Sunday marks the 79th anniversary of the Battle of Britain . Lest we forget . I was tempted to do the comparison between then and now but I’ll leave that to others . To the boys who saved us. Thank you.
Weekend Thread 14 September 2019
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I sometimes have thoughts that I dare not express (something to do with living in an illiberal liberal world). I had one such thought last week – driving through Dewsbury after listening to a discussion on Today about Margaret Atwood’s sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. The discussion had been along the lines that MA’s novel might become a reality in the US. I’d thought “FFS, here it IS a reality already – why doesn’t anyone else see it that way?” And then, this morning, in The Sunday Times, Sarah Baxter has written (p.28) what I thought. A couple of pages further on (p.32) Suzanne Moore reviewed the latest production from another of the BBC’s heroines; Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s solo show. PW-B is praised or worshiped (not sure which) in the piece for talking about how she uses porn and masturbates to the sound of Barak Obama’s voice. And I had another of those thoughts. Dare I ask what sort of review would have been written if a male had referenced Kirsty Young in a similar manner?
David has just opened a new thread.
I could be first but can’t think of anything to say.
David Cameron will be doing the rounds of MSM studios soon ( if he hasn’t already started ) flogging his book .
I’m wondering if anyone will ask him how the Fixed Term Parliament came to be . It’s the poison stopping the British people from evicting the rubbish currently destroying democracy in the Commons and enabling Bercow to play unaccountable PM .
One might have thought that he would keep his head down after creating such a mess – but a PMs pension is only half of the final pay – how can anyone exist on £70k a year … not including the other bits of course. He doesn’t have to declare his income – nor does Blair , Brown , May or Major ….. – all remainers ….
He doesn’t have to declare his income – nor does Blair , Brown , May or Major.
They would have to do so if they accepted the enoblement to allow them to enter the House of Lords, but all of them have declined to do so, and that means they don’t have to declare the amounts received for services to Saudi, Qatar, Abu Dhabi etc etc.
Thoughtful
That was my implied point really – and they don’t need to declare income from ‘Foundations ‘ funded by Soros or the EU .
And they’ll fancy a job without accountability at the EU.
Is our so called “Border Force” running a taxi service now that the migrant camps in France are being shut down ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-49707720
The Liberal Democrats. Is their party name an oxymoron?
The Democrats are not respecting the result largest referendum in the history of the UK.
Democrats? more like Dictators.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49706643
An excellent educational (and quite long) interview with David Starkey on Brexit and everything surrounding it:
An excellent educational (and quite long) interview with David Starkey on Brexit and everything surrounding it:
I listened . I’d like to hear a counter to mr starkey just to confirm the strength of his view – with which I wholeheartedly agree .
Particularly the criticism of the Queen for failing to do anything in relation to brexit . Leaving the situation without ‘an honest broker ‘ now that the Speaker has corrupted his office ( not himself obviously because his character defects has been allowed to bully his view forward ).
Best line ?’ Contempt of Parliament used to be a crime – now it’s an obligation “.
Much better than listening to Toady .
I too agree with Starkey. Fedup2 you were right. A few threads ago I said I would find it hard to believe that the young woman who stood on the balcony with her father and Churchill would stand back and watch this mess happen. Well I have since been proven wrong (as you said at the time).
From 32:45
Treason!!
“Foreign relations are, have been and must be the sole responsibility of the executive”
So in terms of process the Benn ‘Act’ must be illegal
And at 37:25 The other terrible issue is that we don’t have a ‘constitutional referee’ – Starkey blames the Queen – political process needs an honest broker and she has stood back (as usual taking the easy way out)
HMQ obviously still watches the bBC.
PS. In today’s Express – Jean-Claude Juncker last night claimed “patriots” in the United Kingdom do not want a no-deal Brexit.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1178434/Brexit-news-UK-EU-Jean-Claude-Juncker-Boris-Johnson-no-deal-latest-update
An excellent educational (and quite long) interview with David Starkey on Brexit and everything surrounding it:
She should be thrown in the Tower !!!!!!
I noticed that a little website called EU TODAY managed to create an article about the Battle of Britain – and mention that today was the anniversary. Biased BBC has not one word about “our finest hour” on website or any broadcast – yet!
https://eutoday.net/news/security-defence/2019/september-15th
A reminder of how things were and still are.
This day in 1940. It was all very close..
But again, they did receive a bloody nose for their trouble.
Despite the hype the ME109 was a very good fighter and the Germans would have won if their commanding officer hadn’t been such a drug addled wreck.
The bullet on the left was used by the Spitfire and the Hurricane, the one on the right is the canon shell used by the 109
If it hadn’t been for the largely pointless bombing of Berlin the Luftwaffe would not have switched to cities instead of attacking the RAF. It would not have taken much more effort to have wiped the fighter command effectiveness out of the game. This is in spite of the fact we could built aircraft quickly, we could not train sufficient pilots.
Goring also forbade his fighter pilots from engaging in dog fights reducing their effectiveness to mere distractions.
The BBC has just realised that Calais isn’t the only port in Europe that goods to and from the UK use.
More Project Fear at In Business – Plain Sailing
“How is Rotterdam, Europe’s biggest port, preparing for Brexit? The Netherlands port handles millions of tons of goods and thousands of ships every year. Port officials are proud of this vast and slick operation. Much of its efficiency is down to a centralised system known as Portbase, which offers a means of dealing with custom declarations and other formalities electronically, without the use of physical paperwork.”
The usual silly nonsense about ‘just-in-time’ and food rotting. If the Dutch can’t deliver vegetables on time then we won’t pay them and they will lose the trade. It follows that they will ensure that that doesn’t happen. Also fears that UK goods will be subject to 100% inspection as we would become a ‘third nation’. We are told though that the testing regime is applied on the basis of a risk assesment and even stuff from real third-world countries isn’t 100% inspected.
Why should goods imported without checks on Thursday suddenly become high-risk the day after? One would presume that Dutch and other EU customers of UK goods also would like to get what they have ordered on-time too, if they don’t their businesses will suffer. Again it follows that steps will be taken to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Come on BBC! For forty years you have never reported on the EU. During the referendum campaign you pushed the Clegg line that it had little influence on us and now it seems that either all that was a lie or what you are putting out now is a lie.
Remarkable….this story in the Mail is not even on the BBC’s London page…and yet the LibDem’s policing spokeswoman was on Marr this morning….
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7466937/Sadiq-Khans-former-policing-adviser-defects-Liberal-Democrats-knife-crime-London.html
‘Sadiq Khan’s former policing adviser defects to Liberal Democrats over knife crime in London, saying his children are ‘not safe’ on the streets’
‘Writing exclusively for The Mail, Mr Logan, who has been made an MBE for his work, said: ‘It’s no surprise to me that Sadiq Khan has been such a disappointment as Mayor of London.
‘We’ve seen knife crime spiralling out of control as his approach has been at odds with his policing manifesto.
‘If he had taken a more collaborative approach when he became mayor, we would not have the current rate of deaths on our streets.
And it’s not just the deaths. It’s the fear that is enveloping our communities that is so distressing.
‘We can’t go on like this. I don’t want my grandchildren to fear walking on the streets of London like my own children have done.’ ‘
BBC covering up once again for Labour.
The people of London love crime. The also love murder robbery and all other kinds of appalling behaviour.
It’s remarkable otherwise that people are so dim that they think that cross they put in a box once every few years has zero consequences. Khan told them he was going to raise the murder rate, and violent crime and they said Yay fantastic go ahead put us on the map as one of the most violent cities in the world mate!
And unlike many politicians Khan did exactly what he said he was going to do.
And Londoners love violent crime and murder so much that given the chance they will vote him straight back into office to get those figures even higher.
The cowardly useless incompetent Tories seem to be giving him a free pass, almost as if they’re quietly supporting him. Whenever The Donald criticises Khan guess which side the cowardly useless incompetents take? Yep that’s right, they stad against conservative Donald and take the Fascist Khans side.
Because the cowardly useless incompetent Tories support Khan they have fielded a no hoper candidate against him, and so utterly useless is this man that I can bet not a single one of you who live outside of London even know his name.
Curious huh?
The BBC, Remainers and now Cameron as he resurfaces, keep teling us that Leavers lied about Turkey joining the EU anytime soon…and yet John Major told Turkey they would join inside a decade…
‘Turkish government and Major contradict Cameron – Turkey will join in a decade
‘David Cameron has repeatedly claimed that Turkey is not going to join the EU despite it being Government policy. Now the Turkish government has confirmed that he is the ‘chief supporter’ of their bid to join the EU.
‘Cameron also said that Turkey will not join until the year 3000 but Sir John Major has let the cat out of the bag – Turkey could be in the EU in ten years’ time.’
Of course Cameron is Turkey’s biggest cheerleader for joining the EU…from 2010…
‘Cameron: ‘UK strongly supports Turkey EU membership bid’
David Cameron has strongly supported Turkey’s application to join the European Union on a visit to the country.
Speaking in Ankara, the Prime Minister said that he was “angry” at the lack of progress in the negotiations.
He said that the UK will do everything it can to help Turkey “pave the road from Ankara to Brussels”.’
And this from 2014…acknowledging ‘migrant fears’…long before the referendum…
‘David Cameron: I still want Turkey to join EU, despite migrant fears’
Oh…and not forgetting the words of his Home Secretary…one Theresa May in 2016 telling us how concerned she was about all these countries trying to join the EU when they may not be suitable…
https://www.conservativehome.com/parliament/2016/04/theresa-mays-speech-on-brexit-full-text.html
‘Do we really still think it is in our interests to support automatically and unconditionally the EU’s further expansion? The states now negotiating to join the EU include Albania, Serbia and Turkey – countries with poor populations and serious problems with organised crime, corruption, and sometimes even terrorism. We have to ask ourselves, is it really right that the EU should just continue to expand, conferring upon all new member states all the rights of membership? Do we really think now is the time to contemplate a land border between the EU and countries like Iran, Iraq and Syria? Having agreed the end of the European principle of “ever closer union”, it is time to question the principle of ever wider expansion.’
Guess she’s not too keen on Turkey joining.
Funny how the BBC forgets all that today.
Seriously?…
‘A love story about the first date between Michelle and Barack Obama. ‘
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0008597/southside-with-you
You have to admire the cheek of the BBC as they tell us the CIA was too white, middle class and liberal to understand Islam and the threats posed to the West by Jihadists…this from the epicentre of middle-class white liberaldom which pronounces that ‘Islam is the religion of peace’.
Maybe the BBC should read its own stuff…
‘This isn’t just about the CIA, however. Look at many governments, law firms, army leadership teams, senior civil servants and even executives at some tech companies. We are unconsciously drawn to people who think like ourselves, but rarely notice the danger because we are unaware of our own blind spots. ‘
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-49582852
Viewpoint: Was CIA ‘too white’ to spot 9/11 clues?
‘Osama Bin Laden made his declaration of war on the United States from a cave in Tora Bora in February 1996. Images revealed a man with beard reaching down to his chest. He was wearing cloth beneath combat fatigues.
Today, given what we now know about the horror he unleashed, the declaration looks menacing. But an insider in the foremost US intelligence agency said the CIA “could not believe that this tall Saudi with a beard, squatting around a campfire, could be a threat to the United States of America”.
Now, consider how someone more familiar with Islam would have perceived the same images.
Bin Laden wore cloth not because he was primitive in intellect or technology, but because he modelled himself on the prophet. He fasted on the days the prophet fasted. His poses and postures, which seemed so backward to a western audience, were those that Islamic tradition ascribes to the most holy of its prophets.
As Lawrence Wright put it in his Pulitzer Prize winning book about 9/11, Bin Laden orchestrated his operation by “calling up images that were deeply meaningful to many Muslims but practically invisible to those who were unfamiliar with the faith”.
As for the cave, this had even deeper symbolism. As almost any Muslim knows, Mohammad sought refuge in a cave after escaping his persecutors in Mecca. To a Muslim a cave is holy. Islamic art overflows with images of stalactites.
Bin Laden modelled his exile to Tora Bora as his own personal hijrah, and used the cave as propaganda. As one Muslim scholar put it: “Bin Laden was not primitive; he was strategic. He knew how to wield the imagery of the Koran to incite those who would later become martyrs in the attacks of 9/11.”
Another flaw in the CIA’s deliberations was their reluctance to believe that Bin Laden would initiate conflict with the US. Why start a war he couldn’t possibly win? They hadn’t made the conceptual leap that the victory for the jihadists was to be secured not on earth but in paradise. ‘
Note how Islam, of course, was central to Bin Laden’s cause…that religion of peace.
Perhaps the BBC should have a good look in the mirror and then come back to us and tell us the truth about Islam and the threat it poses to Western, liberal democracies.
Note though that the piece was written by a Muslim who wants more muslims in the CIA…go figure. The reality is that there were multiple intelligence agencies involved in tracking the 9/11 intelligence and that was the actual problem…too much diversity and not enough coordination….information fell between the cracks along with organisations keeping hold of information they didn’t want to share. It had little to do with not understanding Islam more to do with underestimating the threat from a ragtag bunch of miltants spread around the world.
If you want a fuller and truer perspective than the BBC one…
https://www.history.com/news/government-terrorist-trackers-before-911-higher-ups-wouldnt-listen
https://www.history.com/news/9-11-attacks-america-missed-warning-signs
Hmmm….so Boris only jumped aboard the Leave wagon in order to boost his career…says Cameron today. Really?
Odd then that back in 2016 ex-BBC Cameron PR guru, Craig Oliver, said Boris thought the Leave campaign would be ‘crushed’…hardly then the best choice for someone burnishing their CV perhaps?
‘Sir Craig Oliver said the then home secretary failed to back the Remain campaign 13 times and was regarded by some as “an enemy agent”.
He also said Boris Johnson believed the Leave campaign would be “crushed”.’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37465452
The Start the Week Thread is one up.