Seen in the News

[PanBiker]

One thing that occurred to me this morning was to doubt if it is wise to give people like the English Defence League the oxygen of publicity. Could we not just refer to them as 'rioters' or even 'mindless thugs'....

The EDF actions in Southport and other areas of the country are disgusting and should be met with maximum force from the police. They should allow the use of baton rounds to quell wanton destruction such as we have seen. After catching the perpetrators and conviction they should have to make full financial compensation for the damage done with seizure of assets as required including any properties owned.

[Tripps]

The EDF actions in Southport and other areas of the country are disgusting

Do you mean EDL or is that a 'freudian slip, tribute to the IDF.

I read that the EDL does not exist nowadays - and this seems to confirm it English Defence League Tommy Robinson (not his real name ) was wisely out of the country.

I've heard a few interviews todaywith the rioters, and the common factor seems to be ignorance and frankly stupidity. Whe asked to define what exactly they mean by 'enough is enough' and 'we want our country back' they are quite unable to explain the slogans. They are the sort of people who confused paediatrician with paedophile a few years ago.

If this rioting outlasts the current warm weather then I'm sure harsh sentences will follow. The four years in jail given to the ' Just Stop Oil' activists will probably have an effect on them. The Bradford rioters of a few years ago, got long prison sentences.

The judge has released the name of the Southport accused. He has bowed to pubic pressure - and probaly put his parents, sibling, and their property at risk.

[PanBiker]

Of course EDL is what I meant, defunct or not they are still of the same ilk and should be treated as such.

[Stanley]

Ian is right, defunct or not EDL sentiments are out there, even in Parliament. Think of Anderson and Farage and quite a few others.

[Stanley]

I read THIS disturbing report.
A prisoner who has served almost five times his original sentence for a laptop robbery still has no prospect of being released. Abdullahi Suleman, 41, from Cardiff, is still in prison after being handed an Imprisonment for Public Protection, external (IPP) sentence in 2005. These were handed out between 2005 and 2012 to try and keep the most dangerous criminals behind bars, but scrapped after criticism, such as the fact less serious offenders were getting caught up in the provision. Suleman is one of the 2,734 prisoners who remain incarcerated after receiving an IPP sentence - 1,132 of whom have never been released, according to the latest data.
Meanwhile, other offenders are being released early to free up space. Pt me down as baffled and confused.

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report about continuing riots and unrest associated with the far right....
More than 90 people were arrested after far-right demonstrations descended into riots in towns and cities across the UK on Saturday. Bottles were thrown, shops looted, and police officers attacked in areas including Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Blackpool and Belfast - but not all demonstrations turned violent. The prime minister has pledged to give police forces the government's "full support" to take action against "extremists" attempting to "sow hate".

[Big Kev]

Whilst the murder of 3 children is horrendous I'm struggling to see why there are countrywide protests, what are they actually protesting about?
News reports state immigration, they have the Cardiff born youth in custody, charged with murder and the family now live in Southport (Welsh immigrants?)
Further reports reveal an autism diagnosis, we all know the autistic spectrum is very diverse so there could be a lot more going on (speculation on my part here).
Public disorder and rioting, in towns across the country, using immigration as a reason appears a bit tenuous to me. There's something more sinister going on and social media is 'feeding' it (more speculation from me).

[Gloria]

Whilst the murder of 3 children is horrendous I'm struggling to see why there are countrywide protests, what are they actually protesting about? They have the murderer in custody.

Totally agree Kev, I think they are using it as an excuse.

[Big Kev]

Whilst the murder of 3 children is horrendous I'm struggling to see why there are countrywide protests, what are they actually protesting about? They have the murderer in custody.

Totally agree Kev, I think they are using it as an excuse.

I have expanded on my original post now...

[Tripps]

Kev - with the greatest respect to you. The accused is now in custody and due process will now take place.

Your comments are in some cases wrong, and possibly even illegal after charges have been laid. All the mainstream media are super extra careful about what they publish. Ofcom is watching.

Further reports reveal an autism diagnosis,

The truth or otherwise of this (I'd say) belongs in the trial - not on social media.

For me - the basic problem is the use of the blanket term "immigration". Some is vital, and the nation would collapse without it, and some is wholly undesirable. To deal with the difference attracts calls of "racism".

We need "smart' government to deal with a "smart" immigration policy.


PS The suggested 24 hour courts should have been started last night and not just be a vague future proposal. They say Starmer has had to be pressed to cancel a planned holiday.

[Big Kev]

Kev - with the greatest respect to you. The accused is now in custody and due process will now take place.

My comments should perhaps have included accused, as you say 'due process will now take place'. The point I was trying to make is; how does an incident, allegedly involving a British born citizen, incite protests, civil unrest, violence and criminal damage relate to immigration? I'm failing to see the connection.
With regard to the autism diagnosis, the mainstream media reported that (BBC).
It's a horrendous event being used, by an organisation, to justify their actions.

[Tripps]

The point I was trying to make is; how does an incident, allegedly involving a British born citizen, incite protests, civil unrest, violence and criminal damage relate to immigration?

Largely because of a 'fake news' post which said the perpetrator was named as a muslim Syrian - a refugee who had arrived in a cross channel dinghy. Even after the judge exceptionally named this under 18 year old, there persisted the rumour that he was muslim. The fact that his parents were immigrants gave 'legs' to that rumour.

Many of the current rioters are simply stupid and enjoy the attention and the battling. We need some rain. . .

[Big Kev]

We need some rain. . .

Or water cannons

[Tripps]

PS - continuing the topic of desired immigration - got me thinking, and I made a list of the nationalitioes of the carers I've had dealings with over the last say 15 years.

I can immediately put a face and a personal anecdote to each category. I went out of my way to establish a personal link to each, and got a good reception when I did so. I always posed the question tactfully and very carefully, and never once had a bad reception to the dreaded "Where are you from then"? They were all proud of their nationalty and more than pleased to educate me about it.

I now know where the gold was hidden in the lake in Bogota, Columbia, and how the Virgin Mary warned the inhabitants of Zamboanga in Mindanao, about an approaching sunami, and saved them. I know about the difficulties of growing tomatoes and olives in Sicily, which town in Romania has all the internet scammers living there, and what is required to train to become a doctor in Poland. Very few can boast of that.

There are now almost no Europeans - most now are from the South India, and speak Tegalu. Exemplary employees I'd say hard working, obliging, and polite. I think having a PM called Sunak had something to do with that.

List
Indian
Chinese
Vietnamese
Filipino
Polish
Czech
Romanian
Bulgarian
Italian
Spanish
Greek
Trinidadian
Colombian
Zimbabwean
South African

[Stanley]

The same thought, about needing some wet miserable weather, occurred to me Kev. At the very least it would cut down on the numbers......

See THIS BBC report....
Three petrol bombs were thrown at a Holiday Inn Express hotel in Tamworth on Sunday night, Staffordshire Police said. One officer suffered a suspected broken arm in what the force described as "targeted violence", with projectiles and fireworks thrown from a "hostile" crowd. Extra officers were drafted in from neighbouring forces in order to deal with the incident - which ended after the crowd was "successfully dispersed", police said.
There is much more hard information, not speculation, in the article.

I noticed THIS curious incident in Wales......
A landlord has defended a decision to ask customers singing in Welsh to stop and leave his pub. Jared Dunn said a group of about 30 people broke into song during a busy Saturday afternoon at the Blue Bell on Castle Street in Conwy. He said the singing was "loud and people were leaving, people were not finishing their food". "We have run the pub for 11 years - we don't do singing," he added.
It must have been very bad singing to be objected to in Wales!

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on a slightly quieter Monday night out on the streets.
Nearly 400 people have been arrested after six days of riots in parts of England and Northern Ireland, police say. On Monday evening police were attacked in Plymouth as they attempted to keep rival protesters apart, petrol bombs were thrown at officers in Belfast and police dealt with unrest in the east of Birmingham. Over the past week dozens of police officers were injured and shops, cars and homes damaged in disorder in the UK. It erupted the night after three children were killed in Southport in a stabbing attack last Monday. This followed false rumours which spread online that a suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker. Over the weekend the prime minister condemned the riots as "far-right thuggery" and on Monday he vowed to "ramp up" the law to deal with the violence.
Did I see a report that Elon Musk has said that civil war is inevitable? I am sure I have seen reports of 'Tommy Robinson' making many posts on Musk's 'X' platform. Are we looking at an attempt to initiate that civil disorder using the power of social platforms? If so, don't they attract sanctions? The false reports alluded to above were promulgated on social media.
I must be missing something here.....

[Tizer]

Did I see a report that Elon Musk has said that civil war is inevitable?

Yes, he wrote on Twitter “civil war is inevitable” under a video of violent riots in Liverpool. Tommy Robinson, aka Stephen Christopher Yaxley-Lennon, had been banned from Twitter but Musk recently restored his membership. Robinson was on holiday in a hotel in Cyprus and using social media to direct his troops.

[Stanley]

Thanks Peter!
I have a question..... how does Elon Musk contribute to the general progress of humanity? Could we manage without him?

See THIS BBC report for some very welcome news from the US.
Tim Walz touted his rural roots and said Donald Trump would take the US "backwards" as he appeared for the first time as Kamala Harris’s running mate at a raucous Democratic Party rally. At the event in Philadelphia on Tuesday night, the Democratic nominee for vice-president said their Republican rivals in November's election were "weird as hell". The Trump campaign said Mr Walz, the current Minnesota governor, was a "dangerously liberal extremist". Mr Walz, 60, is billed as someone who can win back rural and working-class voters who have gravitated to Trump in crucial midwestern states.
This is an attractive (and normal) ticket. Could we stand a chance now of beating Trump? I wish them the best of luck.

[Tizer]

..... how does Elon Musk contribute to the general progress of humanity?

He doesn't!

Could we manage without him?

Could we manage better without him!

I'm very pleased that she made Walz her running mate. The story has been going around that Kamala Harris first said Trump is "weird as hell" but she picked up the phrase from Walz. The previous, Republican, governor of Minnesota who was ousted by Walz has paid tribute to him and you don't often hear a Republican praising a Democrat these days. Here's Anthony Zurcher's report on Walz.... BBC

[Tripps]

I watched some of Kamala Harris's thing yesterday. She was introducing her running mate - the Senator from Minnesota. It's the first time I've seen more than a soundbite from her, and I had been led to believe, and expected someone who was incapable of stringing a sensible sentence together, and who spoke in meaningless platititudes.

It was a surprise to find that she was (compared to Trump and Biden) realtively 'normal', and almost a pleasure to listen to. The main feature was that she had a well developed sense of humour, and did quite a bit of ordinary laughing. I tried to imagine T or B doing the same, and easily failed.

It's only three months till the vote, and a lot can happen, but I think she will win. The betting as McCririck used to say is - more or less 'levels you devils' .
*********************************************

PS Press conference

The 'Rochdale Two' have fresh legal representation, and have called a press conference at the Midland Hotel - no less - in Manchester. Their previous solicitor had accused the Police of 'attempted assassination' of his clients. No mention of that any more. This could well become a test case for the new concept of 'two tier policing'.

'Two Tier Kier' has a nice ring to it - unfortunately for him.

I could not help thinking of the old (pre woke) gag - 'What do you call a scouser wearing a suit'?

► Show Spoiler

The accused.

[Stanley]

My friends in the Twin Cities all have good things to say about Tim Walz.....

See THIS BBC article about the site that was the origin of the false reports about the Southport killer.
What connects a dad living in Lahore in Pakistan, an amateur hockey player from Nova Scotia - and a man named Kevin from Houston, Texas? They’re all linked to Channel3Now - a website whose story giving a false name for the 17-year-old charged over the Southport attack was widely quoted in viral posts on X. Channel3Now also wrongly suggested the attacker was an asylum seeker who arrived in the UK by boat last year. This, combined with untrue claims the attacker was a Muslim from other sources, has been widely blamed for contributing to riots across the UK - some of which have targeted mosques and Muslim communities. The BBC has tracked down several people linked to Channel3Now, spoken to their friends and colleagues, who have corroborated that they are real people, and questioned a person who claims to be the “management” at the site.
There follows what I think is an interesting article about the site. I commend it to you.

[Stanley]

I keep hearing the name Katie Price in the news but know nothing about her.
Then I saw THIS BBC report this morning and thought what a sullen person she looks from the image on the page. I have read the article and apart from knowing that she has ignored a judge's instructions to attend court I am no wiser.....
Why is she headline national news?

[Tizer]

Tripps, the reason you haven't seen or heard much of Kamala Harris is that Biden wouldn't let her out much. He was so elated by finally achieving his long-term goal of becoming POTUS that he wanted to do everything himself. She was relegated to the back rooms and only allowed minor projects. Now she's been allowed out and she's loving it, especially with Tim Walz alongside her! The Republicans have suddenly found themselves being in second place when the press prioritise their schedules. Trump is disconcerted to find someone else taking over the limelight. Bring it on!

[Tripps]

I keep hearing the name Katie Price in the news but know nothing about her

There's absolutely no excuse for that. You must try harder.

When that's sorted - get up to speed on Gemma Collins as featured on the BBC website. She recently lost three stones in weight, don't you know. Not for the first time I may add.

[Stanley]

Thanks for the advice David....
I looked at Ms Collins and from what I can see I haven't missed much by not knowing she existed. Mind you, if anyone can make money out of advocating panda hugging they might have something useful to pass on......

THIS BBC report about the air crash in Brazil caught my eye. Particularly the accounts given by the people who arrived late for the flight and were refused when trying to board. As someone once said, God moves in a mysterious way!