51 Responses to Open Thread

  1. Ian says:

    An update to James post on Saturday morning.

    Midday Monday and still no report on Pravda’s website of Andrew Neathers interview in the Telegraph that stated that “Labour threw open Britain’s borders to mass immigration to help socially engineer a “truly multicultural” country”.

    This was partly contrived “by ministers to radically change the country and rub the Right’s nose in diversity” says Mr Neather.

    A search of the BBC’s website reaveals precisely nothing – nada, zilch, zero. Nothing to see here, move along quickly now.

    This is arguably a bigger scandal than the expenses scandal in real terms and is a massive example of bias by ommission by the establishments lapdog.

    An absolute total disgrace. Tells you all you need to know about the BBC.

       1 likes

  2. Bob says:

    -Ian

    It also seems to tell you all you need to know about the Times, unless it’s very well hidden

    The only references I can find to it in the nationals are in the Telegraph and the Mail – must be one big conspiracy, that or some facts are being checked

       1 likes

    • Ian says:

      Bob – this story came out in the standard I believe on Thursday.

      The fact that the BBC have decided not to run anything regarding the story even the fact that other (3) other news organisations are running the story, I find rather illuminating. £800 million news machine missed it? Very strange.

      The “fact” that MSM has largely been ignoring the story, apart from the fact that the story is literally dynamite itself, IS the story Bob.

      Its interesting you use the word “conspiracy” here. Its not one I chose to use myself. Is it some sort of freudian slip or is it because you are beginning to think that there just maybe more to this story than meets the eye?

      Whatever the fact, a major news organisation reported that a government adviser said “Labour threw open Britains doors to socially engineer a multicultural country” and to “rub the rights nose in diversity”, should I imagine be of interest to any impartial news organisation.

      Its interesting that you appear not to agree. What do you think they should be doing then, if its not news reporting?

         1 likes

      • Bob says:

        Thanks to David Jones for posting

        As Andrew Neathers, the man in question has said (again, in the Standard)

        “in the row over Labour‘s immigration policy, but that my views have been twisted out of all recognition”

        “Somehow this has become distorted by excitable Right-wing newspaper columnists into being a “plot” to make Britain multicultural.”

        His own words, not an apologist – and in the related right-wing stories he was identified as revealing this rather deliberately, not having a slip of the tongue – perhaps that is why the BBC, and the Times, have neglected to bring up this ‘story’

           1 likes

        • Ian says:

          Robert – lest we forget.

          Some quotes from the article originally provided by Mr Neather last Friday. Not the revised edition he and you, now wishes he made.

          “I wrote the landmark speech given by … Barbara Roche in September 2000, … It marked a major shift from the policy of previous governments…

          … there was a paranoia about it reaching the media.

          But the earlier drafts … also included a driving political purpose: that mass immigration was the way that the Government was going to make the UK truly multicultural.

          I remember coming away from some discussions with the clear sense that the policy was intended … to rub the Right’s nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date.”

          All quotes from his original article in his own words. Like I said – dynamite.

          Keep on digging Bob and if you need a shovel just let me know.

             1 likes

          • Bob says:

            I would note that your far more damning quotes in the very first post you made are in the first case, the telegraph’s words, and the second is a misquotation

            Your other quotes are all true – but you seem to take them as evidence of a plot, despite them being an opinion on unpublished drafts – there was no admission that Labour deliberately threw open the doors to win elections, just some political opinions that could easily have been said by any right-wing commentator, but because he’s a former labour insider this has been pounced upon as evidence of a ‘plot’ (and I say this as a tory btw)

            As for ‘dynamite’ we shall have to see – this has already received national coverage in the paper that exposed the expenses, and the leading tabloid (bar the one without words) – the country is already hostile to labour as it is, so if it’s out there they’re screwed – but if it doesn’t blow up then I’d say it was a dud, you can hardly say it’s been buried

            As for BBC bias – while this remains a right-wing hatchet job I have no issue with them, or the other half of the media, not picking it up

               0 likes

            • Ian says:

              I simply copied and pasted the quotes. Nothing else. Its you Bob who have used the words “conspiracy” and “plot” and alluded to some right wing agenda.

              I think the quotations are damning enough and stand on their own. People are quite free to make up there own minds as the evidence is there in black and white.

              The fact that the BBC and most of MSM ignored this and still are refusing to give this the significance that I think a lot of people from other blogs feel it deserves, is certainly evidence of something.

              Could we imagine that somehow the media and politicians were involved in “dampening” a story down? You’ll be telling us they spin stories next.

              As for claim to be a tory and then using phrases like “right wing hatchet job” makes we wonder what sort of tory you are Bob. Blue Labour?

                 0 likes

              • Bob says:

                As I said – if it’s dynamite I think it’s had plenty of time to blow up – I’ve yet to see a story that’s made it into the blogs and several nationals and somehow been missed – I may be the one using the words but you are clearly implying a conspiracy (or cover-up) when you think it’s ‘evidence of something’, I’m perfectly happy to admit I was wrong if this does blow up, but if it doesn’t then I think I’ll have been justified, you will be the one claiming it’s been ‘dampened down’ when it’s already made national headlines, pity they didn’t do it with the expenses, eh?

                simply because I vote tory does not mean I am totally partisan, nor will I believe everything I read in the mail or telegraph, there are many conservatives out there who have different opinions – last time I checked that was supposed to be a key feature of tories, as opposed to the collectivists of labour (some even like the BBC)

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  3. Pounce says:

    The bBC  headlines with <b>’German on trial for muslim murder'<b> and half the story.

    Yup the Islamic wannabe news org (The bBC)  leaves out that the knife wielding Russian nazis idiot arrived in Germany in 2003. The same year the victim and her husband arrived in Germany.

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  4. David Jones says:

    Links to Neather’s original article –

    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23760073-dont-listen-to-the-whingers—london-needs-immigrants.do

    and his latest (trying to put the cat back in the bag as Charlie says in the comments)

    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23760648-details/How+I+became+the+story+and+why+the+Right+is+wrong/article.do

    This is a disgrace but will the bBC say anything?

       0 likes

  5. David Jones says:

    BTW some excellent posts in the absence of DV (and that is not a criticism of him). Please keep posting.

       0 likes

  6. cassandra king says:

    The BBC HYS about the QT lynching  has been closed with six thousand comments YES 6000 comments ignored and the top reader recommended comments have just vanished.

    Whats up beeboids, didnt get the reaction you wanted then?

    What went through the minds of the beeboid HYS staff when they didnt get the reaction they were expecting they simply rigged and then closed it down.

       0 likes

  7. Pat says:

    cassandra king – could not believe what you had to say about HYS, but you are right.  Last night the first ‘recommend’ post was from ‘Beth’ with  over 1130 recommends.  Prior to her in the week one from ‘Ulysses’ was way ahead but was removed for some reason.  They seem to go from bad to worse.

       0 likes

    • Marky says:

      http://www.newssniffer.co.uk/bbc/threads/show/11704

      It seems Ulysses comment was removed for no reason at all, this was actually caught by News Sniffer.

      “Ulysses S Drivel on Fri Oct 23 08:03:26 UTC 2009

       
      Nick Griffin stands up and says what a lot of people in the UK think on subjects like immigrations, Muslims and homosexuality, but they are too frightened to say it because of political correctness.

      He’s to be applauded for his openness and honesty – unlike the rest of our mainstream parties.”

         0 likes

  8. George R says:

    The BBC’s censorship is becoming ever more strict against those who would criticise Islam, ‘multiculturalism’ and mass immigration.

    E.g., the BBC does not report this, on Labour’s financing of Hizb-ut-Tahrir:

    “Hizb awarded £113,000 of public money.”

    http://www.hurryupharry.org/2009/10/26/hizb-awarded-113000-of-public-money/

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  9. George R says:

    More BBC daily propaganda on ‘climate’:

    -this time from BBC’s ‘ethical/unethical  man’, who is spending BBC licencepayers’ money  travelling over America again. What larks!

    This is an expensive propaganda repeat stunt which no-one outside the BBC can think is efficient, unbiased use of public funds.

    “Ethical Man rerturns to America”

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ethicalman/2009/10/ethical_man_returns_to_america.html

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  10. George R says:

    The pro-EU, pro-Labour BBC gives a whole  uncritical web page to David Miliband preparing the way for the subservience of British foreign policy to that of the supranational burauecracy, the EU.

    “Miliband: Britain needs strong EU” (and subservient Britain)

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8326249.stm

    (Miliband’s next step: to get 75 million Muslim Turks into the EU.)

    The BBC self-censors out of existence any pro-British, pro-nationalist views such as this:

    ‘EU Referendum’-

    ” The Face of Surrender ”

    http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/10/voice-of-surrender.html

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  11. Pounce says:

    Part 1

    I see the bBC has aired its latest hatefest news article against the jews early this morning;

    Israel ‘cuts Palestinian water’

     

    Yes folks due to the effects of the Abu Bowen Project at the bBC. Al Beeb have rewritten the headlines from the latest Amnesty International report from

    ISRAEL RATIONS PALESTINIANS TO TRICKLE OF WATER

    http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/report/israel-rations-palestinians-trickle-water-20091027?

     To the headline above.

    So I had a look at the AI report and for some strange reason it uses a base line of every jew in Israel gulping more than 300 litres a day when the national water board quotes an average of between 100-230 litres a day.  

    http://www.mekorot.co.il/Eng/Mekorot/Pages/FactsFigures.aspx

    Something the Abu Bowen project is more than happy to quote without doing a simple check on line like I have just done in which to see just how much water is consumed by your average Israeli.

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    • Pounce says:

      Part 2

      Al Beeb (Like AI) also left out of the equation how Israel gets more water from its 31 desalination plants than it gets from out of the ground. (I million cu.m. pumped per day out of the ground as opposed to 700  cu.m. per day.)

      How it reuses 60% of its wastewater and how those green fields it quotes are all fed by hydroponics (Of which Israel is a world leader)

      But most damning of all in both reports (something you would think the bBC would mention) is how no mention of how Israel is abiding by the water agreement as written down in the Oslo peace accord. Oh they do say a 90s peace accord but don’t actually mention it.

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  12. cassandra king says:

    I see the reality denier Stern gets a platform on the today show, Mr Stern says nearly every scientist agrees with him and he agrees with them and they all agree with each other(quelle surprise), with all this agreeing with each other and the polititians of course it sounds like its all wrapped up then? He couldnt even find a simple answer for the fact that temperatures are FALLING and even his pet scientists believe we are in for decades of cooling, if thats not denial then I am chicken.

    Hmmmm, perhapshe is missing something?

    Mr Stern believes the science is “old and well understood” two centuries in fact, well well Mr Stern fancy that eh a scientific theory from hundreds of years ago could never be wrong could it? After all ‘phlogiston’ is a clear example and cholera passed on by bad smells is another, ooh single plate tectonics/age of the earth and universe and moon volcanoes and canals on Mars, ooooh just look at all those proven facts that turned out to be wrong/mistaken/error riddled like extremophiles and black smokers with life thriving not on photosynthesis nt chemosynthasis, but those were the consensus certainties so couldnt possibly be wrong could they?
    Look at the royal society records for their blunders!

    According to Stern the deniers are getting fewer and fewer, the science is indisputable and crystal clear and undeniable, he states that the switch to the massivey subsidised green energy will bring untold riches to us, didnt work out too well for Spain did it though? The mega expensive energy will be unnafordable to most which will shut down the subsidies which willl turn off the funding tap which will turn off the green energy which cannot survive without the money that ordinary people are forced to hand over, so people get poorer and less able to pay the higher taxes which means taxes have to rise even higher which means fewer net payers and on and on in a death spiral.
    You cannot make people richer by making them poorer, you cannot make people freer by controling and regulating them more, you cannot force people to use less then expect them to be able to pay more in taxes because when people use less there are less jobs.

    Yet the political classes so used to unlimited free money and high taxes, never having actually worked to make money they spend it as though it will never end, they are so ignorant they cannot even see that by killing the golden goose(taxpayer) they get no more gold!

       0 likes

    • cassandra king says:

      Sorry to go on but one thing becomes ‘crystal clear’ when charletons like Stern are asked even very simple questions, they fall apart completely, they have no answer, they resort to empty soundbites with no actual meaning other than words to fill the empty void of their beliefs. More akin to a cultist Stern falls over when confronted with a simple question from a sympathetic interviewer.

      The basis, the entire basis for Sterns work is a series of computer predictions of what might happen IF!
      Listen to the part where Sterns entire fabricated and manufactured belief crumples into dust with just ONE question and you will understand why I call him a charleton.

         0 likes

  13. cassandra king says:

    I wonder what OMTE thinks about Mandelson and his multi million pound fortune flaunting a twenty thousand pound watch on his wrist while smashing our post office to pieces on the orders of the Brussels commissars?
    Hey look at Mandelson, man of the people and socialist workers hero who just happens to by ‘complete accident’ of course become a multi millionaire while the people he represents suffer poverty and unemployment, if it were upto me that man would be forced to eat that watch in front of the people he has cheated and robbed.

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  14. Grant says:

    Cassie 9:05

    Stern isn’t even a scientist, so he doesn’t understand any more about climate change than that moron Al Gore.  But they have both made a lot of money out of it !

       0 likes

  15. George R says:

     BBC Radio 5 has spent much of the morning denouncing what it calls ‘homophobia’, linking this phenomenon to a physical attack on a man in Liverpool.

     Of course, Labour, the BBC and the rest of the political ‘left’ support the suppression of free speech on Islam, and on homosexuality.

     Ed West, puts the opposite case:

    [Concluding extract]:

    …” it is anyone else’s right to hate Christians or vegetarians or even people of different skin colour, if they want. Gay rights campaigners in the Sixties wanted to fight prejudice, not make it a crime. But they did not imagine the political cul-de-sac that modern liberalism would head down, into a world obsessed with pressure groups and labels, one where terms such as racist, sexist, homophobe, Islamophobe or any other phobe would be thrown around to shut down debate.
    All revolutions go too far, and end up persecuting innocent supporters of the old order. The Sexual Revolution is no different.”

    “Is homophobia a right, too?” (by Ed West).
    http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/edwest/100014777/homophobia-is-a-right-too/

       0 likes

  16. Biodegradable says:

    I commented a week ago about the BBC declaring in a headline that Iran had struck a deal contrary to the actual facts. (The wonderful search machine on this new incarnation of the blog can’t find my comment!)

    Here’s that report from 21 October:

    Iran nuclear fuel deal ‘agreed’

    First paragraph, my emphasis:

    Iran and three world powers have been handed a draft agreement aimed at reducing international concerns over Tehran’s nuclear programme.

    So it was just “a draft agreement”, not agreed on by anyone, much less Iran.

    Here’s the BBC again, today, spinning the story for all it’s worth in favour of mini-Hitler and the Mad Mullahs:

    Iran ‘to accept UN nuclear deal’

    Great news huh?

    Except the truth comes out in the very first paragraph again, my emphasis:

    Iran will accept a UN deal on its nuclear programme, but only if “very important changes” are made, Iranian state media have reported.

    The BBC, wetting its knickers in anticipation of Iran agreeing on something, anything.

       0 likes

  17. Will says:

    Re George R 16:47 yesterday “(Miliband’s next step: to get 75 million Muslim Turks into the EU.) “

    On R5 “Upallnight” an American was allowed to point out Turkey’s best efforts to scupper any chance of EU membership with its pro Iran/Syria/Hamas etc line as shown by Google news search

    http://news.google.co.uk/news/search?aq=0z&pz=1&cf=all&ned=uk&hl=en&q=turkey+iran&oq=turkey

       1 likes

  18. Will says:

    Well, well, well. Despite the position taken by BBC supporters on this site some left wingers think that the BBC shares their position.

    Former “Lonely Planet” owners

    “Mr and Mrs Wheeler began writing the Lonely Planet guides in the 1970s, owning the majority of the company that sprung up over the years. But with retirement looming, the Britons, now based in Australia, chose to sell 75 per cent to Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial division, because they believed that the corporation shared their alternative values.”

    http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article6891279.ece

       1 likes

  19. Grant says:

    Will  15:05

    And because the BBC paid over the odds with our money and more than any commercial organisation would have paid  !   The Wheelers are just typical lefties, out to get as much money as they can, preferably from the taxpayer !

       1 likes

  20. Heads on poles says:

    BBC not giving much space to the story that the “ex” husband of Tessa Jowell has got 4 1/2 years for something naughty or other in italy.
    Very little.
    Best not speak about it.
    Move along.
    Nothing to see.

       1 likes

  21. deegee says:

    A couple of when pigs fly articles. Expect them to disappear into the Internet ether very quickly.

    Clive James reflects on the importance of scepticism in every walk of life, and he criticises extreme reactions to those who are sceptical of Climate Change

    Middle East correspondent Tim Franks reports on how the Islamist Hamas movement is no longer as popular as it was, after two-and-a-half years in power.

       1 likes

    • John Anderson says:

      deegee

      Clive James’ cool comments on the climate change hysteria were very good,  well worth a re-listen.  But Clive is a very erudite chap,  like all Aussies – and he probably had many people dozing off with the early part of his Points of View,  all that stuff about Montaigne and the golf-ball crisp.  His attack on the people who shout “denialist” came late in the piece.

      Also – shame he did not widen his attack on ignorant journalists in the press to include ignorant journalists in TV.   Especially ABC and BBC.

         1 likes

  22. james caine says:

    “HobNobgate! This really takes the biscuit … how the BBC ‘thought police’ tried to cover up a gentle quip”

    “But BBC1 show This Week threw bosses into a panic yesterday after host Andrew Neil light-heartedly compared MP Diane Abbott to a chocolate HobNob biscuit.”

    This is really funny. Somebody mentioned this on the Live Blog after Question Tme last week and I thought they were joking.

       1 likes

    • Tarquin says:

      I love that – it was completely innocuous but can you blame them? I bet the Mail would be all over it if had remained, it got 15 complaints after all..

      this is nohing to do with bias, but I just find it amusing that Widdecombe can say they need to take a hard line on swearing, which must refer to post-9pm shows as they do take a hard line on accidental slips, and Pattison has a go at the joke (Frankie Boyle’s?) about the Queen – both trying to impose their own moral idiocy on us

         1 likes

      • Paddy says:

        Firstly,how are cressida and the kids?

        Clarkson makes a Joke about one eyed worrying windbag and suddenly he is dragged over the coals.
        Then Fry takes a pop a thatch in a fairly grotesque way i.e. pissing on her grave etc and nothing is done.
        Frankie ‘bitter bastard one joke’ Boyle has a dig at another octogenarian and yet again nothing is done.
        Andrew Brillo Pad compares Diane to a choccy digestive ( you are what you eat and a bit too much in her case) and gets pulled off (Not as in mandy and his Brazilian boyfriend)

        Can you not see a pattern? Come on my guardianista friend it isnt exactly the Divincy code is it.
        The basic form is Left wing joke good however vile and cruel right wing jokes bad even when choccy biccies involved.

        Why arent there alternatives to alternative commedians.
        I’m sick of right-on wannabes trying to out anarchist each other.
        Why is Mark Thomas always portrayed as some comedy genius when he only seems to have one small group of targets.

        When did you last see a comedian rip the piss out of the unions? When did you last hear  some stand up talk about taking a slash on Kinnocks grave?

        When did you here a comedian on the beeb take the p out of the pomposity of greenies or the riduculous home counties revolutionaries who foist their overly worthy hilarious policies on the rest of us.

        Does comedy only have to support the left wing status quo?

        Shall I tell you why?

        When a comedian has a go about immigration he is immediately branded a racist.

        If he takes the piss out of Greenwash issues he is branded a Denier by Poly Toynbe and her allies in the Beeb. Could you honestly imagine Yentob or street porter commissioning a show where the comedy target was the environ-mentalists?

        If the comedian take a pop at smug left wing establishment types like his colleagues on mock the week he would be called reactionary.

        Clarkson is the only man who consistently takes aim at the extreme left and he is ghettoised onto BBC2.

        When tories are mentioned on comedy shows they are portayed as toffee nosed exploiters when the left are poked fun at it is for bumbling, or incompetancy but alway in a gentle way. The one exception was Blair and he was attacked because the comedy consensus was he was a closet Tory.

        The Beebs comedy output is rotten to the core. It is supposed to reflect us all yet only supports 40% of the electorates point of view

           1 likes

        • Tarquin says:

          Was that directed at me? Guardianista?..all I said was ‘can you blame them’ – anything that can be seen as remotely racist is blown up into the latest ‘race row’ by the press

          I don’t really know how that translated into an attack on right-wing jokes, if Neil referring to his two pundits as biscuits is considered as particularly right-wing then I wonder why he’s still on air, because he’s said far worse about Brown than a mild joke about biscuits, and it’s not as if Hislop doesn’t spend his whole time on HIGNFY slagging off Brown…

          and as for Frankie Boyle – he was condemned by the BBC trust and has quit the show, saying it’s too PC now, oddly a similar complaint to your own

          This was a case of massive oversensitivity because there was a reference to a black person and chocolate

             1 likes

    • Roland Deschain says:

      He also compared Michael Portillo to a custard cream. Thank goodness he didn’t suggest cream puff.

         1 likes

  23. George R says:

    And the BBC is lined up with D. Miliband, et al, on the decimation of Britain, and the promotion of the E.U:

                     “The final betrayal”

          http://eureferendum.blogspot.com/2009/10/final-betrayal.html

       1 likes

  24. George R says:

    BBC: missing word – “Many dead in Peshawar” JIHAD “explosion”

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/8329244.stm

    Perpetrators? – For BBC’s Ms. Ghattas, it’s the usual ‘militants’.

    Motivation? BBC: ? If the BBC is clueless on motivation, here is an article of nearly a year ago which may help:

    “Gordon Brown focusses on Pakistan, not Islam”

    http://www.newenglishreview.org/blog_direct_link.cfm/blog_id/18420

       1 likes

    • Biodegradable says:

      Not a hint either that targeting civilians is a War Crime… where’s Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International when you need them?

      Oh, I know, writing the next report on Israel.

      BBC World Service is reporting that Obama is going to give money to the Taliban in exchange for stopping attacks.

      Good luck with that Barry!

         1 likes

  25. 1327 says:

    I was unfortunate enough to listen to a Radio 4 show called “Art Attacks” earlier in the week. Its all about politically inspired attacks on art throughout history. It started out OK with the story of attacks on art in catholic churches during the reformation. But then it moved on to the Taliban blowing up the Buddha statues in Afghanistan a few years ago. At this point I couldn’t believe what I was hearing as the presenter made every excuse for the Taliban you can imagine ! He told us that at the time a “moderate” wing of the Taliban was in power and how they had reopened museums and loved art. However because the West didn’t help during a famine at that time they decided we loved art more than people and decided to punish us. 

    So in short it was all OUR fault ! You really couldn’t make it up.

       1 likes

  26. Guest says:

    It’s possible our Visionista was looking in a mirror when she opined this:


    <h2 style=”font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: normal; font: normal normal bold 1.19em/normal ‘Trebuchet MS’, Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;”>’Public needs the BBC more than ever’, says corporation’s director of vision</h2>

    (and I am sure my cut ‘n paste will result in a screed of HTML… sorry…can’t be a*sed to retype)

    http://www.journalism.co.uk/2/articles/536276.php

    I’m pretty sure it’s t’other way round, dear.

    And you seem to be losing your audience’s goodwill daily… mainly with arrogant, ‘broadcast only’ ‘elite in their tiny minds’ navel-gazing ‘wot I think is what is’ tripe like this. 

    You can see why the likes of her get the big bucks… er.. from us.

       1 likes