Monthly Archives: February 2025
Sunday [5 to 8]
(0601). Morning all. Have a good one. (0803)
8. Kathy’s newsletter (see TCW in blogrolls)
… had this among other things … think she’d been to a Vaxx oppression conference or whatever:
”In a funny way, the Saturday experience was worse. Adding to the aura of infirmity and hardship was something else: identity, stripped or unrecognised; people who’ve been labelled, shunned and, above all, excluded. Ironic, is it not? The nonpersons in the eyes of the political establishment and media elite that Orwell predicted in 1949; the only group not allowed its own community leader.”
Very similar mood to mine in Sun 7 in the last part.
7. “Religion”, incorporating Now and Next
Firstly, from inside the biblical Christian world:
And from outside … Rolf:
“Our leaders think they can avoid addressing in the national forum systemic issues of public order arising from dangerous ideologies. Better – easier, at any rate – to leave such matters for local police and courts to deal with piecemeal.
Perhaps they don’t know enough about our nation’s past. Fifteen members of the Coalition government of 2010 – including David Cameron – were graduates of Oxford’s PPE program, which currently lists knowledge of maths as ‘recommended’ but of history as merely ‘helpful.’
Yet history will show that ideas, especially in religion, can result in blood and fire. In the sixteenth century Protestant bishops were burned alive outside Balliol College, and hangmen tore the guts out of Catholic priests at Tyburn.
Today we face the challenge of Islamic extremism.”
The danger is in drawing the conclusions our hardwired modern mindset demands, formed from observation from a distance of religious fanaticism … which can obscure why so many over two millennia, from scholars and other learned people, down to the lowliest Joan of Arc have adopted that position, view, in for example the hymn Amazing Grace.
There is most certainly something in there just as regenerating as a family … not an intellectual thing but more a reordering of the inner person, which has been attested countless times over the millennia and the tale is always the same. It’s a bit like the reordering of things in the U.S. just now which has had repercussions all over the world, which has briught back a feelgood factor in “decent” people, unbrainwashed.
The degree of opposition to that simple reordering … well you can see it in the demonrats and RINOs, in the slightly older than teenage female hysteria and spotty herbert, wispy bearded violence … up to the crooks at the top. It’s the calm restating of unpalatable truths … which make it easy to see that this Paula person is a wrong ‘un.
In centuries past, the synod level miscreants, the priestly class, the Wolseys, the Cromwells have kept the common man in thrall, in fear of hellfire unless paying indulgences and thus the burnings and torture have gone on and on … the examples of horror Rolf mentioned, just as with the deathcult, the murder, rape and mistreatment … which are so far from the Amazing Grace tale as to almost be on another planet. So far from tea with the vicar of a Sunday of yesteryear.
But in this modern day, with almost zero kudos in admitting a simple faith … in fact quite a bit of being shunned, plus tolerated and “humoured” by one’s own friends … why on earth would anyone put himself through that, isolating himself? Could it be that there is a kernel of truth in it? In the final analysis?
And there it is … there’s the rub and why it never dies, despite severe oppression and repression, ostracism … not unlike freedom itself really, not unlike family, joy, jollity, bonhomie … they’re nice, they lead to a feeling of safety, stability, the proper ordering of priorities, people treating others honestly and fairly, people liking the results of hard work.
Unlike the demonrat, RINO, Wokeleft sinisterati vision … which is always, always has resulted in societal division and destruction.
6. DAD drop at 964
a) A total of 110 deaths, 341 injuries and an explosion in cocaine seizures: drug trafficking continues to grow in France, as shown in 2024.
b) …but the good people of Bordeaux have found a way of stopping the drug dealing – noise ! There were about twenty of them, this Tuesday, February 4th at nightfall, to express their fed-upness.
c) We will soon be able to find yellow mealworm larvae powder on our plates. This is what the European Commission validated on January 20, 2025. A measure that should take effect on February 10.
d) That kind M. Macron has given six Mirage Jets to (The) Ukraine – how long will they last ?
5. A pundit would be derelict in his duty
… if he dd not comment on punditry from time to time. When doing your rounds, not all opinions are equal and simply experience and cynicism eventually lead to recognising a good ‘un and a nowhere or wishful. Wishfuls are fine if aligned with pro-people policy but to get to the nitty gritty, you watch out for pundits being fed good copy by those in the game … pundits such as Amuse, Publius, Cynical Publius:
“It’s great to see Americans finally systematically dismantling the Deep State. But the Deep State has many, many components and tools, some of which most people are not even aware of. I want to talk about one of those hidden components now. One of the more pernicious components of the Deep State—and something that will be very hard to defeat—is the pro bono programs of “BigLaw” firms. To see what I mean, Google the name of your favorite BigLaw firm and the words “pro bono.” You’ll soon discover that there are literally armies of highly-paid, highly-educated lawyers litigating all of the left’s favorite causes, from abortion, to deprivation of gun rights, to mutilating of children’s genitalia, to protecting illegal aliens, to you name it. When you see that some Obama-appointed federal district court judge in some insanely liberal district enjoined some Trump 2.0 initiative, invariably pro bono BigLaw lawyers are involved. (Personal anecdote: I went to law school right out of the Army and joined a BigLaw firm. After I joined, my firm proudly trumpeted that they had served as pro bono counsel for Gitmo terrorists. You know—the same terrorists who had been trying to kill me a few years earlier.) The Latin words “pro bono” mean “for good,” with an implication—in the legal context—of “for free.” And therein lies the Achilles’ heel of leftist pro bono law—it’s not “free,” not really. That “free” work is actually funded by paying clients. BigLaw first year associates bill out at around $850 an hour these days, with senior associates and partners often approaching and sometimes over $2,000 per hour. Those outrageous fees are what fund leftist pro bono litigation—ultimately it is PAYING CLIENTS who pay to promote these leftist causes. So how do we fix this? Big clients of BigLaw firms need to ask what sorts of pro bono projects these firms are involved in, and if the answer is the usual array of neo-Marxist causes, then the big client needs to take their big business and big legal fees elsewhere to a BigLaw firm not enmeshed in protecting the Deep State. The Bill Ackmans and Elon Musks of the world need to start asking these questions, and before long these firms will see what their leftist advocacy is doing to their bottom line, and necessary change will occur. But awareness is the key, hence this post.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_law_firms_by_revenue
“Another avenue here is stockholder advocacy steering boards of directors to move their legal business to law firms not engaged in leftist causes.”
Robert Francis Cooke:
“Shareholder lawsuits for waste of corporate assets in paying legal fees that include a markup to cover the pro bono. Sounds like some MAGA lawyers could make some nice class action fees. Corporations won’t move their business- just have to negotiate fees excluding the pro bono markup. It will end fast.”
David Herrick:
“Excellent point, but the problem is that many of the legal departments at Big Law’s clients are equally woke, so I kind of doubt they will rise up in unison to demand that the firms stop subsidizing woke pro bono work. Even clients one would think should be anti-woke promote DEI.”
Mike Davis (DJT’s govt lawyer):
“The temporary-restraining order by DC U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols against the President’s USAID personnel decisions is truly lawless and dangerous. (The President cannot order U.S. officials overseas to come home within 30 days? Seriously? Judges actually think they have that power?) Nichols proves even former Clarence Thomas clerks who go DC big-law are unreliable picks for the federal bench.”
Sunday [1 to 4]
(0432)(0526)
4. The danger is in counting our chickens too early
While there are nice signs, e.g. this from Laura L. on revoking of security clearances:
… it’s still early days, plus various pushbacks through lawfare, mass bussed in meetings etc. … I can’t see that, as long as Johnson plays ball and both lets legislation through, plus stymies moves by the Demrats and RINOs, that this won’t cut swathes through the demon machine … west-wide and beyond.
But there are still certain realities which this man DJT plus helpers surely see … they’re up against a machine of no conscience, no compassion, who have had it entirely their own way at least in this millennium … highly organised criminal operation to steal from taxpayers … they’recstill highly organised, even down to delaying the appointments and Stefanik’s replacement, denying another Republican in congress.
DJT can eventually prevail but if the combined RINOs and demonrats delay and obfuscate at every turn … they can keep kicking the can down the road at least into DJT’s second half term. Yes, many RINOs get primaried, no demons do … this victory is by no means won and many major pundits and those within MAGA are saying it. Nothing is a loss to a demonrat … just a temporary setback. They reinvent themselves and hit back a different way. Quite evil muvvers.
Another observation of all this is just how torn, how rent, the fabric of western society is … ripe for the deathcult and Chinese takeover, like a knife through butter. If you glance down again that first list today … it’s bizarre … what sorts of minds dream such squandering up? Why?
And lastly, for us … it’s worsening and worsening, not the opposite … replacing knobhead is going to do little. As Emerald pointed out … we’re up against a funded global system, every decision making role hijacked. And us? Words on the net.
3. Steve at 963
Four: Chicago, ICE, sanctuary … Florida Hwy Patrol, ICE … Kremlin, Trump … LEGO homophobic … crazed anti-Christian … much more…..
Three: Afrikaner offer … FEMA … gun control, pace of deportation … much more…..
Two: Uke sit-rep … rare earths … intensity decreased … much more…..
One: Covid, border … climate, Guardian … US grid … Madrid … much more…..
2. Some places USAID felt it needed to help
Global Affairs Canada (the equivalent of USAID) has suddenly WIPED their entire public database of foreign aid spending and the data is no longer available to the public.
1. Richard Green at Gab
“According to the Department of Government Efficiency, Uncle Sam had allocated a whopping $168,000 to build Fauci his own exhibit at the National Institutes of Health Museum.
But DOGE announced on Friday that the contract for the exhibit has been canceled.
That came as the Department of Health and Human Services “canceled 62 contract worth $182 million” in a mere 48 hours.
And none of that spending had anything to do with supplying medical care to the people.
“These contracts were entirely for administrative expenses – none touched any healthcare programs,” DOGE revealed.
A screenshot of the contract for the Fauci exhibit posted by DOGE said that the agreement was signed at the end of October 2024 and was to be completed by the end of July 2025, meaning that Elon Musk’s government reform project may have discovered the contract just in time to cancel it.
The contract priced in “project management,” site visits and a design consultation, “detailing and samples,” an introduction panel and a “related support structure,” and other elements of the display
The discovery of this absurd spending priority, especially for a man who deserves a tribunal rather than a tribute, by the way, is emblematic of the way our government currently operates.”
Saturday [18 onwards]
(1616) Not 100%, just this afternoon, feels lurgyish, doing all I should. (2010) Not lurgyish.
29. Rev. Andy with the church news at 963
“The latest news from the CofE is that the public may be asked to name the next Archbishop of Canterbury. Get ready for Bishy McBish Face.”
28. Steve’s opening item looked intriguing at 963
”Despite the government’s strict measures to control the spread of COVID-19, such as lockdowns, social distancing, and mandatory vaccinations, there was no infectious disease testing at the southern U.S. border for four years.”
27. Most important item today?
26. It’s closely organised worldwide, as we’d been warned
25. The madness and greed of it all … the theft
24. She couldn’t do that over here
23. And so it continues
22. Snap, IYE
21. State your purpose
20. Let’s face it
… we are ill served by all pollies except Rupert.
19. Bad strategy
18. Well done, Mayor
Sat Mat
The mini-doc
Comments first:
It’s true … these are the sorts of YTs that are much needed BUT they take effort and even money. Ruairidh is always reliable, Jago too but he does not do variety, just trains. Drachniwhatever does ships but the YTs can be long and turgid. With car YTs, they can be good but usually lack in some way.
Truth is … they take effort and imagination to keep finding new topics, then film them … while we here lap them up, hungry for more. Then we get those out for wealth from it. There are those who let politics of the Woke kind creep in … there are those who insist on annoying noise behind which they call music … there are those with unfortunate voices, such as that American History Guy, with the bowtie.
If we can find something varied enough, it’s a boon all right, as you read above. I’ve subscribed but it’s early days … let’s see how he does … were you to go over and give him traffic … who knows?
Saturday [12 to 17]
(1033) Time does … well you know what it does. (1104)
17. TCW (see blogrolls for link)
Comparing TCW and TDS … I’m afraid I’ve gone off TDS for a few reasons … the Sir Toby bit is a red flag … then there is the attempt to make it into a moneyspinner by using days old news with opinion … yes, we also do that but we don’t charge for it, we don’t shut off most of an item as “premium” content behind a paywall … that’s MSM behaviour.
TCW is still a blog, it’s mainly opinion (Kathy’s is due tomorrow) but it’s not money-grubby. As Tim Worstall wrote years ago … there’s no money in blogging. If there were, then I’d urge you to be highly suspicious of the content.
16. Toodles pointed to this item
… to peruse … what do we make of it?
Well, for a start, it’s clearly Woke left in its phraseology and so the usual question remains at the end:
But what if it’s actually true?
15. Natural art
14. Behind the Chagos Islands crime
13. Proper Irish dancing
… not that rubbish with their arms jammed hard against their sides:
12. Indeed
The 757
Saturday [7 to 11]
(0746) Morning all. Almost morning tea time or brek, whatever. (0829)
11. Hungry?
10. This almost certainly requires any Brit to see
… and those outside might find it useful too, shaking their heads and sighing:
https://rolfnorfolk.substack.com/p/brief-encounter-pmqs-5th-february
9. This old one has made it to Oz … good
8. Tavern ingenuity
https://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/24891026.new-forests-highest-pub-boasts-incredible-walks
7. Over at OoL
https://orphansofliberty.blogspot.com/2025/02/state-run-media.html
Saturday [1 to 6]
(0600) Coffee and muffin. (0726)
6. The temptation would be too much for me
5. Well of course
The problem with this “breaking the law thing” is … does one make a distinction between inadvertently doing it (e.g. through ignorance of the law, the prime defence of the invader) and deliberately doing it … or is that not the only criterion? Maybe another criterion is the extent to which there is a victim or not.
Example … in Russia, my international driving licence, backed by my home one allowed me to drive on this town’s roads. Now, there was a notorious corner near the opera house where the road veered left, the side of the road packed with parked vehicles (it was an office block area of town).
The road was shaped and narrowed in such a way that every single vehicle heading into town had to pull out to avoid the parked cars BUT that took us into the tram lane and at one crucial spot the wheel’s of any normal car had to cross the double line for seconds.
Now, as everyone charged said … what the hell were there double lines where no vehicle whatever could get through? Why were cars allowed to park just there? Not our problem said the traffic police. Thus, if that month, they were short of their quota of fines … well, you know where this is going.
Now, one picks up points for every violation, and after a certain number, it’s an interview in police HQ. In practice, plod were not interest in the minnows … they were after the bigger fry … I was never acosted there but was at another time, another place.
The judgment was given against the native as it happened and an officer took me over to the screen to see my history for further action … I had zero points. Whaa? He looked at me and said goodbye.
The Soviet days had put vastly more new “crimes” on the books than even Gordon Brown over here and by definition … by obeying one dept’s law, you were transgressing another’s. Everyone knew it from childhood, everyone knew it was the whim of the authorities, had you not geen a good boy or girl.
The second solver of the conundrum was a word known as roubles or rubles … lots of them.
4. Criminal insanity ruling govts west-wide
3. Illinois
Sometimes it’s not necessary to deep dive into a US state … just note the sort of things happening, the various reactions … Western Lensman:
2. DAD at 962
a. Yesterday I asked, “What is it with Rennes and Nantes?”. Here we go again ! The investigating chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeal has refused to release a 44-year-old man from Nantes accused of “aggravated rape” on partners forced to take drugs during their sexual relations.
(JH: As every reader who is up to speed on such matters knows full well, there is no way I can mention the name in Britain. The “incarcerable stricture” applies equally to admin and readers but also extends back to platform provider … thus I must modify the name where it appears … sorry, DAD.)
b. Two French Maires in Trouble … for having “deliberately” refused to remove a Christmas crib installed in its town hall … “I’m angry, astounded by what’s happening to me. I hope to deal with sensible magistrates,” (Maire Ménard) added.
c. …fraudulent network in the ambulance and medical transport sector, with undeclared work and fraud against health insurance and Urssaf.
d. 45-year-old bank branch manager was arrested on January 29 at her home in the western Paris region. In total, twenty-three men and women, aged 37 to 59, were taken into custody in this case. And the amount of money concealed through a myriad of “taxi companies” is estimated at twenty million euros.
1. Steve at 962
Four: USAID Accused of Funneling $260 Million to Organizations Linked to George Soros’s Open Society Foundations … $100 BILLION in Medicare and Medicaid Waste … AfD’s Petr Bystron Demands Investigation into USAID in EU … more vital items…..
Three: Comprehensive Audit of Pentagon … Slash Tax Breaks for Billionaire Sports Owners … “Individuals and Networks Stealing Government Property” … much more…..
Two: Uke sit-rep … [The] Ukraine wants Orban removed … Kellogg … more…..
One: NHS, emergency services and public health have always known … many other stories in the op ed style…..