[“Moskva” swimming pool, Kropotkinskaya, in 1980. At the time (it is no longer in existence) the largest swimming pool in the world, capable of hosting thousands of swimmers. I myself swam there daily when I was in Moscow in 1993 but, at that time, a year before its permanent closure, there were only about a dozen or so swimmers when I would visit (quite early in the morning): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskva_Pool]
Well, this week I scored 5/10, the same as political journalist John Rentoul. I knew the answers to questions 2, 3, 5, 6, and 9. I could not quite bring to mind the answers to questions 1 and 8, and had no idea about questions 4, 7, and 10.
My feeling, with a mere 5 days to go before Election Day, is that, firstly and obviously, the Conservative Party has reached the end of its road.
What does it even pretend to stand for now? It has embraced every sort of “woke” nonsense over the past 14 years, and even tried to hit Reform UK yesterday with the accusation that a Reform UK activist criticized a police car flying a “Pride” (LGBTQXYZ) flag. How is such criticism even controversial? The police should not be flying socially or politically contentious flags.
The Conservative Party has also presided over the migration invasion, trying to manage the influx of millions of non-Europeans (over a million a year now) but never seriously trying to stop it; indeed, encouraging “legal” migration, which is 95% of all migration-invasion. Coudenhove-Kalergi Plan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalergi_Plan.
As for living standards, straight down, and set to continue, under Labour plunging ever-lower. That may give social-nationalism an opening quite soon (but there has to be a movement to capture the sentiment).
My view about Reform UK is that many of those who favour it have already voted, via the postal ballot. Most of the rest who are leaning to Reform UK will not be put off by the contrived scandal in Clacton; some may even like the outspoken comments aired on Channel 4.
There is also the point that maybe 20% of eligible voters are either not going to vote, or are still uncertain. Few will vote Con. They —in my opinion— will not, most of them, vote Lab either. So either Reform UK, LibDem, or Green. I should say that Reform UK will get more than the LibDems, maybe more than the LibDems and Greens combined. Even if that only boosts Reform UK’s vote-share by 2 or 3 points, so from ?18% or ?20% to 21% or maybe as high as 24%, that would be mega in terms of the ultimate results.
If, as seems, anything from 5% to 20% of voters are only going to decide in the last days of the campaign, or even on the day, that means that there is still much to play for.
Tweets seen
Many White House employees were so devastated by Biden's debate failure that they did not go to work on Friday and stayed home telecommuting, CNN reports.
In group chats, sad jokes were made about updating a resume to look for a new job elsewhere, one of the officials told the… pic.twitter.com/cTJa71LCjI
— S p r i n t e r F a m i l y (@SprinterFamily) June 28, 2024
Donald Trump said China, Russia and North Korea will not be enemies if he is re-elected pic.twitter.com/hTQU28nRgv
— S p r i n t e r F a m i l y (@SprinterFamily) June 28, 2024
Hopefully, when/if Trump becomes President again, American support for the Kiev regime will be scaled back and maybe stopped altogether. Other NATO states, and other states yet, will then and consequently rethink their pro-“Ukraine” (Kiev regime) stances.
The war will then grind to a halt within, at most, a few weeks. Zelensky and his cabal will flee, or be captured, or killed, and Russia will be able to redraw the map in suitable fashion, ruling the “Russian” part east of the Dnieper and along the coasts of the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, as well as Crimea; the rest of Ukraine can be an independent or autonomous state or territory centred on Lvov, peacefully and unthreateningly ruling its own lands and population. About half of Ukrainian territory as it was pre-2022.
As for Zelensky, if he survives, he and his wife can go to one of his villas in the Americas (Gulf Coast Florida, and/or the Caribbean), or to Israel, there to live off his stolen billions.
Massive looting occurs in Nairobi, Kenya following recent protests against President Ruto's initiatives pic.twitter.com/fSCbfUG2pp
— S p r i n t e r F a m i l y (@SprinterFamily) June 28, 2024
Thick-as-two-short-planks David Lammy, arguably the most high-profile useless “diversity hire” in the UK.
That ridiculous creature may soon be Foreign Secretary. Looks like James Cleverly’s status as most ludicrous (ever?) Foreign Secretary will have been as brief as those of Liz Truss and “Boris” Johnson…
See also:
No wonder Starmer has locked Lammy in a cupboard till the election is over. Otherwise the electorate may suss Dave is as thick as pig shit. Has anyone seen Lammy? Maybe should report him missing. https://t.co/MvkPKhsQaD
— The Philosopher's Monkey (@Dunnylad1) June 29, 2024
The Conservative Party deserves to disappear, but Starmer, the Israel and NWO/ZOG puppet, will lead an “elected” dictatorship, which will intensify the attack on free speech and the future of the British people.
More tweets seen
🚨Bombshell🚨
More tomorrow, Andrew Parker, the actor who used profane racial language has worked for Channel4 before and boasts one of his skills is "secret filming". pic.twitter.com/wG3evT7Ali
LOOK: Andrew Parker lists “secret filming” as one of his “special skills.” Another coincidence? Perhaps. But they really are starting to pile up…. pic.twitter.com/UxkIwFLtYa
I see the mounting evidence of a possible stitch up over actor Andrew Parker's "racist remarks" in Clacton is not being covered by anyone apart from us on social media.
The System parties want even something as semi-System as Reform UK to be squashed flat by propaganda lies and by State repression (and electoral trickery). Is this really “democracy”?
Simon Myerson’s unwavering confidence in his views, despite compelling evidence he is obviously wrong, puzzles me.
He posted to accuse Assange of causing deaths. It’s an allegation of the utmost seriousness for a judge and KC to make?
“Simon Myerson’s unwavering confidence in his views, despite compelling evidence he is obviously wrong, puzzles me. He posted to accuse Assange of causing deaths. It’s an allegation of the utmost seriousness for a judge and KC to make? But the court judgments make it clear Myerson is wrong. And Assange’s sentencing judge has now confirmed nobody suffered physical harm. Will Myerson delete his false allegation about Assange? No chance.”
[James Wilson]
Myerson’s status as Recorder (p/t judge) should be reviewed by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. He is plainly unfit to sit in judgment on others.
Then mix that with being a zionist.
— Mark 🌹 Disabled as defined the Equality Act 2010 (@RacistToriesOUT) June 26, 2024
🚨 POLITICAL INTERFERENCE ALERT 🚨
It comes as no surprise that that the #BBCQT audience last night was rigged.
These were not ordinary members of the public.
They hand-picked a prominent pro-Palestine activist & even a BBC TV Director to attack me. pic.twitter.com/AbEqoAgOHS
Breaking: Soap Star Link To Farage C4 Sting: Reform Party Chairman Richard Tice has alleged that @Channel4 bought undercover film from specialist firm called Lee Morrell Media. According to Companies House UK Govt website, Lee Sorrell, the Director of Lee Sorrell Media, is also… pic.twitter.com/QjZby2OsBY
— Herd Immunity News🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@HerdImmunity12) June 29, 2024
“Breaking: Soap Star Link To Farage C4 Sting: Reform Party Chairman Richard Tice has alleged that @Channel4 bought undercover film from specialist firm called Lee Morrell Media. According to Companies House UK Govt website, Lee Sorrell, the Director of Lee Sorrell Media, is also Director of another company named COCO MOCHA FILMS LTD. Another named person as a ‘director’ of COCO MOCHA FILMS LTD is former Emmerdale Farm actor Neil Lennon. We’re not sure to what extent Mr Lennon is linked to the apparent ‘stage managed hit piece on the @reformparty_uk and @Nigel_Farage in Clacton? WTF is going on here? Undercover media firms based in Barnsley, ITV rejected soap stars, leftist filmmakers working for @Channel4, all heading over to Clacton to destroy the Reform vote there.”
More music
[Berlin 1945]
[1960s— couple look over Berlin Wall from western side to eastern side]
Talking point
And that will be England gone, The shadows, the meadows, the lanes, The guildhalls, the carved choirs. There'll be books; it will linger on In galleries; but all that remains For us will be concrete and tyres.
“A 12-year-old schoolboy has been investigated by counter-extremism officers after he declared there ‘are only two genders’.
The child made a video, posted online, in which he also stated: ‘There’s no such thing as non-binary’.
And in response to school bullies who mistakenly believed he supported transgender ideology, he said: ‘[I’m] gay not queer.’
Originally a homophobic slur, trans activists claim the word ‘queer’ now describes people who don’t adhere to ideas of sex or gender.
But the school told the boy’s mother they would refer him to Prevent, the Home Office programme that attempts to stop people becoming terrorists, amid fears he could be at risk of being radicalised by the far-right.”
Same here in the Colne Valley. Out candidate Stuart Hale is not a politician. He's a normal working guy who's passionate about changing politics and bringing power back to the people, not the blob.
Give him a follow here and let's spread the word… @Colnevalleyref
— Make Albion Great Again 🇬🇧 (@ReclaimAlbion) June 29, 2024
The whole Johnson family are arrogant ignorant sociopaths believing they and they alone have the right to dictate to the rest of us. No wonder @BorisJohnson is as he is!
‘Stanley Johnson caused our flight to be cancelled’ say BA passengers https://t.co/fhYHrco68F
— Mad Dogs & Englishmen.MBE. 🏴🇬🇧 (@strum_joe) January 18, 2024
Well worth reposting, even 5+ years on.
Of course the rescue of hostages is good news. However, the calculated slaughter of civilians (who don’t choose to be human shields), by the IDF is an utter disgrace and a war crime.
— Fr Ian Maher SCP🇺🇦🏴🇪🇺🐝#RejoinEU (@IanMaher7) June 8, 2024
On 16 January 2016, Fraser announced his engagement to Lynn Tandler, an Israeli Jew,[23] who is a weaver and academic researcher.[24] They were married on 13 February 2016.[2][non-primary source needed] Their son was born in November of the same year.[25]“
“Both my Jewish children have been circumcised. They are being brought up in a bilingual family – where Hebrew is spoken at home, despite my struggling with it. My two year old chats with his grandmother on the phone most days in broken Hebrew. Both are being regularly taken to Israel. The Rabbi of the schul in Golders Green – where my father’s family (all Jewish) were seat-holders – has been extremely welcoming...”
I recall seeing the Australian TV series Skippy the Bush Kangaroo a few times after my family moved to Sydney in 1967 (I was 10 at the time). The show was on TV from early 1968.
TV shows and films such as Skippy may seem like sentimental rubbish to some people, and to some extent they may be, but there are innumerable examples of the intelligence and capabilities of our animal friends. Some such stories become famous, others are either unknown or are known only to the few people directly involved.
Interesting. I have been to Famagusta (now in Turkish-ruled Northern Cyprus), but some years ago, in fact many years ago— January 2000. I did not see the ruins of the Varosha resort, though. That is a mile south of the main town, I think.
When I drove to Famagusta (from Kyrenia), the ruins of its ancient heritage were deserted. My then girlfriend and I were alone there. There were not even any people selling postcards or the like. Even the more modern parts of the town were far from busy. That was 24 years ago, though. Things change, of course. I think that there has been quite a lot of development in some areas.
I rather liked Northern Cyprus. Relaxed and, in 2000 at least, with relatively few tourists, and really none once you left Kyrenia (officially, now, Girne). A little cold at night (in January) but warm-ish during the day, usually, and with numerous interesting ancient sites (which one shared with no other people at all) set amid orange groves. I even had a rather bracing swim off a deserted beach, but it was no colder in the water than it is in the UK in summer, and the sun was shining.
I drove one day from Kyrenia right the way down the Karpas Peninsula [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpas_Peninsula] to the eastern end. At that point, you are only 60 miles across the Eastern Mediterranean from Latakia in Syria.
“In a straw poll of veterans, Farage’s campaign message seemed to be getting through.
Jason Stewart was in a green beret and a biker jacket studded with medals; after a long career in the Royal Marines, he “thought it was time to get out after I was blown up twice in one day in Afghanistan”.
He offers a version of an argument heard all day. “The two main parties look both the same to me,” he says. “The Tories don’t care about us. And Labour say they will reopen prosecutions of soldiers who served [in the Troubles] so that’s a no-no. Farage and Reform seem like the only option.”
Up the road, meanwhile, opposite McDonald’s, there was an alternative display of army jeeps and vehicles alongside veterans in fatigues. The display was organised by David Bye and his partner, Linda Hazelton, who run a charity delivering homemade pie and mash to needy veterans around the town. Bye had a one-to-one chat with Farage when he visited and claims he was given certain commitments, which will remain between them.
He grew up here; he remembers earning pocket money as a kid running tourist luggage down busy streets to Butlin’s. It’s been a long decline, he says, since the holiday camp went. “I thought I’d seen it all,” he says. “But the other morning I saw a long queue of blokes on bikes waiting for McDonald’s to open. They were collecting takeaways for people who couldn’t be bothered to make breakfast for their kids.
“I don’t know where you start with some of that,” he suggests. “But I think Nigel gets it.
The place holds symbolic relevance to Farage. Exactly a decade ago, under his Ukip brand, a meeting here paved the way for that party’s only Westminster election success, for Douglas Carswell. If you were to define the moment that Brexit became a possibility, and then a reality, you might begin there. Nine hundred people showed up, many of whom had not previously taken any interest in national politics. In the course of their populist pitch, Carswell and Farage quoted liberally from a Times newspaper column the previous week written by Matthew Parris.
Looking back at that column a decade on, you can see in it all the faultlines that were exposed and exploited so cynically by Farage and Brexit, the roots of the crisis that threatens to destroy the Conservative party in this election (a humiliation from which Farage, inevitably, hopes to benefit).
Parris, in his waspish style, on a visit to Clacton in 2014, had declared its irrelevance to modern Conservatism: “This is tracksuit-and-trainers Britain, tattoo-parlour Britain, all-our-yesterdays Britain,” he wrote. He asked his party a question which would now get a very different answer: “Is this where the Conservative party wants to be? [Or] do we need to be with the Britain that can admire immigrants and want them with us, that doesn’t want to spend its days buying scratchcards?”
Parris insisted that he was not “arguing that we should be careless of the needs of struggling people and places such as Clacton. But I am arguing – if I am honest – that we should be careless of their opinions.
Farage could not have scripted a better scene for himself than the spectacle of a Tory prime minister leaving the D-day celebrations early. Tragically, as this week is proving, the forces that made his bleak and divisive message relevant in 2014 have not gone away, and in the weeks to come you suspect that Westminster political parties will still ignore Clacton at their peril.”
[The Guardian].
Not once does the full article mention the fact that the person presently posing as PM is “unelected” (at least, unvalidated by a General Election) and a little Indian money-juggler; but there you are…”The Guardian”…
Interesting, though, all the same. I think that Farage has every chance of being elected at Clacton. The only reason that the Conservative Party candidate Giles Watling (MP since 2017, a long-retired actor, and a member of the Garrick Club, who lives at Frinton, the more expensive part of the constituency) got over 70% of the vote in 2019 is because his political stance is akin to that of UKIP/Brexit Party/Reform UK anyway.
Watling came second, behind ex-Conservative Douglas Carswell (for UKIP) both at the 2014 by-election and the 2015 General Election, and only won in 2017 because Carswell stood down. Having said that, Watling did get 36.7% in 2015, only about 8 points behind Carswell.
While the election at Clacton might yet be close, Farage has every chance now. Labour and other parties are spectators at Clacton. Labour’s best was 25.4% (in 2017, when the Cons got over 60%).
Interestingly, that 2017 Labour candidate, Natasha Osben, is now, in 2024, the Green Party candidate. Starmer is really not very popular even within the Labour —or recently Labour— ranks.
Will Labour voters vote tactically? If so, for Reform UK or for the Conservative Party? My money is on Reform UK.
“Alarmingly for Conservative HQ, many polling experts believe the conditions are ripe for a repeat of 1997, when tactical voting benefited Labour and the Lib Dems and cost the Tories dozens of seats, most notably the toppling of Michael Portillo in Enfield Southgate. This time, Shapps is among the big beasts who could suffer their own polling night infamy.
Tactical efforts came to little at the last election. Hopes among pro-Remain campaigners of an anti-Brexit tactical vote were dashed as Boris Johnson won an 80-strong majority. But conditions have changed. Peter Kellner, the veteran pollster, wrote in the Observer before the 1997 election that while he detected little “positive enthusiasm” for Labour, an electorate with “a burning desire to end 18 years of Tory rule” made for receptive tactical voting conditions. He believes similar ingredients are present today.
While the net effects of tactical voting are hard to calculate, the Liberal Democrats could gain 10-20 extra seats through anti-Conservative tactical voting, according to an analysis by the Electoral Calculus consultancy. Meanwhile, with the added help of Nigel Farage and Reform UK, the tactical dynamic could push Labour closer in another swathe of previously safe Tory seats.“
“Writing in the Observer, Rob Ford, a leading expert on voting intention and trends, says the evidence from polls shows that “an electoral asteroid is streaking through the atmosphere” and is heading for the Tory heartlands. Ford no longer thinks it impossible that the Conservatives could end up with less than 100 seats, so badly is their campaign misfiring and so much trust have they lost over 14 years and the tenures of five prime ministers.
Other polling experts say that such is the geographical spread of the Tory vote, and the brutal nature of the first past the post system, that once their vote drops into the low 20% region, the number of seats could fall into double digits – and could go as low as 20.“
[Observer/Guardian]
I have speculated for quite a while that the Con vote might go low enough nationwide to leave the Cons with as few as 50 MPs. Perhaps I was right (I sometimes am…).
More tweets
Amber Rudd has some front when she says @Nigel_Farage could not deliver. The Uniparty are experts at not delivering on their promises. Remember immigration down to the 10s of thousands, Brexit means Brexit etc? Labour will just manage the decline even worse #bbclaurak
Entitled self-seeking political hog Emily Thornberry, who only became “Labour” in the first place after her highly-paid UN-working father deserted her and her mother, abandoning his wife and daughter, and resulting in their having to relocate to a council house. She is motivated by malice and early spite and/or envy.
Emily Thornberry and her husband (a retired High Court judge) are buy-to-let parasites, incidentally; I believe that I read that they own, or used to own, at least 8 buy-to-let properties. Pro-Israel, too.
[Emily Thornberry and husband with the then Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, at a Zionist banquet in London]
The Conservative Party now deserves to be not only removed from government, and preferably entirely wiped out, but do not imagine that fake “Labour” will be much if at all better. Look at its leaders and major influencers: Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves, Yvette Cooper, Liz Kendall. All members of Labour Friends of Israel. All self-seeking moneygrubbers too.
David Lammy, that ignorant creature, as well.
That thick creature might be Foreign Secretary soon. Poor Britain…
Another Labour Friends of Israel member.
Lady Nugee aka Emily Thornberry with a property portfolio in excess of £4million who sent her children to a partially selective school and who is a former human rights lawyer speaks for the people.
I can’t stand Emily Thornberry. She’s Champagne Socialist delusional. She got own four properties how wealthy she is. She lives in an Islington townhouse worth roughly £2.9million and owns a £600,000 flat in Guildford. She also bought a property in Clerkenwell for £572,000.
Emily Thornberry slightly reminds me of Mrs Mossberg, a fat, short and jolly Jewish primary school teacher, usually —in my memory— dressed in a long dark-brown mink coat; I knew her circa 1962, when about 5 or 6 years old and a pupil at Caversham Primary School near Reading. Mrs Mossberg, though, was far more pleasant than Emily Thornberry seems to be.
In retrospect, I wonder why Mrs Mossberg ever bothered to be a teacher, which I doubt paid much. She lived not far from my family, a few roads away, in a large detached house. The main reception room, which I saw at least once, seemed enormous to the 5-y-o me, and it had a large grand piano in it. Maybe she just enjoyed teaching.
The last tweeter says that Emily Thornberry owns 4 properties; I thought I read 8 somewhere.
NEW POST. The Tory elite class is completely lost. What the reaction to Nigel Farage and the rise of Reform tells us about our out-of-touch eliteshttps://t.co/pnbLrAmJvy
“Elite“, though, seems the wrong word to describe that bunch of clowns.
This is a superb piece of analysis – the truth is Tory liberalism both social and economic has failed and failed utterly – what none of the Tory pundit class have confronted is the abject failure of their economic model – from Osborne to Hunt it has been a calamity https://t.co/GE7v1VSbNk
This is what this Israeli soldier wrote in a video of himself breaking plates received from the house he occupied in the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/DmnZKK6z28
— S p r i n t e r F a m i l y (@SprinterFamily) June 9, 2024
Well, I cannot read Hebrew, and there is no translation, so I have no idea what the untermensch may have written in relation to his vandalism of that family’s house.
— S p r i n t e r F a m i l y (@SprinterFamily) June 9, 2024
From what little one hears or reads, some of the chiefs or former chiefs of Israeli Intelligence (MOSSAD, Shin Beth, Aman etc) are also not optimistic about Israel’s long-term or even medium-term survival.
The Tory elite class should spend less time attacking Nigel Farage and more time reflecting on how they created him by wrecking the country. Now open to all 👇👇 https://t.co/NYMHLINPeW
“Conservatives face election wipeout with Labour set to gain a 416 majority that could see Rishi Sunak LOSING his seat and the Tories being left with just 39 MPs, shock Mail on Sunday poll reveals.”
[Daily Mail]
If that turns out to be correct on 4 July 2024, I will have been proven correct, and the “experts” and “specialists” (who have been saying 100-200 Con MPs left post-GE 2024) would be wrong (again)…
Also true, arguably. About the same, I should say.
Clacton is currently polling Reform at 33%, tories on 30% ans labour 25%. Everywhere else, reform are averaging about 17% with either labour or tories on over 30%
The first tweet confirms what I have been blogging re. Clacton. It is between Reform UK (Farage) and the Cons (Giles Watling). Labour has no chance at all, but Labour voters in Clacton can be the kingmakers. Their votes can swing it, either for Reform or for the Cons.
Even if the second tweet is accurate, and it may not be, voters can still give the Cons a mighty and historic kick by voting Reform UK and thus preventing the Conservative Party from thriving, or even surviving.
The very fact that such a grassroots campaign is even necessary shows how sick society has become.
He was so in denial, so dismissive and unprepared for being challenged on the most basic questions on his behaviour the past 4/5 years. Really depressing , and I feel quite sad for him.
Refers to Robert Largan, the Israel-puppet and Jewish-lobby puppet who is desperately trying to keep his Commons seat at High Peak (Derbyshire), with its good pay and better expenses and perks, but he really has no chance. Make him get a real job.
High Peak voters should vote either Reform UK or Labour to get rid of Largan.
Talking point
Late tweets
Nigel Farage's Reform Party SURGES — Tories in CRISIS. 75K clicks in 8 hours. Subscribe to our YouTube for content throughout election https://t.co/MBJSyft5fl
Richard Holden, who strikes me as a rather unpleasant little opportunist, even by the standards of the Westminster monkeyhouse. Conservative Party candidate at Basildon and Billericay. I hope that the voters there vote Reform or Labour. Keep him out.
[“Billericay Dickie”]
I see Aditya has been unlucky and has come across X’s favourite wing-nut Zionist judge Simon Myerson.
He’s the one who got bollocked by the Lord Chancellor for his tweets and was found by a judge to have shared Nazi-style abuse on twitter.
God. Myerson again. When is the Judicial Standards Investigations Office at least going to stop this obsessive from sitting in judgment over others? The Bar Standards Board might like to take a look too.
As data on public understanding of WWII reveal, large parts of UK public live in an imaginary historical world. Check out Chartbook Top Links for provocative takes on our weird world! https://t.co/HTLH1tGmOcpic.twitter.com/BhDdA6M4wr
…and few indeed of the British public are aware of the fact that the declaration of war by Britain on the German Reich in 1939 was not only totally unnecessary but led to immense unnecessary bloodshed and misery, and to negative consequences from which the world is still suffering.
2.) War with Russia on the Horizon
President Macron has been the most vocal person in Europe about sending NATO troops to Ukraine
He is actively sending weapons to Ukraine, and there are unverified reports of French Foreign Legion troops inside of Ukraine currently
Iran threatens Israel if war starts with Hezbollah
🔻 Iranian Foreign Minister Bagheri Qani, in an interview with CNN Turk, warned Israel against war against Lebanon and said what support Iran would provide in the event of a war in the north.
Incidentally, slave caravans would pass through the oasis of Siwa in Western Egypt, having travelled from Central Africa en route to the Mediterranean coast or the Nile Delta, as recently as the 1940s.
[I may have bought fruit there from time to time; a bit different to Waitrose…]
This is what pisses me off about the Jews and WWII.
Joseph Cohen got really angry at me about how many of his relatives died in WWII. My great grandfather saw his brother shot in the head on the battlefield. Does my family’s trauma count, or is it just the Jews? https://t.co/EqtlaGRuVf
Yes. One frequently sees Jews on Twitter etc [pretending to be] upset that “their family” died, or were displaced, or inconvenienced, during the early 1940s; people that those descended from them and alive today never knew, of course.
British or German people just do not weaponize (or, indeed, monetize via books, films, “reparations”, and “restitution”) their family histories in that way.
My own maternal grandfather [b.1901] was at Dunkirk in 1940, and later in Burma. My maternal grandmother [b.1900] lost two brothers in the First World War (both, I believe, captains of the Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry).
British (and German) people accept such events as historical, and do not constantly try to use them as tags on which to hang contemporary socio-political issues.
% who feel "optimistic" about future of the EU
Denmark 58% Spain 54% Sweden 48% Germany 45% UK 39% Italy 37% France 32%
Total chaos of Britain's asylum system reflected in the fact that of 5,700 illegal migrants who have been identified for removal to Rwanda the Home Office only know where 2,145 of them are! (The Times)https://t.co/R0ciMBTXGh
More than one in five Brits, 22%, want the Conservative Party to "completely disappear" and be replaced by a different political force https://t.co/kKbNbBBABa
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
The former head of the military intelligence branch of the Israeli army : According to Hamas, things are going as usual, thanks to this government in Israel, Hamas is sitting and enjoying the internal tensions and the tensions between us and America. pic.twitter.com/8UKpO3VM5U
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
Israeli aircraft carried out a raid on the city of Al-Adisa in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/lVzQikNU2X
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
Israeli media, citing Israeli security sources, report that if there is no progress in hostage negotiations within 48-72 hours, the army will be ordered to launch an attack on Rafah, adding that they will not allow Hamas to waste any more time. pic.twitter.com/FK4QHewkW7
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
The checkpoints are intended to allow some women and children to leave Rafah before the expected Israeli attack, but unarmed Palestinian civilian men are likely to be separated from their families and remain trapped in Rafah during the expected Israeli attack
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
🇷🇺 Exhibition space is running out in Moscow
💬 The confiscated American armored vehicle M88A1, which was used by the Ukrainian army, was delivered to the exhibition of trophies that will be opened in Moscow, the Ministry of Defense of Russia announced. pic.twitter.com/uGx8vTJdAX
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
More music
These people should be on our side!
More tweets
This post by Andrew Neil yesterday spells out the cost and reward of failure. Its a scandal!
Holyrood serves no purpose other than to fill the trough for politicians, who otherwise would not survive in the real world of work.
Only 14% of the Welsh support the use of gender quotas when selecting political candidates. Again, woke ideas are nowhere near as popular as elites think (YouGov).
Strange minor incident. Taking a nap this afternoon, after having had a very early start today, I was awoken by a knock at the door of our tiny flat (the days of country houses and Caribbean villas being now long gone). I heard my wife agreeing to donate to the county’s air ambulance charity.
I was rather suspicious about the man at the door wanting bank details “to set up a direct debit“, so intervened and told the fellow that we would give another way. He left with superficial politeness; I could see that he was unhappy at being challenged (though I am not particularly aggressive).
I was concerned, so thought to call the police on their 101 non-emergency service. It then took something like 20 minutes to get beyond the recorded messages and just to get to talk to a human being (a pleasant-sounding lady) from the police and give her the details.
I also tried, twice, to telephone the air ambulance charity people themselves but, after an initial recorded message, was informed “your call cannot be transferred” and an unobtainable signal.
I looked up what the CEO of that charity gets paid: about £119,000 a year.
That small incident was typical of the way in which everything in this country is so screwed and just does not work. For a start, the air ambulance should be an official service, not a ragbag of private charities across the UK.
Secondly, it should be illegal for fundraisers to go around knocking on doors like itinerant gypsies. The public need to be protected.
Thirdly, how is it that the CEO of such a small charity (30 employees) gets a fairly generous salary? Yet their only public telephone number is non-operational. It’s poor.
There are too many boondoggles around, to use the American phrase. The “Major Tom” nonsense, with the quasi-fraudulent daughter and son-in-law, has surely brought that to public attention.
Fourthly, the police are almost absent when you need them. At the same time, the county police have apparently spent many many hours snooping upon and “monitoring” this blog, as they do the social media posts of others. The police need to get back to doing actual, real police work.
As a matter of fact, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the county will be elected this week. At present, it is some useless and enormous woman, a Conservative Party member.
— Sprinter clown 🤡 factory (@Sprinter00000) April 30, 2024
Bravo! End the war.
"The EU should adopt a decision to send those Ukrainians who can be mobilized back to Ukraine. This is very important, today we discussed how such a decision should be reached at the European level. I know that the negotiations between Kyiv and Brussels on that topic water," said…
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) April 30, 2024
If the Kiev regime imagines that a new army of forced and unwilling recruits will save the day, it is very much mistaken.
When the weather is warmer, and the Stavka gives the order, it is likely that the Russian armies in the east will start to roll, covered by massive artillery barrages and air cover. Any new forces recruited by the Kiev regime will simply be rolled over.
Late music
[Katyusha rockets, aka “Stalin’s organ pipes” on the Eastern Front, WW2]
“The toddler’s frail, malnourished body scarcely twitched as she lay helplessly in an incubator chamber in the already-decimated Gaza hospital.
Leila Jeneid, one of countless children who have passed through the doors of Kamal Adwan Hospital, in the north of the Gaza Strip, has suffered as a result of starvation and dehydration.
In a video clip, Leila can be seen quickly breathing in and out, desperate for a breath of fresh air in one of the 12 remaining hospitals in the besieged enclave.
The outline of her ribs, along with all her other bones, are visible through her pallid, paper-thin skin, which sits in stark contrast to the blue blanket underneath her that provides little comfort to the toddler, who is not old enough to comprehend the hellish suffering she is undergoing.
Her jaw is slack as she lies on her back inside the plastic cage of the incubator, barely able to move her arms and legs.
She can’t keep her eyes open as medics at the hospital, which UN official Andrea De Domenico this week said was receiving ‘about 15 malnourished children a day and is struggling to maintain services,’ run tests to understand how to help her.
But it’s food, water and proper rest she needs, all things that the whole enclave is desperately in need of, and all things that Israel has been accused of deliberately withholding from civilians in its bitter war against Hamas, which – according to a top UN human rights official – could amount to a war crime.”
[Daily Mail]
Israel, and the Jewish lobby outside Israel, can now shut up about various matters that they claim occurred during the Second World War.
The “usual suspects” constantly promote books, films etc about events and/or invented events that are said to have happened, in any event, over 80 years ago.
“A father-of-five who was jailed and handed a £475,000 court bill after a dispute with his neighbours has been ordered to sell his home to pay for the huge sum.
Mark Coates, 56, and wife Louise, 52, have been involved in a ‘bitter, aggressive and violent’ dispute with their neighbours Brian Greenwood, 69, and Janice Turner, 65, after moving in next door in the countryside near Hastings in 2015.
The row arose out of a disagreement over a fence between their homes on a quiet road in Robertsbridge, a court heard. The Coates family wanted to replace the structure with a brick wall but Mrs Taylor argued this would encroach on her land.”
[Daily Mail]
When I was at the Bar, I advised and appeared on several such cases in the County Court, both in London and the provinces. Almost all, in fact all, should have settled long before they got to court, long before any barristers were instructed.
I think that I can say that I, and other counsel in the cases known to me, did our best to achieve reasonable closure, but these are cases (often involving trivial amounts of land) where reason always seems to fly out out of the window.
In many cases, all Counsel, solicitors, and the judge in the matter, understand that the matters in question should settle before enormous costs are racked up but, often, the litigants are effectively willing to risk bringing down ruin on themselves for a chance of gaining a victory over their neighbours (with whom they will have to live —nearby— afterwards, after the case ends, whichever way it goes), unless one party sells up and moves (in which event…well, you get my point).
If you told someone to remortgage his house, take out equity of £50,000, £100,000 or more, then go to Las Vegas, and stake the entire amount, maybe in one spin, on red or black at the roulette table, the houseowner would call you crazy, but that is, often, exactly what he or she —often a couple— are willing to do in taking to the County Court (in some cases to the High Court) such cases.
I remember one case I had that was about a wedge-shaped piece of land running the length of a North London suburban garden; at one end it was only about an inch or so wide and, at the other, about a foot.
What can one say? Territorial feeling can be very powerful.
Private enterprise —properly regulated for honesty, health and safety, employee rights etc— should run most commerce and industry, but there are exceptions, among which are the main structures of the economy providing services to the whole people: water supply, large-scale energy, electricity generation and supply, roads, railways.
I love talking to old people, people who don't have smart phones, and aren't on Twitter.
It's a window into a different world, the 1950s, 1940s, 1930s that is rapidly fading from memory.
Talk to these people any opportunity you get, learn about their world, you won't regret it.
Very true. As for me [b.1956], my memories of even the late 1950s are few, but those of the 1960s, and up to the present year, are many. Speaking very broadly, I should say that the dividing line between the UK of 2024 and an earlier and different UK lies, arguably, somewhen between the Thatcher election victory of 1979 and the fall of socialism in or about 1989. Maybe 1979 as far as the UK is concerned, domestically. Too much to cover here in a few paragraphs, though.
American urban planning history
When you think of American cities you think of places built for maximum efficiency and commerce – not necessarily for beauty and harmony. This photo often does the rounds… pic.twitter.com/REkPBUZTbe
It wasn't only public buildings. Take the Erie County Savings Bank in Buffalo (since demolished in an attempt at "urban renewal"): pic.twitter.com/0LKmMcLmCO
The public pushed back. The “Design Excellence Program” was established in 1994 to ensure higher quality public buildings. But the results weren't great:
San Francisco's Federal Building is so bizarre that it almost defies analysis… pic.twitter.com/huMW8VtzUQ
But something eroded American beauty more than this misguided artistry: efficiency.
The US once had dense, more European-style cities, and workers commuted via public streetcars. These were soon to be sacrificed for the great highways… pic.twitter.com/ti7vMxiVXp
Amidst a frenzy of industrialization in the 1940s, the US launched a decades-long project of freeway construction. Huge swathes of existing cities were demolished in the process, like in Kansas City: pic.twitter.com/BJhetxzhQh
Ironically, this breakneck pursuit of efficiency sacrificed what would today be some of the city's most profitable real estate. Those downtown buildings would be worth around $655 million today. pic.twitter.com/TBxcmKLrQ4
The dream of European-style cities in America was all but eradicated. Suburban sprawl meant cities lost significant chunks of their tax bases, and inner cities fell into spirals of decline.
"Reform party is now ahead of Tories among the working-class and northerners" (The Times). If you belong to the Substack (https://t.co/liUeIhMiRY) you already knew this –and where Reform will do best at 2024 GE https://t.co/ADIm6HRXer
“Reform UK” is just more “controlled opposition”, of course, and pro-Israel controlled opposition at that; still, its existence moves the “Overton window”, and that may be significant.
Israeli drones attacked a car in the village of Bazurieh in southern Lebanon. It is reported that at least one person died pic.twitter.com/kOy9XcnE5Q
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 29, 2024
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 28, 2024
To call that a zoo would be unkind to zoos, and to the inherent grace and charm of most animals.
I told you – with money!" Ukraine is dissatisfied with Western gifts
It seems that Zelensky is not happy that billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine are coming in ammunition and not dollars. pic.twitter.com/CPLQTCees9
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 28, 2024
Naturally, Zelensky wants cash, not arms and ammunition. You can’t transfer arms and ammunition into an offshore account…
Saudi Arabia will take part in the Miss Universe beauty pageant for the first time, which will be held in Mexico in September. She sends 27-year-old model and social media star Rumi al-Qatani to the competition. pic.twitter.com/LFR1N2QpZD
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 28, 2024
[Rumi al-Qatani]
Not bad…
Israel is preparing to invade Rafah, home to about 1.5 million Palestinian refugees.
Al Jazeera and Israel's Channel 12 reported that Israel had launched an operation to relocate refugees ahead of an invasion due in a few days. pic.twitter.com/pwYFzG5PY7
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 28, 2024
The “most moral” army in the world poses with toys of Palestinian children – Gaza 💔 pic.twitter.com/oNBmFDpq2J
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 28, 2024
Group psychopathy.
It is an exciting time for HM Land Registry (HMLR) as we continue to embark on a major transformation programme. HMLR's ambition is to become the world’s leading land registry for speed, simplicity and an open approach to data.
— Socially Recruited (@socialrecruited) March 6, 2024
Seems that H.M. Land Registry (or its ad agency) does not know the difference between “principle” and “principal“. On that basis, I am sceptical about anything they say they will do; it is not trivial, but a matter of both basic education and checking what is put before the public.
Meet some of IFAW’s animal friends! Social bonds are key to helping orphaned animals regain their confidence, and overcome loneliness and trauma. Take our quiz now to find out which IFAW #animal friend you match with most! 👇
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 29, 2024
So much for the “military experts”, many of which (as in the case of the reporter David Axe) turn out to be not very expert at all: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Axe.
People of that sort write their rubbish for (in his case) Forbes magazine, the Daily Telegraph etc, and people believe it implicitly because it is in (albeit wrongfully) “trusted” publications, yet much of the content is unreliable. Read Axe’s Wikipedia entry. Not an ex-officer, not a military historian as such, but a writer of fiction primarily, at least until recently. His reporting on military matters has been patchy; refer to the Wikipedia entry.
There are many scribblers of that sort. He is far from being the only defaulter.
Of course, in relation to the Ukraine war, a significant factor in reportage is that most Western msm outlets are openly biased to an extent not seen since the 1940s. Anything seen in the msm relating to Ukraine, Russia, Putin etc has to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Forbes" columnist David Ax criticized the "Challenger 2" tanks which Great Britain sent to Ukraine and called them useless. He pointed out that Ukraine received tanks without a set of additional armor, while the additional three tons of weight would make this tank even less… pic.twitter.com/7Idf0GZUyQ
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 29, 2024
Future archaeologists may find such tanks buried under a hundred feet of chernozem, and wonder what they were.
Late tweets
This is the problem with Shadi’s new identitarianism when it comes to Hamas.
Mainstream news sources have no idea nor any way to check the numbers coming from Hamas. But here he argues that not to trust those Hamas numbers is genocide.
Jew-Zionist argues that the numbers of civilian and other dead and wounded in Gaza are not accurate and may be, at least in part, invented.
I dare say, though, that the same Jew-Zionist (and many another) thinks that any attempt to critically examine the numbers involved, or the nature and extent, of the so-called “holocaust” of WW2, is not only “antisemitic” but evil…
💣 The first episode of Bombshells with guest @GoodwinMJ is out!
FREE SAM MELIA!!! Please support Laura Towler’s business. The baby is almost due, and her husband is one of our most important political prisoners. Every little bit helps. https://t.co/FyrJPKKDlfpic.twitter.com/9UlLOobWSP
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 29, 2024
Green. Some look about 14 or 15. Obviously untrained, looking at their posture, body language etc. God help them if they are not taught how to stay alive in the field.
Ukraine (Kiev regime) cannot win this war, or even keep the front stable. Russia cannot lose, and will not lose.
The Biden administration has secretly approved the transfer of significant military aid to Israel in recent days – Washington Post
▪️25 F-35 fighters ▪️1800 MK-84 bombs weighing almost a ton each. ▪️500 MK-82 bombs weighing about a quarter of a ton each. pic.twitter.com/pLxYPQ3oEj
— S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y (@Sprinterfactory) March 29, 2024
Tail wags dog…again.
No one in their right mind should vote Tory at the general election. Yes, we have a lack of viable alternatives and we should work to find good independent candidates. But anyone who votes Tory has a form of Stockholm syndrome. The Tory government destroyed the country.
The servants of the State, or the creatures of the “you know whos”?
To those who smear me as a conspiracy theorist…
The way I see it, I’m not here to tell you WHAT to think, I’m here to tell you TO THINK.
I CAN tell you that the media is lying to your face about everything. I have my theories and I speculate, but it’s on YOU to find the truth.
— David Morgan 🏴 #StayFree (@david_r_morgan) March 28, 2024
Late music
[painting by Victor Ostrovsky]
Crowdfunder
My appeal (to pay the costs of my recent free speech trial) remains open. If you can, please donate; if you are unable to donate, please share the link.
Toby, while I recognised you to be very much an ‘establishment conservative’ rather than a real one, I was prepared to let this slide in the hope that you gave a damn about free speech.
“Toad” is his right characterization. The fact is, that the “Free Speech Union” is part of the “controlled opposition” matrix: Breitbart, Toby Young, James Delingpole, Farage, Brexit Party, GB News, UKIP, Reform UK etc.
Anyone, or any organization, which adheres to pro-Israelism or pro the UK (or any other) Jewish lobby is contaminated and not worth taking seriously.
Here is Young, from 6 years ago:
“I’m currently in Israel on a press trip organised by Bicom — the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre. Bicom does a good job of getting experts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to give talks to journalists and I’ve attended a few in their London offices. But this is the first time I’ve been on one of their legendary excursions to the Holy Land, which they organise about six times a year. In essence, you’re given a whistle-stop tour of the country while being briefed at every turn by senior ministers and officials on both sides of the divide. It’s seventh heaven for foreign policy nerds, but I also have another reason for being here, which is to weigh up the pros and cons of emigrating to Israel.
Believe it or not, my entire family is eligible for citizenship under the Law of Return because Caroline’s father is Jewish. And the idea of moving here is genuinely appealing because I’ve been fanatically pro-Israel since falling in love with the place aged 17. I had just failed all my O-levels and was mooning about feeling like an outcast when my father decided to send me to a kibbutz. It turned out to be the perfect antidote to my adolescent funk.
I found everything about Israel, particularly its origins, deeply affecting, and in spite of not being Jewish I felt as if I’d discovered my people at last. I was inspired by the example of pioneering Zionists like Theodor Herzl to take control of my own destiny. I would return to England, retake my O-levels, go to a sixth form and, God help me, apply to Oxford. And when it all worked out, I felt as if Israel and the wonderful example of its founders had saved me and I swore an oath that I would always defend the country from its detractors.“
[Toby Young, in The Spectator, 2018]
‘Nuff said?
I have just read the article, or polemic, written by one David Hansard (real name David Johnson, it seems). Basic premise— cut back on free speech (labelled “hate speech”) in order to protect (approved) free speech. I have heard that before…
What a final straw, such a shame. No choice but to cancel my subscription to the @SpeechUnion – unfollowed.
You should state your views, and those of the FSU, on this matter clearly and unequivocally. This is a critical case and your dilly-dallying on it is discrediting you and the FSU.
Like any msm-approved figure, “Toadmeister” runs scared of the Jewish lobby. If they were to turn on him, that would be his fake “free speech” and scribbling and TV talking head career over at once.
Sam Melia and his wife Laura Towler are heroic.
As for that “David Hansard” (David Johnson) character, his background seems opaque. More from him:
Nope. I'm sceptical of free speech absolutism, which has its own orthodoxy and is often intolerant of being challenged, and which seems to disregard the problems which come with permitting someone to post such messages in public.
“Permitting someone…”— that is the wrong starting point. Free speech on social, political, religious and historical topics, is a right, not a privilege granted by some “authority”, not something that should be licensed or allowed on application, or risked on pain of punishment.
Like many people, “David Hansard” seem not to really understand the idea of freedom of expression. He is all in favour of it so long as it does not cause “problems” in society (for those in power, or profiting by exploitation), or cause “divisions”.
In fact, the “divisions” in society are not caused by those talking about things, but by the underlying realities:
A subject close to my heart. After all, later this week a magistrate will sentence me for deemed breaches of the notorious “bad law” Communications Act 2003, s.127, a prosecution procured by the malicious Israel-lobby pressure group (tiny but well-funded) which is pleased to call itself “Campaign Against Antisemitism” or “CAA”, and which has been boasting online about how it has been trying to have me prosecuted for 7 years or more.
Seems obvious and also fair under the 1986 law that such intention was present, in light of the contents of the stickers – even if the stickers were not in themselves unlawful. That does mean every anti-immigration opinion will soon be prohibited. This is an extreme case.
“Hansard” once again throws in a typical argument often seen or heard: Melia’s case was “extreme”, and most people need not fear persecution or prosecution. Yeah, right!
Presumably, “Hansard” meant to tweet that “that does not mean every anti-immigration opinion will soon be prohibited“. His Freudian slip tells the truth, though, despite his intention. Every anti-immigration opinion will soon be prohibited. Melia’s case is a clear signpost.
Already, almost anything not laudatory, and said about Jewish or Zionist behaviour, is almost by default deemed “grossly offensive”.
Incidentally, I notice that “Hansard”, despite having been on Twitter/X since 2012, has only 461 Twitter/X “followers”. When a pack of Zionist Jews connected with the “CAA” had my Twitter account closed down in 2018, I had over 3,000 “followers”, despite my only following about 50 accounts, mostly organizations. If someone had 3,000 “followers” back in 2018, the same person has at least 6,000 now, usually.
I do not know who or what that “David Hansard” is. What is his locus standi to be published, and/or boosted by Toby Young etc? I have no idea. Well, there it is.
Speaking of Sam Melia and Laura Towler, their crowdfunder [https://www.givesendgo.com/sammelia] has, as of time of writing, smashed through the £60,000 barrier and stands at £60,374, and still increasing.
I urge everyone to send at least the minimum (£4) and a message of support. Stick it to the System and the “usual suspects”.
[Laura Towler and Sam Melia, with their little child; another is expected very soon]
More tweets seen
Walked into a restaurant in London’s Chinatown last night, While waiting to be seated, some drunken fool, a person I’ve neither met before nor interacted with, sitting with other drunken fools, looks up at me out of nowhere, and asks rather loudly- “Are you Jewish?” I was…
“Walked into a restaurant in London’s Chinatown last night, While waiting to be seated, some drunken fool, a person I’ve neither met before nor interacted with, sitting with other drunken fools, looks up at me out of nowhere, and asks rather loudly– “Are you Jewish?”
I was Stunned. I wasn’t dressed in anything traditional, nor had anything indicating my faith. The fact that it’s a bizarre thing to ask, not this idiot’s, business, and just a weird thing for him to have done, I was just shocked – realizing that fairly a year ago he wouldn’t have had the gall to do that 1 million different responses raced through my mind.
And to my surprise, (and I’m sure to my Mom’s satisfaction,) the one I chose was to just turn to my friend, carry on talking – and ignore the sheer stupidity I encountered. No point in wrestling with a pig. You both get dirty & the pig likes it. My pride in my Judaism is not going to override my common sense. Wishing you all a lovely Sunday.“
Strange how Jews, or many Jews, find it absolutely insulting to be recognized as Jews (as does the one tweeting above, notwithstanding that he claims to be proud to be a Jew).
I have lived in a number of foreign countries, and would quite often be asked, unexpectedly, “are you [whatever nationality]?” I did not find it insulting (as a matter of fact, I was often mistaken for American or German anyway, as well as, on other occasions, correctly identified as English).
Jews are different. They seem to find it a deadly insult to be identified as Jewish, no matter what.
What can one say? Not much, since free speech is all but dead in England…
Only now, writing that, did it come to mind that I had such an experience when hitch-hiking, aged early twenties, going between Hammersmith Flyover in London and Herefordshire late at night. 1980, I think.
I was picked up by a large truck, and that truck took me most of the way. En route, there was the usual desultory kind of conversation. Eventually, the driver asked me where I was from. I replied that I was presently living in London. The driver then asked, “yes, but where did you originally come from? What country?”
It transpired that that truck driver thought that I was not English but something else, but he could not guess what.
Not sure why the driver thought that I was from a foreign country; maybe because I was learning Russian and German (part-time). In fact, I had that very evening come straight from a small Russian conversation circle in Belgravia (at the GB-USSR Association, a cultural and para-diplomatic body funded by the Foreign Office). Maybe that had slightly affected my normal speech, though it seems unlikely.
From The Shadows: Meet the IDF's new guided mortar Iron Sting – and the incredible women who are working around the clock to make it more effective. pic.twitter.com/KwrBfp09dT
An interesting weapon. If it is as good as the Israelis claim, it would be very effective (for either side) in the Ukrainian theatre, but at present it is claimed (in the clip in that tweet) that Israel alone has it.
Lee Anderson defects to Reform. Reform get their first Member of Parliament. And say they'll specifically target the Red Wall at the next general election. Here's the wider plan 👇 https://t.co/flCYHN6cFY
I don’t see Reform UK making much headway, despite the inadequacies of the main System parties. Well, perhaps I am wrong; we shall quite soon find out.
Stoltenberg: The allies continue to pour billions of dollars in new aid into Ukraine, including Sweden's largest package, which provides ammunition, air defenses and attack boats. pic.twitter.com/ALE45QN27W
Macron is upping the ante and playing escalation in Ukraine with bad cards in hand . There is no unity in the European Union and NATO on the issue of sending troops into Ukrainian territory, and French ground forces are not ready for direct confrontation with the Russian army. pic.twitter.com/zg5TujM8j5
I used to think that NATO would stick together in the event of conflict with the then Soviet Union (and later the Russian Federation), but that was assuming that NATO’s basic posture would be defensive, defending Western Europe from Soviet invasion, or (later) defending NATO’s new front-lines in the Baltic region.
Now? I am not so sure, and Macron’s belligerence looks more like an unnecessary attack on the Russian front-lines in the Ukrainian theatre. Will other NATO states directly support an attack of that nature or support France if Russia attacked its armies? I am thinking “not necessarily”. I certainly cannot see the USA going that far. If it did, of course, it might lead to a Third World War.
"I felt as if Israel and the wonderful example of its founders had saved me and I swore an oath that I would always defend the country from its detractors.
In the 37 years since, I have done my best to keep that promise and been back several times… pic.twitter.com/ssdXsvpkmk
[“Toby Young in a 2018 article: “I felt as if Israel and the wonderful example of its founders had saved me and I swore an oath that I would always defend the country from its detractors.In the 37 years since, I have done my best to keep that promise and been back several times to renew my vows.”Does anyone seriously think he would stand up for your free speech if you called out Zionist control in the West or Israeli war crimes?“].
What “founders” does he mean?
Last November, he, Allison Pearson, and Laura Dodsworth became directors of the British Friends of Israel.
The European Union has exhausted its own stockpiles of weapons during the conflict in Ukraine , said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. pic.twitter.com/8HLqI0X3eo
"Britain has only removed 1.3% of the 114,000 people who entered the country illegally, some of whom represent such a threat they are being ‘monitored daily’ by the security services. This is lunacy."https://t.co/YVanhNk8Ll
I expect that the rebel “Conservative” MPs have someone else in mind, probably one of the non-whites like Kemi Badenoch or Suella Braverman (or, even worse, arguably, the return of “Boris”-idiot).
🇺🇸 "U.S. refusal to resume arms deliveries to Ukraine will result in Kiev losing significant territory this year," the CIA chief said. pic.twitter.com/XSNJJQH82k
Damn. This week I was, for once, beaten by political journalist John Rentoul, who scored 8/10; I scored 7/10, and did not know the answers to questions 3, 8, and 9 (in fact, I should also have got no. 9 right, but I had forgotten about his existence).
Sam Melia and Laura Towler
[Laura Towler with her husband, Sam Melia, and their little child; another is expected within weeks, while Melia is in prison]
Most readers will know the facts of the case: Sam Melia sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 2 years, of which he will probably have to serve 8-12 months, while Laura Towler struggles with her child —soon, two children— everyday life, her house (she may have a mortgage, I do not know), and her small business. Therefore, a crowdfunder was set up to help her at such a time of crisis. That fund has now reached, at time of writing, £58,972, and still rising. Excellent.
The monies raised will go towards helping the couple survive the year ahead, and get them back on their feet after Melia is released. In addition, no doubt a small part of the money will be directed to helping him while he remains in prison.
Anyone can send modest sums to those in prison, via an official programme, using a debit card: see https://www.gov.uk/send-prisoner-money. To use that service, you need the prisoner’s name, his official prison number, and his date of birth. I have no idea of the date of birth of Sam Melia, but Laura Towler, Mark Collett, or Patriotic Alternative would be able to supply it (I am myself unacquainted with the couple, or Patriotic Alternative people, so have no contact details).
Message about Sam Melia from Laura Towler
Laura Towler has posted a message about her husband’s present situation:
“We can now write letters to Sam
I’ve just spoken to Sam. He is in HMP Leeds. He won’t be staying there for the whole of his sentence but it might take a while for him to move. He’s safe and has made friends. He’s been exercising and reading a lot. He says the worst thing (other than missing us) is that it’s quite boring, although the library is pretty good. He said he would appreciate letters from people to help pass the time. Please don’t get too political or the letter won’t get through.
Samuel Melia A3370FC HMP Leeds, 2 Gloucester Terrace, Stanningley Road, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS12 2TJ
You can include a stamped address envelope in the first letter if you want him to write back.
We can also send him books from their preferred suppliers and also email him. I’ll provide some more information on this shortly.“
The “men behind the wire”
I also happened to see the following, which may have been written also by Laura Towler (if not, then by associates of hers):
“I know I have posted about Sam a lot over the last few days but here are the addresses for Sven Longshanks and James Costello who are both serving time for the same public order offence as Sam. Sven will be out this summer hopefully but Costello still has over two years of his sentence left to serve, so he needs us the most.
It’s sometimes difficult to think about things to write as you can’t get too political but they are both intelligent men with an interest in history, literature and culture. They might appreciate a poem you like, information about what’s happening on the outside, or even just a message to say you are thinking about them and they are missed.“
Details below for both James Allchurch (“Sven Longshanks”), and James Costello.
Incidentally, “Sven Longshanks” (imprisoned for having published internet podcasts) also has a crowdfunder, both to help him survive in prison and to get him back on his feet when released (expected to be this spring or summer): https://www.givesendgo.com/SupportSven.
Also incidentally, I myself am due to be sentenced this week, in my case in the magistrates’ court, and for the political offence of having breached the Communications Act 2003, s.127 (recommended for repeal by the Law Commission but still at present on the Statute Book).
Tweets seen
Sentenced to two years, not for the content of any of the stickers he distributed –all of which were deemed not worthy grounds for prosecution– but for the 'intent' behind them. Sam Melia was sentenced for thought crimes. Sam Melia did nothing wrong. https://t.co/L3bkHt6vs5
David Atherton says that “the law” is trying to shut down “the debate“. Behind “the law” and the Bench, and the CPS, and the police, is (in 90+% of such cases in the UK) the Jewish/Zionist lobby.
Also, this is not a “debate” but a war (so far a cold war most of the time).
Incidentally, many imagine that I just hate Israel and anything to do with it. Not so, as such. I like some of the Israeli town planning, and the efforts made to green the cities and towns; also, I like some of the modern architecture, and some of the agricultural, horticultural and hydrological techniques and projects (irrigation, de-salinization etc).
By the same token, I have only limited respect for many of the Arabs of the wider region (I have been to Egypt, Qatar etc several times, and, in the past, had occasional dealings with Kuwaitis and other types, as well as a few visits to Tunisia).
However, the Jews should never have been allowed or encouraged to take over Palestine and turn it into the state of Israel, and their brutal repression of the Arab inhabitants (including mass killings, deportations, and other “ethnic cleansing”) has been, in effect, a 76+ year war crime.
“What goes around comes around“, as the Americans say, and I think that the time will come when Israel will face fleets of drones and missiles, numbered in the tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands.
Tel Aviv may, one day, look not unalike to Gaza today.
Macron discussed with French politicians a possible French invasion of Ukraine
The leader of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, told reporters that the topic was raised at a meeting between the president and the heads of political parties. According to him, Macron… pic.twitter.com/SmtH2NsBWQ
“Macron discussed with French politicians a possible French invasion of Ukraine.
The leader of the French Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, told reporters that the topic was raised at a meeting between the president and the heads of political parties.
According to him, Macron allowed the entry of French troops into Ukraine if the Russian Armed Forces break through towards Odessa or Kyiv.
“There are no restrictions and no red lines,” concluded Jordan Bardella (National Rally). “I arrived excited and left even more worried,” concluded La France insoumise coordinator Manuel Bompard,” writes L’Indépendant.
Also in Paris, they are now discussing issuing permission for French special forces to cross the Ukrainian border, to create a “strategic dilemma” before the Russian Federation. And French Foreign Minister Sejournet said that Kyiv has not yet asked Paris to send troops, but “nothing cannot be ruled out in the coming months.”
Ha ha! What’s that? Revenge for Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, 212 years on? Madness.
I shall be sorry to see Paris destroyed, if it comes to that, even though it has become largely a poubelle (rubbish bin). France may have its force de frappe (independent nuclear deterrent), but if it ever uses it, Paris and all other major French cities will be annihilated.
The French discussions, though, do seem to give the lie to the outpourings of Grant Shapps and others. Macron is obviously not expecting a Kiev-regime advance in 2024; au contraire… he expects Russian advances upon Kiev and Odessa. So do I, though whether they will be in 2024 or 2025 (after the US and UK elections this year) is an open question.
Pennsylvania!" Send me to Congress ." Biden forgot where he was running.
I promise you: we will take back Congress, we will restore abortion rights to the law of this country. pic.twitter.com/vveKG2sbi3
God. Biden is in a world of his own. He really is gone…
The tide has turned and there’s no going back.
— Brother Augustine (@BrotherAugusti2) March 8, 2024
In respect of the Israeli war crimes in Gaza as well.
🚨Israeli army shelled a house above its residents’ heads last night in #Gaza, Most inside, including children and women, were killed & those who survived sustained severe injuries!
After living in fear, terror, destruction, hunger, and thirst for 154 days, they were killed ! pic.twitter.com/73lSvQOYy0
Clarissa Ward interviews a small group of Israeli protesters who are blocking aid in to Gaza, and yes, they're as hypocritical and demented as you imagined. pic.twitter.com/PgF76Z4YDF
— 🇮🇪Ireland4Palestine🇵🇸 (@HensonJames11) March 8, 2024
They show their true character…
Yet “they” (both in Israel and outside Israel, inc. the UK), continue to whine about (and demand “reparations” for) what Germans, Poles, Ukrainians etc did or did not do to Jews in Eastern Europe, 80+ years ago.
Israel literally tortured United Nations staff to get them to make false statements against UNRWA.
They. Tortured. UN. Staff.
If we had anything remotely like objective news reporting in the western press, this would be the top story everywhere for days.
AMANDA PLATELL: Stay away from Britain, Meghan – YOU ARE NOT WELCOME
<Often seated alongside Harry during his attacks on his family was his calculating, self-satisfied, former TV actress wife Meghan, milking her in-laws’ personal drama while taking millions from Netflix and… pic.twitter.com/Df0zfr1vDg
Also, people from poorer countries outside Europe can live off small amounts of food-money, because they are accustomed to making their money stretch. I have had to do it myself a few times in the past, but it seems to come naturally to those such as a Nigerian girl I met in the 1980s, when she was a tenant of someone I knew. She would go to the street market a mile or so away in Peckham (South London), buy rice or potato by the sack, cook it with some hot spices and sauce etc, maybe add some small amount of protein, or not even that, and bingo…dinner served.
In fact, I seem to recall the same was true of a West Indian girl, another tenant of the same landlord, and also in the 1980s. She had been sacked for theft by her employer, the wife of an MI5 officer (she denied that she had stolen anything, but was sacked anyway), and was another one with basically no, or very little, cash.
I myself am not naturally a thrifty person, but I have blogged in the past about how I have had a few (in the American word) “hardscrabble” times in my life. You adapt, one way or another…
MOST READ no.2 this week. Labour's Plan to Upend Democracy. How Labour plan to make another people's revolt against the status-quo impossible.https://t.co/UA2ukmAaby
“Last week, I told you about the Labour Party’s plan to import divisive, America-style culture wars into Britain —how the party plans to hardwire a toxic woke ideology into our civil service, schools, universities, and prevailing culture.
This week, I’m going to tell you how Labour also plan to make their political and cultural revolution permanent —by taking power out of the hands of the elected government in Westminster, out of the hands of the masses, and giving it to unaccountable quangos and civil servants you will never be able to vote out of power.“
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable” [John F. Kennedy]
The present “Conservative” Government has to be removed, and the Con Party stamped on, but Labour under Jewish-lobby puppet Starmer is going to impose an “elected” dictatorship. It will be all but impossible to change that path by the usual Parliamentary/electoral methods.
Humza Yousaf campaigning for Scottish independence so he can turn the place into an Islamic republic. pic.twitter.com/XKTLveoiwH
The SNP is led by a Pakistani Muslim. Scottish Labour is also led by a Pakistani Muslim. What is strange is that Muslims only comprise 1.4% of the population of Scotland (about 75,000 out of 5.4M), yet two out of the three main System parties in Scotland have Muslim leaders. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotland#Population.
Is that why the euro zone is plunging into recession , dopey. We blew the cash on covid & ludicrous public spending https://t.co/f5WslJERQg
I favoured Brexit, but saw that it was (deliberately) mishandled from the start. A journalist in 2017 visited the civil service office that was meant to be planning for a smooth withdrawal, only to find it shut. That says it all.
“We are where we are”, in the commonly-heard phrase. For me, Britain’s main strategic move must be to withdraw from NATO before some lunatic starts a Third World War, and at the same time to pursue an independent course combined with a close friendship with the Russian Federation.
Russia can supply us with oil and gas at cheap rates, maybe even cost-price or below. It could save us.
It's the biggest demographic shock on these islands in over 3000 years. Everything feels like it is being swept away. I like many of the immigrants as individuals, just as I like water molecules, but not the tsunami they are a part of however. It's too big, too fast, too sudden.
Money, in vast amounts, wasted on the “Covid” panicdemic/scamdemic, on no-hope stuff such as “Ukraine” (the Kiev regime), money wasted on Israel and the UK Jewish lobby, huge sums expended on the upkeep and health of millions of migrant-invader parasites, money in even greater amounts wasted on a largely-useless State educational system. Further vast sums spent on pointless “Defence” hardware.
As Goodwin says, all spent without much real benefit to the majority of UK residents, especially the real British.
Israeli Channel 11:
Iran has done the impossible!
The Iranian Red Crescent has opened shelters for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, distributing food. pic.twitter.com/k44yRhIuqC
As said earlier and previously, I shall be sorry to see Paris turned into a wasteland of irradiated ash, even if in recent years it has become rather a poubelle…
The Russian Ministry of Defense publishes footage of the destruction of S-300 air defense missile launchers of the Ukrainian army using an Iskander missile in the area of the city of Pokrovsk.
“The Russian Ministry of Defense publishes footage of the destruction of S-300 air defense missile launchers of the Ukrainian army using an Iskander missile in the area of the city of Pokrovsk. Over the course of a month, UAF air defense systems and radars were systematically destroyed.”
Ian Robert Millard 