CoffeeHousers' Wall, 28 December - 3 January

Vulture

Dave's New Year message says there is no difference between the three main parties, since they are all broadloy committed to the same 'Progressive' cause.

In the 20th century the 'P' word came to be a euphemism for the Left - socialism or Communist parties who wished to disguise their true nature called themselves 'Progressive'.

So now we have it from the ass's mouth: there is no longer a distinctive Conservative party in Britain, and we are all Progressive now.

Is it any wonder that under the woeful leadership of wobbly jellyfish Dave the Tories are struggling to achieve a wafer thin majority over the worst GOvernment in British history?

Anyone who expects Britain to drag itself out of the pits under Dave is in for a grevious disappointment: he IS the pits.

Anne Wotana Kaye

Now the brave people opposing the fanatics in Iran are fighting for freedom. If, as I pray, they succeed, the UK will be in bad trouble. All the fundamentalists will fold their tents, metaphorically, and proceed to these shores.

anne allan

Perhaps the mathematicians amongst you can check this out: I think that since Christmas Day, the word 'balls' has appeared in Coffeehouse more frequently than in the Telegraph sports pages.

JohnBUK

Yes, Anne, but I'm sure the government has a cunning plan to deal with this. After all we have one of the tightest controlled borders in Europe we're told! So no problem there.

anne allan

Since Christmas Day, I reckon the word 'balls' has appeared on Coffee House blogs more frequently than in the Telegraph's sports section.

McFly

This is the first time I have posted on the wall so I will just ask a couple of questions that bother me.

Why are we breeding terrorists in this country like flies?

Would the latest one ever have bothered if he had not ever come to the terror capitol of the west in the first place in order to become radicalised?

Verity

Vulture, I am still very suspicious of the way the talent-free and experience-free Cameron won the Leadership election. Up against a bruiser like David Davis, the vapid, unknown David Cameron "won"? That always seemed ... odd ...

Cui bono?

Peter From Maidstone

Vulture, yes I saw the Conservative message this morning too. "It doesn't matter who you vote for, we are all the same!". No wonder the Conservative vote is not stable. Instead of "Time for a Change", we have "More of the Same".

Paul B

My friend is allergic to rice..

Hes basmatic.

Taxi

Verity

Meanwhile, back to the very bizarre case of the Nigerian who was on the banned list yet was allowed onto a Delta flight in Amsterdam WITHOUT A PASSPORT. Meanwhile, as he swanned aboard, middle aged people were having their luggage pawed through and being subjected to having to take off their shoes before walking through the xray deal under the pretence that they might be terrorists.

In British airports, passengers and now being told to check in for transAtlantic flights THREE HOURS EARLY. So thousands of people have to waste precious hours of their lives pointlessly milling around airports because of the inefficiency of the airline and airport authorities in letting not one but two terrorists fly to the US yesterday.

I said yesterday that the days of flying are finished. I don't think the flying public is going to accept checking in three hours early. In the days of instant everything, people are not going to tolerate this. In the US, since this nit, who I sincerely hope has been beaten senseless by the American authorites, or cattle prodded or electroded or something, they yesterday brought in a rule that during the last hour of a transAtlantic flight, passengers must remain seated. All the norms of travel turned upside down because of religious fanatics.

Passenger ships can now cross the Atlantic in, I believe, three days. (It may be four.) People can board and go straight to the bar for a drink. They can walk around, go to a movie, dine at tables, choose from menus and be served by waiters.

The new fast ships will, I am sure, have teleconfering facilities on board; high speed internet and long distance phone lines for people travelling on business.

For everyone else, there are restaurants and bars, swimming pools, shuffle board decks and people arrive at their destination relaxed, alert and in a good mood.

If a terrorist was ignorant enough to try to detonate a bomb, it wouldn't do any real damage on board a ship. In fact, he may find that, during the struggle, he accidentally got thrown overboard.

Nicholas

New Labour stinks.

wrinkled weasel

Fear: the mood music of the Noughties.

Every generation, I suppose, has its layer of mood music; the superficial, but defining brand that helps us give some semblance of identity to an era. In the Sixties, it was what was then called "permissiveness". That in itself is a revealing word, telling us that we needed, and gave ourselves, permission to do things that were normally considered taboo. In fact, many films, album covers, and other icons of pop culture from the 1960's are so abhorrent to us that they are either banned or illegal forty years on. The Sixties gave us some of the best modern art and some of the best popular music.

The New Millenium and the "Noughties" were about one thing: the ease with which the human soul can be cowed and compromised by fear and intimidation was apparent in a way not obvious in history since Nazi Germany. This was the decade of terror, global terror, and our visceral response to it. This was the decade of the new religion of Green, of Political Correctness - a fallacy so breathtakingly obvious in its nihilistic and self-contradictory nature that I never cease to believe why people are so taken in by it. Yes, we had reason to be fearful; the events of 11th September 2001 saw to that. We had reason to be concerned about the environment - we must make better use of the planet's resources. We need to understand that minorities are more vulnerable than the majority, especially when they are singled out for preposterously silly reasons. But all of these have become a negative force. We are beset by rules and social codes that betray our fear of our fellow humans, and worse, our loathing. It has come upon us, without anticipation. We have sleepwalked into a bizarre era of dis-enlightenment.

We live in a period of severe curtailment of personal freedoms, so severe and so tyrannical that it makes the Spanish Inquisition look a model of benignity. And nobody expected that, either.

Coeur de Lion

Hey, guys - I hope you'll run and comment on Matthew Parris' article in The Times on Saturday. I've the greatest admiration for Matthew as an observer of politics (with huge experience) and as a writer of enormous perception. Coupla three years ago he did a piece on Brown's personality well against the contemporary opinion flow. He was dead right. On Saturday he wraps up Blair for history and Brown is a 'talentless bully'. On Saturday he also says that he's been checking Cameron out carefully and that 'he's as hard as nails'. Given Matthew's judgement, that's the best news I've heard for weeks. Read it.

Anne Wotana Kaye

Dear McFly, you have really answered your own question in your fnal sentence. This is a government of traitors and misfits. They loathe traditional British values and religion and want to wallow in the gutter with the creatures they support.

Cuffleyburgers

@ Vulture and Verity

What he actually says in his message is: "whether you're Labour, Conservative or Liberal Democrat, you're motivated by pretty much the same progressive aims: a country that is safer, fairer, greener and where opportunity is more equal"

I admit the insertion of the word Progressive does rather spoil it but I reckon he's right, it's a much more grown up message than you could ever expect from brown or balls who could never admit that the tories genuinely wanted to make things better.

Here Camron is saying to labour in effect "ok, I will accept that you genuinely want to make a better country - more competitive, fairer and so on, but I disagree with the methods you have chosen to achieve this"

We may or may not agree on whether Brown really wants a fairer Britain, but I suspect in his own autistic way, he does. Balls just wants to be top commissar.

I think as usual you have underestimated Cameron, and that this message actually sets the scene for a debate on sensible policies of the sort we have seen on education which should emerge as a consequence of IDS's excellent work.

I am still convinced that a tory govt under Cameron will be less damaging than further brownite depredations, and I am concerned for your mental health(or your patriotism) if you are not.

At least his policies will not be driven by hatred of Britain's most glorious and productive components

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Greetinga McFly.
You have really answered your question in your final sentence. This is neither a government of socialists nor tories, it is a cabal of traitors and misfits, dedicated to making sure the !Great' goes out from Great Britain, once and for all. They loathe the traditions and religion of western democracy, and yearn to be dominated by a perverse ethos.

smog

What is the Conservative Party's position on Islamic extremism?

Will we see Tory politicians competing with their Labour colleagues to see who can make the most promises?

Questions ...

Verity

I don't agree, Cuffleyburgers. Cameron talks the talk and walks the walk of a "progressive" socialist. He doesn't have a Conservative (other than wanting to conserve what he has) bone in his body. He's a metropolitan liberal elitist along the lines of Bertrand Russell, the Kennedies, Katherine Hepurn, the Mitfords and all those others who know what's best for "the little people" who don't know how to order their own lives.

Peter From Maidstone

Why are there so many Spectator posts about Balls? Or about Labour? Why is there hardly anything about Conservatism? There is something really odd about the Spectator and its been getting weirder.

Anne Wotana Kaye

Akmal Shaikh a Briton about to be topped in China. Strange how all these drug pedlars, drug mules and other garbage all claim British citizenship when it suits them. Hardly one of those 'Britons' being held abroad is exactly an Englishman or woman. The Home Office are concerned to save this vile man's life, and unlike the Great Train Robber, a sick, helpless old man, who could have quietly rotted away in prison, the whole bloody human rights, bla bla brigade is up in arms. Of course, Stephen Fry, the establishment luvvie, and official Court Jester (for want of a kinder expression) is bleating for this drug pedlar to be saved. If it was a UK native-born Oik I am certain there would be no concern shown, but this is a Pakistani, from the land where noses and ears are cut off, where islamists kill those from different sects in the name of their god. For this bum, poor old Britain will stand up and defy the mighty Chinese, let's just hope Brown doesn't send in the gun boats!

Noa Zrk

Verity @2.42pm. Another excellent missive. Fraser and the Speccie bloggers often suffer from rampant namby-pambyism but their eqivocations justly suffer the sternest correction through your iron keyboard. no more so than in the strange case of David Cameron, the Tory who never was...
But I digress or progress depending on your perspective. Your complimentary words in respect of nautical transport are duly noted. A new fleet of fast Arks are in fact under construction as I write, their purpose being of course to save those who would be saved and leaving the others to the fate they deserve. People of every persuasion can select the vessel of their choice and even now bookings are being taken from newly expenses enriched and ennobled Labour peers, lawyers from Reprieve,redundant Guardian journos and potentially redundant MPs' for the perpetually sailing and non tax domiciled 'Zrk of the Covenent'. Staffed exclusively by highly trained operatives selected from the EHRC it can only be boarded by close and rigid rectal examination, carried out to the most exacting standards. Unfortunately for them its passengers and crew are unlikely to be allowed to land in the US, except perhaps in Guantanamo Bay. But that's life...
More, perhaps, from the good flagship Venus' log as she sails through the stormy seas of 2010 towards the electoral Vallhalla in June.

Austin Barry

Re Akmal Shaikh

"Kill one to warn a hundred" goes the Chinese proverb.

The only input the Foreign Office should have is to contribute to the cost of the bullet.

anne allan

Apologies for the repeat blog. My computer hiccuped and appeared to have lost the first one. I must stop force feeding it mince pies.

Verity

Cuffleyburgers writes, to me: "I am still convinced that a tory govt under Cameron will be less damaging than further brownite depredations, and I am concerned for your mental health." You are not family a friend or a colleague, so your concern is rather impertinent. Bugger off and find people closer to home to worry about, there's a good chap.

JohnAnt

Coeur de lion - Cameron may well be 'hard as nails', for all I know, but that is simply a personal character trait that does not even imply possession of any quality (such as determination) or virtue (such as courage or independence of thought). Being 'hard' is certainly not a set of values. Does he have one? What is it Dave is going to be 'hard' about, apart from getting into and staying in power, and fighting off rivals and opponents? The public service sector needs a draconian haircut, our justice and immigration system demands a sturdy reform, our independence as a country cries out for restoration, the EU's slithering anaconda progress means that our membership requires urgent reassessment; as for immigration, that has now reached the tipping point that will alter and alienate and, yes, impoverish our culture indelibly and ineradicably if not addressed. And our economy desperately requires a long-term debt-reduction plan that does not involve simply being nice to the NHSocracy and the banks and the indebted, while shafting the private sector and the solvent. So far I see no evidence that Dave is planning anything radical at all, and the high opinion of a soft-lefty such as Matthew Parris is not a consolation.
We've already just rid ourselves of one Pied Piper - the voters will not forgive another Blairite Third-Wayfarer.

Frank P

I have twice unsuccessfully tried to post a comment on The Wall today, with links, about KGB psychological warfare and its relevance to what is happening in both national and international politics; if it being censored I would like to know on what grounds, please?

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Cuffleyburgers, be very careful. There is more of the night than meets the eye in DC. He is far mre polished and better educated than the oiks in Nu Labour, but also far more devioua.

smog

anne allan - Liddle is also pushing up the balls count, but his are fried and Islamist.

In2minds

Keir Starmer, the Director of Prosecutions, has he got a future after the general election?

Vulture

@Cuffleyburgers:
I'd truly like to believe you Cuffs, I really would. I WANT Dave to be a real Conservative, to carry out Tory policies such as rolling back the ever-increasing powers of the state where it has no business, and increasing them where it does.
(eg. fighting crime rather than the citizen; curbing immigratioon and Islamification). The problem is that not only does Dave give not a peep or a hint that he will do these things, he glories in the exact opposite: proclaiming himself a me-tooist 'Progressive' signed up to the full left-liberal agenda.

Give me a Tory and I'll happily vote Tory.
Meanwhile let me be a doubting Thomas. Of course, given the choice between Dave and Bruin I@~ll take the lesser evil. But Dave is still an evil, albeit a little one.

Under him GB will continue on its downward slope.

In2minds: You are quite right, like Lord Bingham, DPP Kier Starmer is one of the many Marxists who have infiltrated the legal profession. I learned in a BBC interview yesty that he used to run a Marxist rag/groupscule called 'Socialist Alternative' and is even named after the Liebour party founder Kier Hardie: a Commie from the cradle. His only legal work has been as a leading 'uman rights' brief foisting alien rules on the law-abiding.
Dave should sack him straightaway: but of course he wont. That will be an acid test but I suspect the litmus paper will stay pink rather than turn true blue.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Thank goodness China despatched that 'Briton' despite all the
moaning to spare him. Wasn't there once a Boxer Revolution and drugs (opium) being dumped on the Chinese? Pity, Britain cannot get rid of Hook Hand Abu Hamsa so speedily. I write periodically to Straw and the Home Office asking what is happening, but they shuffle my letters from desk to desk and I never get an answer.

Peter From Maidstone

Why is there not an exposure of the communist and marxist roots of so many public figures - not just politicians but those who have great authority such as the DPP. It is truly a scandal - but nothing is said. A few comments here and there. But why is it not being drummed into the electorate that New Labour are all Marxists.

Verity

I, too, salute the Chinese for their pragmatism in cleaning the air of a slimy drug dealer. I think he only lived in Britain for a couple of years, making it a real puzzle as to why all the MSM in Britain kept referring to him as a Briton. He was a sleazeball Arab who belonged to Dar-es-Salam - the land of Islam.

I am outraged that the Chinese Ambassador to Britain has been called in to see Straw or whoever is the Foreign Secretary du jour.

(BTW, I read that the amount of drugs he was stupid enough to be trying to smuggle into China, of all places, was enough to kill 21,000 people. That's 20,600 more than blowing up a jet liner with your underpants.)

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Peter from Maidstone, in answer to your question. Didn't you know that most of the media in the UK is controlled by marxists? Isn't it funny how AN UNELECTED PRIME MINISTER sends messages to China demanding the Chinese honour human rights. Here the only 'human rights'offered are those to terrorists such as Hook Hand Hamsa et al. Decent UK citizens have no rights, all the State goodies are reserved for criminals, usually foreign born. I cannot see Nu Labour enforcing or encouraging a trade ban on inporting cheap Chinese goods. The only trade bans are on countries like Israel which stand up and defend themselves against islamist fanatics.

Austin Barry

So that's it then: we'll be murdered by exploding underpants. The Islamists can't even grant us death with dignity.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Austin Barry: Hi, at least we can console ourselves with the knowledge that these Islamists will only be able to offer the virgins awaiting them in paradise just burnt offerings.

MikeF

The new front in the War on Terrorism is the Y-Front.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Exploding underpants? And I wondered about the weird noises and horrible smell last time I was foolish enough to travel in a dodgy mini cab!

skooch

Don't know whether this has been mentioned before or if it's possible, but, having missed several days worth of posts (and prefering to read them 'bottom up' as it were), I wonder if it might be possible to have one day's postings on one page?

That way you'd know that page 1 was today, 2 yesterday, 3 the day before etc. At the moment you just have to guess how many posts there've been per day and make a stab at the page.

Just a thought.

Verity

AWK 1 - I gather from your post about "burnt offerings" for the 72 recycled virgins that you haven't read much about Islam.

Morons who explode themselves in the service of allah are miraculously made whole again in paradise. What's more, although forbidden to take alcohol in this life, for jihadis, in paradise, there are rivers of wine. And those 72 virgins get remade again all the time, in preparation for the next batch of suicide bombers. This truly is a misogynistic religion. The virgins don't have a life. Their sole purpose is to be devirginised over and over and over again for all eternity. And doesn't it tell you a lot about the psyche of Muslim men?

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Verity: Thanks for your information. As one who was of the "burn our bras" generation, which I certanly never did, I am all for burning certain mens' underpants, providing the monsters are wearing them. I feel quite sick thinking of those poor virgins' fates. Better to have been a Vestal Virgin!

fates. Far better to have been a vestal virgin!

James Murphy

Oh brave new world that has such creatures in it! Stark cultural challenges notwithstanding, a fruitful and personally benign New Year to the select band of brilliantly world-weary posters on The Wall! Of course, 2010 brings an election: indeed, given my loathing of Gordon’s Brown shirts, I may even vote. This would be a first for me in half a century of existence – what DOES the inside of a polling booth look like? Perhaps I’ll never find out. Yes, I know that I should exercise my democratic duty, that millions don’t even get the chance, etc, etc. But every time electoral push comes to shove, I take one final, fateful look at the names on offer and something in me turns to stone. – Is democracy no more than this? A poor, bare forked animal with stunted choices on either hand? Indeed, is democracy in reality anything other than a leprosarium for the disempowered? Given that the UK’s body politic is septic (think expenses, think cronyism, think anything), why should we voters shuffle five-yearly to our dismal doom of shady suffrage? - Vote UKIP, I hear Verity say, but much as I loathe Brussels I can’t share her enthusiasm for this limp protest party. So what choice is there? Already I feel an old familiar weakness in my pen fingers. But surely this time will be different, surely the hateful Brown will goad me, lethargic Jo Public, into action, surely….?

MikeF

And those 72 virgins get remade again all the time....

So if you are an Islamist with a penchant for the restrained charms of an experienced, older woman there is nothing in martyrdom for you.

daniel maris

There's a lot of hypocrisy talked about drugs. Probably half the nutters here who call for extra-judicial executions for terrorists and applaud the wicked Chinese government's unjust executions are on legal psycho-active prescription drugs - as was Michael Jackson.

Why one set of drugs merits executions for the pushers and the other merits £100,000 per annum from the state I am not sure. At least a drug pusher has a financial interest in keeping his client alive, whereas doctors can afford to bury their mistakes.

Beer Moth

Evan Davies and the other luvvy were getting in quite a tiz this morning on R4, about the Chinese carrying out the sentence as arrived at in their courts.

The BBC's website howls also, about the fact that the Chinese ambassador has been summoned to wherever they get summoned for a good telling off. I should imagine that Peking will be trembling at this prospect.

Everyone I've spoken to about this, agrees that the Chinese did what our government should be doing. Mindst you I'm just off to a little gathering at which there should be a few teachers, so no doubt they'll be the British public and their anger, the BBC are bangin on about.

Can't wait.

oldtimer

@MikeF
Obviously they have much to learn and signally failed to heed the immortal words of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester.

A Description of Maidenhead

Have you not in a Chimney seen
A sullen faggot, wet and green,
How coyly it receives the heat
And at both ends does fume and sweat.

So fares it with the harmless Maid
When first upon her Back she`s laid;
But the kind experienced Dame
Cracks, and rejoices in the Flame.

With acknowledgemnts to the splendid Penguin Book of Comic and Curious verse.

David Ossitt

I am confused; but then I get confused easily these days, however I did not expect to be confused on this blog.

Please will someone explain why the excellent Anne Wotana Kaye has now been reborn as Anne Wotana Kaye 1?

David Ossitt

Did anyone watch the BBC 6pm news that for some reason was broadcast at 6.20pm?

The main theme was how the dreadfully nasty Chinese had now done to death this poor little Britain who was not quite right in the head.

They the Chinese had not listened to the plea for clemency of his extended family (who he has not seen for years) nor did they take notice of a letter sent by our great leader.

To listen to and watch this extended report one would think that the entire nation was up in arms against this terrible atrocity, but we are not.

In fact it is a fair bet that a far higher figure than our liberal elite would ever think possible, agree that the Chinese were in the right, in the right to carry out their own laws and punishments and right in their belief that for some crimes death is the only proper punishment.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Dear David Ossitt,

How was I reborn? Heaven forbid that I am one of Verity's eternally cursed virgins. Neither was I, like Caligula reborn as a god. The answer is far more mundane. My husband, sick of me hogging the computer, bought me one for myself. The Spectator woulfn't accept my blogs until I re-registered, and they gave me this new name.

Anyweay, David, thanks for noticing, and as usual I read your postings avidly. Have a good 2010.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

David Ossitt: Hello again. Yes I saw that BBC load of rubbish. They presume to speak in our names. Pathetic! The Great Leader appeared, seemingly wearing lipstick (?) and for a moment I wondered if he was the so-called mentally ill man executed in China. Well a gal can dream.

Kevyn Bodman

I've just seen the opening sequence of Sky News' review of 2009.
I had forgotten,but was reminded,that hundreds of thousands were going to die of Swine Flu.
But this didn't happen.

Here is my first prediction for 2010:
the government will come up with something else to try to frighten the population.
This will be an atempt to help them in their goal of further manipulating and controlling the population.

Kevyn Bodman

Ian Bell: one is often frustrated and annoyed at his frailties, but when he bats like he did yesterday is there an England batsman who can offer the same elegance and range of shots, and the pleasure that goes with watching such an innings?

If I could know in advance which days Bell was going to have an innings like that I'd drop a lot of things in order to watch.

Verity

James Murphy, get some lead in your pencil. Take control! Vote!

If you think UKIP's a limp protest party, you have never heard Nigel Farage speak or talked to him. And now Lord Pearson, who had the will to invite Geert Wilders to speak in the Lords (until Marxist and greedy sucker on the public teat Jacqui Smith was bullied by the Muslim "Lord" Ahmad - famous convicted texter-while-driving extraordinaire) to disallowing the presence of this elected representative of a fellow member country of the EU in Britain. (Has she ever been called to account for this deranged action, btw? Did the Dutch ever demand an explanation?)

Lord Pearson is strong - as is Nigel Farage. Jacqui Smith and her slithering, slithy toves colleagues are weak and driven by greed for patio heaters and free bath plugs.

I also think it would not hurt the governance of Britain for the BNP to gain some seats.

My own feeling is, a vote for the Tories is a wasted vote because their leadership mindset is identical to the Marxist/Gramsci student template. Cameron and his mates trashed other people's premises and paid them damages as part of the whizz. And they had better looking and better connected girls. Jack Straw, Jacqui Smith, and all those people whose names I can't remember sat around stirring coffee in styrofoam cups. But the riff was the identical to the raff.

That Cameron - or anyone from the Conservative front bench - failed to punch the international nonentity Gordon Brown's nose for impertinently reprimanding China for acting according to its own laws boggles the brain. This gross impertinence was an open goal for William Hague.

For the Chinese, this insult coming from the cloaca of the West, where drug dealers, rapists, murderers, armed home intruders get a semi-severe talking to and an incarceration for a month or two (with loos which don't face mecca in respect for the sensitivities of muslim convicted thugs) must have been beyond bizarre.

Anyway, our prestige among the world's vast Chinese community has now been trashed by some Arab convicted drug dealer with a British passport. A passport that was once the universal gold standard of passports and is now degraded to a paid-for ID card handed out by the inexplicable Nigerians manning our Home Office.

All engineered by the Marxist/Gramcsis.

The repulsive "call me Tony" Blair opened the floodgates while he governed either on a couch in No 10 or a couch in a TV studio - he was bilingual in Estuary - as was the intention.

He was the front man, because they knew they could get him elected. Cherie Blair was in on the act, major. Communist property gal.

Nicholas

Heard on the BBC News Propaganda Broadcast on behalf of Brown this morning one after the other:-

1. Gordon Brown's New Year Message will be "Don't vote for the Tories and Wreck The Recovery"

2. Tories plans for cuts in 1979 revealed by Thatcher's hand-written notes.

Outrageous. This is nasty spin from the usual suspects designed to subliminally influence people and the BBC should not be doing that. Brown hasn't even announced the election date yet. The real story is who is behind this spin operation in the BBC.

daniel maris

It always amuses me how the commentariat closes down for Christmas.

Newsnight is off the air for a good two weeks in the apparent belief that nothing of any note happens around the globe during that seasonal period. It rather makes a mockery of the portentousness of the way they report on matters during the rest of the year.

Commentators (some not so far from here) who tell us we are in a life and death struggle for liberty feel it's not quite so pressing as they can't take a couple of weeks off around this time of year.

Does Ahmadinejad need such lengthy rest and recuperation during the year? Do Al Queda spend a couple of weeks in the equivalent of a Lake District cottage to do some blue sky thinking?

And those who opine about the laziness of workers generally and the public sector in particular seem to find the two to three weeks of battery-recharging (followed by perhaps a week of ski-ing in late Jan, early Feb) to be absolutely essential.

Merry Christmas yer lazy baskets!

Vulture

While on the subject of BBC broadcasts and matters Chinese...anyone contemplating voting Lib Dem at the election ( I know none of you are) should listen again to Nick Clegg's performance on yesty's R4 PM programme.

IT's New Year & we're facing an election in which the LDs, according to pundit land, stand a fair chance of holding the balance of power and even entering Govt.

So what subject does nitty Nick deem to be worthy of the whole of his interview? The dreadful debt crisis? Nope. Spending cuts?
Wrong again. Afghanistan - very much a LD issue? - no, not even that.

No, what Nitty thinks the nation is most concerned abt at this nadir in our fortunes is the fact that the Chinese gave a Pakistani drugs dealer who once passed through Britain a needle he hadn't bargained for. And what gunboat should be wheeled out to give those nasty Chinese chappies a full broadside? Why, none other than winkin, blinkin EU foreign affairs 'supremo' - as Nitty ludicrously called her - the Baroness Ashton, aka Mrs Peter Kellner. I bet the People's Liberation Army is cakking its khakis already.

This man is heir to Gladstone, Asquith and Lloyd George. It really does make you want to weep.

And now to shameful confession time: I (probably alone among Coffee Housers) WAS contemplating voting for the LDs. Not, God forbid, because I approve of any of their policies, but because my LD MP is one of the few honest men in Westminster, a doughty campaigner for largely good causes and untainted by Exesgate. Whereas his Tory opponent is a slimy Daveist millionaire lawyer so wet you would have to walk over him in gum boots. I am going to bend my MP's ear good and hard abt Nick's support for the dead druggist at his customary New Year's Day cocktail party and if I don't get satisfactory answers I shall vote for Colonel Mad, our local UKIP candidate.

Tiberius

Picking up on Kevyn Bodman, congratulations to the England cricket team for a crushing defeat of South Africa in Durban.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

The vile events of the last few days, together with the film showing the terrorist's underpants whilst I was eating choclate liquors, resulted in my having nightmares. Orwell's fearful Room 101 came to mind, and my husband mentioned Room E. Now you may wonder what Room E is. Alas, it is the place where air travellers will go to have their routine enema before proceeding with their flight. You know what? My old Nanny was right. She said if the good Lord had wanted us to fly he would have given us wings.

Ken

Kevyn Bodman December 30th, 2009 2:20am:

They already did - the intelligence agency patsy without a passport, who burnt his ticket to some recycled free Virgins, causing travel mayhem and massive manufactured support for costly and intrusive body scanners.

Then sometime next March the government's health surgeon will adopt a grave tone and worry that the 80-billion-pound-each super-scanners could cause a rise in cancer.

Cue more Asian-flu-formula scare stories -- "millions of likely deaths" --- to be followed by Brown and his Bananaman making angry and extravagant demands for mental health assessments of death-dealing scanners.

Days later death-rattle-PM calls an election ... or a state of emergency.

Derek

"If you want us to write on anything in particular - add a comment to the Wall."

Er, yes please: an editorial on Neather; a series of "state of the nation" articles based on personal visits by Spectator writers to our Midland and Northern cities; and reports and commentary from time to time on the topics addressed and point of view taken in sermons preached in British mosques.

Austin Barry

David Ossitt, above, has identified further evidence of the great disconnect between the our ruling elite and the rest of us.

While our masters get their non-exploding knickers in a sixth-form twist about the drug runner executed by the Chinese, the great majority of the public appears to be giving the thumbs-up and suggesting that we could take lessons from China's robust approach to crime and punishment.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Unless a miracle occurs I am afraid I will spend Election Day 2010 (if it ever actually takes place) contemplating the clouds in the sky. The miracle I yearn for is Boris taking over the reins and leading the tories.

Rhoda Klapp

There's an aspect of the chinese execution which I'd like to mention. Maybe I'm wrong to care, but the idea is that any chap who can claim to be bipolar can go around like anybody else, but when his illness gets him in trouble he can (hope to) get off by claiming he wasn't responsible because of a temporary condition. Well, it didn't work in the PRC, but in the PRGB it seems to be a standard defence lawyer's move. My problem is, what about the rest of us. Should we not be able to identify those who are not subject to the normal constraints? Those who are not subject to the considerations of punishment or conscience, and are likely to do just about anything? I think those who are planning to use such a defence ought to wear some sort of badge. Badged people would not be expected to behave responsibly, and the rest of us would conduct our dealings with them accordingly.

Just a modest proposal. Next, my plans for making the trains run on time.

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Rhoda Klapp: But they do wear badges, unfortunately hidden by burkas.

egh

I think I've never seen Christmas last so long. It's New Year now, for goodness sake. Oh, OK - I know the traditional, mediaeval type festival extended from Christmas (or even Advent) to Easter.

One great plus for this week's extension is over on Stephen Hough's Telegraph blog - I replayed that tribute to Wilcox's descant (Hark the Herald Angels) 3 times, it's so beautiful. ?Westminster Abbey choir?

Happy New Year to all!

Kennymac825

Rhoda @ 4:51

A badge along the lines of a Yellow Star of David to readly spot them or perhaps tatoo a serial number on them in case they wont wear the badge. Hmmm. Can't wait to see your ideas about getting the trains running on time. I pity the poor staff.

EC

Frank P, December 28th, 2009 8:39pm

One of the more amusing entries in your FSB-KGB dossier is an Amazon review wot you wrote for "The Fatkins Diet." Those Ivans are thorough buggers - such attention to detail - almost German!

Happy New Year. If you fancy softening the blow should Gordon win, then William Hill were still offering 11/1 on him yesterday.

phil

Having found a spare moment I wandered into the" wall" and lo and behold found the long lost and still "fragrant" verity lashing her tail like a wounded stegathorous .leaving`poor cuffeyburger in a blooded heap ,much like the football fan many years ago who said hello to Derek or was it Clive .(PETER COOK /DUDLEY MOORE) .

I have a solution for dealing with those that require 72 virgins ,let them meet the lovely lady just once and then their only desire will be to blow up their coopers Y,s in the privacy of their own home in case there were to be a second time .and immediately embark on a 3 day journey to nowhere on one of her passenger liners .I assume this person verity to be a woman and one rather reminiscent of a lady known as Bodecea who moved me on at the traffic lights with her bumpers when it took me more than half a second to get moving .
.
I do have a serious side too and I am appalled by her suggestions that we give in to the bombers by using boats rather than air travel We are British are we not ?------perhaps cuffeyburger was right after all ,so I would not "bugger off " old son as she requested in her usual friendly and elegant manner .,you are one of the perceptive types that we need more of here .I have of course strapped on my titanium underpants and ear muffs in case she remembers which traffic lights I use .

John Parker

When the Chilcot enquiry interviews Blair about his decision to invade Iraq with the village idiot Bush, will either side be using the new cleaning product "Faith" to remove all stains and make everything whiter than whitewash?

David Ossitt

Kennymac825

“Rhoda @ 4:51”

“A badge along the lines of a Yellow Star of David to readly spot them or perhaps tatoo a serial number on them in case they wont wear the badge”

You’re badly spelt missive; where you pretend that Rhoda Klapp’s comments are indicative of an anti-Semitic mind set, are childish, please desist.

James Murphy

'James Murphy get some lead in your pencil!' - ah to be chastised by Verity is to fall willing prey to strange Sacher-Massochian pleasures!

Not for Prophet

I hope everyone realises that the sickening display of sympathy and outrage on behalf of the nation by Gordon Brown for the Pakistani drug dealer the Chinese sensibly executed was all about getting more illegal postal votes for Jack Straw and similar MPs whose constituencies are full of soldiers of allah.

EC

Phil: "We are British are we not ?"

Well, thst's a relief! Isn't it? On another thread when you were talking about "US" I wondered who "THEM" were. It's so good, now, to discover that we are all shipmates on the GB Titanic.

So good of you to drop in with your unique brand of civility and wit. :-)

Happy New Year to one and all.

daniel maris

Happy New Year to all - including those I've been rude to.

One end of year's thought - not v. cheerful - while I am an enthusiastic opponent of Shariah and honour killings we have to look at the mote in our own eye..."estrangement killings" seem even more frequent than honour killings in this country. I am not sure how we tackle them. Possibly advertising in the run up to Christmas might help avoid these awful deaths, in the same way drink driving has been tackled.

Kennymac825

David @ 4:21

I apologize for the spelling. Being dyslexic is a thing I have struggled with all my life but try my best.

I was not trying to portray Rhoda as anti semitic nor did I read her comments as anti semitic. I was trying to say that putting a badge, a SCARLETT letter as an other example,to identify a person as being different from the "group" is barbaric and something no modern society would contemplate. Was my speling better this time?

PHIL

EC sorry you lost me there, was that a compliment or a rebuke ?,cant remember where the "them " came in ,but I do know who US are.

Vulture

@Not for Prophet: Dave's comments on the dead druggie were as bad as Bruin's. Clegg's were even worse. ( See my post above).

The three main parties are in the hands of treacherous scum with the same suicidal worldview. Rule by Marx or Mohammed lies at the end of their (only marginally different) roads.

Rhoda Klapp

Ok, the badge thing was tongue-in-cheek, and the railway reference was designed to be a clue.

The fact remains that there are people wandering around who are not ultimately responsible for their actions, and that is a potential problem. People with mental illnesses who cannot be expected to behave like the rest of us. To single them out with a badge does seem cruel, but what about what is fair to the public? Will the authorities who let them roam take full legal and financial responsibility for them? Or will a history of mental problems be a get-out-of-jail-free card for any criminal with a smart lawyer?

David Ossitt

Kennymac825 January 1st, 2010 12:53am.

Kenny; I too am dyslexic, as is my only son and my youngest daughter, in fact that wonderful woman Kathleen Hickey stated that my daughter was the most seriously dyslexic disabled girl that she had ever taught.

You have my most sincere sympathy; it was Kathleen Hickey’s opinion that those who suffer from this awful disability, suffer twice, in that most other disabilities are visible to the beholder, whereas you can not see dyslexia and most sufferers are above the average in most things and are usually of a high intellect.

“Was my speling (sic) better this time”.

Much better but it is spelt “spelling”.

Might I suggest; that you do as I do, I write all of my posts as a Microsoft Word document, and thus I benefit from spell check.

Once the post is written it is a simple task to “copy” then to “paste” to the post comment box.

Kennymac825

Dave,
Thanks for the suggestion. I will use Word in the future. Best regards.

phil

Kennymac825
January 1st, 2010 2:31pm-Kenny and David you can also still use outlook express,as I do and OBTAIN ABC SPELL through the internet for a small fee -I have found it to be very good and easy to use -happy new year .

egh

Kennymac: "...a badge, a SCARLETT letter as an other example,to identify a person as being different from the "group" is barbaric and something no modern society would contemplate." Spelling notwithstanding, I find the substance of your comment accurate only because 'modern society moves far beyond contemplation - it acts to ostracise the 'other.'

I believe that modern society is at least as barbaric as any of its forerunners. To use one of their favourite frenchifications, it is 'naive' to claim that moderns and post- moderns don't murder, torture, and ostracise. They tolerate no disagreement or competetion. They cloak their vicious response under Political Correctness - but their programmmes of slander and defamation achieve ruin of the victim as surely as the physical counterpart.

The method used to be known as 'spiritual murder' - and that is an accurate description. A successful campaign ensures that the victim cannot show his or her face in public without suffering insult: not at a doctor's office, a grocery shop, or even a church. Ultimately, they cannot even find a job with which to support themselves. The only recourse is to sue the perpetrators; and that requires wherewithal as well as proof that the campaign exists. This is sometimes possible where the net is so widely spread and if the victim has friends who have not been coerced; however, most victims succumb either to paranoia or to suicide. Part of the 'scenario' was probably that the 'poor things' were 'mad' anyway.

The victim doesn't have to be an individual, either. Just look at Britain today - cf: inculcation of 'guilt' through misrepresentation of the past; exhortation to be fashionable and modern so as to keep up with the cleanliness of foreigners; attempts to isolate us from our traditional 'anglosphere,' so we believe we are alone, and that we can't do without the euSSR; the development of a reputation as the 'sick man' of the euSSR and the hatchery for terrorism; the limitation and destruction of our language by imposing commie jargon on it; and induction of paranoia through use of surveillance and aggressive policing, etc. By such means we are undermined and destroyed as a nation.

Frank P

Rhoda Klapp

Never apologise, never explain.

daniel maris

A toast:

"To Danish cartoonists."

Can we please keep away all UK media editors and journalists while we make the toast as they did absolutely nothing to defend free speech in this case.

Rhoda Klapp

Frank. I'm sorry I explained. Now let me explain why I made the apology..

David Ossitt

phil

“OBTAIN ABC SPELL through the internet for a small fee”

Phil.

Try Wordweb; very useful and if you do not fly too often can be had for free

David Ossitt

egh
January 2nd, 2010 1:34am

A splendid post; well worth reading.

phil

Verity ,surprise I know but I thought I would tell you there is a woman using your name on Mels threads and is making comments that I know you would not wish to be associated with .I often disagree with your style but I recognise where you are coming from and I was very angry to see what was being written by this woman using your name .I have complained and I have rooted her out and in fact defended you from the description she has now adopted ,you may well wish to address her yourself and you will find us on the "can they" thread .no thanks are necessary but right is right and we can get back to our unarmed combat if you so wish .happy new year anyhow .

phil

David Ossitt
January 2nd, 2010 12:02pm thank you ,I will check it out

Kennymac825

egh @ 1:34

Well said

Nicholas

A New Year wish. Please, in 2010 if you have the power, through your position or your influence, however modest, to strike a blow against the curses of Political Correctness and Establishment Leftofascism, then please do so, at every opportunity. It will require courage and resolve, and in some cases to swim against a tide of presumption, especially in the fields of Arts, Media and Academia. But please demonstrate the courage and the resolve to fight back. I ask this not in the interests of the right but in the interests of impartiality, objectivity and the apolitical. Thank you.

Ghengis

willdo

Ghengis

My comment "willdo" should of course refer to "Nicholas"

phil

Nicholas jan 2 I wrote this on Melanies thread "islamist a few days ago ,and do you think anyone commented on it .no not at all .too many here only want to write their own opinions and are not interested in what others have to say ,nor do they want to do anything other than make a noise ,and so it goes on ,I actually write to my MP and other departments and make an effort ,who else does here ?
--------------------------
"Why oh why are we allowing these evil minded so called students to infect our student life aided and abetted by left wing deluded professors ?-have we not been told by the nutter from Bradford or was it Leeds that "we are at war" in his infamous video .prior to taking his leave of wife and family ?- A martyr ? no a lunatic but a dangerous one ,and now ordinary British youngsters are being infected with the evil expounded by these people ,how long are we going to take this before our very country as we know it is lost to us .

They kill all over the world Christians, Jews and Moslems regardless of their affiliations .What would I do ? I WOULD MAKE IT AN OFFENCE PUNISHABLE BY DEPORTATION TO WHERE THEY CAME FROM WITH IMMEDIATE EFFECT FOR ANYONE CAUGHT PREACHING HATRED AGAINST OUR NATION,AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY SAY THEY WILL BE TREATED BADLY IN THAT COUNTRY,presumably they did something wicked there too ., and for any British national, immediate imprisonment at her Majesties pleasure. We are at war !!and in the last world war at first we locked up even the innocents who were thought to be a risk as did the USA ,those found to be harmless were released and caused no problems ,even fought in our armies ,do any of you think these lunatics would fight on our behalf ?

We are losing it badly as can be seen on our feral streets but at least we can handle that problem ,but when our kids are taught in the universities by professors with twisted ideologies we are in real trouble ,minds that can tell their students to boycott Israeli universities where immense advances for mankind are being researched and taught ,merely because they do not agree with some political decisions of their government ,and then allow and encourage the demented hatred being preached on their campus sights ,then we should realise what trouble we are fermenting for ourselves .We have to take stock and very soon because in less than twenty years we will have been overwhelmed and our loyal and integrated Muslim communities had better join us vociferously before they become the victims along with us ."

Anne Wotana Kaye 1

Phil: Good for you! I'm glad somebody else is trying to do something positive instead of just mumbling and grumbling. Mind you, I haven't achieved anything yet, but I suppose I'm a nuisance factor, not to the people I write to, but to their poor demented secretaries. I write constantly to Slimey Jack Straw about matters pertinent to his Office, but never get a proper answer. Does anybody know what is happening with Hook Hand Hamsa and his parasitic wife and spawn? I write to Ed Balls and get stupid replies from his minions. I have written to Ann Widdicombe, and received personsal emails from this fine lady, but alas she is retiring. Can't say I blame her, she is far too straight and honest for a politician. I haven't written to Brown, it is true, but I imagine he is too busy picking his nose or other parts, to take any notice what the public think. So yes, Phil, I write and write, being the Nago my family have nicknamed me. I even answer back to Moslem Fundamentalists who try to offer me leaflets. When they see my body language they somehow fold their tents and fade away. But the ones who really sicken me are the idiots who block the pavement and try to dish out their Bolshie garbage on passersby. Now they haven't got Bush to blame for everything, they are too politically correct to curse Obama, so they mutter a confusion of leftist hate and try and thrust leaflets on one. Anyway, let's pray that 2010 will be a year of Peace and Happiness.

phil

Anne Wotana Kaye 1
January 2nd, 2010 7:19pm -thank you, you are one of the few ,a little while ago I wrote on rod liddles thread about the problems of the feral youth and what he had written about black kids -I proposed a solution to do with youth clubs and asked for help at least with words -what happened here nothing !!! not even an insult:) Too many have a lot to say and do nothing so bravo to you I APPLAUD YOU :)

Nicholas

Oh, I also write and lobby, but I don't report everything I do here. Frankly the responses I get reinforce the belief that those who govern us do so from a different planet and with a very strange idea of justice.

Frank P

Rhoda Klapp

;-)

MikeF

I suppose it is obvious but nevertheless worth noting that Gordon Brfown is now desperately grabbing at any chance to portry himself as man-of-the-moment. First he rushes off to Copenhagen to try to 'save' the climate summit; then he calls a conference on terrorism in London; now he announces that full body scanners will be introduced at UK airports (surely the job of the Home Secretary). Is anybody fooled by this, I wonder. Well maybe Gordon Brown is.

Ghengis

Whilst the cesspit used by our politicians to ply their trade is unclean despite their efforts to whitewash over the putrefaction so as to justify property dealing at the expense of the taxpayers, our parliament remains unfit for purpose and especially so if these culprits remain positioned to have any effect upon the timing, or any circumstance, of a General Election.

Pau; B

Gordon Brown says (and many others) that the planned march by Muslims through Wooton Bassett is an insult and a stunt and inappropiate.

http://tinyurl.com/yztalrg

I agree with him that it is both insulting and a stunt, but in appropiate it is not. Its entirely appropiate in land where we still in theory have freedom of speech. I say let them have their march, and let us all look in silent contempt.Let us remind them it was Muslims who crashed planes into the Twin Towers and attempted to ban the Mohammed cartons. Let us point out the differences and lets celebrate our tolerance and ridicule Islamic intolerance.

Harry T.

Jan 2010

Whatever happened to global warming?
Whatever happened to the latest pandemic?
Whatever happened to Wierdy Beardy's Christmas/New Year message of joy and hope?
Whatever happened to The Likely Lads?

Where did all the beautiful people go?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8439495.stm

Whatever ....

Jan 2011

Whatever happened to David er, er, you know, whatsisname?