Tag Archives: Spitfire

Diary Blog, 9 September 2023

Morning music

[Blues and Royals, London]

Battles past

Saturday quiz

Another victory for me this week, over political journalist John Rentoul: he scored 4/10, but I trumped that with 7/10. I did not know the answers to questions 2, 5, and 6.

From the newspapers

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12497295/Convicted-rapist-dragged-woman-66-bushes-tried-rape-sent-home-Uganda-previous-attack-21-year-old.html

Tweets seen

Absolutely cretinous. How can anyone take this person seriously, speaking politically and ideologically?

In fact, I have never been heavily either pro or anti “Tommy Robinson”. That is because, though he can seem an engaging fellow, and though we did swap a couple of amused or joking comments on Twitter perhaps 7 or 8 years ago, he is a political and ideological nullity.

There are some men to whom a tree is sacred“, said (?) or wrote Chekhov (I think). Cannot remember where, though. Not in The Cherry Orchard (I think). Maybe just remarked to Gorky, and written in the latter’s Literary Portraits. Whatever.

Interesting old film. Electric trolleybuses (I think) travelling across Westminster Bridge (possibly eventually going down the Kingsway Tunnel now used by cars).

On the left in that film, the old St. Thomas’s Hospital, later rebuilt —in the 1950s and 1960s— partly by reason of bomb damage sustained during the Second World War. The same view after rebuilding is shown below:

Note the cleaned stone of the Palace of Westminster compared to the smoky 1940s view.

More music

More tweets

More music

More tweets seen

Interesting statistics from “X”/Twitter. That tweet by the malicious Jew-Zionist “Campaign Against Anti-Semitism” cabal was apparently seen by 1,295 readers, yet only 4 out of the 1,295 “liked” the tweet and, presumably out of those 4, only 3 bothered to retweet it. People really do not like (using the word in its normal sense) them much…

The “CAA” is a tiny group of Jew-Zionists, but pretending to be a big important organization representing the c.250,000+ Jews in the UK.

Well, there it is. Two or three days of msm hot air comes to an end, along with (tomorrow—thank God, at last) the meteorological hot air over England.

I know little about the case or the person in question, but what I have read, or seen on TV news, has led me to think that this was not some James Bond/Rambo/SAS fantasy secret operative but more of, in the msm’s own words, a “resourceful” young man who was said to be rather a “loner“. So probably not sprung from prison by a secret service possessed of diabolical cunning and well-oiled organization.

Probably, this was a fit, resourceful young man, only 21, who saw that Wandsworth Prison was/is an overcrowded, poorly-staffed, poorly-run institution with potential holes in its security. He decided to see whether he could make an escape attempt work, and chanced it. It seems to have been similar to some of the escapes POWs in Germany tried during the Second World War.

Again, looking at what is known, I wonder whether the fugitive is really the “dangerous terrorist” and “spy” he has been painted. Judging purely from what has been put out by the msm, I doubt it. It seems to me that we may be in sledgehammer nut-cracking territory here…

When George Blake escaped in 1966, there was another and even bigger mass media feeding frenzy. Everyone from the Fleet Street reporters to the police, MI5, and MPs assumed that the KGB had sprung Blake.

It turned out, years later, that in fact the prison break had not been masterminded by the KGB or some shadowy “Karla” or Markus Wolf figure, but an alcoholic Irish ex-prisoner and prison acquaintance of Blake, helped by a ragtag “army” (or platoon) of outraged dissidents, most of whom were not even pro-Communist.

The first the KGB knew of it, beyond what was in the newspapers, was when a camper-van driven by two non-Communist dissidents (I think that they were somewhere in the CND/Quaker area, ideologically) turned up at the DDR (East German) border, Blake having been concealed behind panelling.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Blake#Escape_from_prison and https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blake-Escape-How-Freed-George/dp/0245547819 (I have a copy— a good read).

More tweets

Yes, all too many unthinking people (ironically, often those who consider themselves educated) will say that “Britain has always had migration— look at the Saxons, Vikings, the Normans, the Huguenots etc“, ignoring the fact that, in big-picture terms, those peoples were all of the same race (all “post-Aryans”, if you like); indeed, the Normans were actual Vikings who had settled in Normandy a few generations previously.

Totally different from importation of millions of blacks and browns, both in quality and quantity, but can you tell the brainwashed that? No. The brainwashing has gone too deep, in most cases.

Idiots of the Aaron Bastani or Ash Sarkar type will never accept that what matters is the direction of travel; they want to get rid of white people anyway. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Bastani; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Sarkar.

Whatever lying books, TV shows, and films may now present, the fact is that England was a basically white European country during my 1960s childhood (I was born in 1956). Probably 99%. Even in the 1970s that was so, though less so after a decade or so of mass immigration.

Now, Britain is somewhere around 80%-85% white European, and England itself perhaps 75%-80%. What matters is the direction of travel, though. By 2050, the percentage of white European people in England and Wales will probably have declined to about 50%. You can already see what is coming in the demographics of school-age children. Bastani says that “only” 35% are non-white. By 2050, that will probably be something like 75%…

White (i.e. real English) people, as a group, are now not reproducing. They either have no children, or have one or two children, not more. Not enough even to maintain the present white population in absolute terms, let alone in proportional or percentage terms. Meanwhile, the non-white part of the UK population is breeding fast, and the non-whites often have several children.

Add to that the Englishwomen who have children with non-whites, often actual blacks (usually white women with black men, rather than the reverse), and you can see what a demographic disaster is already coming down the track at us.

That is even before you factor-in the continuing migration-invasion (both “legal” and illegal). Between half a million and a million a year, 95% or more are non-white.

Exactly.

Late tweets seen

Typical.

The great supporter of Israel who, however, does not want to have to live there (and also pay their taxes). Seems that he also prefers to avoid tax in the UK.

There are various socially-sick aspects surrounding this story, not least that Sugar, with wealth of £1.2 BILLION, is yet only (about) the 138th-richest individual in the UK. Some income and capital inequality is inevitable in our era, and a certain degree of that may even be beneficial, but these exploiters, moneygrabbers, moneygrubbers, and parasites make a mockery of the whole socio-economic system.

See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Sugar.

Surprising, too, that the “great entrepreneur-businessman” did not —either personally, or via professional advisers— what his (in my opinion, unmerited) status as a member of the House of Lords might do in terms of affecting his domicile, tax domicile, and/or overall tax position.

“You’re fired!”

Diplomats use words, but what will decide the eventual form of words in the Ukrainian space will be rockets, tanks, and boots on the ground.

Surely Biden will not be a candidate next year?

The former head of the Czech military espionage: Ukraine is facing a complete collapse

ANDOR SANDOR: AND RUSSIA WILL TAKE A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE WORLD POLITICAL ARENA

SANDOR: “If the USA had not insisted on Ukraine’s membership in NATO, the war would not have started.” The only country that has nothing to lose in this conflict is the United States, and the West as a whole has a lot to lose, or already has.” “We hear from Kiev that they are waging this war to protect even us from the Russians.” I don’t agree with that

Late music

Diary Blog, 18 July 2023, with thoughts about three upcoming by-elections: Somerton and Frome, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Selby and Ainsty

Afternoon music

[Lazienki Park, Warsaw]

Battles past

More music

Tweets seen

I am glad that I live nowhere near that factory.

The brutal and corrupt Zelensky regime is having to use press-gangs to enforce conscription, there are no more volunteers, and the Kiev regime is running out of cannon-fodder. The front is almost a death sentence; many are deserting.

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Upcoming by-elections

Somerton and Frome

The by-election was triggered by the standing-down of the Conservative Party MP David Warburton, following multiple allegations (some admitted) of misconduct: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Warburton].

In 2019, Warburton received nearly 56% of the vote, with the LibDems in second place on 26%.

Labour has no chance here and, on paper, this would normally be another easy win for the Con Party, but the manner of departure of the last MP, added to the anger across the country aimed at the Con Party government of Sunak, may mean a LibDem by-election upset, particularly as this is merely a by-election.

In 2019, only 4 candidates stood (Con, Lab, LibDem, and Green); at the by-election, there are also Christian People’s Alliance, UKIP, Reform UK, and an Independent.

The bookies’ favourite is the LibDem, a lady from a local farming family who is also a local councillor. She seems to hit all the buttons, even the sex one, being female after the defaults of male MP Warburton (sex pest allegations, and connected cocaine abuse).

The bookmakers have the LibDem, Sarah Dyke, as even-money favourite, with the Con Party candidate on 20-1, and Labour at 250-1. The rest are not even quoted. You could probably get 1000-1 against any of them.

Experience shows that bookmakers are a poor guide to by-election results, but the LibDem looks pretty sure to win this, especially when many Labour supporters will be voting tactically, and many former Con voters displaying apathy and/or unwillingness to vote for the present Government.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jul/17/lib-dems-favourites-but-not-complacent-in-somerton-frome-byelection.

Uxbridge and South Ruislip

The by-election of course triggered by the standing-down of “Boris” Johnson.

The 2019 election attracted 12 candidates, because the seat of the sitting Prime Minister is always popular. “Boris”-idiot won with 52.6% in 2019, with Labour garnering 37.6%. Only one other candidate had a saved deposit (the LibDem, on 6.3%).

The by-election has 17 candidates, among them the TV actor, Laurence Fox, for Reclaim. The bookmakers only rate two seriously— Con and Labour. The Labour Party candidate is quoted at just better than even-money, with Conservative Party candidate at 9/1. The Labour price has not altered much, but the Conservative has gone out from an opening 3/1 to 9/1, and the LibDems are now at 1000/1. The third-placed runner is now Reform UK (but only on 300/1).

A nurse sitting with her husband drinking coffee said: “The biggest issue is ULEZ. I’ve retired from the NHS after 49 years. What about the carers who can’t make visits any more?”

People in Uxbridge tend not to conform to media stereotypes, for example that the NHS is in an unbearable state of crisis. The nurse said: “If I had my time again I’d do the same job again. I love my job.” As she walks round Uxbridge she is often greeted by her former patients.

How will she vote in the by-election? “Up until Jeremy Corbyn I was a Labour person,” she said. “Labour looked after the schools, the hospitals and the elderly.

“But the party has changed now and I’m afraid I have no confidence in them. Keir Starmer wouldn’t come out and actually go against Sadiq Khan [on ULEZ] in a television interview, when he was asked about him.

[Conservative Home]

https://conservativehome.com/2023/07/18/the-conservatives-might-still-win-thursdays-by-election-in-uxbridge/

“‘It can’t be any worse’: In Boris Johnson’s back yard, Britons are desperate for a change.

Uxbridge, like Britain, is in a rut.

The town is where the capital’s westward sprawl ends. Two Tube lines serving central London finish their journeys here, as picturesque shades of green mingle with the gray and brown hues of suburban developments. But its high streets are shrinking and the local hospital is one of the worst in Britain – rated “inadequate” by the sector’s watchdog.

And nationwide, soaring inflation, public sector strikes and the aftermath of Brexit have left families poorer and services creaking to the point of collapse. Renewing a passport, taking a train, buying groceries, seeing a doctor – virtually everything is more difficult in Britain than it once was.

Change is in the air, and Labour is set to benefit. Opinion polls confidently predict the party, led by Keir Starmer, a former senior prosecutor, will win power in a general election expected next year.

But Uxbridge is a test case for that theory, and tensions are high. “You can see the national polls, just like I can see, but these are real votes,” Steve Reed, the party’s shadow justice secretary tasked with running the local campaign, told CNN on a hot afternoon on the high street. He predicts a “tighter race” than some media have suggested.

A handful of media outlets, including CNN, were denied the chance to interview Labour’s candidate or join a canvassing session, an unusually skittish move from a party tipped to win a by-election.

“People are not stupid. People understand the challenges facing the country,”

Some voters are more blunt. “They’re basically saying we’ll carry on business as normal,” says Mick, 61, who runs a food stall near Uxbridge station and has voted Labour his entire life. “So why are we voting?”

I’d like to think [Labour would] like to do more for the working people,” Tracy Peabody, a dental nurse and mother of three young boys, told CNN on a high street in Ruislip Manor. “But I can’t help thinking it’s two wings from the same bird, all singing from the same song sheet,” she added of Labour and the Conservatives.

Just three-and-a-half years after one of the party’s worst-ever electoral defeats, the outcome of Thursday’s vote in Uxbridge will indicate how far Labour has come.

[CNN]

Maybe not so obvious as at Somerton and Frome, but here too it looks as if the Conservative Party is facing an uphill struggle. Uxbridge is a more typical contest though, maybe, compared to Somerton and Frome, and one in which many voters despise all the System parties, and particularly Con and Lab. A battle of apathies?

Selby and Ainsty

The Selby and Ainsty constituency is unusual in that it has been represented since creation in 2010 by only one MP, a Conservative, who seems to be abandoning ship in the moral certainty that the national unpopularity of the Sunak government will wash him away at the next general election.

I do not know why the departed MP, Nigel Adams, chose to stand down in 2023 rather than wait until 2024 and the next general election. Maybe he did not want the opprobrium of having been voted out. Rumour has it that he wanted a peerage and, when not given one, resigned in order to lash out at his own party. Maybe.

Adams won his four elections convincingly, and increased his vote share steadily from 49.4% in 2010 to 60.3% in 2019.

Labour scored about a quarter of the vote in 2010, 2015, and 2019 but, interesting to see, managed over a third of the vote in 2017, when Corbyn was still Labour leader.

12 candidates are contesting the by-election, but this will be between Con and Lab. The bookmakers have Labour just better than even-money, but Con on about 13/2. A few weeks ago, the result seemed more speculative.

Political websites and newspapers have taken an interest in the Selby contest, perhaps because it may give a clue as to the Northern “Red Wall” seats.

I’d like to think they’d like to do more for the working people,” Tracy Peabody, a dental nurse and mother of three young boys, told CNN on a high street in Ruislip Manor. “But I can’t help thinking it’s two wings from the same bird, all singing from the same song sheet,” she added of Labour and the Conservatives.

Just three-and-a-half years after one of the party’s worst-ever electoral defeats, the outcome of Thursday’s vote in Uxbridge will indicate how far Labour has come.

Labour and the Conservative party may have found a tougher opponent than one another as they prepare to fight a by-election in Selby and Ainsty this week: entrenched despondency among an electorate that’s tired of Westminster drama and the challenges posed by the cost of living crisis.”

Selby local Rachel Young paused while walking around the shops to watch the candidates for Thursday’s poll take part in a televised hustings for the BBC in the town centre last week.

She told PoliticsHome that she still has not decided who to vote for, but thinks that many people she knows will simply not bother at all.”

https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/selby-and-ainsty-by-election-labour-conservatives-left-behind

[Politics Home]

See also: https://unherd.com/2023/07/westminster-has-failed-selby/

For me, what will be most interesting will be to see whether Labour wins because people have voted out of enthusiasm (unlikely) or simply because former Conservative voters have given up bothering to vote (more likely). The numbers will tell the story.

My guess is that the LibDems will win Somerton and Frome; a meaningless protest vote. As to the others, Labour will probably score in both, but by default only, because former Conservative voters will just stay home. Only very silly people believe that Labour-label in government will be much, if at all, better than the present shambles.

More tweets

I agree with the second tweet.

All the stuff in the msm about barges and cruise liners is flim-flam designed to obscure a few basic facts, such as that one barge can “house” 500 migrant-invaders. On many days, twice that number arrive in 24 hours! So you would need about 400-800 or more barges extra even in one year.

Also, the number of migrant-invaders coming “legally” is ten times the number arriving in rubber boats.

The UK was doomed as a decent place to live once the proportion of non-whites went beyond about 5% (and we are already at about 20%). The same goes for much of western and central Europe.

The above two tweeters might like to consider whether or not our advanced world civilization, which is 95% or even 99% based on white European-origined people, “works” (overall) when compared to the sorts of societies ruled by blacks, such as most of Africa, Haiti, Jamaica etc…

“Deluded” hardly covers it, but it seems that many blacks believe the same as those two, and their crazed beliefs are facilitated by anti-white non-blacks, either white European-origined or (usually) Jewish.

The people are right— a majority of them are of the view that a Labour government under Starmer will make their lives no better (or that they do not know).

Meaning— the present Government is trash, and Labour is also trash.

Late tweets

That should read “1 billion” not “1 million“, of course.

Late music

[J.V. Branco, Lisbon]