The Coffee House Wall – 3rd/9th February

Posted on February 3, 2014

This is the Coffee House Wall for this week. I won’t say that it is your chance to communicate with us, as we are all in this together. It is, nevertheless, the Conservative Blog post that has no particular theme, and where everything is on topic. Let’s just remember that we want to avoid ad hominem attacks on others. We don’t want to engage with trolls. We want to moderate our language ourselves as responsible and mature adults, choosing to use fruity language only where it is necessary. This is our opportunity to show what the Spectator Coffee House Wall could have been like.

Please consider supporting the Coffee House Wall by making a donation of whatever amount, to fund the running of the site using the Paypal donation button provided.

Your support is needed, without it the Coffee House Wall can’t function. Please consider a donation of even just £5.




205 thoughts on “The Coffee House Wall – 3rd/9th February”

  1. Monday morning and here I am, ready to rant, but, before I start I would draw your attention to a blog by sultan knish on the ship drifting to Britain full of cannibal rats. This is a brilliant satire on out immigration system.it even gives Whitechapel a mention, the first time we have hit the international headlines since Jack the Ripper walked our streets.

    Now lets get down to the nitty gritty. Went for my eye screening on Friday, traipsed all the way up to Mile End Hospital only to be told I was at the wrong establishment and before any of you lot start, no. I had not been on the red ned. It was the wording on the appointment letter which sent me skittering off in the wrong direction, I should have gone to the Royal London. Want a laugh? I live opposite the Royal, all I had to do was cross the road.

    The bastards are at it again. Now it is sugar that is in the sights of the “Thou shalt not” brigade. What is it about these people that they cannot see a single human activity without wanting to ban it, and who the hell do they think they are in the first place and who do they think gives them the right to tell us what to do in the second place? and if obesity is on the increase it is because the lazy sods do not do any exercise.

    I have had another run in with the checkout robots at my local Sainsbury’s where I end up effing and blinding in a public place and leaving my grub in the basket on the floor. What is it about modern life? it is doing my bleeding ‘ead in.

  2. Monday morning missive from my naughty niece:

    THE WELSH COW
    The only cow in a small town in Ireland stopped giving milk.

    The town folk found they could buy a cow in Wales quite cheaply. So, they brought the cow over from Wales.

    It was absolutely wonderful. It produced lots of milk every day and everyone was happy.

    They bought a bull to mate with the cow to get more cows, so they’d never have to worry about their milk supply again.

    They put the bull in the pasture with the cow but whenever the bull tried to mount the cow, the cow would move away.

    No matter what approach the bull tried, the cow would move away from the bull and he was never able to do the deed.

    The people were very upset and decided to go to the Vet, who was very wise, tell him what was happening and ask his advice.

    “Whenever the bull tries to mount our cow, she moves away. If he approaches from the back, she moves forward. When he approaches her from the front, she backs off. If he attempts it from the one side, she walks away to the other side.”

    The Vet rubbed his chin thoughtfully and pondered this before asking,
    “Did you by chance, buy this cow in Wales?”

    The people were dumbfounded, since no one had ever mentioned that they had brought the cow over from Wales.

    “You are truly a wise Vet,” they said. “How did you know we got the cow from Wales?

    The Vet replied with a distant look in his eye:
    “My wife’s from Wales.”

  3. And another – even the Nefie’s are not safe today, one for Herbert T:

    Canadian..Drunks have the best sense of humor , eh !!!!!

    A drunk from Crinkle Cove, Newfoundland walks out of a bar with a key in his hand and he is stumbling back and forth. A Mountie on the beat sees him and approaches,
    “Can I help you Sir?” the Mountie asks.

    “Yessh! Ssssomebody ssstole me carrr”, the Newfie replies.

    The Mountie asks, “Where was your car the last time you saw it?”

    “It wasss on the end of thisshh key”, the Newfie replies.

    About that time the Mountie looks down and sees the man’s willy hanging out of his fly for all the world to see.

    He asks the man, “Sir are you aware that you are exposing yourself?”

    Momentarily confused, the drunk Newfie looks down at his crotch and without missing a beat, blurts out….

    “Oh Gosh! Me girlfriend’s gone, too!!!

  6. And finally – don’t miss this: no joke, unless you think that littering the universe with the crumbs of our dying civilisation and imaagination is a a serious mistake. I mix on that, but no doubt about the wonder of the computer graphical arts:

    https://www.youtube.com/embed/XRCIzZHpFtY?rel=0

    Make sure you watch it in hi-def.

  12. Frank: Agreed, good on Melanie, but if all her columns are for The Times, unless one buys it or subscribes or whatever the word is to the paywall, we shan’t be able to read them in full.

    But thanks for an excellent start to the week: watched the film, passed it on to the kids, fell about laughing thanks to the naughty niece, even in a fit of extravagance ordered Spring Fever! :o)

    Btw, how do you put ‘proper’ smileys on comments, anyone? I’ve never managed to work it out.

  13. Michael Roberts (17:56)

    Yes sadly her reappearance comes at a price; but I suppose somebody has to pay the wages (and the insurance against litigation :-). I’m trying to figure out the best deal. £8 a week for the Full Monty and the archives is a bit above my pay grade now as an increasingly impoverished pensioner (like, I suspect, most of the Wallsters).

    Glad you enjoyed the other links. The NN is back on form, so I’ll continue to disseminate her output.

  14. Bt Michael, Peter seems to have disabled the smiley function, if my last post is any guide.

  15. I can’t stand those stupid smiley things. I’m glad we haven’t seen any recently. I think they degrade and disperse the ideas that the poster had posted.

    🙂

  16. No, smileys are still there. It operates in your browser NOT on the site. If you don’t see them it is because of your browser settings or because the smiley is not correctly formed. 😉

  17. Whoever put that infantile smiley grotesque at the end of my post demonstrates my point. They’re grotesque, intrusive and make no point whatsoever.

  18. Alexsandr
    February 3rd, 2014 – 16:10
    Tim yeo deselected.
    The conservatives are really stupid. One of the reasons they gave for deselecting the Wanker is that he became ‘invisible’. Surely Cameron and his crew would annoy less people, and save themselves from mockery if they became invisible!

  19. Education Secretary Michael Gove says he wants to end the “Berlin Wall” divide between the state and private school sectors in England. All very well, but it is not bricks and mortar,nor just better teachers which mark the difference between private and State schools, it is flesh and blood. I am afraid it sounds snobbish, but a child coming from a stable home, where the parents are not druggies, dependent on Benefits, and where the child has been toilet trained, taught manners, and has been subjected to firm discipline, will be a better pupil than many at State schools. I am not saying that all children at State schools come from disfunctional backgrounds, nor that all pupils at private schools have perfect backgrounds, but is an unfortunate fact that most of the children who have not been toilet trained, and who lack a background of polite manners are those from the bottom of the social scale.

  21. Further to AWK’s post and having spent a small fortune educating 2 through the private sector, I would add the comment that, in addition to all the correct points made, private schools engender an ethos where peer pressure (perhaps, at certain ages, the most important thing to affect a child’s development) is to succeed.

    Further, the absence of the societal dross found in state schools allows better teaching simply because the Teachers can concentrate on teaching.

    I have come to the opinion that all children should be tested at a point around 12 months before they start full-time education and those parents whose offspring fail a basic series of tests (toilet training, being able to sit and listen for a short period, the ability to understand and obey simple instructions {like sit still, be quiet}) should be fined the equivalent of 50% of the annual child care benefit, that sum contributing towards remedial education to prepare that child for school. To sweeten the pill, perhaps the private education sector could supply the balance of the cost and provide the facilities, as, lets call them, approved schools? This process would also identify the sociopaths and borderline psychopaths that blight society at every level and single them out for special attention throughout their time in education.

  22. I see the BigBrother states of the EU and the US are about to make another monumental cock-up in the field of unexpected consequences.

    Both are looking at requiring car manufacturers to include software/receivers within a car’s EMU’s (Engine Management Unit) that will allow law enforcement to turn off engines. The argument is that this will allow them to bring car chases to a swift and safe stop.

    Bull’s excrement!

    Within days, the nefarious in the hacker-world will produce software changes to negate/override the original design. (Currently, anyone can re-map an EMU to obtain better performance.) Geeks will then produce and sell, via the internet, gizmos to disable law-enforcement vehicles. And so, just like guns, we’ll end up where only the bad guys can drive cars.

    But, apart from the obvious law-and-order issues, how long before tech-savvy watermelons decide to join in and achieve their avowed aim of preventing private citizens using personal transport? How long before LA’s decide they’ll set blanket software transmitters to prevent access to areas like, say, London’s Congestion Zone?

    How many ways can Wallsters think of that they will seek to use this new-fangled tool to prevent freedom of movement and association? Perhaps they’ll prevent PoM driving to meet with Alex, on the grounds their association is an affront to ‘their’ aims and a potential source of common sense?

  23. Clear Memories (23:03)

    Now that comment deserves TWO ‘smileys’ and several ‘upticks’ – to use the vernacular and devices of this quirky, jerky, medium.

  25. Frank P 22:22 – Cats don’t smile. They can look at you with warmth and approval in their eyes and … their biggest gift … they can purr. Who could ask for anything more subtle than a cat purr?

  26. One on the King across the Water…

    One day in the future, Barack Obama has a heart-attack and dies. He immediately goes to Hell, where Satan is waiting for him.
    “I don’t know what to do here,” says Satan. “You are on my list, but I have no room for you. You definitely have to stay here, so I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. I’ve got a couple of folks here who weren’t quite as bad as you. I’ll let one of them go, but you have to take their place. I’ll even let YOU decide who leaves.”

    Obama thought that sounded pretty good, so the devil opened the door to the first room. In it was Ted Kennedy and a large pool of water. Ted kept diving in, and surfacing, empty handed. Over, and over, and over he dived in and surfaced with nothing. Such was his fate in hell.
    “No,” Obama said. “I don’t think so. I’m not a good swimmer, and I don’t think I could do that all day long.”

    Satan led him to the door of the next room. In it was Al Gore with a sledge-hammer and a room full of rocks. All he did was swing that hammer, time after time after time. “No, this is no good; I’ve got this problem with my shoulder. I would be in constant agony if all I could do was break rocks all day,” commented Obama.

    Satan opened a third door. Through it, Obama saw Bill Clinton, lying on the bed, his arms tied over his head, and his legs restrained in a spread-eagle pose. Bent over him was Monica Lewinsky, doing what she does best. Obama looked at this in shocked disbelief, and finally said, “Yeah man, I can handle this.”

    Satan smiled and said…

    “OK, Monica, you’re free to go.”

  28. Anne Wotana Kaye 1@February 3rd, 2014 – 20:54

    Kids from families that read to their kids, teach them elementary reading and arithmetic etc do better at school too.

  30. Michael Adebowale, taken to the Royal London for treatment came within a whisker of destroying the sight of the doctor by stabbing him with a pen. The doc was advised by the prison staff not to give the prisoner a pen but insisted that a consent form be signed, as a consequence he nearly lost his sight. I can not feel too upset about what happened to the hapless medic as he had been warned and was probably thinking of the animal’s human rights.

    As a prisoner why was it necessary to get his permission before administering treatment, indeed why was he taken for treatment in the first place? the venomous creature should have been left to die. Here we have another sickening example of the kid glove treatment handed out to ward off accusations of racism. Will the authorities never learn? No. Not until British blood foams in the Thames.

  35. EC @ 13:49

    Some of the cases mentioned in the piece just beggar belief. It’s the judges who should be disbarred, shiped to one of the hell holes of the culture they back.

  36. stephen maybery @ 13:26

    Baron could think of alot of people whom the thug could bludgeon with or without a pen, stephen, the doctor was just doing his job.

  37. Baron 4th, – 16:17

    “gets all the tossers in one.”

    AIUI, ‘tossing’ wasn’t Monica’s speciality. 🙂

  38. Having a sort of day dream on how certain incidents change the destiny of millions. If, say, the man who fired the torpedo at the “Lusitania” hadn’t made such an accurate and lethal hit, history could have taken a very different road. The Americans would not have joined in the war, Britain would have perhaps lost, or at the best conceded that there was no point in fighting. The misery of the Versaille Treaty would never have existed, and the evil little monster Hitler would have been at best a house painter, or at worst an inmate in a lunatic asylum. The German colonies in Africa would have continued to be ruled with a firm, even iron hand, and I doubt that the British colonies would have freely spilled their native populace onto Britain. I am sure, that cannibals beheading a British soldier in front of passers-by would not be an event, and then one of the said savages demand not to be tried as a common murderer.

  39. The revelation Zimmerman Telegram brought the USA into the Great War, not the Lusitania having sunk two years before.

    Bearing in mind the actual nature of Imperial Germany at the time, I’m not nearly so sanguine as you seem to be about the outcome of their victory which would, for a start, have left them with those useful bits of France and Belgium they’d already overrun and thus have left a nice hostile power and its powerful navy on the Belgian coast: nice and close and ready to start round two whenever they felt like it (and they would have done sans doubt).

    The ‘misery of the Versailles Treaty’ might have been ameliorated had Britain and France, for reasons that pass my understanding , not allowed Johnny-come-lately Wilson to more or less take charge of the thing. The redrawing of central and eastern Europe, in particular, was as fine a case of tossing a lighted match onto a pile of petrol cans as can be imagined and its legacy continues to delight us to this day. Versailles, in any case, pales in comparison to the terms Imperial Germany would have imposed in her victory.

  40. Munchie Box @ 17:50

    Good point about the deciphered telegram, Munchie Box, but what, in your view, should have been done differently to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the rest of Europe? You don’t buy the idea of a buffer zone between the ‘old West’ and the new Bolshevik Empire?

  41. Have just listened to Michael Portillo (from Radio 4) on German atrocities in 1914 and how legitimate information influenced public support for the war.

    It was a decade later that the anti-war misinformation began.It was started by Arthur Ponsonby (Labour) and by Robert Graves.

    A shortened version can be heard at 9-30pm.The 45minute version is at

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03t88vz

  42. Ostrich (17:23)

    Yerss! I understand it was a plate-onic relationship!

    [Get your CRS glossary down from the bookshelf Anne]
    🙂

  43. Wonderful post from A Boot on words … and much more. Unmissable, so don’t! [Can’t link it – I’m using my Nexus 7 and still can’t work out how to cut ‘n’ paste a link].

  44. Frank P 4th, – 21:25

    “[Get your CRS glossary down from the bookshelf Anne]”

    Wouldn’t do ‘er indoors much good…despite being married to a sailor for 40 years she still wouldn’t get it! 😉

  46. Ostrich (occasionally) 17:23

    Baron would expect Monica to be skilled in multitasking, she was an intern and that’s what they train for.

  48. EC – 07:55 ‘F***ing Idiot’

    He needs to do another aimed at Gove! Just when many thought Gove was at least attempting to do something positive, he announces plans to get more toddlers into school nurseries, so that teachers will morph into childminders.

    Apparently, teachers have enough problem house training the three and four year olds as it is, without adding more!

    As usual with the DT, many the comments are more incisive than the article! Comments about the State taking over child care from parents and ignoring the difficulty of a class exhibiting the Terrible Two’s phase of childhood highlight the insanity of these plans. Does Gove have any defence to the following accusation? I think not:

    “They want to get our children away from the family where “the poison of nationalism” originates, and into school where they can be made to be “world minded” as described in the 1948 UNESCO report.”

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/10617224/Michael-Gove-and-a-difficult-puzzle-for-any-parent-to-crack.html

  49. Just when you thought that we were on track to tentatively investigate the feasibility of exploiting shale gas by drilling a few holes here and there and then examining the results, we find that we can still snatch defeat from the jaws of victory!

    If I was still in the ‘Oil Industry’ I would be packing my bags and looking for another country, where they want my skills.

    Britain’s energy crisis is about to boil over
    Shale gas can power our future, but not if we get bogged down in battles over trespass

    “The problems are these. Europe’s high subsidies for renewables to meet climate change targets, coupled with the switch to gas, which is expensive to import, are damaging energy-intensive manufacturers, who between them employ some 30 million people. Nuclear power has either been blocked, as in Germany, or delayed, as in the UK, and the take-up of shale has been painfully slow. In America, by contrast, the shale revolution has seen energy prices tumble, making industry more profitable and putting extra money into the pockets of consumers – so far, $1,300 a year for every American, expected to rise to $4,000 by 2015.
    The head of one of Europe’s biggest energy companies told a conference I attended recently that the EU’s energy policy was a “total mess”. He added: “Not only are we unable to attract investment to create new jobs, but we risk losing them as well.””
    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/fracking/10614840/Britains-energy-crisis-is-about-to-boil-over.html

    The Greens must be overjoyed! Here is a recommended reference site:
    http://green-agenda.com/
    “.. . However, certain aspects of the modern green movement that is permeating every segment of our society are not about protecting the environment. You don’t have to dig very deep to discover the true beliefs of the influential leaders who are using genuine concerns about the environment to promote an agenda of fear and control.”

  50. Un update on Hollande

    Thought you would like to know what the French think – in their very own words !

    “François Hollande est dans un spot de bother. Il est dans un pickle. Franchement, il est dans l’eau chaud. Selon un magazine français, le président a been having une affaire très steamy avec une femme improbably belle. Et hier, slap bang dans le middle de cettescandale, il devait give un grand press conference. Quelle luck rotten!
    Mais il y avait un peu de bon news pour le pauvre homme: il est français. Et les français, apparently, ne care pas about les …affaires steamy. En fait, un nouveau poll shows que depuis la scandale broke, le président a become pluspopulaire! En France, vous voyez, c’est seulement une scandale si un homme n’a pas une affaire.
    En Paris, le press conference était complètement packed. En angleterre, les journalistesanglais ont regardé l’action à la télévision. Ils n’ont pas pu wait to écouter le gossip juicy about l’homme important et son bit sur le side.
    En fin, le président – un petit fellow qui apparently a seulement un pair des chaussures – est arrivé. Pour once, il n’a pas porter son motorcycle helmet. Sans further ado, il a commencé parler about l’économie. Il a parlé about it pour un très long temps. Cinq minutes, dix minutes, vingt minutes, trente minutes – tout sour l’économie!
    C’était tout terribly intéressant, mais je n’ai pas pu help but feel qu’il y avait un éléphant dans la salle.
    Mais still il a continué de parler about l’économie, et le banking, et le social security, et so on et so on. Zut alors! Monsieur le Président certainement avait beaucoup à dire about sujets that a rien to do avec le steamy hot shagging.
    “Je suis desolé pour going into such detail,” a dit le président. Il est such un tease!
    Finalement il a fini parler about son dratted économie. Donc! C’étaittemps pour some questions about les sujets plus importants, such as le hanky-panky! Naughty Monsieur le Président a been jouer au Cachez le Saucisse! Les journalistes français would avoir beaucoup de choses à dire about ça!
    “Excusez-moi, Monsieur le Président,” a dit un petit journaliste, très politely, “mais pouvez-vous possiblement tell nous, si ce n’est pas trop much trouble, qui at le moment est la ‘Première Femme’?”
    “Non, je ne jolly well could pas,” a dit le président.
    Et ça, apparently, était ça. Pas de further questions sur le rumpy-pumpy. Les journalistes français just voulaient to ask about le silly économie. Quel waste de temps ça was.

  51. I’m feeling quite left out.

    Am I the only bloke in the country who hasn’t been snogged by ‘Slapper’ Sally?

  52. RobertC, February 5th, 2014 – 10:34

    Yes, news of Michael Gove’s latest brainwave caused me to raise an eyebrow too. His educational “reforms” have been a bit of a hotchpotch, imo, but, as Gove himself pointed out, his primary inspirations have been Antonio Gramsci and Jade Goody.

  57. A story in the DM led me to the Institute for Economic Affairs website, in order to read their new report on Charities entitled ‘Sock Puppets’. This puports to expose charities, which whilst taking government funds, nevertheless lobby against government policies.
    All very well you might think. Those who think they should get nothing at all from you or I via the bureaucracy of the state would probably accept that principle without much further thought and move on to the Mail’s net blood pressure raiser. (I’m evolving a theory that the DM’s editorial policy is a fabian stealth programme to expedite the expiry of the country’s remaining conservatives).
    But – I noticed the following bullet point in the summary of the report:-

    “War on Want: The anti-poverty charity receives 8.7% of income from the state. They refused to cooperate with a government-backed campaign set up to lobby the Coalition to spend 0.7% of GDP on foreign aid, claiming they were told if they joined they ‘couldn’t be critical of government.’

    Let us consider the implications of this for a moment. We are being told that the government is using a ‘charity’ to lobby itself to increase foreign aid to the level, 0.7% of GDP, that Cameron has already commited us to! And ‘War on Want’ is refusing to cooperate with the Government by doing so!
    Now i don’t know about you. and I don’t know what WonW’s motives are for refusing, they may well want to increase 0.7% to something even higher,but I’m in full agreement with them on this.
    The real scandal here is not the charity being offered and accepting taxpayer dosh
    is the government using it to lobby and brainwash us by the back door.

    Anyway you can download the paper yourself here, as I intend to do, for further consideration. Lets hope that, as we read, we manage not to expire in our mugs of Horlicks.

    http://www.iea.org.uk/in-the-media/press-release/government-must-do-more-to-end-state-funded-political-activism

  59. Noa
    I am unsure of your beef.
    Why is it not reasonable for an organisation, in this case the government, to use all agencies on which that organisation it has a purchase to further its aims.
    You as an individual would do the same.

  61. Huktra.
    If you believe that it is acceptable for government to covertly or overtly lobby and manipulate the views of its citizens with their own money via charities and third party organisations then you probably accept 1984 as the basic primer for government and probably occupy a small sty on Animal Farm.

  62. In my student days I was accused probably correctly of living in a sty.
    However I suspect that all governments use fair means and foul to rally their subjects.
    Youseem to rave a rosy view of our masters.
    I say give em the money to give the poor of the world.
    Saves me deciding beween 0xfam, Save the Children etc.

  65. Should you not change your photo from a swan to a sheep? and rename yourself Shaun at the same time?
    But then I suspect you’re telemachus, the illiterate socialist moron from another parish, viz, such gems as:-

    a new “…Youseem to rave a rosy view of our masters….”

    Eh? What evidence and tenuous thought process leads you to that conclusion?

    “…I say give em the money to give the poor of the world.
    Saves me deciding beween 0xfam, Save the Children etc….”

    Feel free to be rogered as they choose, in order to contribute to the six figure salaries of the Labourite nomenclatura of your politicians’ choice, but don’t expect others to accept your own supinely proffered posterior as the role model for your fellow Britons.

  66. I have noticed that anyone with unorthodox views on this blog is accused of being the Spectator plant Telemachus.
    I merely observed that Governments behave as Mervyn King observe yesterday on A Good Read and that we should not be surprised.

  67. Well it has often turned out that he uses names such as Fergus Pickering et al so as to disguise himself. The views you have expressed are pretty much those of the troll and so it is reasonable for people to confuse you with Fergus Pickering and telemachus.

  68. I see you don’t deny it though.

    “…I merely observed that Governments behave as Mervyn King observe yesterday on A Good Read and that we should not be surprised…”

    No, you said you were happy to delegate your freedom to choose whether to give your money or not to charity to government.
    Obviously you either are too rich or too stupid to make such decisions yourself.

  69. “I say give em the money to give the poor of the world.
    Saves me deciding beween 0xfam, Save the Children etc.”

    That’s a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea; Organised Charity is the soft face of Organised Crime. It provides sinecures for clapped out politicians; publicity for celebrities, faux-jobs for spare royals and fronts for myriad crooks. The National Lottery has refined the scams to a new level of exploitation and taxation of the poor. The gullibility of simple good hearted people is unfathomable. sadly and the greed and cynicism of those who exploit the phenomenon is boundless. But if it makes you feel better, fine! Just remember that “Charity Begins at Home.” Unfortunately it often finds itself a long way from home, filling Swiss bank accounts, of providing leeches with 5 star hotel rooms in the Turd World to view poverty from a penthouse and fill their fat bellies with imported fare. Moreover the Charities Commission is a toothless tiger, appointed by the Great and the Good NOT look to closely at their scams.

  70. Frank
    Just so. Leave decisions to Ms Greening.
    Noa
    What is the value of denial?
    But I am not he/she/it.

  71. Here’s another IEA publication that’s worth a look, the 2014 Index of Economic Freedom.
    ”

    The Index covers 10 freedoms – from property rights to entrepreneurship – in 186 countries.

    The United Kingdom’s economic freedom score is 74.9, making its economy the 14th freest in the 2014 Index. Its score is essentially the same as last year, with modest improvements in government spending, labor freedom, monetary freedom, and trade freedom offset by deteriorations in business freedom, freedom from corruption, and fiscal freedom. The U.K. is ranked 5th out of 43 countries in the Europe region.

    Over the 20-year history of the Index, the U.K.’s economic freedom has declined by 3 points, the second worst performance among advanced economies. Despite notable improvements in trade freedom and investment freedom, the overall gain has been offset by combined declines in the management of public finance and regulatory efficiency.

    Britain’s economy has been consistently rated one of the world’s 20 freest. However, since 2006, when it reached its highest economic freedom score ever, the U.K. has been largely on a path of declining economic freedom. Expansionary public spending has generated significant budgetary pressure. With government debt over 90 percent of the size of the economy, underlying economic fundamentals generally remain weak.”

    Mmmmm. No mention here of the significant loss of personal freedoms undergone over the previous 30 years.

    http://www.iea.org.uk/publications/co-published-books/2014-index-of-economic-freedom

  72. On our BBC 6; 30, regional news Look North, one of the presenters (The lightweight pretty one) when introducing the subject of ‘hate crimes’ referred to the gay lesbian and transgender communities.

    When my wife asked me “what community would that be” the screen showed a heavily made up bloke dressed in the most horrendous of female attire, complaining that he could not walk (mince) down the high street of his south Yorkshire town without attracting rude and negative comments.

    In my day he would have been laughed off the streets but now we must pay them due respect that their madness warrants, even Prince Charles had to stop himself from pointing the finger and laughing out loud when he gave an award to the potty potter who dresses like ‘goody two shoes’.

  73. ‘The monopolists, by keeping the market constantly under-stocked, by never fully supplying the effectual demand, sell their commodities much above the natural price, and raise their emoluments, whether they consist in wages or profit, greatly above their natural rate.’ So wrote Adam Smith in 1776, and he had corporations and statutes of apprenticeships such as that of the Royal College of Physicians in mind.”

    Ever wondered why you won’t find a native (English) consultant?

    “…The National Health Service has so few consultants that over the last 65 years tens of thousands of potential consultants, fully trained and desperate for senior posts, have been rejected and flung as by a lunatic centrifuge to the rim of the English-speaking world, especially to America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

    This is partly the result of a further monopoly. Immigrants make up approximately 13 per cent of the UK population, but foreign doctors have a monopoly of 34 per cent of the consultant posts in England, 22 per cent of those in general practice, 72 per cent of the Senior House Officers, and 71 per cent of the sub-consultants posts where, as Assistant Specialists and Specialty Doctors they are unable to have private patients. Indeed, the quota for foreign doctors is so large that it has crowded out UK-born applicants for consultant posts, leading many doctors to conclude that they can only obtain the level of responsibility which they seek if they emigrate….”

    http://www.iea.org.uk/blog/breaking-down-monopolies-in-the-medical-profession

  75. Noa @ 19:09

    Intriguing table, but hard to understand. UK scores poorly on both fiscal freedom and monetary freedom. What does the former mean? Are we 172nd in terms of the aggregate tax burden? And the monetary freedom is what? A level of interest rates? The lower the better?

  76. David Ossitt @ 19:40

    The potter, who isn’t bad, does it to differentiate himself from the crowd of other potters, who may be as good as he is, David, this is understandable and may be excusable, artists have often behavedd like that e.g. Picasso, Liberace. Ordinary, talentless, undistinguished people do it, too, probably for the same reason: to get noticed, and when they do get noticed they complain because they can.

  77. Noa @ 19:49

    Good stuff, Noa, fitting well with Baron’s argument that the last 50 years of Western aid to Africa did more damage to the continent than the couple of centuries of colonialism before.

    Did you know Africa has the most fertile soil amongst all the continents, but cannot feed itself? So much for our, and others’, esteemed charities.

  79. Charities.

    The DM reported in the last week that the National Director of the Victim Support Scheme (who is about to take-over at `Barnardoes`) returned to his home village in Pakistan with a gang of thugs to beat up upon (and shoot-up) a rival family to his own.

    I was complaining years ago of the nexus between the leadership of charities and the `old-red-tie-brigade`and the way they swopped senior staff:such as the Director of MIND being the former Director of NCCL(aka Liberty)and comrade in struggle of the leaders of PIE.

  81. Lee Rigby.

    Greenwich District Council,which includes Woolwich,has declined to establish a memorial to Lee Rigby inspite of 12,000 requests.

    This is the same district which has a memorial at the place Steve Lawrence died.

    They claim it is for the Army to make a request.This is not so.The Army would regard this as a civil matter and such they avoid any involvement in.If they did it would raise other matters,especially in Northern Ireland.

    http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/10984685.No_Woolwich_memorial_for_Lee_Rigby_despite_12_000_strong_campaign/

  82. Baron 5th, – 20:05

    “The potter, who isn’t bad, does it to differentiate himself from the crowd of other potters, who may be as good as he is,”

    Indeed. He’s pretty harmless, as far as I can see; gives us a good laugh, but only time will tell if any of his artistic creations are any good, and prescience is not gifted to us.
    Mind, there’s a lot of modern sh*t that is lauded by today’s establishment, yet I can’t get my head around it, and it so offends my sensibilities that I have no intention of trying. For me most of Picasso isn’t worth a sh*t, yet I concede that ‘Guernica’ is a work of great power. But not, perhaps, suitable for the living room?

  83. Know Your Rights

    Here is an interesting short, practical video (with no ranting)about and from the USA on how to negotiate unconstitutional roadblocks.

    http://www.youtube.com/user/millsmost

    It might be an idea once the Wall has a bigger budget, for Wallsters to propose the content and develop a booklet and/or ‘e-klet’ for Britons to know their rights as against the officious representatives of our government before conditions reach the parlous state of affairs in America.

  84. Clear Memories, February 5th, 2014 – 22:40

    Good spot. One would have also thought that Dutch politicians would be mad to support the deliberate flooding of productive farmland that had once been reclaimed from the sea, but where the EU is concerned sanity goes out of the window!

    By way of supporting evidence to that Wells Journal article…

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19524058

    Under an arrangement originally proposed by the Dutch – designed to satisfy European targets to protect the habitat of migratory birds – the Hedwige Polder was supposed to be returned to the sea. The agreement was also part of a treaty signed with Belgium to compensate for land lost through the deepening of the Westerschelde, a stretch of water connecting the port of Antwerp to the sea.

    But the idea was unsurprisingly unpopular with those who now depend on the land for their livelihood. Farmers implored the Dutch government not to bend to European demands. It is a highly emotive issue that cuts to the soul of the Dutch people’s unique connection to the land.

    “People used their bare hands to make this,” Hans Mieras said as he waved his hands towards the flourishing fields. “People died making this area out of the water. Now the politicians want to take it away and they’re telling us to give it back to the sea. It’s crazy.”

    The Hedwige Polder has been in Gery De Cloedt’s family for generations. “You feel that you cannot do anything and you want to cry, you want to shout. You feel that one guy with a small signature can decide everything and you feel totally powerless.”

  85. Malfeur @ 03:43

    Baron’s rather puzzled by the video, Malfleur. At not yet 6 minutes into it, the guy in the car is asked again and again ‘are you a US citizen’, but refuses to answer saying unless America is a police state he should be free to travel the country’s highways unmolested. The patrolling guys are civil, polite, not threatening.

    The Americans cannot have it both ways, they cannot both shriek about illegal immigrants flooding the country, demanding they be caught, kicked out and, at the same time, object to being stopped randomly, answer few simple question about their citizenship, or whether they have another passenger hidden in the vehicle.

    What some of the clips show is common sense approach to catching people who aren’t supposed to be in the country, a measured degree of cooperation with those trying to enforce the law is all that’s needed. To refuse to give is plain silly, could be counterproductive as the state pursuing what’s legitimately its duty (catching illegals) may have to turn to enacting statutes that may indeed be bordering on one would call a ‘police state’.

  87. Baron February 5th, 2014 – 19:52

    Yes, like you Baron, I take the IEA index with a pinch of salt. nothing lies like an army bulletin or an economist’s research and statistical garnerings; which, like all surveys, are selected to fit the chosen purpose, rather than enlighten the reader with the honest truth.
    Still, one can discern some reasoning and logic in the work. As I said, interesting, if not what we would accept as authoritative. And clearly its is preferable to read the original report, rather than the prejudiced summaries of the same source material put together by some over worked staff reporter on the Daily Mail, or pontificated over by one of its pompous overpaid columnists?

  88. Malfeur – February 6th, 2014 – 03:43

    ‘Know Your Rights’

    It might be an idea once the Wall has a bigger budget, for Wallsters to propose the content and develop a booklet and/or ‘e-klet’ for Britons to know their rights as against the officious representatives of our government before conditions reach the parlous state of affairs in America.”

    Agreat many such publications already exist e.g.
    http://www.activistslegalproject.org.uk/Arrest%20Process%20and%20Your%20Rights5.pdf

    Surprisingly (or not), most of them are written and published by the impenetrable forest of lawyers that inhabit the public sector landscape, as a brief search on Google will demonstrate.
    http://safe.met.police.uk/your_rights_including_stop_search/consequences_and_the_law.html

    However I’m unconvinced of the ultimate value of this information to Wallsters. For better or worse, few of us fit the militant activist profile and I have no expectation on meeting up with say, Baron, Anne or Frank P chained to the Downing St gates in protest against the continuing flood of mass third world immigration.

  91. RobertC – let us hope Granny can outlive the tree hugger, BaldyMkII abdicates and the nation gets a Prince the next generation (including us down-under) can follow!

  92. It seems the UK might, at last, get it first case of FGM to the Courts (after 28 years). It seems the Police are arguing that Doctors, Teachers and Social Workers are not passing information on.

    Well, that’s simply solved – just introduce a mandatory 5 year sentence for any and all associated with any abused child for failing to report either knowledge or suspicions. Any that turn up at A&E MUST be reported, just as medical staff must report gunshot wounds. And how about a law that requires all female corpses to be autopsied, any example of FGM mutilation recorded on the Death Certificate and let the Police work back from there.

    For those taken abroad to carry out this disgusting abuse, why not have them examined as they leave and as they return? A double whammy because the separate areas needed to carry out the simplest visual inspection could be used to verify the identity of female Muslims. “Veil off, knickers down – this ones OK Sarge, a complete c*** at both ends”

    (I’ll get me coat)

  93. Baron
    February 5th, 2014 – 20:40

    If you’re referring to the Chairman Mao thing, that was first raised by Boot’s buddy, Theodore Dalrymple, in a debate about addiction hosted by (spit) the Spectator.

  94. “I’m beginning to get very excited that, not before time, justice in this country is beginning to favour the criminal rather than the victim. I don’t mean the judges – oh no! – those bastards will still dish it out to those that deserve it. I mean that the justice system has all but collapsed completely…”

    Comrade Kevin Marx on rantingly good form over at Bogpaper.

    http://bogpaper.com/criminal-justice-on-the-verge-of-collapse-thanks-to-grayling/

  97. Noa @13:09

    This impending collapse didn’t prevent “Sir” Keir Starmer, boss of the CPS, being given a gong in the New Year’s Honours List.

  98. Come what passes for summertime here, what’s the betting that a shortage of water, or even a drought will be announced, and charges for water will shoot up. Perhaps even a hose pipe ban?

  100. William Roache has been found innocent on all counts namely, two rapes on a fifteen year old and four of indecent assault on 4 girls aged 11, 12 and 16.

    All the women concerned are now in their sixties.

    I would like to see them all charged with whatever charges can be placed against them but this will not happen.

    But they should at least be named and shamed, to bear false witness and still keep their names secret is not justice.

  102. Noa @ 13:26

    Yup, Noa, the guy’s right, and he writes sublimely well. Why TF doesn’t anyone in the MSM give him a chance to reach a wider audience puzzles Baron.

  103. David Ossitt 14:15

    I read that one of the superannuated slappers told the Court that Johnny Briggs (Mike Baldwin) told her to watch out for Ken’s roving hands several years before he (Mike Baldwin) first appeared on the show. What a shambles.

  104. David Ossitt
    February 6th, 2014 – 14:15
    Quite right, David. They are a disgrace to womanhood. I imagine greedy lawyers prey upon these slappers who are really more concerned for thefifteen minute fame than the money that can be involved as damages.

  105. One suspects that it may not be Britain, but a continental nation that finally causes the progressive dismemberment of the EU.

    “Any decision to leave the EU is first and foremost a social, cultural and political one. It must revolve around issues of national sovereignty, citizenship and freedom of determination,”
    “However, there are also good reasons to believe that a nation, untied from the bureaucracy of Brussels and able to make decisions for itself rather than have imposed one-size-fits-all policies, will benefit economically too.”

    So says a report on Holland’s future prospects outside the EU commissioned by Geert Wilders.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/10621264/Dutch-would-be-better-off-if-they-left-the-euro.html

  106. Bit late in the day, but thanks for the feedback on smileys earlier in the week. I’ll try to get my head round it when I’ve time. I didn’t realise they were so controversial (sorry, Verity!), but they’ve always made me laugh.

    But when you’ve grown out of 1960 grammarschoolboy humour, it’s time to pack it in!
    [img]http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_5_137.gif[/img] Bugger ….

  108. Noa
    February 6th, 2014 – 10:19

    “For better or worse, few of us fit the militant activist profile and I have no expectation on meeting up with say, Baron, Anne or Frank P chained to the Downing St gates in protest against the continuing flood of mass third world immigration.”

    May be not, but “militant activist” is not really an accurate characterisation of an individual standing on his constitutional rights and, from his performances in the European parliament, Nigel Farage seems someone who has the necessary moxy in that regard that all subjects should have.

  109. I’ve had a long day travelling to Stoke but found it refreshing to meet ordinary white working class Christians who speak with their own accent. Intelligent and thoughtful working people too.

  110. Baron
    February 6th, 2014 – 08:48

    “Baron’s rather puzzled by the video, Malfleur.”

    Rather your problem I fear, old chap.

  113. By the way, very few people in the United states can be heard shrieking that aliens are flooding the country and indeed those that can be so heard are usually those who object to the systematic attack on the constitution which these illegal roadblocks represent and there is nothing inconsistent here. Apply the law – apply the Constitution. Indeed, very large numbers of Americans for reasons of self-interest with a view to driving down American’ wages, or as a result of their ‘liberal values’ and most of the illegals are “minorities”, or because they have not thought the matter through, or because they are politicians who see votes often illegal votes coming their way, advocate wholesale amnesty for some 30,000,000 illegals – oh, sorry, undocumented – so as to be allowed to queue-jump those who have been following the law. Oh, it’s unlawful? Well we’ll just wave our magic wand and make it lawful and screw those respecting our laws. And screw our Constitution which says we can’t arbitrarily don a uniform as if it gave a right to stop and search everyone driving down the road.

    But then you’re right. It is not enough to have the Immigration service at the entry points in England, the Border Authority because they are already proven incompetent by the likely number of illegal aliens already through the door, another governmental layer of uniformed officiousness, checking the status of those entering the country, let’s have roadblocks 50 miles in-country from Dover, or driving from Birmingham to Bristol why not, or indeed brown uniformed jobsworths at the entrance and exit of all of our towns.

    I remember talking to an old Chinese English teacher in a university in Xian and asking him about his experience of the Cultural Revolution. “It was the greatest time of my life” he replied – and that was the same thing that the old SS man told his history class in Germany after the War, as recounted to me by a friend who grew up there before emigrating (legally) to the United States.

    Baron, you’re going to love it!

  116. Here’s someone who fits the profile of a “militant activist”, Mr. Nigel Farage, and who seems to have access to a European version of a Know Your Rights Booklet telling truth to power last month in the person of of the Greek and the European parliament.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVx7SeWSWss

    Bit of a loose cannon, Mr. Farage. Why who knows, he might even start chaining himself to railings if insults to the citizenry become sufficiently brazen – perhaps not – but certainly he does not seem to me the kind of man who would say “yes sir, no sir, three bags full,sir” to a jumped up political good in a brown shirt and a peaked hat who might to plague him with unconstitutional questions at a road block 50 miles inside the South East Region of the UK.

  117. Baron

    “To refuse to give is plain silly, could be counterproductive as the state pursuing what’s legitimately its duty (catching illegals) may have to turn to enacting statutes that may indeed be bordering on one would call a ‘police state’.”(Baron op. cit.)

    No, Baron, they won’t. I am sure you were familiar with east European communist practices in this field and are only just beginning to get the hang of English constitutional practice as we jettison it.

    Without any need for recourse “to enacting statutes that may indeed be bordering on one would call a ‘police state’ [sic]”, here is what is coming your way soon.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2014/02/04/scenes-from-a-militarized-america-iowa-family-terrorized/?tid=pm_pop

    Enjoy!

    “The police are supposed to protect and serve”

    Why, Lady, how naive can you be?

  120. Malfleur @ 05:13

    Listen up. Malfleur, a word of advice. Calm down, go short on listening to your American idols, you may do yourself a harm believing their ranting to be the real life in its totality.

    You and Baron agree things are not panning out right, the disagreement is about the degree of it. The barbarian happens to think the drivers in the video refusing to answer simple questions, claiming the fifth and stuff were just acting silly. What if a cop, an American cop were to ask you ‘have you seen a man running here’, would you help, or would you refuse, ask for your lawyer present of whatever. The running man could have been a murderer, rapist. More to the point, we still are a civilised society, we should behave in a civil manner, answering a innocuous, inoffensive, simple question from anyone in a position of authority ‘are you an American’ is if anything good manners.

    Your latest offering, the Iowa video, was on the news because it’s still quite rare the police behave the way the clip shows, even in America. More to the point, one of the guys in the house was armed (legally, but armed, hence could have opened fire), another possessed drugs. Does Baron endorse police behaviour oof this sort? Far from it, if anything similar were to ahppen to the blue veined barbarian he would seek redress in the law. If he didn’t get it he would publicly ask either the Zimbabweans or Russians for help just to embarrass the law enforcement here, or something similar just to catch the media attention.

  121. Latest from the NN:

    Good News
    From
    Downing Street
    Concerning
    Pensions and Benefits:

    نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ر رفت نور اگر رفت سايه پيدا نيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه. ررفت ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشمخيره ماسايه
    ديوار و چشم خيره ما نقش سايه دگر نمي دان نور اگر رفت سايه پيدانيست نقش ديوار و چشم خيرهماپيدا نيست نقش

    If I Hear
    Anything Else,
    I’ll Let You Know.

  123. Baron

    You just don’t get it.

    What is happening in the USA is a little ahead of what is happening here.

    You use the word “idols” as a crude note of disparagement; the same tactic used by Frank P, Noa and others in response to my support for Tommy Robinson and deemed by them a sufficient response on their part to serious events. Your use of the word “ranting” is another rhetorical device to avoid engaging with the facts.

    Crude.

    I am touched by your impulse to follow the orders of people in uniform regardless of the illegality of those orders. You are well-trained but not, I would suggest, a conservative.

    What you fail to understand is that the officials in the carefully designed uniforms were not legally empowered to ask the questions they asked or to give the orders they gave, whether courteous or not. On each occasion, when pressed, they allowed the driver to drive on. The goons had no probable cause to detain them – but that doesn’t cut any ice with you.

    You thought it was all about catching illegal aliens. Do me a favour! Do you not recognize a political behaviour modification exercise when you see it. If the properly empowered authorities in the USA wish to detain illegal aliens, they do not need to set up barricades on the public highway. That is NOT the reason for the roadblocks. In fact, those authorities WANT the illegal aliens to remain so that they can vote Democrat. Are you blind to the same situation in England?

    Why is it “silly” to refuse to answer illegal questions which are posed in breach of the Bill of Rights. Down that road lies the cooperative and well-mannered stacking of your luggage, and removing of your clothes, and courteous entry into the “showers”.

    What point are you making to observe that the American citizen sitting on his lavatory when the goons broke into his home had a gun. Are you only dimly aware of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and the reason that the Americans in the 18th century thought it necessary to add that rider to the Constitution? I think not. University Students in California recently signed a petition that they were unaware was a spoof to support incarcerating gun owners in prison before executing them. You have, on this issue the mind-set of a Californian undergraduate, if I may be allowed to suggest it.

    You are not willing to acknowledge the sinister trend of events. Some people are, but they of course are “militant activists”, “ranters” mesmerised by “idols”. No, Baron, you don’t persuade me to join your flock.

    My own view is that it is later than you think. You encourage unconstitutional practices by government; conservatives resist.

  125. An elderly couple are attending Mass.
    About halfway through, the wife leans over and says to her husband,
    ‘I just let out a silent fart; what do you think I should do?’
    He replies, ‘Put a new battery in your hearing aid…’

  126. EC – Now, happenchance I have a sneaky suspacchio where youm might have got that one from. (Clears throat)

    Now, once a-polly tito. You may think that doesn’t sound quite right. But believe me, once a-polly tito it is, and in this case it was Goldyloppers.

    Goldyloppers trittly-how in the early mordy, and she falolloped down the steps. Oh unfortunade for cracking of the eggers and the sheebs and the buttery full-falollop and graze the knee-clappers. So she had a vaselubrious, rub it on and a quick healy huff and that was that. So off she went, and she went trittly-how down the garbage path, and at the left right-hand-side goal she passed a [sniff] poo-pom, it was hillows a humus heapy in the garbage! But never mind. Erm… she lost her wail. Gagging for more? ….

    http://www.bigbadugly.com/StanleyUnwinIndex.htm

  127. Frank P 12:06

    A spelling error, second line, third word from the right, Frank, the squiggle should point the other way. Hahaha

  128. This is a good example of why we need some Public School (in this case, Millfield,) educated MP’s.

    How else could anyone construct an appropriate sentence, or is it punishment, for someone heading up an organisation that has been given public money to cause so much destruction?

    ‘Chris Smith is a coward, a little git and I’ll flush his head down the loo’: Tory MP’s extraordinary attack on Environment Agency boss as he arrives to see flood-hit families in Somerset

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2553474/UK-weather-Locals-flee-rising-waters-ghost-villages-left-behind.html

    It is not extraordinary at all! It is a suitable punishment for anyone who is behind this:

    EU policy: deliberately flooding the Somerset Levels
    http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=84683

    and:
    EU policy: “just add water”
    http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=84689

  129. Malfleur, Malfleur, get real, the use of both words ‘idol & rant’ wasn’t to upset you, Baron often talks about idols, describes his own postings as rants. Please, drop the touchiness, it ain’t necessary, we all differ in our preferences, some like blondes, others go for the same sex of whatever hair colour, some believe the apocalypse will hit tomorrow, some see it coming in 2031, January …..

    Apologies for the spelling errors though, Baron’s on his travels, has little time to post.

    From the news reports here it’s still pissing in Albion, well, some parts of it anyway, Somerset seems to be flooded up to the neck, now here we have a problem police state or not.

  130. So the sports minister Helen Grant who knows nothing about sport, nor, from what I can see, does she know much about anything else, has been at it again, she has just said.

    “Britain’s victory in the First World War should not be a cause for celebration”

    What should we do lament the occasion?

    Should we apologise for beating The Hun?

    The fact that she has been put in charge of the commemorating the centenary of the Great War is an abomination.

    She has been given her regular non-job of minister for sport to make the numbers right, to tick all of the boxes, she’s a women tick a box, she is black tick a box, she is as dim as a toch-h lamp tick another box, she makes up the minority numbers, tick a box, she is a wife and mother then tick another box.

    Ms Grant told the Lady Magazine that there would be “no dancing in the street” over Britain’s part in the First World War.

    Who the f**k does she think she is to tell us all not to celebrate, not to look back with a great pride on the sacrifices made by our young men and women, 995,939 dead 2.19% of our population and 1,663,435 injured.

    We were not alone hardly a country in the free world was unaffected.

    David Cameron should sack her forthwith.

  131. From BBC Sport, about the Sochi Olympics;

    “But the ceremony has been snubbed by US President Barack Obama, who is instead sending the former head of homeland security Janet Napolitano – seen by many as a statement against Russia’s anti-‘gay propaganda’ laws”.

    I would have thought that it reflects America’s fury about Edward Snowden still hiding out in Moscow.

  134. Sick thought: Saw the terrible pictures of the floods in Somerset, and Lord Smith’s revolting face leering at the camera. With him as the Environmental Minister, there is something in what that UKip guy said that with same sex marriages this is a punishment from above. Truly Sodom and Gomorrah!

  135. https://audioboo.fm/boos/1904415-john-bickley-if-there-was-an-olympic-medal-for-hypocrisy-labour-would-win-gold

    He’s right, of course…so why is nobody else prepared to stick it to Labour in the same way? Do they think the people are too thick to understand that, when the pound falls from 1.96 to 1.54 the prices of all our imports rise by the same percentage? Not immediately, of course, some commodities prices are fixed for months, even years in advance; it’s only over the last 4 years that some higher prices have been feeding through into the economy. And that’s BEFORE you start on quantitative inflating (sorry, easing)!

  136. Anne Wotana Kaye 1 @ 18:04

    You hava a point, Anne, if we didn’t spend a fortune from public funds on curing AIDS for reckless gays like him (he’s on record saying he’s proud the NHS cured him and others who contracted the disease from unprotected gay sex at a time the cocktail of drugs cost in the region of £300,000 pa), spend the cash instead on dredging, other defences the thousands of Somerset farmers wouldn’t be flooded today.

    The EA is one of the quangos that ought to be dismantled, scroungers like him kicked out. How much is this ghastly man paid to ‘chair’ the agency?

    Just watch the video, and weep.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/weather/10624322/UK-floods-Lord-Smith-declines-to-apologise-to-flooded-householders.html

  137. David Ossitt @ 15:46

    Seconded, David, and seconded once more.

    Why shouldn’t the country celebrate a victory over evil? It’s the least we can do for those who lost their lives, those injured for life.

  138. Anne Wotana Kaye 1 February 7th, 2014 – 18:04

    “Truly Sodom and Gomorrah!”

    Correct as usual, Anne.

  139. When I have not been working abroad over the last 20 years I have spent a lot of time working with drainage boards and the environment agency.
    Many people know nothing about drainage boards, mainly because they do one job to the best of their ability.
    They look after the low laying areas of the country and stop them flooding.
    They clear waterways , pump out water , manage water levels for farmers and DONT HAVE FLOODING IN THEIR AREAS.
    The environment agency seem to have been taken over by a bunch of green leftie loonies.
    They are a nightmare to deal with and doing the job we would expect them to do seems of little interest .
    They are obsessed with rules and regulations .
    They hunt them out to prove their green credentials and how much they care.
    And it’s all bollocks.
    It’s a box ticking load of nonsense .
    Just ask why floods happen in environment agency areas and don’t happen in drainage board areas.
    That’s the question not being asked.

  140. Baron
    February 7th, 2014 – 18:53
    Baron, Smith’s brains (or what he has) are obviously curdled by his disease. There is no cure for AIDS, it is simply expensively controlled. Except for unfortunate people who received the virus from blood transfusions or other medical procedures, and rape victims, the money wasted should be used on positive projects as you mentioned.
    David Ossitt

    February 7th, 2014 – 19:17
    I hate looking at the news these days.

  143. Noa @ 21:45

    Good one, Noa, but the barbarian asked for it.

    When the private members bill to legalise homosexuality in private between two consenting men over 21 in private went through the House in 1967, Roy Jenkins, the Home Secretary commented: “Those who suffer from this disability carry a great weight of shame all their lives”. The co-sponser of the bill Lord Arran said: “I ask those [homosexuals] to show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly and with dignity… any form of ostentatious behaviour now or in the future or any form of public flaunting would be utterly distasteful…”

    And look where we are now. Arghhh

  144. On Helen Grant and WW1.

    Is it possible that the lady takes her position that there is no reason to celebrate WW1 because her views are coloured by a belief that her father was a victim of British colonial oppression which in turn led to her own woes?

    On the other hand, I do think that dancing in the streets on Armistice Day or a fortiori on 4th August would be out of place. It would also be artificial a hundred years after the event in that the public emotion would largely have to be masturbated into existence by state friction.

    The War was a colossal tragedy and opened what may yet prove to be the collapse and disappearance of western civilization. To celebrate our victory at the very time we are throwing away all that made the victory worth celebrating would be a bitter affair.

    Any celebratory commemoration should comprise solemn reflection, and prayer that we are not on the brink of something worse.

  145. Baron (further)

    Get real?

    “Your latest offering, the Iowa video, was on the news because it’s still quite rare the police behave the way the clip shows, even in America.”

    You are seriously out of touch with what is developing in the United States.

    The Washington Post did not headline its story “Rare Act of Indiscipline by Iowa Police”. The headlines was “Scenes from a militarized America: Iowa family ‘terrorized’” Do you understand the difference and how it contradicts your view that this is “quite rare”?

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2553107/The-moment-police-officer-handcuffs-firefighter-trying-rescue-victims-rollover-crash-busy-highway.html#ixzz2shDp8BqZ

    “The incident comes after multiple battles between police and fire crews in southern California…”.

    … and its been building over the past few years:

    http://jalopnik.com/5291548/oklahoma-trooper-stops-hospital+bound-ambulance-assaults-emt

    And it’s coming to England because of complacency, gullibility, and failure to defend the constitutional order through ignorance and pusillanimity. Protect and serve, Baron, protect and serve! or “Papieren!”?

  146. “Council plan taxpayer-funded adult learning course on how to look after HAMSTERS by assessing their ‘social needs’… but are forced to cancel after NO-ONE signs up” (Daily Mail)

    “ENGLAND! with all thy faults I love thee still,”
    I said at Calais, and have not forgot it. (Byron)

  147. Looks like there’s going to be a significant change in the weather pattern, starting next Friday/Saturday.

    You heard it here first folks!

  149. fwiw, I agree with Nigel too.

    Nigel Farage ‏(@Nigel_Farage)

    “MPs follow my lead in calling for foreign aid to be diverted to the West country. There appears to be a ‘follow Nigel’ pattern emerging!”

  152. EC

    Ok, “pottage’ then. Or, more constructively for our country, go take an adult learning course on how to look after hamsters by assessing their ‘social needs’…

  153. I know the Dawlish railway was very picturesque, but isn’t it time to admit it is no longer viable, and rather than repairing the awful damage, rebuild a railroad that fits the climate and times better?

  154. EC
    February 8th, 2014 – 10:56
    O(0) @10:46
    Can a hosepipe ban be far behind?
    Yes, and that dreadful ‘Share a bath’ plan. (Imagie it with Lord Smith and Lady Mandelson) 🙁

  155. AWK1 – 13:35 ‘Dawllsh railway line’

    There is a disused single track that would bypass the Dawlish line, which would need to be upgraded to two tracks, but the Dawlish economy is very dependent of holiday camps that, in turn, depend of the railway for bringing in the holiday makers.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-26068375

  156. Anne (13:38)

    My imagination is an anarchic and whimsical phenomenon at times, but there are some depths to which I simply refuse to allow it to descend – even at your esteemed behest!

  157. … and in the case of the hosepipe it could well play a part in the scenario you envisage.

    Ohhh s***!. There goes the injncton on my errant imagination…

  158. Frank P
    February 8th, 2014 – 14:36
    Keep calm, Lord and Lady, it’s only a hose pipe. Don’t forget to lubricate it first!

  159. RobertC
    February 8th, 2014 – 14:20
    Appreciate what you are saying, but there will not be any more tourists if this continues and reoccurs. A scenic railway can be built on site, away from danger, and a funicular could always be installed for ‘adventure seeking’ visitors.

  160. Malfleur February 7th, 2014 – 23:52
    “On Helen Grant and WW1.”

    “It would also be artificial a hundred years after the event in that the public emotion would largely have to be masturbated into existence by state friction.”

    I would suggest that you visit the ‘The Menin Gate War Memorial’ to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium, whilst you are there attend the “Last Post” played every evening at 8pm by buglers from the local fire brigade who close the road which passes under the memorial and sound the “Last Post”.

    There is nothing false or masturbatory about this celebration, it is the most moving of experiences and I confess that on each of my visits I have wept uncontrollably.

    The citizens of Ypres wanted to express their gratitude towards those who had given their lives for Belgium’s freedom and so built the “Gate” and apart from the second world war the ‘Last Post’ has been played every evening 365 days a year.

    The thousands upon thousands of names inscribed around, in and under the memorial are those British men and boys whose bodies were never found.

    On one of our visits my beloved and I visited a public park high above the river next to which we found a relatively small ‘War Cemetery’ (these abound all over Belgium and all are immaculately kept) we entered and were perusing the huge ledger listing the dead when we heard approaching on a footpath through the park a column of school girls all ten or eleven years of age with two teachers bringing up the rear all, were happily chatting, when the column neared everyone fell silent and that silence prevailed until they were well past the cemetery.

    There was nothing false or onanistic about the respect shown to our dead by these young Belgians.

  162. Anne (15:08) 🙂

    But we’d better watch it: such satirical repartee can lead to Scotland Yard’s internal affairs department (dunno what they call it these days – used to be A10 – the rubber-heel squad) feeling our collars for exchanging rude messages, as they seem to have nothing more important to do at the moment. What a bunch of time-and tax-payers-money-wasting twats.

    Gott in himmel! Two DPG idiots exchange dirty pictures on their smart-phone while tied to a fixed post, bored shitless on uneventful duties – and the heavy mob move in.

    What should be noted is, who but a Kuwaiti Tanker would volunteer for such onerous unproductive mind-numbing duties as guarding diplomats (spies) from other countries and our our own perverted parasites in the Westminster Gasworks?

    But in fact, that’s doing then a disservice; they otherwise fulfil a useful purpose – insofar as they obviate the necessity for good coppers to waste their time doing it instead.

    But Commissioner Dick hyphenated Head needs to review his priorities regarding his rubber-heel squad, perhaps?

  164. Frank P
    February 8th, 2014 – 18:52
    Frank, seriously I seem to resort to vulgarity a lot in these days of madness. “Immigration minister Mark Harper resigns from the government after it emerges his cleaner did not have permission to work in the UK”. What sickens me, is that these wankers will employ anybody except a British working man or woman. Or do they think they don’t exist anymore? Somehow, and yes, cynically, I believe Harper only resigned because the word was out about his domestic affairs,

  165. Well; would you ever, the thief, crook, embezzler Denis MacShane was released yesterday after serving just over 6 weeks of a six month sentence imposed on the 23rd December, even taking into account good behaviour he should have served at least three months to late March.

    On his release he had the brass necked gall to compare himself to William Roache who was found innocent of all charges this week.

    The only thing that is giving me any pleasure from this is the fact that he will return to his lady-love the ex-gaol bird Vicky Pryce.

    Will their ankle tags be a hindrance to conjugal hanky-panky?

  166. Now here’s another great idea. It would be silly to oppose its introduction into England, wouldn’t it. As conservatives, let’s lobby for it as part of the Wall’s “Love your Tyrant” drive:

    “Instead of searching for actual criminals, Kentucky State Police will be on the lookout for people who eat while they drive as part of Operation RAID, which will include checkpoints targeting “distracted drivers,” despite the fact that eating while driving is not banned in Kentucky.”

    Gotta love it, Baron!

    http://www.infowars.com/kentucky-police-set-up-eating-while-driving-checkpoints/

  167. “Will their ankle tags be hindrance to conjugal hanky-panky?”

    Au contraire David, it was possibly part of their kinky paraphernalia prior to getting nicked: that and the obligatory sack over Vickie’s head!

  168. Verity
    February 8th, 2014 – 18:56
    Hi, Verity
    Nice to see you posting again. Here, many of us are looking for the rainbow, but still keeping the ark shuttered down. 🙂

  169. Thought for the day:

    “Any fool can make a rule and any fool will mind it.”

    Henry David Thoreau

  170. Walden Pond has a lot to answer for: such as the banal reflections of the transcendental ‘enery!

    “Sometimes as I drift idly on Walden Pond, I cease to live and begin to be.”
    HDT.

    “Oh, bollocks!”
    FP.

    Most philosophy, like history, is bunk. And without rules we would all be fucked. Particularly so, those who are easily led by rabble rousers.

  171. Verity (18:56)

    Despite the typos? Thank you for all your kind comments over the past eleven years. And your occasional and well crafted reprimands – always deserved. As Anne implies, thank goodness you didn’t return to the UK this year – it has been raining cats and dogs, as my old granny always described the stormy season. And please forgive me – I feel an emoticon coming on 😉

  173. Frank P, February 8th, 2014 – 20:37

    Good point about rabble rousers, cyber and otherwise. eg. Alex Jones. Their hysteria all too often transmitted to their followers who then go on to develop serial and sometimes unnatural obsessions. eg. the behaviour of traffic cops in faraway places.

    For anybody who has been in any way been concerned about the interaction of police with the public then here are some handy tips: (of which “be polite!” is arguably the most important)

    Chris Rock – How not to get your ass kicked by the police!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR465HoCWFQ

  174. “A bid to save a young giraffe from destruction at Copenhagen Zoo has failed, and the giraffe was put down on Sunday morning”. I am hardly surprised at the outcome of this horrific event. Out of the Nordic countries, Denmark is the best, but political correctness and fascism (termed liberalism) are rife. The excuse given for the cruel destruction of a healthy young animal was that following the EU rules, interbreeding is to be avoided. I can think of better candidates for destruction because of interbreeding. The giraffes do not claim false family benefits, practice FGM. nor do they present illegal postal votes to swamp the legitimate native elections.

  176. EC 9th, – 10:07

    “A three bagger, surely?”

    Yeah, I mean, nobody in their right mind would dream of approaching from astern, would they? … Oh, wait…err, hm. 🙂

  177. Well said, AWK

    i am trying to get home but my passort was stolen and vandalised and I still do not have a new one! The Embassy has been hopeless. I am sick and there is no real medical help in this region.

  178. Verity
    February 9th, 2014 – 13:08
    Verity, I really am sad to read of your problems. Advice is cheap, so I won’t offer any. Thinking of you.

  179. EC
    February 9th, 2014 – 13:01
    Yes, EC, read the article. There is another one too, in the “DM” on what is happening in Longleat Safari Park . My heart tells me zoos should be abolished, yet my mind informs me that they do somehow preserve the lives of animals . On the other hand, have no conflict about the circus. Animals have no part in these places, and it should be criminal to use them.

  180. Anne Wotana Kaye 1@February 8th, 2014 – 15:12

    there are 2 rail routes that could be reused to make a new exeter-plymouth. but they are a longer way round than than the current route, and one of them would miss newton abbott and totnes.
    I expect the sea walls could be built better by looking at how the Stevensons built lighthouses in Scotland -interlocking granite masonry. And some energy absorbing structure in front of it to take the power from the waves.
    Then the towns of Dawlish and Teignmouth could keep their railway so vital for their survival. The works would also protect the towns from the sea
    I have heard tell that work was to be done on the Dawlish sea wall but they were awaiting some wildlife impact assesment from the EA. The EA has been shown to be unfit for purpose in the SW and should be disbanded. It needs to understand that people and property comes before ‘the environment;’
    I not I would have to consider a line from exeter to Newton Abbott roughly following the A38, but that would be an expensive line, as the A38 is very hilly so there would be viaducts and gradients,

  181. alexsandr
    February 9th, 2014 – 15:05
    Alexsandr, I found your posting informative and many points definitely viable. I must, however, disagree with your following remarks:
    “The EA has been shown to be unfit for purpose in the SW and should be disbanded. It needs to understand that people and property comes before ‘the environment;’”
    I disagree with you that people and property comes before the environment. Because the EA is no damn good, must we throw the baby out with the bath water? WE, and that includes you and I, are as much a part of our environment as a fish is to the sea, and by neglecting the environment, we see the price in phenomenal increases in cancer and other diseases.
    I

  182. lexsandr
    February 9th, 2014 – 15:05
    Sorry, I misread your paragraph. I agree with you that people and property comes before the environment! Sincere apologies.

  183. Anne, I think the problem is that “THE ENVIRONMENT” is not the same as the environment in which we live. It is a special leftist construct that stands for using law to dominate ordinary people. If politicians were acting on our behalf then there would have been a reasonable and brief consideration of the various consequences of protecting the Dawlish stretch of the railway and then the solution which seemed a good enough balance of engineering and stewardship of the coastline would have been quickly chosen and implemented. Instead a year long study was apparently demanded before even adding sand to the beach would be considered to see the influence on sea birds – as if they are not clever enough to successfully move down the coast if that were a consequence.

    And so THE ENVIRONMENT is allowed to dominate all, to the detriment of all, because it is never about wildlife. It is always about political power.

  184. AWK
    no worries
    while we are at it, the same goes for english heritage, who can block necessary infrastructure works -Iike flood defences – because of archaeological stuff. Again necessary safeguards but surely the living come before relics?
    these unelected agencies are advocate, judge and jury in these matters. We need a way to challenge their powers.

  185. Peter from Maidstone
    February 9th, 2014 – 16:43
    and
    alexsandr
    February 9th, 2014 – 16:44
    Why can’t sensible people like you be involved in these issues? Instead we have a cabal of unelected, political agencies who, as alexsandr states are advocate, judge and jury in these matters.

  186. Anne Wotana Kaye 1@February 9th, 2014 – 16:55
    cos i choose to avoid anything to do with the public sector. I stick to private firms who need mainframe computers needing programming for business stuff.

    while we are at it have you notices how cross country trains give up at the slightest problem. problems in the south west. never mind -we will terminate everything at Bristol.

  187. I thought about moving to Cornwall some years ago. I daydreamed about establishing a study/retreat centre for early Christianity with a museum/exhibition space and a tea room etc. I like Cornwall because it feels like a country apart, and I started learning Kernewek in preparation.

  189. alexsandr
    February 9th, 2014 – 17:14
    Anne Wotana Kaye 1@February 9th, 2014 – 16:55
    ……..
    while we are at it have you notices how cross country trains give up at the slightest problem. problems in the south west. never mind -we will terminate everything at Bristol.
    Naturally!

  190. BTW the dawlish sea wall has fallen into the sea before. 1855 and 1859.
    Before WW2 the GWR started a bypass line away from the sea because of the maintenance issues but the work was stopped by the war and not taken up afterwards.

  191. Anne Wotana Kaye 1 – Feb 8th, 15:12 ‘railways’
    The railway needs to transport people from Exeter to Dawlish, and back again!

    It is for those without cars.

  192. alexsandr – 17:14
    “we will terminate everything at Bristol”

    I reminds me when hospitals had to rename the room where people sat at their keyboards typing data into the central computer.

    The ‘Terminal Room’ was not considered a suitable description!

    In fact, another term that was thrown away was the description of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance machine, now called Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), as NMR wasn’t a pleasant acronym to spell out to a patient!

  193. maybe network rail need to read about the loghthouse stevensons, a dynasty of scottish engineers who knew about building harbours, sea defences and lighthouses, using interlocking granite blocks.
    look for ‘The Lighthouse Stevensons’ by Bella Bathurst

  194. Hi alexsandr, I guess it depends a little whether Network Rail were allowed to do what they considered should have been done to protect the line. It would seem that they faced insurmountable obstacles from the EA

  196. It’s interesting that Pickles has said that the best way of dealing with the flooding in the UK is to send more money to other countries. I don’t know if that is just stupid or just offensive or both.

  198. Peter from Maidstone
    February 9th, 2014 – 21:39
    Really, Peter, does the man look very intelligent? 🙁

  199. Mr Booker, covers it all; the supreme disaster and very edge of despair that Labour’s ideologically mis- driven quango queens, queans and gargoyles have brought us to.

    Tonight’s ‘Countryfile’ was disgraceful apologia and one sided presentation of its climate change agenda, supporting the incompetant EA and subtly portraying the counter-arguments of a sufferer of coastal erosion who wanted proper flood defences as illogical and unaffordable.

  202. Peter from Maidstone, February 9th, 2014 – 21:39

    I don’t think “his rotundity’, Eric Pickles, has ever given a stuff about his popularity. I found an interesting article from the Bradford Telegraph and Argus about his turbulent times at BCC. (He is barely recognisable in that photo. Time is a cruel mistress!) The battle against “ropey municipal socialism” was lost when Maggie was deposed.

    http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/tahistory/featuresnostalgiapasttimes/10375183.Dawning_of_the_Pickles_revolution/

    Fast forward to the present day and the ‘long marchers’ have installed their “ropey municipal government” in every government department, town hall, quango and/or agency. It’s become institutionalised / self perpetuating. (See also: The BBC)

  203. PFM: To address your original point: Eric Pickles’ comments conflating foreign aid with climate change and recent floods shows just how successful the long marchers have been!

  204. The scandals continue. “The Home Office has suspended English language tests run by a major firm after BBC Panorama uncovered systematic fraud in the student visa system”. This concerns proficiency in the English language, which is bad enough, but I suspect that this corruption extends to medical and surgical degrees, and also to nursing qualifications from overseas candidates. It would certainly explain the many doctors and nurses who cannot speak or understand English and whose patients suffer, often fatally from misdiagnosis.

  205. Anne,
    In Pakistan, qualifications are handed out like they were Smarties. All that is necessary is cash, then they come over here pretending to be professionals, and licenced to kill if they come as doctors. I do know what I am talking about here as I have worked in Pakistan on two occasions and it is one of the most corrupt countries on earth

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *