346 Responses to Start the week 28 March 2022

  1. Foscari says:

    From the earliest days of the conflict I wrote, and Fedup will
    confirm this that Roman Abramovich was not such a nasty guy
    and was genuinely trying to help with his mediating. I have
    had personal and business dealings with Ukraine in the past.
    I wont go into the details here. But maybe one day I will meet
    you Fed Up and show you some amazing documents involving
    Ukraine.
    I don’t know how many of you saw McMafia on TV. But is
    said that truth is stranger than fiction. Let’s just say that in
    my opinion Abramovich is not quite the bad boy that he
    is made out to be. OK he may of had a milder taste of
    Novichok or something similar. I think he has been rather
    brave in what he has been trying to achieve. Yes that’s him in
    Turkey at the mediation conference.

       12 likes

  2. Sluff says:

    Dumb Britain.
    Pointless, BBC 1.

    Question – name a Centenarian with initials BH who starred with Bing Crosby in the Road films ?

    Contestant – Buddy Holly.

       17 likes

  3. Deborah says:

    I switched on the 6pm bbc news to see something about Prince Philip’s memorial service. Silly me. It was first mentioned about 15 minutes in, but moved quickly into Partygate. It was reintroduced a couple of minutes later when it was pointed out that Prince Andrew has been involved in a sex scandal.

    They are finishing with several minutes about the Burrell condition which could have waited until tomorrow.

       17 likes

  4. Sluff says:

    NHS Heroes update. Courtesy of BBC news, buried near the end of the bulletin.
    After 5 years of a review , 200 premature deaths, and hundreds more people seriously affected by appalling care at Shrewsbury NHS Trust…………….who has actually been held accountable ?
    That’s right. No-one.
    Get ready for a heartfelt apology followed by Trebles all round.
    Utterly disgusting but a true insight into how nationalised industry really works. And to think some want to nationalise other industries. Madness.

       24 likes

  5. StewGreen says:

    Zoe Covid modelling possibly shows a fall phase now that it has swept through

    Booked deaths are averaging 130 per day, which is not bad considering what they are.

    FPBzS4PWQAYVyuA?format=png&name=small

       4 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      Stew, BBC not got the figures up on their web-site yet. The BBC missed two days last week. I think they are getting bored with it.

         8 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      Anti vaccine rintrah did an interesting article:
      https://www.rintrah.nl/unprecedented-mass-infection-in-scotland/

      “A non-sterilizing vaccine deployed to the whole population in the middle of a pandemic is a great way to turn a disaster into an existential threat. We have all installed the same new lock on our doors, through natural selection this virus is now trying to figure out what the perfect key is for this new lock.”

         4 likes

  6. Sluff says:

    On a roll.
    BBC 6 pm news.
    Our stupid Labour government want to support certain kids at school above others.
    A boy is featured. He has been excluded from school 14 times. Fourteen !
    But needless to say none of this is his fault.
    And as for the impact his behaviour has on other kids…….no mention at all.
    His mother, needless to say, knows her rights and the thinks he has been given poor support and wants even more resources. No challenge.

    But no doubt he would become a doctor or engineer if only he had more state support.

    Another hidden example of the appalling redistribution of wealth that goes on in our country, from the constructive, wealth creators to….errr…….those who aren’t. No wonder our economy underperforms.

       28 likes

  7. Northern Voter says:

    Mrs Voter, was watching Phil the Greeks memorial service this morning, courtesy of the Blind and Black Broadcasting Corpse, the whiny Welsh man was in the chair. He introduces us to two talking heads, Baroness Floella Benjamin late of Play School, and some white bloke. Next two talking heads Baroness Scotland and Lord Boateng. 75% of them black and peers of the realm. Talk about white supremacy, they didn’t!

       19 likes

  8. StewGreen says:

    Another load of scocialists smearing their POLITICAL opponents as “racist” to deplatform them
    and using the trick of Ambush-naming themselves “Stand Up To Racism” as a shield.

    Either the County Hotel
    #1 caved into intimidation
    #2 Maliciously accepted the booking, with the intention of cancelling it to scupper UKIP

       4 likes

  9. Fedup2 says:

    Krankie pictured in enemy territory today – Westminster abbey England – and strangely not wearing a face mask ….. which I understand is still a legal requirement in her native home ….

       10 likes

  10. Thoughtful says:

    I need some help from readers doing some research if possible.

    Little bird tells me that the German contract for the supply of gas ends 31st March and a new one needs to be negotiated for 1st April.

    Is this true because I can find all kinds of references to contractual relations between the two parties but not the length of time, when it began how long it runs for or any other details, other than that it most certainly does exist.

    It’s going to cause one hell of a stink if this contract does end 31st March and Russia insists on payment in Roubles, and Germany doesn’t want to pay.

    Can anyone help me out with what might be momentous events about to break?

       6 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      Of course that is BS
      gas contracts are negotiated years ahead
      And gas won’t be paid for on the day to day basis.
      It’s probably paid for months in advance.
      Neither Germany or Russia are going to turn off gas with just one days notice.

      I’m guessing

         4 likes

      • Thoughtful says:

        https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/03/29/germanys-addiction-to-russian-gas-sees-energy-prices-double-in-february/

        “As German officials scramble to find alternatives, however, the country faces an ultimatum from Russia, which is now demanding the country pay for its gas in rubles or face being cut off from its supply entirely.”

        Wouldn’t be so sure about that in the current climate.

           2 likes

      • tomo says:

        The concerned parties doubtless do not want any transparency about the price paid for the gas, the terms of payment or the amounts being transferred.

        Participants in the Nord Stream venture are dotted across Europe and they absolutely do not want any examination of the trading terms out in the public space.

        That said you’d have to assume some in Russia (and elsewhere) would like to squeeze the Germans (and neighbours) with a temporary hiatus in delivery.

        Now then – about South Stream – going to Turkey….

           2 likes

  11. StewGreen says:

    Shut up Steyn, you are trying to cause panic-buying.
    Sure we’ll lose part of Ukraine’s harvest, but the world has a lot of stocks of food.

       2 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Stew – I think all the ingredients are in place for another bout of such purchasing – I wonder if there is a way of monitoring how often the rapid purchasing phrase is mentioned on line? My money is on stuff like rice … but judging what happened with toilet rolls , , who knows ?

         5 likes

    • Thoughtful says:

      Stew, if you go back to the video I posted a few days earlier on this thread you will see it’s far worse than you think, and since then I’ve been finding out more which makes the situation even worse.

      Russia and Ukraine have a virtual duopoly on cooking oil and with both player out the market, there won’t be any more of it coming to Britain.

      You won’t lose part of Ukraines harvest you will lose all of it because all the farmers are busy fighting the Russians.

      It appears the Chinese knew all about the invasion in advance and have forward bought almost all the world cereal production from silly countries with fantasy land political elites. USA Australia and France have all sold their ceral crops to China.

      Just to make this even better, thanks to La Nina the harvest in South America has just failed.
      The Wheat harvest last year in N America was down to 70% of normal
      The rice harvest was also lower than expected, and this will all be made worse this coming year because of export bans on fertiliser from both Russia and China which has nothing to do with the war.

      The video presicted looting of supermarkets in the USA by hungry people as soon as August this year, believe me things are almost certainly far worse than Steyn is portraying it.

      Oh and in case you are thinking about government food stores possibly being used to prop up a starving populace, they are also very low.

      The government could suspend its ridiculous insistence of adding bio ethanol to fuel, and save the cereal crop for food instead, but given Boris’s reluctance to give an inch on his wifes Green insanity that appears unlikely.

         10 likes

    • Deborah says:

      Stew I didn’t hear Steyn tonight so don’t know what he said. But pre Ukraine and pre covid, some years world wheat supply was terribly tight, I think possibly no more than 1 week (it might have been 3 weeks) supply which gives no room for a failed harvest in a major supplier.

         3 likes

  12. digg says:

    It seems the odious Sturgeon pushed through a ship deal in Scotland to polish her crown at the SNP Party Conference.

    It looks like the disastrous deal will now cost the taxpayer (mainly English Taxpayers) millions of pounds in overspend to rescue it. Several times the original estimate in fact.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-60910732

    What a gerrymandering waste of space both she and the SNP really are!

       13 likes

  13. StewGreen says:

    10:35pm BBC1, first up Muslim couple Ali and Claire , in the photo

       3 likes

    • digg says:

      Not the usual “Muslim” couple. No lady head and face covering for starters.

      Just saying…..

         7 likes

  14. Up2snuff says:

    BBC WEB-SITE Watch #1 – how wrong can the BBC be about wildlife?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/60911678

    Having tried to claim that starlings are a rare bird in the UK (!) the BBC now state that bitterns were extinct in the UK. Not so BBC. I could take you to places where you could hear that booming call, including in a north London park! They even bred there.

       12 likes

  15. tomo says:

    If this goes pear shaped ….

    – do you think that the BBC will tell us?

       4 likes

    • Thoughtful says:

      Yes I think they will trumpet out the failure of Boris’s shower to act in a competent manner.

      What they will not do however is make any enquiries as to who is paying the enormous cost of running the damn thing now the idiotic government has siezed it, estimated to be 10% of the original value every year.

      Had they left it there impouded and unable to leave the original owner would have had to pay the bills but couldn’t move it, or if he failed to do so, it would have been sold to cover the outstanding debts.

         0 likes

  16. Fedup2 says:

    To finish off this thread – below is an article from the Guardian I include as evidence of how out of touch the chairman of the BBC is about his own corrupt organisation –

    ( don’t laugh )

    STARTS The chair of the BBC has suggested the public may overstate their appetite for impartial news, in the same way that “99% of people say they wash their hands after going to the loo”.

    Richard Sharp said his organisation is facing the joint challenges of stopping audiences drifting away to more partisan news outlets, while at the same time warning that the BBC’s ability to provide accurate information is under threat because of funding cuts.

    “Impartial news may be too unprofitable to do properly,” Sharp said at a panel event organised by the Social Market Foundation thinktank, suggesting this will lead commercial news organisations to increasingly seek more partisan stances.

    He said the reality of what people actually click on or watch increasingly leans towards provocative and sensational content, making it harder for the BBC to judge whether its output is connecting with audiences.

    He said: “Around nine out of 10 adults say that impartial news is more important than coverage that reflects their point of view. But we also have to bear in mind, whether apocryphal or not, that 99% of people say they wash their hands after going to the loo.”

    Asked whether the corporation is able to afford the costs of meeting the expected standards of its news output, Sharp added: “It’s a real challenge, you need research capabilities and we’ve had to cut back some of the resources available. Which is why I disagree with the government on the licence fee – it’s damaging to the BBC, there’s no doubt it’ll have an effect.”

    Further cuts to BBC services are expected to be announced in May, with bosses currently working out what needs to be cut in the wake of the government’s latest below-inflation licence fee deal. This follows more than a decade of staff redundancies and internal reorganisations caused by repeated cuts to the fee.

    Sharp said he believed there was a gap in the market for the BBC’s type of journalism as commercial news organisations become increasingly polarised, although the risk is that audiences drift away to more entertaining partisan outlets such as Rupert Murdoch’s forthcoming talkTV. He cited a conversation with an unnamed individual at a British financial newspaper who said 70% of their online stories were not read by anyone.

    As a result he is placing faith in incoming BBC news boss Deborah Turness to “weaponise impartiality” and make it the corporation’s selling point to audiences. Her arrival has been repeatedly delayed while her current employer – arch-rival ITN – continues to make her serve out her notice period.

    He highlighted the success of viral explainers by the BBC’s Ros Atkins and suggested they might point towards “a commercial opportunity for the BBC globally”.

    He also said the corporation was impartial when it came to coverage of the war in Ukraine: “It’s about truth. Our value to Russians and Ukrainians is to report the truth, no matter how inconvenient that may be.”ENDS

    unbelievable eh?

       13 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Time for a new thread

         2 likes

    • digg says:

      This just underlines the totally blinkered state the BBC is in. They obviously see themselves as a global entertainment source instead of doing what the British public pay them heavily to do which is to be a reflection and mirror of life in Britain for British people.

         4 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      Fed, to this “Richard Sharp said his organisation is facing the joint challenges of stopping audiences drifting away to more partisan news outlets, while at the same time warning that the BBC’s ability to provide accurate information is under threat because of funding cuts.” the only response could be a M R-D one. No, that is not a rude word in French that the BBC are, apparently, so sensitive about.

      M R-D, as I’m sure you know, stands for Mandy Rice-Davies famous response in a Court of Law: “He would say that, wouldn’t he?”

         2 likes

  17. Flotsam says:

    Absolutely brilliant interview with David Starkey on GB News regarding Keir Starmer’s attack on Prince William.

    https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DEM7KHDwaYgo&ved=2ahUKEwiI7K6TmOz2AhWTiVwKHWCsAdMQFnoECBIQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1hl__XJSdsEDrvPjWD6dz_

    Has the BBC has anything to say about Starmer’s inappropriate comments?

    Starkey is brilliant. He puts today’s Politics and Politicians into historical context and makes them look like pygmies. No wonder people like Bliar and Starmer pursue their Year Zero ideas and want to rub out the past.

       12 likes