sadoldgit

Given the outrage when the marchers supporting the Palestinians chanted the same thing, the fact that the head honcho of the Israeli government says it too seems to have passed some by. One rule for one, another for the others? All we heard about was that Hamas wanted to scrub Israel from the map. It couldn’t be clearer that the current Israeli government want to do exactly the same with Palestine. There will be no effective peace settlement until both sides accept that they have to find a way of accepting that they both have the right to exist within agreed boundaries in peace. Who can see that happening whilst the existing Israeli government and Hamas hold sway?

We absolutely do need immigration Whitey. How do you think the NHS, the service industry or the countless other low paid jobs would be staffed if it weren’t for immigration?

Meanwhile… https://www.apil.org.uk/press-release/Child-sex-abuse-survivors-kept-waiting-for-justice No front pages for these people.

There is a reason. This government want to make it as difficult as possible for asylum seekers to seek asylum here. That is why they limit the safe procedures and have been dragging their feet about processing the claims of those already here. They have been deliberately mismanaging it for years so that they can then claim that migration is a “major issue” and label people who are perfectly entitled to seek asylum here as “illegal”. It’s straight out of the Tory playbook. When things get difficult, blame the foreigners.

Jess Phillips made a very powerful speech yesterday comparing the hundreds of thousands of pounds it will cost the country via the Home Office to send people to Rwanda, if it ever happens, against the forty odd quid it spends per child on the victims of child sexual abuse. I suppose the xenophobes and racists will probably think that is a better way to spend our money but here’s a thought, perhaps, if the Government put the same resources into dealing with child sexual abuse as it does trying to deal with asylum seekers, perhaps the perpetrators would find themselves in front of a judge quicker and vulnerable children would be safer? Tell me this, why is stopping the boats a bigger issue for the Tory Party than dealing with the sexual exploitation of vulnerable children?

There has been a boundary change in our constituency and we have gone from a safe Tory seat to a cast iron safe Tory seat. The sooner that there is a move towards PR the better. Whilst the boundary commission is independent, the new boundaries favour the Torys in terms of votes at the last election. When you consider that the way the current system works Tories need less votes per seat than the opposition parties it makes a mockery of democracy.

The judiciary have already said it is down to them how they use the judges, not the government. There would also be a backlash from the many serious cases that are waiting for many months, sometimes years, to reach court. If you were going to fast track something at all, then surely rape cases should be a priority rather than a pantomime scheme dreamt up to cover up the fact that the government have completely failed to deal with immigration properly. As for Labour not having a plan. They do and have talked about a great deal. It was pathetic to listen to Sunak flailing around in PMQ’s today. All he had was that Starmer didn’t have a plan. Their plan is to ramp up (ie actually make it work properly) the smashing of the trafficking gangs in France, to open up more and efficient routes to enable those who wish to apply for asylum here to be able to do so with risking their lives on the channel and to make the processing of outstanding claims more efficient. We are already spending a fortune on a system that not only doesn’t work, but the current Government are not putting proper resources into it to make it work. They prefer to pretend that the Rwandan plan is a perfect deterrent. As Chris Bryant says, if the prospect of dying in the channel doesn’t deter them, the slim chance that they might be deported to Rwanda certainly isn’t going to. The only thing the Tories have got is the hate of Johnny Foreigner wanting to come and live here and the knowledge that talking about it appeals to a number of their voter base. The fact that they are spending so much time and effort focussing on the ridiculous Rwanda bill rather than the ongoing cost of living crisis tells you all you need to know.

Help me out here Batman please. I have been reading various reports on Andy Burnham’s published report on the Rochdale grooming gang but I have yet to find an account that states that these people weren’t being investigated or prosecuted particularly because they are Asian. I can’t find the exact thread but you were posting regularly on this matter and if I have missed something I am sure you will correct me, being the forum expert on these matters. I have even checked a report in the Express but apart from using the term Asian gang at every opportunity they seem to ignore the original position that they were allowed to continue because of their ethnicity and the fear of the authorities to appear as racist.

More grim news. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/brexit-fallout-finally-dawns-on-london-s-stock-market/ar-AA1mTHyl?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=a816fa32892c436ba455dc9e0cf8347d&ei=30 (Another laughing emoji Lord Legohead. I’m glad you think it’s funny to see the country go to the dogs, but then you think that the ethnic cleansing of Gaza is very funny too, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised).

Sad news. I can’t believe that she was 83. As they say, another one bites the dust 😢

I am old enough to remember the famous phrase - “They smell delicious. If you try that recipe at home I hope all of your doughnuts turn out like Fanny’s”.

There were something like 4 million cases prosecuted during his tenure as DPP and he is expected to be across all of them! It was made very clear that the person heading up the organisation doesn’t get involved in day to day operations when he was accused of not prosecuting Savile. There are a number of Chief Crown Prosecutors over various regions who are responsible for the cases prosecuted in their regions and below them are an area manager and the reviewing lawyer. It appears that the CPS prosecuted 11 cases. It is there job to prosecute if it is deemed to be in the public interest to do so and there is a fair chance of a successful prosecution based on the evidence provided by the police. It should be remembered that some of the post mastrr er s prosecuted for fraud were actually guilty. It should also be remembered that the CPS present the cases but it is down to the court to bring in the verdict. More complaints to Ofcom against the GB News attempts to smear anyone that isn’t a Tory. Farage and Rees Mogg are quick to point the finger at Starmer and Davey but not a word about the numerous Tory ministers who have been involved in this over the years. We even had Sunak having a dig at the leader of the SNP in the Commons yesterday accusing him of politicising the scandal yet not much earlier Lee Anderson stood up and did exactly that at PMQs, calling for Davey to quit. No bias or doubled standards here, no sir.

Exactly this. Every computer system has glitches. It isn’t the bugs in the system that are the problem here, it is the fact that they weren’t treated as bugs but treated as fraud by the post masters. Strange that ITV didn’t focus on Blair, Davey and Starmer rather than the PO and Fujitsu. Clearly missed a trick there. 😂

Nick Ferrari on his LBC show this morning is going after Ed Davey again. As we know, this affair has been going on for some time under Labour, Coalition and Conservative governments. There have been a number of people through those years who have been in positions to do something about it, not just Ed Davey. As he is well aware, the Tories have been in power for the last 14 years but this is still a major issue, but he chooses to focus on Ed Davey and his knighthood. What is clear here is that there has been a massive abuse of power by the Post Office over a number of years and that Horizon were complicit in the cover up. It’s appalling that it has taken a TV drama to bring this issue to a head after all these years and a number of people probably could, and should, have done more sooner. It is also appalling that some people are now using this as a political football which is quite evident when you see the effort to drag Blair, Starmer and Davey into it as major players. If you do that you also have to add every other PM since Blair, every other postal minister, every other DPP, every MP from constituencies where sub post office people affected lived. As mentioned earlier, the fact that the PO can bring its own prosecutions is a major factor here. Parliament, quite rightly, need to stay well away from the judicial system and it is not difficult to see why various ministers were wary about getting involved. Even the call to exonerate en masse the sub post officers is under question as it would bring in the dangerous precedent of Parliament involving itself in the judicial system. Criminal prosecutions should be taken away from these corporations and put into the hands of the police and CPS. There is an enquiry which will report its findings and if they conclude that is all the fault of Blair, Davey and Starmer, the usual suspects can knock themselves out, open the champagne and have a field day on here. In the meantime, those from the right who are desperately trying to pin the blame on anyone from left of centre in politics should STFU. Meanwhile we have Zahawi playing the moral crusader and is revelling in this sorry tale (to the extent that he played himself in the TV drama) calling for Vennells spend the rest of her life working for charity, ignoring the fact that he resigned in disgrace for failing to disclose dodgy tax dealings to Parliament. Any of the usual suspects think that is ok? While I am at it, what do they think about the fact that this Tory Government continues to give this company millions of pounds in contracts despite knowing perfectly well about their involvement in this? Yeah, but Blair, but Davey, but Starmer…

Not only Starmer but Ed Davey too. Buckle up. It’s election year and there will be a lot more of this from the usual suspects of flailing right of politics. They never let the truth get in the way of a good smear. Throw enough mud and some of it will stick. There are still some people who think that Starmer was to blame for the failure to bring Savile to justice before his death. News just in, Vennells is going to hand back her CBE. Something for the conspiracy theorists… No mention of Adam Crozier in the TV drama. Could it have anything to do with his involvement with ITV?

Another illuminating article. https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/the-far-right-infiltration-of-israel-s-media-is-blinding-the-public-to-the-truth-about-gaza/ar-AA1mGHBY?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=ca4a698879b64e0792060c3467a71e2c&ei=11 Another interesting article about why the US is still sending munitions to Israel despite the massacre of tens of thousands of civilians. https://amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/07/us-israel-military-support-scrutiny-human-rights (Yes, it’s so funny isn’t it Lord Legohead)

By my reckoning, as you say, anyone from keyboard warriors on social media platforms to senior Israeli government officials jump on anyone who dares criticise anything the Israelis have done in this conflict and label them as anti-Semites. We have a prominent poster on here who famously proclaimed that anyone criticising a Jewish person was an anti-Semite and has called me one several times as he does anyone showing sympathy for the innocents caught up in this conflict (who are mostly Palestinians). I thought it would be quite obvious that my comment about the South Africans being anti-Semitic was referring to the common knee jerk reaction from the Israeli government/apologists whenever their actions are questioned.

I don’t know if this has been posted yet as I can’t be bothered to scroll back, but it appears that the South Africans are a bunch of anti/Semites. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67866342.amp

Another stupid comment Whelk. I used to think you weren’t as bad as the other small group on here who are guaranteed to make fatuous comments. Has anybody actually said that they are deliberately just killing babies? No of course not. It is very clear that there are no constraints by the IDF on killing as many as possible, be they Hamas, innocent civilians or even their own. I know that you believe that every Palestinian is complicit, therefore fair game, but that just makes you as ignorant and bigoted as everyone else who thinks that lives are worth less than others depending on where they are born, what religion they follow or what their skin colour is. I used to believe that you posted like this on the wind up, but am now of the opinion that you actually think that the tactics of the IDF over the last 3 months are perfectly acceptable. Did you cheer when the IDF sniper took out a little old lady on her way to fetch some water?

It is well worth watching, although it is heart wrenching. You are always going to get a few wrong’uns in any organisation, but over 700 and all with the same issues? It is almost unbelievable that some people are still waiting for their compensation and that no one has been prosecuted or at least held to account for what is being called the biggest miscarriage of justice in the UK. Still, at least the police have been finally shamed into action by this programme and perhaps Vennells will also feel that she should hand back her CBE. I don’t know if it is still the case that the Post Office polices itself, if so that needs to change. I was at the CPS when electronic files were first introduced. It took ages to get it up and running efficiently and we worked constantly with the software people to iron out the glitches. It’s incredible that the PO could roll out a new system and claim that it was faultless from day 1. Back to the series and they did a fantastic job in condensing the essence of the case from 20 years into 4 hours of TV. The acting was excellent as was the casting with many of the characters looking very similar to the people they were playing. I think many of us watched this unfold at the time in the news without getting an insight into the personal cost as well as financial cost to the victims. I defy anyone to sit through the four installments and not feel a sense of outrage as to how this could happen for so long and to so many people. You would have to be made of stone not to feel the dismay, injustice and helplessness as very normal, decent people were victimised by a giant, uncaring corporation. TV at its best at hopefully, finally, the victims will get their rightful compensation, justice for those responsible and a sense of closure.

The “massive injustice” is that he should have been given a life sentence and should be nowhere near a release after just nine years. Shoot your partner several times through a locked door and you serve 9 years with an anger management course at the end of it is beyond ridiculous. As for Joey Barton, he is just another character in the mould of Laurence Fox with psychopathic tendencies thrown in. There have always been good and bad male pundits. Now there are good and bad female pundits too. Big deal, but if it winds up the misogynists who believe that women can’t do “a man’s job”, then great!

These things are always a gamble. We pay a premium of £20.30 a month. To pay off this bill through making a monthly allowance we would have had to put away around £250 a month. We went to the out of hours emergency vets who cover our normal practice at night/Sundays/Bank Holidays. It was £309 just for the initial consultation. Meds extra as were the following visits and more for care whilst staying in (ended up 6 days). She had an exploratory op which cost £1600 (they didn’t find anything 😩). She had a basic blood test and then they suggested a more comprehensive blood test as they give a better reading (why not suggest that first?) at £140. It is a licence to print money, but who is going to let their pet suffer when in pain, throwing up and pooing blood?

I’m sure that the 10,000 children murdered so far will appreciate that “irony”. Can you imagine the outrage if Arab nations were making plans to remove Israeli citizens 2500 miles away? https://www.newarab.com/news/israel-plans-expel-gaza-population-congo?amp This is ethic cleansing, but perfectly ok to some because those being ethically cleansed are Muslims.

We use LV= and will find out soon if they are ok or not as our young dog was sick over Christmas and we are in for a bill over £7000. Some advice, don’t scrimp. We looked to keep the premium down which led to a maximum claim over a year to be £5000. A basic operation itself cost over £1600 and the admin charges added to everything, even basic painkilling tablets, are eye watering. The last vet we spoke to said that fees have risen enormously over the last 3 years. With luck you will never have to claim, but given the number of people we saw in the vets too over the Christmas period a number do, and will be grateful for their insurance policies.

I couldn’t agree more. Let’s hope that the major powers in the West finally put pressure on the Israeli government to stop the daily massacre of innocent civilians and, as you say start moves to find a long lasting peaceful solution. Again, as you say, this cannot happen whilst Netanyahu’s government and Hamas still hold sway. The Israelis are talking about this operation lasting for months. Just how many more civilians do they have to kill or maim before it ends? It might satisfy Netanyahu’s need for revenge, but all it is doing now is storing up more long lasting divisions in the region, breeding more hatred and making a two state solution more problematic. Perhaps that has been his aim all along? As for the three posters who thought my last post was funny, you have constantly made it clear that you think that Muslim lives are worth less than Jewish lives and yet again show yourselves up for the people you are.