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Showing posts from July, 2017

Centenary of Passchendaele commemoration should not be about a woman in a hat.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/834858/Kate-Middleton-Prince-William-Prince-Harry-news-battle-passchendaele-royal-family-latest Kate stuns in white as Prince William leads Battle of Passchendaele centenary service. A woman in a hat. It is not often that I agree with the "Fleet Street Fox"  Susie Boniface, but last night on the Paper Preview, she got it absolutely right.  Yesterday, the  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the  official commemorations marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele.The newspaper today, almost exclusively, carry many photographs and video's of them meeting other dinatories, shaking hands, looking serious or smiling for the cameras. I have not yet found any photographs of the  Tyne Cot Cemetery, or the    Market Square,in Ypres, or  the  Last Post ceremony which has taken place every evening since 1928 at nearby Menin Gate, or the parades and falling Poppy leaves or any of the thousands of other photograp

New Agenda on Sunday. is out! Edition of 30 July 2017

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ The third battle of Ypres began on July 31, 1917.  They called it Passchendaele. Good morning everyone. Why is it that so many people start a sentence with the words "I mean" or "Well, I mean" ? Is it just another Americanism that has crept into the English language or is it just plain laziness from the speaker? What ever it is, it is intensely irritating. It is the "silly season".It is that time of year when newspapers have little if anything to splash across their front pages, which explains why the headlines and "stories" are of such diverse subject matter. The front pages churn out pictures of some Royal or other, always a good standby to fill a few column inches, or some yawn inducing words about some American politician or some B list celeb involved in another scandal. Some newspapers make up their own stories in their

Employment tribunal fees have been ruled unlawful.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4731388/Unison-hails-landmark-win-employment-tribunal-fees-legal-battle.html Employment tribunal fees unlawful, Supreme Court rules It is the "silly season".It is that time of year when newspapers have little if anything to splash across their front pages, which explains why the headlines and "stories" are of such diverse subject matter. The front pages churn out pictures of some Royal or other, always a good standby to fill a few column inches, or some yawn inducing words about some American politician or some B list celeb involved in another scandal. Some newspapers make up their own stories in their "Fake News" departments and cover their front pages with lies or smears about whichever political party they do not support and some even publish real news using a biased and warped emphasis against a perceived enemy. Take the Dialy Mail for example. Under the heading of "Queue here for the Gravy Train

New Agenda on Sunday. is out! Edition of 23 July 2017

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ Good morning everyone. T he school summer hoildays have arrived and with them a new business in the village. We had a knock and upon opening the door found two young women armed with buckets, sponges and an assortment of cloths. These young entrepreneurs had arrived on their bikes to announce the start of "Bubble and Squeak", a new car washing business in the village (but only it seems for the duration of the school holidays) and left their hand written card complete, with names and telehone numbers advising that their service was, "Available most week days and week ends. Please can you call one of these numbers if you are interested or would like to book". Very refreshing to see two youngsters having the initiative to start a business during the holidays and the best of luck to them. Who knows, "Bubble and Squeak", may be on the way to becoming a £ multi million enterprize by

Government documents released on day Parliament rises

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/20/tories-use-take-out-the-trash-day-to-dump-controversial-reports Tories use 'take out the trash' day to dump controversial reports It is caled a "take out the trash" day and this wretched government certainly put out some trash yesterday. The callous and cynical way that this lame duck government with its fatally wounded Prime Minister released dozens of documents on the day parliament rises for a seven week recess simply to avoid scrutiny and criticism by MP's is not only an “absolute affront to parliament”, it is an abuse of privilege and an insult to the people of this country. The documents reveal that police numbers are the lowest for 30 years following years of government cuts, while at the same time crime figure are on the increase. The Foreign Office has "grave conerns" regarding the civil rights situation in Saudi Arabia, China and Bahrain but the report critical of our relationship with Sa

Why the delay in distributing the £20 million donated thus far?

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jul/18/grenfell-tower-residents-in-uproar-over-failure-to-distribute-donations Grenfell Tower residents in uproar over failure to distribute donations Barry Quirk, the interim chief executive of Kensington and Chelsea council The television outside broadcast units and the "anchor" presenters have gone, to report no doubt on other important issues, with very few exceptions the newspaper journalists and photographers have moved on to cover the imploding conservative party, or Trump in Paris or David Davis and the Brexit negotiations or some other pressing "news" item, leaving a few "cub reporters" with their Brownie box camera's behind, just in case something happens.  All that remains of this story is, in a few places still smouldering, blackened and chard 24 storey 220 feet high structure which was once home to around 600 people living in 129 apartments. The other thing hat remains of cours

Never Interfere With an Enemy While He’s in the Process of Destroying Himself

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-talks-european-commission-brussels-david-davis-split-cabinet-a7844116.html Cabinet 'tearing itself apart' as Brexit Secretary enters crucial Brussels negotiations The government descends further into civil war, fighting over the tarnished vestiges of power remaining to them, from the squalid deal done with the DUP, cobbled together in those days of  late June, when Theresa May and many of her remaining MP's were convinced that they could cling to office for the next two years on a "confidence and supply" arrangement in exchange for a £1.5 billion bribe for the 10 votes of the Democratic Unionists from Northern Ireland. A week is a long time in politics and although the "deal" remains in place, the government and the cabinet are disintegrating by the hour, ravaged by the twin issues of challenging for the leadership and Brexit.  I t is an "open top secret" that there are at lea

Far too busy to be "sleepwalking"

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/jul/17/uk-sleepwalking-into-food-insecurity-after-brexit-academics-say UK 'sleepwalking' into food insecurity after Brexit, academics say The government is “sleepwalking” into a post-Brexit future of insecure, unsafe and increasingly expensive food supplies, and has little idea how it will replace decades of EU regulation on the issue, a report by influential academics has said. The government is not sleepwalking anywhere. They are far too busy having their own cabinet civil war fighting over who will push Theresa May out of office and make a squalid attempt to grab the vacant bloody crown. They are also in conflict as to when this palace revolution will take place and who will be the first to plunge a dagger into the already rapidly declining remains of the woman who expected a massive Commons majority, but ended up in a sordid "relationship" with the DUP.

New Agenda on Sunday. Edition of July 16th. 2017

https://paper.li/f-1346065353#/ Good morning everyone. The word on everybody's lips this week is "Brexit". At least, that is the way it seems to me although I will admit that it could be my imagination. Regardless of how you voted in the referendum, one thing that is perfectly clear to all is that David Cameron and those who advised him at the time, made a complete pigs ear of the referendum issue in that they expected to sail home with a "Remain" result and consequently had no need to consider the multitude of issues and the complexities  of the negotiations  that would arise in the event that the British people might  just  say "Leave".  In short, Cameron had no exit plan and was almost obscenely swift in departing from the office of Prime Minister and the chaos that he had created, to take up the more lucrative role of after dinner speaker charging £120k per hour, presumably to lecture the audience on ,  "Brexit: How NOT to