Thursday 21 November: Farming is only the first of many front lines in Labour’s war on business

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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

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

710 thoughts on “Thursday 21 November: Farming is only the first of many front lines in Labour’s war on business”

      1. You will bow down and pay your respects as long as Broadcasting House tells you to – OBEY OR ELSE!

    5. About six months at the BBC. They have devoted most of Radio 4 to his reminiscences and adoration already.

  8. Good morning. Babysitting shortly at the crack o' dawn.
    Some possible good news…..perhaps…..

    🚨BREAKING: Former Top UN War Crimes Prosecutor Dr. Francis Boyle Reveals Bill Of Impeachment Against Biden In Order To Prevent WW3

    Join and share my channel:
    https://t.me/AlexJones_Real

  9. Good morning. Babysitting shortly at the crack o' dawn.
    Some possible good news…..perhaps…..

    🚨BREAKING: Former Top UN War Crimes Prosecutor Dr. Francis Boyle Reveals Bill Of Impeachment Against Biden In Order To Prevent WW3

    Join and share my channel:
    https://t.me/AlexJones_Real

  10. Good Morning Geoff and Early Chums
    Today's Tales – a random bunch of shorts

    Maureen was most surprised to find out that she was pregnant.
    “When did you have your last check up?” asked the doctor.
    “Never!” insisted Maureen. “An Italian, a Frenchman and a Yank, but never a Czech!”

    Scratching his head and totally confused, the gorilla left the zoo library.
    He had just finished reading Charles Darwin’s Origin Of The Species and The Bible and didn’t know whether he was his keeper’s brother or his brother’s keeper.

    Custer’s last words at the Battle of Little Big Horn: “I’ll never understand these damn Indians.
    Just a few minutes ago they were singing and dancing.”

  11. I came across this on Twitter. It kind of sums it up:

    "I much prefer the British spelling of “diarrhea” which is “diarrhoea” because it looks like you’ve lost control of your vowels."

      1. That’s far too profound for me at this hour. I don’t normally see the light of day until 9.30 am.

  14. Jon Sopel’s X Departure Lasts Less Than a Day

    Centrist dad podcaster Jon Sopel declared on Monday that he would be leaving X for Bluesky. His departure was celebrated all over Britain and seen by over a million…

    https://twitter.com/jonsopel/status/1858574742430593530?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1858574742430593530%7Ctwgr%5E928f080d171962840404314850282c7271318897%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Forder-order.com%2F
    It only took 17 hours and 27 minutes for Sopel to return with a photo from the farmers’ protest. He posted again four hours later. Sopel has actually not posted any more frequently on Bluesky than he has on X since he ‘left’…

    Anti-Musk figures like Science Secretary Peter Kyle are threatening to leave X, too – all while busy tweeting. The Spectator has joined under its new pro-Kamala editor…

    Meanwhile, users who join Bluesky are recommended ‘lists’ to follow including one called “Top 50 UK Political Commentators.” Here we go…

    The top six are:

    George Monbiot
    Peter Stefanovic
    Carole Cadwalladr
    Lewis Goodall
    Ian Dunt
    Alastair Campbell

    Is Sopel going to keep defying his X-ile until he makes the cut?

    20 November 2024 @ 17:12

      1. Sir Jimmy Savile OBE
        Pete Lyon
        I hear BlueSky's popular with older people in East Germany, as it reminds them of the old days.

    1. When Starmer resigns, if he is promoted to the Lords (he is almost bad enough to get there), the citation should read "For services to satire, wit and memes"

  18. NetZeroNonsense
    13h
    https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2024/11/20/low-carbon-dispatchable-power/
    In reality, we will have a gas powered transition to a completely nuclear future – intermittent renewables have no place in reality and once the scam is seen clearly by the masses, it’ll be canned leaving wind & solar farms dotted around the nation like relics of a bad time in human history

    https://image.vuukle.com/f3690e85-2aec-49cc-b9e1-cdc89c540de2-d83002fb-303a-4a97-b7bd-f229947496d3

    1. Rather like the pill-boxes dotted around the countryside where I live, now falling to pieces.

    2. People are going to debate this era, the fall of Rome with WiFi, endlessly in the future. There are going to be so many films, books and art created around it. The biggest question is going to be, "How could they believe such nonsense?"

  19. Hong Kong’s freedoms are hanging by a thread. Spiked 21 November 2024.

    Fighting for democracy in Hong Kong can earn you up to 10 years in prison, the High Court ruled this week. On Tuesday, some of Hong Kong’s fiercest advocates for human rights and civil liberties – 45 of the so-called Hong Kong 47 – were sentenced to anywhere between four years and a decade of jail time.

    This is the new Hong Kong. Unjust and disproportionate punishment for dissidents has become commonplace. Meanwhile, a former police officer can sexually assault six children and be sentenced to just 46 months. The message is clear: if you support Hong Kong’s totalitarian regime, no matter how hideous your crimes, you will receive some leniency. But dare to challenge the Chinese Communist Party-controlled government, and you will become a political prisoner.

    So where’s the difference to the UK? After a recent show trial one of our dissidents committed suicide in prison to the complete unconcern of the Political Elites and a deafening silence from the MSM.

    https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/11/20/forty-five-brave-activists-will-spend-up-to-a-decade-behind-bars-for-challenging-the-ccps-tyranny/

      1. Morning Sue. The author could have changed the names around without altering the meaning of her complaint at all.

    2. "But dare to challenge the Chinese Communist Party-controlled government, and you will become a political prisoner." – kit was ever thus.

  21. 399170+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Lets not deceive ourselves any longer these governing party's formed a coalition thirty plus years ago supported via the polling stations by an electorate that saw as far as "you gotta vote
    tory (ino) to keep out labour" (ino).

    The only time they changed that blinkered voting vision was in July 2024, then to vote for the finalise run into the " PUT DOWN " of a once decent nation.

    ALL this brought about by continuing to give support and vote for political ( criminal) cartels, operating deceitfully under the facade of the true Tory / Labour titles.

    Dt,
    Thursday 21 November: Farming is only the first of many front
    lines in Labour’s war on business

    My way of thinking for what it's worth is we are residing in one bloody big ALAMO, can we change history for the better, do we want to change history ? that is down to PEOPLE POWER.

  22. 399170+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Lets not deceive ourselves any longer these governing party's formed a coalition thirty plus years ago supported via the polling stations by an electorate that saw as far as "you gotta vote
    tory (ino) to keep out labour" (ino).

    The only time they changed that blinkered voting vision was in July 2024, then to vote for the finalise run into the " PUT DOWN " of a once decent nation.

    ALL this brought about by continuing to give support and vote for political ( criminal) cartels, operating deceitfully under the facade of the true Tory / Labour titles.

    Dt,
    Thursday 21 November: Farming is only the first of many front
    lines in Labour’s war on business

    My way of thinking for what it's worth is we are residing in one bloody big ALAMO, can we change history for the better, do we want to change history ? that is down to PEOPLE POWER.

    1. That is disgraceful, a return to the 1930s Third Reich. It is happening here too, and if you protest you become a criminal and in danger of being interred with rapists and murderers. Britain is heading towards a Starsi State.

  24. Good morning, chums, and thanks to Geoff for today's site.

    Wordle 1,251 3/6

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    1. Good morning Elsie, well done!
      Too many options today!
      Wordle 1,251 6/6

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

  26. Good morning, all. Overcast, light frost and calm.

    Are the political control freaks – currently Labour but other parties are available – who are currently attempting to destroy our way of life capable of understanding Milton Friedman's elegant description of how a simple artefact i.e. a pencil, comes into being?

    https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859422886789804342

  28. An interesting article about what would happen if there was a panic among Bitcoin users and they all decided to sell.
    Bitcoin is a notoriously slow network, and it has been calculated that the best case scenario would take 1.82 months for every user to sell. Not unlike an old-fashioned queue at the bank then.
    More realistic is perhaps if 10% of users decide to sell…0.182 months…about 5 – 6 days…
    https://thesilverindustry.substack.com/p/bitcoin-warning-it-would-take-about?publication_id=1857579&post_id=151900109&isFreemail=true&r=28gmek&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

      1. Or me! Hence the possible 10% scenario…
        I would trust Bitcoin as an investment more if it had fallen when Trump won the election.
        I got rid of most of mine when it was about 64K…doubling my money, minus what I lost in inflation over the last couple of years – which is significant!
        But actually I do like the decentralised crypto model a LOT…I bought stuff with it, and no bank was involved in the transaction. That is very powerful.

        1. Yes – I kicked myself for having got out at 64K when I saw the 92K price yesterday!
          Your cream off the profits strategy is pretty good though (disclaimer: I know nothing!)
          How long is this magic money train of drunken sailors going to lurch on until it derails…?

  30. Latest Substack post from Rafi Farber out of Israel. It cuts off half way through because you have to be a paid subscriber to get the rest and I am not.

    -Bond market confirms a long-term bear trend, with 10Y yields rising despite Fed rate cuts, reminiscent of past bear markets.
    – Gold's recent 9.3% correction aligns with historical patterns particularly during '09-'11.
    – Record high short positions in 2Y and 5Y Treasuries indicate extreme market positioning, poised for significant impact when monetary systems falter.
    – The blue team tries to start WWIII before they leave office.

    Sorry I didn't put out a weekend report yesterday, but I have a good excuse. My power went out after the first winter storm in Israel. I quickly realized it wasn't the electric company. My breakers went down. I isolated the problem to an outlet in the attic and turned it off. Turns out it got wet and shorted. Apparently, my roof is leaking in about 10 places, but no shingles are broken. Then I realized all the leaks are on the side of the Hezbollah bomb that hit my street back in August and broke my car window, tire, and bedroom window. My roof shingles are all slightly displaced on that side now probably from the force of the explosion. Normally the two lips of each shingle hang over a slab of wood and lock into place but now they all shifted slightly down so I have to edge them all back up.

    It's going to take me a day or two and sore fingers to finish the job but it's doable. Just call me Roofi for the next few days.

    NOW Bomb Russia?!
    The dickheads who run the Federal government, whoever they are, have done some pretty transparently awful things these past 20 years or so, but this is new for its spitting on the entire planet itself as well as everyone who lives on it, man, animal and plant. Having a dementia patient too old to run or even stand trial, whose protégé lost the elections in a landslide, authorize the bombing of Russian cities and the possible triggering of nuclear war, is a new low that digs below even the 7th circle of hell, and I don’t even know what that means.

    Subscribe before Nuclear War breaks out and win a free bottle of iodine tablets!
    Upgrade to paid

    If this doesn't convince you that whoever is in charge is completely insane, and I don't use that in a colorful way I mean for real insane – then nothing possibly can. Hopefully there are enough sane people in the Deep State to stop this, and hopefully Zelensky understands that no, he cannot and should not bomb the cities of a nuclear-armed Putin. I know there are already headlines to the contrary. I hope it's just a show.

    Strangely, I’m not that worried about this. (Maybe I should be.) It feels like the winds have already shifted and this is a desperate ploy to lash out in irrelevance. In fact, in a strange way I see it as a slightly encouraging. If the Deep State is willing to do something as blatantly nuts as this, then it's a sign they probably are losing, in a real measurable way. I think they may actually be cornered. We'll find out shortly.

  31. Latest Substack post from Rafi Farber out of Israel. It cuts off half way through because you have to be a paid subscriber to get the rest and I am not.

    -Bond market confirms a long-term bear trend, with 10Y yields rising despite Fed rate cuts, reminiscent of past bear markets.
    – Gold's recent 9.3% correction aligns with historical patterns particularly during '09-'11.
    – Record high short positions in 2Y and 5Y Treasuries indicate extreme market positioning, poised for significant impact when monetary systems falter.
    – The blue team tries to start WWIII before they leave office.

    Sorry I didn't put out a weekend report yesterday, but I have a good excuse. My power went out after the first winter storm in Israel. I quickly realized it wasn't the electric company. My breakers went down. I isolated the problem to an outlet in the attic and turned it off. Turns out it got wet and shorted. Apparently, my roof is leaking in about 10 places, but no shingles are broken. Then I realized all the leaks are on the side of the Hezbollah bomb that hit my street back in August and broke my car window, tire, and bedroom window. My roof shingles are all slightly displaced on that side now probably from the force of the explosion. Normally the two lips of each shingle hang over a slab of wood and lock into place but now they all shifted slightly down so I have to edge them all back up.

    It's going to take me a day or two and sore fingers to finish the job but it's doable. Just call me Roofi for the next few days.

    NOW Bomb Russia?!
    The dickheads who run the Federal government, whoever they are, have done some pretty transparently awful things these past 20 years or so, but this is new for its spitting on the entire planet itself as well as everyone who lives on it, man, animal and plant. Having a dementia patient too old to run or even stand trial, whose protégé lost the elections in a landslide, authorize the bombing of Russian cities and the possible triggering of nuclear war, is a new low that digs below even the 7th circle of hell, and I don’t even know what that means.

    Subscribe before Nuclear War breaks out and win a free bottle of iodine tablets!
    Upgrade to paid

    If this doesn't convince you that whoever is in charge is completely insane, and I don't use that in a colorful way I mean for real insane – then nothing possibly can. Hopefully there are enough sane people in the Deep State to stop this, and hopefully Zelensky understands that no, he cannot and should not bomb the cities of a nuclear-armed Putin. I know there are already headlines to the contrary. I hope it's just a show.

    Strangely, I’m not that worried about this. (Maybe I should be.) It feels like the winds have already shifted and this is a desperate ploy to lash out in irrelevance. In fact, in a strange way I see it as a slightly encouraging. If the Deep State is willing to do something as blatantly nuts as this, then it's a sign they probably are losing, in a real measurable way. I think they may actually be cornered. We'll find out shortly.

  32. No chance for the ‘far right’ in Starmer’s left-wing justice system

    By Laura Perrins

    November 19, 2024

    THE Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson gave an interview to the Sunday Times which was a very interesting read indeed.

    It started with his desire to get more rapists convicted. These alleged rapists were playing the system by pleading not guilty, and how very dare they do that. I thought we had a presumption of innocence here in the UK, but that is causing problems for the DPP. According to the article, ‘Suspected rapists are seeking to evade justice by deliberately pleading not guilty and waiting for victims to drop out of long-delayed trials, the country’s top prosecutor has warned. Stephen Parkinson, the director of public prosecutions (DPP), said defendants were “taking advantage” of delays in the criminal justice system and “hoping that something will come up” to cause a case to collapse.’

    The article continues: ‘Ten per cent of victims of rape and other serious sexual offences withdraw their support after charges have been brought, he said. Many more do so while police investigate their complaints. Typically, it can take two years to investigate a rape case and another two years to bring it to trial, Parkinson said. “I think that’s outrageous. We see too many victims — usually women — withdrawing their co-operation because of the delay and also because they don’t feel sufficiently supported”.’

    A few things on this. First, and most obviously, everyone including those accused of rape has a right to plead not guilty and exercise the right to a trial by jury. I think it is bad form for the DPP to be out there implying that defendants who enter a not guilty plea and maintain that plea until trial are somehow trying to ‘evade justice’. Surely, it is justice, a trial by jury, that they seek and are entitled to. The DPP is disgracefully casting aspersions on defendants who have entered not guilty pleas to the very serious charge of rape and are awaiting trial as is their legal right.

    It is hardly the defendant’s fault that the criminal justice system has been so trashed, starting with New Labour and continuing with successive Tory administrations, that trials take so long to come to court. Some of these defendants will be remanded in custody until trial, so they suffer as much as the complainant. It is not their responsibility that ‘a record backlog of 71,000 cases are awaiting trial in the nation’s crown courts, up from 38,000 before the coronavirus pandemic’. Justice denied is another legacy of the ruinous lockdown.

    Secondly, and this should not need to be said to the DPP, perhaps the reason why complainants withdraw their evidence is because they are lying and they made a false allegation. It is for the jury to determine the truth – not the DPP who feels under pressure to raise the conviction rate for rape.

    With various improvements to the system, the DPP ‘hopes the moves will encourage suspects to plead guilty at their first court hearing, making them eligible for a reduced sentence’. In reality, even for those defendants who are guilty, what person would plead guilty to such a serious offence at the first opportunity even with a reduced sentence? If defendants are ‘taking advantage’ it is because successive governments have given them the advantage, due to treating barristers like trash, outrageous court delays and systemic underfunding.

    Such is the DPP’s dodgy view on rape trials. I tell you what group of people did plead guilty at the first opportunity, the Far-Right Thugs (herein after referred to as FRT). Stephen Parkinson was asked about this too.

    The Sunday Times said: ‘The biggest challenge faced by Parkinson in the past year has been the riots that engulfed Britain after the killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport in July.’

    Parkinson denied that the response from the CPS, which led to more than 740 people being charged, was ‘draconian’. This was in some ways a national crisis. It was important to show people that if they committed criminal conduct, they would be dealt with swiftly and effectively, he said, adding that the majority of those who were charged pleaded guilty.

    How true this was. The majority of those who were charged pleaded guilty at the first opportunity in the magistrates’ court. And I have been asking myself just why this was the case. The grandfather Peter Lynch who committed suicide in prison should not have pleaded guilty to violent disorder, in my honest and former defence lawyer opinion.

    Having read what I could in the reports and accepting I was not in court at the time, I am left wondering just why did he plead to violent disorder, a serious offence, when his part was minimal? His offence really was abusing a police officer, but as it was part of an overall incident of violent disorder, by pleading guilty Mr Lynch was on the hook for the entire incident which turned very serious. Despite having pleaded guilty Mr Lynch was denied a suspended sentence when any reasonable judge could see that he was vulnerable. But Mr Lynch is too dead to object now. They wanted to teach him a lesson, and I’ll say they did so.

    There are other cases out there where the sentence at least looks disproportionate. But what has troubled me in the last few weeks is just what happened on those first appearances in the magistrates’ court. Of course, it didn’t help that the Prime Minister himself was dragging out the old lectern saying justice would be done, and done swiftly, which intensified an already febrile atmosphere. That was surely the point. And the FRT were given legal advice and ultimately how they plead is entirely their own decision. But all the time people admit offences of which they are not necessarily guilty.

    Further, even if on the facts the FRT were guilty of the offence I am left thinking that if this was a left-wing cause, many would have entered not guilty pleas. This is because left-wing lawyers are well-organised and the word goes out – don’t rush into anything. Wait until we have given you advice and you have considered all your options. This is all perfectly ethical, and indeed effective. It is downright admirable. My only regret is that this is not what happened with the FRT.

    Things can change in trial by jury, the light that shows that freedom lives. These FRT, having taken advice and decided to plead not guilty are perfectly entitled to tell the jury how they honestly felt on the day, how it came to be that they were suddenly far-right thugs.

    ‘Yes, I was angry. Sure I shouldn’t have done what I did but I was furious. I thought of those three girls being stabbed to death and my anger got the better of me. I’m just angry that we have been ignored about immigration for years and years. That my country, my home town, has been changed beyond recognition and no one seems to care. The politicians ignore us time and again – I tried to vote for change but change never comes. So, I got angry. Etc etc.’

    This goes before the jury. To convict in a jury trial you need ten of the 12 jurors to say yes, he was guilty. They can return a not guilty verdict even if the defendant admits the offence in court. It happens all the time and is called jury nullification or jury equity depending on your view. Ten from twelve. I’ll take those odds and any decent defence lawyer should have been willing to take those odds.

    Now it may be the case that the FRT are getting some decent legal advice now. But the reason they all pleaded guilty is that there are simply not enough right-wing lawyers out there who are as organised and as motivated as their left-wing colleagues. This is the problem with right-wing people – they are in the City, doing commercial stuff with commercial people or whatever the heck it is they do all day.

    Where they are not is in the law. But plenty of talented left-wing people are, and they look after their own and play for keeps. The right-wingers are not in the arts, crafting well-told and beautiful stories of the human condition from a conservative point of view. But the lefties are influencing the culture day in and day out. Heck, even in the media there are not enough true conservatives, otherwise this piece would have appeared in the Daily Mail or the Telegraph. They would have been asking, what really happened to the FRT in court? So here I am.

    There we have it. The suspected rapists know how to play the system and will plead not guilty, and hope the trial never happens. Far-right ‘thugs’ on violent disorder charges, or tweeting while angry charges, were just falling over themselves to plead guilty, and receive obviously disproportionate sentences. I am not blaming their lawyers who were there at the time at all. But it might be worth asking just why this happened.

    ************************************

    Jingleballix
    2 days ago edited
    On the Sunday after the disorder commenced, Starmer said, “I can guarantee that there will be arrests, charges and convictions”.

    How on earth could he guarantee convictions??

    To my mind, this outburst, together with the rush to trial, the horrible remarks of stipendary magistrates and the cover-up of the truth about the perpetrator and his family, renders all of these convictions ‘unsafe’.

    These peoples’ cases should be reviewed and they should be released.

    Reuben Wade
    2 days ago
    The people responsible for a great many rapes in the UK that would not otherwise have occurred are the politicians fetching in millions of foreigners from women-hating rapey-inclined cultures without bothering to even know who they are, let alone finding out which is a criminal or not. Perhaps we could have a few of these raype-facilitating politicans put on trial? I am sure a Rotherham jury would find just cause to lock them up for a few years.

    Funny how politicians who recklessly endanger women's safety right across the country go free to enjoy their stonking great salaries, while blokes like Peter Lynch who are basically just asking the police to do their job, albeit in a coarse and animated way, end up dead in jail.

    therealguyfaux ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ
    2 days ago
    This is basically the same sort of message sent in the US against the January 6th defendants, that of "How DARE you oiks presume to protest a state of affair you don't like! Leave the protesting to the people who do it for a living!" This draconian punishment vogue is pour décourager toi et moi from political activism.

    Mary
    2 days ago
    Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has dropped all charges against the two remaining suspects in a convoy of six cars that drove through London in May last year, blasting their horns and screaming “F*** the Jews, rape their daughters.”

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/why-the-law-is-stacked-against-right-thinkers/

    1. It’s all too depressing for words, isn’t it? Genuine far-left thugs, and anti-semites, get let off Scot free, and we have a proto-totalitarian government demanding that its enemies are jailed. But it’s worked.

      1. Seem to be a lot of paedophiles being spared prison too – too crowded with spit flecked far right thugs apparently

    1. 397170+ up ticks,

      O2O,
      No doubt with a better than a "Chinaman" financially to cushion her retirement.

      Chinaman in the construction game end of contract for an industrial tramp, was a
      Weekinloo.

    2. Why do these shits always resign sometime in the future? Just fuck off and take Welby with you, bitch !

      1. 397170+ up ticks,

        Morning Anne,
        You will be answered tomorrow,let us pray it is in the affirmative, the rot is in and this will excellerate it.

  36. It's really really great having a supa-strong HM Opposition against this Starmergeddon regime..

    Eric Trump warns of UK revolt over Labour war on farmers and tells them 'fight like hell'..

    Donald Trump's second son Eric has blasted Mayor of London Sadiq Khan and hinted at tariffs on the European Union as he sends a message to farmers..

  37. From the Substack of Peter McCullough

    "Arcturus Therapeutics has received FDA clearance to proceed with a clinical trial for ARCT-2304, a self-amplifying mRNA vaccine candidate targeting H5N1 pandemic influenza. The Phase 1 clinical trial, funded by the National Institutes of Health (BARDA), will evaluate safety, reactogenicity, and immunogenicity in approximately 200 healthy adults in the United States. The vaccine utilizes Arcturus' STARR® self-amplifying mRNA technology and is part of the company's preparation efforts for potential future pandemics. Neither Arcturus nor BARDA has disclosed what will turn off self-replication or how this new technology will safely stop producing the potentially deadly H5N1 hemagglutinase Spike protein."

    If people can't see how dangerous these things are at this point, nothing can help them.

    1. Meanwhile, I have received another letter offering me various jabs. I've received texts. The GP also offered them to me.
      I wonder how many million letters the NHS has sent out? Even with, presumably, special postage rates, how much is this farrago costing us?

      2. The NHS certainly need to rearrange their operations schedules. I had a voice message yesterday telling me that although I am on the waiting list for my knee op, and along with about 25 other patients back in July at a seminar on knee ops, it could be another 6 months before I am called in.
        An appointment would have been handy it would enable us to plan a little. Too many surgeon's working for the private sector is the real problem. Which they won't admit to.
        Not sure how much longer my second pre op assessment is supposed to last.
        30 days I read and that's the second one.
        How much time and money was involved with all that ? Third time lucky ?

      4. I am so tempted, every time one of those arrives to press the "block and report spam" button. They are soooo tiresome.

  39. Good Moaning.
    Absolutely freezing. Good to see that Milipede's windmills are doing their bit and lowering the temperature.
    We are all saved.

  42. Today Free Speech publishes an open letter to Nigel Farage , asking for clarity on whether Reform is moving away from its radical roots towards a more establishment Tory position, as many perceive to be the case. If you are a Reform member, please circulate it. Under the letter we have a poll asking whether you think Reform is too far to the Right, the Left, or muddling around in the middle. Please vote.

    And we make no apology for saying that Labour’s decision to slash defence spending on the day Storm Shadow Starmer fired long range missiles at Russia, leaving us at the mercy of Putin’s restraint, is pure lunacy. But what do you think? Please vote in the poll at the top of the Today page and let us know.

    https://www.freespeechbacklash.com/

  43. Good morning all.
    A bit chilly this morning with -8°C on the Yard Thermometer. A clear sky without much wind and still lots of snow lying about.

    I see the famous American chat show host, comedienne, actress etc etc etc Ellen DeGeneres has fled the Trump Regime for the UK.
    As if we don't have enough Left Wing, up their own arsehole masticators of the Axminster here already!
    https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1859377174639169804

        1. Well the BBC will just have to pay her much, much more.

          After all, the licence payers can't object.

    2. The Yanks are celebrating. Their gain is our loss!
      They've moved to the Cotswolds apparently. Pity. Used to be nice over there until all the trashy money started flooding in, resulting in abominations like 'Soho Farmhouse.'

    4. Refugee from Montecito does that say? As long as that's the only one. We don't want any more tiring celebs from there.

    5. Given Labour have removed the non-dom tax advantages when she lands HMRC will take 70% of her income.

      Although no doubt she'll find a way to avoid it.

  44. Morning all 🙂😊
    Frosty start again, but not quite as severe as yesterday.
    Labour has started a war on armed forces as well now. Someone needs to get a grip PDQ.

    1. Morning RE.

      Labour has started a war on armed forces as well now – at the same time that Storm Shadow Starmer fires missiles into Russia. Lunacy squared in my view.

      1. It's about time someone with proper respect for the British public and our long established culture stepped in to the frey ……..

      2. Morning Tom, I have just read reports that Russia has fired a NON nuclear loaded ICBM into Ukrainian territory.
        Did the lunatics Starmer, Biden et al really think Putin would not respond in some way.
        God help us, these people has launch buttons at their command, IHT may well be the least of our worries.

        1. Morning. It’s hard not to conclude that provoking a response is exactly what they wanted.

          What not nip over to the article and join the debate?

      3. Morning Tom, I have just read reports that Russia has fired a NON nuclear loaded ICBM into Ukrainian territory.
        Did the lunatics Starmer, Biden et al really think Putin would not respond in some way.
        God help us, these people has launch buttons at their command, IHT may well be the least of our worries.

  45. Yo and good day to you all, from Sunny Costa del Skeg.

    panels are charging, BUT, the OAT is MINUS 3.7

    Looks like I will have to forego my shorts for longs

    2. -8° here 1st thing.
      Despite being a bright sunny day it's barely shifted upwards by 1°!!

  46. Bitcoin has already crashed in spectacular fashion as i am sure you are aware. Hence my policy. Quite a few slebs lost millions because they didn't know what they were doing and fell for all the hype.

    1. My grandmother used to pull her money out if she had doubled it – she believed that being greedy meant you would lose everything!
      Not sure about that rule, but she had another one which is quite good: the more an investment is advertised, the worse it is!
      Another of her rules, born from experience, was Don’t buy War Bonds.

  47. Taken from Stop Press, a daily Audit newsletter.

    Hwang Jailed
    Bill Hwang, the founder of Archegos, has been jailed for 18 years for market deception. Mr. Hwang used derivatives to drive the price of a number of shares which suddenly fell leaving a number of banks nursing $10 billion in losses.

    Adani Charged with Bribery
    Indian billionaire, Gautram Adani, has been charged with bribing Indian officials in order to win favorable terms for solar power contracts. The supporter of Indian premier Modi, he is accused of borrowing money from US banks and using some of the proceeds to pay $250 million in bribes. The trail is apparently documented in PowerPoint presentations. The long reach of US justice is clear from this Department of Justice and SEC case.

    FTX Co-Founder Spared Jail
    Gary Wang, a co-founder of FTX, has been spared jail. He was sentenced to time served and ordered to forfeit his $11 billion in earnings from the FTX fraud. The judge praised him for immediately travelling to the US and assisting with inquiries.

    SRT Market Grows
    It would appear that the US has developed a taste for the market in Systemic Risk Transfers. This is a deal where the risk on a pool of credit assets is transferred to investors in return for a fee. In some cases, banks lend money to these investors to leverage this trade. Up to $16.6 billion in SRT’s has been booked for the first nine months of the year. I am sure I have read this story before. Did it have a happy ending?

    Good to see some comeuppance, but somewhat worrying, particularly the last piece.
    I smiled at the bribery one. Might similar be happening here re green technology, there certainly appears to be big money at stake.

  48. Morning all, in the east we're on -1⁰C or about 21F. I thought it was cool until I saw -8⁰ and -3⁰ being reported elsewhere here. Mind you, wind less than 5mph, so a good walk is on the cards.

  49. 397170+ up ticks,

    A sign of the times, one should not have to ask but current circumstances, as witnessed in police actions call for it
    Will the police / politico's call for a NO PRAYER or ELSE zone
    encompassing the field

    Dt,

    Dog walker finds body of baby in snow-covered field
    Cordon will remain in place around area while Greater Manchester Police investigates

    1. Morning Ogga .

      I guess we are getting used to that sort of news , bodies in car boots, stabbings, house fires , murdered children , starved children , tortured children , discarded dead babies , back yard slaughter , chopped off limbs , and wailing families.

      Back to Victorian times , I suspect .

      1. To be a good liar one needs an excellent memory.
        Reeves appears to be a poor liar with a lousy memory.

        1. Reeves is a very bad liar – everybody can see that she lies almost instinctively. The best liar is a liar whose lies are never detected!

        2. I am a pathological truth-teller. Why? Because it takes too much effort to remember what you said when you were lying.

      2. “Pathological lying is defined by some experts as lying five or more times daily, every day, for longer than six months”

        So the whole of the Liebour front bench then!

      3. “Pathological lying is defined by some experts as lying five or more times daily, every day, for longer than six months”

        So the whole of the Liebour front bench then!

  52. Morning all ,

    Garden is still green , the solar powered mole deterrents are doing their job .. brrr cold , 3c.

    I guess because we are nearer the sea , we won't see any snow .

    Dorchester and surrounding area has had snow , enough to cause a bit of disruption , slidey stuff .

    Sky looks dark , currently raining .

    Whoops spoke too soon, whitey stuff, grail or whatever falling .

  53. Good morning, our friends.

    Global Warming report: First snow in November we have seen here in the last 36 years. It is no longer pretty it is slushy and messy, wet, cold and shoe-penetrating.

    Homewood’s home truths about the weather
    James Dent: https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/homewoods-home-truths-about-the-weather/

    I know Net Zero is a scam; you know Net Zero is a scam; Reeves and Starmer know it is a scam; even Maniac Miliband the Malignant in his very few sane moments knows it is a scam.

    The only person who does not know it is a scam is our new enlightened King, Charles III.

    1. Don't tell the moron Monbiot. He said we would never see snow again. LIke all Left wing greeniac communists, he was not only lying, but doing so deliberately.

  54. Good morning, our friends.

    Global Warming report: First snow in November we have seen here in the last 36 years. It is no longer pretty it is slushy and messy, wet, cold and shoe-penetrating.

    Homewood’s home truths about the weather
    James Dent: https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/homewoods-home-truths-about-the-weather/

    I know Net Zero is a scam; you know Net Zero is a scam; Reeves and Starmer know it is a scam; even Maniac Miliband the Malignant in his very few sane moments knows it is a scam.

    The only person who does not know it is a scam is our new enlightened King, Charles III.

  55. BREAKING NEWS https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14109049/Putins-Storm-Shadow-revenge-Moscow-unleashes-ICBM-time-savage-Ukraine-blitz-warns-hit-base-POLAND-NATO-jets-scrambled-Kyiv-fired-UK-missile-Russian-territory.html

    Moscow threatens to attack POLAND: Kremlin warns it can strike US base using 'advanced weapons' as NATO scrambles jets and Putin unleashes ICBM in Ukraine for first time after Storm Shadow strike
    Ukraine's air force reported an ICBM had been fired from southern Russian base
    It is the first time Ukraine has been hit with an ICBM since war broke out in 2022
    By DAVID AVERRE and OLIVIA CHRISTIE and WILL STEWART

    Published: 08:45, 21 November 2024 | Updated: 09:39, 21 November 2024

    Russia this morning threatened to strike US air bases in Poland with 'advanced weapons' just hours after it reportedly launched an intercontinental ballistic missile as part of a brutal barrage of targets in Ukraine.

    Moscow said the opening of a new US ballistic missile defence base in Redzikowo near the Baltic coast will 'increase the overall level of nuclear danger', adding the base had been added to a list of possible targets for Russia.

    1. The Western warmongers, afraid of peace, are hard at it in an attempt to keep the military industrial complex in profit because Donald Trump will stop it. So let's do as much damage as possible and kill as many people as possible.

      I hope that those who blame Putin and Russia wake up to the blatant aggression of the West because it should be obvious by now and have the good grace to figure out that we are not the good guys in this conflict. Which, I have to say 80%, and I'm being generous, most people have no idea about nor the foggiest clue about it's history or what a lie this conflict is based upon. Honestly, it makes me want to spit!

      1. I have mentioned this oddity twice before. The Russians tend to be very methodical and very up front about what they intend to do. To announce and then go at it. Why? I don't actually have an answer for, it seems to be a cultural trait, but they do it all the time.

  56. Morning all. It is very dark here and cold. Evidently the cat still thinks its night time, he is still curled up in my bedroom on his heating pad under a small table, he picked the spot. It's his Chez nook. 😊

    For those who do not have access to the Telegraph. A story related to the Farmers so related to todays topic and featuring Jeremy Clarkson.

    Why Jeremy Clarkson could be Britain’s Donald Trump
    The presenter is never reluctant to share his opinions, but his current defence of farmers may catapult him into mainstream politics

    Almost exactly 15 years ago, Prospect magazine published an essay headlined “Little England’s biggest boy”. It was about Jeremy Clarkson, who at that point had 49 years on the clock and was halfway through his Top Gear joyride. Clarkson, the piece posited, “is more than a belligerent television presenter – he voices the grievances of millions.”

    The previous year, in 2008, a petition called “Make Jeremy Clarkson prime minister” attracted just shy of 50,000 signatures. He also won the 2009 Plain Speaking Personality prize, a celebration of anti-political correctness, beating Simon Cowell, Jeremy Paxman and Sharon Osbourne. Clarkson, it seemed, was primed for a pivot.

    Yet for all the encouragement, he did not enter parliamentary politics, just as the article eventually concluded: “His earnings would suffer catastrophically, and so would a reputation that can only co-exist with irresponsibility. He is, in any case, in a better political place. His core fans are angry, not political.” At the time Clarkson insisted he’d be a “rubbish” leader.

    That was then. Clarkson has since become a farmer, a staggeringly rich one with a TV series and retail and hospitality empire, but still technically a farmer. His core fanbase has therefore changed: he now doesn’t mainly represent motorists and people whose personalities are founded on “calling a spade a spade”, but the agricultural community, too. They’re still angry, but thanks to the inheritance tax changes in Labour’s Autumn Budget, they’re also very much political, too.

    And judging by the sight of Clarkson yesterday – on stage in Parliament Square, microphone in hand, indignant rabble roused by his demands of the Government – so is he. If party politics wasn’t for him in 2008, perhaps it was because he didn’t feel strongly enough about any one issue, besides speed limits. He does now.

    “I’m not supposed to be talking but I’ve got a few things to say…” he began his impromptu speech at the vast demonstration by farmers yesterday by saying. (The TV presenter had been told not to attend the rally by his doctors following a heart operation.) In less than five minutes, he then roamed around between self-deprecation, empathy, concise analysis of the issues and, for the hardcore at the back, a bit of BBC bashing.

    It was a political speech in the wellies of activism. Here was a brutally charismatic, multi-millionaire media figure connecting with the broken and the seething in a way that traditional politicians could only dream of. On the other side of the Atlantic, another man matching that description, Donald Trump, has just won an overwhelming election victory that will put him back in the White House.

    “The thing about Clarkson is that he’s an authentically English figure. We all know a Clarkson, or a few Clarksons. There’s always been, if not affection, at least a lot of wry amusement with him, which is why he’s got away with various things over the years,” says James Frayne, a former government department director of communications and now a founding partner of opinion research agency Public First.

    “The difference between someone like Clarkson and someone like Gary Lineker is that, in the latter case, it feels very learnt, as if he’s gone on this journey into woke nirvana. Rightly or wrongly, Clarkson always just appears an authentic version of himself. He exudes a degree of consistency. That and he’s just a lot cleverer…”

    The prospect of Jeremy Clarkson becoming Britain’s answer to Donald Trump is far-fetched in a lot of ways – not least the differences in political systems in the UK compared to the US, and the fact that Clarkson has given no indication of stepping away from his Cotswolds fiefdom any time soon – but the appetite is there.

    “Genuinely think that if Jeremy Clarkson entered politics now – it could be a moment. Britain’s Trump moment – but far more English and less authoritarian,” the pollster James Kanagasooriam wrote on X earlier this month.

    “He has reach, a massive TV show, part of the nation’s mental furniture. He has become the countryside’s most effective representative in decades. He’s far more heterodox than his opponents suggest. Winds up all the right people. Everyone hollering at me with political mechanics.”

    Whatever the impression given by some London media figures might be, Clarkson is arguably the most popular person in Britain. His antics on Top Gear and Amazon’s The Grand Tour and his regular opinion columns, all of which were laced with his trademark hyperbole (the catchphrase “… in the world”, for instance, but also his talent for similes, as displayed to the farmers when he called chicken from abroad “so full of chlorine it tastes like a swimming pool with a beak”), helped cement his fame. But it is Clarkson’s Farm that has seen his appeal soar.

    In it, his disregard for the political establishment has been literally rooted in British soil, and given a purpose beyond entertainment. Now, when he speaks, people listen – and far more than they do to traditional politicians. Social media popularity can be brittle, but in his case the contrast is stark: his combined X (Twitter) and Instagram following is just shy of 18 million, nine times that of Sir Keir Starmer, and double Labour’s popular vote in 2024.

    “If you were going to have a British Trump, that person would need to be great on TV, popular, and someone who gains traction because they can create dividing lines and build a brand off public opposition as much as support. They’d need clear views and, like Trump, give off a sense of having common sense and mainstream values in the face of wokeness and political weakness,” Frayne says. “They’d also need to be rich, so they don’t have to worry about the next pay cheque while they wage political battles.”

    Clarkson, who he says is “intelligent, and quick on his feet in debates”, fits the bill. But there are obstacles. “The nature of the British system makes this difficult, compared to the US. But he wouldn’t find it difficult to find a seat, and like Nigel Farage and Reform, who were able to change UK politics from the outside in drawing the support of Conservative activists and councillors, he could do it.”

    But one outstanding issue, Frayne says, is that Clarkson’s politics are difficult to pin down. We know what he furiously doesn’t like, but we don’t yet know what he does. “I have always said the Government should build park benches and that is it. They should leave us alone,” he once said.

    As it is, the Government does far more than build park benches. Clarkson, and his furious acolytes, know this all too well. Their ire may yet force Little England’s biggest boy to grow up and do something about it.

    2. Government does very little that 'needs' to be done. The rest could come from private enterprise if it needs doing at all. In most cases, it doesn't.

    2. The anti-Israel crowd managed to project 'From the River to the Sea' onto the Houses of Partliament.

      Isn't there some laser technology that can be used to paint this Reeves lie about the heating allowance upon the Walls of 11, Downing Street and on every place this mendacious and evil witch goes? The Opposition's PR department ought to employ Banksy to help do it.

  58. This morning I walked the Springer in the forest in the pouring rain. Halfway round it started sleeting. As we approached the end it was snowing hard. We don't see a lot of snow in East Dorset. Still snowing at 0950.

  59. 397170+ up ticks,

    First time could very well herald the last time, anyone for a portion of mushrooms.

    breitbart london,

    Ukraine Fires British Storm Shadow Long-Range Missiles on Russia for First Time: Report

  61. Kitchen sink drama. Washing dishes, looked out the window and its snowing!!! That just doesn't happen here, in West Sussex, at this time of year. I actually though I was seeing things.

    1. I have the Isle of Wight in front of me and the South Downs behind me. Rarely do i get snow. It's falling now.

      1. Snow was so far from my mind that my initial thought was ash from a bonfire. And where you are snow is as rare, if not more so, than here. I wonder how many old people dying will be enough for this government? It looks like deaths will start early this year.

    2. One morning many years ago I arrived at work to find myself following him in to Television Centre. He was clearly identifiable, even from the back.

  63. Back to the letters:

    "while being careful not to upset the public – who are on our side – by being a nuisance on the streets."

    Whilst sticking with Farming:

    A wolf in sheep's clothing????

  64. Skies turning blue. Frost and cold remain. Quite a nice morning, in a chilly sort of way.

    Repair work started on the road. What is dispiriting about the roadworks is that it they are being done to REPAIR roadworks carried out in a shockingly bodged way a couple of years ago – at that time to repair a badly resurfaced road after Anglian Water's contractors had laid a new sewage system and left the road full of dips and holes.

    The cost must be many thousands. And no one cares.

    1. All the more galling when you consider that there are Roman roads surviving in better condition?

  66. Starmer's brand of politics is dying – Clarkson could deliver the fatal blow

    The public are turning to heterodox outsiders all over the world. One man is ideally placed to do so here

    Allister Heath
    20 November 2024 7:32pm GMT

    Jeremy Clarkson, your country needs you! Please take a sabbatical from Diddly Squat Farm, and enter the political fray. You would eat this dreadful Labour Government alive, and send our rotten, virtue-signalling ruling class into a blind panic. Britain longs for change, for a plain-spoken outsider to disrupt our rancid political system.

    The Left in every country has always despised kulaks and yeomen-farmers, accusing them of hoarding land and other crimes against socialism.

    Clarkson is having none of it: he tore into Labour's class warriors, demanded the mass sacking of civil servants, exposed the BBC's bias and accused the Government of seeking to "ethnically cleanse the countryside of farmers" in order to "carpet bomb" it with windfarms. After years of apologetic, cowardly, defeatist mush, it was precisely what Britain's Right-coded electorate wanted to hear.

    I would urge Kemi Badenoch, who is having a good start to her leadership, to sign up Clarkson in a tailor-made, high-profile role; if she doesn't, Farage will presumably forgive the TV star's uncharacteristic support of Remain, and offer him a central position.

    For now, as a result of the sabotaging of Brexit, the implosion of the 2019 administration and an endless series of Tory betrayals and idiocy, our politics is out of sync with our culture. We are lumbered with an extremely Left-wing Government, just as the mood throughout the country, the English-speaking world and Europe drifts ever more to the populist Right. Keir Starmer was a lucky general, but he is stuck in the past, citing the BBC, whose relevance is fast waning, in his defence.

    Half of young British men aged 18-35 would have voted for Donald Trump, twice the proportion that voted Tory or Reform combined. Women and older voters are much less keen, but the shift among the young "manosphere" – which never watches the BBC – is remarkable, and partly due to a dramatic backlash against wokery.

    Jim Blagden of More in Common explains that of Britain's pro-Trump, non-Tory voters, a third are young men, a fifth are from minority ethnic groups, and 38 per cent have been to university. The Trump coalition exists in Britain too: to be marshalled, it requires a non-establishment, unconventional leader dedicated to perpetual war against the Blob.

    James Kanagasooriam, the pollster, rightly argues that "if Jeremy Clarkson entered politics now – it could be Britain's Trump moment – but far more English and less authoritarian".

    Social media, YouTube and podcasts, turbocharged by algorithmic targeting, have gained hugely in influence, dethroning the old gatekeepers. Repeated failures and extreme arrogance mean that trust in experts, in professional politicians and traditional, corporate institutions has collapsed.

    The public are turning for leadership and inspiration to heterodox, charismatic figures who transcend neat ideological boxes – of which Clarkson is one of Britain's pre-eminent examples.

    Trump, a former Democrat, property developer and TV star, is obviously the greatest beneficiary to date of this remarkable trend. Boris Johnson in his original incarnation tapped into it beautifully, and Nigel Farage is a current beneficiary. In North America, Elon Musk, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the podcaster Joe Rogan and the psychologist Jordan Peterson are notable cases. In Argentina, Javier Milei, an economics professor famous for his myriad TV appearances, has become the world's first anarcho-capitalist president.

    Crucially, all of these figures are distinct from the Taylor Swifts, Eva Longorias and other showbiz stars whose campaigning for Kamala Harris was so ineffectual. Celebrity per se isn't enough, and neither is being a talented musician or singer: the public craves substance, a commitment to the public interest, a rejection of the current pensée unique and self-sacrifice.

    Clarkson is in the same category as J K Rowling, one of the heroes of our times, Martin Lewis, the personal finance guru (who is superhumanly popular on Left and Right) and Marcus Rashford, the Leftist footballer.

    The fools who were laughing at Trump and Musk a few weeks ago are sneering at Clarkson today. They never learn. Speaking only to their echo chambers, they don't understand Clarkson's appeal, just as they cannot fathom why Trump gains from eating McDonald's or why he is treated as a conquering hero by Ultimate Fighting Championship stars and fans. They don't realise that cancel culture is in retreat, that ordinary people are fed up of being looked down upon and told what to do by credentialled elites, and that the Left is slowly being ousted from the commanding heights.

    Clarkson, who never went to university, is exceptionally popular: his net favourability rating is +17 per cent, according to JL Partners. All the main politicians are in negative territory, with Badenoch at -1 and Farage at -10 leading the pack. Reeves is at -16 and Starmer at an abysmal -22.

    Clarkson's authenticity is key. He's pro-freedom, ready to stand up to the mob, a liberating force. The vast majority of the population are not race and class addled, and they appreciate the fact that Clarkson doesn't apologise for being white, a public-school boy and prosperous. He is who he is, and you can take him or leave him. He speaks his mind, and hates what used to be called political correctness. His wealth and success help, rather than hinder, his popularity: the public realise that he has a lot to lose, like Trump, Rowling and Musk, and they respect him for alienating his luvvie erstwhile friends.

    We have also become a little more American: most of us admire his success and talent, rather than resent it. Nobody cares whether or not Clarkson originally bought agricultural land to avoid tax. He clearly truly loves farming. Almost everybody would avoid inheritance tax if they could: it is a loathsome form of legalised theft. Labour's decision to double down on support for the almost universally reviled death tax is politically incompetent, and demonstrates their capture by proto-Marxist ideologues. The fact that only a few farms will be destroyed in the first instance is irrelevant: it's the principle that counts, and we are on a slippery slope.

    I've become something of a pessimist in recent years, but Clarkson's performance fighting for Britain's farmers has filled me with hope again. Change is possible after all. If Clarkson enters politics, Labour should be very afraid indeed.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/20/jeremy-clarkson-britain-defeat-lying-labour

    1. Good post, William…as I say below wouldn't be surprised if already approached by Reform. As for Ms Badenoch, I voted for her…possibly wrongly (I wouldn't again).

      1. Good morning, KJ

        I didn't vote for anyone in the Conservative Party leadership election as I am not a party member.

        However had I had a vote I would have voted for the person most likely to destroy the party from within.

        I am not sure that Reform is the best alternative right of centre party to replace the Conservatives but at the moment it seems to be the only realistic alternative we have. However I am certain that the sooner the Conservative Party and the Labour Party are wiped off the political map the better!

        1. I hear you, Rastus..believe me. However, I fear the alternative could be worse, some kind of strong arm guy. We really need another (early days) Thatcher, and soon.

      2. Kemi wrote a very good uplifting article in the Sunday Times.

        We hope and pray that she means it, and it's not just politicians' twaddle.

        1. I don’t subscribe, janetH…if you have time to precis/bullet points, much appreciated (if not, no probs, Kate x)

        2. Hi janet…some of my comments getting lost in the cloud, again. I asked if you had a precis of what she said? No probs if not. Kate x

          4. Their affiliation could depend on place of birth, their upbringing, their education, their family situation, their life experiences etc. All my family were Labour or (old)Liberal voters, apart from me and my grandmother – she was a RF fan, I was a Thatcher fan. The only two Conservative voters. Go figure….:-D

      3. The party should have voted for Jenrick because he understands the threat from Islam. He made that quite clear in mentioning, in the context of danger from immigrants, that he had three daughters. He has, as they say, skin in the game, Badenoch does not. He is also English and I'm rather sick of people who can run off to elsewhere if the murd hits the fan. This is our home but it feels like we are being muscled out of it.

        1. I liked and appreciated his stance on Chagos Islands. Where he stumbled I think was in the TV debate, the one also featured Badenoch – she seemed to come across a little better and many people thought so. I liked what RJ’s colleagues said about him being a decent person, and hard-working. Always a good idea to get constituents/colleagues incl civil servants views, I reckon (speaking of civil servants, see how they dobbed in Cleverly, a non-starter candidate imo).

    2. Jeremy Clarkson has just had a heart operation and is no fit state to lead the country. Right now, he needs to convalesce.

    3. "Starmer's brand of politics is dying …"

      It's taking its time! I wish it would bloody hurry up.

  67. Lionel Shriver
    The true meaning of free speech
    From magazine issue:
    23 November 2024

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Lionel-Getty_b4cb51.png

    Right after Donald Trump’s landslide, I opined on YouTube that this turning point could sound the death knell for Woke World – an observation that decayed to hoary cliché within hours. I also supposed that Trump’s triumph might signal to the UK that all that diversity, equality and inclusion/systemic racism guff is totally yesterday – in the hopes that even if Brits don’t care about fairness, rationality and reason, they might at least be horrified by appearing passé.

    I regret not getting that cheerful forecast in print, because I rarely write optimistic columns, and the window for celebrating this crippling blow to poisonous progressive politics has already closed. Last week’s persecution of the beguiling Daily Telegraph journalist Allison Pearson by Essex Police is a reminder that we can’t defeat a lethal social brain cancer just by staying up late on a Tuesday night. Identitarians have engaged in their long march through the institutions, and for the long march in reverse we’ll have to lace up our boots. Obsession with race, ethnicity and ‘gender’ now permeates even law enforcement, and removing wokery’s pernicious influence from civic life will be as tedious as picking crab.

    My friend and colleague, Allison has a loyal, passionate following. Few journalists have so consistently stuck their necks out for individual readers. During Covid, Allison was a lifeline for distraught Britons, who wrote in by the thousands to the lockdown-sceptical Planet Normal podcast she records with Liam Halligan. She’s read every email, sometimes intervening to provide practical help. Funny, fiery and ferocious, Allison makes a foolish target for race grifters and officious authoritarian cops alike.

    More because she’s so beloved than merely because she’s a journalist, the story of her case has roiled for days. On Remembrance Sunday, two Essex Police officers knocked on her door to inform her that a ‘victim’ of a year-old tweet had reported her for inciting racial hatred – though they wouldn’t say which tweet or who had complained. The force has since made a huffy to-do in the papers over assumptions that this visit regarded a ‘non-crime hate incident’ (NCHI); they claim to be investigating a criminal crime.

    Those of you who imagine that all crimes are criminal crimes would be sorely mistaken. The likes of NCHIs explain why the adjectives ‘Orwellian’ and ‘Kafkaesque’ have grown so shopworn – though as a novelist I’m heartened that literary icons are still semantic touchstones during an era when no one reads. (How many folks who fling those descriptors about have ever read Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Trial?) For police to pursue citizens for ‘non-crimes’ is a little like bin men coming round to your house to pick up ‘non-rubbish’ – thus hauling away your new sitting-room sofa.

    As for Allison’s criminal crime, details have emerged. During the hot-headed days following 7 October, she retweeted what she thought was a photo of a group of pro-Palestinian Muslim protestors and three Met Police officers, remarking: ‘How dare they. Invited to pose for a photo with lovely peaceful British Friends of Israel on Saturday police refused. Look at this lot smiling with the Jew haters.’ Alerted to the fact that she had mistaken Manchester Police for the Met and supporters of Imran Khan’s Pakistani political party for pro-Palestinian protestors, she immediately deleted the tweet.

    Was Allison in error? Sure. That’s one of the problems with X/Twitter: the format encourages impulsivity, while if publishing in the Telegraph she’d have looked before leaping. But while obviously all Muslims aren’t ‘Jew haters’, her underlying objection to two-tier policing and overt but unprosecuted anti-Semitism during pro-Hamas protests in London has been echoed by other journalists.

    The complainant – an upstanding member of the public, aka a sanctimonious busybody – told the Guardian that the tweet was ‘racist and inflammatory’. A non-Muslim who’s clearly a type I call ‘Looking for a problem’, the digital curtain-twitcher further asserted: ‘Each time an influential person makes negative comments about people of colour I, as a person of colour, see an uptick in racist abuse towards me and the days after that tweet are [sic] no different.’ To perceive a discernible increase in ‘racist abuse’ directed at oneself personally due to a single careless X post among 500 million daily would require Princess and the Pea sensitivity. The complainant, who needs to learn that correlation is not causation, is a nut.

    The solution here isn’t to raise the threshold of what constitutes a ‘non-crime hate incident’, a concept that would be right at home in (another literary touchstone) Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The very existence of such a category leaves the UK open to international ridicule.

    The solution is to abolish eye-of-the-beholder ‘hate speech’ laws altogether. With real free speech, we could indeed legally claim: ‘All Muslims are Jew haters.’ Then other folks would be free to pile in and say that’s a lie. With real free speech, we could legally make sweeping, unfounded generalisations about whole groups of people, from ‘women shouldn’t be given the vote’ to ‘the Chinese have no personality’. Believe it or not, with real free speech, we should legally be able to assert plainly – toughen up, boys – ‘I hate gays’. Real free speech means even outright expressions of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamo-trans-homo-phobia are not crimes, unless they’re incitements to violence. Were hatred subject to legislation, parliament might as well ban greed, cowardice and not being a nice person. The whole notion of ‘protected characteristics’ violates the principle of equality under the law.

    Struck down by the US Supreme Court as unconstitutional, ‘hate speech’ laws are an illiberal legacy of Woke World. As David Starkey has astutely observed, progressives like Tony Blair have inverted the prime directive of western democracies from instituting the will of the majority to protecting the rights of minorities, the rights of majorities be damned. We are rewarding touchiness and polarisation. We’re punishing a fine journalist, now justifiably anxious over whether bashing out one unthinking tweet will land her in jail. Our opinions and hasty online mistakes are none of the police’s business. Kamala Harris wants to ‘turn the page’? Well, so do I.

    ********************************

    Charlieray15
    8 hours ago
    David Starkey also points out that the entire legal legacy of Blair must be repealed if Britain is to thrive again.

    1. Yeah great read.. then, the good people of UK wake up and realise:
      These nutters are power for five more years..
      With a majority of 174..
      HM doesn't have an Opposition..
      The Right are fractured by in-fighting..
      They control every single institution..
      And have proved beyond doubt they are prepared to jail you for so much as a deleted Tweet..

    2. "…… But while obviously all Muslims aren’t Jew haters’."

      I confess I have not read the Qu'ran but does it not say something about it being obligatory to kill all Jews?

      1. It is a hadith, I quote: "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him."

        Now how can anyone decent be accused of a hate crime for criticising Islam?

        1. religion of all kinds is absurd and details killing the other. Back before religion was codified by the laziest man in the village it told the tribe how to survive. That meant opposing other groups come to take your crops/food/women.

          As a result when the cunning, lazy, thoroughly nasty bloke realised he could get out of the hunt by blocking access to the old dude he became more powerful. Overtime he found fancy dress and started to wear a big hat. The difference is muslim has never grown out of the cave man savage while Christianity did that some 600 years ago and now is far less militant (unless you could the WI).

          1. Well, I don't agree with your assessment of religion, it lacks in depth understanding of what it really is about. But, all the same, I agree with your observation that: "…muslim has never grown out of the cave man savage…" But I would argue also, that Islam is not a religion per se. It has many features that are unique to it and are contrary to all other world religions. For example it does not practice or speak of the Golden Rule, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'

        2. And from the Q'uran:

          “Slay the unbelievers wherever you find them.” Qur’an 2:191

          ………..so even Rastus is not safe from genuine Muslims.

    3. The whinging person of colour – a black – deserves all the abuse they get – thing is, it's not because they're black – it's because they're an odious, obnoxious, nasty, bitter individual pretending everyone like them is the same because they' can't bear the truth: they are the problem.

    4. Indeed. Such officious over-reactions are invariably dubbed "Orwellian" or "Kafkaesque" by those with limited imagination.

      Does no one possess the wit or the imagination to come up with something more sinister and original (and less clichéd and hackneyed)?

      Such as "Huxleyist".

    2. What does he know?

      Wish they would stop teasing us.
      Just tell the world he's a Czech commie plant.

  69. Blair had the low cunning to realise that he could still sell the New Labour lie with Prescott as vice captain of the team; indeed Blair saw that he needed to keep his old supporters on side while attracting the new middle class voter.

    Farage needs to realise that he needs Tommy Robinson in the same way that Blair needed Prescott.

    1. Tom Armstrong over at FreeWhatsitdotCom is arguing that Farage should reassess and go all in Trump-style fashion guns firing off.
      Finish off the job Israel..
      Stop importing Muslims until we know what's going on..
      “Just stay calm. It will go away.”

      1. I think all Farage is doing is trying to become the "wise elder statesman" of the establishment, that's why he's trying not to rock the boat. Pulling back from Islam and the invading illegals and pretending there's nothing we can do about it. He will be happy when he is given a title and he can bloviate in the House of Lords. He's a puffed up weasel. I note that Andrew Bridgen has called him a coward and he is not the only person to say that. Farage will throw anyone under the bus for the sake of Farage. He should be ousted from Reform and Ben Habib reinstated.

        1. He might have been threatened a few times. Once someone loosened some of the wheel nuts on his car and there was a problem once when he was flying in a small private plane.

    3. IIRC Mr T Rob has a conviction for something involving violence, which makes him toxic for politicians. In any case soon it will scarcely matter which party is in control, because Artificial Intelligence is going to eat most of us for breakfast. Paper pushers first, and that will include many university courses.

  70. Cold and wet with winds forecast:
    Not bad: Wordle 1,251 3/6

    🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
    🟩⬜🟩🟨🟩
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  72. What's all this Qu'ran malarkey, Richard? For all your life and mine it is called the Koran in English. Grrr.

    1. Correctly there is also no Islam and no Muslims or Moslems. There are Mohammedans who follow Mahomet. However, the pagans don't like our traditional view of them and we're willing to trash our own heritage to appease them.

      1. Piedmont/Piemonte; Hercules/Heracles; Boadicea/'Boudicca'; Becket/à Becket; Peking/'Beijing' …

      2. The daftest is Madras/Chennai. The inference is that the British took over an Indian city called Chennai and renamed it as Madras but the reality is that the British East India Company built Madras. It had no prior existence and therefore no other name.

      4. Is there a framework by which decisions are made about how we, in the United Kingdom, are to pronounce foreign place names? There appears to be no consistency. I'll contentedly go along with Mumbai and Kolkata if it can be established why we are not enjoined to say Paree for Paris, Bearlean for Berlin, Roma for Rome or Mahdhreedh for Madrid, just four examples of many where we differ from the natives of those places. Come to that, why are we not encouraged to call the four Nordic nations of mainland Europe, Norge, Sverige, Danmark and Suomi? Might racial disparity have a part to play? We appear to defer to those who are racially rather different to us, less so to those who are more alike.

    3. What's with all the 'Mao Zedong' malarky too? I grew up with Mao tse Tung. Also 'Qaddafi' was Gaddafi.

  73. Доброе утро, товарищи,

    A. bit late today. Minor domestic upheaval – nothing serious. Cloudy, Wind North-East 1-2℃ all day.

    I haven't read down so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2a40c8e8c2f564ff93dc1856387d3d943e82b03124696b0833cfc2c0b2866a57.png
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/11/20/government-slashes-500m-from-defence-as-storm-shadows-fired/

    Launch a Storm Shadow at Russia – it may have been Ukrainians who pushed the button but, be under no illusion, British serviceman/technicians will have done the programming and targetting – then cut Defence by half a bill.

    Intellectual giants. Not.

    1. All I have picked up in the past few minutes is some chap styling himself "the shadow minister for defence" thinks that that is absolutely the right thing to do.

      Good to see we have a proper opposition at Westminster now that the previous "opposition" has been elevated…

    2. All I have picked up in the past few minutes is some chap styling himself "the shadow minister for defence" thinks that that is absolutely the right thing to do.

      Good to see we have a proper opposition at Westminster now that the previous "opposition" has been elevated…

    3. This article points out that the Army's drones will be scrapped.

      What it didn't reveal is the Sky Business News announcement that the SIF (a British Government

      investment fund) is giving money to a Portuguese company to develop drones for NATO.

      Does anyone think that it would be a better idea to spend British taxpayers' cash in Britain?

      1. They've got the drones, we haven't. We, also, can't make them. It's simply cheaper. The UK has deliberately destroyed our manufacturing base. Thus it moves somewhere cheaper – with massive EU funding, which we provide.

        Chances are they were designed here, with UK software and electronics. It's a sad irony.

        1. Sky claims that they are being designed and built in Portugal. I rest my case.

          However it is interesting that my suggestion that British taxpayers' funds are

          best spent in Britain received only one upvote.

          Readers may contemplate the ramifications of this at their leisure.

    4. From the Daily Telegraph

      Russia ‘fires intercontinental ballistic missile’ at Ukraine for first time
      Daniel Hardaker21 November 2024 • 11:20am
      Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine for the first time on Thursday morning, Kyiv’s air force said.

      The missile was launched from Astrakhan and targeted critical infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, it added.

      Ukrainian officials said Dnipro was also hit with other weapons including several cruise missiles and a medium range ballistic missile.

      A rehabilitation centre for people with disabilities was damaged and a fire broke out at a residential building, Ukrainian emergency services said.

      Two people have so far been reported injured.

      Russia has refused to deny that it fired the ICBM, which would be the first time that the extreme long range weapons have ever been used in a war.

      Asked whether Moscow fired the missile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he had “nothing to say on this topic”.

      On Wednesday, Ukrainian media reported that the Kremlin was threatening to strike the country with a “massive” new missile in retaliation for Kyiv firing UK and US long-range missiles at targets inside Russia.

      Russian media reported that Moscow was preparing to launch RS-26 Rubezh missiles from a site in Astrakhan by the Caspian Sea.

      Western nations including the United States shut their embassies on Thursday in anticipation of a large-scale air strike.

      The RS-26, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads, has not been used in combat before, according to Western missile experts. It is said to fly at five times the speed of sound, making it harder for Kyiv’s US-supplied Patriot missile systems to shoot down.

  74. Доброе утро, товарищи,

    A. bit late today. Minor domestic upheaval – nothing serious. Cloudy, Wind North-East 1-2℃ all day.

    I haven't read down so I don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2a40c8e8c2f564ff93dc1856387d3d943e82b03124696b0833cfc2c0b2866a57.png
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/11/20/government-slashes-500m-from-defence-as-storm-shadows-fired/

    Launch a Storm Shadow at Russia – it may have been Ukrainians who pushed the button but, be under no illusion, British serviceman/technicians will have done the programming and targetting – then cut Defence by half a bill.

    Intellectual giants. Not.

  76. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/11/19/treasury-contacted-retailers-after-plans-public-letter/

    A spokesman for the Treasury said they had “had to make difficult choices to fix the foundations of the country and restore desperately needed economic stability to allow businesses to thrive”.

    “By doing this, more than half of employers will either see a cut or no change in their national insurance bills, there will be £22.6bn more for the NHS and workers’ payslips will be protected from higher tax.

    “This Government is committed to delivering economic growth by boosting investment and rebuilding Britain.”

    They trot out these lies every single time.

    There was no 'blackhole', they just paid off the unions and spaffed 11bn in waste to 'climmate change'.

    Yes, people will see a cut in their wages – pretending it's only NI is moronic. A cost is a cost. It will create unemployment.

    Not a penny will go on front line services and they know it. They couldn't even work out where the value comes from. Besides, it's less than a single days' cost to the NHS, so bloated and inefficient is it.

    You cannot get growth by hiking taxes – unless that growth is in tax, waste and state bloat. The budget was an abomination that, in saner times would have been rejected by every international economics group going. Instead, they've all been infiltrated by the Left blob, so Labour's endless lies are never refuted in the media.

    This has got to stop. They've got to go – now and this appalling budget rejected out of hand and one that custs 60% of government headcount begun tomorrow.

      1. No, sadly. Reeves and that rest of the sixth form cabal aren't going anywhere, more's the pity.

        They'll just have to be removed the old fashioned way.

          1. Preferably. Especially if they turn it into some sort of variety entertainment with supporting acts.

          3. Trafalgar Square might be better now. Smithfield was the place of execution until the time of Henry V but that too is no longer suitable.

          4. Wasn't it Tyburn (just off what is now Marble Arch) for hangings and Smithfield for burnings – until after Elizabeth I, I believe)?

          5. They did the hangings from the Smithfield Elms in the early years under Norman rule but yes, the stake pit was just outside the gatehouse at St Barts. I commented on that to a friend at church and he said with tongue in cheek, "Yes, the Church of England has never been the same since we stopped burning our bishops". William Wallace was of course dragged along the ground from the Tower of London to Smithfield and hanged, drawn and quartered there in 1305. There's a handsome memorial set into the outer wall of the hospital. The text is revisionist tripe.

      1. Who would form the government? All we would get from the Conservatives or Reform, is yet more guff. Olukemi Olufunto has promised to revoke the tax on farmers. But given the record of the Conservatives, who trusts that pledge anyway? And again, they will do nothing about the illegals.

        1. Whoever formed the new government would be a vast improvement on what we now have. It would be, at least, a starting point.

          1. Perhaps, but I tend to think it would be more stuck in the quicksands and the growing anger of the population. Someone, in order to save the situation, has to actually do something.

    3. She should be sacked, publicly and her budget withdrawn – by a white man and abandoned, explained as an error of female judgement that was politically rather than economically motivated.

      Should see an end to the Left forever.

    4. Can we get a whoop-whoop, Belle – I think so (but probably short-lived until we know her replacement).

  78. Possibly because we prepared the first modern atlases? And, naturally used yer English names!!

  80. Too late for tears now. People get in a huff and vote Labour. Then they can spend years regretting it having cut off their noses to spite their faces.

  81. https://order-order.com/2024/11/21/musk-slams-labour-threatens-to-summon-uk-lefties-to-us-for-questioning/

    The Labour-led Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee said yesterday it will summon Elon Musk to testify about X‘s role during the Summer riots – with the first hearings in its inquiry set for the new year. Chairman Chi Onwurah

    Where do all these dindus get into such roles? She's dumb as a box of rocks. She knows nothing, a diversity hire. What on Earth is such a waster doing discussing science, let alone freedom of speech?

    1. Who are these pompous idiots anyway to summon Elon Musk for a problem that if these cretins were honest, would point at the real culprit of the riots, the Marxist government of Starmer. and its vigorous avoidance of the truth.

      2. They always "summon" don't they. Appear before the court, because you know we are the rulers and we own you. Such petty little marionettes they are.

    2. Delusions of grandeur. We are One World Government and we will summon whomsoever we choose! I'm sure Elon has a sense of humour.

  82. Modern life – Counsel on each side of a pub fracas proseution:

    "Omurchadu Ghiassi, for the defence, said the argument was mutual. Ryan Seneviratne, for the prosecution, denied it was self defence."

    Makes yer proud to be British.

    1. Another to add to the list when he was DPP and who he defended, and those he didn't. And now he's PM of GB, fgs. We really are 3rd world.

  86. My goodness, I seldom do it but I thought I'd switch on some daytime telly at GBNews. Is every channel spewing out that much guff about John "two Jags"? Apparently he was a beacon of honest politics that only did good. Clearly my own opinion that he was just a destructive boot boy setting back this country for years to come was always a minority view.

    1. I enjoyed watching him host HIGNFY – he could certainly take a joke (well I suppose if you're a member of the Labour party you have to)

      1. Probably should have stayed in show business, then. Wasn't he the one who was substituted by a lump of lard on that show too, after he refused to appear?

        I best remember him for punching down on someone who irritated him at a railway station. That and drifting over a pair of villages near to where I lived in a helicopter and stating, "Aye lad, happen I think we shall connect those two by building t'new township between them," arrogant sod. Without any consultation or even landing his flying machine he signed off on the project, just like Milipede did in 2024 with his panels and windmills drivel. Took years of rearguard by the locals to block and finally overturn it.

        1. No James.

          HIGNFY never criticised Labour politicians.

          It was a rather fat Tory politician who kept being substituted for a pot of lard.

          1. Ah thanks Janet, do remind me. In my defence I seldom watched that show after I became an adult.

          3. To a teen they must seem somewhat edgy Kate. A bit dangerous or insightful. How far from the truth.

          5. Sorry, Janet, but it was Roy Hattersley who was replaced by a pot of lard on HIGNFY.

            "In June 1993, Hattersley cancelled an appearance on TV panel show Have I Got News for You with very late notice, which infuriated the production staff and hosts, leading to Hattersley being replaced with a tub of lard. The programme compared Hattersley and the tub of lard, and claimed "they possessed the same qualities and were liable to give similar performances"."

            https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Hattersley

          6. Ooops, I was typing mine and didn't see yours. I remember that part, much was made out of that tub.

          4. Yes, when he stood up to speak in the HoC, patrician Tory MPs (probably Alan Clark) used to shout;

            'Giovanni! A large Gin and Tonic and one for my friend!'

          5. Not Alan Clarke but Fatty Soames and it was in one of the numerous members' bars, never the House.

        3. Wasn't it Roy Hattersley? I always remember when Ian Hislop addressed it as "Tubby" and Paul Merton immediately chimed in "Mr. Lard, to you". Those were the days.

          2. Roy Hattersley failed to turn up for one programme, so instead of inviting a replacement they placed a large tub of lard on the desk in front of the empty chair. The programme went ahead and questions were asked of the 'Tub of Lard'.

          5. I could never take to either Hislop or Merton. Never watch the BBC now, but have to buy a tv license to be able to watch any terrestrial TV.

        4. Look you. Two Jags was born in North Wales, not Yorkshire. He might have had a rough accent but it wasn't Yorkie.

          Tha' knows. 😉

    2. I recall two jags shagged his Secretary in his offices in Admiralty Arch. He apologised publicly to his wife and the “Comrades” at the Labour Party Conference.

      I think of Prescott not as a political giant but as a midget in many ways not dissimilar to Starmer.

      3. They keep banging on about his great intelligence, his Oxbridge credentials and his ability to bring on board “the working man” into Labour’s fold. Nothing about what he actually did. It’s alright having intelligence; it’s what you do with it that counts.

        1. I don't know what he did for Hull, if anything, James. Always seemed bit of a dump to me whenever I was there. Perhaps I move in the wrong circles.

          1. I actually had contacts in Hull in the early 2000s. Generally speaking he was disliked as I recall among the people I knew. Waste of space was something you used to hear a lot, but it didn’t stop him being elected. What people forget is that 24-years ago you could put a donkey on the town square and tell people it was the Labour Party Parliamentary candidate and liked or disliked it didn’t matter. They’d elect the donkey. This was prior to the Red Wall collapse.

          2. I never understood the Blair Flare, thought him a con man. Now I think such are in the majority, would like to say I’ll never vote again but secretly suspect I will. Use it or lose it, I guess.

          3. I’ve always voted for the person where I can. Sometimes the party, but as you know I have dropped it altogether if there’s “none of the above”. Quite a lot in fact.

          4. Pretty disenchanted by the whole lot – you’re not alone there. I’m the sole voter in my family, apart from my father who also finally lost confidence in politicians. I’m out, for the present, and may never vote again. Wonder how many others are similar?

          5. I always turn out, even if I write "none of the above" across the paper. Spoiled papers are counted.

    1. Had that issue back in 1981, and SWMBO couldn't sleep. The buggers came over at nights and played loud reggae all night. SWMBO would walk around outside, and one evening med a Kray relative and explained to him the problem. His offer? To take the door down with a sledge, and the stereo with a 12-bore, if she wanted.
      SWMBO was sorely tempted… and then that flat was raided by the Drug Squad, so problem solved without the use of firearms!

  88. Rishi Sunak was a trendsetter, maybe even a fashion icon. Passing some shop window displays, yesterday, I noticed that all the male mannequins were wearing ankle length trousers.

    2. There does seem to be a trend for men who can afford Savile Row to wear ill-fitting clothes off the peg.

      1. We have a clothing chain here who is like that. Even the clothes on the mannequins in the window fit badly…

  89. Bloomin' guesses – 2 yesterday, 5 today…
    Wordle 1,251 5/6

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

    1. I used a ‘burn’ word second line to eliminate suspected letters and identify key ones:

      Wordle 1,251 3/6

      ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟩
      ⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      1. Well done! What’s a burn word (something that eg. has o and u in it)? It’s so frustrating to get the word in everything but one letter. and I take 3 or 4 attempts to find the right letter!

        1. Hello Tine I hope I am not spoiling for others but here is my explanation and example from today’s WORDLE:

          A burn word is one where you leave out the letters you have found in order to have five chances of finding or eliminating other letters. I try to rearrange found letters in possible configurations, compile a list of possible words and then test alternative letters in the burn word.

          After my first line found the N and the E in the correct positions my possible words were BRINE, SPINE, SHINE and URINE. My burn line was BURPS which gave me P and S hence third line could only be SPINE. I might alternatively have gambled on one of those four words and made an Eagle but hedged my bets for a certain Birdie.

          1. Thank you for that. I suppose it depends a lot on the other letters in your original word too.

  90. Russia ‘fires intercontinental ballistic missile’ at Ukraine for first time. 21 November 2024.

    Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at Ukraine for the first time on Thursday morning, Kyiv’s air force said.

    The missile was launched from Astrakhan and targeted critical infrastructure in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, it added.

    The Ukie propaganda people are getting desperate

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/11/21/russia-ukraine-zelensky-putin-war-latest-news57-icbm/

  91. Well to be perfectly honest, in my humble opinion, of course without offending anyone who thinks differently from my point of view, but also by looking into this matter from a different perspective and without being condemning of one's views and by trying to make it objectified, and by considering each and every one's valid opinion, I honestly believe that I completely and totally forgot what I was going to say.

        1. I had no idea that dipping fries in ketchup, not pouring it on, was á la mode in polite society. Does one cock the little finger in the air whilst doing so?

          1. Chips at home would often have ketchup over them but you would also be using cutlery. These were Maccie D fries in a cardboard container.

            Gen Z were shocked and horrified. Quite a few of them needed to retreat to a safe space. Others needed counseling and there were some suicides.

          7. I've not entered a McDonald's for over 20 years. The last time I walked in and order a hamburger, the child behind the counter said, "Would you like fries with that?"

            I just glared and replied, "NO! But I wouldn't mind a portion of CHIPS!"

          8. I don't think I've ever entered a Mcdonald's…… I've walked past them, and once went into a competitor I can't remember the name of.

          9. Wendy’s? Jack-in-the-Box? Wimpy? Burger King?

            I make my own hamburgers with freshly-minced fatty beef — and nothing else. They are simply a million times better than the commercial crap.

          10. I think it might have been Burger King.
            I used to make burgers with fresh mince long ago but haven’t done so recently.

          11. I do enjoy a Big Mac on occasion but only really once possibly twice a year. I prefer Barbour.

            A more serious post to yours is a few years ago when they were promoting upsizing/upselling the order i just shrugged. The server laughed. Not his fault. As you you know they are instructed to say these things. Just like the Police.

      1. Not paying them benefits would stop it. Locking them up in prison would stop it. not towing them over here would stop it. Three ways, just off the top of my head.

    2. Lost control? _They don't care_. To them, this is not a problem. The problem could be solved easily, they refuse to do it.

    3. I wish them joy in snowy conditions. Even I don't go camping (in the motorhome) when it's snowing!

  99. Farmers brought 6.7 tonnes of free food on their demonstration, all of which went went to food banks and charities. They have of course expressed their gratitude and said how "overwhelmed" they were by the farmers' generosity.

    As I'm sure did the mayor of London for their help in alleviating the homeless problem with the onset of winter that he presides over.

    Sorry just got the go to A&E, since I was knocked over by some tumbleweed.

  101. I trust Elon will read tribal chief Chi Onwurah's back catalogue of fascinating articles..

    The algorithm undermining Black History Month. PoliticsHome
    Taking back control of government data mustn’t leave the public in the dark. Computer Weekly LOL
    Should William Armstrong, 1st Baron statue fall? Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah on the debate over the Armstrong statue. The Chronicle
    Keir Starmer has the values and decency to lead a socialist Labour Party into government. The New Statesman LOL

    Zzzzz.

    1. Yet… socialism does not, has never and will never work. It just creates misery, poverty and millions of deaths.

  102. I trust Elon will read tribal chief Chi Onwurah's back catalogue of fascinating articles..

    The algorithm undermining Black History Month. PoliticsHome
    Taking back control of government data mustn’t leave the public in the dark. Computer Weekly LOL
    Should William Armstrong, 1st Baron statue fall? Newcastle MP Chi Onwurah on the debate over the Armstrong statue. The Chronicle
    Keir Starmer has the values and decency to lead a socialist Labour Party into government. The New Statesman LOL

    Zzzzz.

    1. You're a month too early. Winter doesn't commence until the solstice, which occurs at 9:21 a.m. Saturday 21 December.

    2. Well i think the people who were stolen from are clearly racist, for daring to try to prevent a superior one from taking what she/xe wants.

  105. 397170+ up ticks,

    Singing the praises of John Prescott ,( RIP) radio speak, I think as a bloke I could like him but as a politico and in league with blair,
    politically NO way.

    Dt,
    speaking stalwart of Labour and Tony Blair’s valued right-hand man
    Prescott was one of Labour’s few showmen: he and Blair covered all Labour’s bases, and he eased strains between the PM and Gordon Brown

    2. He was wrong in everything he believed, but he did at least – it seemed – believe them.

      While I'd happily knock him down, I'd give him a hand up. Blair I'd make sure never got up again.

  106. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/21/if-its-a-crime-to-call-politicians-stupid-were-in-trouble/

    Any political officials in Germany – all the way from the chancellor to the municipal level – can press charges against perceived public insults, if they think they can demonstrate reputational harm or an impact on their ability to carry out their role. If convicted, perpetrators can face a fine or up to three years in prison.”

    As all politicians are stupid, mendacious, vicious, egotistical, spiteful cretins that they think the truth damages their 'reputations' is laughable. This is simply to control people.

    1. In this country they could never claim that any perceived insult could possibly impact on their ability to carry out their role, as they have all clearly shown that they are incapable of carrying out their roles in the first place.

    1. I am not sold on them – the Warqueen is still wearing a jumper – but this morning when it was sleeting a chap came outside from next door in a hat, coat and shoes. That was just to be indoors. I was in a pair of shorts. Yes, it wasn't 'warm' but it's tolerable. Better than the 11-12 of last year.

      Comically the noise isn't the problem. The cost of electricity is. Only these morons could be forcing people to get heatpumps while they make the thing people are refusing them for more expensive.

      It's almost funny, if it were not so insulting.

      1. I'm not one if your hardy types, unlike those of the Royal Mail who wear shorts in all weathers and some of the men who frequent my local social club who do likewise, even when going out for an evening smoke in the middle of winter. Then there are the young women baring their midriff, regardless of temperature, to display their pierced belly buttons.

        2. No, and I don't blame you. The big thing is firstly, obviously the cost, then the lack of control.

          To get the temp up a single degree requires all the water in the radiators to recirculate through the heat pump again, using a lot of electricity.

          If – and ONLY if – electricity were a quarter the price it is, and heat pumps ran a lot hotter, and were more flexible, they're be practical. But then, they'd be a gas boiler.

          It has bought us time here but we are still intending to move.

  111. I'd like to think this was careful application of etymology. More of an informed guess……….

    Wordle 1,251 2/6

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      4. Too true. I thought the same but found four possible words so played safe with a burn line.

        Wordle 1,251 3/6

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    3. For a while I was happy with my effort.
      Wordle 1,251 3/6

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  113. Bought a stick deodorant today.
    Instructions said remove cap and push up bottom.
    I can hardly walk but when I fart the room smells brilliant.

      1. Do you remember when aerosols were blamed for the hole in the ozone layer? 🤣🤣🤣 the one that occurs naturally time to time

          1. Yes, think that was the idea. Now we have the climate change nonsense (always has, always will). Young people more sceptical today than I remember being, about many things, mostly they don’t listen to or watch the news…just hang out on f/b or play games (on and offline) in spare time. And many think going to University a waste of time and money – another Blair special.

  115. Half price energy between 11-4pm. Oh, great.

    Go to Scottish power site. Check your email to login. No, I don't want 2 factor enabled, sod off.

    But you're forced to. So you get the link – it it doesn't direct you back to the link you clicked on for the half price energy.

    Which isn't publicised on their site. So you are redirected away from their link to sign in and can't find it afterward.

    Useless fools.

        1. Does anyone owe paypal $999.99? I have started receiving emails from various companies reminding me that my payment is due.

          Eexcept for the fact that I don't have a PayPal account or owe the Florida Water Board any money, they might possibly look real..

          1. I don’t know which email you’re using, but it should catch this spam for you, every time. Try G-mail.

          5. Ah, I remember now…currently building a hedgehog house here for grandchild. It matters not that we haven’t seen any hedgehogs for a number of years…although we’re now moving back to cooling phase so anything’s possible. Current thinking is bread soaked in milk, I’m the only one to say ‘tinned cat/dog food’….what’s your advice re feeding, please Ndovu…gratefully received, thanks Kate x

          6. Please don’t give them bread and milk! They are lactose intolerant so it makes them ill.

            Any good meaty cat food is suitable except fishy flavours. Chicken in jelly is a favourite. Dry cat food is good too. They should be going into hibernation now especially as it’s turned cold now. Look out for them in the spring. A heavy water bowl (heavy because they will stand in it). Water is essential for all wildlife.

          7. Thank you so much, Ndovu. Having read your excellent site, think they know now what to do now. He’s made a box for them to hibernate (having seen the prices online). I wish them luck, not seen or heard any hedgehogs for a couple of decades. Will let you know, if that’s OK? Thanks again for advice, Kate x

          9. Wilco. I think they’re more often heard than seen? The last time I saw a hedgehog in the open daylight was around 30 years ago when I was still running. Really hope their numbers are increasing. Snow here today, time to feed the birds…

      2. Or on the other hand, it could just be Scotpower; I have difficulties signing into their site and I'm a customer.

  116. Today Free Speech publishes an open letter to Nigel Farage , asking for clarity on whether Reform is moving away from its radical roots towards a more establishment Tory position, as many perceive to be the case. If you are a Reform member, please circulate it. Under the letter we have a poll asking whether you think Reform is too far to the Right, the Left, or muddling around in the middle. Please vote.

    And we make no apology for saying that Labour’s decision to slash defence spending on the day Storm Shadow Starmer fired long range missiles at Russia, leaving us at the mercy of Putin’s restraint, is pure lunacy. But what do you think? Please vote in the poll at the top of the Today page and let us know.

    https://www.freespeechbacklash.com/

  117. Afternoon Folks

    Cold frosty start at golf today, good job I had warmed my balls first in a bucket of hot water.

    Came back to the news about the demise of Prescott,
    A good man, he never punched above his weight

  118. Seems the International Criminal Court have issued an arrest order for Benjamin Netanyahu and the (apparently dead) Hamas leader. There's balance for you!

    2. I wouldn't mind seeing the rotting body of a paedo, muslim, terrorist subjected to questioning by the Select Committee that Elon Musk attends.
      All Elon need do is roll his eyes.

  119. UK army chief: We’re ready to fight Putin in Eastern Europe. 21 November 2024.

    "If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight," Rob Magowan, the deputy chief of the British defense staff, told the House of Commons defense committee. "I don't think anybody in this room should be under any illusion that if the Russians invaded Eastern Europe tonight, then we would meet them in that fight."

    What with?

    https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-army-chief-rob-magowan-ready-fight-russia-vladimir-putin-eastern-europe/

      1. We're supposed to believe that Comrade Vlad is trying to recreate the Soviet Union. Actually Tsar Vlad would rather take back parts of Empress Catherine's empire which are Russian. The double headed eagle on the flag that you'll always see behind him when making official announcements is a big clue. It's the symbol of the Romanovs, Hohenzollerns and Habsburgs. His Western accusers are the communists.

    4. Don't worry, the fully diverse inclusive Canadian Army will be there to help – but only if the accommodations meet Canadian standards and have tampon dispensers in every mens bathroom.

    5. 2024.

      "If the British Army was asked to fight tonight, it would fight tonight,". My RAF experience of bars in Singapore, Malaya, Malta, Germany and other places is that a group of British Army soldiers never needed to be asked to fight – it was pre-programmed into them.

      1. I had a hard job trying to convince my lads that those young things with big t*ts and short skirts on Bugis Street in Singapore that they were not real women.

        1. If they were disease free ……………and were very convincing….What to do with a drunken sailor !

          Oh dear.

  123. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/205c0aea987523f1e7b6d88b5ede3359fb6be2cce3e485a3c3a7f1c97453d97a.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/365c8a10cb0ab4051f225943efe88d960f98c98939dd9bd895db9d4faca98548.png Apropos the discussion, on this forum, around five-or-so hours ago (too far back to trawl) on changing place names:

    My 1977 edition of The Times' Concise Atlas of the World has, on one page, Peking and below (in brackets) both 'Pei-ching' and 'Pao-ting' which it explains are the nearest approximation of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of that city's name.

    On the facing page (larger scale) it states Pei-ching, (with 'Peking' in brackets beneath).

    The is no mention, whatsoever, of 'Beijing' anywhere in that atlas.

    1. ThThere's some Eagles a few hours ago but I was happy to birdieaway
      Wordle 1,251 3/6

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      2. Oh dear, Not a patch on you three!
        Wordle 1,251 4/6

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      2. Well done Grandpa!

        PS I always wanted to be Grandpa, but, due to the vagaries of youngsters pronunciations, I'm now Bappa! (and I love it!)

  125. – Breaking News,

    The management of Prescott's care home have been accused of assisted dying.
    They allowed him to see the new Jaguar advert

  127. BBC Verify used Labour activist to back Government's claims on farm inheritance tax

    Dan Neidle, who previously pursued Nadhim Zahawi over tax affairs, was quoted as an 'independent' expert

    Anita Singh, Arts and Entertainment Editor
    20 November 2024 7:57pm GMT

    The BBC Verify unit used a Labour Party activist to back its analysis of government figures on the farm tax.

    The broadcaster's fact-checking service quoted Dan Neidle as an "independent tax expert" in a piece assessing how many British farms would be affected by the inheritance tax raid. Mr Neidle, a retired City lawyer, made headlines last year when he pursued Nadhim Zahawi, the Conservative Party chairman at the time, over his tax affairs.

    In a BBC Verify story on the corporation's website, titled "How many farms will be affected by Budget tax rises?", Mr Neidle sided with the Treasury's low estimate. It said: "Dan Neidle, an independent tax expert, says the number of actual farms affected is likely to be below 500 per year."

    The Country Land and Business Association (CLBA) has produced a much higher figure, which Mr Neidle dismissed on X as "hyperbolic fake stats".

    The BBC Verify piece has since been amended, with Mr Neidle's "below 500 per year" claim removed and his title amended to "founder of the independent Tax Policy Associates". It continues to dismiss the CLBA's assertion that a total of 70,000 farms will be hit by the tax change as "not necessarily the right number to use".

    An accompanying video, presented by the BBC Verify journalist Ben Chu, told viewers that "the true share of farms affected going forward is likely to be much closer to the Treasury estimates". The web story has also been amended because the original mistakenly confused hectares with acres.

    Mr Neidle, a former partner with the City law firm Clifford Chance, is a Labour member who helps with appeals hearings on the party's national constitutional committee.

    Earlier this year, he told The New Statesman that he did not regard himself as an activist "unless it's possible to be a centrist activist" and insisted he was not partisan, saying: "If I had reason to think Rachel Reeves had avoided tax, if anyone thinks I wouldn't be on to that, they haven't met me!"

    A BBC spokesman defended the inclusion of Mr Neidle, saying: "There are more than 10 different people/organisations cited in this piece, representing a wide range of views and opinions. Dan Neidle is a tax expert who is commenting as the founder of Tax Policy Associates, an organisation giving advice to a wide range of people."

    The broadcaster said that Mr Neidle's title had been changed in the online article "to more accurately and comprehensively describe who he is", and that his claim about the number of affected farms being below 500 per year was removed "for brevity".

    It added: "This is an independent factual analysis, quoting a number of different organisations and individuals who have a range of different viewpoints.

    "It's routine for us to update online articles, and we'll continue to update our analysis of this policy as more information and explanation becomes available. If the changes are material or change our conclusion, we add a note informing readers, for transparency."

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/20/bbc-verify-used-labour-activist-to-back-farm-iht-claims

    1. And, worth mentioning again, that the Treasury estimate is about 180m degrees out from the DEFRA figures – and whatever their faults DEFRA can at least spell farm!

  128. From Coffee House, the Spectator

    Donald Trump is still two months away from becoming the 47th president of the United States, and yet his return to the Oval Office in January has already provoked a flurry of policy U-turns by the White House and rising expectation, even in Moscow, of a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

    Elements of a potential settlement reportedly agreeable to President Putin emerged on Reuters today based on kite-flying suggestions by Russian officials. While there is nothing particularly new in the broad outline of Moscow thinking, the fact that Russian officials are pushing it out in some detail reflects an awareness in the Kremlin that with Trump in power, the potential for a deal that will satisfy Putin after 1,000 days of war might be on the cards.

    Anything that pleases Putin will be rigorously opposed by the European members of the 50-nation, US-led coalition backing and arming the Kyiv government who still believe, or at least claim they do, that Ukraine can win the war.

    However, Trump has boasted on so many occasions that he will fix things on his first day in office that Putin, as well as President Zelensky, are preparing themselves for the man who promotes himself as the master dealmaker.

    There is no official Kremlin confirmation of the latest Moscow thinking

    President Biden, too, has responded in his own way to the imminent arrival of Trump in his place. His decision, after months and months of reluctance, to authorise Kyiv to fire American ATACMS long-range missiles into Russia – and to send anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine – was claimed to be in retaliation for the presence of 10,000 North Korean troops alongside Russian forces. But for Biden, it was much more than that. He wanted to remind Trump that under his administration, Russia was never going to win the war.

    So, are there real prospects for a settlement? Or is the latest reporting from Moscow all part of another game to restate Putin’s personal red lines for a deal, which haven’t really changed ever since the first attempts were made to end the war as far back as 28 February, 2022, four days after the Russian invasion?

    According to the Reuters report, Putin is making it clear he is ready to discuss a ceasefire deal with Trump, but not on the basis of any handover of Russian-occupied territory. Nato membership for Ukraine must also be abandoned but Putin is open to some form of security arrangement being put in place – provided Ukraine is declared a neutral state.

    The Moscow deal would effectively freeze the conflict along the current frontlines – although there could be negotiations over the precise carving up of the four eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia (the location of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe) and Kherson.

    The Russian officials said there might be some leeway over small patches of ground Moscow holds in the Kharkiv and Mykolaiv regions in the north and south of Ukraine. Crimea, annexed by Russia without a fight in 2014, would never be given up.

    There is no official Kremlin confirmation of the latest Moscow thinking. Indeed, Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, has said that Putin would not countenance freezing the conflict, presumably because in recent months Russian troops have been making small but steady gains in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops back.

    Putin has in the past admitted he would consider the deal first outlined at a ‘peace’ conference in Istanbul in April, 2022, in which Ukraine would have to accept permanent neutrality in return for international security guarantees underwritten by the five permanent members of the UN security council: the US, Russia, China, Britain and France. But no Nato troops on Ukrainian territory.

    Nato leaders are still voicing their hopes that somehow Ukraine can reverse the setbacks on the battlefield and build its own leverage to make Putin agree on territorial concessions. This is why Zelensky sent combat-proven troops into Kursk in western Russia in August. But while it seemed to be a bold move and a clever strategy, it could ultimately fail, as Russian and North Korean troops have begun to seize back some of the 1,000 square kilometres of occupied territory in Kursk.

    A ceasefire deal, if it happens, will be a tussle between Putin, who is determined to present his ‘special military operation’ to the Russian people as a victory for the motherland, and also wants to give two fingers to the US and Nato, and Zelensky, who called upon his people to make unbelievable sacrifices in order to preserve and protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.

    Giving in to Putin in a Trump-brokered deal would not just be devastating for Zelensky personally but might also bring to an end his political career as the warrior leader.

    WRITTEN BY
    Michael Evans
    Michael Evans was defence editor at the Times for 12 years. He still writes regularly about defence and security for the paper. He wrote a memoir called First with the News.

    1. "… Zelensky, who called upon his people to make unbelievable sacrifices in order to preserve and protect Ukraine’s territorial integrity." Does that integrity include the parts of Ukraine that, er, Ukraine was shelling!??

      1. The integrity of borders that have been redrawn at least five times in the last two centuries. Yet our own very hard border doesn’t warrant any protection.

  130. When you say to someone that you are telling the truth when you aren't they pick up all kinds of signals which tells them you are not to be trusted. Alas, poor BBC, we knew them well.

    1. I wonder what his Jewish wife and children think of this?

      Who at the ICC made the decision to issue the arrest warrant?

        1. This action isn't going to build any bridges between them. Lord Alli best get buying some more knickers for her.

          1. Difference from what? I’m commenting about why his wife might not have been terribly opposed to this idiotic action. Assuming he still knows what she looks like, of course.

    2. He's got to keep all the anti-Semites happy in his party. You know, the ones he supposedly got rid of.

    3. The ICC has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
      Why has Starmer just authorised Ukraine to fire two Storm Shadow missiles into Russia instead of backing the ICC by going to Moscow with a pair of handcuffs?

    4. The ICC has already issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
      Why has Starmer just authorised Ukraine to fire two Storm Shadow missiles into Russia instead of backing the ICC by going to Moscow with a pair of handcuffs?

  134. Haha. Even Lammy can do that. Though he might answer on his specialist subject Marf. Fucking tosspot.

      1. I think it is way past the time that these so called and self acclaimed intellectuals were made to plow the fields and scatter the good seed on the land.

  136. In words

    ‘If federal employees don’t want to show up, American taxpayers shouldn’t pay them for the Covid-era privilege of staying home.’

    – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy write in the Wall Street Journal that civil servants in the new Department of Government Effiency who do not show up to the office five days a week will be fired. The two men will co-lead the department.

  138. Well – THAT was fun. Not. Yesterday, the MR used my PC to do a work Zoom. Today, when I logged on, various things didn't work properly.

    The MR thought that she would do a reset backdated to yesterday before the zoom. That has wiped virtually everything off the PC – almost in the state it came out of the factory…..

    I have managed get odd bits working while we wait for brilliant nephew Tim to tackle it afresh on Saturday. Tim says that Zoom can sometimes bugger up systems by removing "background". (me neither!) and that the MR should have done a restart rather than a reset.

    One lives and learns….

    So am signing off to calm the MR down – she is beside herself with fury. I hope to be with you tomorrow.

      2. As I discovered when I broke my phone screen. "Settings" assured me that everything was safely backed up. So when the helpful lady in Reading's EE Shop advised me to do a factory reset. I did so. Incidentally, I'm not withEE, but the Reading shop is the nearest official Samsung service centre.

        The screen "only" cost £200, which was half the price quoted on the Samsung website. The S24 Ultra is a great phone. Normally, I'm a couple of iterations behind the latest model, but buying direct from Samsung on their "Flex" package meant I can upgrade in a couple of years, or pay the equivalent of a car leasing "balloon payment"and keep the thing.

        Backup failed miserably. All my music – gone. Along with 80% of my contacts…

  139. 140 days in. Trot lad done well..

    Sent over a 100 staff to canvass on the street against closet ally & 5 Eyes strategic partner.
    Handed over one & only key military base in Indian Ocean.
    Kow-towed to a lidderally genocidal despot that ripped up the Sino-British Joint Declaration Treaty.
    Lobbed a few missiles at Moscow.
    Suspended arms export licence & seeks arrest warrant for leader of country who provides UKs Sky Sabre missile defence system.
    Placed on ebay South Sandwich Islands including; Zavodovski Isl., Traverse passage, Visokoi Isl., Brown's passage, Candlemas Isl., Shackleton's passage, Saunders Isl., Larsen's passage, Montagu Isl., Biscoe's passage, Bristol Isl., Forsters Passage, Southern Thule. Nelson Channel is the passage between Candlemas and Vindication islands.

  140. Just received the news that we've become first time grandparents. Here's hoping the world becomes a better place for the little girl.

        1. Like being born during the war. By the time they grow up, it'll be the optimistic re-building time hopefully.

    8. Grandchildren are brilliant. A grandparent has all the pleasure of being a parent with none of the shyte! AND you can hand them back at the end of a visit!

          1. Unfortunately, I remember a Guinea pig and a goldfish that we looked after in the school holidays that didn't survive.

    9. Grandchildren are brilliant. A grandparent has all the pleasure of being a parent with none of the shyte! AND you can hand them back at the end of a visit!

          1. Firstborn the same. Tiny baby, and toddler.
            BIG lad now, with a build like Mike Tyson (no skin colour to match, though!)

    13. Congratulations, I hope you get as much enjoyment out of your new addition to the family as we get out of ours.

    16. Congratulations Mr and Mrs Sunfish! Wonderful news! Being a grandparent is a blast! 🥂👨‍👩‍👧

  141. Evening, all. Trying to snow again. I've had a very social day; went out for coffee with one friend this morning and went out for a jolly with another this afternoon. Live life to the full, that's my motto!

    My neighbour, whom I met when I was walking Kadi, said he couldn't believe how nasty this government had been in such a short time. Amen to that.

  145. Labour Farm Tax Pays for Two Covid Inquiries and One HS2 Bat Shed

    The Treasury says it’ll rake in “up to £520 million a year” from its destructive farm tax. 15,000 farmers descended on Westminster this week to protest the confiscation of their estates…

    The cost of the Covid Inquiry according to new analysis done by the TaxPayers’ Alliance will stand at £208 million by the time it finishes in May 2026. A bat shed added to a short section of HS2 cost £100 million. Is Reeves’ policy worth it for two inquiries and a shed?

    21 November 2024 @ 17:35

    3. Shock, horror… 😲

      Perhaps thirty-odd years ago, I played the organ for a combined infant baptism service and marriage of the parents.

      While retaining traditional views, society has moved on, for better or worse. I recall playing for the wedding of one of my school contemporaries. Heavily preggers, she was married in white. I was jokingly advised to wear a hard hat, since lightning would surely strike the church.

      Within seconds of my opening chords of the Bridal March, a darkness fell upon the land (well – Currock, Carlisle, at least) followed by an almighty clap of thunder.

      No-one was smitten, but ever since, I've been convinced that God has a keen sense of humour…

      3. I hope the organ wasn't electric. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in Dm would of gone down a treat at that point.

  147. Just love this – a bust up at the COP29 spendathon as they cannot agree over gender rights.

    I can see that the catholic church would bend to woke pressures but getting Iran to agree to gender based spending is beyond their dreams.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cdxvpl5zw19o.amp

    What the hell has gender got to do with their net zero rubbish.

    1. The more that people identify as female, the kinder humanity will be to the planet. Only men take a mischievous delight in destroying the environment. Once the entire population has identified as female, in little more than 100 years, human beings will cease to have any effect on the planet's ecosystem.

          1. There was a book a couple of years ago, I think it was called "The Power" by Naomi Alderman.

            Where women had all the power and turned out to be as bad as men.

  150. Defence lawyer, Stan Reiz KC acting for Axel Rudakubana is planning to move a motion to have the case dismissed due to the publicity surrounding it.

    Fair Dos. Same for Fahir Amaaz, and his brother Muhammad Amaad.

    3. He deserves lots and lots of compensation, the poor traumatised little lamb. Perhaps a new identity too. It's only fair, after all, he only (allegedly, despite being caught at the scene) murdered 3 little girls* and stabbed 10-or-so others, caught in the act. It's not like he did hurty words.

      *it is of course entirely possible they stabbed themselves to death

  151. Defence lawyer, Stan Reiz KC acting for Axel Rudakubana is planning to move a motion to have the case dismissed due to the publicity surrounding it.

    Fair Dos. Same for Fahir Amaaz, and his brother Muhammad Amaad.

    1. One of the comments notes that the bar is so low, diarrhoea is more popular than Keir Starmer.

    2. He hasn't given one of his scripted monologues on GB News since Sep 8th.

      And I'd take issue up to a point about Mrs Thatcher 'destroying the mining industry', as I've discussed on here before.

      1. I see the closing of the mines now as the first stage in the globalist drive to control and ration energy. They would never succeed if we could still mine coal.

      2. I see the closing of the mines now as the first stage in the globalist drive to control and ration energy. They would never succeed if we could still mine coal.

  158. Oh boy we must be into pre election vote buying over here, the liberals have announced that they are suspending the federal sales tax on some items.

    Starting on December 14th, you will no longer need to pay tax on Christmas trees. There are other goods of course but this one isso stupid. Oh plus in January, a $250 cheque will go to anyone that is working.

    Only one small catch to the vote buying move, the change needs to be approved in Parliament but Parliament is shut down by the conservatives continued privilege debate over the government refusal to release documents around suspected corruption.

    1. Counted as "spoiled ballot papers". The results are announced: X votes for Candidate A, Y votes for Candidate B, etc and Z spoiled ballot papers. The numbers are supposed to tally with the number of ballot papers issued.

  160. Full of sniffles. First cold of the season.
    I've just had a hot bath and am in bed with a box of tissues. Mwaaah

    1. Vit D3 supplements have protected me for some years now. Not had a cold since I started with it.

  163. Something going on… helicopter flying round the neighbourhood, making the devil of a row!

  164. I hate it when that happens. By yer it means one of two things – someone lost on the river or an escaped prisoner.

  165. He actually worked aboard a cable laying ship that use to cross the Atlantic.
    My wife worked with the capitans wife.

  167. Cheap as, too.
    The only pain is, yet another Goddamned pill to take… that makes six in total.

  168. Big samsung box in the attic started buzzing, loudly and noisily into the bedroom, so have turned the heating off.

    The option being noise sufficient to not sleep or being cold.

    This being the other problem with heat pumps – they're not just lumpen ugly things outside. There's control boxes, expansion vessels, the suggested water tanks – all of which has to 'go' somewhere.

  170. From Coffee house, the Spectator

    To not wholly rapturous reviews, the movie Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz, is released this week. Tragically, it’s too late for Halloween, so we can expect alienated witches of colour (green) based on Cynthia Erivo to be absolutely everywhere by Christmas. For anyone who loved the Wizard of Oz, 1939 version, this is one to miss.

    Could there be any narrative more forward looking, more of our time, than this little story of gender transition?

    But, in a spirit of goodwill, let me put a better idea to Universal, the studio behind the film. They have missed a trick. L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz, did, in fact, write umpteen sequels to the first story; it’s the first of these, The Marvellous Land of Oz (1904), which simply calls out for adaptation; the last time it was attempted was a musical in 1981. But that was before anyone realised how miraculously Mr Baum anticipated the mood of the moment 120 years on.

    It is, in its way, a prequel to Oz. The story begins with a boy, Tip, who is in the unmaternal care of a mean and ugly witch named Mombi. He creates a creature not unlike the scarecrow called Jack Pumpkinhead which the witch brings to life with her new Powder of Life. With this creature, who regards Tip as a father, and the powder which can animate the most unlikely objects including furniture, the plucky youth sets off to find the Tin Man and thence, with our old friend the Scarecrow, to make for the Emerald City. This has been seized following Dorothy’s departure by a female despot of humble origin, Jinjur, who has, interestingly, a girl army (who spend their spare time making fudge in the palace kitchen). It is to her that the witch Mombi turns when she finds Tip has done a runner.

    To cut a short story short, we find that our much-missed friend, the Wizard of Oz, had usurped the throne from an infant called Princess Ozma. And, together with the beautiful but wholly humourless sorceress, Glinda of Oz, our friends (including a much magnified insect called a Woggle-Bug; don’t ask) begin the search for the rightful heiress, a search which leads them to Tip’s witchy old guardian Mombi.

    Here we get to the crucial bit and those intending to read this compelling fiction should stop right here. Because it turns out the Wizard of Oz had brought the infant heiress to the witch Mombi to be hidden, and you’ll never guess how she disguised her. Oh, you can? Well, anyway, here is the big reveal. Glinda asks Mombi where is Ozma.

    ““I enchanted her,” answered Mombi.

    “In what way?”

    “I transformed her into – into – ”

    “Into what?” demanded Glinda, as the Witch hesitated.

    “Into a boy!” said Mombi, in a low tone.

    “A boy!” echoed every voice; and then, because they knew that this old woman had reared Tip from childhood, all eyes were turned to where the boy stood.”

    You can see where we’re going with this, can’t you? A girl is turned into a boy who is about to be turned back into a girl. I mean, it’s more trans than Shakespeare. But the beauty of the whole episode is how well the youth comes to terms with his birth gender and how tactfully and delicately the transition is achieved:

    ““I!” cried Tip, in amazement. “Why, I’m no Princess Ozma – I’m not a girl!”

    Glinda smiled, and going to Tip she took his small brown hand within her dainty white one.

    “You are not a girl just now” said she, gently, “because Mombi transformed you into a boy. But you were born a girl, and also a Princess; so you must resume your proper form, that you may become Queen of the Emerald City.”

    “Oh, let Jinjur be the Queen!” exclaimed Tip, ready to cry. “I want to stay a boy, and travel with the Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman, and the Woggle-Bug, and Jack – yes! and my friend the Saw-Horse – and the Gump! I don’t want to be a girl!”

    “Never mind, old chap,” said the Tin Woodman, soothingly; “it don’t hurt to be a girl, I’m told; and we will all remain your faithful friends just the same. And, to be honest with you, I’ve always considered girls nicer than boys.”

    “They’re just as nice, anyway,” added the Scarecrow, patting Tip affectionately upon the head.”

    And so it happens. No unpleasant side effects, no psychological trauma, no indelicate surgery, no invasive hormones, just good ol’ sorcery from Mombi. The boy is taken to Glinda’s own tent, all satin cushions and pink gauze, and is there given a potion while Mombi leans over a fire muttering stuff, concluding with the mystic word: “Yeowa!”

    And then…

    “… from the couch arose the form of a young girl, fresh and beautiful as a May morning. Her eyes sparkled as two diamonds, and her lips were tinted like a tourmaline…”

    At this exquisite vision, Tip’s old comrades stared in wonder for the space of a full minute, and then every head bent low in honest admiration of the lovely Princess Ozma. The girl herself cast one look into Glinda’s bright face, which glowed with pleasure and satisfaction, and then turned upon the others. Speaking the words with sweet diffidence, she said:

    “I hope none of you will care less for me than you did before. I’m just the same Tip, you know; only – only –”

    “Only you’re different!” said the Pumpkinhead; and everyone thought it was the wisest speech he had ever made.”

    Now I put it to you, could there be any narrative more forward looking, more of our time, than this little story of gender transition? Entire acceptance of the new gender on the part of friends, entire self-acceptance on the part of the girl/boy/girl. The moral is, Tip is the same, but different.

    This little tale has been gestating, unremarked (other than that 1981 musical) for 120 years and now is revealed as the story for a film industry which has yet to produce a really memorable trans princess. Folks, I give you: Ozma. You’re welcome.

    Melanie McDonagh
    WRITTEN BY
    Melanie McDonagh
    Melanie McDonagh is an Irish journalist working in London.

    1. “Melanie McDonagh is an Irish journalist working in London.”

      There’s someone on Spiked who signs herself off as a “working class professor” (or some such)

      I have no time for her either

  174. It's supposed to be snowing tonight and we have had a light dusting, but it soon stopped. Supposed to be snowing more overnight.
    3½°C on the Yard Thermometer and we've already used up one of the wood-stacks, admittedly it's the smaller of them.

    I'm off to bed now so Good Night.

  178. I received the following, this evening from CitizenGo:

    Dear poppiesmum,

    It’s me again—still running on adrenaline and utterly exhausted, but with some AMAZING news, you’re going to want to hear …

    I just got back from Geneva, and believe me – it’s been one of the most gruelling weeks of my life—long days, sleepless nights, and endless meetings. I still haven’t recovered.

    But let me tell you: it was worth every ounce of effort!

    The emergency session they planned for December to finalise the Pandemic Treaty …

    IT'S NOT HAPPENING!

    That’s right! They've missed yet another deadline. We’ve thrown a second, massive wrench into their plans.

    This didn’t happen by chance, poppiesmum. The team here with me in Geneva has been relentless—running on sheer determination, pushing back at every turn, and making it crystal clear to the WHO delegates that they will NOT get away with this.

    And YOU—your support, your voice, your courage—were what made this possible.

    Watch this video to see me explain more about the situation:

    As I watched the 12th and final INB negotiation session of the year wrap up, the announcement hit: progress wasn’t enough, and now the globalists are shifting their focus to the next big deadline—May 2025, coinciding with the next WHO General Assembly.

    This is a massive victory, and it proves one thing—it’s working! Everything we’ve been tirelessly fighting for together since the very beginning is making a real impact.

    It’s been a long battle, and it’s far from over. But together, we’re turning their dream into a nightmare. And I’m loving it!

    The WHO thought they could just ram this treaty through—without transparency, accountability, or your consent. But thanks to YOU, they’re failing.

    Moreover, Trump’s recent victory has shaken up the playing field. From now on, globalists will face opposition from the U.S. administration, and their plans for a smooth, triumphant path are crumbling.

    That said, you and I can’t afford to let our guard down: the WHO isn’t going to give up.

    Time and again, Globalists have shown they’ll bend the rules, make moves behind closed doors, and do whatever it takes to push this treaty through by their new deadline—May 2025.

    But remember—we stopped them once. We stopped them twice. And we can stop them a third time. It’s really down to us!

    I have so much more to share with you in the coming weeks—details about what’s been happening, what we’re planning, and what’s next to come. I promise I’ll be keeping you updated.

    But for now, that’s all from my side. Let’s celebrate this achievement—because you made it happen – and for that, I thank you with all my heart!

    Sebastian Lukomski and the entire team at CitizenGO

      2. I should confess that I haven't contributed in any great way apart from signing petitions, but I was wondering today what had happened to the Nov 15 deadline. I do get a sense that it is all falling apart 🤣 for the WHO, it will be hard to get the momentum back – the world is moving on once again..

          1. Yes….. but weakening all the time. And who knows what maybe unearthed/happen in the intervening period.

  179. The ICC’s anti-Israel arrest warrants are a travesty – we must stand with Netanyahu
    It is time for the UK to consider pulling out of this charade of an international court
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/11/21/iccs-anti-israel-netanyahu-arrest-warrants-travesty-hamas/
    Starmer supports arrest of Netanyahu
    Tories condemn Hague court’s demand for Israeli prime minister to be detained for war crimes if he sets foot in Britain
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/11/21/starmer-supports-icc-arrest-warrant-for-netanyahu/

    BTL

    Has Victoria Starmer left husband because she is Jewish and he is anti-Semitic?

    1. And how long will white Mrs Lammy be able to continue living with a black man who vehemently hates all white people?

  180. Well, chums, it's just turned my bedtime. So I'll wish you all a Good Night, sweet dreams and hope to see you all bright and early tomorrow.

  183. Making this comment number 667 for superstitious reasons. Am actually browsing for flour tins as I can’t sleep (not that that makes any sense, i know)

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