investors now pay Athens for the privilege of lending it cash, as Bloomberg first reported. Greece joins the likes of Ireland, Italy and Spain – not to mention virtually all core Eurozone nations – which benefit from the ECB’s insane monetary policy and deepening fears of a global recession.

    2. BTL Comment:
      Automatic Choke
      5 hours ago
      great idea !!! sign me up !!!
      i would like to borrow $2T for one day at -0.02% interest.
      You don’t even need to transfer the principal…just hold it for a day against my payment of the loan, in full, tomorrow. then you can send me my $1.1M check at your convenience to cover the interest. nice doing business with you.

    3. I think that is just the result of the Eurozone – an individual country cannot re-value its currency, so interest rates are meaningless and produce a perverse effect.

      1. Currency risk v. signature risk, Bill. That’s why HMG pays so much more to borrow – the country is not likely to renege on its debts, but those debts are denominated in sterling, a chronically weak currency.

    4. It is one thing using monetary policy to smooth out the peaks and troughs it is a totally different thing to try to almost permanently rigs the market

  109. LAST POST – Toy Boy’s nominee for EUSSR Commissioner (a woman with a corrupt past) has been REJECTED by the pretendy parliament.

    Toy Boy is very cross….. TEE HEE

  112. NHS doctor may leave UK over refusal of visa for elderly mother. Thu 10 Oct 2019.

    A leading children’s psychiatrist plans to quit the NHS and move to Australia because of the Home Office’s “almost callous” refusal to let his mother stay in Britain.

    Dr Nishchint Warikoo, the lead psychiatrist for child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Hampshire, said he and his family were being “forced to leave” the UK in order to stay together.

    Another “Look at all the wonderful people we are having to deport because of you vile racist white scum.” story from the Home Office.

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/oct/10/nhs-doctor-leave-uk-refusal-of-visa-elderly-mother

      2. Either he has investigated applying for emigration to Oz or he hasn’t. If the former, then that implies the conditions for accepting elderly relatives are more onerous in the UK than Oz. Somehow I doubt it.

        1. See above. The Ausies are not mugs, It is very expensive to bring elderly parents into Australia

      3. Once they’ve built their life in Australia, it makes sense that many migrants want their parents to come live close by, especially if they have children.

        Non-contributory visas

        It’s the cheapest option, at around $6000 for the main applicant and $2000 for the dependant spouse. Since there’s only a limited amount granted each year, the wait list is extremely long, up to 30 years.

        To be eligible, parents must have a sponsor, meet health and character requirements and pass the balance of family test. To pass the balance of family test, at least half of the parent’s children must reside permanently in Australia.

        Contributory visas

        Contributory visas are processed more quickly (under two years), but they are more expensive. For a permanent visa, it costs almost $50 000 in total.
        To be eligible, parents must have a sponsor, meet health and character requirements, pass the balance of family test and have an assurance of support. The assurance of support is a legal commitment from the sponsor to give their financial support.

        1. Nowhere near that expensive to bring an elderly relative into the US, as long as the sponsor is a citizen. Knew someone who did just that. But said elderly relative would not be eligible for any US benefits (having not paid in, that’s how it works here), and with no pension or healthcare provided, it could become incredibly expensive for the sponsor in the longer term.

    6. More to this than the article states I suspect. Elderly relatives are only allowed into the UK in exceptional circumstances such as having no one to care for them in their own country

  113. Hey presto, after their private meet a glimmer of hope is on the horizon,
    shortly it is my feelings going full beam, on the stitch up express coming down the line.

      1. Evening R,
        No way unexpected, been on the cards since the nine month
        delay, the cameron (the wretch) may fall back plan, if the unbelievable happened, and it did.
        Orchestrated from being activated, give them credit & they could not have got to this stage without the peoples support.
        I can still hear the echo’s of ” job done, leave it to the tory’s”
        The wretch cameron & co must have thought all their Eids had come at once.

  114. Stratford shopping centre stabbing: Teenager dies

    A teenager has been stabbed to death in an attack outside Stratford Shopping Centre in London.
    Police found the male victim suffering from fatal stab wounds on Stratford Broadway shortly after 15:20 BST.
    A second man was found with stab injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening. He remains at an east-London hospital.
    A section 60 order has been implemented, giving officers increased stop and search powers across Newham.
    A witness said the attack happened outside a McDonalds restaurant.

    2. I recall a similar killing in front of McDonald’s in Sutton Coldfield last year. My advice – get your Big Mac in the morning, then clear off.

      3. Years ago I was walking through Leather Lane on my way to work in Warner Street. It was very early morning. Three young lads, probably from a building site, walked towards me and asked for directions to the nearest McDonalds.

        I pointed them to High Holborn but suggested they would obtain better nourishment and would find a better breakfast in one of the small ‘greasy spoons’ several of which traded on Leather Lane itself.

        The lads looked quizzically at me and headed off to High Hoborn.

        I am convinced that McDonalds put some addictive ingredient in their burgers. This is similar to Coca Cola which was originally containing a substance.

  115. Extinction Rebellion protests: More than 1,000 arrests in mass climate change actions across London

    1. How large is the potential “congregation”?
      If I was in the area I would like to see that figure published, I suspect the locals might be unpleasantly surprised.

      2. The way that our MP’s are keeping our borders open, and providing a ferry service across the Channel these days, they will have reinforcements arriving for several years yet. 250,000+ a year is not a small number, and you have got to put them somewhere. Even though most of us would like to see them all returned to the islamic sandpits that they have scurried from.

        But in their minds, why should they do the hard work of building up their own countries when it is so much easier to pull down someone else’s.

    3. They have done the groundwork in several cities, now it is time for the rest of the country.

      “Prayers will be held five times a day in accordance with the Muslim calendar.”

      Five times a day? Including the time taken travelling to and from the building, when do they get time to work? Oh.

      “There will be no external noise calling the congregation to prayer.”

      Not until they have built it and their numbers have increased in the area, then it will become their “human right” to worship as they wish with that satanic wailing blaring out five times a day.

      1. Tarantula, tarantula, taranatula, tarantula –

        The scorpion-brooched supreme court judge looks far too Hale.

  120. Hurrah!
    ITV News has just announced that Leo Varadkar “has given us glimmer of Hope…”
    Isn’t that sweet. The leader of a no-account country that depends on us for its existence and prosperity is going to generously allow us to give away more to the EU with the approval of himself. That’s so nice.

    1. Theatre, pure theatre. The Teapot is an EU lick-spittle and he’s playing the game they’ve rehearsed and honed to a fine point i.e. build up expectations and then knock the opponent back with a retraction or change of direction. We’ll only get a “deal” (in reality being shafted with Parliament’s good wishes) if Johnson caves. If he does cave then he’s a goner along with his party.
      If he can contrive to sit it out until the end of the month May’s last extension ends, and I believe, EU law has us out. Will the EU have the brass neck to try and extend A50 without it being requested and break one of their sacrosanct treaties? Where control of the UK, as promised by May, and billions of pounds are concerned, of course they will.

        1. I used it to get from the M1 to Stone where BT’s training school is located. Lots of roundabouts if memory serves correctly.

    1. I recall attending D’Oyly Carte in Manchester, at the Opera House, fabulous evenings out.

      1. Used to be lots of superb productions at old Civic Theatre in Leeds, mostly by Leeds University students. I remember a terrific Princess Ida which I think the #metoo brigade have now banned.

        1. In those “good old days” it was possible to see wonderful productions in London’s West End as matinees, sitting up in the “Gods” for very little money. I saw Camelot at Drury Lane for about 2/6d

  124. Theory of corruption.

    Q: Who is likely to be more susceptible to the temptation of monetary rewards – a President who has made billions through business deals or a President who has never made anything in the private sector?

    A: That;s right.

      1. They will be treated. Slammer children will get it first, so the hospitals will be full by the time the rest of the children come down with it.

    2. Not a lot of sympathy, it seems. If the whole lot of them were wiped out, it would be a narrow escape for us.

        1. Presumably it wouldn’t prevent the vaccination being given to the sane among us (assuming there are any left). We shouldn’t give in to minorities with doubtful views.

  126. My wife and I had a bit of a trip down memory lane today. Earlier in the year my brother and his family gave me some vouchers for my birthday. The vouchers were for a meal at a refurbished pub, now a small hotel, in the village where my wife and I lived after we were married. We purchased a new terraced house there in 1970 for the princely sum of £3,725. The gift was a nice touch from my brother.
    The pub back then was run by a couple who opened a restaurant and for the time they provided good food when many pubs offered only a pork pie and crisps. We had some great times there until we moved back to Colchester in January 1976.
    The place is now very smart with prices to match but the food and service were both excellent. We both ordered the deep fried hake and trimmings – hake is a very nice fish that does not seem to be appreciated, well not where we live – and I had an odd dessert, eccles cake and a choice of cheese to accompany the cake. I chose Cambridge Blue and not only was the cheese excellent the combination worked very well, the sweetness of the cake being offset by the slightly sour and very tasty cheese.
    The place also had Timothy Taylor Landlord on tap so it couldn’t be bad, could it? It was my wife’s birthday yesterday and today was an ideal time to celebrate both our birthdays in a pub with so many great memories of our early life together. Gold time next Spring and I think we will be going back for another treat then.

    1. Hake used to be regarded a fish of choice, but no longer, I cannot understand why, never the less.I used to buy it most weeks at Dereham market and it was such good value.

  130. Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar ‘can see pathway to a deal’ – No 10

    A change of tune from him but who knows these things seem to change on an almost daily basis. As long as they seriously think we will leave a deal can be done in my view the problem is the likes of Labour the Lib-Dems and Bercow

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar agree they can “see a pathway to a possible deal” after talks, Downing Street says.
    The two leaders had “constructive” talks on the UK’s Brexit proposals and believe a deal “is in everybody’s interest”, a statement said.
    Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay will meet the EU’s Michel Barnier on Friday.
    On Wednesday, EU leaders accused the UK of proposing untested ideas, adding that progress had been limited.

  131. One of the down voters seems somewhat irked down-voting the
    issue as well as the ogga1,sad really.

      1. S,
        I am positive that the two negatives in this particular case are cheeks on the same
        rear exit hole.

  132. Night all

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/c5380b7cadba1ce17310275dc97d7229b8a0673fc71f96117591465303be204c.gif

    https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Tuhc8ZHOxFA/XXS1iZcGqbI/AAAAAAAB-rU/iYsUdw2cVEM3ddwJwQCu29ZFMGLFTM-OwCLcBGAs/s1600/1mb90m_pv8wihhl6F1wd3f6xo1_250.gif

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0983ab0b07b80da5d166f801b9285cbbcbcdec64447e562a88fc05641e4d92e6.jpg

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b41be47e9d6bbe25d3edebf4632dba8d2f841c492d2f5f29052614bc66a5a523.gif

    Finally oi laffed

    https://twitter.com/badendido/status/1182207264830234625?s=20

  134. Why do the MSM keep saying “and there is nothing proven” or “there is no evidence”** before the names Joe Biden and Hunter Biden and their lucrative activities in The Ukraine and China, whereas they never used these riders prior to “Trump in the 2016 election” or “Donald Trump”?

    It seems to me that the condition known as Trump Derangement Syndrome has been intensified by the disappointment to many on the left and in the MSM (same thing?) that the expensive and protracted (and ill-intentioned) Mueller investigation drew an absolute blank.

    ** And fail to add the honest “and we’re absolutely not interested in making any enquiries into these activities”.

    1. Lewis, it’s known as “Pay to Play” – it was much used by the Clinton Crime Foundation and by the Bidens. Much of this is detailed in the book ‘Selling America’.

    3. The only thing against the Bidens is the constant barrage of Trump tweets. The polls show Trump running behind any Democratic challenger, so he is lashing out in all directions. And now he’s decided to let Turkey “deal with” the Kurds. No reason, except he is being challenged by the GOP for throwing an actual ally under the bus, he says it was because they did not help the allies in WWII. He really has lost it.

          1. The Admiralty has a long tradition of taking Prizes and helping themselves to the booty….

      2. Whatever else, the USA avoided another dirty dose of Clintons and for that they should always be grateful to DT.

    2. In the olden days, they used to lock disturbed people in lunatic asylums. Sad.
      These days, they are pu on social media.

  137. HAPPY HOUR – Banksy… watch out there’s a chimp about!

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/3bfead63efa44deab35b28ff310aa3f1b1d42c686fa95bde9f03a17bb8be3e1b.jpg
    A frenzied bidding war saw Banksy’s satirical Devolved Parliament, a vision of the House of Commons filled by debating chimpanzees, sell for almost £9.9 million on Friday, a record for the street artist.

    Now the paintings of the world’s most celebrated chimpanzee, Congo are going up for sale and expected to fetch
    £200,000.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/dbb1914baca413251c89d7a3dae7edbe424530f0720bef36614c1992e4c8d741.jpg

  141. Spiked

    They might not have pitchforks. They might not wave

    torches. But make no mistake – the Remainer fanatics agitating for the

    BBC to dump Julia Hartley-Brewer from this week’s Question Time

    are a mob. They’re a middle-class mob who hurl tweets instead of rotten

    tomatoes at the people they irrationally hate, and who arrogantly

    presume they have the right to expel from polite society anyone they

    disagree with. This is a mob that poses a serious threat to reason and freedom of speech in this country.

    As soon as the Beeb announced that Hartley-Brewer, the journalist, broadcaster and fiery talkRADIO host, would be on QT

    tonight, the mob got into action. They said it was repulsive for the

    national broadcaster to ‘platform’ someone like Hartley-Brewer. They

    demanded that the BBC rethink – that is, it should throw this foul, Brexit-supporting woman off the panel.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2019/10/10/now-the-mob-is-coming-for-julia-hartley-brewer/

      1. To repeat a BTL Comment from the DT’s review of Andrew Neil I posted a few minutes ago:-

        Steven Ward 10 Oct 2019 6:06PM
        XR has a hardcore programme of revolution. As Richard Walton former Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command notes XR are an environmental resistance group with links to anarchist groups and violent terrorist groups.

        “The ‘civil resistance model’ they espouse is intended to achieve mass protest accompanied by law-breaking — leading eventually to the breakdown of democracy and the state. Obscured from public view, these objectives mark Extinction Rebellion’s campaign out as an extremist one that seeks to break down the established civil order and liberal democracy in the UK”.

        They recruit claiming to use the Ghandian ethos of passive protest to swell their ranks. They are in fact linked to anarchist groups such as the Anarchist Communist Group (ACG) and Rising Up.

        As Walton notes:

        “Many followers of Extinction Rebellion are completely unaware of this secondary objective, despite it being readily espoused by their leaders in YouTube posts of their speeches and in their publications. Celebrities, politicians and members of the public have been seduced into believing that Extinction Rebellion’s methods and tactics are honourable and justified, when clearly they are not”.

        Its aim is to “destroy capitalism” and our democracy – and its environmental demands are merely a move towards that.

        A report published by Walton shows that XR aims to achieve a total breakdown of the state and democracy and to achieve “a fundamental change of the political and economic system”.
        According to Rising Up’s manifesto, all private businesses must be abolished and it should be “illegal for any enterprise other than the state and local co-operatives to create the nation’s money”.

        One of Rising Up’s founders, Roger Hallam, is a key figure in XR. He says that XR “will bring [the Government] down and create a democracy fit for purpose and yes, some may die in the process”.

        The Red Brigade pays homage to the original left-wing terrorist organization, based in Italy, responsible for numerous violent incidents, including assassinations, kidnapping and robberies during the so-called “Years of Lead”. Formed in 1970, the organization sought to create a “revolutionary” state through armed struggle, and to remove Italy from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Red Brigades attained notoriety in the 1970s and early 1980s with their violent attempts to destabilise Italy by acts of sabotage.

    3. Not a good idea to sit on a filthy tarmac street with vulnerable babies.

      There are exhibitionists and then their are poseurs pretending to be supporters of Extinction Rebellion.

      I am getting brassed off with this crowd of upper crust protesters. My question is one for Dick, the supposed Metropolitan Police Commissioner. What the fuck are you doing about this shambles?

      1. Cressida Dick’s father, Marcus Dick, was a Philosophy professor at Oxford before moving to UEA where he was the Dean of Students.

        He was a flamboyant and popular character who liked his drink and was very fond of the opposite sex. But this was in the 60’s just a few years after Philip Larkin’s year, 1963, when sexual intercourse began

        Just as Hilary Benn is a great let-down after his father, Tony, Cressida lacks her father’s charm and charisma.

        1. Assuming that her father was a man (usually the case in those far off days) the fact that he “was very fond of the opposite sex’ (i.e. women) would suggest that she did inherit her father’s charm and charisma as far as women were concerned.

          2. Good grief. What sort of woman would be attracted to CressIda Dick?

            We inhabit s strange world where all manner of unattractive perverts have control over us. How perverse. By what means has this happened?

            It is as though all of our worst fears have climaxed at this point in time whereas we never noticed the gathering of the conflicted aspirations of millions of wogs and other foreign undesirables who wish unashamedly to trash our society.

        2. That of course is presuming that her mother did not share her husband’s liking for the opposite sex too!

    4. There’s a child that looks to be 3 or 4 years old, 3rd from the left, being told to, “Suck it, damn you.”

  144. Extinction Rebellion’s clueless doom-mongering is finally getting the scrutiny it deserves

    MATTHEW LESH

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8aa3bfeb5ad64fcd6fe344a854240982e5bb9158881ac5fea65a1f2024a3f731.jpg
    PHOTO: Yesterday, Andrew Neil took an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson Zion Lights to task

    Extinction Rebellion is a doomsday cult, devoid of any association with reality. In normal circumstances, when someone tells you that billions of people are about to die you laugh in their face.

    Not only have Extinction Rebellion been allowed to shut down our streets and waste police resources, they’ve received an overwhelmingly sympathetic hearing from the luvvie media establishment.

    Yet could the tide, finally, be turning as the public tires of the relentless disruption? A YouGov poll released earlier this week found over half of the public oppose Extinction Rebellion’s aim to “shut down London”. Only around a third were in support.

    Most importantly, their dangerous ideas are finally…

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/10/extinction-rebellions-clueless-doom-mongering-finally-getting/

    And there it ends as the DT is being very unsporting in not allowing us to read its articles FOC.

      1. Extinction Rebellion’s clueless doom-mongering is finally getting the scrutiny it deserves
        MATTHEW LESH
        10 OCTOBER 2019 • 6:00PM

        Extinction Rebellion is a doomsday cult, devoid of any association with reality.

        In normal circumstances, when someone tells you that billions of people are about to die you laugh in their face.

        Not only have Extinction Rebellion been allowed to shut down our streets and waste police resources, they’ve received an overwhelmingly sympathetic hearing from the luvvie media establishment.

        Yet could the tide, finally, be turning as the public tires of the relentless disruption? A YouGov poll released earlier this week found over half of the public oppose Extinction Rebellion’s aim to “shut down London”. Only around a third were in support.

        Most importantly, their dangerous ideas are finally being challenged. Yesterday the BBC’s most talented interviewer Andrew Neil took an Extinction Rebellion spokesperson called Zion Lights to task. Lights said Extinction Rebellion “listen(s) to the experts” but “we think it’s a lot worse”. With characteristic precision, Neil exposed her ignorance and lack of willingness to engage on any solutions.

        Yet this kind of creative licence about the impacts of climate change is far too common, and often goes unchallenged. Extinction Rebellion co-founder Roger Hallam has claimed: “we’re facing mass starvation in the next ten years, social collapse, the possible extinction of the human race.”

        These assertions, which went unchallenged when voiced on the BBC’s HARDTalk, are totally nonsensical and unsupported by scientific evidence. They make children unnecessarily anxious about their future.

        Even the most extreme, worst-case scenarios pained by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) go nowhere near these claims.

        The IPCC has said that if no action is taken and emissions keep rising, known officially as the RCP8.5 scenario, we can expect extreme weather events, sea level rises and storms and loss of biodiversity. There are concerns about rising temperatures on food security late in the 21st century. This extreme scenario is considered unlikely by most climate scientists.

        The IPCC’s 1,150 page report on the impacts of climate change does not mention the possibility of human “mass starvation,” “social collapse” or “human extinction” in the next few decades. This is the work of thousands of the world’s top scientists in the field. Climate activists used to accuse sceptics of ignoring the science. How the tables have turned.

        Yet Extinction Rebellion activists must paint an absurd scenario to justify their equally absurd goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2025.

        Extinction Rebellion activists decline to explain how they would achieve this, because it would take a range of extreme policies. It would require the immediate abandonment of non-renewable technologies, prompting higher energy prices and, inevitably, pensioners dying because they cannot afford to heat their homes during winter. It would mean severely limiting or even outright banning overseas family holidays and far fewer flights to transport essential life-saving medicines. It would mean rationing or probably outlawing meat and banning non-electric cars. It would prevent the developing world from industrialising, leaving millions in abject, extreme poverty.

        Importantly and most inconveniently for Extinction Rebellion, their plans would make us much poorer. Unlike their beliefs, we have evidence to support what being poorer actually means: less ability to adapt to climate changes and extreme weather events in the future. The richer we are, the more capable we are of adapting, which is why deaths from extreme weather events have plummeted by 90 per cent over the last century at a time of rising emissions.

        What is most revealing and disturbing about the likes of Extinction Rebellion is their explicit willingness to use climate change to justify eco-socialism. Hallam has said that we’re heading for a “catastrophe” if there is not “fundamental change in the structure of the global economy”.

        It’s perhaps no surprise that old-style socialists like Jeremy Corbyn — who used to complain about Thatcher shutting down coal mines—are happy to jump on the eco-socialist bandwagon. They see it as a neat excuse for seizing control of the economy.

        Climate change is a serious problem. But the free market is well-suited to encourage the innovation necessary to reduce our carbon footprint. Thanks to more efficient technologies we have already seeing a reduction in per capita carbon emissions, with the UK leading the world.

        Further state intervention is needed to encourage action and create the right incentives. But broadly speaking, the market system is perfectly capable of responding to these issues — without the need for apocalyptic predictions or the immiserating solutions demanded by Extinction Rebellion.

        https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/10/extinction-rebellions-clueless-doom-mongering-finally-getting/

        Top BTL Comments
        Andrew Hicks 10 Oct 2019 6:35PM
        The media need to stop giving this bunch of cretins the oxygen of publicity. But of course one can always count on the BBC to pursue its myopic, liberal agenda and invite an XR spokesman on to “Question Time” tonight.

        Let’s hope someone glues him to the floor.

        Robert Ballard 10 Oct 2019 6:32PM
        Andrew Neil totally owned that interview. I must admit, I didn’t realise how ridiculous the ER arguments were.

        Now we know.

        Simon Emery 10 Oct 2019 6:20PM
        The claims regarding CO2 being a problem seem to me to be highly questionable. The mainstream media have simply shut down any attempt to question the so-called science behind this. Real science always questions and debates. There is an abundance of evidence to question some of the ridiculous claims that are are allowed to be aired without any attempt to question their validity. This is wrong. The climate has become not a subject for debate and facts, but a new form of religion, where anyone questioning the dogma is treated as a heretic.

        Steven Ward 10 Oct 2019 6:06PM
        XR has a hardcore programme of revolution. As Richard Walton former Head of the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorism Command notes XR are an environmental resistance group with links to anarchist groups and violent terrorist groups.

        “The ‘civil resistance model’ they espouse is intended to achieve mass protest accompanied by law-breaking — leading eventually to the breakdown of democracy and the state. Obscured from public view, these objectives mark Extinction Rebellion’s campaign out as an extremist one that seeks to break down the established civil order and liberal democracy in the UK”.

        They recruit claiming to use the Ghandian ethos of passive protest to swell their ranks. They are in fact linked to anarchist groups such as the Anarchist Communist Group (ACG) and Rising Up.

        As Walton notes:

        “Many followers of Extinction Rebellion are completely unaware of this secondary objective, despite it being readily espoused by their leaders in YouTube posts of their speeches and in their publications. Celebrities, politicians and members of the public have been seduced into believing that Extinction Rebellion’s methods and tactics are honourable and justified, when clearly they are not”.

        Its aim is to “destroy capitalism” and our democracy – and its environmental demands are merely a move towards that.

        A report published by Walton shows that XR aims to achieve a total breakdown of the state and democracy and to achieve “a fundamental change of the political and economic system”.
        According to Rising Up’s manifesto, all private businesses must be abolished and it should be “illegal for any enterprise other than the state and local co-operatives to create the nation’s money”.

        One of Rising Up’s founders, Roger Hallam, is a key figure in XR. He says that XR “will bring [the Government] down and create a democracy fit for purpose and yes, some may die in the process”.

        The Red Brigade pays homage to the original left-wing terrorist organization, based in Italy, responsible for numerous violent incidents, including assassinations, kidnapping and robberies during the so-called “Years of Lead”. Formed in 1970, the organization sought to create a “revolutionary” state through armed struggle, and to remove Italy from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Red Brigades attained notoriety in the 1970s and early 1980s with their violent attempts to destabilise Italy by acts of sabotage.

    2. Is pure invective any more convincing an argument?

      Like Project Fear coming out of Remainers, I hear precious little to support what they have to say, just rubbishing the Opposition with no substance or foundation in what they have to say. At least the doomsters and Extinction Rebellion have backed up their claims with science and have some vision for a better world.

      I expect the usual thumbs-down.

      1. The Project Fear is coming from the demented environmentalists with their end-of-the-world quasi-religious hysteria. When they start talking coherently about real solutions instead of shouting “BAN FOSSIL FUELS! BAN MEAT EATING!” then the public might listen.

        1. Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, among many other environment conservation organisations have been doing that for decades with only limited success.

          Shooting Bolsonaro would do more to protect the planet right now than banning fossil fuels and compulsory veganism.

  145. This is my response to a comment by William Stanier subsequently erased.

    Years ago when I lived iin Bath there was an idiot preaching in the precinct known as Abbey Churchyard adjacent to Bath Abbey predicting doom every week.

    The appointed idiot was elevated by standing on a wooden crate (in much the same manner as the proselytising John Major standing on his very own soapbox at an election). The message was as ever utterly depressing and wishing hell and damnation on all unbelievers.

    Here we are, fifty or more years later, yet we have the very same doom mongers spouting the same hysterical nonsense.

    It is as if we remain as ignorant now as we were perceived to be then.

    Regrettably for the Climate Catastrophe idiots, we know far more about the subject via the internet and alternative sources of information and will no longer buy their crap.

    1. This is my response to a comment by William Stanier subsequently erased.

      Sorry about that. I couldn’t get the picture in so I deleted and started again.

Comments are closed.