Midweek 23 March 2022

Happy Budget Day – ( or whatever it is called now ) . Whatever the outcome not enough taxpayers’ borrowed money will be spent on this or that . .. shake that money tree ..

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490 Responses to Midweek 23 March 2022

  1. Thoughtful says:

    Before you read this post I would strongly urge you to set down with a cup of tea because it’s going to make your blood boil!

    Most readers here will have received their latest rapacious council tax bills and be shocked at just how much money home owners are required to pay. But you probably don’t know is that Muslims are exampted from paying it! All they have to do is declare a room in the house is dedicated to prayer and that’t it, bingo no council tax! Doesn’t apply to any other religious group though, if you are Christian Hindu Buddhist etc you don’t get the exemption.

    https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/45308

    https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/23076

       16 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      @Thoughtful, you made a BIG claim
      so one would expect you to show BIG evidence

      yet when I click the links, the top of the pages say
      This petition has been identified as misleading.
      You can find out more here:
      https://fullfact.org/online/muslims-arent-exempt-from-council-tax/

      BTW the petitions closed on 5 November 2013
      and 29 November 2012

         2 likes

      • G.W.F. says:

        Aww, and I was just about to join the Moslems and duck paying the council tax.

           2 likes

      • Thoughtful says:

        Yes it does say it was identified as misleading, but read the fullfact explanation again, because misleading is not the same as untrue.

        “The briefing did note it would be “theoretically possible” for part of a home (not all of it) being used for public religious purposes to be to be “separately valued for business rates, and to be removed from the council tax valuation list”.”

        and

        “A discount may apply if a person is:

        “a member of a religious community whose principal occupation consists of prayer, contemplation, education, the relief of suffering, or any combination of these”

        Not difficult to imagine how a Labour council could stretch this to cover their brown eyed boys really.

        I know the petitions have closed, they were added for evidence of the facts.

           3 likes

  2. theisland says:

    “I think the next Labour prime minister will be someone else, hopefully Keir.”

    “What I would like to do is help on the policy side with the next Labour government …”

       11 likes

  3. Guest Who says:

    Interesting bio.

    Nadiya set to take over the ME beat from JezBo?

       3 likes

  4. Guest Who says:

    “ Companies will still be expected to asses the risk of Covid in their workplaces and take precautions.”

    Asses in Welsh NHS abound.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-60863358

    And broadcasters.

       4 likes

  5. Doublethinker says:

    I am a life long Man Utd fan ( please moderate your comments remember the rules) and I still occasionally watch MU Television . It occurred to me that for a Blobist watching the BBC is rather like me watching MUTV, I know it’s not true, just propaganda , but it confirms my beliefs , caters for my needs , gives me comfort , which is sorely needed. But then I thought hang on MUTV doesn’t attack or lie about rival clubs unlike the BBC attacking and lying about everything that the Blob doesn’t approve of. Can it really be that the BBC is a level below the football TV channels in fairness and impartiality ? Yes it can!
    Also unlike the BBC there is no threat of prison if I stop paying for MUTV.

       23 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Double – I am always surprised how many ‘guilty secrets ‘ posters disclose here … at this very moment a troll be adding to your ‘file ‘ to be used to attempt to ‘menace ‘ should you write something ‘unapproved ‘.

      Clearly the BBC has a visceral hatred for GBNews and its’ acolytes are always more than willing to declare the same on social media – as in Claire Rayners hideous son who proclaimed his refusal to appear on GBNews .

      Just to add on old Trafford – having had the misfortune to visit it a few times I was surprised at how ‘dead’ it is . Man U stifle vocal away supporters by playing very loud music at them – I bet if Man U could use other psychological torture – eg flashing lights they would – is this a library ? Yes …

         10 likes

      • Peter Grimes says:

        I’ve posted before that I’m a Leicester Tigers supporter and former season ticket holder, despite being a Londoner born and a long time Surrey resident. In the interest of unburdening my soul, I should now confess that, my London youth having been spent in Deptford, I used to attend Millwall with my Dad as a kid and Essex cricket matches as they were his natal county team.

        Millwall must be blood-related because my elder son, City banker like his old man, followed them until quite recently.

        Leftoid trolls would become dreadfully conflicted comparing my upbringing with my current status, such as it is, so go ahead.

           4 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Peter – having visited millwall as well – it reminded me of Belfast in the ‘troubles ‘….a real shock – I’d love to see them promoted …

             4 likes

          • Peter Grimes says:

            I did an audit job in a smallish town not far from Belfast during the troubles. I can still recall walking back to my hotel at pub closing time and seeing the army rifle barrel slowly traversing through the firing slit from a sandbagged control point on a corner.

            Probably a Brighton or Leeds supporter.

               4 likes

  6. Guest Who says:

    BBC goes full Frank.

    Their way.

    Never go BBC way.

       11 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      A doctor accused of a string of sex offences against his patients claimed he has “regret” for some of his actions.

      Krishna Singh, 72, is on trial facing 66 sexually-related charges against more than 50 women.

      He told the High Court in Glasgow he sometimes did not get consent before examinations and often carried them out without a chaperone present.

      Dr Singh, of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, denies the offences.

         4 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        An ethnic QC representing prince Harry trying to get more taxpayers ‘ money leaked an embargoed judges ‘ ruling and refused to apologise to the judge when challenged . The exchange is quoted in the londonistan evening news and it is an unusually brutal dressing down by the judge –

        The lady ethnic QC seems like a tick box job because in my opinion no one would refuse to fess up …

           6 likes

  7. Zephir says:

    Trudeau and his liberal fascism seems to be thriving over here too.

    I have noticed it in museums especially.

    At the Natural History Museum a couple of weeks ago they were revelling in their powers to close gates and put little tapes around and make people walk ridiculous paths. We were forced to walk past a locked gate, 30 – 40 yards further to the only open gate, past a couple of other locked gates, then walk back again on to the other side of the fence back to the original locked gate location then along a stupid torturous route to get to the entrance, all the while being observed to ensure all were obeying, At 10 AM in the morning when all was quiet.

    Fitzwilliam, Cambridge last week, same with the locked gates and stupid routes, (only one open gate) and., again at 10 AM when all was quiet.
    Once eventually inside, I was approached by some silly cow who insisted I take my (very small) rucksack off my shoulder and hold it in my hand.

    I don’t know why, I just shook my head ands walked on.

    As I wanted to take some photos I had to put it on my shoulder again a couple of times to have both hands free and each time another would walk towards me until they saw me take it off again afterwards.

    Littler Hitlers the lot of them.

       20 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      The reason they make you walk a long way at airports is so they can use CCTV to spot trouble makers.

         5 likes

      • Zephir says:

        I didn’t spot any 737 s or groups of drunk, screeching hen night parties or families of asylum seekers off on holday to the country they just got asylum from.

        But I did not visit the 21st century collection.

        One of the Sumerian blokes had wings though.

           8 likes

  8. Zephir says:

    Fitzwilliam rules:

    In the interests of the safety and enjoyment of all our visitors we ask you to observe the following:

    We have a very limited supply of lockers, so do not bring anything you cannot carry with you around the museum, and only hand carry backpacks and small bags will be permitted.

    Our staff will be wearing face coverings for everyone’s safety and we recommend wearing a mask inside the galleries.

    Hand sanitiser is available on arrival and at various points throughout your visit.

    Only use the lift if you have mobility issues or have a pushchair and only one household or social bubble at a time.

    Umbrellas may not be taken into the galleries. The Museum does not accept responsibility for items left in the lockers.

    Please do not smoke anywhere in the Museum buildings.

    Sketching is allowed in the galleries provided the galleries are not too busy. When sketching, please be aware of other visitors and make sure there is no risk to people or works in the gallery. No pastels, ink or liquid colour, including oils, may be used.

    If you are feeling unwell, or are living with someone who is displaying symptoms of Covid-19 please delay your visit. You can find out more about the current guidelines on the gov.uk website.

    Please do not:

    Get too close or touch any picture, its frame, glass, or label or any other object.

    Use a mobile telephone for making or receiving calls. Phones and tablets are permitted for photography and messaging, but please keep mobiles on silent and use earphones for audio material. (Full photography policy below).

    Bring food and drink for consumption in the Museum.

       5 likes

  9. Guest Who says:

    New page reprise…

    BBC News

    The BBC’s Diplomatic correspondent explains how in 10 parliaments over two weeks Ukraine’s leader has used shame and national trauma to set a global agenda.

    ***
    Isn’t that simply the prime directive of BBC Editorial Guidelines here to try and get Smarm’s Bench Press of All Talents installed?

       7 likes

  10. andyjsnape says:

    P&O boss should resign, says transport secretary Grant Shapps
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-60872294

    Why should he resign, MPs only ever apologise and then 3 months later continue their “career”

       10 likes

  11. StewGreen says:

    9:45am Radio4 book about history writing
    ep 10/10 “Bad History – truth versus patriotism”

    That seems to be saying
    .. ‘look over there, those patriots are the ones that are untruthful, not us proud lefties’

       7 likes

  12. Guest Who says:

    Tell them this nationalistic shizzle is for royal apologists?

    (She playing World of Warcraft or SIMS 37?)

       5 likes

  13. Guest Who says:

    So, like most BBC commentators here then.

       7 likes

    • markh says:

      I’ve been an England supporter for fifty years but would happily see them lose every game until they stop embarrassing themselves and their country by grovelling on their knees.

         21 likes

      • Mrs Kitty says:

        I gave up watching football when they started with the submission to BLM while Mr K watches I go to my woman cave to watch a DVD I can always hear when the match starts as Mr K yells “stand up you f###king morons” it angers me that they’re all claiming it’s not for BLM but against racism when football had a perfectly good campaign Stand Up Against Racism . That’s my rant over .

           17 likes

  14. StewGreen says:

    10am Woman’s Hour
    topics : #1 Asma Khan the Muslim writer

    #2 South Asian women in Regency England”

    “Ammu, a term used mostly in South Asian Muslim homes for mother, is the title of Asma Khan’s new book.
    Drawing on her experiences during the pandemic, the chef and founder of the acclaimed restaurant Darjeeling Express…”

    “The second series of Bridgerton starts today and features Simone Ashley, a British actor of South Asian descent, in a lead role.
    … But what was life really like for South Asian women in Britain during this era?
    Professor Durba Ghosh lectures on Modern South Asia, the British empire and Colonialism at Cornell University.”

    So it’s PRasNews promoting today’s new Netfix show

    Who are the colonisers ?
    ..The BBC North London cult have colonised the UK
    They require the ethnic British to pay a TAX to them,
    then they use that money to build monuments to themselves
    .. with vastly disproportionate celebration of their own agendas and their view of BAME
    which is actually patronising to a lot of BAMEs

       13 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      The BBC statue was commissioned by Sir John Reith, then director-general of the news agency, in the early 1930s, and features representations of Prospero and Ariel from Shakespeare’s Tempest. Ariel, a spirit in service to the magician, is depicted as a naked child.14 Jan 2022

         0 likes

  15. Fedup2 says:

    Today watch
    The ‘strange ‘ grant shapps being interviewed about more power sockets for cars …

    .. admission – as a Londoner I briefly explored the practicality of an electric car but abandoned it when I found out it would cost @ £ 1200 for a charger on me drive ….

    … anyway – being in east londonistan there’s a lot of cars with a very few charging points . So some commercial outfits keep their electric vans at the chargers swopping as they ‘refuel ‘ so ordinary punters don’t get a look in ….

    … I don’t think BBC types or ‘strange ‘ grant shapps could conceive of such practicality issues ….

       15 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      30,000 new charging points, all paid for by The Magic Unicorns as usual.

         13 likes

  16. StewGreen says:

    11am The R4 series about Dinghy Divers
    “The UK Based Smuggling Gangs”

    One smuggler says that the profits are so huge from illegal boat and lorry crossings that he can not stop. security.
    .. ways they avoid detection, including paying off French police – an account which is later put to the French authorities.

    Throughout this programme we follow the experiences of fifteen year old Bit Bok: two years ago she was on the French camp negotiating the passage for her, her brother, sister and parents. They are now settled in Gateshead and she is on the brink of seeing her acting dreams become a reality: she’s auditioning for a place on a prestigious course.
    The *bravery* she showed in the boat crossing is even playing a part in the dramatic monologue she performs at her audition and…”

       10 likes

    • Zephir says:

      And how do the benefit agency means test those that can obviously afford thousands to pay to get here ?

      Where did they get the iphones from for the selfies ? how do they pay for mobile contracts ?

      Iphone 12 £629

      Who paid for the boat to get here ?

      “Zodiac CADET 200 Roll Up Inflatable Boat £874.00”

      And who pays for their hotels when they get here ? WE DO

         15 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        If you notice – the ‘poor’ language has evolved – people are now defined as being in ‘relative poverty ‘ .

        Some might define this as having an iPhone 7 and not at iPhone 16 or whatever the variation on The Same Thing currently is …
        ………… typed from my top Jonnie iPad Pro – which apple had to replace free because the last one gave up after 4 months ! Love hurting apple a tiny bit …

           9 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Stew – I’m confused – they bribe the French plod ?- I thought the French plod were doing the ‘people smuggling ‘ … cutting out the middle man … I suspect the same with the ‘border force ‘ and all of those who are very hostile to good people trying to witness and show what is going on …

         12 likes

  17. StewGreen says:

    11:30am Welsh Comedy
    Written by Gareth Gwynn and Benjamin Partridge.
    Gruff …… Elis James – Alice …… Katy Wix – Bob …… Steve Speirs – Father Mike …… Mike Wozniak – Ena …… Morwenna Banks – Ruby …… Shola Adewusi

    12pm Lunchtime book about 1920s Harlem black people.

    2:15pm drama Val McDermid’s play about the world of Lesbian crime writers
    (Produced and directed by Turan Ali )

    2:45pm Great Wives repeated episode from Sept 2021

       8 likes

  18. Guest Who says:

    Saz to snag the Fi slot next?

       5 likes

  19. MarkyMark says:

    The Bayraktar TB2 drones has made world headlines, with media outlets declaring, “Ukraine’s Secret Weapon Against Russia: Turkish Drones” and “Ukraine Leans on Turkish Armed Drones, Western Missiles to thwart Russian Invasion.”

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/turkeys-dilemma-whose-side-is-erdogan-on

    Erdogan, with a foot in the East and West, has emerged as the war’s key power-broker – and his loyalty is being actively courted by both Moscow and Washington. At this week’s Nato summit, the US will seek to persuade Turkey’s strongman leader to give the Russian-made S400 air defence system – bought from Putin in 2017 – to Ukraine. In exchange, Turkey would receive US patriot missiles and return to America’s F-35 fighter programme from which they were excluded as punishment for the S400 deal. Though likely to be a step too far for the Turks, the idea has already been floated in Ankara by US deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman. After years of friction between Erdogan and his Nato allies over everything from Turkey’s military ties to Russia, the refugee crisis and Syria, Washington now badly needs to reunite the Nato family against Russia.
    ….

    March 2021 … A Turkish prosecutor has asked the country’s top court to ban the main pro-Kurdish opposition party, in a move the group branded a “political coup”.
    The prosecutor filed a case accusing the Peoples’ Democratic Party – or HDP – of colluding with a banned Kurdish militant movement.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56438070

       4 likes

  20. MarkyMark says:

    Temperamentally and ideologically, too, Erdogan and Putin are very similar men who should be the best of friends. Both have held on to power for two decades by cracking down on the free press, breaking oligarch businessmen who oppose them, jailing thousands of political opponents and using tame media to build up a cult of personality. Both have deep complexes about their nations’ lost empires, and both use imperial history as a justification for their foreign policy. Washington’s hegemony is their common bogeyman, and they share paranoid theories about western capitalism and foreign agents attempting to undermine their rule.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/turkeys-dilemma-whose-side-is-erdogan-on

    220324-fam-photo_rdax_775x440s.jpg

       5 likes

    • AWOL says:

      Why is BloJo the scruffiest there?

         7 likes

      • MarkyMark says:

        His act as a clown is now ingrained into everything he does.

        3 women – not many mixed races.

           10 likes

        • StewGreen says:

          Who even cares
          Western leaders did a PR stunt conference
          why should it be aired on the news ?
          I don’t waste my time watching such stuff.

             10 likes

    • Ian Rushlow says:

      It’s a good article and contains information not generally discussed by the corporate media. The idea of Turkey giving its S-400 anti-missile system to Ukraine may be a bit fanciful – as an export version it is likely to have mechanisms to restrict its use against Russian targets. Advanced Soviet weaponery was usually configured in three variants: for use by USSR only; for use by Warsaw Pact and allies; for export to other countries in Africa, Asia etc. Same sort of thing is done with Western weapons, and to a very controlled level in the F-35 fighter, for instance.

         7 likes

  21. StewGreen says:

    7:15pm There’s a “My playlist” show
    The BBC invited 2 people to choose today
    Cerys Matthews and Jeffrey Boakye

    who ? Black guy who tweets and writes about black grievance
    Jamaican descent

    FJdVHI1XwAImf-0?format=jpg&name=small

       7 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      How do we start to decolonize science? @0:10

      “Through the black magic, witchcraft you are able to send a lightning bolt to strike someone, Can you explain that scientifically … ” @0:50 – one of the speakers
      “It’s not true” – audience member
      “I need to address you directly (audience member who says witchcraft does not work). When we started this we agreed on certain house rules. By you doing that (arguing) you are disrespecting that sacredness of this space. I would like you please first to apologise …” – another speaker

      https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2017/10/18/mid-week-open-thread-129/comment-page-4/#comment-874895

         3 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      When Jamaica gained independence in 1962, the murder rate was 3.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the lowest in the world. In 2005, Jamaica had 1,674 murders for a murder rate of 58 per 100,000 people. That year, Jamaica had the highest murder rate in the world.

         10 likes

      • Peter Grimes says:

        Izall Whitey’s fault, innit!!

        Where’s my compo??

           9 likes

      • Foscari says:

        Marky-You can watch the “Jamaican” news four times a
        day on the London programme on the BBC Its
        like living in Kingston Jamaica. Not Kingston
        on Thames!!

           17 likes

  22. MarkyMark says:

    Migrant crisis: Turkey (Erdogan) threatens EU with new surge (EU Tax Payers are paying Erdogan £2.6 billion) {bbc.co.uk nov2016}
    “Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that he will let hundreds of thousands of migrants travel on to Europe if pushed by the EU.

    ‘Listen to me: these border gates will be opened if you go any further,’ he warned the EU on Friday.”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38103375

    https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2017/07/13/midweek-open-thread-33/comment-page-2/#comment-852148

       3 likes

  23. MarkyMark says:

    Dear Darren Henry,

    Does this worry you? What actions should be taken?

    Barry Gardiner defends donations worth £500,000 from Chinese agent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/barry-gardiner-chinese-lee-sky-news-jeremy-corbyn-b1992752.html

    Christine Lee & Co December 2019, value £32,625 (example entry) https://www.theyworkforyou.com/regmem/?p=10220

    Yours sincerely, Mr H

    https://www.writetothem.com/

       2 likes

  24. MarkyMark says:

    Asked about his wife’s shares in Infosys and whether this flew in the face of his own advice to businesses, the chancellor replied: “I’m an elected politician and I’m here to talk to you about what I’m responsible for. My wife is not.”

    Pushed by presenter Jayne Secker on whether his family could be benefitting from Putin’s regime, Mr Sunak said: “No, I really don’t think that’s the case.

    https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak-challenged-over-wifes-links-to-company-infosys-that-has-presence-in-russia-12574093

       3 likes

    • zxcvbnm says:

      i do not understand why this is not the top story on all news channels.

      The article abouit this in the daily mail says that the government will “have a word” with skynews about the “line of questioning”

      This woman has shares worth over £500m in a company still operating in russia with no plans to pull out of russia. If she were to sell them now no doubt she would take a hit as there would be less buyers for russia-linked stock.

      She also took money from furlough schemes for her gym business.

      The facts make the chancellor and his wife seem wholly disconnected with normal people. And in the week of the budget announcements!

      Rishi’s statment that “she’s my wife – what’s that got to do with anything” is vomit-inducing.

      I don’t know why the beeb are not going for him like they would if this had been boris, trump or (pre-cakegate) cummings.

      Rishi voted for brexit and is a tory. Perhaps the fact that his wife is both female and a minority provided sufficient insulation from the beeb. Maybe there is some kind of gentleman’s agreement where the press stay away from MP’s spouses (may’s husband was dodgy too right?)

      Maybe a woman that has £500m tied up in an indian/russian technology firm has some sway/power over the press which we are unaware of???

      Which is it??

         9 likes

  25. StewGreen says:

    8pm Any Questions with Miatta Fahnbulleh
    who ?
    .. Black lefty thinktank person who was also on Laura Kuenessberg Newscast yesterday.
    “Miatta Nema Fahnbulleh is a Liberian-born British economist who is the Chief Executive at the New Economics Foundation
    Attended LSE”

       11 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Born in Liberia to a Liberian father and a Sierra-Leonean mother, Fahnbulleh and her brother Gamal[3] fled with their family to the UK in 1986 at the onset of the First Liberian Civil War where they applied for asylum.[4]

      Fahnbulleh attended Beechwood Sacred Heart School, an independent school in Tunbridge Wells.[4] After studying at Lincoln College, Oxford, she graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in PPE and obtained a Ph.D. in Economic Development in 2005 from the London School of Economics.[5][4][6]

      Fahnbulleh wrote her dissertation on the adoption of and success of industrial policy in Ghana and Kenya.[6]

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miatta_Fahnbulleh_(economist)

      ….
      DAY & BOARDING FEES
      All fees include a facilities’ fee of £300 for all from Reception, with the balance being the tuition fee. Boarding fees in addition include boarding services
      costs of £4,260 for full boarders and £3,235 for weekly boarders. Any fee reduction is applied to the tuition fee element only.
      DAY WEEKLY BOARDER FULL BOARDER
      SENIOR SCHOOL (per term) £5,940 £9,175 £10,200

      Click to access Beechwood-Fees-Term-Dates-2021-2022-1.pdf

         2 likes

      • StewGreen says:

        Oh FFS .. Black lefty thinktank lady Miatta Fahnbulleh was on @ITVTonight show yesterday on the #CostOfLivingCrisis

           2 likes

  26. MarkyMark says:

    21414c90-8f1a-445b-989f-74a955755b28-704e7e11-6eb0-44f7-8316-9a2ea08cd032

       11 likes

  27. MarkyMark says:

    On Wednesday, Putin ordered that gas contracts with “unfriendly” countries—those responsible for sanctions against Russia—be settled in rubles rather than in foreign currencies, and gave Russia’s central bank and gas suppliers like Gazprom one week to implement the change. In the third quarter of 2021, about 58% of Gazprom’s foreign gas sales were in euros, and an additional 39% were in U.S. dollars.

    Putin argued that foreign currencies like the dollar and euro were now “compromised” due to sanctions on the country’s foreign reserves, which freezes Russia’s holdings of foreign currency held in overseas banks.

    The Russian president’s currency play may put pressure on European economies, which get about 40% of their natural gas from Russia. The European Union has not banned Russian oil and gas, though it pledged to reduce Russian gas imports by two-thirds by the end of the year.
    https://fortune.com/2022/03/24/putin-russia-natural-gas-europe-imports-pay-in-rubles-sanctions/

       5 likes

  28. Foscari says:

    I am 76 years old. I still work around 55 hours a week compiling
    football odds for bookmakers and my mental arithmetic is still
    pretty good .I can work out the most difficult mental
    arithmetic puzzle in the Daily Mail every day in around 30 seconds.
    BUT on occasions I have taken our dog for a walk and when
    I come back home my wife asks me to put the rubbish in the dustbin
    and I throw the dogs lead in the dustbin as well. First signs of
    dementia ? Maybe. BUT the President of the USA Joe Biden
    is nearly 80 and if I am level 2 out of 10 in the dementia stakes
    I reckon that sleepy Joe is around 5 or 6 or even higher.
    I am sure we have all had grannies and
    grandpas whom we have loved dearly. Even when they
    repeat something they have said one minute before. It is all
    part of getting old.
    BUT why has the BBC got such a reverence to Joe Biden? He is
    not their grandpa. To be honest he has become a danger to
    mankind with his incoherent outbursts. Just as the BBC will
    show us an edited mock up of Boris Johnson apparently
    being cold shouldered by EU leaders , when he wasn’t.
    Because the BBC is all but an anarchist Marxist organization.
    Russian TV will edit sleepy Joe’s comment about chemical
    weapons . Saying that the west would use them.
    Do you know something with the paranoid czar Putin in
    control of Russia and an all but demented President Biden .
    We could sleep walk into a nuclear war. Whilst the BBC is
    still educating us on what pronouns to use when talking
    to a transgender.

       32 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Fos
      Can’t really blame putin for taking advantage of the wests weakness and social malaise – the Russian must just laugh at it ….
      …. Obviously between the lines of propaganda it’s difficult to understand why the Russians are having such a difficult job …and whether putin thought through the outcome –

      – unless of course he thinks Russia will be the last one standing when the war escalates – because on my reckoning the longer it goes on the probability of ‘something happening ‘ increases by the day . I just hope the end is quick and not messy …

         11 likes

    • zxcvbnm says:

      the bbc has close links to american media outlets and these have very close links to the democrat party.

      They all pulled closer together during the (golden days) of trump/brexit

         12 likes

  29. Thatcherrevolutionary says:

    Went into a posh shoe shop in Aberdeen to get shoes for son’s wedding. Accompanied by younger son. No masks.
    Three staff all masked standing idly by when we walk in.
    Signs all over door about C19, masks, sanitising, visiting protocols, etc.
    One step inside shop and irate woman over straight away to ensure we sanitise hands. She asks for masks.
    I explain we are both exempt. ‘BOTH of you’? she sneers.
    Followed around shop as if we were lepers.
    I found the shoe I wanted, took a photo of the brand and style, and left without saying goodbye.
    Found shoe online £15 less and delivered within 24 hours.
    Two years into this scam, and this was the worst.
    I’ve decided any business that starts this crap will be boycotted.
    Unfortunately this shoe shop was an independent and not a national chain.

       22 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      There’s always the barefoot wedding option ….congratulations ….

         6 likes

    • Ian Rushlow says:

      Interesting. I had heard rumours about Krankie moonlighting in a shoe shop when she’s not in Holyrood or making declarations about witchcraft, but this is the first plausible evidence I’ve heard.

      #PardonWitchesBecauseIamOne

         7 likes

  30. MarkyMark says:

    ‘I fat but I be spec’ – Duchess of Onne aka Princess Dorathy Osaronu
    https://www.bbc.com/pidgin/tori-60857910

    She follow her passion as a skincare therapist and now she dey produce and sell natural/organic body care products.

       4 likes

  31. StewGreen says:

    Isolated-Boris video was from @TRADASRO

    The Amnesty International PR/journo apologised
    .. https://www.twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1507014659412402193

       8 likes

  32. MarkyMark says:

    12385339

       5 likes

  33. MarkyMark says:

    US President Joe Biden has said Nato “would respond” if Russia used chemical weapons in Ukraine.

    The president – who is in Europe for talks with allies – did not spell out what that might mean.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60870771

       5 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Marky – since we are really talking about Obama red lines you can imagine the putin calculation – “ we can use a small nuc to kill the top jonnies of Ukraine and the yanks are gonna say – we ain’t gonna lose america for some European place no one can find on a map – then we do a peace deal and give them free oil ‘‘

         7 likes

      • MarkyMark says:

        Obama’s ‘red line’ failure assured crisis in Syria
        Tim Morris, Columnist PUBLISHED APR 11, 2017 AT 5:59 PM | UPDATED JUL 7, 2021 AT 11:09 AM
        https://www.nola.com/opinions/article_3635bdcb-4a9f-595a-a34f-35863ecdc303.html

        But the truth is that Obama’s argument for military intervention was sound in 2013. American interests are served by stopping tyrants from using chemical weapons even in wars that don’t directly involve us. Obama’s faint-hearted failure at the red line helped unleash the immigration crisis in Europe, emboldened the Russians in their quest to re-establish their power around the world, and has left open the greater possibility of terrorists getting their hands on chemical weapons.

           3 likes

  34. MarkyMark says:

    Today
    @POTUS
    announced that the U.S. will be welcoming 100,000 refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine.

    This is the right thing to do.

    If you’re looking for ways to help, join
    @WelcomeUS
    and support the refugees who will be arriving here soon:


    ………………………

    “When they go low, we go high” – Michelle Obama – 2016
    “#bringbackourgirls” – Michelle Obama – April 2014

    Nigeria rejected British offer to rescue seized Chibok schoolgirls {theguardian.com – mar2017}
    In a mission named Operation Turus, the RAF (UK Airforce) conducted air reconnaissance over northern Nigeria for several months, following the kidnapping of 276 girls from the town of Chibok in April 2014 (by Islamist militant group Boko Haram). “The girls were located in the first few weeks of the RAF mission,” a source involved in Operation Turus told the Observer. “We offered to rescue them, but the Nigerian government declined.”
    – Guardian UK Online Website / 4 March 2017

    #bringbackourgirls – makes you wonder who Michelle Obama was asking to do this? The wife of the most powerful man in the World, with a special relationship with the Country who could have taken action, reduced to holding a piece of card for the World to read a #hashtag that did NOT bring the girls back.

    https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2017/07/10/start-the-week-open-thread-132/#comment-851049

       10 likes

  35. MarkyMark says:

    Should you follow the 5 second rule? And does inflation hit the poorest harder?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0013r9w

       1 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      One should always learn something new each day – so today I have learnt that 1. People eat watermelon ( deep fried ? 2. BBC people spend time thinking about dropping water melons ….
      …is that some ethnic thing ?

         5 likes

  36. Fedup2 says:

    Ladies and Gentlemen – boys and girls – we have a new bug – this time – according to the DT ( daily telegraph ) …

    haemorrhagic fever

    Has been imported into Blighty by a woman who has recently been to a central Africa bongo bongo land ….

    Apparently it’s highly fatal and highly transmissible –

    So take yer pick – a natural bio death or a man made one or a nuclear or chemical one ….

    Sleep well – try not to dream ….

       16 likes

  37. MarkyMark says:

    14636.jpeg

       4 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      No wonder the true president thought they were a bunch of freeloaders – which they are … we need more kit and people and nucs…if we re gonna be targeted we really will want to finish it ….

         11 likes

  38. MarkyMark says:

    A $174 million infrastructure project that will ease access to the Obama Presidential Center is underway, disrupting access to some local businesses by a project whose critics worry it will end up raising property values and driving out long-time residents.

    https://therealdeal.com/chicago/2022/02/23/local-businesses-feel-effects-of-obama-center-infrastructure-work/

    maxresdefault.jpg

       4 likes

  39. MarkyMark says:

    Biden to say sorry? Boris to kneel? Obama to clap?

    Afghanistan: Taliban backtrack on reopening high schools for girls
    Published2 days ago
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-60845540

       6 likes

  40. MarkyMark says:

    What we discovered was far darker than we could ever have imagined. It is a story that spans decades, taking us from Nottingham to North Korea, via Jersey, Bahrain and Dubai. It is a story of lies, greed, fast cars, fake sheikhs, false promises and lives ruined.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/60794963

    At the same time he had also established what he claimed was a huge international mining company and, incredibly, secured a deal with the North Korean regime to mine the country’s vast mineral wealth, including coal and gold.

    Eriksson told us that in October 2009 he was persuaded by King to go with him to North Korea, where regime officials asked him whether he could fix them a good group for the 2010 World Cup.

    He tells us he struggled to make them believe this was out of the question.

    With the North Korean mining deal in the bag, King went about making wildly false claims that this was one of the biggest mining companies in the world, with assets worth nearly two trillion dollars, and preparations were made to list the company on the stock market.

       3 likes

  41. Deborah says:

    Woman’s Hour asking an Indian lady about cooking and linked in the cost of living crisis. I don’t think it was Emma Barnett. But the interviewer repeated story coming out the the Trussel Trust that people are refusing potatoes and root vegetables because they cannot afford the fuel to cook them. Frankly I don’t believe it. If you cut up potatoes into small enough pieces, 10 minutes boiling is enough. Cook enough for tomorrow and you have halved the costs. Carrots can be eaten raw and so can swede if you are hungry enough or even if you are a nibbler whilst preparing it. And what are the refuseniks eating? Rice takes 20 minutes and pasta nearly as long. But we can be sure the BBC will run with a story, however improbable, as long as it fits their agenda.

       20 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Indoor air pollution is a massive public health problem across the world. That is because three billion people are thought to cook and heat their homes with open fires and simple stoves burning wood, animal dung, crop waste (known as biomass) and coal.

      Breathing in fumes from cooking smoke kills 600,000 Africans each year, a policy think-tank called the Africa Progress Panel tweeted recently.

      https://africacheck.org/fact-checks/reports/do-fumes-cooking-smoke-kill-600000-africans-yearly

         2 likes

    • BRISSLES says:

      All a load of b……cks ! Pensioners on a limited income for years can give lessons on surviving to these “hard working families who don’t know whether to heat or put food on the tables to feed the kids”. Sit with a hot water bottle at your back, plenty of sofa throws on the market to wrap up in. A stew can last 2/3 days, there are 100s of egg recipes – they just have to learn how to boil water ! The donation bin at my Co-op is over flowing with food contributions, so only a can opener is needed.

      If these ‘poor women’ kept their legs shut they wouldn’t have kids to feed or pay for childcare. There are CHOICES !

         14 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      A lot of foods like carrots are better cooked
      cos that releases the vitamins.
      Otherwise it’s like eating cornflakes without taking them out of the box.
      I think microwaving is often a low energy option.
      Cooking in cold weather is not wasteful, cos you are heating your house at the same time.

         4 likes

  42. MarkyMark says:

    Segregation?

    _123878568_hi074811973.jpg

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-60870417

       0 likes

    • BRISSLES says:

      Gawd, that’s a terrible PR picture – looks like they’re all caged up begging for scraps ! instead of behind a fence.

         4 likes

  43. MarkyMark says:

    China’s social credit system has been compared to Black Mirror, Big Brother and every other dystopian future sci-fi writers can think up. The reality is more complicated — and in some ways, worse.

    https://www.wired.co.uk/article/china-social-credit-system-explained

    Because of that, no other country should be considering this idea, says Hoffman. “The west should not copy any aspect of social credit,” Hoffman says. “Often comparisons are drawn between private applications like Uber and its rating system for customers and drivers. While these private company systems are extremely problematic in my view, they are fundamentally different. The People’s Republic of China is an authoritarian country, the Chinese Communist Party is responsible for gross human rights violations for decades— just look at the example of Xinjiang now. There is nothing any liberal democratic society should even think about copying in the social credit system.”

       3 likes

  44. MarkyMark says:

    REVEALED: Newly knighted millionaire former PM Tony Blair and his wife Cherie claimed almost £80,000 in taxpayer funds to cover the wages of staff
    Tony and Cherie Blair claimed almost £80,000 from the British furlough scheme
    That is despite the former Labour Prime Minister and his wife’s huge wealth
    A spokesman said they had £76,000 to cover wages of three members of staff based in their Harcourt street office
    Meanwhile Sir Tony’s wealth on its own is estimated at anything up to £50million
    It came as a petition to strip him of his knighthood passed one million signatures
    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10380485/Blairs-claimed-80-000-taxpayer-funds-furlough-cash-despite-private-wealth.html

       6 likes

  45. MarkyMark says:

    China get to save fuel by flying over Russia …
    https://www.flightradar24.com/CCA596/2b42b7b5
    Milan > Beijing

       1 likes

  46. Emmanuel Goldstein says:

    Just think.

    If an Arab terrorist got hold of some chemical weapon, it probably doesn’t need to be hard to get, chlorine for example, and chucked a couple of bottles into a school or hospital in Ukraine, what would happen next.

    I think the msm would be only too happy to blame Putin and Mr Pastry in the White House would have to react.

    WW3 could easily start by an accident or by some mad jihadi boy doing what jihadi’s do.

       9 likes

  47. MarkyMark says:

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary.[1] His assassination in Sarajevo is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.

       4 likes

  48. MarkyMark says:

    Prime Minister Holness Concludes Successful Official Visit to China, Holds talks with President Xi, Premier Li and Investors.
    Under the current framework of cooperation, the North South Highway construction by China Harbour Engineering Company was highlighted along with JISCO’s purchase of the Alpart plant and mining rights as the two major Chinese investments in Jamaica. Infrastructure work completed and ongoing under loan cooperation programmes Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) , Major Infrastructure Development Programme (MIDP) and the South Coast Highway Improvement Project (SCHIP) were also mentioned. Gratitude was expressed on behalf of the people of Jamaica for China’s assistance in agreeing to construct a new state of the art Western Children and Adolescent Hospital in St. James, constructing two infant schools, one in St. Andrew and the other in St. Thomas, and the new headquarters building for our Foreign Affairs Ministry in Downtown Kingston.

    https://jis.gov.jm/prime-ministers-holness-concludes-successful-official-visit-to-china-holds-talks-with-president-xi-premier-li-and-investors/

       1 likes

    • Emmanuel Goldstein says:

      Looks like Priti typed the above text on CGTN about the Jamaica PM.

         2 likes

      • Emmanuel Goldstein says:

        When I typed that the text above ended at cooperatin…

        It doesn’t make sense now as it ends in Chin…
        Sometimes it works as it seems to change between the two endin’s

           3 likes

  49. MarkyMark says:

    Rishi’s post-statement photoshoot on Wednesday has already become notorious; as well as trying to scan his card with the barcode machine, he also borrowed a Sainsbury’s employee’s car to fill up after announcing the 5p cut to fuel duty. This should have been obvious to anyone watching – Yorkshireman Rishi would never be seen in anything other than a Range Rover…

    https://order-order.com/

       3 likes

  50. MarkyMark says:

    On July 19 the Jamaican government announced that the Alpart alumina refinery in Jamaica had been sold for US$299m to the Chinese state owned entity the Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCo) owned by the Jersey-registered but Moscow-operated industrial giant, US Rusal.

    https://www.caribbean-council.org/chinese-investment-jamaica-region-growing/

    ……………….

    Reflecting the political sensitivity of the continuing increase in the number of Chinese workers on the island, Mr Henry said that JISCo has been asked to provide details of the required job qualifications to ensure that “no Jamaican who is qualified for these…is left out.”

    Earlier this year the Chinese-built and financed US$730m North-South Highway opened, connecting Kingston to Ocho Rios and reducing coast-to-coast transit time to about an hour. The project gives the China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which built the highway, a 50-year concession to recover its costs from tolls. The company also received land alongside the highway to develop for residential and commercial use.

       3 likes