CoffeeHousers' Wall, 19 January - 25 January

Donna

I'm just wondering what else IDS has to do with his Social Justice agenda to be noticed by Cameron. Likewise, David Davis with his excellent rhetoric on Freedom. Once again, high hopes are slightly dashed, and I find it difficult to realistically canvass when what I REALLY want to do is give HQ a bloody good shake.

Susan Hill

I hate to be a language pedant, I really do, but could everyone stop using the word 'toxic' when followed by the word 'debts.'

Trumpeter Lanfried

I came across this little gem on CiF a couple of days ago: "Climate Change Denialism".

No, it wasn't a joke. Dave Spart is still alive and well and reading the Guardian.

Jenny

Has anyone seen this? This country's schools are disgusting, illiterate cesspits. Unless your child is lucky enough to go to a private school or grammar you would educate your child at home and now this spiteful woman wants these people who home educate their kids to ship them off to the nearest crime academy.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/4291728/Childrens-Minister-Home-education-may-be-cover-for-abuse.html

Where is this election?

We need it now, desperately to get rid of these people. They are pure, pure evil.

Hysteria

Susan - I bow to your greater knowledge of our dear language - but I am not with you. Showing my ignorance here but what should we be using?

Wilhelm

Barak O'Bimbo squeeeeks '' YES WE CAN.''

Eh, um, yes we can what ?

Wilhelm

Susan sweetheart

Toxic debts.

cuffleyburgers

Another pet hate - "running the country" as in "the govt is...".

The govt does not run the country, the country runs itself. The govt cannot even manage to run parts of it successfully, and, as the last six months essay in naked socialism have shown beyond doubt, the more of it they try to run the more spectacularly they mess it up.

Paul B

Susan Hill, well said. Bad debt/unrecoverable debt will do just fine.

Verity

Wilhelm, honeybunch - don't you know how weak you sound when you patronise a woman you don't even know? I recognise that "sweetheart" is an attempt to render Susan Hill's comment trivial and girlish, but it illuminates you as weak and needy. Eschew patronising language, there's a dear.

Tiberius

I haven't seen anyone on here remark on last Thursday's Question Time, which I only got around to watching last night.

The exchanges over the Gaza conflict (or Gazza as I saw someone write on a forum last week) were the most acidic I can remember on the programme. It was a great credit to Stephen Pollard that he didn't lose his rag with Jenny Tong.

BTW does anyone else see a resemblance between her and Mandy? Any distant common ancestor of that pair would have been quite a guy (or gal @Verity).

Wilhelm

Verity Luv

I call everyone sweetheart, its a form of affection, if you cant handle that, thats your problem, deal with it kid.

Ps. I love you to bits.

Meanwhile back on planet Earth, Tiberius, I have given up watching BBC news and Channel 4 news years ago, its just a joke.

You can see the liberal bias in the sycophantic, gushing news coverage over Barak
O'Bimbo, I think Channel 4 newsreader Jon Snow is going to have an orgasmm.

2. The British news coverage of Gaza was truly sickening, it was a field day for the Ameican and Israel haters, no mention that Hamas has fired 10.000 missiles into Israel over 3 years.

Augustus

People say what a wonderful speaker Obama is. But watching him reminds me a lot of a ventriloquist's dummy. The question is: Who's projecting the voice?

Maximilian

Geert Wilders, the Dutch MP who made the film “Fitna”, may be prosecuted for inciting racial hatred after all, a Dutch court ruled Wednesday.

The court's ruling reverses a decision last year by the public prosecutor's office , which said Wilders' film was "painful for Muslims" but not criminal.

Wilders told Dutch media it was a "black day for myself and for freedom of speech."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ghpgjpRnt2PNCpbU_8N6rI1nSJJQD95RHQ5O0

Augustus

Maximilian - Re: Wilders

And as we all know from Muslims, martyrdom can get you a lot of support.

Alf Tupper

Toxic debts indeed Susan. I had noticed the recent clever use of this word by the banking fraternity. Are they trying to posit the shite mound they have created, as somehow being 'our' doing?

Caught a very strident Jim Rogers on R4s 5pm round up tonight. His contention is that Sterling is a gonner - he's sold all his. According to him, Brown's propping up of the banks is just prolonging the agony and they should be allowed to fall so that a new start can be made by those who would do better.

Instead, the British public, their children and grandkids have the task of paying back for years 'so that a very few bankers can drive Maseratis'. I love this bloke.

'If it isn't hurting it isn't working' I seem to recall was someone's rallying cry, or was it, 'peas are nice dear'

Paul B

Re Maximilian`s Post. Melanie Phillips writes about the case in her blog on this very site. I believe its important to anyone who believes in Freedom OF Speech to read her article.

Paul B

Bravo Janet Daley on Question Time last night, for putting that silly woman (& others)firmly in her place for advocating National Government and advocating that the opposition do not oppose the government.

Biggest cheer of the evening, when Liam Fox (performance generally subdued I thought, I'm normally a fan) called for a general election. I thought the X US Ambassador chappie to be a bit of prat. The most sense was spoken by the black guy in the audience. Flint look flustered.

Paul B

I wonderful Churchill quote I found on the Archbishops Cranmer blog I though I would share with you in these dark days.

"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"

The old rascal knew his stuff.

Verity

Wilhelm writes: I call everyone sweetheart, its a form of affection, if you cant handle that, thats your problem, deal with it kid.

If you can't handle sentence structure and apostrophes, deal with it, kid.

Your offering "affection" to someone you don't know is noteworthy, and I hope someone is taking notes.

Verity

Paul B - Why do you try to diminish the towering achievements of Churchill by styling him "the old rascal"?

In what sense was Churchill a rascal rather than the man whose oratory served to engineer victory for our country against the Nazis?

Backs to the wall and all that.

Then the socialists slithered in and the land we had made safe for heroes and British people was suddenly a feeding trough for people who want to destroy our dear culture.

Go figure.

Archbishop Cranmer

Mr Paul B,

His Grace is delighted to learn that you read his august blog of intelligent and erudite comment upon matters religio-political.

His Grace is somewhat incensed this morning to learn that Ben Bradshaw MP is under the impression that the BBC has been biased towards Israel throughout the Gaza conflict. He has called for the Corporation to 'stand up to the Israeli authorities'. And he is joined by other members of the Government in putting pressure upon the Corporation to broadcast a charity appeal for Gaza.

At present, the BBC (along with ITV and SKY) is refusing to show an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee who wanted to run TV and radio appeals to help raise funds for people in need of food, shelter and medicines ‘as a result of Israel's military action in the Palestinian area’. The charity is an umbrella organisation for several major aid charities, including Oxfam, Red Cross, CAFOD, TEAR Fund, Islamic Relief and Save the Children.

The BBC is citing its commitment to impartiality as the reason for refusing to broadcast the appeal.

Mr Bradshaw, a former BBC journalist, said this it was ‘an inexplicable decision’ and that the appeal to impartiality is ‘completely feeble’.

Cranmer is inclined to agree with Mr Bradshaw to this extent – the BBC has been pathologically biased at so many levels on so many occasions (pro-EU, pro-global warming, anti-Conservative, pro-Blair, anti-Israel, pro-Obama, anti-McCain) that an appeal to impartiality over a charity broadcast is distinctly hollow. The BBC Director General Mark Thompson is concerned that the appeal ‘might jeopardise the public's confidence in the BBC's impartiality’. And the BBC's chief operating officer, Caroline Thomson, is concerned that such appeals should be made ‘without affecting and impinging on the audience's perception of our impartiality’.

Too late, Mr Thompson and Ms Thomson. That confidence was jeopardised decades ago, at least when a decision was made to recruit BBC staff solely through the pages of The Guardian. And any residual confidence that may have survived has been destroyed through the recent sagas of fixed phone-ins or the crude antics of ‘talented’ stars. And the concern with the ‘perception of impartiality’ is a ruse, for there has been no such concern over so very many issues of global importance, and the ‘facts’ have chronically been subsumed to the vague imaginings and rhetorical rants of its journalists’ Leftish, ultra-liberal obsessions.

If the BBC were ever to report some 'pro-Israel' facts, they would have to reveal that Israel is not the 'artificial state' it is so frequently referred to as being, but a wholly legitimate state founded by the international community in 1947. The view that this land belongs to the Arabs is also erroneous, since sizeable Jewish communities have lived in both the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Gaza for millennia. As for Israel's 'aggression' and 'military action', the BBC might consider that many of the Palestinian sick and wounded are presently being treated in Israeli hospitals. And many Palestinians have been fleeing to Israel in order to escape Hamas oppression for years. And Cranmer cannot recall hearing from the BBC the condemnation of Hamas which was clearly articulated by some prominent Arab nations. By being anti-Zionist, the BBC is being anti-Israel; by being anti-Israel, it is being anti-Semitic. By refusing to refer to 'Islamic fundamentalist terrorism', or to the professed faith of Gaza's terrorists, it is shrouding the immense suffering of Israelis (of all faiths and none) in a cloak of relativist obfuscation.

But it is, in any case, no business of the Government to apply pressure upon the BBC to reconsider its position on this broadcast. There may be, as the Development Secretary opines, ‘great human suffering still taking place in Gaza’, but so there is in Darfur and the Congo. Indeed, the suffering there is far greater, and Mr Alexander ought also to be concerned with their common humanity, not simply that of the Gazans.

Before Mr Bradshaw dismisses the BBC’s judgement as ‘flawed’, ‘weak’, ‘nervous’ or ‘biased, he might just consider that these are the very attributes which have helped to keep him in a job for 11 years.

If, as he says, the BBC ought ‘to stand up to the Israeli authorities occasionally’, then a fortiori should the BBC stand up to Labour’s authorities – just occasionally.

Donna

Well, was just going to rant about the refusal of the BBC to show an appeal for Gaza on some pretext of 'maintaining impartiality' - as if they ever had any - but I see the good Bishop has beaten me to it.

What on earth can these people possibly be thinking? How could they ever think that impartiality is acheived by Israel bashing continually, and then refusing to assist with aid broadcasts? Unless they really are determined to become an intregal part of the Hamas PR machine, hoping to reduce the amount of aid received so that they can show more pictures of Palestinian suffering and Israeli cruelty?

Madness, pure and simple.

Paul B

Verity, not that I have to explain myself to you, but it was an affectionate term, thats all. I don`t need any lessons in history from you, thank you very much. Go figure yourself, and wind your bleedin`neck in.

Wilhelm

Schoolteacher Verity

Yes Miss, do I get detention or extra homework ?

Paul B

Archdeacon,I do indeed follow your site and I can concur that it is indeed full of erudite and intelligent comment. I commend it to the readers of this site and wonder whether of not a lonk could be added.

Augustus

Verity, don't be too hard on Paul B, his heart's in the right place! As for Winnie, he could be somewhat rascally at times (I understand). During the war when Sir Stafford Cripps (Labour politician and later Chancellor of the Exchequer) announced that he was giving up his one luxury - smoking cigars - as an example of "the kind of sacrifice expected of the nation", Churchill quipped: "Too bad - that was his last contact with humanity."

Another amusing anecdote during the war was when the Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, was sent to Turkey on a mission to bring it into the war. In due course Churchill received a telegram from Eden: "Progress slow. What more can I tell Turkey?" To which Churchill replied: Tell them Christmas is coming!"

Archbishop Cranmer

Mr Paul B,

Thank you for suggesting a link from the eminent Coffee House.

A few of His Grace's communicants informed him some months ago that their entreaties to The Spectator for a reciprocal link had been ignored. No matter. His Grace is content to express unilaterally his solidarity with The Spectator. It is unconditional. The Spectator is one of the few organs of common sense remaining. Even if they tend to avoid religion, especially the Anglican variety (unless to be critical thereof).

Nick

It's my birthday today!

Anglica

Your Grace - I also visit your site daily. Wonderful blog... thank you!

Wilhelm

Archie Cranmer

Why is the Church of England so full of atheists and guilt ridden liberal atheists to boot ?

Tiberius

Happy Birthday for yesterday, Nick.

Guys, I sometimes wonder whether Verity was the clinical trial for humour bypass operations.