by The Participator – 10 Feb 2019
Our weekly roundup of news and opinion articles that we thought were important, mostly UK news but foreign news stories of interest to us as well.
After the relatively eventful last few weeks, this week we seemed to have returned to the normal routine of rumour in the media, prevarication from our politicians, and grandstanding from the EU leadership. Have talks on the backstop really reopened? Did May really have a “robust” meeting? We can’t really be sure. From the Express:
BREXIT LIVE: EU CAVES IN? May gets her way as backstop talks REOPEN after ‘robust’ meeting
The Sun had this rumour:
THE BACKSTAB Tory MPs fear Theresa May has gone back on promise to AXE Irish backstop
Was May robustly considering Corbyn’s five point plan which includes a permanent customs union? From the Express:
Brexit BETRAYAL? Theresa May ‘LOOKING AT’ Jeremy Corbyn’s customs union plan admits No10
Donald Tusk eagerly voiced his support for Corbyn’s plan:
BREXIT LIVE: Donald Tusk IGNORES May’s demands and BACKS Corbyn’s customs union plan
From The Telegraph, news of a possible delay for the next vote on May’s Withdrawal Agreement:
The Sun also had this rumour:
The theory is that when faced with a last minute choice between May’s Withdrawal Agreement and a “no deal” Brexit, our MPs will finally cave in to the pressure and accept May’s agreement (a majority of MPs oppose a no-deal Brexit).
The Spectator informs us that there are a number of legal challenges in the pipeline from Leave supporters however (previous high profile legal challenges were from Remainers):
The Brexit legal challenges that could force Britain to leave without a deal
Some of these legal challenges may be aimed at Theresa May’s Withdrawal Agreement according to the article. Also according to the above article, the objective will be to make it difficult for the machinery of government to function in the last weeks up to 29th March, thereby ensuring a no deal Brexit by default. Some more on this story from order-order:
Trimble Taking Government To Court Over Backstop Breaking Good Friday Agreement
Rumours about the so-called “Malthouse Compromise” were also circulated. From the Express:
May has ‘COMMONS MAJORITY’ for Brexit ‘plan C’ – but WON’T yet discuss it with Juncker
Another reverse Project Fear story:
BREXIT PANIC: The Netherlands scramble for UK’s ‘critical medicines’ at risk from no-deal
There was a confrontation between “Stand Up To Racism” protestors and Yellow Vests in Manchester (click on the link for video footage):
Predictably the media completely ignored the threatening behaviour of the SUTR protestors who shouted:
Nazi scum off our streets!
Instead they e.g. the Independent here chose to focus on a mild countering remark made by James Goddard:
James Goddard: Yellow vest organiser ‘threatens’ journalists at Manchester protest
Quote:
“Next time you are down we will see what happens.”
The Daily Mail also displayed the same bias:
From Breitbart:
French Police Caught on Tape Saying to ‘Shoot’ Yellow Vests
Act 12. From the Express:
PARIS BURNS: Yellow Vests riot in 12th weekend of chaos as anger at Macron intensifies
It continues this week … Acte 13
Paris:
Rouen:
More scenes of police brutality:
There are “Yellow Vests” on the left and the right of the political spectrum. Presumably this is what distinguishes the two groups in this confrontation:
Lots more footage from Vlad Tepes’s blog (see comments section):
Tensions between Italy and France and the EU escalated this week. From the Express:
MACRON FURY: France RECALLS ambassador in Rome over ‘repeated attacks’ – EU ON BRINK
From Breitbart:
Leaked Audio Reveals Italian PM Telling Merkel ‘Salvini is Against Everyone’
Tension between France and Germany was reported on the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline:
France ABANDONS Germany! EU rocked as Macron threatens to derail gas pipeline
A claim that Germany is allowed to ignore EU rules:
How Merkel’s Germany is legally ALLOWED TO IGNORE EU rules all other nations cave in to
A member of the Dutch parliament complained about lack of progress on transparency in the Eurogroup. From the EU Observer:
‘No real progress’ on Eurogroup transparency
Quote from Wikipedia:
The Eurogroup is the recognised collective term for informal meetings of the finance ministers of the eurozone
Gatestone Institute had this article about the EU’s Action Plan against Disinformation which was published in December:
From EU Observer:
Missing: Paper trail of EU meetings with Big Tech
It’s interesting to note how quickly this party was recognized by comparison with the length of time it took the EC to recognize the For Britain Party. From Breitbart:
Nigel’s Comeback: Official Brexit Party Recognised by Electoral Commission
From the Telegraph:
BBC faces Brexit bias accusations over £4m in EU funding
Tommy Robinson has been quiet for a while, but today came an announcement posted across a number of news outlets (in the alternative media sphere).
BREAKING: Tommy Robinson To EXPOSE The BBC’s Fake News Against Him
Here’s a preview (click on the link to see the video clip of a discussion between Tommy and the BBC’s John Sweeney):
We were reminded of this, from the Guardian (2014):
A day in court for non-payment of the TV licence: ‘What do they want us to do, kill ourselves?’
Quote:
over 10% of magistrates court cases concern this one offence
From the Express:
BBC ‘begs’ MPs to help scrap free TV licence for elderly as it ‘pleads poverty’
From the Express (a couple of weeks ago):
BBC CRACKDOWN: Plans for strong enforcement amid growing licence fee boycott
From Breitbart:
UK: Homicides Highest for a Decade, Fatal Stabbings Highest Since Records Began
From the Express:
Police chief says ‘We ran out of officers’ as they face murder, stabbings and rapes
The mainstream media seem to have overlooked this story, so we publicize it here. From the Birmingham Mail:
Huge rise in sexual offences against Black Country children reported to police
From the Daily Mail:
Quote:
A further count of religiously aggravated assault was left to lie on file.
From the Express:
Fury as teenage sex abuser of girl, 6, escapes jail with absolute discharge
From the BBC:
FGM ‘increasingly performed on UK babies’
From the Times:
Grooming scandal police chief Sara Thornton is new slavery tsar
From the Independent:
Grooming scandal police chief appointed to lead UK’s fight against modern slavery
From the BBC:
Thousands of police officers and staff ‘not properly vetted’
From the Spectator:
Why are the police stopping a 74-year-old tweeting about transgenderism?
Katie Hopkins responded with an inspirational hashtag #BeMoreMargaret:
From the Daily Mail:
From the Telegraph:
NHS Fraud Squad: Catching the crooks stealing £1.3 billion from the system
It seems that Lutfur Rahman, former mayor of Tower Hamlets, is back in business (sort of). From order-order:
Labour and Lib Dem Balls-Up Lets Lutfur Rahman Back In Tower Hamlets
From the Express:
Nearly HALF of France and Germany believe Islam clashes with society values - shock poll
Third of Britons believe ‘fundamental clash’ between Islam and ‘British values’ – poll
Meanwhile, Baroness Warsi was set to speak to a designated terrorist organization called “Interpal” according to order-order (a couple of weeks ago):
Baroness Warsi speaks to a Terrorist Organization in Parliament
From Industry Europe:
German Economy Minister calls for state aid for industry
Quote:
“It can go as far as the state taking temporary stakes in companies – not to nationalise them and run them in the long run but to prevent key technologies being sold off and leaving the country,” he told a news conference.
Our recent related post:
The Limits of the Free Market – National Security
From Voice of Europe:
A surprising admission from the BBC:
Germany: Migrants ‘may have fuelled violent crime rise’
From Voice of Europe:
Migrants banned from Finnish schools and daycare centers after multiple child rape cases
Tania Groth, from the Danish movement For Freedom, made a rousing speech in Sweden:
Tania Groth speaks at Yellow Vest protest, Sweden
From Breitbart:
Libya PM: 800,000 Illegal Immigrants Ready to Leave for Europe
Now, you might think that this is going to turn out to be fake news, but wait till you read this. From Fox News:
Green New Deal: Ocasio-Cortez aims to make air travel obsolete, aid those ‘unwilling’ to work
Our contributor Jillian Becker at The Atheist Conservative was reminded of a cautionary tale from Africa:
American Thinker also had something to say:
The wild and wacky mind of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Quote:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could utter absolute gibberish, and the media would swoon before her, and her supporters would declare her a genius.
How do we know? Because Ocasio-Cortez frequently utters gibberish, and the media and her supporters swoon before her.
We have a similar problem closer to home of course …
Imam Tawhidi (aka the Imam of Peace) made this impassioned speech on visiting Auschwitz (click on link for full speech):
Video news item from A Current Affair:
Click on the link for video footage of the sizeable crowds:
Fluffy The Cat was frozen and buried in snow, but she made a miraculous recovery. From the Good News Network:
Frozen Cat That Was Found Unresponsive, Buried in Snow Makes Miraculous Recovery
Note - Please remember this is not intended to be a comprehensive news round up, these are just the items that particularly caught our eye this week, and (where indicated) they are not always about recent events.
Note - Please note that we are dependent on the veracity of news reports provided by other news sources. It is not our intention to knowingly quote “Fake News” (except where stated as satire), but we do sometimes quote the BBC when other sources are unavailable.
What do you think? Please leave a comment below.