75th VE Day / Open Thread 8 May 2020

The 75th Anniversary of the End of the War in Europe . We can be sure that the Far Left BBC will be rewriting British history to favour its propaganda war against its own people . Let the many of our people who had their lives taken in the cause of Freedom Rest in Peace . With Thanks . ????????

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417 Responses to 75th VE Day / Open Thread 8 May 2020

  1. jakita says:

    That’s an interesting watch Vlad. More truths about the teachings of Mo that we will never get from the MSM.

       16 likes

  2. Up2snuff says:

    Is not the great BBC forgetting something?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/in-pictures-52585160

    Harvest is yet to come. Two more supermoons, this year, I think.

       5 likes

    • JimS says:

      This is the first time that I have ever heard of a ‘flower moon’. In the UK we have flowers all-year round so nothing special there.

      As per usual most of the BBC photos are ‘fake’ i.e. more ‘super-zoom’ than ‘super-moon’.

      [Spoiler alert: To the human eye the Moon looks the same size all-year round].

         9 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        Yes, Jim, but there is an optical illusion that occurs when a full moon is low in the sky. It is generally thought – so I understand – to be caused by grit grot in the atmosphere such as you might expect (especially so) at harvest time (June/July/August) although the BBC like to promote one of the autumn full moons as the ‘Harvest’ moon.

        I put that down to a City centre (London or Salford) disconnect from the countryside.

        In addition, the moon has a wobbling orbit and sometimes comes closer to earth.

        On top of that, when low in the sky its size is easily compared – to say, the Statue of Liberty – but that is not the case when it is high in the sky. As you rightly say, its size doesn’t change but it appears to.

           8 likes

        • Mustapha Sheikup al-Beebi says:

          The moon’s apparent diameter as an occulting disc will increase if it is closer to the earth. Hence some centrally aligned solar eclipses are total (i.e. with a nearer moon and/or a far sun) whereas others are “annular” [ring-shaped] partial eclipses (i.e. far moon and/or nearer sun, so moon too small to cover the solar disc even at maximum eclipse).

             5 likes

      • Mustapha Sheikup al-Beebi says:

        Well, I’ve just dug out a small lavender cushion (designed to promote good sleep or to scent socks and things in drawers?) gifted to me over 18 years ago. The scent has now nearly all gone, of course, but there is this verse by William Blake on it:

        “Night” [written across an image of a full moon]

        “The moon like a flower
        in heaven’s high bower
        with silent delight
        sits and smiles on the night.”

        The full moon was actually rather impressive yesterday, a strange pink colour as it rose in the east among some clouds, then orange before it got higher and became yellow/white. I couldn’t say that it looked any bigger than normal but it can do on occasion. I agree that those zoom lens pictures do oversell the phenomenon.

           8 likes

  3. Fedup2 says:

    Not directly BBC
    Strange that the PM didn’t do the daily briefing on VE Day – not even left to Raab or Patel . The way that the government has turned both communication and tactics into a mess I suppose BoJo will want to stay as low profile as possible – and avoid questions about the shagging professor – continued failing to hit testing targets and shambolic provision of PPE .

    I’m normally quite supportive of BoJo and his crew but that is determined by getting the job done – in both activity and communication – particularly now that he has been put in a position where he is ‘talking to the nation ‘on Sunday – only to say ‘no real change apart from the footy season restarting ‘.

    They quote 626 deaths today – but the breakdown is across 3 days I think – and to me it looks like half those were not hospital cases …. this was the first one I turned off … can’t really see much value in wasting 50 minutes ….

    Happy to debate this view ….

       22 likes

    • Deborah says:

      I am assuming Boris is keeping his powder dry for Sunday. We also don’t know what meetings via zoom are going on re Brexit or just negotiations with the unions re getting the Tube running (although that should be Mr Kahn he just isn’t up to the job) or what had to be agreed with whom about getting people back to work without fear of employers being sued, or indeed getting schools open again. Apparently locally the teaching unions are being sensible at the moment, I predict a change as we start to return to our jobs. Boris might also be considering how we can access hairdressers again (although that is one that he might take advice from Sir Kier as he appears to have that one sussed). There really is a lot for the PM to do, especially one who is not long out of intensive care and with a new baby. Seriously Boris’ strength is tactics (as is Dominic Cummings), if both are still under par, then that must be their priority rather than virtue signalling.
      Last year I had what I deemed to be flu. I spent a month watching day time television before realising I did have the strength to do more. Fedup2 we expect a lot of Boris, but miracles take a little longer.

         19 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Deborah – I don’t accept the new baby / hospital case as an excuse – if he’s not Physically up to the job He should give it up –

        He was lucky there wasn’t a full House of Commons for the recent PMQs because he was less than on top of his brief .
        HMG is huge and operating with no financial constraints at the moment – the stage of sourcing stuff from Turkey should be long gone – I even saw a tweet from Raab last night about a plane load of PPE gloves arriving from Malaysia ?

        Judging by the failed logistics I reckon they’ll all be left hand gloves and the right hand ones Will be sent into due course ‘ .

        I say ‘failed logistics – not about hospitals – medics will always moan – but for the care homes – which might as well all been nationalised like everything else .

           10 likes

        • Deborah says:

          Fedup2, you are not suggesting Sir Kier to take over, are you? Seriously, are you wanting Boris to stand down permanently? I expect Boris is having to pace himself, but give him a month or so he should be fully back in the driving seat and honestly I cannot see anyone else of any party who would get things done at the moment.

             12 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            Deborah – no – Boris is a Tory politician – his standing down would be a replacement by another Tory politician – ironically Jeremy Hunt probably has more knowledge of the NHS than anyone other than the current health sec. … I’d never advocate any socialist having any power – I’m further to the right than anyone in the Tory cabinet – even JRM .

            Someone who does detail and works 25 hours a day is needed – not someone trying to impersonate Churchill … ironically – someone like a Tory Attlee ..

               14 likes

            • Up2snuff says:

              Fed, you need a Team Leader with a good team behind them. Sort of thing we got quite quickly in the UK in 1940 in the RAF fighter squadrons.

              There were Squadron Leaders and Wing Commanders who quickly realised the attrition rate of both men (who were boys, really) and machines and got clever. With good Adjutants and experienced Flight Leaders backing them up, they switched to making sure the new pilots were combat adjusted, that ground crew had time for repairs and that lessons learned were freely shared with other Squadrons, Wings and Groups.

                 10 likes

              • Fedup2 says:

                Up2
                Keith Parke is a figure so far forgotten by history – but for me he was as influential in the Battle of Britain as hugh dowding was …He ran 11 group and stopped them chasing German aircraft across the channel ….

                   6 likes

                • Up2snuff says:

                  Fed, yes, indeed. Do I recall correctly he was in charge of ‘defending our patch’ ie. North London?

                     1 likes

        • Up2snuff says:

          Fed, muggins here – the well-known armchair pilot – posted this on a Thread on TCW (that’s The Conservative Woman) web-site today:

          “If doubters have a play with the interactive provided by Johns Hopkins University, you will see that the UK’s Lockdown is plainly not working. There could be several reasons for that. It is made available by the BBC here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/

          I’m struggling to remember who opined on doing the same thing over and over again, repeating the same experiment, hoping for a different result. Was it Einstein?

          Day before yesterday – 6 May 2020 – showed the biggest daily increase of Covid-19 infections in Kent: 367. That is getting on for nearly double the previous largest daily increase of 195 on 21 April.”

          Someone needs to do a re-think.

             5 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            Up2
            Ok – I admit it – once upon a time I ran a ‘performance management unit ‘ . I hated it . But I knew about the danger of numbers ….. and trued my best to get numbers which meant something – good / bad

            So when you talk about ‘Kent ‘ which parts or Kent are you talking about ? Being a non medic – I just apply common sense and assume that the higher the population density – the higher will be covid transmission and of course the worse will be medical facilities .

            The numbers for covid deaths in England was 40% of the national total – if you took the politics and human nature out of things you’d lock down the big cities and allow the rest of the nations carry on – and presumably wait for the cities to get to that awful ‘herd immunity ‘ level – courtesy of the likes of the London mayor and his tube system ….

            Apart from what I alluded to before – that BoJo Will announce that footy will restart – I can’t think of what he can say to justify changing anything while the numbers are as bad as they remain – including the incompetent level of testing … 97k today – which I don’t believe ….

               2 likes

            • Up2snuff says:

              Fed, in ‘Kent’ I assume all of the county that does not fall within Greater London. Am at the mercy of the BBC and various bodies now, not just the four UK Health Authorities as previously, to determine the boundaries of counties and do the counting.

              “Source: UK public health bodies, ONS, NRS and NISRA. Figures last updated 07 May”

              As you will know from your professional life (and I’ve had some exposures, too) not playing around with parameters and reporting sources is important. There has been some obvious obfuscation. In addition, the BBC cannot be trusted but then we knew that anyway beforehand.

              The lockdown is not working as we are still getting an average 4,500 – 5,000 new cases a day UK-wide. We know the NHS now has under-utilised capacity, therefore the logical thing is to change tactics.

                 8 likes

      • BRISSLES says:

        I agree with you Deborah. Waiting to see ‘numbers’ this week before pitching in on Sunday with what allowances are to come.

        As for all the number crunching, I suspect the public are getting blasé about it now, and regardless, would rather have an under-par Boris dealing with this crisis than a Labour government.

        We would all like a perfect government who did the right thing at the right time, who had the foresight (and a crystal ball) to see a plague coming from 6 months hence, and who could stack warehouses full of medical requirements in preparation. Who ‘only’ had scientists and medics to advise them, and was it really their fault if the information was duff ? Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I don’t know anyone who started to stock pile bog rolls back in October for a just in case scenario.

           23 likes

        • Venutius says:

          Hindsight? Rubbish. ‘A silent Mugger creeping up on us’. What crap.

          We could all see this a mile away from New year in China. Then Italy in Feb. They did nothing and when they did it was pointless.

          Boris et al have Hoodwinked most of the public by hitching their brand to the NHS and hiding behind ‘the science’. What science? It certainly isn’t the science of S Korea or Australia or even Germany.

          Testing, tracing, isolating? Protecting the front line? There is no policy – we are led by donkeys.

          The lockdown is a joke, it’s herd immunity by stealth. Look for the Beijing flight today waved through Heathrow, while you cower in your home.

          Starmer would be just as bad, but to pretend any credit is due to this government is laughable.

          We are led by middle management- metro liberal policy wonks. On this VE Day our hero’s of yesteryear will be looking down despair at what our nation has become.

             28 likes

          • BRISSLES says:

            Blimey Venutius, if you knew all this was prophesied a year ago, the least you could have done was give us all a heads up on here so we could have got stocks of hand sanitisers/bog rolls/masks piled up in the spare room, oh and got a couple of respirators off Amazon ‘just in case’ we happened to be taken into hospital and wouldn’t need to rely on the NHS providing us with one.

            What do you reckon is going to happen 12 months from now ? – always good to be prepared. (Ever the girl guide)

               14 likes

            • Venutius says:

              I bought sanitisers, face masks in January. I have no crystal ball just 20 years working in immunology and the pharmaceutical industry + common sense watching collapsing Chinamen on the street at New Year.

              I wrote on here in early March, after the school boy budget failed to take it seriously, to look after your own.
              The point is B the U.K. government is like a custodian. It’s in hock to the same economic forces that govern the US. That’s why the airports never shut and our lockdown ‘light’ is actually Herd immunity. They spin you the truth of it as they don’t have real control. It’s just a big charade. ….on another subject, that’s where our national broadcaster comes in!

              Prediction. If you have a Ltd Company, take everything out now in dividends (19/20). Socialist hell is about to commence.

                 15 likes

  4. Fedup2 says:

    ThinkIng on the inability to properly commemorate the end of the war in Europe -Because of the activities of the Chinese-

    Perhaps there is a case for ‘rebranding ‘ VJ Day on 2 September as the End of WW2 commemoration and remember properly what the people Did during those years.

    After all – 25 years to the centenary is a long time – and the few people still about from that time will be long gone by then .

       16 likes

  5. Beltane says:

    Apologies in advance to patriotic Taff, but having now left the EU and with Corvid-19 teaching us lessons on an hourly basis, isn’t it time to recognise that the sanctity of the Union is well past its sell-by date?
    With all the petty point-scoring political up-staging from both Scots and Welsh gaining such publicity from the usual sources, why not simply let them get on with it? On their own.
    Trying to wrong-foot the government with ‘will they, won’t they’ lockdown changes, just to look dynamic and resolute without any real risk of actually being decisive is hardly mature behaviour. In reality, being the opposite of Westminster is enough to keep them happy, and bugger any benefit to the UK population. Apparently.

       13 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Beltane – the thing is that in reality neither wales or Scotland politicians would want referenda now because the vote would be to ‘remain ‘ – and the same when unemployment goes up in coming months . Neither economy is strong enough to sustain welfare levels as is current – and I think 7 million Scots and 4 million welch would realise that . What 50 million ‘English ‘ would think ? I don’t know …

         16 likes

      • taffman says:

        Wales does not want independence, it is the small number of ‘Nats’ that are making the most noise about it . Unfortunately, Al Beeb is a megaphone for their shouting. The Welsh Assembly was formed on the smallest majority when the referendum took place. The people of Wales are fed up of that White Elephant. We have many taffmen working in England and many, many more people from England working and living in Wales .
        Re the Scots Nats ? Scotland gets subsidised by the rest of GB. I cannot see a bankrupt EU taking that country on board at this time when Europe is facing an economic Armageddon .
        Al Beeb would like nothing more than help to break up the UK ready to become minor satellite states subservient to the European Parliament. Remember, Wales voted out of the EU.

           38 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Taffman – I know about the view of independence from your posts – as well as the conduct of the welsh assemby. Unfortunately once these outfits are set up they just grow in cost and wasted air ….

          … also – I wondered what new ‘ freedoms ‘ you are going to be getting – and whether there will be thousands of English refugees heading for the Severn Bridge …

             16 likes

      • Oaknash says:

        I think the scots nats need to be very careful what they wish for.
        Our patience is wearing very thin and if they did opt to get independence and stay in the EU, it is unlikely that they would have access to any sort of Barnet formula. It would be a joy to hear wee Jimmy complaining to Macron about that.

        Personally I never wanted them to go, but am now entirely fed up with the whinging. Like dealing with a six year old that says he wants to “leave home” it is time that we packed their case full of teddies and haggis and show them the door, but in their case as adults I feel fully justified in pushing them out into the street and closing it, and turning up the telly (not BBC of course!)

           34 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Oak – part of the SNP tactic is to nag and moan – just listen to them in the commons in peacetime . But as with detail- independence means that – and separate from the English currency . With a solid border .
          Much rather be talking about that again rather than how we are being lied to over the Chinese virus ….

          Example being – in the briefing the C4 bod asked about use of PPE beyond use by date.
          The chief medic couldn’t answer the exact question – floundered and moved on . The absence of answer wasn’t picked up

          In other words a why bother having questions . ?

             16 likes

          • Oaknash says:

            I take your point FE2 – and certainly with the current situation in the UK I believe the BBC led MSM and other pro globalist forces saw the Chinese Flu as an opportunity to push their own agenda rather than any sort of real threat, hence the economy destroying stupidity, panic and threat to our freedoms whilst leaving the airports and the Channel wide open for more invaders, many now diseased – there is no logic to this other than either they have totally exaggerated the whole situation or with the Chinese flu dominating the MSM it is all the cover our border Farce needed to operate their Channel Taxi Service away from the eyes of an already sympathetic MSM.

            You can imagine it Border Farce boat turns up to Invader Vessel and the first words are “Where to Guv?”

               26 likes

            • Fedup2 says:

              Oak – has been said – the fact that the vast majority of invaders are being allowed to stay has sent out a message to those in that savage unsafe evil country – er – France – that it’s worth having a go . And nobody knows how many / few drown .

              If either government wanted it to stop – it could be done .

                 35 likes

        • JimS says:

          Let’s just get rid of the two talking shops, they were just a Blair project to break up the UK as a dowry for his Euro-presidency that he never got.

          If anything we should have been working on getting the Irish-Irish back in the family, but that would have taken a lot of diplomatic skill.

             13 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            Jim
            Won’t happen – same as the Cameron ‘ crime commissioners ‘ – which seems like another vehicle to embezzle taxpayers money and achieve nothing .

               16 likes

      • Van Helsing says:

        Fed, the population of Scotland is around 5.4 million. Of course, not nearly all of said population is Scottish. Indeed, I’d go so far as to say a large number of those in favour of independence either have Irish roots or hail from overseas, something that seems to be lost on the rest of the UK.

           22 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Thanks Van – I was working both from memory as well as the belief that the UK state doesn’t know how many people are in the UK – hence my 50 million number for England of which 25 million are in the SE with London being about 9 million . .

          One of the difficulties of course is how many are off the tax / voting books, guess workers and genuine illegals …

             18 likes

          • Up2snuff says:

            I must put up some sums sometime for interrogation, Fed. You can play interesting games with things like passport renewals, driving licences, employment and unemployment figures and so on.

               9 likes

            • Fedup2 says:

              Up2
              I think there was also sum on the amount of water being used – as well as sewage being processed – which isn’t something easy to ‘fix’ in order to determine true numbers of people …

                 10 likes

              • Up2snuff says:

                Fed, yup, that’s another good one. Household numbers, too, and average occupancy plus TV Licences. I forgot to put those in. All sorts of stats and if you use them all you end up with 1. a headache, and 2. a very large spreadsheet and 3. some good cross verification and 4. some embarrassment at Civil Service level and 5. potential pressure on politicians and their Parties for changes in policy.

                   11 likes

                • G says:

                  Up2,
                  “Household numbers…”.
                  Yes, but how calculated? My Lithuanian chain-smoking neighbours don’t register and certainly they don’t submit Census forms. I know because I’ve personally visited the local office and seen the register. That Government department when informed about the irregularity and reminding about the “£1000 fine”, simply shrug shoulders and initiate no action. So, how valuable will be any Census figures?
                  It’s all part and parcel of the growing lawlessness in the UK. Or different standards for particular groups. Example today: All visitors to the UK must isolate for 14 days but not those arriving at sea ports particularly if arriving on rubber boats.

                     15 likes

                  • Up2snuff says:

                    Yes, ONS count them every ten years and – I guess – adjust annually by housebuilder completions. In the case you offer, the ONS know how many forms were sent out and how many received back. Or should do.

                    It’s all guesstimates, G, but the thing is to cross check by as many different calculations and statistics as possible. Fed reminded me of the water consumption. That’s a really good one. You then ask “What variables can arise?” and “What situations might distort that result?”

                    It’s the answer to the sort of questions that got posed by teachers at my strange secondary school that I attended – it was highly approved – back in the days when teachers taught pupils to think critically and test things. “How can we check that?”

                       7 likes

  6. Fedup2 says:

    Just following up on the desperately bad government briefing – I thought I’d go look at the Public Health England website – which announces that it is – from today – changing its counting method and ‘revising up ‘ . As a result it has added 3811 more deaths to their bloody charts of which 70% Were non hospital Cases

    In other words over 2500 dying outside hospitals – personally I reckon that real number is a lot more than that and will be the scandal of NHS Mis management Of this pandemic . I don’t think we ll get to hear the truth any time soon ….

    No data is being provided about social care / care homes – with contrived excuses for failing to do so ,

       18 likes

  7. Eddy Booth says:

    Daily deaths- today we’re only 5 behind USA .
    We seem to have flattened the curve too , leveling it at a 7 day rolling average of 5000 new cases a day, for the last 4 weeks.
    Guess it’s all our fault cos the lockdown isn’t strict enough.. nothing to do with open borders ..

    Meanwhile over at planet Argos
    “Unfortunately lots of these are sold out right now. We’re working hard to get more in for you.”
    If any looting is going to start I hope its soon, or I’ll be too late for a decent laptop and tablet.

       12 likes

    • Dave S says:

      There is something badly wrong here. I suspect the NHS was on the point of disintegration and had to be rescued by the armed forces when the cabinet realised. There are rumours that way. There is going to be one hell of a reckoning. Boris is on borrowed time as PM now. I knew in January how infectious this was from a friend in Taiwan. I also knew that the lockdown in Wuhan was carried out with great savagery . To save Beijing. But the CCP let the planes keep flying. The deaths in the US are horrendous and there is going to be a reckoning. I fear war .
      Think Pearl Harbour and you are getting close. That is how the USA might think and true or not ( Idoubt it) that really will not matter.

         12 likes

    • Dave S says:

      There is something badly wrong here. I suspect the NHS was on the point of disintegration and had to be rescued by the armed forces when the cabinet realised. There are rumours that way. There is going to be one hell of a reckoning. Boris is on borrowed time as PM now. I knew in January how infectious this was from a friend in Taiwan. I also knew that the lockdown in Wuhan was carried out with great savagery . To save Beijing. But the CCP let the planes keep flying. The deaths in the US are horrendous and there is going to be a reckoning. I fear war .
      Think Pearl Harbour and you are getting close. That is how the USA might think and true or not ( Idoubt it) that really will not matter.

         5 likes

  8. Roland Deschain says:

    BBC Scotland. First with the news you don’t really need to hear.

       10 likes

  9. Dystopian says:

    #CCBGB

       36 likes

  10. Guest Who says:

    Shades of bronze?

       7 likes

  11. Fedup2 says:

    Fos
    Always something new to learn about that period – such as Churchill pondering on telling hitler that we’d drop mustard gas if he continued using the V1 / V2 . ( didn’t do it in the end ) or that the last V2 was in March 1945 and fell on a bit of Stepney where a lot of Jewish refugees were living . Wars ‘ a bastard eh ?

       1 likes

  12. Northern Voter says:

    Watching Channel 4 earlier (I think could have been 5), Richard and Judy punting a book programme that they do.They mentioned 3 authors, David Walliams, Sue Perkins and Graham Norton. 1 self proclaimed pansexual, 1 lesbian and 1 homosexual. Can’t they find at least one straight author ? Still no BAME’s, that’s a blessing.

       43 likes

    • BRISSLES says:

      This is the ‘Judy’ who had retired from tele and wanted to pursue her writing. Clearly got short of money then. Is she still ‘shaking’, as I remember it was put down to the menopause 20 years ago, but a journalist friend on a national tabloid many years ago, confirmed that it was well known she was an alcoholic. And not forgetting tricky Dickies run in with supermarket managers as he TWICE walked out with a trolley load of booze that he ‘forgot’ to pay for.

         19 likes

  13. Up2snuff says:

    Just had my statutory exercise and back in time for 8 p.m. in order to cock an ear for strains of ‘Whale Meat Again’ the well-known wartime food rationing lament.

    I note what seemed to be several loud (and possibly alcohol fuelled) parties going on with or without social-distancing, along with someone complaining about the noise from their front doorstep. No Vera Lynn-alikes to be heard. Oh well.

    Perhaps the Metropolitan Police Choir performed on Westminster Bridge? Maybe we will see pictures in tomorrow’s papers.

       29 likes

  14. davylars says:

    Roger……
    Note. Renewables 10% at 20.58 Fri. 8th May 2020

    0-EEFD489-76-F9-4153-90-A0-F575-A82-CA1-F1.png[/url][url=h

       22 likes

    • Sluff says:

      The interview questions the BBC will never ask.
      ‘Caroline Lucas, do you disconnect your electricity supply for 22 hours a day, in keeping with the non-renewable generation?
      And are you and your party colleagues going to blow hard to increase wind generation?’

         27 likes

  15. Mustapha Sheikup al-Beebi says:

    I read this in the Geller Report today and don’t know what to make of it but thought it would be worth posting here. The translation from French is not great but it is clear enough.

    “Elodie Clouvel had just been questioned about her possible anxiety to envisage a summer in Japan, “on a continent where the disease has broken out”. “No, because I think that with Valentin (Editor’s note: Belaud, her companion, also a pentathlete) we have already had the coronavirus, finally Covid-19,” she said.

    And the 31-year-old explained:

    “We were in Wuhan for the World Military Games at the end of October. And, in fact, it turns out that afterwards we all got sick. Valentin missed three days of training. I was sick too. … I got stuff I didn’t get before. We didn’t worry any more than that because we didn’t talk about it yet. »

    Her conclusion is also unequivocal:

    “There are many athletes from the Military World Games who have been very ill. We had contact with the military doctor recently who told us: ‘I think you got it [the Chinese coronavirus] because there were a lot of people in this delegation who were sick. »

    Until today, the first recognized case of Covid-19 in China dates back to November 17.

    But the Military World Games – nearly 10,000 athletes representing 100 nations – took place from October 18 to October 27.

    On Tuesday, French News cable channel BFMTV also reported, on condition of anonymity, the testimony of one of the 281 French athletes who were present in Wuhan and “fell ill just like several members of the French delegation” when he came back from China.

    French athletes were ordered not to talk to journalists

    Elodie Clouvel refuses to talk about the pandemic anymore. The interview she gave on 25 March did not have the liking of the military hierarchy.

    Most French athletes have been asked not to respond to journalists on the subject. As several of them told the French daily Le Parisien, they were instructed to refer questions to the army communications service.

    Several French athletes who were in Wuhan in October received a call from the army a few weeks ago to reassure them. “We were told: there is no risk, you left on October 28, and the virus arrived on November 1st,” said one of them.

    Other athletes must have been contaminated too

    In such a context, the French cannot be the only potentially infected athletes.

    Many sick people have been identified within the 100 athletes from the Swedish delegation, some of whom were suffering from high fevers on their return. “But none of the people tested, tested positive,” the Swedish Armed Forces’ communication service NSD said in mid-April at the NSD site.

    The L’essentiel website mentions the testimonies of Luxembourg sportsmen. Swimmer Julien Henx remembers an infrared body temperature check when he disembarked from the plane that took him back from China. Shot-putter Bob Bertemes remembers that “in the village they cleaned everything twice a day and at midnight they would go to the street cleaning”. Before adding, about swimmer Raphaël Stacchiotti: “He was sick there. From then on, they put him in his room and told him that he was the first coronavirus case.

    On Wednesday evening, the French ministry published a press release saying there had not been “any cases declared to the Army Health Service (SSA) of influenza or hospitalization within the French delegation of the WMBD, during and after the Games, which could be similar to cases of Covid-19. »

    Zhao Lijian, a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, suggested on Twitter on March 12 that the coronavirus may have been introduced by the U.S. delegation that participated in the games. He then retracted this Communist propaganda.”

       21 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      Mus, I’m looking forward to when everyone in the UK has been tested – except Snuffy – and the testers are complaining about not having enough to do. I will then happily trot along and give specimens and await the result with interest.

      If they tell me I have had it I will not be at all surprised.

      They will die of shock when I tell them when.

         16 likes

  16. Fedup2 says:

    Last from me on VE Day – not BBC
    My mum grew up in the outer east end of London during the war . There was a factory which made the airframes for mosquitos not far from the family home . So they got bombed . In fact one bomb blew out the front of the house in 1941 . The family landed up in a prefab .

    In 1945 my mum was 17 . She told be that on VE Day she and a friend got a 38 bus into central London and joined the crowd at the front of Buckingham Palace . Afterwards they walked home . That is a long walk . Meanwhile her brother had left the Home Guard and gone to Burma with the RTR …..

       27 likes

  17. StewGreen says:

    Jim Davidson is trending
    Why ?
    For a lockdown tweet
    or lefties claim he insulted Nish Kumar
    .. I’m not sure that is true.

       17 likes

    • Northern Voter says:

      Nish was on a repeat of Osman’s world of games last week or the week before. He was about as funny as a dose of the Maltese dog. They just keep on churning them out don’t they, our glorious BBC.

         31 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      EXhGT1pXsAAMN39.png:small

      The one about Nish seems fabricated

         22 likes

  18. Up2snuff says:

    The numbers for Kent are late again today. Bit worrying. Previous days when late, the numbers infected have sometimes seen large increases.

       7 likes

  19. Fedup2 says:

    Up2
    If you saw my earlier post – public health England site says today they are doing ‘total ‘ numbers – which I interpret as including ‘historic ‘ care home deaths – which I think will be more than painful in terms of the numbers of deaths ‘involving ‘ the Chinese virus …
    … they ll fiddle to get the numbers down to justify replacing restrictions …. since they’ve already stupidly floated them ….

       9 likes

  20. Oldspeaker says:

    Some people should be permanently socially distanced. “Swedish gangsters”? Of course they were.

    https://www.rt.com/news/488198-sweden-shooting-mcdonalds-ak47/

    “Would you like bullets with that? Swedish gangsters unload on McDonald’s with AK-47 in drive-by shooting”

       25 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      Gangsters yeah! Of what denomination? As usual sparse on facts when suits..

         3 likes

  21. JimS says:

    Not being much on the BBC lately I missed out on this two-minute silence lark.

    That just about shows where we are now – ‘Victory in Europe’, a time for celebration, the end of the war in Europe, dancing in the streets.

    But what are we getting now, virtual virtue signalling for the loss of those we never knew, or regret that the 20th Century European Project failed?

       23 likes

  22. Sluff says:

    The biased LabourBBC just cannot help themselves.
    BBC tv news for VE 75.

    The Prime Minister is given 13 seconds.
    The Leader of the Opposition, Sirkeer, is given 15 seconds.

    Cretinous editorial choice, cretinous editors.

       38 likes

    • Roland Deschain says:

      You’re timing it?

         9 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        RD, I resorted to timing Anita Anand on Any Answers (BBC R4 Sat) way back when. She is a gabbler, that one. Fond of giving out the programme’s telephone number when there’s less than ten minutes to run and she has already told listeners that they have had lots of calls and that there are callers waiting.

        At one point in her presenting career on AA, in a half hour programme, Anita had just seven telephone callers and had talked – unnecessarily* – for a quarter of the air time.

        I’ve pretty much given up on the programme (and much else on BBC Radio) because what I want to hear are the answers to the questions asked of the Panel from as many listeners as possible in 30 minutes.

        (* There are obviously some things the Presenter has to say – a brief overview of questions posed to Panel, telephone number to call in – at beginning of programme – and to read out e-mail contributions. Tweets are unnecessary – can be seen elsewhere – as are introductions between two different callers and questions posed to callers unless required for clarification.)

           11 likes

  23. Sir_Arthur_Strebe-Grebling says:

    The bBBC must have assembled their news today with gritted teeth. The 10 o’clock TV news had about 15 minutes on the 75th anniversary of VE Day and it didn’t have any Muslims or black people in it.

       50 likes

  24. BRISSLES says:

    Typical, those 2 from the Antiques Road Show are never around when you want them.

       29 likes

  25. Celtic_Mist says:

    The BBC thinks its 1399!

    Screen-Hunter-192.png

       6 likes

    • JimS says:

      Doing a ‘Maxi’, it is the Jalaali calendar, as used in Iran and Afghanistan.

         10 likes

  26. Sluff says:

    As head-in-the-clouds interviews go, Toady takes some beating this morning.
    Mischal useless Hussein was living up to her name in a so-called interview with a fantastical representative of Greenpeace. Yes they are the go-to organisation to discuss post-lockdown transport. Lobbing a series of soft balls, the solution to all our problems is walking and cycling. The safest form of transport, cars, are of course not allowed.

    Mischal’s chauffeur-driven car ( a Zil limo ?) will be arriving for her shortly after the end of the programme.

       30 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      The pecking order of green go-tos is fascinating.

      Mish and Hit gets the ‘peace corps to come to her, yet is required to attend Greta in person (albeit by air, as she was ‘busy’).

         15 likes

  27. Guest Who says:

    Then read the bio.

    #tellitoftenenough

       3 likes

  28. Oldspeaker says:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8302397/Police-say-seen-baddies-lockdown.html
    Not much says half hearted like hands in pockets, must be toasty in all that combat gear too. Combined with weak leadership its rock and a hard place for the bobby.

       4 likes

  29. Guest Who says:

    You can rely on a bbc/Lammy combo to deliver something truly dreadful.

       15 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      Obviously they bought 400,000 bin liners, boxes labeled as gowns

         8 likes

      • davylars says:

        From Turkey?
        I think it was the Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Armani, Ralph Lauren labels sewn on them that gave the game away

           10 likes

    • Halifax says:

      Mr Lammy.
      I would say that the stabbing to death of a baby and a toddler is “Truly Dreadful”…..

      Please choose your expletives proportionaly this is disappointing at worse.

         19 likes

  30. Halifax says:

    Anyone seen the COVID 19 Deaths for today in the USA. Don’t bother checking the BBC News Site.

    ONE

       9 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      H, yes but, no but – over 1.3m infections. No deaths in Kent for several days but a colossal increase in infections – over 500 – from which deaths may or may not come in future.

         5 likes

  31. Foscari says:

    There is this devout Islamic rapper by the name of Tataloo
    who is helping me to understand why media outlets
    such as the BBC show “understanding” to Muslim grooming
    gangs. And even the government is trying to sweep under
    the carpet the petition of over 120,000 to allow the report
    on the Islamic faithful just ” practicing” their religion with
    under age girls.
    You see Tataloo wants more young girls to join his harem.And
    there is nothing wrong with this. He quotes the religious books
    telling him that 9 year old girls can marry and that men can
    have four wives and 40!! concubines. By the way Tataloo has
    millions of followers.
    So there we have it. BIG BROTHER at the BBC educates us
    on how wonderful diversity is. And the rapper Tataloo couldn’t
    be more diverse.
    I should make up a rap song for Tataloo . But I don’t think
    that FED UP would allow it on this site. Check iranwire.com
    for further reading about this pleasant man ,and for further
    understanding on the religion of peace.

       24 likes

  32. Guest Who says:

    Just need to find out what the bunker broadcaster has come out with now. Lots of shares but he is a blocker.

       11 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      It also inadvertently shows why many are not aware of things.

      And in the case of media censors, gets their idiocy shared more widely, which is a funny side effect.

         10 likes

  33. Guest Who says:

    An OT qu for the IT gooroos…

    Is it possible to check the time of one’s blocking, and hence the likely post responsible?

    It would be interesting who deems what beyond the pale.

    Or subscribes to the pre-block list the bubble circulates.

       6 likes

  34. Jeff says:

    During the regular question sessions I’d really like someone to ask just how effective SAGE’s advice has been.
    They told us we would lose 250,000 people if we didn’t implement the lock down. Boris panicked and that’s what we’ve got.
    They said to Sweden that if they didn’t do the same…and as we all know they didn’t… by early May their death toll would be 40,000 plus. I think it’s actually still under 3,000.
    Our country’s economy has been put into an induced coma.
    Sweden are at least ticking over. They’re working. Shops are open. People are able to go out, but behave sensibly.
    If this self imposed economic suicide goes on much longer the harm to small businesses will be irreparable.
    If I’d wanted to live in Venezuela I wouldn’t have voted for Boris.
    I’d have voted for Corbyn…

       37 likes

  35. AsISeeIt says:

    Taking a broad overview of virus-related NHS stories one may well come to the conclusion that for all the good intentions expressed our nationalised health leviathan is in fact run rather more in the interests of the staff than of us potential patients, who pay for the thing.

    Now we turn our attention to primary and secondary education.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52596410

    ‘Unions, including the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) and the National Education Union (NEU), have called for “clear, scientific published evidence” that schools are safe to re-open’

    Here again we will soon see the needs and wishes of children and parents are to be overruled by the teachers strong-arming government policy to their wishes.

    ‘Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC… urged No 10 to “work closely” with unions to “agree a plan that meets the tests we have set out”, adding the best way to do this would be through a “national taskforce” between “government, unions and education stakeholders”.’

    Apparently ministers (representing us taxpayers) would like to see some evidence that teachers are actually working for their pay by 1st June. Not mentioned in the BBC report is the fact it will be hard to get people back to work and the economy out of shtook whilst school is out for summer, school is out for ever…. so to speak.

    Unions, ably abetted by the media and the Labour Party, (but I repeat myself) are already pleading health fears and laying the ground for the charge of Boris the Tory Murderer for the inevitable first flu death post-lockdown.

    Here’s my prediction. The Government will see the problem of that first flu death and bottle out of lockdown easing. The teachers, having a rare old time on full pay away from our awful unruly kids, will balk at reopening schools prior to the start of the July long summer holiday. Although they’ve already had their long break and children are in need of education there’s not a snowball’s chance in August they’ll agree to reopen in August. They might be coaxed back in September as I guess promotions, payrises and bonuses will by then be on their minds.

       27 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      AsIseeIt
      All good points – I have to say that cos I said it to wife yesterday…

      My thought: since the kids and most teachers have had all this time off why not go to school over summer – even if it is for 3 days a week?

         9 likes

  36. taffman says:

    “UK ‘to bring in 14-day quarantine’ for air passengers”
    While the illegals come in through the back door .
    It will be so commonplace that it will not be reported any more. Why was Plod sent to Nigel Farage’s house to “have a word with him “? – because he was reporting the failure of the Border Farce.
    Tory Party ? More like a Tea Party.

       31 likes

    • theisland says:

      HMS Severn (Naval Patrol Vessel) is currently patrolling the Sussex coast.
      I wish I knew what the crew are really thinking.

         17 likes

      • G says:

        ‘ If I were able to pop into the Local after work, I’d be ‘cold-shouldered”. Perhaps?

           2 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        I bet they wished they were furloughed as it would mean less criminal invaders and a few more not making it …

           5 likes

    • Charlie Farley says:

      Taffman
      Emailed my Conservative MP about all the illegals coming over our Channel with the Border Farce acting as water taxi”s , suggested sinking the boats picking any survivors up and dumping them back in France…got the standard House of Commons reply card ” acknowledges with thanks the receipt of your communication of the 29.4.2020 the contents of which have been noted ” ………such a great comfort to know its going to be sorted ! !….truth is none of them seem to care a damm apart from Nigel Farage

         25 likes

      • taffman says:

        It’s exactly what was happening to Italy and Greece two or three years ago. The European Border Force were shipping them in from N Africa across the Med. ‘Lessons to be learned’ ?
        France are happy to see them off loaded to the UK . Didn’t Cameron build a £6M fence to stop this all happening?
        Vote for the Brexit Party/UKIP for the next UK government, otherwise its Labour .

           16 likes

  37. Up2snuff says:

    Speaking of statistics the BBC Picture Editor has obviously not been thinking too carefully about bringing words and images together.

    Today, this BBC web-page –
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-51768274
    – contains a lovely photo, dear to the hearts of Londoners and others, of a London bus. The bus carries a message on its side, as does some of the text within the web-page.

    “The death toll of the virus:
    Another 626 deaths were announced on Friday, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 31,241.

    The UK has the highest official death toll in Europe and the second highest in the world, but the government has said it is too soon to make international comparisons.”

    Perhaps the BBC Picture Editor is a bit hard of reading? Or didn’t bother to read the words below? Or just didn’t think?

    Ooops!

    Never mind. It gave me a chuckle and humour – even unintended – is the best medicine.

       6 likes

  38. G says:

    More statistics, sorry.
    The Swedish paradigm to deal with the chinese virus?
    “As of May 6, Sweden, which has a population of 10.18 million people, had 2,854 deaths, which corresponds to 280.27 deaths per million people. In comparison, the other countries of the Nordic region, Denmark, Norway and Finland, which all went on lockdown, had 503, 215 and 246 deaths respectively, corresponding to 86.76, 40.46 and 44.58 deaths per million people, respectively.”
    Brilliant! Let’s all jump on the Swedish bandwagon! (You know it makes sense…..)
    https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15984/coronavirus-swedish-model
    The mantra: “Protect the vulnerable”. Well, more like a good opportunity to clear out the old and infirm.
    C’mon BBC, catch up.

       7 likes

  39. theleftwilleatitself says:

    Al beeb 1 today at 12:30 til 13:00 – repeat, women’s football, a classic cup final ????
    And people actually pay for this sh*t?

       18 likes

  40. theleftwilleatitself says:

    For balance, later on at night you can watch jug-ears ???? and his mates Shearer and Ian Wright prattle on and give you their opinions on all things football, and Brexit if Lineker has his way ????

       20 likes

  41. Celtic_Mist says:

    #IslamicRepublicOfBBC is an interesting hash tag

       16 likes

    • Celtic_Mist says:

      Mariam Memarsadeghi
      @memarsadeghi
      #براندازم ~ activist, analyst, public speaker, social entrepreneur ~ for a democratic Iran

         6 likes

  42. AsISeeIt says:

    No newspaper front pages at BBC on-line news. I wonder why, too much red white and blue?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-52584638

    That’s unusual. They do report what the papers say. Or rather their own take on what they want to report what the papers say.

    “By BBC News Staff”

    Nobody around to scan them and upload or screen grab or whatever?

    Juxtaposed on the BBC site is the story of the last German WW2 message decoded at Bletchley. One lives in hope one day soon we may hear Nick or Mishal or Emily or Fiona exclaim something along the lines of a farewell:

    ‘…broadcast on 7 May 1945 by a military radio network making its final stand in Cuxhaven on Germany’s North Sea coast.

    The message reports the arrival of British troops and ends:

    “Closing down for ever – all the best – goodbye.” ‘

    …See you in Argentina…?

       14 likes

  43. LastChanceSaloon says:

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52596410
    BBC NEWS UK
    2020-05-09 09:30

    Coronavirus: Key safeguards needed for schools to reopen – unions

    “Parents and staff need full confidence that schools will be safe before any pupils return.”

    [The only time that parents are even mentioned in this hard left propaganda piece.]

    “Meanwhile, the government announced 97,029 tests had been delivered in the 24 hours to 09:00 BST on Friday,
    just shy of the 100,000 target Mr Hancock set for the end of April.”

    [Meanwhile, I start many of my “contributions” with “meanwhile”. My excuse is that I am not paid £4,500,000,000
    to do so. “just shy!” any chance of some adult English, with real statistics? How much would real talent cost?

    Privatise the juvenile (as in for the young and by the immature) Communist propaganda factories Boris.
    Brown skin good, white skin bad.
    Allah good, Science bad.
    The UK will be a land of milk and honey when it returns to the British.]

       17 likes

  44. LastChanceSaloon says:

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/09/europe-day-message-solidarity-friendship-british-people

    This Europe Day we send a message of solidarity and friendship to British people

    [Stick your Communist Solidarity message up your collective EU anuses.
    The EU is more of an enemy to European people than Hitler ever was.
    Hitler promoted European expansion, the EU promotes the replacement of Europeans by prokaryotes
    who have been our enemy for 1500 years. FOAD.]

       20 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      Last
      What a load of cobblers….where is /was the support with CV19 from the “EU” to any individual country let alone the UK

      This was most likely scribbled by a loved Guardian writer and then circulated for comments to all those listed..
      When will they realise we have left….

         11 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      Last
      Agree completely with you view

      What a load of cobblers….where is /was the support with CV19 from the “EU” to any individual country let alone the UK

      This was most likely scribbled by a loved Guardian writer and then circulated for comments to all those listed..
      When will they realise we have left….

         5 likes

    • JamesArthur says:

      Last
      Agree completely with your view

      What a load of cobblers….where is /was the support with CV19 from the “EU” to any individual country let alone the UK

      This article was most likely penned by a loved Guardian writer and then circulated for comments to all those listed..
      When will they realise we have left….

         3 likes

  45. Fedup2 says:

    Ok . Confession – I listen to the BBC R4 – just to see who the victims are on that famous propaganda vehicle

    “ from our own correspondent”

    So I turned on and caught a smug bbc droid called aaronovich ending a programme and saying “ we ll have to think in a new way “….

    My coffee spluttered and that instinctive
    “Yeah right “ was uttered to no one in particular.

    Then the aaronovich listed who had been on the programme -various southern Asian / Pakistani type names including some one called Faisal islam – could care less what the programme was but can guess

    Anyway -back to ‘correspondent’ which used to start with ‘ muslim as victim ‘

    Well today was ‘coloured as victim ‘ . A 5 star chip on your shoulder winge by some black kid about how nasty the Chinese are to blacks in China …

    The off switch beckoned for Fedup2 and after another minute of whinging it got hit .

    2 minutes of R4 and I’m done … back to the streamed music and nearly finished “breaking bad “ on the wonderful Netflix .

    Cancel that licence and kill theBBC …

    Any one know what we re clapping tonight ?

       22 likes

    • theleftwilleatitself says:

      Fedup, ‘Those Glory, Glory Days’ on Film4+1 at midday today ????
      ????

         4 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        The left – ah missed it . As I write I am at the top of a hill in e4 and looking across the marshes I can see spurs ground …. and above – believe me – is a plane on finals to Heathrow – my app says it left Wuhan in China 12 hours ago – followed by one from peking

        I’m guessing no lock down for their brand of covid – gotta keep it ‘ diverse ‘ havent we ?
        ( The left – at least the n Koreans didn’t manage to poach Son – unlike there dogs I understand )

           14 likes

        • theleftwilleatitself says:

          Nice day for being at the top of a hill Fedup ????
          And at least Sonny got his basic military training out of the way ????????

             2 likes

    • Oldspeaker says:

      “Ok . Confession – I listen to the BBC R4”
      Wonder who the other two are?

         1 likes

  46. The General says:

    There’ll be migrants all over
    The white cliffs of Dover
    Tomorrow
    Just you wait and see
    And they will be full of laughter
    And happy ever after
    Tomorrow
    When they collect their benefits for free

       31 likes

  47. Fedup2 says:

    As moderator I need to apologise to the glorious people’s of the former Soviet Union for not including them in the VE commemoration – which is for them today Saturday
    I won’t mention how comrade Stalin was happy to make a pact with Hitler and divide Poland in 2 – or how if he had his way the Russians would have ended the war paddling in the English Channel ….

       12 likes

  48. gb123 says:

    I was looking through some old LPs I have and the Chorus of one of the songs seems to be so apt for what is happening today.

    ” That you’re guests of the nation. And you’ll never have to pay.
    You’re guests of the nation and you can dream ’til break of day.
    You’re guests of the nation. And you can dance your life away”
    Horslips c 1979

    Not about the same subject but close.

       10 likes

  49. Guest Who says:

    #CCBGB

    The trouble with high horses is that falling off is extra painful.

       11 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      “-abusing journalists?” Which amounts to twitter spats as opposed being physically told where to go ?

      Sensitive creatures arnt they ? Perhaps it’s living inside the bubble that does that …
      Or the sense of self importance they get from their £200k a year …

         13 likes

    • theleftwilleatitself says:

      So it’s all girls together with Mark isn’t it! ????

         1 likes

  50. Tabs says:

    A quick look at the BBC News channel has the news ticker at the bottom of the screen flashing up “Border Force are dealing with a number of small boat incidents of the Kent coast”.

    With a budget of £5b I would have thought the BBC could give me some more details. Is it fishermen in trouble or UK teenagers stealing boats for a joyride? What could it be?

       20 likes