This makes a stench one can live with – unlike that produced in Westminster

 

Instead of having a proper ‘Silly Season’, with reports of donkeys eating hats in Blackpool or of rural flower shows and ‘wars’ between WI members, there’s an almighty stench of hypocrisy wafting through Westminster. It’s again ‘Sex and the BBC’: “’BBC presenter did nothing wrong’ and ‘the BBC are liars’.” (link), now looking like a family drama played out on the MSM front pages. 

Holding my nose, I waded into this particular swamp, for two reasons. One is that the whole issue is now dominated by lawyers, the other that the name of that person is still kept secret. Isn’t it absolutely amazing, extraordinary and stunning that, after all this time, this secret is still kept? That not one of the thousands who by now surely must know, at least inside the BBC, haven’t leaked it at all? What does this tell us about the leak-driven gossip ‘culture’ in Westminster? 

According to the ‘latest’ in the DM, MPs ‘threaten’ to name yon BBC presenter in the HoC (link). Well, they have immunity so the presenter’s lawyers cannot touch them. In other reports we read that BBC staff who ‘know’ are scared to say anything because of ‘privacy laws’ and because yon presenter is ‘lawyered up’. 

Then there’s claim and counterclaim, presented by more lawyers, e.g. that of ‘the young person’ stating that nothing unlawful happened (link). Here’s the paragraph in the DT’s report – relevant for one other point (all emphases are mine):

“The lawyer’s letter sent on behalf of the young person, who is being represented by a top law firm in central London, said: “For the avoidance of doubt, nothing inappropriate or unlawful has taken place between our client and the BBC personality, and the allegations reported in The Sun newspaper are rubbish.” The letter went on to claim that the young person had told The Sun on Friday evening that there was “no truth” to the story.” (paywalled link)

So did The Sun’s editors simply run with the parents’ story because it made for juicy reading on the weekend? Why are mum and step-dad so concerned now? Why is everybody talking about ‘a child’ when the ‘young person’, now 20, was 17 at the time in question? After all, politicians of a certain persuasion campaign to give the vote to 16-year-olds, so surely it’s ok for a 17-year old to exchange sex photos with someone else? It’s certainly nice that a ‘top London lane firm’ represents yon ‘child’ – ‘for free’, I suppose, and they picked up this case from the goodness of their hearts …

The most important question however is this: are we all equal before the Law when ‘prominent’ people can afford to ‘lawyer up’ and thus prevent news of misdeeds to come out? Why is it that, on the one hand, lawyers can insist on non disclosure agreements for their clients – those with enough money to afford them, that is – while ordinary people cannot even defend themselves against malicious ‘stories’ the papers gossip about?

What does this say about our ‘ruling classes’ which clearly can keep secrets when it suits them but feel free to ‘leak’ them to the nation via the MSM or in the HoC? Do I need to mention Mr Farage’s banking issues? The MP who smeared him was, btw, ‘in the papers’ some years ago because he emailed photos of his lower body, clad in y-fronts. The ‘Sex and the BBC’ issue is so disgusting not because of ‘sex’ but because of the hypocrisy and double standards on display.

I leave you with two lovely ‘Silly Season’ non-news stories. They’re both in The Times’ ‘Health’ section. One is a chatty interview-cum-plug for a book , headlined:

“Allergies and weight gain: it’s all about the gut” – Your microbiome affects all aspects of your health — and modern living has a huge impact on it, the surgeon Dr James Kinross tells Anna Maxted” (link, paywalled)

Far be it from me to take issue with such important themes like ‘eco’, ‘sustainability’ and the ever recurring point made in such articles that it’s all our fault. I do take issue with this statement:

“Kinross notes that in the 1940s farmers realised that if you gave livestock antibiotics they got fatter faster. “The reason that works is because when you decimate the gut ecology you promote inflammation, and that changes insulin resistance and then you gain weight.” (link, paywalled)

I seem to remember that in the 1940s there was a war on, with huge numbers of wounded needing treatment. The ‘wonder drug’ against infections had only just come into use: penicillin, and was more precious than gold dust. But farmers used this drug, nearly unobtainable even for wounded soldiers, thus kicking off all those allergies?  Really? Was it too much work for the interviewing lady reporter or her subeditor to take a quick glance at this timeline of antibiotics? Perhaps the 1940s are now utterly ancient history so whatever is said regarding these years is just ‘narrative’ and doesn’t need to be checked. 

Staying with weight gain, the other report in The Times’ Health section has an exemplary click-bait headline: “Watchdog examines ‘link between weight-loss drugs and self-harm’.” It is utterly shameless because the very first paragraphs state: 

“The European medicines watchdog is investigating reports of suicidal thoughts among some people who inject themselves with weight-loss drugs. Health authorities in Iceland said that drugs containing semaglutide or liraglutide for weight loss had been linked to thoughts about self-harm or suicide in three patients.” (link, paywalled)

Blimey – the editors must have been desperate to fill their pages if they’re reduced to publish this guff! However, I find it intriguing indeed that the incidence of three (!) Icelanders with ‘thoughts’ of self-harm is now being investigated by the EU. How many patients, across the EU, the UK and USA have reported ‘incidents’ (I am being extremely polite!) regarding the covid jabs, without the ‘medicine watchdogs’ touching those reports with bargepoles? 

That’s all I have for today. The hypocrisy and the double standards stink to high heaven. And you wonder why I’m becoming ever more cynical? Have a good day.



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