Forum Topics

Could Starmer Be Any More Stupid & Insensitive? 😡

Keir Starmer's far-Right 'smear' on Rochdale rapists critics'Keir Starmer was last night accused of ‘smear tactics’ after claiming those wanting an inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal were jumping on a ‘far-Right bandwagon’.The Prime Minister triggered a furious backlash after saying Tory demands for an inquiry into the rape of thousands of white girls by gangs of predominantly Pakistani-origin men were ‘amplifying what the far-Right are saying’.Sir Keir also angrily defended his record as Director of Public Prosecutions after Tesla tycoon Elon Musk suggested he was ‘complicit’ in the failure to tackle the abuse. And he claimed Kemi Badenoch’s interventions on the issue showed she was ‘desperate for attention’.The Tory leader hit back, accusing the PM of ‘applying Labour smear tactics from 20 years ago’.She added: ‘That such a huge scandal could occur should prompt soul-searching not ranting that those of us who care about it are “the far-Right”.’ Mrs Badenoch revealed she will table a Commons amendment this week designed to force a vote on the need for an inquiry.Former police detective Maggie Oliver, who helped blow the whistle on the scandal in Rochdale, said she was ‘incandescent with rage’ at the PM’s comments.She told GB News: ‘I am no far-Right activist. I am a woman who gave 16 years of my life to the police and protecting children was No 1 priority in my life.'All the victims that I know and that we support have had their lives destroyed. To write them off as far-Right extremists is insulting in the extreme.’Former home secretary James Cleverly warned that the PM’s comments risked inflaming public anger over the issue.'Accusing those who disagree with him, or who seek legitimate answers about repeated failures of child protection, as “far-Right” is deeply insulting and counterproductive. He is the best recruiting sergeant for extremism,’ Mr Cleverly said'https://mol.im/a/14256619

Sue Hammond ● 667d10 Comments ● 666d

Subservience

The Right 2016:- "Brexit, Brexit, Brexit! No foreign control of the UK. We hate it." The Right 2025:- "Musk money, Musk money, Musk money! Just give us that foreign control of the UK. We love it."

David Ainsworth ● 667d17 Comments ● 666d

BBC tomorrow a.m. - Paedophile Information Exchange, or PIE - active in the 1970s and 80s

The List Episode 1 of 6In Dark Corners Series 2 Tomorrow January 8th on BBC Radio 4 at 9.30 AM."Journalist Alex Renton is shown a secret document, containing the names and addresses of people signed up to a pro-paedophile group called the Paedophile Information Exchange, or PIE, which was active in the 1970s and 80s.That’s not all: weeks after getting the membership list Alex meets a contact who gives him bags full of documents, crammed with reports, contact details, letters.As Alex starts following up on leads; detail of the criminal activities committed by some of PIE’s members, and those connected with them, begins to emerge.It’s a lot to take in. Alex is not only a journalist, he’s a survivor of child sexual abuse. All of this information about PIE; it feels like a heavy weight to carry. Are children still at risk?Alex sets off on a dizzying journey into the dark history of the Paedophile Information Exchange and uncovers abuses committed by PIE's members: teachers, clergy, social workers, government advisors.As Alex finds out more, he starts to wonder: where are all those hundreds of members now?He meets the former deputy editor of Private Eye, journalist Francis Wheen: he has a long memory for news and a nose for stories that people in power want to keep secret. What does he know about PIE?Archive credits: Newsnight, BBC, August 1983Details of organisations offering information and support for victims of child sexual abuse are available at bbc.co.uk/actionline"https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00272c5

David Ainsworth ● 667d3 Comments ● 666d

The first mention of "grooming" on the Forum?

The first mention of "grooming" on the Forum was apparently in 2014. It was by Iftikhar Ahmad whom some may remember. "Sexual Grooming Forum HomePosted by: Iftikhar AhmadDate/Time: 27/06/14 15:40:00Sexual GroomingChildren as young as 10 are being sexually exploited by organised gangs of men in cities across the UK, a leading charity says.Barnardo's says it is working with more than 1,000 children who have been groomed, abused and trafficked for money, and the problem is growing. This is sickening. It's no wonder Great Britain is in such a bad shape. Ten years old British girls are having babies out of wedlock. They are not allowed to get married but are allowed to have babies.Why don't we just report the rapes, rather than have to say MUSLIM rapes? When non Muslims commit rapes, do we say white rapists, Christian rapists etc? So why the need to label?  Or is it only when a rapist happens to be Muslim, some of us feel the need for whatever reason, to say MUSLIM rapist? When grooming paedophiles happen to be white (btw this is the MAJORITY), nobody mentions that either, or saying hmmm we need to study why so many white men take part in grooming little girls. But if it happens to be a Muslim or Asian, oh well, we must say Muslim, we must say Asian, and we must study why these things are happening amongst their community, lol, what a load of baloney. Sadly, many people don't actually care about the rapes itself, they want to politicise the rapes as a means to target specific communities, i.e. Muslims, Asians etc.Under the law of Islam, the punishment for rapist is "stoned to death" in public by public --- no matter what religion the criminal is affiliated. Rape is considered as a serious offense in Islam warranting death to offenders, more than just "illegal sexual intercourse" commonly known as adultery."There is much more, but this first part seems enough.

David Ainsworth ● 668d1 Comments ● 667d

Farage Doesn't Need Musk

In my opinion. When Musk first proposed donating $100M to 'make' Farage our next PM the outrage of the left wing media was quite extraordinary, and a few on this forum were quite miffed too.😁Now there are certain presenters on LBC who have the mindset that Reform is now doomed to failure without Musk's money (you can hear the glee in their voices) and that the Party will inevitably fade away now that Musk has decided that 'Farage is not up to the job'. Complete crap! I have watched all Reform's Conferences on livestream, from the first one at the NEC in November, and more recently regional events in Leicester and Exeter and the enthusiasm for Farage is amazing. The events are always sold out as soon as the tickets go online and on the evening there is a fantastic buzz of positivity in the hall. Whatever Musk says will cut no ice with NF's supporters, if anything it will make them even more determined to ensure Farage is our next PM. The general feeling from his supporters is to tell Musk to shove his money where the sun don't shine because Farage will be in No.10 without his interference.

Sue Hammond ● 668d10 Comments ● 667d

Random pic 7 January 2025

Riding a Dolphin, Selçek, Turkey https://flic.kr/p/2qDyD1H

Michael Ixer ● 667d0 Comments ● 667d

Here we go again

Elon Musk@elonmuskAmerica should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical governmentYesNo540,450 votesAre we in an abusive "special relationship"?

David Ainsworth ● 668d11 Comments ● 668d

Prosecute professionals who stay silent on child abuse claims – Starmer

"This article is more than 11 years old""Prosecute professionals who stay silent on child abuse claims – Keir StarmerFormer director of public prosecutions calls for change in law to prevent more victims slipping through netJosh HallidayMon 4 Nov 2013 00.01 GMTTeachers and health workers should be prosecuted for failing to alert the police to allegations of child abuse, according to the former director of public prosecutions, who is calling for an overhaul of the law to prevent more victims from slipping through the net.Keir Starmer QC, who left his role as Britain's top prosecutor last week, becomes the most senior official to call for the introduction of mandatory reporting following a string of high-profile cases, including the Jimmy Savile scandal, in which victims of the TV and radio star were repeatedly failed by the social care system.In an interview with BBC1's Panorama programme to be aired on Monday, Starmer says: "I think the time has come to change the law and close a gap that's been there for a very long time. I think there should be a mandatory reporting provision."Starmer says Britain should be brought into step with countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, where it is a criminal offence for care professionals not to report child abuse allegations to the authorities."The problem is, if you haven't got a central provision requiring people to report, then all you can do is fall back on other provisions that aren't really designed for that purpose and that usually means they run into difficulties. What you really need is a clear, direct law that everybody understands," he says.His intervention comes a year after it was revealed that Savile, who died in 2011, had abused hundreds of victims at schools, hospitals and BBC premises over five decades.Savile was never apprehended, despite high-level concerns over his behaviour and complaints to police and care workers."https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/nov/04/child-abuse-keir-starmer-prosecute-professionals

David Ainsworth ● 668d1 Comments ● 668d

London’s Stretcher Railings

I learned something new about London in today’s Mail Online, as I had never heard about London’s Stretcher Railings before: ”The everyday street object that helped save hundreds of lives in WW2:  How London’s little known ‘stretcher fences’ were used to carry wounded civilians during the Blitz”. There is a map showing their locations on the “Look Up London” website and the nearest I can find is Union Grove on the Springfield Estate.  There’s even a Stretcher Railing Society.  This photo is off the Look Up London website.

Martine Guy ● 669d9 Comments ● 668d

Random pic 6 January 2025

The Super Sewer coming to Putney - 02-02-2020
https://flic.kr/p/2iohokL

Michael Ixer ● 668d0 Comments ● 668d

Mutants

"Every blue eyed person is descended from a single European who lived around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, according to scientists."https://www.indy100.com/news/blue-eyed-people-common-ancestorWow! Whoever he/she was, they must have had a bicycle.

David Ainsworth ● 669d6 Comments ● 669d

Sweden

I've been told people are being offered £25000 to return to their own country. So it appears they have had enough.

Barbara Stevens ● 669d0 Comments ● 669d

Random pic 5 January 2025

A Nissan Pao https://flic.kr/p/2qxm4VxThe Nissan Pao was originally just sold in Japan from 1989-1991, and only 31,352 were produced. I'd not seen one before I spotted this in Reigate last November. 

Michael Ixer ● 669d0 Comments ● 669d

Nick Gulliford and foresight

Not a heading that I would expect to use. Still here Mr Gulliford is predicting correctly in 2020!:- Re:Re:Corbyn Suspended From Labour Party Forum HomePosted by: Nick GullifordDate/Time: 30/10/20 20:22:00Oh my word! Good to see there are still some Tories out there! I thought it was just Sue and I!I think Captain Hindsight will get hammered for the Rotherham fiasco shortly. Hopefully before the next elections.--------------------So set up Starmer to destroy Corbyn, and then after this succeeds, perhaps because the Tories flatlined, end up having to use similar methods to destroy Starmer.President Elon may have to implement intervention measures in the UK, as the Tories had to do in Rotherham?

David Ainsworth ● 670d5 Comments ● 669d

Forget Latin: Labour's education plans

'Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson was last night accused of taking a ‘simplistic’ approach after she said that top exam results alone will not make children ‘happy’.Laying out her vision for schooling in her first address to academy trust leaders since Labour came to power, Mrs Phillipson said that while a string of A* grades may ‘open important doors’, pupils need a ‘wider’ set of goals for a ‘healthy and happy life’.In a clear swipe at the Tories’ former regime, she accused them of having ‘tunnel vision’ when it comes to exam results - and said she wanted to promote ‘collaboration’ rather than ‘competition’.She has called for a review of the school syllabus and the emphasis to be placed by schools on teaching in general.She is to be aided in this by a committee lead by Professor Becky Francis.Prof Francis, who criticised the Tony Blair government for “an obsession with academic achievement”, and the committee leading the review are now considering proposals suggested by teaching unions, school groups, think tanks and Royal Societies.From Andrew Pierce in Mailonline - "Labour appoints academic (Prof Becky Francis) who specialises in equality and gender issues and accused the Tories of being obsessed with improving exam grades in charge of overhauling school curriculum"On her watch, the conventional orthodoxy on education will be turned upside down, with less reliance on rote learning and even less emphasis on exam grades.Don't take my word for it, just note what Francis wrote with co‑author Louise Archer in her 2006 book about schools, ­Understanding Minority Ethnic Achievement: Race, Gender, Class and 'Success'.In the preface, they say: 'Our intention is to help lever social justice concerns back into mainstream educational debates that have been dominated by the neo‑liberal language of 'quality' – in which concerns with ­'equality' have been evacuated and consigned to the margins.'So the new education supremo is more concerned about equality than quality. Improving grades will take second place to tackling so-called injustice.In the book, Francis also despairs over what she regards as the then Labour government's 'obsession with academic achievement'.She wrote: 'This is amply illustrated by the proliferation of testing regimes, academic league tables and the regular high profile publication of achievement statistics, from children's earliest years through to GCSEs.'Indeed, we would assert that achievement is not just an educational issue for the current government it is the educational issue.'

John Hawkes ● 669d2 Comments ● 669d

Musk

Elon Musk is at it again today, He's told the King to dissolve parliament. Everyone is going for it again.

Barbara Stevens ● 671d37 Comments ● 669d

Antisemitism

"The term ‘antisemitism’ is being weaponised and stripped of meaning – and that’s incredibly dangerous"by Rachel Shabi"When the international criminal court issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials in November, the response from the country’s government was all too familiar. The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, rejected outright the warrants for alleged war crimes in Gaza against him and the former defence minister Yoav Gallant, calling them “an antisemitic decision”. The ultranationalist national security adviser, Itamar Ben-Gvir, declared that the court had shown “once again that it is antisemitic through and through”. And the transport minister, Miri Regev, chimed in, claiming: “This is modern antisemitism in the guise of justice.”Bleakly, none of this was a surprise. Over a year into Israel’s assault on Gaza, which some experts have described as a genocide, accusations of antisemitism raised to counter criticism of Israel have gone into overdrive. Such claims have been made against protesters crying out for an end to the bloodshed in Gaza and against the UN and aid agencies warning of a humanitarian catastrophe. They have been levelled at global news channels and the international court of justice; against actors, artists, pop stars and even British-Jewish film-makers. So sweepingly and speech-chillingly are such claims made by Israel’s diehard defenders that the very term “antisemitism” is losing its meaning. It is exactly as the British-Jewish philosopher Brian Klug warned 20 years ago: “When antisemitism is everywhere, it is nowhere.” Blanket misuse has, troublingly, turned the term into a feature on an Israeli politician’s lingo-bingo scorecard."https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/dec/31/antisemitism-israel-gaza-war-right

David Ainsworth ● 672d31 Comments ● 669d

Please, help protect our bees! Thank you

To help keep our fields free of bee-keeping pesticides, could you please sign this 38 degrees petition?  Thank you. https://38d.gs/afil

Ivonne Holliday ● 671d4 Comments ● 669d

A change of subject - it’s a 25th anniversary

Of Y2K that is. A friend of mine has just reminded me he stayed up very late, as then head of IT at an international bank’s office in Jakarta, making sure his team was ready to deal with any Y2K issues that arose and report back to London. Nothing happened of course. The debate continues over whether the huge sums spent to prepare for Y2K were well-spent or completely unnecessary. I was working in the City at the time. Most major banks had devoted a lot of time and energy in the run-up, recruiting as many IT specialists as they could find, doing dry runs etc etc. I am sure Mike Ixer as our resident IT guru will have thoughts on this!Meanwhile here is a lengthy article in the Grauniad which I have just waded through. It brings back a lot of memories!https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/dec/28/all-people-could-do-was-hope-the-nerds-would-fix-it-the-global-panic-over-the-millennium-bug-25-years-on

Jonathan Callaway ● 670d9 Comments ● 670d

This was on FB on the Barnes and Mortlake site,

Elms Quest House,  https://youtu.be/pgn6jTuh81Q. youngsters were told to stay way from the house and not go near it. So obviously their parents were worried. 2 young men went in there they had a couple of beers and a couple of weirdo's were sitting watching them and they never went there again. This video is meant to go on for 3 hrs, they even had paranormal experts go in there with their devices. One of the replies actually said he continued watching the video till the end. He couldn't believe it.

Barbara Stevens ● 670d0 Comments ● 670d