Apologies for my absence yesterday. 'SoD' descended but to be fair, he brought his 'dahlinkie' with him and also took us out to dinner at our local fish restaurant, so he's a good lad, really!
No news, I suppose, is good news: Even so, I get a tad uneasy when everything is fairly quiet. Of course, 'Mother Nature' can always be relied on to create mayhem and so there has been a plethora of floods and fires and earthquakes but somehow, unless you are involved, of course, they are the warp and woof of everyday life and death on this truly extraordinary planet. But it is the man-made stuff that worries me. History teaches us that our, er, 'glorious' leaders are, by and large, stupid beyond belief and more than capable of stumbling into catastrophe. Well, they are 'representatives of 'The Peeps' and "as any fule do no" there is nothing more stupid than 'The Peeps', er, with one or two exceptions, of course, many of whom are to be found on this blog - natch!
Obama's Monstrous Ego Monument: And you're paying for it, suckers! Well, you are if you are an Illinois tax-payer, according to Mr. Lifson at The American Thinker. He reminds us that this ghastly mausoleum was supposed to be paid for by private donations but guess what, according to the WSJ quoted by Mr. Lifson:
Illinois taxpayers will put up at least $174 million for roadway and transit reconfigurations needed to accommodate the Obama Center. If you don’t live in Illinois, you may be smirking—but you’ll be footing the bill, too. Eighty percent of such spending is generally reimbursed by the federal government, and Illinois officials confirmed to me that they expect to receive $139 million from Washington if they request it.
Of course, originally it was touted as a home for the Obama Presidential Library which allowed them a lease on the land in perpetuity for, er, 1$! Now we learn that there will be no library, instead, it will become an agit-prop centre for Left-wingers. Such fun!
Humbuggery, then and now: I am grateful to Mr. Gavin Mortimer over at The Coffee House for, in effect, proposing Mrs. May and Baroness Warsi for the title of 'Hypocritical Humbugs of the Year'. As he points out in comparing their attitudes at the time of the Charlie Hebdo slaughter this is what they said then:
Mrs May: "It was a very moving experience to be part of the march in Paris on Sunday…because of the reaction of the people alongside the march, who constantly expressed their support for all those who were standing for freedom of the press and the freedoms of our democracy."
Baroness Warsi: "As a person of faith and as a Muslim, I know the values and reputation of my faith – any faith – cannot be diminished by a cartoon, by anyone poking fun in a magazine….We live in a liberal democracy, where giving and taking offence is part and parcel of everyday life.”
That of course, was 'then' but here is what they had to say following 'Boing-Boing' Boris's recent tease about women in burkas looking like letter-boxes:
Mrs. May, after the Islamist attack on London Bridge: 'Britain and Islam needed to have “difficult, and often embarrassing, conversations” in order to counter the spread of a divisive and intolerant ideology'.
Baroness Warsi: Describing Johnson’s remarks as “indefensible”, Warsi said: “Language is so crucial. Politicians and policymakers particularly have a responsibility to help make the space of belonging bigger, to ease that path towards integration.”
The stench of humbug is overwhelming!
It's the 'Chinks' not the 'Rooskies' we need to keep an eye on: So sayeth the mighty Peter Hitchens over at The Mail. He has spotted a very strange incident concerning Mr. Benedict Rogers, a Christian journalist and human rights activist. Amongst his many targets, China looms large so it was probably no surprise that when recently he landed in Hong Kong he was refused entry and escorted to another aircraft and expelled. So far, so normal but just recently, as Mr. Hitchens reports:
His Surrey neighbours (the entire street) have been sent anonymous letters telling lies about him and denouncing him, trying to soften the impact with fake humour. They include a photograph of him and the words ‘Watch him’. The nameless correspondent has even sent a letter to Mr Rogers’s mother, in rural Dorset (how did they find her?) saying: ‘We, as a Chinese race… care not to be lectured, watched or bullied by your son.’
'Me no likee' that sort of thing!
Blimey and with a .50 machine gun, too! According to The Mail, a member of the SAS operating in Afghanistan shot dead an Islamic State fighter over a distance of 1.5 miles as he was standing before his fighters giving them a pep talk or a briefing or something. One minute he was standing there, no doubt waving his arms about, when suddenly his arm and shoulder disappeared in a shower of blood. He was probably dead before his body hit the ground. This reminds me, of course, of my own experience on the firing range when I was unable to hit a target at 200 yards and my instructor snarled, "Duff, you couldn't hit a fucking barn, even if you were inside it!"
Good grief, Mark Steyn actually gets court time: And, hoorah, he won big-time! I may well die before the Mark Steyn vs. Michael E. Mann case ever gets to court, in fact, Steyn himself might also die before the judicial event which has been hanging around for 6-7 years finally goes before a judge. However, I am delighted to report that in another case between him and CRTV which went before a main judge and then before an appeals judge, he won outright! Mind you, how long he will have to wait before he receives a cent of his $4 million award is anyone's guess!
Dammit, this is so un-British! We have just won a Test Match - again! And that puts us 2-0 up against the Indians. Heavens to Betsy, what next?
No more rumbles today
Lenin has his tomb, Obama has his mausoleum. Both cost millions, in more ways than one...
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 12:41
Spot on, again, 'Whiters'!
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 12:42
"An embarrassing conversation"? Right. These types of statements boil down to one meaning---one side talks while the other side listens. Any comments or questions that involve 'wrong think' will be smothered by 'speech minders'.
"We live in a liberal democracy..." Indeed and those necessary values are too important to be left in the hands of modern 'liberals'.
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 12:58
Since religion is just a subset of politics, why would anyone bother to be surprised by the hypocrisy?
Posted by: Bob | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 13:59
I'll bet the Islamo fighter was telling his men the joke about the two Christians who walked in to a bar when, well, he just went all to pieces?
Fine shot SAS!
Posted by: Whitewall | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 15:25
Afraid it’s behind a paywall, but this Judge is taking no prisoners:
https://news.google.com/articles/CBMidmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXRpbWVzLmNvLnVrL2FydGljbGUvanVkZ2UtdGhvbWFzLXNlbGJ5LWVsbGlzLWlpaS1naXZlcy1wYXVsLW1hbmFmb3J0LXByb3NlY3V0b3JzLWEtcm91Z2gtcmlkZS1objdrY3Y2aDfSAQA?hl=en-GB&gl=GB&ceid=GB%3Aen
Posted by: Wigner’s Friend | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 17:46
Oh come on, 'Wiggers', I'm not paying to read that, can't you give us a brief summary?
Posted by: David Duff | Sunday, 12 August 2018 at 18:13
to ease that path towards integration
The Baroness is apparently unaware that her religion's handbook, the far from holy Koran, is not big on integration preferring subjugation or conversion.
Or perhaps she is dissembling.
Posted by: AussieD | Monday, 13 August 2018 at 06:55
DD. Click the link and you’ll get an inkling.
Posted by: Wigner’s Friend | Monday, 13 August 2018 at 07:41
Ah yes, Wiggers, I have been reading about Judge Ellis elsewhere. It will be fascinating to see where that trial goes over the next few weeks.
Posted by: David Duff | Monday, 13 August 2018 at 08:29