The Pace Of Change...

The death knell has been sounded for the traditional landline telephone. From 2025, all households and businesses will need the internet to make calls under a major digital shake-up.

It means millions of customers will be pushed online for the first time or forced to rely on a mobile phone instead.

Can you still call them 'customers' when they've not got a choice? 

Strangly, this isn't being pushed by the Tory government's relentless 'change everything' policies, for once:

Those without internet may need an engineer to visit their home to get them set up and those with older phones could need to buy a new handset.

Industry insiders compared the move to the switch to digital TV in 2012, when broadcasters stopped transmitting traditional analogue signals to household rooftop or indoor aerials. But while that change was led by the Government, the switch to 'digital' calls is being driven by the telecoms industry.

And while it's not going to affect me much, since my landline merely serves to generate spam calls and 'Microsoft engineers' who want me to go online to fix things on my computer (I just laugh and hang up) there are real fears for a lot of customers:

...experts have raised concerns that millions of older and vulnerable households which are not online, do not use a mobile phone or live in a rural area with poor connectivity are at risk of being left behind.

One thing's for sure - this is to benefit the providers of the service, not the consumers of it. 

What's that stage beyond flat out lying, misrepresentation and criminal harassment, at taxpayer expense?

Brit sleaze - our fearless ferret, DR, reports:

Solution to the energy "crisis"?

Tallbloke has:

https://tallbloke.wordpress.com/2021/08/18/hydrogen-uk-government-sees-future-in-low-carbon-fuel-but-whats-the-reality/#more-54185

The government prefers what it calls “a twin track approach”, meaning both blue and green hydrogen will be used to phase out fossil fuels. Blue hydrogen fuel is produced from natural gas—a fossil fuel which currently provides most of the UK’s water and space heating—but the CO2 that would usually be emitted is captured and stored underground.

A recent report cast doubt on the green credentials of blue hydrogen, though. The research suggested that, because of methane emissions throughout the supply chain, blue hydrogen may actually be 20% worse for the climate than simply burning natural gas for heat and power. It doesn’t appear that the government’s strategy has recognised these issues or explained how they might be avoided.

I've an idea, doesn't come often but here it is - why not use fossil fuels, some nuclear, a bit of fracking, solar, wind, other bits and pieces ... all helping the energy supply?  And in vehicles - how about using petrol and diesel, getting rid of all the extraneous claptrap which has marred vehicles in the 2000s?

Good Riddance, And Thank God You've Failed...

Prisons reflect society back to itself: they embody the ways we have failed, the people we have failed, and the policies that have failed, all at immense human – and economic – cost.

We haven't failed the people in prison; they've mostly failed themselves. 

As chief executive of the prison reform charity the Howard League for the past 35 years, reforming prisons has become my life’s mission. In October, I will leave my work with one sad but inescapable conclusion: prisons are the last unreformed public service, stuck in the same cycle of misery and futility as when I arrived.

So you've wasted your life just as surely as those behind bars? How fitting, karma's working overtime here... 

Minister after minister has done nothing to address the central question haunting our prison system: what is it all for?

It's to punish the guilty and keep the innocent safe from their depredations. What else could it be for?  

At the heart of prisons is the fact that they are fundamentally unjust. They embed and compound social, economic and health inequalities.

Ah, yes. If someone commits crime, it's never because they are greedy or bad - it's because they were 'driven to it' by factors outside their control. 

What would your solution be, then Frances, were someone ever stupid enough to grant you any real power? 

The whole system needs radical overhaul, starting with a swingeing reduction in the number of people we imprison. Custody is the most drastic and severe response the state has at its disposal and should only be used in exceptional and rare instances – either for the most egregious crimes, or when someone poses a serious and continuing threat to public safety. Abiding by that principle would virtually empty our prisons of women and children, and drastically reduce the number of men behind bars.

And drastically increase the crime rate. Brilliant plan! 

Over the past 35 years, I hope that I have contributed to making things just a bit better. I am most proud of the work we have done with police forces to reduce the arrests of young people, saving hundreds of thousands of children from experiencing the trauma and lifelong damage of being arrested.

Young people like these, you mean? You sicken me more than they do, 

Nigel Farage and Jacob Rees Mogg

https://youtu.be/Og1_zGraAmk

Why do WE have to import the Afghans?

When the Allies overwhelmed the Taliban, a polyglot mob of religious zealots who controlled Afghanistan in 2001, the excuse then was that the Taliban gave shelter to Al Qaeda, and its Saudi-born leader Usama bin Laden. That leader who had planned and supported the attacks on the Pentagon and the Twin Towers. 

The overwhelming might of the American and Allied attack swept this bunch of religious fruit-and-nut-cases out of power: and then the first decisions were made which ended up, twenty years later, with the Taliban sweeping all before them, as the Yanks were withdrawn under Joe Biden’s ‘cut and run’ orders. Those decisions? Those stupid and sincerely made Decisions?

Such as the decision to attempt to impose the ideals of a liberal democracy upon a feudal, religious, fragmented tribal society.

Such as the decision to overturn a Muslim male-dominated ethos, and educate girls and women.

Such as the decision to ‘live’ with the corruption endemic with Afghan society.

Such as the decision not to eliminate the poppy fields which fed the vast heroin industry.

Such as the decision to send Allied forces back into Afghanistan, which ended with the ignominious retreats by both the British from Helmand, and now the Yanks from Kabul.

And what do we now hear from the liberal Chattering Classes?

We must shoehorn thousands of bloody Muslims into British cities, because we promised them a better life; because they were our ‘loyal interpreters’: etc., etc.

No. we don’t owe them anything.

We should get out of Afghanistan, close our borders against this Muslim invasion by the back door: and NEVER, EVER, go back. 

But It's Not 'Beyond Shocking' At All, Is It?

On Wednesday, a 14-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of his murder and a second boy, also 14, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder. Both are now in custody at an east London police station.

Detective Inspector John Marriott, of the Met's Specialist Crime Command, said: 'We believe that James confronted a group of youths causing a disturbance and was stabbed as a result.

'The brutality of this response is beyond shocking and our thoughts are with James' family who have been left devastated by their loss.'

But it's not at all 'beyond shocking'. Is it? It's inevitable, when thugs are allowed to do as they please without any fear of the police: 

Today, Mr Markham's wife, Candice, told the Mirror: 'The boys were walking around with metal poles. They were swinging them and shouting at my daughter.

'It's just disgusting. It's not the first time - you see them walking around and smashing bottles in the street.'

Indeed, they are apparently well known in the area. It didn't take the police long to sweep them up, did it?

Chief Superintendent Richard Tucker, responsible for local policing in Waltham Forest, said: 'The Met remains committed to tackling violence across London and I would like to reassure the community that we will do everything we can to track down those responsible for this attack.

'I understand the concern this incident will cause and I would like to reassure residents that you will continue to see additional officers in the area over the coming days.'

Perhaps if you'd come along to bolt the stable door before the horse galloped over that hill, there wouldn't be a grieving widow right now, and a family destroyed. The knife wielders of course bear the majority of the responsibility for that, but I cannot say, hand on heart, that the local police farce that has proven so utterly ineffective doesn't also bear some.  

Can you, Reader?

No2ID

There was a letter in the inbox from an old colleague who does not see eye to eye, politically, with many of the things I blog about.  But back in the day, we were almost all onside against online ID and ID cards.

Our argument was that govt already have all our details, so what's with the equivalent of a yellow Jewish star or a vaxx passport type thing?  Many fellow onliners would not have used those examples, they'd use opposite ones, but the principle's the same - backdoor govt control of a nsture quite unnecessary, except for totalitarians.

OoL is a libertarian site, it's 4liberty.  Therefore we are duty bound to speak out.  This is what he wrote:

Rebirth of the National Identity Scheme

I thought valiant efforts back in 2004, 2005, etc had put the kibosh on this one - but it seems not: 

https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2021/07/13/a-single-sign-on-and-digital-identity-solution-for-government/

Do you have any info on whether there is any organised opposition?  If so, I would appreciate knowing.  I do remember the strong efforts of Philip Booth and Guy Herbert, back in the day.

Reader DAD wrote:

Rebirth of the National Identity Scheme I noticed something strange about the dates on the document. Published date 6 August 2021 Closing date 29 June 2021 I.e. Does this mean that the proposed start date was before the document was even published?

Reader DR wrote:

Early search:

https://wiki2.org/en/Identity_Cards_Act_2006

Later:

https://www.no2id.net/

https://www.ukcolumn.org/article/mark-beast-digital-identity-and-cashless-cartel

ID2020:

https://web.archive.org/web/20170929030655/http://id2020.org/partnership/

WEF and Gavi fingerprints all over this. Can't help but think that covid has been a distraction and they've been slipping this one under the radar.

OoL would greatly appreciate any further ferreting around on this worrying matter.  Thank you.

...........

Just a bit of advertising:

Leggy's books and Amazon

https://underdogsbiteupwards.wordpress.com/2021/08/15/book-stuff-3/

Kudos to Leggy for ditching Amazon, if it can be done, then do it.  Check the books if you please, see if there's one you like.

What to believe anymore?

In the light of the sheer mass of lies pouring out of the CMOs, the WHO and other bodies, let alone all the bizarre behaviour such as setting up Nightingale hospitals and then taking them down, the empty wards secretly filmed, I'm deeply suspicious of the third paragraph below - 'this study' to 'the world'.

What we seem to have here is a journalistic article rather than a 'scientific' study and I'd certainly like to explore the Journal of Infection first and see who they are.  This was the article:

On August 9, The Journal of Infection published a peer-reviewed study titled:

Infection-enhancing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies recognize both the original Wuhan/D614G strain and Delta variants. A potential risk for mass vaccination

This study revealed the terrifying news to the world:

Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection is a safety concern for vaccine strategies. In a recent publication, Li et al. (Cell 184 :1-17, 2021) have reported that infection-enhancing antibodies directed against the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein facilitate virus infection in vitro, but not in vivo. However, this study was performed with the original Wuhan/D614G strain.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic is now dominated with Delta variants, we analyzed the interaction of facilitating antibodies with the NTD of these variants. 

Using molecular modelling approaches, we show that enhancing antibodies have a higher affinity for Delta variants than for Wuhan/D614G NTDs. We show that enhancing antibodies reinforce the binding of the spike trimer to the host cell membrane by clamping the NTD to lipid raft microdomains. 

This stabilizing mechanism may facilitate the conformational change that induces the demasking of the receptor binding domain. As the NTD is also targeted by neutralizing antibodies, our data suggest that the balance between neutralizing and facilitating antibodies in vaccinated individuals is in favor of neutralization for the original Wuhan/D614G strain. 

However, in the case of the Delta variant, neutralizing antibodies have a decreased affinity for the spike protein, whereas facilitating antibodies display a strikingly increased affinity.

Thus, ADE may be a concern for people receiving vaccines based on the original Wuhan strain spike sequence (either mRNA or viral vectors).

I'll come back shortly to this issue.  Meanwhile, further confusing and confounding going on with the Torba versus Bongino feud - this was on gab:

Today I was flooded with messages about Dan Bongino's ten minute meltdown on his show calling me a "fraud" and a "clown." I watched the clip and was amused by Dan's highly emotional outburst attacking me for simply stating a fact: Rumble, a platform he invested in, claims to support free speech and yet bans "hate speech" with terms of service that are no different than any Big Tech platform. 

When Parler came along and was being shilled by Establishment "conservatives" I warned against falling for the bait and switch. I was right then, and I'm right now. It's not about competition for me. It's about principle. If you're going to call yourself a "free speech" platform then you better have a terms of service that reflects that claim.

Yeeesss, not good between these two.  And it's not helped by Andrew Torba showing Bongino's tweet with almost all of it blacked out - is that open and transparent?  

The proof of the pudding is whether you are allowed to express or whether not. On Twitter, I am not, on Twitter, Bongino is allowed with no restriction. On Gab, I can post with no restriction so far. But that's also so with Ggl and WP in my own case.  Am I a shill for Ggl?  Ggl took N.O. down in 2008, then investigated and restored it. 

Interim advisory

Were I asked how the ordinary person should proceed, I'd say - proceed in terms of the reality of whom is pressing you to do this, do that and how much pressure they're exerting.  And why.  Are they aligned with govt/Big Money or with independent voices within any given field?

On the vaxx, passports and all that, there seems to be a quite cynical experiment, not just medically but in spy-ops in observing and monitoring how far which groups can be pushed and developing  strategies for each of those groups.

The Journal of Infection

Here's our original source, via Steve [N.O. Fri 23a]:

Urgent: We Have a Literal Catastrophe - Antibody Dependent Enhancement Detected with COVID-19

https://halturnerradioshow.com/index.php/en/news-page/world/breaking-news-urgent-we-have-a-literal-catastrophe-antibody-dependent-enhancement-detected-with-covid-19

Ggl could be expected to character assassinate him by placing detracting articles at the top of rankings - here are the first three entries:

Not worth bothering with anyone using that sort of language to describe any on the right.  However, I do seem to recall something about SPLC - something about them being far left, which is a bit confusing in this context.

Ah OK, I see - have just gone back to explore and they are the top ranking site flinging mud at Turner, sort of Antifa/BLM thing.  

Everything still in the iffy tray IMHO just now.  Here's Ggl on them:

Reports of research related to any aspect of the fields of microbiology, infection, and host response, whether laboratory, clinical, or epidemiologic, are considered for publication in JID. Major Articles and Brief Reports are peer reviewed; Correspondence is reviewed by the Editors.

I have had a look around and they are an actual body, JofI, seemingly accepted by both sides.

Right, let's look at the link to the show.  Hmmmm, if you go there [link above], then you do seem to be getting the good oil.  But what does it mean to the layman?

To a Simple Ordinary Blogger [SOB] from the NW of the UK, how can I know?  I'm no microbiologist, I'm a journo and we publish what comes in unless it's clearly Woke and/or Great Reset friendly.  You can get all that latter guff in the MSM and from cuck-bloggers with huge followings.

There was a comment by someone with a moniker 'lon':

I don't understand how this ADE (antibody dependent enhancement) works. I read that the antibodies induced by vaccine actually carries the disease to the cells. How it's possible? Isn't more possible that the body reaction to the illness to be so strong that destroy everything, including the healthy tissue? I mean, you don't die because the infection but because the "holes" in your body that are induced by the army of cells and chemicals that should protect you? Maybe it's more like acute autoimmune disease.

I don't ask who they actually are, nor their addresses, it's just a moniker - one judges by the content. To me, it's a legit question though and it's partly answered by the finer print at the Hal Turner link above.

I'd say keep an eye on this ADE issue but be ultra-careful with your sources.  if it's what we think, then the word Nuremberg comes very much into the frame for all put upon people out there.

Lastly for now

Distant Relative posts this:

https://www.journalofinfection.com/article/S0163-4453(21)00392-3/fulltext

Highlights:

• Infection-enhancing antibodies have been detected in symptomatic Covid-19
• Antibody dependent enhancement (ADE) is a potential concern for vaccines
• Enhancing antibodies recognize both the Wuhan strain and Delta variants
• ADE of Delta variants is a potential risk for current vaccines
• Vaccine formulations lacking ADE epitope are suggested 

"Rules? Those Are For Other People..."

A father of three was sentenced to prison at a hearing described by campaigners as a return to secrecy in the family courts.

The 15-month suspended sentence was delivered anonymously despite firm rules to judges they should never give prison or suspended terms without naming the individual.

What do rules mean to the people who feel entitled to rule over us? 

The ruling came after the man repeatedly defied a judge's order to stop trying to make contact with his sons.

Ah! Just as with police the real crime here is not doing as you're told... 

Open justice campaigners criticised the decision and yesterday senior judges launched an inquiry into the suppression of the father's name.

The ruling by Judge Gillian Matthews QC appears to run directly against open justice rules established eight years ago that say no adult should be handed a prison sentence in the family courts without being publicly named.

A female judge? Weren't we always told we needed more of these to 'improve' the dispensation of justice? 

How's it going? 

Her sentence follows an earlier nine-month prison term imposed on the father in December 2019 after he snatched the three boys from their mother. The children were taken back from him by police who stopped his Mercedes on the M4.

At the 2019 sentencing, Judge Matthews did allow him to be publicly named.

Wait, what? So...he's already been identified? By the same judge? 

My flabber is well and truly ghasted...