462 Responses to Midweek 22 June 2022

  1. taffman says:

    “Polio virus detected in London sewage samples”
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61896411

    Polio?
    Poor border controls by our Home Office.
    They probably came across the Channel in a dinghy , by Border Force or the RNLI ?
    What next, TB, smallpox, child rapists or even more terrorists?
    How will our security services monitor that lot ?

       34 likes

    • JohnC says:

      ‘Polio is still endemic in three countries, i.e., Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan’

      As they say, import 3rd world, get 3rd world.

         38 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Given the predilection for a certain kind of lady to get up close and personal to immerse fully in the diverse experience, it may be interesting what the corridors of W1A run with soon.

           9 likes

    • Doublethinker says:

      Just another example of the failure of successive governments over the last forty years to protect the British people by their undemocratic ( we were never asked if we wanted mass immigration because as Blair said, they , ie us ,will say NO) support for mass immigration.
      As result of this policy we have:

      Terror attacks and many dead, more wounded
      Teachers in hiding and the rest of scared to open our mouths in public
      Mass rape of thousands of young girls
      TB and polio back
      Public services overwhelmed
      Housing shortage requiring more of our precious countryside be ripped up
      Billions spent on tracking potential terrorists in our midst
      Etc etc

      It’s really going well isn’t it and we have got no benefit whatsoever despite what William the Dick Head says .

         23 likes

  2. Scroblene says:

    This is the rejoicable response from Fed’s request to put up the ‘bulldog licking dried p**s off a nettle’ moment we all waited for all that time ago!

    He was ‘appalled’, APPALLED I tell you!

    Absolutely appaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalled…

    ;0)

       26 likes

    • Non Snowflake says:

      I’ve always been of the opinion that the shocked look on his face was due to the fact that they’d all been told that “Remain” would win, because the vote was rigged in that way, but just wasn’t quite rigged enough.

         26 likes

      • Flotsam says:

        What sticks in my mind is the faces of Cameron and Osborne at a press conference before the Brexit vote when they realised the campaign wasn’t going their way.
        I tried to find the video but failed, I will attach for your entertainment a Brexit promo by the two Remainer stooges.

        I think the Brexit campaign became a rubicon for the BBC when it became all too obvious how biased the “unbiased” BBC was.

           17 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Flotsam
          I guess we will never hear a ‘fact checker ‘ reporting back on the lies of these corrupt fools – is Cameron still sending texts to government ministers for Money?

          The msm will never reflect on that campaign and outcome …. If the result had gone the other way we’d never hear the end of it – and we’d be using reichmarks ( euros ) now …

             17 likes

        • taffman says:

          Where indeed was
          OFCOM?
          I smell a rat!

             10 likes

        • Wild Bill says:

          But leaving didnt put us in a recession did it Cameron, even Covid hasnt done that yet.

             0 likes

      • taffman says:

        Laura – “Face like a Rottweiler chewing a wasp”
        Brexit stunned them all and they never got over it !

           13 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Scroblene – thank you very much for that – I’m sure the BBC will ignore the anniversary because of the ‘bi elections ‘ ( Tory losses ) – which the BBC will be all over if the results are ‘approved’ …
      We can look forward to Eddy Davey and the Labour bloke doing those frankly embarrassing victory speeches ….

      I think I might watch the clip again 😎🇬🇧

         25 likes

      • Scroblene says:

        Thank you Fed, be my guest to watch it again!

        I heard nothing on the BBC, which isn’t surprising, because a) they’d ignore it, and b) I always ignore the BBC anway!

           1 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      Scrobie, it was interesting viewing that to note that Dimbleby misrepresented the 1975 EU Referendum. He stated “We voted to join” in 1975. No, we did not. We had already joined as the clock struck midnight on 31 December 1972. BBC lies or faulty ‘Aunty memory’?

         14 likes

      • Scroblene says:

        You’re right, Snuffy!

        I well remember paper signs in windows proclaiming, “Yes to Europe, No to communism”, and even believing it then!

        Up to then the French had always vetoed GB’s involvement, which is still normal for that bunch of cheese-eaters!

           1 likes

    • Lunchtime Loather says:

      Chewing on broken glass would have been easier for him.

         6 likes

    • Wild Bill says:

      But they STILL wont accept it!

         4 likes

  3. JohnC says:

    New Tesla factories losing billions of dollars, Musk says
    https://www.bbc.com/news/business-61905276

    A story about COVID and China with Musk in the middle.

    As the BBC and the Left are in a frenzy of hate for Musk as he might upturn their far-Left groupthink Twitter, I thought to myslef ‘I bet they add links to twitter even though they have nothing whatsoever to do witht he story’. So I bothered to go in and take a look.

    Sure enough :
    ‘Elon Musk: Billionaire’s daughter cuts ties with her father’
    ‘Elon Musk hints at potential Twitter layoffs’
    ‘Musk threatens to walk away from Twitter deal’

    All of them negative.

    And in the first link about his son who still legally a male, the BBC take great delight in calling him Musk’s daughter no less than 5 times.

       17 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      A good measure of such things is the uniformity and volume of ‘news’ output from Unilad, Joe, Vox and… the BBC.

      Identical #prasnews.

         8 likes

  4. Fedup2 says:

    Today watch

    Afgee is on the BBC approved list .
    The BBC thinks afgee is a country
    The BBC wants us to send more money to the taliban because of an earthquake ….
    No contrary view .
    Maybe afgee can sell some of the western kit left behind …or maybe not ….
    Or the ‘community ‘ can send money to their Muslim brothers …

       22 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Boris to wear a burka in solidarity with Afghanistan and to end Earthquakes.

         10 likes

  5. Fedup2 says:

    Today again

    The BBC seems to have a short list of approved sports people – big feature on serena Williams – but not so much on another one called ‘tiger ‘ or one called ‘Lewis ‘.

    I’m trying to work out what these three approved sports types have in common …. Are they all Americans ? Or is it something else …

    … meanwhile …. Mark Steyn continues to fight a lonely fight on two fronts which the rest of the media ignore –

    Namely – vaccine injury and Paki paedo gangs .
    I’m confused by this . Have there been 2 awful reports about the failure of the state in 2 days on the latter issue …?
    Last night mr Steyn reported on a terrible incident where a plod spoke to a paki paedo in a car being pleasured by a 12 year old white girl . Obviously the plod did nothing about this and left the paki to it . No discipline action – no sacking –
    The incident is included in one of the reports published and ignored by the BBC and others .
    Look – squirrels – now the weather …

       25 likes

  6. Guest Who says:

    Stormzy Warning

    The award-winning rapper said people should “always share and support, uplift and help”.

    ***

    Soon our Unis will be as full of rich persons of color who moan a lot, as pig thick BbC types.

       16 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      A sane Country … where a man called Stormzy who shouts out the name of his beloved “Oh Jeremy” and refuses to turn up to sing for his beloved is said to be the equal of Beethoven.

      A sane Country where the wrong words can get you arrested or lose you your job from ASDA, just using a comedians views on a religion that is so sensitive it demands a word is created to stop any criticism, but will not create other words for other religions.

      A sane Country where beating a drum and rubbing your crotch at Notting Hill with the police joining in is deemed as worthy as ballroom dancing and a symphony of Beethoven.

      A sane Country the genital mutilation of girls is said to evil but the police cannot arrest anyone because that would be more evil and yet children as young as 4 are told they can have their genitals removed as a trans gender on the NHS so they can be who they really are even though they have no idea who that is yet.

      A sane Country that has a border to protect by its Government but lets 66 migrants sail freely onto its shores then classes them as undocumented without worrying that criminals would do this very thing to escape jail in Iran.

      AN INSANE COUNTRY …
      An insane Country ….

      https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2019/09/08/start-the-week-9-september-2019/comment-page-3/#comment-1011449

         16 likes

  7. Thoughtful says:

    My predictions on Russian strategy are coming true – unfortunately and with politicians in fantasy land celebrating the rainbow unicorn, debating what a woman is and unable to function if they can’t apply some meaningless ism of fauxbia to something they are completely incapable of addressing economic or enemy threats.

    Here is a FT article about Russia preventing Germany building up stores of gas. The way Germany manages its gas supply is to builkd up around 3 months supply of gas in the Summer and then during the Autumn winter is to use the Nordstream and storage so that come Spring the stores are depleted. If they enter Autumn without the storage they will not have sufficient gas to see them through the Winter even if Nordstream is running at full capacity.

    “Germany’s government fears Russia could take advantage of annual maintenance on its main export pipeline to shut off gas supplies to the country completely, increasing the risk of a winter energy crisis in Europe’s largest economy.

    Earlier this month Russia cut the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 by 60 per cent. The pipeline, one of the main conduits for Russian gas into Europe, will be shut down for around two weeks from mid-July for annual summer work on it.

    Officials say they worry that Gazprom, Russia’s state-owned gas giant, might stop gas deliveries completely while NS1 is closed for repairs, undermining Germany’s efforts to fill gas storage ahead of the winter heating season.

    “The supply situation is tight enough without NS1 being shut down,” said one.

    Carsten Rolle of the BDI, Germany’s business confederation, said that during previous periods of scheduled maintenance on NS1 Gazprom had made up the shortfall by sending Germany more gas through Ukraine, or via the Yamal-Europe pipeline through Poland.

    “But there is a concern that they will not do that this year,” he said. “Already they have cut flows through NS1 by 60 per cent and not made up for it with increased flows through other pipelines.”

    “The conclusion you’re left with is that this is a hostile act,” said Timm Kehler, head of trade body Zukunft Gas.

    Markus Krebber, chief executive of German energy company RWE, said it was “very clear” that the decision to reduce gas flows was “political”, “because it’s not only the [gas] coming via Nord Stream 1 that [is] below contracted volumes, but also via other pipelines.”

    Rolle said Gazprom could also use the planned maintenance on NS1 “as a pretext to stop gas supplies for much longer, citing various technical reasons”.

    “What is the guarantee that at the end of the maintenance period that you actually do get any gas coming back on?” said James Waddell, an analyst at Energy Aspects.

    The fears about NS1 come amid a growing realisation in Berlin and other European capitals that Russia is weaponising its energy exports in retaliation for EU sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

    Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, said on Sunday that Germany would reopen mothballed coal-fired power stations, as the government scrambles to shore up the nation’s energy supply.

    Habeck said he could not rule out a further squeeze on gas deliveries. “Given the current situation, we must assume that Putin is ready to reduce the gas flow further,” he said on Wednesday.

    So far, the reduction in flows has had little tangible impact on Germany’s supplies because gas consumption during the summer is only a quarter or a fifth of the volume on cold winter days. But it is having a serious effect on efforts to fill gas storage facilities ahead of the winter heating season.

    Gas storage is currently 58 per cent full and the government wants that to rise to 90 per cent by November 1. But owing to the problems with NS1, gas importers are being forced to buy the missing volumes on the spot market at much higher prices.
    Recommended
    War in Ukraine
    IEA chief warns Europe to prepare for total shutdown of Russian gas exports

    They will come under even greater pressure if the flow of gas through NS1 and other pipelines is completely shut off for long periods over the summer.

    “If we don’t succeed in filling gas storage by the autumn, we’re going to quickly start experiencing gas shortages,” said Jörg Rothermel, head of energy at Germany’s Chemical Industry Association. “And the Bundesnetzagentur [federal energy regulator] will have to start issuing orders for companies to reduce their gas consumption or even switch off some production facilities.”

    “Russia seems to want to show Europe that it won’t succeed in filling its gas storage,” said Kehler. “My feeling is that it is trying to torpedo Europe’s goal of getting gas storage levels to 90 per cent by November 1, and so weaken Europe politically.”

    A spokesperson for the German economy ministry said the government was in “close contact with gas traders who are preparing for this date”, referring to the start of maintenance work on NS1 on July 11.

    She said Germany was also “liaising closely with our European partners because we know that gas supplies to France, Italy and Austria have also been reduced”.”

       7 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      Thoughtful – so what you’re saying is …. There is little likelihood of gas prices not continuing to rise this year – or maybe next year …. And there maybe a real shortage .

      How would people deal with the OFGEM price fix after the one coming in 2 months ? Another £1000 average price increase to domestic bills ?

      Meanwhile the oil price is ‘down ‘ to only $103 a barrel because they are pricing in a US Biden /Obama Recession ….

      In the coming US election any republican candidate promising to cut the price of oil in the US will be a winner … except – of course – for the fixed counts again ….

      For some reason – in the UK economy – interest rates are not being put up quick enough but I reckon there will be a shock pretty soon ..

         8 likes

      • Thoughtful says:

        If you watch the Maverick of Wall Street video I posted he explains the oil price fall is a demand drop which is not a good sign as supply is still at the same level it was.

        There is the issue with the US Texas gas and oil terminal which won’t be up and running until late 2022
        Biden and his criminals talking about restricting oil and gas exports to shore up prices he caused to rise in the USA ahead of the mid terms.

        There is zero chance of the price of gas going down. We are now at Midsummer which should be the lowest demand, once we enter September use begins to rise, and we would expect prices to do the same.

        Every year in May the MET Office produces an Atlantic sea state report as a condition known as a tripole can be a precursor to a cold Winter. This May the tripole appeared and although it’s not a guarantee it is a sign Winter might well be cold in Europe.

        The BoE government has to be replaced as he is a complete ditherer similar to Boris, incapable of grasping the nettle. Paul Volker put interest rates up by a full 4% to shock the system this useless ditherer doesn’t even seem capable of contemplating a .5% rise and for that reason he has to be replaced, but Boris probably doesn’t have either the nous or the courage to do that.

           5 likes

        • Fedup2 says:

          Thoughtful – yes thank you for the reminder – I started watching it – seems like wise words ….

          … I understand that the main gas supply pipe from evil Russia is shut in July for maintenance and there is fear it will not be re opened ….

             3 likes

          • Thoughtful says:

            Here is todays overview of the gas situation only about 5 minutes of watching but for mainland Europe as he says without the US and Russia supply Europe is F*****d.

               3 likes

            • andyjsnape says:

              Hello Thought, the Russians aren’t bothered, they will just sell the their friends, China, India etc. Its a bigger world out there than the likes of the bbc tell us

                 4 likes

              • Thoughtful says:

                One commentary I watched holds that the Russians cannot lose. In every scenario Russia wins.

                When you have a country which stretches from Europe to Japan, takes in the Middle East on its way, and spans 9 different time zones you begin to realise just how vast it is.

                Add in the sparse population and unexploited mineral wealth the world needs and you begin to realise that if the West doesn’t get back on normal terms with Russia we will cut ourselves off from all those resources and hand them to China, India and all the other country who are not demeted by fantasy land liberal leftist lunacy.

                Put simply Biden is not only destroying America with his woke Green delusional criminality he is bringing Europe down with it as well.

                   9 likes

                • digg says:

                  Thoughtful… the insane liberals are unable to accept that not everyone wants to be like them. So insane that their method of handling this is to deny the acceptability of any other thought or idea that they didn’t put in place. You can see this in action in every aspect of liberal values and decisions.

                  Think there are only two sexes?

                  You are wrong-headed and a monster.

                  Think that freedom depends on the ability of a Nations citizens to express their opinions freely and without punishment?

                  You are a dangerous and criminal being.

                  Think that parents are primarily responsible for their children’s mental development and view of the World?

                  You have no right to interfere with the trained professional educators who’s job it is to nurture the next generation in order that they have the right thoughts and behave and vote in an acceptable way.

                  in fact these people are not Liberal at all are they. They are in fact playground bullies.

                  So to bring things back into perspective we look as if we are going to have to face the consequences of their cultish demands to the point where starvation and cold force the general population into a realisation that they are being manipulated by wrong-headed blockheads and act accordingly.

                  I can see no other way that the current trajectory will end.

                  If you decide to call a Tiger a Squirrel the only way you are going to find out you are wrong is when it bites your frigging head off.

                  In fact as the “free” West gets more and more bizarre with even it’s leaders bowing to the dark forces and lunatic demands of the crazy people for fear of loss of popularity, the more orderly but rational “Russian style” way of life may begin to look more and more like a preferable option.

                     4 likes

    • tomo says:

      With the goons in Brussels acting like they are – the Russians don’t need to do much to cause chaos in the EU?

         8 likes

  8. Jeff says:

    So, while statues of people like Drake and Nelson are under continuous threat, it’s nice to know that new statues are going up to replace them.

    I’ve just heard there’s a rather splendid statue unveiled at Waterloo Station depicting a family from the Empire Windrush, about to set foot in Blighty. FFS, it’s bloody huge!

    Prince William did the unveiling and was particularly enthusiastic, thanking the descendants for the massive contribution they have made to British society. Hmmm…

    Let’s think…street crime…drugs…gangs…muggings…knifings…gun killings…endless griping about “racism”…

    I wonder if they’ll ask the widows of PCs Dunn and Blakelock to offer their thanks…

       33 likes

  9. JohnC says:

    Met Police’s most wanted: Images released of 10 robbery suspects
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61822919

    _125434206_metpolicecomposite.jpg

    An article with an enormous elephant in the room.

    Jason Diallo: Man jailed for London drive-by shooting murder
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61794549

    The story leads with the picture of victim. Which only means one things about the murderer. Here he is:

    _125409638_untitleddesign-3.png

    Same for the next one : pictures of victim only.

    Romario Opia: Man, 19, guilty of stabbing schoolboy to death
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-61738801

    Needed google to find out anything about the murderer who the BBC seem to want to protect.

    mr0bje1npwiahmpethrj

    He was found guilty of manslaughter because he claimed to be acting in self defence from the black man he stabbed. The BBC omit to tell us they both were both carrying ‘zombie’ knives.

    That was enough evidence for my quick check. They try to hide the identity of killers when they are black every time now.

       20 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      But there are too many coloured folk in prison – right ?

         20 likes

      • JohnC says:

        lol – yes the system is institutionally racist because there are more black and Asian people in prisons, percentage of population wise, than whites.

        It’s one of the Left’s finest double-standards.

           18 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      A London MP has suggested that absent fathers are a key cause of knife crime.

      Tottenham Labour MP David Lammy said most young people who have stabbed someone to death come from single parent families.

      Former gang member Sheldon Thomas, now a government advisor on youth violence, said he agreed with Mr Lammy “100%”.

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19815831

         6 likes

    • G says:

      John,

      The BBC’s named listing is also instructive – particularly when some may well think wrongly that some are indigenous white:

      “Clockwise from top left: Ayman Ghazoini, Beniamin Cosmin Boros, Iosif Marius Amarandei, Jamie Reese Bagnall, Jason Iyasara, Joshua Clarke, Maashak Daniel Bloomfield, Mason Bradley Luxon, Soufian Chafi, Swaleh Ahmed Swaleh”

         8 likes

  10. andyjsnape says:

    Quiz: Why should we be aware of unconscious bias?
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zpqg4xs

    “unconscious bias” brought to you by….. bBC, couldn’t make it up

       15 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      ajs, BBC = purveyors of bias.

         5 likes

    • micknotmike says:

      There is one very conscious bias which I hold dear, which I have cultivated having observed the workings of the bbc for far too long. It concerns these “coffee-time” quizzes. The bbc, like so many others, place a little “cookie” warning on their pages, and then, when you innocently run through a quiz like this, means that they can capture the results and place them firmly on their records. Then, probably not too far down the road, the rozzers are knocking on the door to force you to attend a “voluntary” series of lectures, while your childrens’ teachers are telling the class just how much of a nasty racist bastard you are. Steer clear, is my advice. Why else would they be interested in your opinions?

         12 likes

  11. MarkyMark says:

    BBC have been told they can write stories again …. read the last bit ….

    A group of 95 people who developed health problems or lost relatives as a result of rare side-effects of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine say they have been let down by the “out-of-date” government payment scheme.
    One woman whose fiance died after the jab was awarded £120,000 this week.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-61898694

    “Every single ailment that everybody’s got over last year, all of a sudden, it’s to do with vaccine,” Ms Hibbs says.

    “And I think a lot of people have got to understand millions of people every year are diagnosed with illnesses.”

    “It doesn’t help us.”

       5 likes

    • Up2snuff says:

      MM, big difference if you are in good health, walk into the vaccine tent/centre/GP surgery and then within a day or two suffer something vaccine related and turning up at your GP or A&E because you are feeling unwell.

         7 likes

  12. MarkyMark says:

    EAT BUGS … afdabdfb-de55-452b-b000-43e4d45f1094-e27dff4e-a379-4cc0-92e0-95695faed793

       10 likes

  13. MarkyMark says:

    Saudi of the wind … Johnson hints that new coal mine for Cumbria will get go-ahead
    By Chris Mason
    Political editor, BBC News

    Published
    11 hours ago
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61904622

       8 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      If the first planes to Rwanda do take off some year – I wonder if the next stage might be put a boat in the channel to hoover up the third world dross trying to get away from war torn France – and then take them direct to an airport for immediate extraction …..
      That might be less expensive that a barbed wire wall along the channel ….lethal force is not allowed it seems ..

         16 likes

  14. MarkyMark says:

    Churchill in a box … and then your culture is HISTORY … Considerations-on-the-Colston-statue.jpg

       9 likes

  15. Fedup2 says:

    Not directly the BBC – but Nicky Haley the former Trump US Ambo to the UN – is in London and made a speech yesterday telling Democrats to stay out of the EU UK Northern Ireland issue ….
    ,,,, Mrs Haley is a potential candidate for the 2024 Presidential election and is formidable . She has said if Mr Trump runs she will not . ….

    I reckon she will get no coverage here and they’ll have the Project Fear box ready if she lands up running – she d slaughter Biden Obama’s and the air head

       17 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      She came out strong then caved…. Nicky Haley.

      Despite President Trump and Haley’s chummy appearance before reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning, and Trump’s assertion that Haley had told him months ago that she wanted to leave “at the end of the year,” the news reportedly caught many senior Administration officials by surprise, and set off a hunt for an ulterior motive.

      A few things to keep in mind, courtesy of The New Yorker’s Susan B. Glasser. First, Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, is a politician. “Treat her like a politician,” Glasser said. “She’s running for something—we just don’t know what.”
      https://www.newyorker.com/news/current/whats-the-real-reason-nikki-haley-resigned-as-un-ambassador

         6 likes

  16. Fedup2 says:

    UK government paying over £7 billion a month in interest payments – and rising ….. cut taxes ? No chance

       12 likes

  17. Tabs says:

    Just Stop Oil: Activists says they have ‘a duty to protest’
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-61635328

    Typical BBC giving a platform to pink died hair weirdos to spout their socialist crap.

    Some quotes from the article:
    Many of the impacts of global warming are now simply “irreversible”
    a code red for humanity
    “mega droughts”
    it “feels unfair” to bring a child into “this world”
    Zak… started to see “there was injustice in the world” from the age of 12

    My favourite:

    Xanthe Flynn, who uses the pronouns they/them, says they don’t like to “call it activism because it’s my whole life”.

    “It’s not just a protest that you go and do, and then you go back to your safe space,” the 18-year-old says.

       16 likes

  18. Guest Who says:

    Just like many bbc staff, Iona thinks she speaks for a nation.

    Also just like many bbc staff, she restricts dialogue to ensure only that view is broadcast.

       18 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      EU is an expanding empire building project …
      https://ec.europa.eu/info/policies/eu-enlargement_en

      EU does not believe in sovereignty …
      Polish prime minister escalates war of words with EU over rule of law
      This article is more than 7 months old
      Mateusz Morawiecki says European court’s ‘creeping revolution’ undermines Polish sovereignty
      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/oct/19/polish-prime-minister-escalates-war-of-words-with-eu-over-rule-of-law

         7 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      EU leaders …

      Jean-Claude Juncker was questioned about the fight against tax evasion by inquiry committee during a hearing at the Parliament on 30 May

      PANA Committee meeting – Public Hearing with Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission
      Jean-Claude Juncker during the hearing in Parliament
      European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker took part in a tax hearing in the Parliament on 30 May, during which he stressed the Commission’s commitment to fighting tax avoidance in the EU as well as defended himself in relation to tax deals made when he was prime minister of Luxembourg. Revelations from the Panama papers and the Lux leaks scandal showed widespread tax avoidance practices in Luxembourg. Juncker was not only prime minister from 1995 to 2013, but also served as the country’s finance minister from 1989 to 2009.
      https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/headlines/economy/20170529STO76260/juncker-don-t-measure-my-credibility-on-the-basis-of-my-tax-past#:~:text=European%20Commission%20President%20Jean%2DClaude,was%20prime%20minister%20of%20Luxembourg.

         4 likes

    • Flotsam says:

      There are many Scots who are totally disillusioned with Turdgeon and the SNP.

      Her approach to Covid was very controversial with longer and stronger lockdowns was very divisive. Duncan Bannatyne said he would never open anither business in Scotland and he’s Scottish!

      https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/07/30/will-never-open-another-business-scotland-ridiculous-gyms-delay/

      https://www.thenational.scot/news/18618367.duncan-bannatyne-accuses-nicola-sturgeon-hidden-agenda/

         11 likes

    • Zelazek says:

      Guest

      I agree that Iona Fyfe thinks she speaks for Scotland. But she doesn’t know what she is saying.

      What are these “very different values” to the UK that she says Scotland has? Our values are exactly the same. Unless she’s thinking of our greater love of welfare dependency and subsidy junkiedom?

      She says Scotland wants to “uphold human rights”. Which ones? And in contradistinction to which nation that doesn’t?

      She says she wants to welcome “new Scots”. The only new Scots I know of are babies who are born here.

      There did seem to be a majority here in favour of remaining in the EU. But that doesn’t mean that “we” don’t think the UK speaks for us.

      Throughout our history, Scotland has had to grapple with one fundamental existential question: Is it better to be in a union with England or to be independent?

      I believe the definitive answer to that question became clear to intelligent Scots as far back as the Battle of Flodden in 1513. Back then we were in an alliance with France. They liked to use us as pawns to keep English armies tied up in the north. When all our fighting forces were annihilated in that disastrous battle, some Scots began to realise that the French were taking us for mugs.

      John Knox understood that if Scotland and England could be united under one crown and by a shared protestant faith, peace and security could then be enjoyed by both countries. Eventually the inevitable happened. The right answer to the age-old question was found.

      And we voted No in the independence referendum of 2014. Good sense still prevails in Scotland.

         12 likes

      • Fedup2 says:

        Zelatek

        As an Englishman ( London ) I am fascinated by the visceral hatred the Scots Nats have for the English ( aka Westminster ).
        Is it about the English Aristocracy ? Land ownership ? Braveheart ? Do Scot’s really feel ‘oppressed ‘ enough to want to be a fully independent part of the EU ?

        Is it religion ? Is it RC versus Protestantism ? Is it population size ? Again I don’t know ….

        But I do get the impression that the more politicians there are the more of the cake – power – they want ….

        Again as an Englishman – I get the impression that the views ? Wishes of the English voter have not been factored into a future independent Scotland .

        I think emotion gets in the way of practicality about separate passports – currencies – time zones – everything – when independence comes ….

        But at least the BBC will be at home in an independent Scotland since it is so uncritical of the SNP – I wonder how that sex pest MP is doing ….?

           9 likes

        • BigBrotherCorporation says:

          If we English were permitted a referendum on Scottish independence I think we all know what the result would be, guess that’s why ‘Westminster’ won’t let us.

          Honestly, no matter how often wee Krankie brings this up, I’d place my trust in the canniness of most Scots to vote the right way (however much they loathe us ‘Fecking Sassenach scum’, they hate the idea of poverty and isolation more).

             10 likes

        • Up2snuff says:

          Fed, there’s no way a newly independent Scotland can be independent wthin the EU. Maybe there was a typo there? If you join the EU you have to accept most of the EU rules set by Brussels; as far as I know only a limited number of rules have a derogation clause. Just look at the battle Poland is currently having with the EU. Scotland will have to give up the £ sterling and accept ECB & ECHR controls.

             7 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            I was being a bit dry about the concept of an independent Scotland then signing up to rule from the ReichEU …
            The Spanish must be looking with great interest at whether crankie does a Russia style illegal referendum – if I recall the politicians who did it in Spain got locked up for treason for a long time …

            …all those braveheart SNP types lining up to be victims of English tyranny must just dream …. “You’ll never take me freedom …. “ …

               6 likes

        • Zelazek says:

          Fed

          In my humble opinion, the visceral hatred of the gnats has several causes, none of them justifiable.

          A lot of these people just don’t like being provincials, being from the periphery, being the junior partner from the smaller nation. Seems to madden some people. You will remember that Napoleon was from Corsica, Hitler was from Austria.

          A lot of Scots are born hating the caricature of the upper class Englishman. Then they go on to hate not just the caricature but the real thing. They hate the effortless superiority and urbanity of the English lord. The typical Scot is dour in comparison and if he has a sense of humour at all, it is of the earthy variety. All this feeds his sense of inferiority.

          A lot of Scots in my experience have a persecution complex. But rather than look into their family upbringing for the real source of their psychological troubles, they transfer their rage on to the political arena and find scapegoats in the English.

          Do we have any legitimate political grievances? I don’t think so. What about history? Some people will mention the Highland clearances and lay the blame at the feet of the English. But it was the clan chiefs who sold out their own people. So many Scottish problems are like this. The causes are complex and homegrown but the Scots want the simple answer to be the fault of the English. Or “Westminster”.

          One reason I think that today many Scots feel little connection with other Brits is because trade unions are so much weaker. I know that Scottish miners used to feel a very strong bond with their colleagues in Tyneside, Yorkshire, Kent and South Wales so Scottish nationalism did not have much appeal for them. And of course recent generations of Scots have not had the experience of fighting shoulder to shoulder with the English defending Britain in a world war. Without those sobering experiences to temper the perspective of Scots, the trivial concerns and petty complaints of SNP grievance culture seem to grow to ridiculous proportions.

          I cannot blame English people for wanting rid of us. I cannot listen to the whining of Sturgeon or Blackford either. I don’t know if I would want anybody but the Scots voting in an indyref though. I fear Scotland would vote by a narrow margin to remain in the UK but everyone else would vote by a large margin to kick us out.

             10 likes

          • Fedup2 says:

            Zelazek

            I’ve always had the impression that it’s a class thing – Scottish Lords with upper class English accents ….

            I don’t think the English or Welch or Northern Irish should vote on Scottish independence- but Scots living outside Scotland ? Do I recall there are 750k spread across the rest of Britain ?

            It will be interesting to see the SNP prospectus for independence this time – and the economics to keep the welfare state in Scotland going .

            I would fight and die to stop English taxpayers ‘ cash being sent to a free and independent Scotland …. But I can see crankie wanting ‘compensation ‘ for historic wrongs by the English ruling class …

            And would obviously support an independent Shetland and its’ oil ….

               7 likes

            • Up2snuff says:

              Z, there were Scottish ‘Lairds’, too. Post WW2, my father knew one of them, who was Chairman of the business he worked for. Nice chap, my Dad said. Unlike the Scottish Lairds who took against the Covenanters and the Highlanders and crofters and cleared them away with the edge of the sword.

                 3 likes

              • BigBrotherCorporation says:

                Zelazek, I don’t think a lot of those sentiments are unique to the Scottish.

                I’ve lived most of my life in the West Country, although I’m not born and (in)bred like most, and you can hear a lot of the same comments. Except rather than the ‘English’, it’s ‘Londoners’, or ‘Townies’ that get all the stick here, what with “them coming here with all their money” and buying up all the property, not understanding the local way of life, complaining about country noises and smells, building all over the place etc…

                There is also a strong element of inadequacy/chip on the shoulder about it, people around here don’t like being mocked for being ‘cuntry bumpkins’, but do feel inferior to people coming out of the city with a bit more ‘culture’ (whatever that might mean), ‘posh’ accents, and a LOT more money in their pockets.

                “This Country” (only good thing ever on BBC3).

                We’ve all got our grievances, and I’m sure some of them are justified, but is it really enough to demand independence?

                   3 likes

                • Zelazek says:

                  You’re right of course, BBC. Peripheral areas of Britain share many of the same problems. Did you see that Whitby recently voted to restrict sales of new-build houses to local residents only? A good sign that rural areas may be fighting back. I hope so. Many rural villages today are practically ghost towns made up of empty second homes. It is not unrelated to the problem of our cities being transformed into third world no-go areas. The source of the problem is the same disregard for the native population who built this country.

                  If Scotland becomes independent, many of the problems of peripheral areas will remain and they will realise that maybe it wasn’t all the fault of the English after all. But I’m sure the SNP will claim the problems are the “legacy” of the union, much as the “legacy of slavery” can always be used as an excuse for the failures of blacks, even 200 years later.

                     0 likes

  19. Thatcherrevolutionary says:

    BBC tosspot at Glastonbury.

    *interviews organiser in Che Guevara shirt*

    Headline news – Earthquake in Afghanistan. Interviews Scots female aid worker. Full head covering.

       16 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Boris Johnson’s burqa comments ‘led to surge in anti-Muslim attacks’
      This article is more than 2 years old
      Monitoring group says abuse incidents jumped by 375% in the week following PM’s article

      https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/sep/02/boris-johnsons-burqa-comments-led-to-surge-in-anti-muslim-attacks

         4 likes

      • JohnC says:

        That’s how the Left remove free speech.

        It went from 8 to 38 in whole week for the whole country.

        And of course they use the blanket ‘hate incident’ without any context whatsoever.

        ‘42% of the street-based incidents reported to Tell Mama directly referenced Johnson and the language used in his column’. So the word ‘letterbox’ was classed as a ‘hate incident’.

        If Islam moved on from the stone age and stopped forcing women to wear these oppressive clothes, none of this would have happened. THAT is the root of the problem.

           15 likes

      • Jeff says:

        It’s quite obvious that any abuse Muslims receive will have absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the Manchester Arena mass slaughter, the murder of the Westminster policeman, the multiple stabbings at London Bridge, or the numerous acts of (ahem) “bad driving.”

        No, it’s due to some half-arsed joke about letterboxes.

        Of course it is…

           13 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      What happens to all the tents left behind at Glastonbury Festival?
      Every year thousands of tents are abandoned after the Glastonbury Festival. Here is what happens next

      https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife/what-happens-tents-left-behind-56851

      Each year around 175,000 people descend on the green fields of Glastonbury Festival laden with camping supplies, tents, sleeping bags, camp stools and all the kit needed to spend a comfortable weekend in a muddy field.

      Sadly not everybody takes their gear away with them afterwards. The Glastonbury aftermath is well-documented. A sea of mud and litter, dotted with thousands of semi-collapsed tents and soggy camping equipment left behind on Monday morning by festivalgoers who just couldn’t face packing down.

      On their website Glastonbury Festival say: “Abandoned camping equipment and rubbish blight the beautiful green pastures of the farm. It really is very sad.”

         10 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Diane Abbott: Chairman Mao “on balance did more good than harm”

         9 likes

  20. Guest Who says:

    Which idiot will the Tories put up as the rest are smart enough to bail.

    There’s rigging… and there is BBC QT rigging.

       14 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Panel decided.

         4 likes

      • MarkyMark says:

        One Member in Parliament – Caroline wants to replace people with trees.

        Yet all parties are GREEN – ha ha ha ha

        You will be happy hanging from a tree.

           4 likes

  21. MarkyMark says:

    “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

    ― George Orwell

    https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/20283-to-see-what-is-in-front-of-one-s-nose-needs

    …..

    Drag Queen Story Hour (DQSH), Drag Queen Storytime, and Drag Story Time are children’s events first started in 2015 by author and activist Michelle Tea in San Francisco with the goals to “inspire a love of reading, while teaching deeper lessons on diversity, self-love and an appreciation of others.”

       7 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      “get them while they are young” – Dodgy buggers over the centuries.

      BBBC Disinformation Unit filter applied to a Media Bulletin #prasnews copy/paste:

      BBC Red Newsnight’s most recent propaganda editor Lewis Goodall has confirmed he will be joining Global in September 2022. He will be the analysis & investigations & Lefty propaganda editor reporting on breaking stories in the UK and beyond, and will create hilariously bent content for the BS and Sopes podcast, universal joke Global Player News and social channels for LBC’s coven of BBC failed activists masquerading as journalists.

         10 likes

  22. andyjsnape says:

    Germany takes step closer to gas rationing
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61908998

    EU… we aren’t buying from you, so potential rationing, Russia’s fault?

    Running out in the summer months, wait til the winter eu. eu you had better make a decision quickly!

       8 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Russia cut flows through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline to 40% of capacity last week citing problems with equipment, affecting countries including Germany.

      It had already cut gas supplies to Poland, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland over their refusal to comply with a new payment scheme.

         4 likes

    • Eddy Booth says:

      “German economy minister Robert Habeck said Russia was using gas “as a weapon” in response to EU sanctions.”

      BBC always happy to repeat any claim that it’s Russia who are the ones weaponising trade…

         8 likes

  23. Guest Who says:

    IFF a shot hits your foot, does anyone leap about?

    https://www.holdthefrontpage.co.uk/2022/news/rival-titles-boycott-mayor-as-council-bans-local-democracy-reporters/?

    Our BBC embedded droids here mainly act as XR PR.

       5 likes

  24. MarkyMark says:

    Man fails to get job and moans….

    Martin Lewis says he was rejected by House of Lords
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61869649

    The founder of the Money Saving Expert website told the BBC’s Nick Robinson he had been “honest” about not having enough time to attend many sittings.

    NONE STORY OF THE YEAR >> WEBSITE GETS A FEW CLICKS >>> BBC IS CLICK BAIT

       8 likes

  25. Doublethinker says:

    A report from the police says racial and hate crimes have increased significantly in the past year. The establishment take will be that the mythical far right are responsible and they must be tracked down and prosecuted.
    However , even if you accept that these ‘crimes’ are genuine then it surely indicates that the Brits aren’t wholly sold on the idea of the great replacement.
    Of course the most likely explanation is that the ‘crimes’ are mainly fictitious designed to provide the establishment anti British ammunition.

       20 likes

    • JohnC says:

      All they do is lower the bar for what they call a ‘hate crime’. It’s pretty much anything you might say which offends them now because it seems BAME have been given the legal right to not be offended by anyone white.

      Of course it does not apply in the other direction.

         16 likes

    • MarkyMark says:

      Respect Words: Ethical Journalism Against Hate Speech” is a collaborative project that has been undertaken by media organizations in eight European countries – Austria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, and Spain. Supported by the Rights and Citizenship Programme of the European Union, it seeks, according to its website, to help journalists, in this era of growing “Islamophobia,” to “rethink” the way they address “issues related to migratory processes, ethnic and religious minorities.” It sounds benign enough: “rethink.” But do not kid yourself: when these EU-funded activists call for “rethinking,” what they are really doing is endorsing self-censorship. {gatestoneinstitute 25oct2017}
      https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11210/europe-journalists-political-correctness

      . . . 2017 timemachine to 1984 . . . think HateCrime rather than ThoughtCrime . . .

      ‘You haven’t a real appreciation of Newspeak, Winston,’ he said almost sadly. ‘Even when you write it you’re still thinking in Oldspeak. I’ve read some of those pieces that you write in The Times occasionally. They’re good enough, but they’re translations. In your heart you’d prefer to stick to Oldspeak, with all its vagueness and its useless shades of meaning. You don’t grasp the beauty of the destruction of words. Do you know that Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary gets smaller every year?’

      Winston did know that, of course. He smiled, sympathetically he hoped, not trusting himself to speak. Syme bit off another fragment of the dark-coloured bread, chewed it briefly, and went on:

      ‘Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it.

      – 1984, Orwell

      https://biasedbbc.org/blog/2017/10/25/mid-week-open-thread-130/#comment-876220

         7 likes

  26. BRISSLES says:

    Did anyone see Nigel’s “conversation” with some ‘drill rapper’ last night. It was hilarious. Nigel doing his best to get some conversation from a lad who struggled to string two words together – man. The epitome of “y’know wot I mean – innit” generation, but is clearly earning a good living by reciting words of violence to an audience of thickos. He’s no doubt descended from Windrush. Dear God.

       28 likes

  27. theisland says:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/MarkSteynOnline/status/1539742646066974720

    Someone let Mark loose in the House of Commons.

       8 likes

  28. BRISSLES says:

    Its a sign of getting old when policeman look as though they’re on work release days, but though I only watch GBNews now, they seem to be recruiting ‘experts’ from the school (or prison [Vikki Price] ) gates! A baby faced royal commentator, a political commentator was interviewed this morning and he looked about 18 ! I don’t mind young minds per se and they have to learn , but they don’t have either the gravitas or experience in the job and most are clearly reading from a script.

       11 likes

  29. andyjsnape says:

    Just in case you had forgot, here’s an update

    Raheem Bailey: ‘Racism and constant abuse’ of boy who lost finger
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61907069

    It was reported weeks ago, but the update is available (as of the moment) 2 hours ago

       7 likes

  30. MarkyMark says:

    TITLE Raheem Bailey: ‘Racism and constant abuse’ of boy who lost finger

    CONTENT “He has always been at least name-called and mocked for his height,” Ms Bailey told BBC Radio 5 Live. The abuse was not always racist, she said, but there had been “proper racism” as well.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-61907069

    PROPER – no idea what the difference is? Proper?

    She set up a fundraising campaign following the incident which has received over £100,000 in donations.

       5 likes

  31. Eddy Booth says:

    Ever had pesky kids playing outside your home?
    Ukrainian solution: toss a hand grenade out of the window.

    https://t.me/intelslava/31750?single

       7 likes

    • moggie63 says:

      There were no casualties but an 11 year old boy was injured? How does that work?

         6 likes

      • Eddy Booth says:

        The drunk thrower will find out in court.
        Not a great idea flooding a country with weapons .
        Zelensky was handing out guns to civilians at the start, nothing much said about that anymore, or the molotov cocktail training, nor letting prisoners join the army.
        Hopefully the NLAW anti tank missiles we donated won’t be used to settle curb parking disputes.

           5 likes

      • Up2snuff says:

        moggie, the grenade hit the boy on the head and bounced so far away that when it exploded no-one was hurt.

           4 likes

  32. Guest Who says:

    Bill can be interesting but always loyal.

    https://tradingaswdr.blogspot.com/2022/06/the-modern-way.html

    I once contemplated ‘man of letters’ as a title. Another era.

    This alludes to one that cannot change.

    https://tradingaswdr.blogspot.com/2022/06/we-know-best.html

    It would be too easy to say that Ofcom is run by a load of people who weren’t promoted to the top of the BBC, but would still rather like to be in charge. …so long as…the BBC’s Annual Plan is sufficiently Soviet

    https://tradingaswdr.blogspot.com/2022/06/editorialising.html

    Once Mel and Kev get back from the slopes, Bill.

       7 likes

  33. Beltane says:

    If Bob Crowe Tribute act Mick Lynch (‘The hero our country needs’, apparently) is on QT tonight, the audience selection process promises to be as fine an example of BBC bias as anyone could wish.

       12 likes

  34. MarkyMark says:

    “… most of you are political junkies (panel members on Question Time). Most of the country isn’t.” – David Starkey @ 2:35

       6 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Precisely.

      Yet the whole rigged circus that few outside the bubble will watch will be leveraged by the Graun, Indy, etc, then picked up by The BBC to serve back as ‘news’, quoting Growler and whoever from the limps Beff was fluffing in a Morris Minor yesterday.

      And the Tory wets (ie: all of them) will have a fit of the vapours and do something even more stupid.

         7 likes

    • Guest Who says:

         2 likes

      • Guest Who says:

        Not ‘in’ the bubble, as such, but…

        Any of these tragic young women not easy to see?

           9 likes

  35. MarkyMark says:

    Story turns gay ….

    Turing was gay at a time when homosexuality was illegal and he was convicted for having a relationship with a man. The government apologised for his treatment in 2009, and Turing received a posthumous Royal pardon in 2013. His appearance on the new £50 note has been welcomed by parts of the LGBT+ community as a symbol of a country facing up to the way gay men were persecuted.
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-61895327

       1 likes

  36. MarkyMark says:

    Demography is destiny …
    ae8170e6fcd545b18cf134416e448127.jpg

       1 likes

  37. MarkyMark says:

    A man who helped sell badges to raise money for NHS charities said he is “furious” after the woman running the campaign spent all the money they made.

    Andy Stallard, from Somerset, said NHS Hero badges were sold at Weston General Hospital at the start of the pandemic.

    He offered to help and raised £6,000, which he paid to the Somerset woman who set up the campaign. He said she has not paid it forward to the charity.

    The woman has admitted to spending the money due to financial hardship.

    She is not being named for legal reasons and told the BBC she will pay the money back when she can.

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-61321390

       8 likes

  38. Fedup2 says:

    From the Guardian – the future for TALKTV – GBNEWS ?

    STARTS
    Rupert Murdoch’s talkTV has been struggling to attract an audience for its culture-war output. But staff at the channel are now worried that they have recently gained one particular viewer: Murdoch himself, who has arrived in London and is taking an active interest in his station’s fate.

    The media mogul has invested tens of millions of pounds in talkTV, but after just two months on air, there are fears it could become a costly disaster unless he makes a rapid intervention, with official viewing figures dipping to zero at some points during evening broadcasts.

    On Wednesday, the company appointed former Daily Mirror editor Richard Wallace as the channel’s boss ahead of an expected relaunch, which followed a senior behind-the-scenes executive quitting last week and Fox News staff being deputised to help sharpen up the channel.

    The company has plastered presenter Piers Morgan’s face on billboards across the country, but his monologues and rants about woke culture – including an attempt to skewer rail union boss Mick Lynch for using a Thunderbirds baddie as his Facebook profile picture – have so far failed to resonate with audiences.

    On Monday night, the flagship Piers Morgan Uncensored attracted just 64,000 viewers. Programmes that beat him in the same time slot included a documentary about the water around Alcatraz on the National Geographic channel and a repeat of 1970s sitcom The Good Life on Gold.

    According to sources at talkTV, Morgan has suggested Murdoch should make a blowout bid to hire his former Good Morning Britain colleague Susanna Reid for talkTV. Reid’s agent did not deny that discussions had taken place, but declined to comment further. There is no indication that Reid is poised to leave the ITV breakfast show, although she has been off air in recent days.

    Other talkTV programmes are faring worse, with just 7,000 people watching former Sun political editor Tom Newton-Dunn’s 7pm news show.

    More embarrassingly, Morgan is being consistently thrashed in the ratings by ex-Ukip leader Nigel Farage on GB News. The rival rightwing channels are fighting over the same relatively small pool of viewers, but so far it looks as though GB News – despite its own disastrous launch – is consistently coming out on top by appealing to a small core British audience rather than aiming for wider appeal.

    Both outlets are reportedly currently financially unsustainable, with questions over their long-term future. GB News secured funding from a range of overseas investors for its first three years, but one major shareholder, US media company Discovery, is now understood to be looking to exit.

    As a result, the company needs new shareholders willing to suck up the cost of running a loss-making, ad-funded channel with a recession looming. Sources at GB News said both its HR director and commercial director have left in recent weeks.

    This has led to speculation that Murdoch could choose to cut his losses, buy GB News, and unite the channel with talkTV. He has form for such ruthlessness. In the early 1990s, soon after it launched, he took his heavily loss-making Sky satellite broadcasting service and merged it with the similarly stricken rival British Satellite Broadcasting to create BSkyB.

    A News UK spokesperson played down the prospect of such an outcome and said they were happy with the current outlook for talkTV, while GB News said it was not aware of any talks.

    Instead, in a bid to revive viewing figures, talkTV has increasingly starting splashing the cash on guests. One leftwing journalist was begged to come on air to be grilled by Morgan; the talkTV guest booker made ever increasing offers, which could in the end have earned the individual thousands of pounds for a few minutes’ work. The person declined.

    Mid-level celebrities and people briefly in the public eye have been delighted to earn over £10,000 for appearing on Morgan’s show.

    Despite the availability of hard cash for people who are willing to be a punchbag for Morgan’s rants, there have been few of the breakout viral moments that characterised his earlier stint on Good Morning Britain. Staff at talkTV reported enormous delight when a trans activist swore at Morgan on air and walked off the set because clips of the incident lit up Twitter.

    talkTV has lost some senior staff, with more predicted to follow – either for opportunities elsewhere or as part of a forthcoming clearout and relaunch. Vivek Sharma, the channel’s executive producer, who was a veteran of ITV’s daytime lineup, quit last week for a new job. There has been substantial involvement of staff from Murdoch’s US Fox News channel to try to train presenters and fix problems with the output.

    One particular issue is talkTV’s dual identity as a big-budget channel bolted on to an existing radio station, talkRadio. The vast majority of talkTV’s output consists of filming shows that were already broadcasting on talkRadio, which had attracted a loyal audience on a small budget.

    This has led to growing tensions between the two teams, with the radio staff feeling they are being let down by their high-spending TV colleagues. One irate member of the old talkRadio team pointed out that while the station’s bosses have issued press releases claiming Morgan’s show is a global success on social media platforms, it is the old talkRadio content – such as interviews with conspiracy theorist David Icke – that dominates the most-viewed list on YouTube.

    Still, talkTV continues to invest in new staff, with job roles available for an additional forthcoming 10pm television show. Jeremy Kyle is due to host a programme now that the public outcry over a recent documentary about his former daytime TV show has died down.

    Murdoch hosted his summer party at the Serpentine gallery in London on Monday night, where the guests included the prime minister, Boris Johnson. He has already watched first hand as one of his newspapers, the Times, became embroiled in a row about deleting a story without explanation. Staff at talkTV are hoping they aren’t part of a similar vanishing act.ENDS

    So will Murdock do to GBNews what he did to BSB? Fold the 2 stations into one bland glossy ITV ?

    For all its ‘ technical faults I’d still watch Brazier or Steyn than Morgan or anything on the Murdock channel …

       14 likes

  39. MarkyMark says:

    Throughout the day we’ve been preparing for a rare PM-royalty showdown, as Boris is scheduled to meet with Prince Charles at CHOGM today after he briefed two papers he hates the government’s Rwanda deportation policy. In a pool interview the PM spoke bluntly of his plans to defend the policy in front of the Prince, despite it not “[coming] up so far”.

    order-order.com

    ………………

    Theresa May The Secretary of State for the Home Department 12:37 pm, 20th April 2016
    The first priority of government is the safety and security of its citizens, and the Government have always made the integrity of the UK border a priority. We will never compromise on keeping the people of this country safe from terrorism, criminality and illegal immigration.

    https://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2016-04-20a.923.2

    ………….

    ICRC operations in Rwanda (2018)
    International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

    Contributions, Expenditures and Results for ICRC in Rwanda covering 2018

    Project identifier:
    XM-DAC-21016-2018-AFRICA-RW

    Start Date:
    2018-01-01

    Activity Status:
    Implementation

    Total Budget:
    CHF5,585,371.06

    https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/XM-DAC-21016-2018-AFRICA-RW/summary

    ICRC operations in Rwanda (2020)
    International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

    Contributions, Expenditures and Results for ICRC in Rwanda covering 2020

    Project identifier:
    XM-DAC-21016-2020-AFRICA-RW

    Start Date:
    2020-01-01

    Activity Status:
    Implementation

    Total Budget:
    CHF8,589,929.99

    …..

    ICRC operations in Rwanda (2017)
    International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

    Contributions, Expenditures and Results for ICRC in Rwanda covering 2017

    Project identifier:
    XM-DAC-21016-2017-AFRICA-RW

    Start Date:
    2017-01-01

    Activity Status:
    Implementation

    Total Budget:
    CHF5,693,018.25
    https://devtracker.fcdo.gov.uk/projects/XM-DAC-21016-2020-AFRICA-RW/summary

    Empowering Vulnerable Genocide Widows in Western Rwanda to Alleviate Extreme Poverty (EVWEP)
    Survivors Fund (SURF)

    EVWEP will empower 1,050 vulnerable genocide widows and 4,000 of their dependents in 33 sectors of Nyamasheke and Rusizi Districts of Rwanda’s Western Province…

    Read more …
    Project identifier:
    GB-CHC-1065705-SX8C-F3UP-FE

    Start Date:
    2019-10-01

    Activity Status:
    Implementation

    Total Budget:
    £55,434

    Joint Youth Program
    United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

    This Joint Programme on Youth seeks to increase youth (girls and boys) access to decent jobs in Rwanda; empower youth to fully engage in…

    Read more …
    Project identifier:
    XM-DAC-41114-PROJECT-00117705

    Start Date:
    2019-01-01

    Activity Status:
    Implementation

    Total Budget:
    £11,408,896

       1 likes

  40. Sluff says:

    ‘Every lunchtime on Radio 2, Jeremy Vine hosts a topical news and discussion show in which the ‘motorist’ is always portrayed as a swivel-eyed, testosterone-fuelled speed freak with the social conscience of a tiger and a total disregard for the well-being of others.
    This always strikes me as odd because just about everyone over the age of 17 is a motorist. Which leads us to the conclusion that in Vineworld all adults are men, and we are all mad or murderers or a worrying mix of the two.
    There was a debate recently on the show about pelican crossings and how elderly people are not given enough time to reach the other side of the road before the lights go green. ……Vine said that when an elderly lady is marooned in the middle of the road and the lights go green for traffic, motorists start to Rev their engines. Really? What motorists do this? I have been driving for 36 years and not once have I ever been tempted to Rev my engine to encourage an old woman to get a move on………’

    I am indebted to Mrs S. for pointing the above out. It was written by Jeremy Clarkson on the 1st December 2013.

    Has anything changed in Vineworld? More to the point, why do the ‘impartial’ BBC allow anyone with such proven long-term anti-car bias to continually present for years and years?
    I suspect we all know the answer to that one.

       13 likes

    • Guest Who says:

      Vile world?

      ‘Quite sure’ is very ‘Toenails’ 2 years later.

         5 likes

    • Fedup2 says:

      I used to drive miles looking for pelican crossings with too faster phase . Then I’d park up and wait for an old dear to try to walk across it . Then I’d rev my engine just for the fun of it ….
      So much nonsense ….

         9 likes

  41. pugnazious says:

    Lockdown was the only solution?….

    ‘It was dangerous, delusional nonsense. Everything that could go wrong went wrong, starting with surging inflation and myriad other unintended consequences. ‘

    From The Telegraph….

    ‘Why is anybody surprised? You can’t lock down an economy and a society, pay millions of people to do nothing, spend and borrow and print tens of billions of pounds, and expect there to be no consequences, no day of reckoning, no bill to pay.

    Britain’s inflationary tsunami, the rail strikes, the chaos at the airports, the incompetence, decay and decline, can all be directly traced to Covid and lockdowns. Even before Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, inflation had already surged uncontrollably, with the consumer price index hitting 6.2 per cent by February.’

    And of course not just the economy that suffered enormously.

    Covid to blame? Lol…we all know it was Brexit.

       12 likes

  42. Guest Who says:

    I know many QCs are smart.

    But a lot are not, and also utterly nuts.

       11 likes

    • StewGreen says:

      She replied
      You are attacking the wrong person.
      Perhaps speak to someone who knows me.

      One reply “Your honour. You’ve got the wrong person. Ask my mates, they know me.”

      “Attack” she says .. cheekily trying to claim victim status.

      Someone else said “It is the ultimate form of identity politics that assumes all minority groups must be homogeneous, with no individual thoughts.”

      Nothing new, Simor is barmy so says barmy things.

      Bottomline she seems to have deleted the tweet
      yet rants defending it.

         1 likes

  43. Sluff says:

    And there’s more. With the train strikes on, the Telegraph publishes a photo of a load of cylists in London. I can reasonably spot 22. They are all young. Overwhelmingly white (so not exactly representative of Londonistan but let that pass), and overwhelmingly male. Only 2 are not wearing helmets.

    In any other situation such disparity and ‘inequality’ would cause the Leftoids to have a convulsive fit, but cycling is ‘so worthy’ that it is immune from sensible analysis and the usual critique.
    Critique that might include cycling as an interesting example of redistribution of wealth …..taking resources from the suburbs and countryside (often quite poor areas) where car use is essential to the ( better off ) professional middle class virtue-signallers in the city. Robin Hood in reverse. Very BBC. Can you get a vegan skinny Latte? Whatever that is.

    Up the revolution!

       13 likes

    • harry142857 says:

      Lots of drug couriers round my way used to use bikes, now they have electric scooters.

         5 likes

      • Wild Bill says:

        A drug dealer down my street in Cumbria now has one, arent they illegal?
        The Police wont care, they dont seem bothered about his drug dealing.

           5 likes

  44. Guest Who says:

    Bet Growler choose that image from Getty herself.

    With BBC help.

       11 likes

  45. Guest Who says:

    Surprised the bbc does not have a quote from a pigeon.

    A devastated one, natch.

       8 likes

    • Beltane says:

      Nothing to do with the devastating avian flu epidemic currently limiting all bird movements throughout most of France then?

      Brexit sounds better. That way it’s our fault.

         12 likes

  46. StewGreen says:

    @ShellenbergerMD’s long list of Biden’s lies about oil
    https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1539594696422326274.html

       3 likes

  47. taffman says:

    Rwanda asylum plan: PM and Charles unlikely to discuss policy, No 10 says
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-61907884

    I would say it was about time Boris got his finger out and got Brexit Done . He should also fulfil all the promises he made to the country to get voted in as PM and got the Tories the huge majority in the last election .
    If he doesn’t? its the end of the Tory Government .

    My vote goes to The Reform Party , the former Brexit Party next time.

       13 likes

  48. Thoughtful says:

    The New York Democrats have just lost a 2nd amendment case in the Supreme court by 6 – 3 This is a gun control gun rights case and it is quite an important decision declaring the States requirements for gun owners to show good reason for concealed carry.

    Here’s the report:

       5 likes

  49. Guest Who says:

    Have to feel sorry for the kid.

    How long before Gary Lineker and Emperor Highly Henry are fighting over him?

       6 likes