The utter mad greed summed up in one case

At Capitalists@Work, Nick Drew (moniker) wrote about how both state and mega corporations combine to screw you over.  Compounding your “crime” in their eyes is that if you secured a good deal they didn’t … then their greedy eyes are having none of that.

This entitled sense of "always look for the easy life, we deserve it" soon hit me again in a slightly different variation.  In the firm I was working for we had cannily acquired a long-ish term contract for purchasing gas at a deeply discounted price, from a seller for whom the gas was more-or-less an unwanted by-product.

Somehow, word of this deal got out (it always does).  So then I get a delegation of senior managers from big industrial companies based in the area where we'd be taking delivery of the gas (some for our own use, some for onward sale).  Their pitch was as follows (and I'm not making this up):

"Now look[2].  We all know you've bought a big slug of gas at a price of 40.  You've got to share this windfall with us.  We'll offer you 50.  You've a moral obligation to sell it to us."

Where they came up with '40' is anyone's guess.  I politely replied that their numbers were way off-beam: that we'd be delighted to sell them gas; and that they'd pay something based around market price[3], like anyone else.

"But whether it's 40 or 45, it costs you much less!  You must sell it to us at cost-plus.  What's 'market price' got to do with it?"  

Nick goes on to conclude:

 Nothing changes.  I suppose you can argue that EDF, as a state-owned monopoly, is in a slightly different position.  But the attitude remains the same:  what's mine is mine, & what's yours is up for negotiation.  Now hand it over. 

Links:

http://www.cityunslicker.co.uk/2024/11/the-eternal-attraction-of-cushy-deals.html

http://www.cityunslicker.co.uk/2024/11/uk-nuclear-madness.html

What Sort Of 'Improved Access'...?

We joined Claire Wood, who is from Manchester, and Clare Birnie, from Bradford, on a sunny autumn walk around Swinsty Reservoir near Harrogate to learn more about their plus-size outdoor experiences. The women are part of the Yorkshire branch of Every Body Outdoors - a group dedicated to improving access to the great outdoors for plus-size people.

It's the wide outdoors, what more do these landwhales need?

"There is no competitive element, we're not racing (Ed: *stifles comment*), we've got no target," Ms Wood said. "It's literally just because outdoor spaces are traditionally not welcoming for those of us in bigger bodies." 

In what way? Well, by just being there, it seems.

She said she had never tried to join a "traditional" walking group because she assumed she would slow everybody down and was worried that she would need to stop for a rest while the rest of the group carried on without her.

Ms Birnie, 40, who described herself as a "comfortably fat woman", recalled a time when she tried to join a walking group. She said: "I'm actually quite an experienced walker with my husband, we've been going out for 15 years, but I wanted to go on a group hike.

"I contacted the organiser and said, 'By the way I'm in a bigger body, I am capable and happy walking a distance and I can absolutely achieve what we're looking to do, but I just will be slower'."

"It felt like they didn't even look at what I'd written," she said angrily when referring to a walk she went on with the group. "Within the first 200m they had just bounded off with the rest of the group and it made me feel very unwelcome.

"It made me feel very excluded and I got very upset during the day."

FFS, she actually thought everyone else should slow down so she could keep up with them. How utterly narcissistic! 

It also campaigns for clothing, gear and representation for plus-size bodies in the outdoor movement. Ms Wood said there was a lack of outdoor clothing available for plus-size people. "We have money to spend, there's money to be made, we want to buy these things, we need these things," she added.

Well, if manufacturers aren't making them because there's not enough demand, have you thought of starting your own business? 

Rebecca Dawson, one of the founders of Every Body Outdoors, set up the clothing company Vampire Outdoors in 2022 because she was so fed up with not being able to find suitable outdoor clothing that fitted plus-size people. She has been a keen hiker for more than 10 years and said: "It's 100% a problem. There is a size bias to people doing outdoor activities.

"A lot of clothing manufacturers and retailers don't recognise that people in bigger bodies want to do outdoor activities, including the more adventurous things like long-distance hiking and mountaineering."

See? That's how it's done, ladies. 

Behind the farmers descending on London

… also those in France yesterday … don’t F with farmers … no wonder Lenin, Stalin and their descendants running things right now fear the farmers.  In Canada, it was the truckers.

Most know the issue in the UK, aside from the ridiculous solar panels plus wrecking food supplies to the population. Here, it’s the issue of inheritance tax and other resentments of farmers just get in the way, obscure that vital central point.

Sorry but whoever runs the Labour meatheads know full well … this is the entire war between communism and free enterprise in one.  It’s one thing the communists turning agriculture and herding into State Farms … at least the food supply continues badly, inefficiently.

But this time, it’s all about controlling us and creating a Holodomor … this is very, very nasty indeed, these psychopathic mass murderers.

And as one ex-nurse tweeted on the topic of deathjabs but it equally applies here:

And The Welsh Government Is Just Daft Enough To Try It, Too....

The Welsh Government has been advised to create dog-free zones to help make the outdoors “anti-racist”. Labour’s devolved administration has pledged to rid Wales of racism by 2030, and set out a plan to ensure “all areas” of public life were transformed.

According to a report submitted to the Welsh Government to steer “anti-racist” policy, dog-free zones should be created to make the outdoors more inclusive.

I know what you're thinking Reader, I thought so too,  but don't be hasty... 

The reason for this is not elaborated on in the report, which will be used by the Welsh Government to “support policy teams” who are “developing and implementing” anti-racist plans for Wales.

Actually, it is. Be patient.  

On the basis of reports provided to date, the Welsh Government has concluded that ethnic minorities face “barriers” to the outdoors created by “exclusions and racism”.

Barriers to outdoor activities includes the perception that growing food in gardens or allotments is an activity “dominated by middle-aged white women”.

No idea why that would keep them out, according to almost every advert I've seen so far, marrying a white woman is a goal! 

Climate Cymru BAME, along with groups polled to inform the anti-racist policy, suggested that ethnic minority residents could be directed to “community led” food growing groups to mitigate the issue.

And by 'community', they don't mean those run by Becan or Carys. But back to those dogs... 

A separate set of recommendations submitted by the North Wales Africa Society suggested that “dog-free areas” should be created, explaining that during its focus groups “one black African female stated that she feels unsafe with the presence of dogs”.

One. ONE!?! Truly, we live in the age of the Tyranny of the Minority.

The report also noted that others kept “seeing dog fouling on the floor”.

Given how ethnic minorities often live in their home countries (Ed: yes, I've been watching 'Snakes In The City' and a black mamba in those kitchens isn't the biggest poisoning risk in the house...) , how exactly is that a problem? 

And what about all the sheep, cow and rabbit poo that litters the countryside? 

H/T: Skipster via Twitter

Just who is the agent provocateur here?

The continuing assault by the organs of State on opinions, ordered by Plodheads, in turn ordered by Two Tier himself or rather those in control of him, has targetted only one demographic, just as in all other western countries, uniformly.

The story of Allison Pearson of the Telegraph did not exist pre-Labour (who managed a landslide with 20% of the eligible vote … that’s a topic in itself) … it would normally have resulted in take down notices and if necessary after that … lawsuits (see Private Eye).

Do I agree one needs to report accurately?  100% yes … the facts must hold up … but in this case, there is no specifically named tweet … or wasn’t during the whole affair … nor could or would the officers say who’d complained … there’s this thing in law called a named plaintiff, who needs to be just as responsible as the one accused.

Gawain Towler (formerly of UKIP, maybe still there, who knows) adds:

This gets better, the supersleuth Guardian found the tweet and some anonymous civil servant who reported @AllisonPearson to first Suffolk and Essex police (who scrambled a Gold Group).

But they targeted the wrong Alison Pearson. Take a bow, @VikramDodd .

https://theguardian.com/media/2024/nov/15/allison-pearson-jew-haters-tweet-is-at-centre-of-telegraphs-row-with-police

Wonderful.  Inevitable West continues on how that same Guardian did precisely the type of spurious thing police accused Ms Pearson of supposedly doing:

Allison Pearson, who was visited by the police for an X post, will now SUE the Guardian after they made a bot account posing as her making racist comments. Reminder: they (the Guardian itself) left X just 24 hrs ago due to “misinformation”…

Douglas Carswell adds:

When conservatives were removed from Twitter/X it was because the Left did not want to hear conservative views. When the left remove themselves from Twitter/X it is because the left still doesn’t want to hear conservative views.

All I see throughout this whole debacle is a deeply divided society, one side seething over the injustice, the other wishing harm to the first … instigated by organs of state … an impossible situation, an impossible way for a nation to live civilly.

Many Germans Have Indeed Asked Themselves That Question, Bonita

I live in a small, quaint old town in north-west Germany, and every day I attend four hours of German and integration lessons. I attend because I am an immigrant: I am South African, and moved to Germany three months ago, along with my German husband and our children.

OK. And..? 

I learn alongside refugees, mainly from Syria and Ukraine, as well as other “regular immigrants” like me, from non-EU countries (the federal government covers the course fees for jobseekers, asylum seekers, and refugees, (Ed: pretty sure it's the German taxpayer that cover it...) while immigrants from non-EU countries must pay). Failure to pass the language test or complete the integration course can result in difficulties in extending temporary residence permits, obtaining permanent residency or German citizenship, and in some cases, can have financial consequences, such as fines or a reduction in social benefits.

Are you worried you won't pass then? 

Our headmistress recently told our class: “Racism is everywhere and Germans are racist, too. If someone hears you’ve been here for nine years and you still haven’t learned the language, you have no chance!”

Which is quite right, too. Why are you throwing a hissy fit about it? 

Policing all land borders will come with racial profiling and potential human rights violations. How does this sit with German values and culture, which include a strong commitment to human rights, justice and solidarity? Can the German government truly not find more effective ways to harness the country’s collective knowledge and expertise to address the root causes of irregular immigration? To agree on a European solution rather than turning desperate people away?

'Irregular immigration' - is that a euphremism? 

The slitherings of a Two-Tier snake

We are, in the end, the sum of our policy positions but not only that … we’re the extent of our focus … are we more focussed on the “big picture” of world events or on the homeland scene such as Two-Tier theatre with Badenoch in support? The Punch and Judy show?

In the last two decades, I’ve moved more to the world scene, while Guido remains firmly Westminster and in this excellent post by Rolf Norfolk, previously and maybe concurrently Sackerson, he gets to the nitty-gritty of Two-Tier Stalin.

But soft … before embarking on that, we need to look at any pundit him/herself first … his/her own roots, metier, stomping ground … I’ve known Rolf since 2006 I think … part of the centre-right in a Westminstery way, which is fine, except I’m even further from my Fabian/Young Conservative roots these days … always radical though … “radical” meaning back to roots … not mine but the culture’s.

Rolf’s brother is “of the left academic” tradition and he comments at this humble site OoL under a humble moniker but that’s neither here nor there.  Anyway … Rolf:

Sir Keir’s counterattacks on the Opposition are a standard Prime Ministerial way to respond to questions, but his evasions and stock ‘we’re fixing the mess’ routine are becoming irritating. There is only so long he will be able to divert attention to the lamentable performance of the previous Government. Soon his side will have to cope with some difficult hatchlings from what is now their brood. 

There were three in his opening remarks. One was his reference to Monday’s Armistice Day event in Paris where he and President Macron reaffirmed their ‘unwavering’ support for Ukraine. There’s a troublesome item for Starmer to discuss in our special relationship with America, for President-Elect Trump’s son has taunted Zelensky about losing his ‘allowance’ under the incoming US administration. 

Another was COP29 on Tuesday, where Starmer raised the UK’s CO2 emission reduction target to 81% down from 1990 levels by 2035. He told the Commons his focus was on ‘British energy security’ although it looks like the dash towards national dysfunctionality and poverty has just thereby accelerated.

(Link is in the Rolf Norfolk embedding above … fine article by a fine writer.)

'Unfortunately, corruption is rooted in our culture in Kenya...'

It seems to be taking hold here too, it's just expressed rather differently.

The allegations against Dame Ann were made in 2020 shortly after she caught a self-employed cleaner stealing cash from her handbag. She told the woman, who was from the same Kenyan ethnic group as most of the six other complainants, to leave the castle immediately, but didn't report her to police.

'I made a massive mistake,' Dame Ann says. 'If I'd called the police, things might have been very different.'

Oh, sadly, I rather doubt it. You're making a big assumption there that the police only concentrate on determining whether a law has been broken. 

The first Dame Ann knew she was being investigated was in 2020 when one of her former students, who is now an aviation engineer, told her she had received a call from a detective. 'He was asking strange questions about me: Was I bad to her? Did I feed her? Did I allow her to leave the house? She told him he was being ridiculous and that I had only ever taken care of her.

'The detective didn't want to talk to her after that.'

Of course he didn't. The police no longer investigate all the facts and then determine which line to follow - that's the realm of tv shows. These day, and especially in Scotland, they start from a conclusion (slavery!)  and seek evidence to prove it. 

Many of the young men and women who were helped by the Gloag Foundation were keen to vouch for the woman who made such a difference to their lives.

'I know some of these people and believe they colluded to either get citizenship in the UK or money from Ann.

'Unfortunately, corruption is rooted in our culture in Kenya. I think the accusers probably thought she would want to settle because of the damage to her reputation, but Ann is strong.'

And it's a good thing that she is. Most people wouldn't have held out under such pressure. 

But the investigation continued with officers from the human trafficking unit interviewing students past and present, as well as Peter's carers, her secretary and staff.

'If someone makes an accusation like that, I understand it's their duty to investigate. I'm totally comfortable with that but, what I struggle with, is they completely disregarded the evidence of anybody who was positive about me.'

That's because you have a view of how the police used to act that is out of whack with the way they now act.  

Dame Ann was getting in her car to go on holiday last month when the Crown Office made public its decision, a year-and-half after she was charged.

It probably took a day, if that, to read the 'evidence' put to the Procurator Fiscal and realise this wasn't going anywhere! The other 546 days were no doubt spent trying to find someone to take responsibility for the decision. 

'It's not for me to tell the Home Office what to do but the law needs to be looked at or, at least, some of the wording on their website should be changed. This could be an epidemic coming down the line.'

No doubt. No doubt at all.  

Since the allegations were made Dame Ann has not returned to Kenya and the scholarship program has been suspended. She says she will take 'at least six months' to review what she does for charity in the future.

It should be 'nothing'.  

Text Message Warning.

There is a particularly nasty Scam texting Message going the rounds, and the Unwary should be warned. 

I received a message regarding Winter Weather Payments, with a warning that the window for registration was fast closing, and the recipient should immediately click on the URL (Internet speak for an address) to begin the forms etc. It was very cleverly worded, and if one is not totally alert, the user may well find his or her bank accounts raided.

I also received a phone message purporting to be from a very well-known Domestic Appliance Warranty and Repair Company which I actually do business with, so I Listened, but when the woman said that she needed my Bank Sort Code and Account Numbers so they could “place the refund” cash, I realised that I was in receipt of a Scamming Call, so hung up.

The Government's web pages sate, time and time again that they will NEVER, EVER, text or e-mail you; just remember that warning, and you won't go far wriong

You have to be very alert, as well as being very, very cautious these days.

Ginge and Whinge are far more than just a joke

… they’ve become an absolute menace to ordinary people, esp. interfering in US elections:

“Prince Harry has been a part of this Censorship machine and was involved with the same bad actors interfering with the 2020 election in suppressing conservative voices. He Confessed to knowing about J-6 before it happened and should really be investigated. Prince Harry's visa records need to be released, as the public interest outweighs his need for privacy based on his attack on the US Constitution. @Heritage

Not only have the Duke & Duchess of Sussex been collaborating and funding many members of Issue One's Council for Responsible Social Media, but they have also been engaging in a Military Grade Censorship operation that has been going on as early as 2019.

This is just a small example, before even starting on Archewell itself:

1. Imran Ahmed - Founder and CEO of CCDH. Prince Harry supported GARM & #stophateforprofit campaign. The Prince has admitted was meeting with social media companies in 2020 before the election about pulling ad revenues for those who spread hate. 2. Jiore Craig - Head of Digital Integrity at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Paid Archewell Consultant focused on rebuilding the online space through policy & Regulation. 3. Renee DiResta - Associate Research Professor for the McCourt School of Public Policy’s Tech & Public Policy program and massive Data Institute. Former Stanford Internet Observatory and CIA. Worked with Harry on Aspen Commission on Information Disorder. Was a part of TIME 100 interview with Prince Harry & Maria Ressa in Sept 2020. Participated in the RE-WIRED Interview on Mis/Disinformation with fellow Aspen Commissioner Rashad Robinson (Color of Change PAC started by Van Jones) and Prince Harry. 4. Nancy Gibbs - Former Editor of TIME and Director of The Harvard Shorenstein Center on Media Politics and Public Policy. Harry & Meghan have funded Harvard Berkman Klein and paid for the spot on the TIME 100 in 2020. 5. Tristan Harris - Co- Founder and Executive Director of The Center for Humane Technology. Meghan Markle's best friend. Also participated in another interview with Harry. & Meghan for TIME 100 together with another Aspen Commissioner, Safiya Noble in September 2020. 6. Emma Lembke - Founder and CEO of LOGOFF And Co-Chair of Design it for US. Archewell has funded a grant in 2023 through the Responsible Youth Power Fund With Omydar Network. 7. Herb Lin - Stanford Senior Research Scholar & Commissioner On Aspen Commission on Information Disorder with Prince Harry. 8. Trisha Prabhu - Founder and CEO of ReThink. Archewell has funded a grant in 2023 through the Responsible Youth Power Fund With Omydar Network. 9. Maria Ressa - Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, CEO of Rappler. Steering committee Chairperson of World Movement for Democracy at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Worked on the TIME 100 with Harry & Meghan in 2020. Was recently in Colombia with Harry & Meghan for Responsible Digital Forum in capacity building with the youth. 10. Vivian Schiller - Executive Director Of Aspen Digital. Fmr. President and CEO of NPR, Global Chair of News at Twitter, and general Manager of NYT. Sponsored the Aspen Commission On Information Disorder.”

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