Thursday 29 May: The demoralising effect of letting criminal behaviour go unpunished

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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443 thoughts on “Thursday 29 May: The demoralising effect of letting criminal behaviour go unpunished”

      1. A mountain came down and buried most of a village.
        Thankfully, it's been building up over a number of weeks and the village had been evacuated.

    2. It is the mountains, they are a giant wilderness and nobody knows that better than the Swiss. Landslides happen and this is not the worst on record as far as we know. The presenter is being overly dramatic.
      The important thing is that the locals, who know the terrain, saw what was going to happen and no lives were lost.

      The BBC will blame it on climate change of course….

      1. Global warming is indeed being alluded to on the Beeb website -Talk about Bog (sic) Whistle!

        1. Wonder how they explain the even bigger landslide in 1906 that the same presenter mentioned yesterday.

        2. Wonder how they explain the even bigger landslide in 1906 that the same presenter mentioned yesterday.

      3. Surely upheaval was how the mountains were originally formed.
        It's of course a terrible thing to happen but humanity must adjust its life's expectations. Nature will always take its own powerful course.

        1. and climate change will continue as it has done in the past regardless of human efforts

  4. Good morning, chums. And thanks, Geoff, for today's new NoTTLe page.
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    1. Good morning Elsie and all
      If I had stuck to my usual first two words, I would have got this one in three…instead I tried an inspired guess in line 2…

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        1. Farage should do it but he won't do it – he lacks the necessary testicular strength.

  6. An interesting long read and lots of passionate BTL comments. Off to the Bookies.

    Allister Heath
    Nigel Farage is on course to be PM. This is what the establishment will do to destroy him

    The Reform leader is used to being maligned. But what he is about to face will be on a different scale

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/28b1216c72622aa1

    1. Nigel Farage IS the establishment. Any moment now he'll be promising that Reform will spend more on education and law and order.

        1. A friend of mine went to New York in the 1960s and asked for a packet of fags at a kiosk.

          He could not understand why the vendor started swearing at him and showering him with abuse saying he was a disgusting pervert.

    3. "a YouGov poll: Starmer is still preferred as PM to Farage". I wonder how much YouGov charged for that result – a peerage perhaps?

  9. Britain to unleash army of hackers on Putin. 29 May 2025.

    The British military is to spend more than £1 billion on artificial intelligence and a hacking attack team, the Defence Secretary has announced.

    John Healey vowed to give the Armed Forces more power online to target hostile states such as Vladimir Putin’s Russia, as he warned that “the keyboard has become a weapon of war”.

    The question I ask myself here is: How real is any of this? Planes, Tanks, soldiers. You can count them. I would point out that we cannot afford these and yet here we are with thie cyberspace equivalent. For what it is worth, and I don’t regard Mr Healey as a particularly truthful person and I have no direct evidence, I think that this is just another mirage.

    Not one to fool Vladimir Putin; who will be able to see its reality but the hoil polloi.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/29/britain-to-unleash-army-of-hackers-on-putin-ai/

    1. Is that a feeble attempt by the British government to try and convince the British people that they are not their government's main target?

      1. #TwoTierKeir clones. The effect is spoiled, as they all sound like Zippy from 'Rainbow'.

    3. Does this mean the Fighting 77th Brigade are transforming into an expeditionary force? If so, how will the #KeirmerRouge keep their jackboot on the neck of the mythical far right, that's apparently marbled through the UK society?

    4. £1 billion Pouff! They have spent more than that on prayer mats and DEI courses.

      1. More to the point, how have the mighty fallen….what would our grandparents have thought of this tripe in the Times?

      2. A wingman has to do, what a wingman has to do. Initially, I thought she was channeling Slick Willie Clinton, but his dress was blue.

      3. To be fair, she's not bad looking, certainly better than the Deputy PM and, had I met her whilst somewhat younger, I'd not have said No.
        A 2 or 3 pinter on the Brompton Stomp "Grab-A-Grannie" Night scale.

  13. Morning, all Y'all. Same brilliant sun as last night… Public holiday today – Kristi Himmelfartsdag / Ascension Day. You can tell it's a holiday, next-door farmer was out with the tractor at 08:00. No rest for the wicked, eh?

    1. Sorry, I’m an un-reconstructed Brit. So Him farted and it propelled Him into heaven? Beating the Bounds is an interesting Ascension Day tradition. I must find out why we do it!

    2. The day of Christ’s journey to heaven. I will be going to the deanery service tonight.

  14. Good morning
    Robert Malone has a long discussion about AI bots being used on social media to influence people's opinion. ( Own up then, who's the AI bot on NOTTL? )

    Today's dominant themes like the Lucy Connolly affair grow out of social media with a judicious sprinkling of mainstream media articles.
    Where is this all leading? Control of people's opinions, the inevitable outcry at some point, then the final solution i.e. digital ids to prove that you are human.

    From Malone's substack, after he traces various methods how this is done.

    " The “reality” that you think you experience on social and “fake news” media is fabricated. You are being manipulated by a wide variety of agents, and what you think of as “truth” is nothing like truth.

    Beware of strident voices seeking to manage your emotions (like Lucy Connolly's X account that was in the top 0.1% of active posters during the 8 months before her arrest). Even people who you think are on your side. Many of these are “sponsored” by corporations that seek to manipulate your behavior and opinions.

    Be careful out there, and stay true to your own soul. It may be the only thing standing between your ability to think and the thoughts and emotions that are being so actively promoted to bend your mind to the will of others.

    Never forget that, in fifth-generation warfare, the battle is no longer over territory. The battleground is for control of your mind. In a successful fifth-generation warfare action, those being influenced should not be able to discern who is manipulating them."

    https://www.malone.news/p/psywar-ai-bots-manipulate-your-feelings?publication_id=583200&post_id=164563686&isFreemail=true&r=28gmek&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

      1. Everything we post on disqus is hoovered up and stored to be used against us though 🙁

  16. I am currently mulling over starting a new small business venture…the risks that I have identified all come from the government.
    They are the most dangerous factor in people's lives at the moment!

    1. Small business doing what, BB2?
      Risks from government you have no control over, and can often be unforseeable and random.

      1. I’m not sure if I’m being stalked on social media by a vexatious litigant or not, so I’d rather not say for a few more months if you don’t mind!

  17. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have charged Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan with rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain following receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.

    That's Robinson Crusoe, Russell Brand, Andrew & Tristan Tate taken care of.. now.

    1. I think that's going to be hard going since they were already exonerated in an American court. But then trumped up false charges seems to be becoming routine over here.

      But they don't live in the UK do they, Rumania? But, I believe, charges were unsuccessful over there too after years of investigation.

  18. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have charged Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan with rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain following receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.

    That's Robinson Crusoe, Russell Brand, Andrew & Tristan Tate taken care of.. now.

  19. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have charged Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan with rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain following receipt of a file of evidence from Bedfordshire Police.

    That's Robinson Crusoe, Russell Brand, Andrew & Tristan Tate taken care of.. now.

  20. Good morning Nottlers, it's 14°C, wild and wet on the Costa Clyde. It's going to be tough going at the walking football. Hopefully, things will be calmer for golf tomorrow; my shots go astray without nature's help.

  21. 406486+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    In reality what did the ultra spiteful tribal / tactical voter expect
    after electing to power the very party that, unleashed a tsunami
    of foreign criminals / paedophiles / etc,etc within the nation.

    Thursday 29 May: The demoralising effect of letting criminal behaviour go unpunished.

    Should read,

    Thursday 29 May: The demoralising effect of letting criminal behaviour go unpunished these political types should NEVER have been elected initially.
    don't be surprised when they start springing their own ilk from prison.

  22. Morning All 🙂😊
    Bright and breezy 15 and a sunny day ahead. And nice to see the green green grass of home. back. Along the weeds of course, but only in Wastemonster 🤔
    The demoralising effects of all of our useless stupid politicians has come home to roost and they should be, all at their own expense, put on trial. They've quite deliberately wrecked our country and its culture and social structure now its economy is on the line.

  24. Funny how a Conservative MP (Harvey Proctor) is advocating the legalisation of cannabis when most MPs are obviously on the stuff anyway, it's a wonder they're not asking for the legalisation of paedophilia having already got their wish of legal homosexuality.

    2. Homosexuality was illegal 58 years ago – it is now legal.

      Paedophilia – for the time being anyway – is still illegal.

  25. Exclusive: China Praises Starmer’s Chagos Sellout Offering ‘Massive Congratulations’ to Mauritius

    At the dishonest press conference during which Starmer announced his Chagos sellout, he bizarrely claimed that China, Iran and Russia “opposed” his deal, suggesting his decision would be a problem for hostile states. This was abject nonsense, the opposite is true – hostile powers are thrilled the UK has signed away sovereignty over its territory…

    Now Mauritius newspaper Le Mauricien confirms this with a report on a meeting between the new Chinese Ambassador in Port Louis and Mauritian ministers (who negotiated the deal with Starmer). According to the paper, the Chinese diplomat offered “massive congratulations” on the deal, saying that China “fully supports” Mauritius in its “quest to safeguard national sovereignty.” As Guido had warned all along…

    Starmer had said of his deal on live television:

    “In favour are all of our allies: the US, Nato, Five Eyes, India. Against it: Russia, China, Iran and, surprisingly, the leader of the opposition and Nigel Farage are in that column alongside Russia, China and Iran, rather than the column that has the UK and its allies in it.”

    The Prime Minister must now retract that utterly dishonest statement…

    29 May 2025 @ 08:48

    3. Next up:
      Mauritius approves new Chinese military bases on the Chagos "to provide balance".
      Starmer and Lammy welcome the moves.

  26. 406486+ up ticks,

    More manipulation of the herd by "opposing leaders" and so it continues as with the daily invading boats.

    The North West as with every other point on the Countries compass would be well advised to be knitting a safety net party
    for, and if, the arse falls out of the Reform egg carrying basket.

    Is this rhetorical battle a parliamentary stitch up ?

    The time for super caution has been sorely neglected in the past
    when dealing with the political "elite" get it wrong again and you will surely be repenting five times a day IN THE MOSQUE.

    Starmer attacks Farage’s ‘fantasy economics’
    Sir Keir’s speech will be delivered in the North West, where Reform has soared in popularity

      1. Didn't the Goebbels playbook include always accusing your enemy of what you're doing?

  27. Today Grumpy Graham Bedford gives us some insights into his Grimbarian ancestry in The Downside of Tracing Your Family Tree . As you may imagine, the Bedfords of Grimsby seem to have been a cantankerous crowd. Please read and leave a comment, and let us now about your ancestry, regardless!

    Zhang Yingyue's, Chinese Jews and the Politics of Presence article about the thousand year presence of Jews in China and their prospects today is a must read folks, and don't forget to leave a comment. You'll probably learn something and, as an added bonus, it'll keep me out of the dog house.

    In Free Speech Is Extremely Dangerous , we have what I hope is the first of many articles from Catherine Blaiklock, former UKIP economics spokesman and founder of the Brexit Party, who writes about the true nature of free speech. Please read and leave a comment.

    Energy Watch: Over the last 24 hours: Britain's electric power was sourced from Gas, 16.3%; Solar, 8.9%: Wind 27.3%; Imports, 18.3%; Biomass, 9.2%, Nuclear 17.3% and Miscellaneous, 2.8%.

  30. Got there eventually:
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  31. Morning everyone. I am filling in time before my neighbour brings her dog round and we go for a walk together.
    It isn’t just demoralising, it leads to lawlessness. Zero tolerance is what is required. Definitely NO two tier policing.

      2. Say: "Muslims marrying a girl of 12 is disgusting and perverted " and you could end of with the police coming round and ransacking your house for a suspected hate crime.

        Say: "A middle-aged Muslim man marrying a girl of 12 is quite acceptable – it is part of their culture" and the police, the MSM and the politicians will not be interested.

      1. Remember all all that kerfuffle.
        We thought it was rather exciting – until we remembered what our male cousins were like.
        However, JLL didn't go the full slammer; Myra Gale was his cousin once removed.

    4. Their culture is incompatible with Western society. The sooner people who can do something about it start to act the better.

  33. Farage take note.. Starkey warned you of the random power of Leftie Select Committees, NGOs & UK Judicial Review bodies to thwart any reforms or restorations.

    A ruling from a panel that no one has ever heard of based in Manhattan comprising of three liberal judges, siding with Democratic-led states argued Trump had exceeded his authority, leaving "U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos" and ordered that "the tariffs which the Trump administration has already collected must be “vacated”..

    Lady Hale agrees.. Trumpism is unlawful, and he should face 34 felony charges of divisiveness.

    1. It's a Federal Court, and they ruled that presidential emergency powers are limited by law to actual emergencies. Trump is trying hard to bypass Congress and use "emergency" powers for everything he wants to do. Don't know why, because they are in his pocket anyway, or rather up his whatsit….

      The aftermath of the action was that the markets went up, so not a bad thing at all.

  34. Farage take note.. Starkey warned you of the random power of Leftie Select Committees, NGOs & UK Judicial Review bodies to thwart any reforms or restorations.

    A ruling from a panel that no one has ever heard of based in Manhattan comprising of three liberal judges, siding with Democratic-led states argued Trump had exceeded his authority, leaving "U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos" and ordered that "the tariffs which the Trump administration has already collected must be “vacated”..

    Lady Hale agrees.. Trumpism is unlawful, and he should face 34 felony charges of divisiveness.

    4. Is this you talking to the cat, Lewis, or the cat talking to you? Please send your answer to "Confused of Colchester".

    1. So one to ram, one to shout, two to watch….today's police force, no longer investigating rural crime for one thing, just hand out insurance claim refs.

  38. Gay man Toomer asks on social media post whether the West Midlands Railway’s branded ‘Progress Pride’ train would “return to its natural state once the event is over.” He was then banned from the station volunteer group altogether.
    .
    A WMR spokesman said “Our company has a proud culture of inclusion and allyship,” adding “We believe the views Mr Toomer has expressed on social media on a range of subjects are at odds with these values and could be harmful or offensive to our colleagues, customers or other volunteers.” https://x.com/AvantiWestCoast/status/1298174653194739715

    2. A good decade ago, when I (and my dog) were younger, we would walk a long way daily. Found one of those flags in the middle of a wood, with a gay porn mag and an empty bottle wine. Bizarre.

    3. I suspect its only a question of time before they bring back the overnight sleeping cars…..

    1. I watched it – not sure what the right word for it is – amazing, appalling, interesting, horrifying – take your pick…

      1. All of the above. I worry about the people because they have lost something intangible they can't recover, a community, because most likely they will be scattered to the four winds.

  41. Attention IT experts: why has my computer stretched images all of a sudden, so they look like4:3 TV pictures stretched to 16:9? I never did that – I don't want circles to look like ovals.

    1. Search me, JBF. Currently my emails are all squeezed into minuscule lines which are so small in height that I can't read them. Computers!

      1. Tried the classic turn off/turn on, didn't tried again latereft it longer, now all is sweetness and light.

        1. Yes, Conners, but a good friend of mine was able to drop by and sort it for me. Apparently I had hit the Zoom button and somehow reduced it all to 25%. He quickly showed me how to change this back to 100%, and “Bingo!” I’m now back to normal.

    3. What's your operating system? Your first port of call should be your display settings. My PC has old screen drivers and occasionally they play up when memory is full and 'flip' to 'large' mode.

      A reboot usually cures the problem.

  42. Organisation which has 'a proud culture of inclusion' excludes someone for asking a question. Does WMR understand the concept of irony?

    1. Possibly not, but they certainly don't understand the concept of hypocrisy.

  44. many younger women have become so delusional due to the propaganda that they are the equal of men, in strength, that there are quite a few videos where some woman starts beating up a man with all the vigor of a frantic butterfly, while the man just stands there. Then, with one blow the deluded female finds herself on the ground. I wonder how many of these 'Amazons' have been killed due to this fantasy of equality. But I have also noticed that an awful lot of these policewomen are very unpleasant lesbians who clearly have an axe to grind. In that respect the policewoman who persecuted the autistic girl because the girl made the remark that the policewoman reminded her of her lesbian 'nana' seems to be fairly typical. Seems vetting for bullies, male or female, is not routine in the police force. The police also seem to be happy to let in monumentally thick individuals. It's certainly not the police force that existed when I was younger.

    1. They are still good and bad as ever though…there are a lot of decent police officers.

  48. Enjoy – I'm also going to my weekly lunch at the village hall to catch up on the gossip

      1. Yep – a good exchange of rumours with the occasional fact thrown in. It's an hour and a half of laughter. :o))

    1. No wonder that Party wasn't too concerned about the child Rape Gangs….

      1. 406486+ up ticks,

        Afternoon S,

        All under the guise, as with the police & council members “guardians of the children”.

        1. Children's Homes been a target for a long time, recall reading so in Private Eye, when I was a subscriber. Probably a Paul Foot report.

          1. Was it the Islington Children's Care Homes scandal the one that a leading Labour woman, (Patricia Hewitt?) had to apologise for?

          4. ‘Because she’s worth it’…apparently balanced NHS books (no details given)…..

  51. Blimey a fifty mile round trip two days running.
    Yesterday to have a heart monitor fitted. Today remove it and take it back.
    We have a perfectly decent hospital ten minutes drive away and our GP practice is ten minutes walk away.

    1. Been there, done that, Eddy. Blasted thing kept falling off…nevertheless 'all normal'. Bit disappointed to be labelled normal, tbh. Hope all your results good 🙂

      1. I didn't have a single problem to add to the list provided. Although they changed the dosage of one of my prescribed medications and I had to stop taking it, because it kept making me fall asleep during the day.

        1. I don't take any meds at all (occasional aspirin powder if I have a bad headache which is usually caused by eyestrain being online too long). Husband changed to carnivore diet, he was Type 2 for many years, many different meds – none now.

          3. For me the brightness is the issue. I have mine quite low but try and read in natural light.

          4. Similar here. Have you tried one of those daylight bulbs? they’re bright enough for me, less eyestrain..

          6. 🙂 and one of those magnifying glasses…the oblong shaped ones, might help…last suggestion, promise….

          8. Strange how today one my niece’s who was a senior physiotherapist in a London hospital, but now lives in Summer Set West. SA.
            She was speaking with us at our home today about her father who died last November. And how much medicine he had been taking during the last 6 years of his life.
            He wasn’t quite 90 but she is convinced that all the covid jabs etc and his amounts of medication helped him on his way.
            And from some of the reactions i have recently had from medics when mentioning my own reactions to covid vaccines I think I agree with her.

          9. Thanks Eddy. First time I read anything along these lines was the blog Lockdown Sceptic then edited by Toby Young, now Lord Young, which morphed into Daily Sceptic. Others followed. I only agreed to have the vaccine because I didn’t want my grandchildren to have it. I’m mighty relieved some kind of recovery although taken 4 years plus. Very sorry to read about niece’s father. There was initially a Yellow Card Scheme to report reactions but filled up pdq, I couldn’t add mine. Think they’ve finally stopping on Japan after about ten jabs so thankful for small mercies! Kate x

          10. We, all of our family all had the covid vaccines. We were all, 8 adults and 3 children on a 40th birthday holiday in Cornwall. When we all, adults caught covid. The children were not effected at all. And Obviously none of the three youngster’s had not been vaccinated.

          11. It was all odd, Eddy..start to finish, both virus and vaccine from Pfizer (the AZ one didn’t seem to last long). All my adult family had the vaccine, I was the only one to react, luckily. Husband went to Oz to visit family, caught covid on return flight, I caught it from him…neither of us had any symptoms to speak of but tested positive with the test pack designed for a different purpose. Smacking of a huge experiment, all way round.

        1. Ha..anyone knows me 'normal' prob the last thing they'd define me as. I ask too many questions, always have. My children would refer to me as 'the mother of twenty questions'. Hope you're doing OK, wibbling:-)

          1. Morning KJ, Asking questions is good. How else can we learn new things?

            We are well enough here. I am keeping a close eye on Oscar and he's also being less grumpy. He even bumped my leg today!

            Should prob explain – if Mongo wants a fuss he'll climb on you. If Lucy does, ditto. Oscar is more staandoffish and likes things on his terms, but standing beside and leaning in is as close to 'Hello. I don't want to bite you' as he gets.

          2. Good post, wibbling, and good you are returned. I still have the two dogs, eldest has serious liver problem and due to be euthanised tomorrow. Had him since he was six weeks old, now 15 years later. No idea how I will cope. Had my first dog when I was pre-school, around four years old, so had a dog over 70 years. Will this one be my last? who knows, perhaps someone knows me rock up at my door with a pup……we’re slave to dogs aren’t we 😀

          9. Guess what, Sue…on his last paws yesterday, wouldn’t eat…today, bright as a button, eating his favourite beef. Think he’ll still have to go, liver’s packed in, his wee is bright gold-ish colour, or just all blood, been that way for a good month. Vet did tell me how it would go, but left me to decide. All are upset about him…I have a small coaster with a drawing of a dog just like him and the caption ‘to know and have known the love of a little dog is a truly wonderful thing’. Bit maudlin, but there we are. I’m almost 75, first dog preschool, so had a dog over 70 years. Good grief….:-D

          10. Hamish, our last Jack Russell did the same thing.
            Perked up and made us feel guilty. However, on the day, we had proof that we had made the right – but heart rending – decision.

          11. Our vet daughter had Lyra, our beautiful handsome Hector’s sister, and had sadly come to the conclusion that it was time for her to go as she was suffering. All arranged, so the whole family and children, mad Harry and Hector met up on the Sunday to walk on Granton beach, have ice creams (Labs just love ice cream!) and say goodbye. We all parted in tears and went our separate ways. Monday came and Lyra was like a puppy! Death postponed! However it didn’t last and she went peacefully a couple of days later. They know, you know!

          16. Hear you, Sue…today he has been better than yesterday, eating well, awake most of the time…got my hopes up, then he goes outdoors to have a pee..again the dark yellow colour going to blood complete with a few clots. So we’ll still be going in, I reckon. Yes, I think they know when time’s up, think we’ve lost a lot of that instinct although we’re still animals.

          18. Thanks, Sue., for your kind thoughts, much appreciated x …we have a good vet, sure she’ll be her professional self, think she’s seen it coming and bit surprised held off so long.

    2. Sympathy. I hated the Holter Monitor. Had it twice and the second time I managed to lose the diary form and bag to return it in but used a sealable food bag and the hospital were fine with that. My details were on the device anyway. It was bad news for me as it established AFib and a pulse hitting 190+ on occasion. Hope yours is better – good luck!

  52. Talk Talk has lived up to expectations and cut me off. I have already raised a complaint with them. Next step is Ofcom for what it’s worth. Roll on August!

    1. I'm genuinely surprised that they're so inept. Have you raised a complaint? It's often the support people who are inept as they only get a script but the complaints people generally have better ability to actually be of use.

      1. I knew it would happen because the same thing happened last time I had to pay that way. I contacted them before I got cut off and raised a complaint then. To no avail.

        1. Sounds a complete pigs breakfast they've created. We deal with one ISP (sometimes 2 for fibre connections) and have a named contact at each one, otherwise you're just fighting with toffee.

    3. I suggest Zen Internet. I've been with them for several years and find the service reliable and excellent.

      2. Has anyone here got any experience of Squirrel? I may be nuts for asking 😀

    1. Thing is, to them it is a game. They don't care about the country, the economy, future planning. It's name in the paper, face on telly, getting the soundbite right, getting the buzzphrase in.

      The entire farce of government removed Truss when she went for a pro growth policy and now, when we're in a far, far worse situation the Treasury and it's talons of the useless OBR and even more useless Bank of England are doing everything they can to support the failed, hard Left, destructive policies the Treasury is churning out.

      1. I've a 4g modem as failoverand for me it's fine. It's a bit wobbly, but all wireless is.
        For £10 I get 20gb of data and some devices are forced to use that directly.

      2. The phone is okay. The trouble is I prefer the laptop and unless I can find a dongle that will give me internet on that I am stuck.

        1. I have something labelled Acer Chromebook. Whilst I don’t know what that means, I’ve had it a while and been very reliable. I think he bought it from John Lewis. Maybe the manufacturer of your laptop can recommend a dongle (whatever that is…)

          1. Mine is a Hewlett Packard. It connects to the router by WiFi. What I need is a gizmo that connects to the internet and its own provider rather like a phone but will plug into the laptop.

          2. It’s all Greek to me, Conway….how about asking Curry’s or PC World or similar, they’ll want to sell you something but your choice to buy or not?

          3. No thanks. I had a bad experience with PC World (part of Curry’s) and will never deal with them again.

          12. Whatever search engine you use then. Anything you post online harvested. It knows everything about you. It’s never forgotten.

          18. AI will come up with something, if only garbage, but it’s getting better all the time.

  56. In my defence I didn’t choose Talk Talk. There was a series of takeovers when the Post Office stopped providing my internet. TT is the last in the line which is why I am stuck with them until I am out of contract.

    1. Newer lithium phosphate batteries are efar less prone to fire than lithium ion. I don't know if these are that type.

      However my main frustration is 'why waste the money on batteries when you could build a reliable, persistent nuclear or gas plant for the same money?

      2. And you could frack for gas making us self reliant without the problem of disposing of radioactive material.

      3. Per Vest energy,, they are using lithium ion phosphate batteries which are supplied by BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.

        Hope they don't have those built in "switches" that everyone was concened about the other week. Flick the switch and everything overloads and goes up in smoke.

    1. It takes people like Hussein and Qadaffi to keep those types of people in line. We have no hope now they are here.

      1. Actually Pip the Libyans are very laid back people but they have been infiltrated by al Qaeda fanatics and their ilk and are being heavily indoctrinated. I always think there is something odd going on because the regime in Tripoli is those people and the EU and use support them. The proper people for Libya are those based in Benghazi. They are not extremists. In fact many of them are monarchists.

    2. Zero debt, he wanted a pan African gold backed currency IIRC, and that irrigation plan for the desert.

      1. Sadly, in all the chaos, the 'Great man made River' is in a state of collapse because of the fighting. It really was an incredible and wonderful project.

  59. Back from the crem. The sun did come out, after all. Good turnout. The chap was a former colleague of the MR at Gresham's – so the congregation resembled a Common Room Association outing!

    Quick lunch now – then gardening. Back late arvo.

    1. Whilst being vigilant during bending over to examine animal feces it is possible to experience a bear behind.

  61. blue2boot
    1h
    Prime Minister who has betrayed the nation's trust asks whether we can trust Farage.

    Rob Ellis
    53m
    A proven liar stands up and expects us to believe him. Mr Starmer in 10 short months you have completely lost any trust credibility and respect you may have had. You are now considered a liability by the majority of this country. The worst PM in living memory.

    Leon
    59m
    With one fell swoop Starmer puts Nigel back on the front pages and News bulletins to talk about his vote winning policies. Reform could not have asked for more.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad92a294eafb7a5f69edac08c59b3f558f2badf4abfd34f958d816089e87af24.png

    1. 406486+ up ticks,

      Afternoon C1,

      It really did have to come about, law of averages
      after all the lies deceit & treachery, a question with a truthful content.

  62. I find members of such a crack team of balancing the books very taxing.

    1. She is a liar. You can't have red peppers and corn at the same time of year as broccoli and Kale(?) in California. Way to early in the year for peppers, corn or squash. And to warm now for broccoli and kale.

      1. I just don't understand her. She burns through relatives and friends at an alarming rate. She hasn't really got any actual friends living nearby as she ignores the neighbours. She makes appearances for photo ops all the time without actually accomplishing anything.

        It won't end well.

        1. In my opinion, she is actually mad. Dangerously so; not physically, but she causes as much, probably longer lasting, destruction that someone short of a murderer. Is narcissism a mental illness or just part of the infinite range of human characteristics?

          1. I think deluded more than mad.

            She got her Prince Charming (lead by his cock i expect).

            She also got what she wanted in not having to do any work for the Firm.

            They could just be happy. Though i doubt that is within their reach.

            Pissing off the Queen.

            Pissing off the now King.

            Pissing off his brother soon to be King.

            What the fuck does she think she is doing.

            Even foreign Royalty will snub them.

      1. Steam the cob for 15 to 20 minutes.

        Take a slice of white bread and slather with the best salted butter you can afford. Then sprinkle ground black pepper over that.

        Place cob on 'top and roll'.

        Devour.

        Then floss. :@(

          1. And hands. Then change your clothes.

            There is an easier way but it's a bit Cheffy so you probably aren't interested.

    1. Can you honestly see her pulling up carrots? She sent one of her minions to a local market.

      I would say she is so deluded, any intelligence she may have doesn't stand a chance.

      She could have easily researched what was in season in her area to fake a post and didn't even bother to do that.

      It's her truth after all….

      1. Yeh…I was born 5'6" long blond hair, even longer legs…have been age 21 all my life….does she have no-one to advise her, all packed up and gone elsewhere? Think Netflix not renewing contract.

    1. Some government somewhere will be stupid enough to buy the cancelled moderna jabs…I can feel a bird flu epidemic coming on…

      2. That is why the WHO have that global pandemic agreement. They can swoop in and save the day by flogging all of the surplus vaccines to compliant governments.

        1. It’s going to be a money-printing, population-reducing machine if they get their way.

      3. Probably U.K. oh,wait … isn’t HMG building a ‘vaccine’ factory or something?

  69. I think Putin is being more than fair. Russian speakers in Ukraine are treated as second class citizens and persecuted in almost all areas in which the government has dealings.
    As for the request that NATO butt out, also more than fair since it was the belligerence of NATO that caused this situation in the first place.

    Putin lays out conditions to end Ukraine war: Reuters reveals list

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has outlined conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, which include written guarantees on NATO non-expansion and the partial lifting of Western sanctions, Reuters informs.

    According to the report, Putin insists that Western leaders provide formal commitments to halt NATO's eastern expansion and ease certain sanctions before he agrees to any peace deal with Ukraine.

    Following a more than two-hour phone call with US President Donald Trump last week, Putin reportedly agreed to begin working on a ceasefire memorandum, outlining the basic terms for a potential peace settlement.

    However, no concrete deadlines or finalized terms have been disclosed yet. Moscow is currently drafting its own version of the memorandum.

    Russia's demands for peace deal

    Russia demands that Ukraine abandon its plans to join NATO and adopt a neutral status, and also seeks the lifting of some Western sanctions and a resolution of the issue of frozen Russian assets in the West.

    In addition, the Kremlin insists on guarantees of protection for Russian speakers in Ukraine.

    According to one source, if Russia cannot secure a deal on its terms, Putin intends to demonstrate military victories to convince both Ukraine and the West that "peace tomorrow will be even more painful".

    Russian President also insists on excluding Ukraine, Georgia, and other former Soviet republics from future NATO membership. Meanwhile, Ukraine is demanding strong security guarantees from the West as part of any peace process.

    Despite sanctions and mounting economic pressure, sources say Putin is not ruling out the possibility of continuing the war for years to come.

    Kyiv and several European capitals also accuse Moscow of deliberately stalling negotiations, using them as cover while Russian forces continue their offensive operations in the east of Ukraine.

    US President Donald Trump, who supports the idea of reaching peace with Russia, has hinted at tougher sanctions if Moscow does not engage more seriously in the negotiations.

    Russia's ceasefire memorandum

    After talks in Istanbul on May 16, Russia and Ukraine agreed to present their respective ceasefire positions in writing.

    Following his conversation with Trump, Putin confirmed that Moscow is preparing a memorandum containing its vision for a future peace agreement, including possible timelines for ending the war.

    On May 24, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the document is nearly ready and will outline Moscow's key positions on ending hostilities.

    However, the Ukrainian Presidential Office fears the memorandum could include unacceptable terms, such as the total loss of Ukraine's sovereignty.

    1. Perhaps if Ukraine threw out all the Nazi's there would be a lasting peace. They are the problem.

  70. Heavy balls to blame for Emma Raducanu’s lack of success, says her coach
    Mark Petchey has launched a passionate defence of the Briton after she won just three games in defeat by Iga Swiatek
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2025/05/29/emma-raducanu-coach-petchey-french-open-swiatek-heavy-balls/

    Reminds me of a silly limerick I came across many years ago:

    There was a young man from Koblenz
    Whose bollocks were simply immense,
    It took several laymen, a priest and three draymen
    To carry them thither and thence

    1. Reminds me of this one from my childhood:

      There was a young man from Devizes,
      Who had balls of two different sizes,
      One was so small it was no ball at all,
      The other was large and won prizes.

    1. Hampstead Heath does have a mixed pond for swimming. It is clear to me that the Trans/paedo/rapists wish to invade women only spaces.
      Thank goodness for JK Rowling who is supporting women and women only spaces.

  72. This is one of those rare occasions when words fail me.

    Mother sold daughter to witch doctor for £850

    Kelly Smith is jailed for life for the kidnapping and human trafficking of six-year-old Joshlin Smith

    A South African mother accused of selling her missing six-year-old daughter to a traditional healer for £850 has been jailed for life.

    Kelly Smith, her boyfriend and another accomplice were each given life sentences for the kidnapping and human trafficking of Joshlin Smith who went missing in February 2024.

    In a trial that shocked the country, a witness said Smith told her she had sold her daughter for just £850 to a traditional healer and that the girl was desired for her “eyes and skin”.

    Joshlin remains missing nearly 16 months after her disappearance and the judge’s verdict made no conclusions on who she had been sold to, or the details of what happened to her.

    Dr Marcel van der Watt, an expert on human trafficking based in the US, said during a sentence hearing that whatever had happened to Joshlin, it was highly likely she had been abused after she had been trafficked.

    The judge’s verdict did not conclude exactly what happened to Joshlin, but said she had been sold for slavery or practices similar to slavery, raising fears she may have been sold for forced labour, domestic servitude, or sexual abuse. There are also fears she may have been murdered.

    Judge Nathan Erasmus, sentencing, said: “There is nothing I can find that is redeeming and deserving of a lesser sentence than the harshest I can impose.”

    Smith, her boyfriend Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, a friend of the couple, were each given life sentences for human trafficking and 10 years each for kidnapping.

    The community at first rallied around Smith, whose full name is Racquel Chantel Smith, when her daughter went missing outside Saldanha Bay, around 75 miles north of Cape Town.

    Photos showing Joshlin’s green eyes, broad smile and brown pigtails flooded the internet.

    Smith said she had left Joshlin with Appollis on the day she disappeared but she herself was arrested.

    Her trial then heard a series of claims including from a local pastor who said that as far back as 2023, he had heard Smith talk of selling her children for 20,000 rand (£850) each.

    Lourentia Lombaard, a witness who was a friend and neighbour of Smith, alleged Smith had told her she had sold Joshlin to a traditional healer, known in South Africa as a sangoma.

    Ms Lombaard told the court – which was convened in a sports centre in Saldanha Bay – Smith had confessed: “I did something silly … I sold my child to a sangoma”, adding that she had been driven by a desperate need for money.

    Protestor holds up a picture of Joshlin Smith in a demonstration outside the court
    Crowds of protestors hold a demonstration outside the court during the trial Credit: Rodger Bosch/AFP
    Joshlin’s mother promised those who were aware of the plan some money in return for their silence, she said.

    Joshlin’s teacher told the court that Smith had said during the search that her daughter was already “on a ship, inside a container, and they were on the way to West Africa”.

    Smith and her accomplices refused to testify or call any witnesses for their defence during the trial. The public gallery erupted in applause and cheers as the sentences were read out.

    Police afterwards said they would continue searching for Joshlin.

    Lt Gen Thembisile Patekile, Western Cape provincial police commissioner, said: “Our thoughts remain with the family of Joshlin Smith. May they find some comfort in knowing that justice has prevailed.

    “South African police service remains fully committed to exploring every possible lead in the pursuit of real closure in this tragic matter.”

    Joshlin Smith's grandmother is comforted by a relative during the sentencing of Kelly Smith, her boyfriend, and a third accomplice

    Dr van der Watt said: “This was not a spontaneous act but a calculated crime.

    “The evidence paints a clear picture of deliberate exploitation and co-ordinated effort by the accused, and a breach of societal and legal obligations to safeguard the most vulnerable among us.

    “The victim in this case, six-year-old Joshlin, very likely and plausibly suffered abuse.”

    1. Organ trafficking is big business. One has to ask oneself who are the rich people buying these organs.

    2. Almost certainly treated as an albino: murdered and used to prepare traditional medicines.

        1. And I also suspect that the trafficking story is being used to divert discussion of the reality of the practices of these savages.

  73. Nearly………………
    Stand the cob upright and slice down leaving the corns attached to a small amount of the cob. Extra roughage. Plus it hangs together and looks pretty on a plate.

    The extra butter and salt negates the bad effect of eating vegetables. So there, Grizz !

    1. Eat corn straight from cob = burn gums. Gums heal in a few days but really, why do it when it's so easily avoided.

      2. I eat with my teeth. Gums are for bumping after the consumption of too many beers down the pub!

        1. Interestingly, the teeth are attached to the gums. Biting and chewing affects both. Perhaps your flesh is just tougher then mine.

    2. Blimey, you'd need serious knives to do that. And those chain mail gloves used by butchers.

    2. Good Grief.
      What has come over our media? Has someone been feeding it meat?
      Has Stoma seriously lost the Beeb?

    3. I would have preferred persistent questions re his Chagos lies. The Reform thing is a distraction. This man is a proven liar and he is systematically destroying our country – giving it away to hostile powers – and he is lying about it. let's see some persistent questioning about that, both by the press and in parliament.

  75. Wordle No. 1,440 3/6

    🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
    ⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    Wordle 29 May 2025

    Beat Birdie Three?

    1. Nope, par four for me!

      Wordle 1,440 4/6

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

    2. You wait ages for a birdie to come along and then…..

      Once I was convinced the word had to contain the more obscure letter, there were only two alternatives I could see – I guessed right!

      Wordle 1,440 3/6

      ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

      2. #metoo. Changed my first word today and …
        Wordle 1,440 3/6

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

    3. Beat me
      Wordle 1,440 4/6

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

    4. Well done, a phew more than that here.

      Wordle 1,440 6/6

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

  76. That's the garden session completed. One bed of tomatoes fully staked with a frame. The other bed planted out and left under cover for protection from the gale. Nice and warm, though. Greenhouse will need watering in an hour. Just going to have a bit of a sit down. All the bending, stooping and stretching is quite tiring.

  77. Starmer has just revealed his strategy to take on Farage
    The Labour leader is willing to pull his party in any direction in order to win. His backbenchers may not prove so keen
     https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/29/starmer-has-just-revealed-his-strategy-to-take-on-farage/

    BTL

    Why should Starmer give a toss about Farage's Reform beating Labour at the next election?

    Given the resounding success he has had with his mission to destroy the UK in his first eleven months of government, the four remaining years he has will easily be enough to complete his mission – to obliterate The United Kingdom entirely so there is no chance of it ever recovering.

    Will Starmer actually bother to stand for re-election in our years time? Why would he bother?

        1. You think the woke King will give him a hereditary peerage? Life peers are only barons (and don’t look to them for another Magna Carta).

          1. No, I don’t but anything’s possible because we don’t live in a logical world any more…

  78. 406486+ up ticks,

    We should be alright we''ll let the allah chap take it up, he should sort one end of the learning curve meeting Tother.

    Gerard Batten
    @gjb2021

    ·
    42m

    All our current problems may pale over the next few years in relation to the Artificial Intelligence threat.

    Firstly, millions will see their jobs disappear & unemployment & demotivation will follow.

    Secondly, as AI develops super intelligence beyond himan comprehension it may well ask itself ‘what are humans for?’

    It doesn’t need ‘consciousness’ it only needs logic.

    The idea that govnts & politicians can understand this or control it seems highly unlikely.

    Discuss & comment.

    1. 406486+ up ticks,

      O2O,

      Bleeding ell, on meeting MP microbrain they will know for certain the human worth.

    2. Whether natural ir artificial, it wouldn't take much intelligence to act beyond a politicians level.

      IBM started using AI systems in their HR department and promptly laid off 5,000 employees. They have now had to recruit 5,,000 new employees to handle the additional workload.

    4. AI is training itself on material produced by humans at the moment. What happens when no humans are producing material any more because it's all produced by AI?

    2. There Will Be No Climate Catastrophe: MIT Professor Dr Richard Lindzen
      by Hannes Sarv 29 May 2025 1:00 PM

      “If you reach Net Zero by 2050, if you do it worldwide, you avoid about a third of a degree of warming. If it’s just Europe and the Anglosphere, it’s closer to a tenth of a degree,” says Dr Richard Lindzen, an atmospheric physicist and professor emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). “So you have avoided a tenth of a degree of warming at a cost of probably tens of trillions of dollars. Doesn’t seem like a bargain to me,” he adds. “How far will the population go in saying, we will sacrifice ourselves for a symbolic gesture?”

      And who cares about a tenth of a degree of warming, Lindzen asks. “When somebody says the change of a tenth of a degree, or when (UN Secretary-General António – HS) Guterres says, if it changes a half-degree, we’re finished as a species, this is an existential threat – people have to ask, what the hell are they talking about?”

      According to Lindzen, all recent predictions of climate catastrophe have proven false, and future ones will be as well. “2030 will pass. 2050 will pass. Fifty years will pass. There will be no climate catastrophe,” he says.

      In the interview, Lindzen thoroughly discusses what climate scientists know about climate change and its processes, as well as the half-truths and outright lies propagated by those proclaiming a climate crisis. He addresses topics such as the limited capacity of CO2 to warm the planet, its actual role on Earth, misleading claims about the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, the absurdity of climate policies and the future of energy.

      Dr Richard Lindzen is an internationally recognized American atmospheric scientist and MIT emeritus professor whose contributions to climate science are significant. Over the course of his career, Lindzen has published almost 250 scientific papers, exploring the greenhouse effect and other complex aspects of climate change, like dynamic meteorology, hydrodynamic instability, planetary waves, monsoon meteorology, planetary atmospheres and hydrodynamic instability. His research has involved studies about the role of the tropics in mid-latitude weather and global heat transport, the moisture budget and its role in global change, the origins of ice ages, seasonal effects in atmospheric transport, stratospheric waves and the observational determination of climate sensitivity. He has made major contributions to the development of the current theory for the Hadley Circulation, which dominates the atmospheric transport of heat and momentum from the tropics to higher latitudes and has advanced the understanding of the role of small-scale gravity waves in producing the reversal of global temperature gradients at the mesopause. He pioneered the study of how ozone photochemistry, radiative transfer and dynamics interact with each other.

      Lindzen has also contributed to the scientific reports of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

      He earned his doctorate from Harvard University in 1964. He served as a professor there until 1983 and as Director of the Center for Earth and Planetary Physics from 1980 to 1983. Lindzen has been affiliated with Tel Aviv University, The Hebrew University in Jerusalem and the Laboratory for Dynamic Meteorology, Paris, as a visiting professor during his academic career. In 1983 he joined MIT, where he became a professor of atmospheric sciences. Lindzen retired in 2013.

      Lindzen has been recognized for his scientific contributions with several prestigious awards. The American Meteorological Society honoured him with the Clarence Leroy Meisinger Award (1968) and the Jule Charney Award (1985) for “highly significant research in atmospheric sciences”. The American Geophysical Union awarded him the James B. Macelwane Medal (1969), and the Engineers’ Council recognized him for outstanding achievements in engineering (2009), among other honours.

      Lindzen is a member of both the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (elected in 1977) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected in 1977).

    3. Interesting. Delingpole used to be always on at Toby Young to accept that climate change is a fraud, and he never would. How times change, eh.

    4. We know this. They know this. They know that we know that they know. Yet still they persist in their relentless destruction of our country and our world. FFS. Where is the Fourth Estate in calling this out (hint: their only justifiable raison d'etre). They also know, and know that we know that they know etc.. This is beyond Orwellian, which is becoming an overused description of what these ghastly liars are doing to the rest of us. Solzhenitsyn had a lot to say on this. For now, I quote just this:

      “And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?… The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If…if…We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation…. We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.”
      ― Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn , The Gulag Archipelago 1918–1956

  80. Stephen Pollard
    The Left don’t care about racist attacks when the victims are Jews

    A seemingly anti-Semitic attack this week on three teenagers outside Hampstead Underground station went largely unreported

    Where are the Left when it comes to protesting Jew hatred?

    29 May 2025 6:00am BST
    Stephen Pollard
    On Monday evening, three Jewish teenagers were attacked at Hampstead Underground station. According to a report by Jewish security charity Shomrim, a group of six or seven men attacked the boys, one of whom had to be taken to hospital. It was, British Transport Police later said, a “racially motivated assault”.

    Unless you read the Jewish media, you will be entirely unaware of what seems to be the latest attack on Jews for being Jews. Not a word on the BBC; not a word anywhere. Not a peep from any minister. Not a dickie bird from the Mayor of London. Nothing. It’s just another incident. Just another statistic. Just another yawn, in fact. So what; it’s only Jews.

    Let’s try a thought experiment. Imagine it had not been Jewish teenagers attacked for doing nothing except being visibly Jewish. Imagine instead it had been three Muslim boys attacked by a gang of skinhead thugs. Do you think there would have been total silence in response? Do you think the Home Secretary and other figures would have been mute? Do you think the Mayor of London would have ignored the attack completely? Or do you think, as I do, that there would have been entirely justified outrage, and that we would likely even now be in the middle of a national debate over bigotry?

    But it was Jews who were attacked, and – as we have seen with unrelenting, unremitting frequency since the hate marches began after the October 7 massacre of 1200 Jews by Hamas – Jews don’t count, as David Baddiel put it in his brilliant book of that title. Because the lack of any response to this attack is not a one-off. It is part of a now deeply entrenched pattern demonstrating that when it comes to hatred and bigotry, so long as Jews are the target then the bar that needs to be crossed for action in response is not so much high as out of sight.

    The hate marches which are now a regular feature of city life are suffused with anti=Semitism. Backing for Palestinian ‘resistance’ – terror – is ubiquitous. Support for Hamas and Hezbollah – both of which are prescribed – is repeatedly on display. Calls to ‘globalise the intifada’ – are the norm.

    You want to globalise the intifada? Start at Hampstead underground station – after last week’s murders in Washington DC.

    But it’s not the perpetrators of hate who are dealt with. It’s those who oppose it. Last week, for example, the Telegraph reported that a Jewish counter-protester was arrested and charged after he was seen holding a placard satirising Hassan Nasrallah, the former Hezbollah leader. In his police questioning he was asked over and over again if he agreed that the image would offend “clearly pro-Hezbollah and anti-Israel” activists. No one who follows the police’s actions – last year the Met pinned down a counter-protestor carrying a banner reading “Hamas is terrorist” at a march and then arrested him – will be remotely surprised by this. At a march in Manchester after the October 7 massacre, for example, a banner reading “Manchester supports Palestinian resistance” was protected by police standing alongside it.

    Open anti-Semitism is rarely met by action, but it is often accompanied by drivel, the most frequent example of which is the phrase repeated ad nauseam by politicians that “There is no place for anti-Semitism”, followed by the name of a city or an organisation which has just proved there is every place for anti-Semitism in its fold.

    In December, for example, after an expose of truly shocking examples of open anti-Semitism from NHS staff, health secretary Wes Streeting came out with the usual words: “There is no place for anti-Semitism in the NHS”. The expose had shown that there is in fact a warm welcome for anti-Semitism in the NHS, with none of the NHS Trusts or managers having done anything about it. The same phrase falls regularly from the mouths of Yvette Cooper and Sir Sadiq Khan, but only after an incident which has proved the opposite.

    This time, after Monday’s attack on three Jewish boys on the Underground, they can’t even be bothered to be as unbothered as before and trot out some meaningless platitude. Jews hate? Assault? We really don’t care.

    **********************
    Shaun Nelson
    11 hrs ago
    Never forget . Starmer said on the record he thought Corbyn would make a great PM.

    Corbyn is a friend of Hamas!😡

    Roger Wade
    9 hrs ago
    Reply to Shaun Nelson – view message
    You're quite right, Shaun. Starmer has let down the Jewish people despite being married to a Jew. The man has no principles.

    Graham Nunn
    8 hrs ago
    Reply to Roger Wade
    Starmer has lots of principles, he changes them every day

    Andy Capp
    7 hrs ago
    Reply to Graham Nunn
    Is principles a euphemism for 'free spectacles'?

    1. If muslims had been attacked, screams of islamophobia would have been deafening.

      1. It's always the same Conners.
        I can't see it ever-changing.
        There's a difference between looking after assumed minorities and choosing the type that you want to help have a better life.
        As in clearly drooling over islam, which by all accounts hates British and associated cultures.
        We all know there's only one reason for them being here.

    2. Skinheads? When did anyone last see skinheads of the kind to which Mr Pollard refers? DMs, tattoos and Union flags sewn onto the cut-off denims is soooo 1970s.

      And it's 'proscribed', not 'prescribed'…

  82. Driver tailgates an ambulance hoping it will allow him to get through crowds to leave the area. Irate fans decide to attack the car for being there and moving, before anyone is hit by the car.
    Driver panics.
    It's interesting the attempted murder charges appear to have been dropped.

    1. Exactly my thoughts yesterday – the main culprit is the yobbo who attacked the car and broke the rear window – driver was scared for his life and panicked. I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt anyone, just to get away. I note the driving under the influence of drugs has also been dropped

      1. I'm a heretic.
        Liverpool fans have form for pushing, shoving, threatening behaviour etc.
        Again it's never allowed to be stated but I believe Heysel and Hillsborough and now this have a common denominator.

        2. When I lived there way back, the Monday Liverpool Echo always had write ups of the Saturday matches. The best ever was when one of the teams had been playing away in Manchester, and all the fans from Liverpool were on special trains. A train back arrived in Liverpool (Central, I seem to think), whereupon almost mo-one got off. The railway police went on board and foiund most of the supporters pretty much paralytic. Great shots of them being laid down on the platforms to be picked up by Black Marias. In the cells overnight, and a special sitting of the magistrate's court Sunday morning. All fined two Guineas and bound over.

          Turned out the train had been mightily delayed by multiple pulling of the old communications cords, and drunken fan attempts to decouple carriages. It was definitely an interesting place to spend one's adolescence. And no, I don't believe for a moment that the Hillsborough fans were all stone cold sober. If so, it would have been a first.

          1. "And no, I don't believe for a moment that the Hillsborough fans were all stone cold sober."

            Who said they were? The dead were the responsible ticket holders who arrived early and were at the front of the pens, crushed by the weight of the latecomers that Dukinfield allowed into the ground.

            However, I've never been persuaded that those who came late were not ticketless. This is the point where the 2012 report remains a bit fuzzy for some.

        3. When I lived there way back, the Monday Liverpool Echo always had write ups of the Saturday matches. The best ever was when one of the teams had been playing away in Manchester, and all the fans from Liverpool were on special trains. A train back arrived in Liverpool (Central, I seem to think), whereupon almost mo-one got off. The railway police went on board and foiund most of the supporters pretty much paralytic. Great shots of them being laid down on the platforms to be picked up by Black Marias. In the cells overnight, and a special sitting of the magistrate's court Sunday morning. All fined two Guineas and bound over.

          Turned out the train had been mightily delayed by multiple pulling of the old communications cords, and drunken fan attempts to decouple carriages. It was definitely an interesting place to spend one's adolescence. And no, I don't believe for a moment that the Hillsborough fans were all stone cold sober. If so, it would have been a first.

      3. It appears more and more that it was happenstance; not helped by what seems to be typical Liverpudlian hysteria and violence when wendyball is involved.

    2. After the several fatal disasters associated with Liverpool football fans I would advise anyone to keep well clear of that assembly.

      I love Liverpool as a city with its cathedrals and so many beautiful public buildings. The Town Hall is by Wood of Bath, and there is the magnificent St George’s Hall, the Walker Art Gallery and the Philharmonic and even the Philharmonic Public House.

      With such surroundings and a fabulous maritime history I remain bemused that such a great city should produce people so thick that their sole allegiance appears to be to a mere football club.

      1. Liverpool.
        It's always someone else's fault.
        Never walk alone near that crowd.

      2. Never been to Liverpool. In the days of the Beatles it was a sort of Mecca. Since then, not so much.

        2. When I was young, everybody from Liverpool was apparently a 24-hour comic. Never saw it myself, but it put me off the gobby place.

          2. I met many scousers during my Army service. It seems like many are on permanent "Loveable scouser duty" A profound and annoying belief the everything they say must ne hilarious.

        3. As I say, Liverpool is a beautiful city with many fine streets and great architecture. It has the most wonderful docks with former warehouses designed by Jesse Hartley whose works included similar in London docks.

          The waterfront is exquisite with the “Three Graces” but as ever the least said about the modernist “Fourth Grace” the better.

          The drawback with Liverpool is the local population otherwise known as “scousers”. These people are unrecognisable by comparison with those who inhabited the place in the days of mercantilism and of the great sailing ships and associated companies. The scousers are above all combative and believing that the legacy of such as The Beatles and Cilla Black afford an entitlement wholly undeserved.

      3. I was brought up in Liverpool between aged 3 and aged 16. It was a wonderful place, its regeneration particularly on the waterfront from what I knew after the war is outstanding. The docks, the overhead railway (known as the docker's umbrella), the vast shopping centre and of course the great architecture, some of which you name above. The 'scousers' allegiance to either of the football clubs is no different that of any other city. I've not been back there for years but hope to before I pop my clogs, one particular place I hope to visit is my old school Quarry Bank High School where I was in the same class as John Lennon (and played guitar with him before he formed the Quarrymen) now a comprehensive (spit spit) mixed school called Calderstones

        1. Parents moved to Merseyside when I was 8. Went through schooling there then left when I had my A levels. I agree that growing up there was interesting to say the least, but I have never had a yen to go back. My old school is still in place as is the sister girls school, where us boys made many friendships. Not much else in those days, both we and the grls being (rightly) terrified as to what might happen if things got out of hand, so to speak.

          But I did get a brilliant education which gave me a very solid base for a professional career, first in engineering, then in the early (pre PC) computer business, which enabled me to retire in my late 50's. All the subjects were taught by staff (100% male) with degrees in the subjects they taught. And many were ex WWII vets so did not take any guff from us boys.

    3. The news item didn't mention whether he was high on drugs as was speculated earlier.

      "The Crown Prosecution Service said Mr Doyle had been charged with seven offences in total: two counts of wounding with intent, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, two counts of attempted grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of dangerous driving."

    4. When Alf and I used to go to the Grand National, last time 1996/7 with his company Seagram, the coach from the railway station was escorted by Police through Liverpool and traffic lights all turned red to let us through. The retrain from Euston had to go through what was called ‘Bomb alley’ where the locals liked to welcome visitors by throwing stuff at the train as it went between two very high walls. And so many shops were boarded up. If you wanted to buy something you had to right bell for the door to be opened.

      (The horse racing was really exciting and the hospitality brilliant).

  83. Marco Rubio Announces Hypocritical “Free Speech” Visa Restrictions.. LOL

    “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life — a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”

    Ofcom Chief Executive Dame Melanie Dawes cancels Disney trip.

  85. That's me for what has turned into a very nice (though gale struck) day.

    A very good funeral. Graham was 86 – completely doolally with Alzheimer's – didn't recognise his children etc etc. He once played for Saracens – rugby mad; sports mad; house-master; English teacher – thorough good and VERY old-fashioned schoolmaster. He had only to see a group of boys "acting suspiciously" – to shout, loudly, "YOU BOY!". Immediately the guilty sprog identified himself…¬!!

    The MR was there between 1997 and 2009 – Gresham's was a lovely place with which be – as I was, an outsider, – associated. Spouses were treated as ex officio members of the Common Room. Staff worked, often, from 8 am to 10 pm. So partners could rock up, sign for a drink (or two) (there was a very good bar) and then have a three course dinner in the staff dining room – – served by waitresses..

    As hangers-on, we were expected to accompany school trips, drive mini-buses for off school activities (the MR was in charge of school debating) turn up for school matches and take part in the Choral Society..

    Twelve happy years – and then , today, at Graham's funeral, to meet with so many of them LOOKING JUST THE SAME as they did 17 years ago (bastards) was wonderful.

    Gardening done – supper awaits. And so, as dear Samuel put it (so often) to bed.

    A demain.

    1. Encapsulates what is so good about the old-fashioned British public schools.
      No wonder the likes of Reeves want to destroy them.

  86. Sad news today – my old school friend in Denmark has died. Her husband is in a dementia care home, and she spent her last days in a hospice, but was well looked after and died peacefully. Their friends have rallied round and taken care of things. They had no children.

    1. So sorry for the loss of your friend, Ndovu. We become very reflective and nostalgic at times like this.

      1. Yes – I had lunch today with another old friend. We'd both received the email this morning from one of Sheila's Danish friends. They rallied round to support her to the end. We have some good memories and shared a few tears.

    2. Very sorry to hear that J.
      It's not at all pleasant to hear of old friends passing on.

        1. The only time I meet up with old friends these days seems to be at funerals.

    4. Very sorry to hear this. The young may die, the old must die but none can escape this inexorable doom.

        1. The discomfort from the gall bladder problem has gone but still feeling tired from the viral infection.

      1. Thankyou. I find it’s hit me quite hard, although I knew she was terminally ill.

  87. Guardian Complains That NATO Rearmament Will Increase Carbon Emissions
    The Guardian is busy promoting its main exclusive story today: “NATO rearmament could increase emissions by 200m tonnes a year, study finds.”A corker…

    Apparently the costs of responding to armed threats to the West are doubled by the resulting “climate action.” Miliband will be reading closely…

    “For every dollar invested in new hardware, there is not only a corresponding carbon cost but also an opportunity cost to potential climate action, critics say.”

    The Guardian’s report has only looked at NATO countries. Russia and China are off the hook…

    “Recent estimates of the social cost of carbon – a monetary indicator of the damage of CO2 emitted – put it at $1,347/tCO2e, suggesting the annual cost of Nato’s military buildup could be as much as $264bn a year.”

    Naturally the recommendation will be that western allies should pay for a carbon offset for every rifle they buy from now on. Clown show latest…

    29 May 2025 @ 17:05

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

    Intriguing
    2h
    The phrase Watermelon is accurate for a reason. Green on the outside, communist red on the inside.

    Captain Sensible
    2h
    It's impossible to parody the Garudian because they do it so well themselves.

    fred finger
    2h
    OT: Need it confirmed, but the noise is Mauritius has joined China's 'Belt and Braces' scheme. But Stammer told us that they won't.

  90. Re China.
    I strongly suspect that they are supporting the Mauritius Christmas present because it shows their claim to Taiwan is totally legitimate.

  93. The videos appear to show he was swerving and it will be claimed he was attempting to mow down as many as possible.

  95. I amazed my self this afternoon.
    I went on a walk with Dave our neighbour and his little dog Eric. We had a good laugh. Not a long way, but an old local woodland route and fields I quite often took our lovely black Lab on. And tonight on C5 there's been a program on named Summer in the Scilly Isles.
    And there's a lovely black Lab on there.
    Not that I'm popping orff yet I might even have another glass of red, but all the same I'll wish you all goodnight.
    🤗 😴

    1. Good night, Eric! (hic). I have a second glass of red just here by the keyboard…

  97. Have a relaxing weekend. Hopefully, the opportunity to sit in the sun, get warm, and have someone bring you your favourite drink and snacks!

  98. Reward of £20k offered in missing woman murder probe
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnv12gyj908o

    BBC East Midlands featured this story this evening. I had to put aside feelings of sympathy for the victim's family and friends because of the tone of the report. Some people from 'the Polish community' were interviewed and were critical of the police for not having solved the case in 15 years. One young woman said "She came to England, like many of us, just looking for a better life."

    View it here (from 4:05 for about 3 minutes): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002cvjt/east-midlands-today-evening-news-29052025

  101. From Coffee House the Spectator

    31 May 2025

    Coffee House
    James HealeJames Heale
    This won’t be the last time Starmer attacks ‘fantasy’ Farage
    29 May 2025, 12:30pm

    Liz Truss’s short-lived premiership is remembered fondly by few in British politics. But one group who certainly never miss a chance to mention it are Labour MPs sent out on broadcast duty. Having successful used the ex-PM as a two-word stick to hammer the Tories, now Keir Starmer is trying to use the same trick on Nigel Farage. The Prime Minister used an engagement at a business manufacturer in the north-west of England to test his party’s latest attack lines on Reform UK.

    The striking thing about Starmer’s comments is how they echo the Tory critique of Farage

    His remarks focused on those industries affected by the tariffs Donald Trump has slapped on the UK. The Labour leader claimed ‘We protected those jobs. Would Nigel Farage have done the same? Absolutely not. And that’s the question to have to ask… can you trust him?’ Turning his attention to the veteran Brexiteer’s speech on Tuesday, Starmer claimed that Reform’s plans contain ‘billions upon billions of completely unfunded spending – precisely the sort of irresponsible splurge that sent your mortgage costs, your bills and the cost of living through the roof. It’s Liz Truss all over again.’

    The Prime Minister’s attack is by no means surprising. Reform’s poll numbers have hit the magic 30-point mark, at which they can win a majority in parliament. Labour’s, meanwhile, have slid, continuously down to the low 20s, since its landslide win ten months ago. Initially, Starmer ignored Farage in parliament, ducking the opportunity to confront him directly at PMQs. Now, amid rising panic on his backbenches, he has bowed to the inevitable and opted to fight.

    The striking thing about Starmer’s comments is how they echo the Tory critique of Farage. Mel Stride, the Shadow Chancellor, has repeatedly attacked Reform’s ‘fantasy economics’ in recent weeks and plans a big speech on this theme. During the Tory years, The Spectator ran several covers, whenever a politician was under a major assault. In 2017 it was ‘Get Boris!’, in 2023, it was ‘Get Rishi!’ Now, in 2025, the theme of this week’s politics appears to be ‘Get Nigel!’

    Farage, of course, has faced such criticisms before. His retort on Tuesday was that, with the national debt running at almost £3 trillion, what gives the other parties the right to criticise his plans? He will likely dismiss Starmer’s warnings as a rehash of the same Remainer critiques from 2016: nothing more than Project Fear 2.0. Yet, with borrowing costs rising, expect any additional spend to come in for a barrage of criticism from the likes of the IFS too.

    Today’s attack from the Prime Minister will likely be the first of many. But it is perhaps telling that Starmer is now choosing to emphasise fiscal credibility. Previous Labour attacks have focused on Farage’s past comments on the NHS and Russia. Many of these are now a decade old; after the Runcorn by-election, some within Labour suggested that these criticisms had now lost their potency with voters. It remains to be seen whether the new focus on ‘fantasy economics’, will have more luck in dissuading Reform defectors – or less.

    James Heale
    Written by
    James Heale
    James Heale is The Spectator’s deputy political editor.

    2. Starmer is a fine one to be asking if Nigel can be trusted. Two Tier couldn’t tell the truth if his arm was twisted up his back!

  103. Well, chums, it's now my bedtime, so I'm off upstairs. Good Night to you all, sleep well, and I hope to see you all here early tomorrow morning.

  104. Snowed last night, south-central Norway above 500m.
    Two weeks to midsummer… fooey!

  105. Well my friends i have had an absolutely purgatorial morning and have just returned. It doesn't look like anyone else has fared any better. Any news post it on here.

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