- “Nigel Farage accuses West of provoking Russia into war with Ukraine” – Nigel Farage has provoked fury by suggesting the West was partly to blame for Russia invading Ukraine, reports the Mail.
- “The Tories are morally bankrupt” – The Conservatives look like a dodgy tenant who, when he knows he’s being evicted, takes the lightbulbs and toilet seat with him, says Nigel Farage in the Telegraph.
- “This betting scandal has exposed the rotten heart of our political class” – For the foreseeable future, the Conservatives will be synonymous with corruption and venality, writes Tom Harris in the Telegraph.
- “Ignore the centrist gloom. To win, the Conservatives must offer a Right-wing path to renewal” – No party has a divine right to exist if it can’t offer policy propositions that are distinct from others’ and respond to the wishes of a voting coalition that can win an election, writes David Frost in Conservative Home.
- “Labour manifesto raises ‘red flag’ free speech concerns: FSU” – According to the Free Speech Union, there are numerous “red flags” in Labour’s manifesto, reports the Epoch Times.
- “Labour has dismissed women like me. I’ll struggle to vote for it” – In the Times, J.K. Rowling says she’s far from convinced that Keir Starmer has changed his spots when it comes to defending women’s rights.
- “Keir Starmer’s moral vacuum” – Labour’s ethical limits remain unclear, says Kathleen Stock in UnHerd.
- “The Downing St. Deprivation Index” – What does it say about a country and its leaders when political leaders must brag of their childhood deprivation? wonders Dr. Roger Watson in the New Conservative.
- “The BBC has given up any pretence of impartiality” – The BBC continues to employ staff who have shown support for October 7th. This needs to stop, says Danny Cohen in the Telegraph.
- “All eyes should be on Al Jazeera for being founded, funded – and directed – by terrorists” – There were a lot of good reasons for the Israelis to stop Al Jazeera from operating inside Israel, writes Douglas Murray in the NY Post.
- “Lockdown showed the horrors of what a Labour Government will be like in practice” – None of the major parties have said what they’d do in the event of anotehr pandemic, says Sarah Ingham in Conservative Home. Do we really trust Labour not to lock us all in our homes again?
- “String of Reform candidates said Britain’s Covid response was ‘like the Holocaust’” – A string of Reform candidates likened Britain to Nazi Germany during the pandemic, reveals the Mail.
- “Has the pandemic made us sicker?” – The pandemic had a profound impact on health ecosystems globally – but its legacy goes beyond a possible immunity debt, write Maeve Cullinan and Sarah Newey in the Telegraph.
- “Scientific American’s Laura Helmuth continues campaign to embarrass and humiliate herself” – Like many science writers, Laura Helmuth at Scientific American can’t see beyond her own bigotries and personal politics, says Paul D. Thacker on the DisInformation Chronicle Substack.
- “Birth rates in rich countries halve to hit record low” – A new study shows that birth rates in the world’s rich economies have more than halved since 1960 to hit a record low, according to the FT.
- “Nobody is confronting the great Remainer lie about Brexit” – It’s now eight years since the referendum and Leave backers aren’t doing enough to counter pro-EU propaganda, warns David Frost in the Telegraph.
- “A revolution in workers’ rights will hurt the worst-off” – Labour’s plans to increase the living Wage plans would see many, perhaps all, teenage jobs disappear, says Len Shackleton in CapX.
- “The tyrannical tendency” – On Substack, Dr. David McGrogan examines the preconditions for the extinction of freedom.
- “The French Left is sharpening the guillotine” – France, once again, is set to become an unpredictable, business-averse place, says Anne-Elisabeth Moutet in the Telegraph.
- “‘Is this a joke?’ Polish PM given democracy prize despite crackdowns” – Donald Tusk’s receipt of the Chatham House Prize for “restoring democracy” has sparked widespread derision, according to Thomas O’Reilly in the European Conservative.
- “The climate scaremongers – this turbulent professor” – Any area of research remotely connected to climate change is likely to be showered with grant funding, while other areas are starved of cash, says Paul Homewood in TCW.
- “BBC Sport head criticised for trans article pledges to ‘leave views at door’” – The new Head of BBC Sport has pledged to leave his personal views “at the door” after writing an article in which he seemed to compare women concerned about trans athletes to racists, reports the Mail.
- “Brontë sisters included in LGBT events because of their androgynous pen names” – The Bronte sisters have been included in LGBT Pride events because they wrote under androgynous pen names, says the Telegraph.
- “Death by red tape” – “Soft cancellation” is the preferred tool of woke universities trying to shut down heretical speakers, writes Rhianwen Daniel in the Critic.
- “Taboo by Eric Kaufmann review – how woke conquered the world” – In the Times, Kathleen Stock reviews ‘cancelled’ academic Eric Kaufmann’s new book explaining the roots of wokeness.
- “Rob Winnett scraps move to Washington Post after staff revolt” – A Telegraph journalist who was hired to edit the Washington Post has decided not to take the job after a staff backlash, according to the Times.
- “‘We should stand proud for having led the world out of a mentality where slavery was the norm’” – Katherine Birbalsingh argues against the idea of the West paying reparations for slavery, pointing out that while slavery existed everywhere, only Western civilisation came to see it as morally wrong.
While slavery was common to all civilizations, only one civilization developed a moral revulsion against it: Western Civilization
— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) June 21, 2024
“Rather than be ashamed as Westerners, we should stand proud for having led the world out of a mentality where slavery was the norm.”https://t.co/oF8TuKntPD pic.twitter.com/0g14u3yzZ5
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“Death of meritocracy in Britain”
Advancement in the UK is not too dissimilar to anywhere else. If the parents went to the right schools and universities, if they go to the right golf and tennis clubs. If they are well networked with the power and money, then the child a far greater chance of success. Once in the nice jobs, well, people promote people like them, don’t they.? Lets not kid ourselves that social and financial advancement has ever really come as the natural conclusion of competence and hard work. But even that pretence is hard to keep up when competence and hard work are wilfully ignored over choosing people solely for their immutable characteristics.
Grammar schools gave us proles a chance to advance when TPTB needed extra brain power . The fact that the kids from these excellent schools who went onto Oxbridge were known as “Stains” by the silver spoon brigade tells us all we need to know !
Went up to Oxford 1969; four of my peers studying Eng. Lit & Lang were working class Grammar School educated lads. Very smart. All went on to good jobs. Two as teachers. All agreed Grammar Schools a huge helop to them
Grammar schools provided a route to self improvement as did the proper technical colleges. Comprehensives do not.
Grammar school boy here, work for an SME. We’re an eclectic bunch, AFAIK no-one from an especially deprived background, but no-one from an especially privileged one either. I think we’re broadly here, earning decent money, on brainpower and hard work, and the bosses are generally the smartest and most productive. I guess most of us had stable families. Perhaps we’re an outlier.
“Britain’s arts scene is as woefully woke as ever”
Woke is supposed to be about equity, which can only guarantee that we all end up at the lowest common denominator.
Absolutely spot on, Neil. You end up with rubbish art. Emperor’s New Clothes art. Equity is a nonsense word in this regard. The woke community have taken a few words such as equity, inclusivity and diversity and basically weaponised them so that these three words, so redolent of the French Revolution’s ‘Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité’ now play a massive part in business, arts, sport, and politics….to your peril if you do not play along. You dilute the talent to please the less talented because that’s ‘fair’ rather than deal with the education and skills transfer aspects so that the less talented can earn their place. You include everyone to provide an entirely skewed perspective on reality because it’s ‘fair’. I have no problems with anyone of any race, colour, religion, sexual orientation etc of taking their place but only if or when they are worthy of that place due to their own efforts and abilities like all fo us, not because of some unwritten rules. And when they reach their goals, they act as inspiration to the others who follow, because they want to be better and more talented not because it’s ‘fair’.
“The Sunday Times has an extract from Anthony Seldon’s new biography of Boris Johnson revealing what really went on in Number during the first lockdown.”
Yes, of course this will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
“Net zero fuel failure triggers train chaos across South West”
So, will this effect E10 petrol for cars?
Maybe why it was released in the winter months? because they know the algae will become a problem when the temperature picks up?
Curious!
Curious couple of lines in the report:
…it is understood that engines were blocked by algae, which forms “organic growths” in train fuel tanks. The algae forms if biofuel sits unused for a period of time and is not treated with chemical additives…. Engineers are racing to flush fuel tanks and potentially fill them with standard diesel instead.’
1) I bet the additives are fossil fuel based (!) and 2) wot, not replacing with more ‘clean’ ecofuel then??
I was under the impression that the E10 just has a greater percentage of Ethanol. But as Ethanol is usually derived from Corn, we are growing food, then processing it and using it to power cars.
Feel free to correct me as I’m a bit sketchy on this.
What it’s derived from depends where you are. Corn (Maize) mostly used in the USA, Sugar in Brazil, Wheat (animal grade) in the UK. But the source is not the problem. When moist air comes into contact with the fuel, some of the ethanol mixes with the water, whereas the rest of the mix doesn’t, so it’s possible to end up with water/ethanol junk in the system, at the bottom of a container. If that gets sucked into the system, you’ve had it. Apparently the “shelf life” of E10 is only about 90 days.
The fuel which includes plant based material also rusts in internal components of engines. Small engines which are not used regularly are particularly at risk of rapid wear, such as mowers, chain saws etc.
One solution is to only use new petrol but that raises the question what to do with the remaining old stock. Also an inhibiter can be used but it too has an expiry date. 2-D oil additive is also recommended to be used when fresh.
What all this leads to is worn out engines and/or discarded fuel. Green, eh?
“The U.N.’s conflation of words with violence is dangerous“ The image above of the handgun hidden within the loudhailer and the words ‘It’s not just a comment’ has to be one of the most Orwellian images I have seen so far. It’s basically saying ‘Speech is not free’. Large unaccountable international organisations full of unelected bureaucrats many of whom are probably still ambitious ex-politicians or thwarted politicians, wanting to impose their ideas, making grandstanding virtuous pronouncements which then get filtered down to the country level and aimed at the masses…What could go wrong? The true violence is the way in which we are being silenced. And slowly herded into our future, no, THEIR future. We must resist, not comply, and be free – I won’t use the words ‘civil disobedience’ here as they imply that we are somehow being naughty and have transgressed. We haven’t. They have.
Instead of civil disobedience how about we civilly frustrate their dystopian plan?
Spot on Aethelred
Happy St George’s Day! I celebrate my ‘Englishness’ because there is much to celebrate about it. I consider myself more English than any other even though I have a lot of Scottish, some Irish and Welsh, and no doubt other, bloods in me too. I love this country for the humour, the pubs, the quirky eccentrics it has produced, the folk music, rock music, the landscape, the old architecture, the politeness, the coastlines, the fact that it was this country that set the ball rolling in the anti-slavery movement, our common law and so much more and our ability to not give up but to continue our fight when the odds are against us. It is not because of a perverse sense of superiority over others, a nationalist stance. It is not easy to pinpoint what it is to be English but I feel there is something in the ability for self-deprecation, modesty and tolerance – maybe it’s that last one that could be our undoing, I don’t know, but it’s a good attribute to have. And yes, there are some who don’t have these qualities but they are relatively few. If you travel about the country, you will more likely meet good, kind people. And I know I could probably go into a pub with many of you and have a pint, a laugh and a chinwag and that we can agree or disagree with humour and courtesy and part friends. Anyway, just some Sunday morning musings….Gawd bless yer all!
..cheers Aethelred…I was thinking about having a ‘dry’ day…ah well, the best laid plans….LOL!
Thanks Aethelred. Lovely words and much appreciated.
Most welcome, HP, and Gums. Actually, I have subsequently learned that our patron saint should be St Edmund and the original flag of ancient England was a white dragon on a red background. This was the dragon slain by St George!
Well this is interesting….
https://www.emerald.tv/p/did-the-fda-just-admit-that-it-overdosed?utm_source=direct&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Two days ago, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made some monumental changes in the COVID vaccine schedule in the proverbial dead of night that should concern everyone.
The FDA essentially revoked the authorization for all previously licensed COVID vaccines. It’s the end of the old “monovalent” doses. The FDA also cut the dosage for all the new “bivalent” vaccinations by 75%.
So what ‘new’ data is informing this decision? Worth a read….
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-mob-fear-and-the-new-totalitarianism/
How the Davis Deviants are winding up and using mob tactics to destroy societies.
I think this is a double read.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/the-guardian-goes-from-badge-to-worse-with-its-slavery-slurs/
The Groan is going after football club badges in its campaign against slavery but not realising that it’s own masthead uses Guardian Egyptian type.
Firkin marvellous.
Both clubs founded long after slavery was ended by the UK. 1894 for City, early 20th C for United. City founded originally by a Vicar’s daughter, to provide sport for working people. Obvs all HUGE supporters of slavery. As were the railway workers of Newton Heath FC, who were to morph into United a while after they went bust.
If British citizens are enjoying time off for good behaviour in Spain will they receive UK emergency alerts today?
It seems like nearly nobody received the emergency alerts even on UK territory. Massive incompetence or?
They just changed the headline from ‘fails to go off on all phones’ to ‘on some (most…?!?) phones’. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/23/emergency-alert-phones-live-updates-london-marathon/
As Mrs B. just said, the really worrisome thing is that this massive failure and display of incompetence doesn’t surprise us at all.
World beating my a*se.
But luckily for Brits, it’s currently going downhill in all other countries as well.
Saw earlier that the bill for todays test was, wait for it…£22 million…
Worth every penny if it saves lives from tornado’s and avalanches…
£22 million?
That’s BS. What that figure tells us is that another £22 million was stolen from British taxpayers and went in to the pockets of our so-called elites. For accounting purposes it will be logged as ‘Emergency Alerts,’ but that us simply cover for stealing.
Seriously?
The test was successful for me because I did not receive the alert.
JC wrapping up on the SARS-Cov-2 topic, apparently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpdTQbiflYU
YOU WILL GO NOWHERE AND BE HAPPY
The age of “cheap flights” is over, Bloomberg reported this week. They go on to say that the cost of flying to Europe from the UK has already increased by over 30%, and that’s not just a temporary bounce thanks to the “pandemic”.
Tellingly, the article does not in any way consider this a bad thing – indeed, it goes out of its way to celebrate the passing of the age of “absurdly cheap” air travel.
This is all due to climate change, apparently, since airlines have to “decarbonise” they are being “forced” to increase their prices. Under European rules, airlines have to pay for their carbon emissions, and the price per unit is set to increase a lot over the next couple of years. Meaning air travel in Europe – and potentially the rest of the world – is going to keep getting more and more expensive.
This is all part of the Great Reset, clearly. The thinking behind lockdowns, and the Covid narrative in general, was about making our world smaller – physically AND conceptually – boxing people in and keeping them separate. Lowering people’s expectations of freedom and standard of living, whilst at the same time telling them it’s all for the greater good.
Oddly, the cost of flying in the US is also increasing rapidly, but for (allegedly) totally different reasons. It’s weird how much that happens recently.
From, “Our Week in the New Normal” at Off-G.
Thanks, HP. We must fight these barstewards and get our world back because they are lesser people and do not deserve it!