Is this the future ‘Our MSM’ want?
“Hypocrisy, thy name is MSM”. Just scanning the home pages of the Broadsheets this morning is proof if such were needed. Furthermore, if proof were needed that the MSM are actively working to destroy this government and push Sir Keith Starmer into No 10, then they amply provide that this morning as well – unambiguously. I’m concentrating on this issue because it has consequences we must not overlook, regardless of the daily CV-19 grind.
The real scandal is that we seem to have become a nation of grasses and curtain twitchers. We’ve apparently also become a nation accepting that anybody having “NHS” added to their name exempts them from any criticism whatsoever. Compare and contrast: there are reports that Dominic Cummings ‘broke the rulz’ visiting his parents in Durham during the Lockdown (link) while Starmers’ kids were going to school throughout the Lockdown – more on that below.
The original reports on Cummings’ heinous crime were published in The Mirror and the Guardian (apologies – I’m not going there, there’s a limit!) and in good old journalistic tradition the other papers just copied from them. Thus, according to the broadsheet headlines, ‘Police investigated Cummings for breaching Lockdown Rules’ (link, link paywalled, also here):
“Mr Cummings drove from London to Durham with his wife and son to stay with his elderly parents after developing symptoms of coronavirus. Downing Street said at the time that Mr Cummings was “at home” in isolation, when in fact he was more than 260 miles away. Police in Durham were tipped off by a member of the public about Mr Cummings’ presence at his parents’ house and explained to the family that lockdown rules – imposed by Mr Johnson days earlier – outlawed such visits.” (link)
“Outlawed” – how positively dreadful! And ‘Downing Street said’ – odd that the reporters didn’t write ‘Johnson lied’ … In more measured tones The Times writes:
“Dominic Cummings’s parents were spoken to by police after he appeared to have breached lockdown rules by going to stay with them while he had symptoms of coronavirus. […] It was claimed that Mr Cummings’s trip was within guidelines because he needed his parents to look after his son while he and his wife were ill. However, Mr Cummings’s mother, Morag, is 71 and his father, Robert, is 73, and so both fall into the “clinically vulnerable group”, meaning that they are at “higher risk of severe illness”. (link paywalled)
The dates are significant: Cummings apparently left London between March 27 to 29th. Our brilliant investigative reporters couldn’t find out. Next, Durham police ‘spoke to the owners of the property’ – Cummings’ parents – on March 31st. One would surmise that these same brilliant investigative reporters would’ve told us if his parents had become ill with CV-19, but it’s now weeks since this trip so presumably they’re well. Might those intrepid etc reporters not have investigated because it would’ve shown that CV-19 didn’t do what it said on the Lockdown tin?
It’s significant that ‘Our MSM’ have published this story now, not in March or at the beginning of April. That begs the question: why? It couldn’t possibly be because at that time Starmer had not yet been officially elected as new Labour leader and ‘Our MSM’ didn’t yet know if his performances in the HoC would make him into the ‘viable alternative’ to Johnson, could it?
While ‘the nation’ is told by ‘Our MSM’ to be incensed about Cummings’ ‘hypocrisy’ Starmer is let off the hook – details below. First though, here’s the snitch’s report – remember that Durham police spoke to Cummings’ parents on the 31st of March:
“Days later, a neighbour of Mr Cummings’ parents claimed they saw him outside the property. They claimed to have heard ABBA’s Dancing Queen blasting loudly. After peering over the hedge, they saw Mr Cummings wearing a scarf and thick coat, and a small boy running around. The neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I got the shock of my life, as I looked over to the gates and saw him. There was a child, presumably his little boy, running around in front. I recognised Dominic Cummings, he’s a very distinctive figure. I was really annoyed. I thought it’s okay for you to drive all the way up to Durham and escape from London. I sympathise with him wanting to do that but other people are not allowed to do that. It’s one rule for Dominic Cummings and one rule for the rest of us.” (link)
Oh dear oh dear oh dear – the righteousness is nauseating. I suspect this ‘anonymous’ neighbour felt they had to draw the attention to their story to the national press now since Cummings’s ‘crime’ hadn’t made the national front pages, months after the event. What excellent feast for our Metro-’elite’ who have had it in for Cummings since the get-go!
So what about Sir Keir Starmer then? There are photos galore today, showing him looking decisive and manly, peering ‘forensically’ into the distance – and there’s this “Exclusive” in the DT: his children were able to go to school throughout. The reason? Savour this:
“[He] said that his children – an 11 year old son and nine year old daughter who he has never named publicly – are already at local schools in Camden because his wife Victoria has ‘key worker’ status because she works in the National Health Service” (link) *)
Lovely: if you can wield a “NHS Badge” everything is permitted. Nobody asks what exactly Ms Starmer does or did: was she working in the frontline (I bet we’d have been told if she did) or is she one of those paper shufflers, promoted from patient work to admin? Never mind: she’s ‘something’ in the NHS and that gives her privileged status. But wait: shouldn’t schools be heaving with children of other key workers, like shelf-stackers, dustmen, police? Or are they not as equal as any NHS-badge-wearer?
Of course, Starmer is not hypocritical, you understand. After all, he blames Johnson for not opening schools. However, he has not told the teachers unions to get a grip and stop snivelling, nor has he hauled all those Labour council leaders over the coals for refusing to open their schools, be it in England, be it in Wales. Some leadership, that!
It seems the Westminster Elite, the bubble dwellers who run ‘Our MSM’, are quite happy with having Labour governing the country, never mind that such government wouldn’t remove the Lockdown powers given to the police. ‘Immunity passports’ would become ID cards, that old Blair dream.
Perhaps these bubble-dwellers all have relatives ‘working in the NHS’, providing them with a ‘get out of jail free’ card? Perhaps they believe that, thanks to the increasing deletions of any critical content on the Unsocial Media, their voices will be sacrosanct? What is it with this ‘elite’, labelled ‘bourgeois’ in the communist dictionary, that they so happily promote this dire ideology?
Have they not noticed that the police will be allowed to carry out ‘spot checks’ on quarantined travellers according to that shambles of legislation presented by Ms Patel yesterday (link)? Do they think Labour would remove this power and not enlarge it instead? Do they think it would never be applied to them?
Have they already forgotten their reports about heavy-handed police action fining people ‘flouting government rulz’ about social distancing? Does it not occur to them that they cannot say it’s ok when used against the ‘enemy of the MSM’, Dominic Cummings but isn’t when used against some of us peasants? Do they not think that a Starmer socialist government will happily apply such rules against them, the ‘class enemy’?
I leave you with the earth-shattering ‘news’ that the instigator of that Thursday Clapathon – a Dutch lady and yoga teacher – has now called a stop to this because it’s best to do so when ‘at the peak’ and before it ‘becomes negative’ – link, with portrait photo.
According to private reports from across the country the clapathon has been fizzling out already. Last Thursday was pathetic: no more than one or two clappers or pot-bangers were heard, on average, in the streets and closes of our country, with certain local exceptions. This ‘event’ has become negative weeks ago. Her appeal is actually akin to running away as the nation patently has had enough.
Better not forget this ‘national exercise’ though – who knows if under a socialist government we won’t be called out to clap for ‘diversity’ or ‘gender fluidity’ or even just for ‘our beloved leader Sir Keir’ …
Take good care of yourselves and
KBO!
*) Ed. Note: I had to change this quote due to an intervention by ftp, on ‘Misuse of Protected Title’ – that title being ‘occupational therapist’. The whole correspondence is confidential, but you ought to be aware that the DT, presumably because of the same intervention, had changed the paragraph, after it was originally published. So I must do the same, or else … even though in my opinion, it is unconscionable to change something post-publication, silently. You may well draw your own conclusions about this – I couldn’t possibly comment …
Hi again Viv. One does not think he would be alone amongst your followers in hoping you could find time to comment on Matttie’s explosion and the over 1,500 comments it summoned up: “We’re all going on a summer holiday and the government can’t stop us — When it comes to standing between Brits and their fortnight abroad, ministers have started a fight they cannot win — Matthew Parris — Friday May 22 2020, 5.00pm, The Times.”
THANK YOU VIV. You get better and better, much appreciated.
I’m fast reaching the point, where I see the letters MSM, and just turn the page ( electronically ) ! ….. Journalists have now become embarrassing to themselves, their paper buying regulars, and myself ! ….. I would get better drivel from a pre-school kid, than with that shower, and to top it all, they are expecting me to buy their drivel ! ….. I was all for a free press, but it has to be adult and thought out !
If Dominic Cummings and his wife committed this ‘heinous’ crime of travelling from London to Durham at the end of March, the question is why didn’t the news blow up in the MSM at the time? Why now? Could it have something to do with the fact that David Frost is wiping the floor with M. Barnier?
Perhaps we should also put the Cummings “crime” into the same category as that of Prince Charles who left his Gloucestershire home to travel to Balmoral when the dreaded virus struck as did Boris Johnson when he decided to go the Chequers. You can’t rust anyone these days to observe vague and conflicting government advice.
Lidian, You are right. The whole saga is politically motivated by our utterly useless media and the moronic journalists employed by our unprincipled tv radio stations and newspapers who offer absolutely nothing to society whatsoever other than rake up non stories because their over riding ambition is not so much Dominic Cummings and what he did or didn’t do, but because they want to undermine Johnson and his government and have Brexit reversed. That is it in a nutshell. I was listening to LBC this evening where one so called presenter was out of control just after Johnson gave his briefing, These people are just sickening and I am totally fed up with our media. Time they all got out and got a proper job
How easily society embraces the villager’s and torches scenario’s. All created for power and gain of course. He is too good at what he does and is always 2 steps, if not more, ahead of their dullard brains so they vilify him. I applaud him. Also he is a partner and father who tries to do his best for his loved ones. I applaud him for that too. The sanctimonious squawking of the media and his dimbo rivals are impossible to listen to without wishing evil on them. As a mum and grammy I and I would think most others would have done the same. He is a person not just a Government Instrument.
1. Hi Viv, ‘Tis so difficult to learn anything about you from the Web. Oh dear. but as a writer for those who are PROUD to be BRITISH, and are determined not to ruled by those ‘thingies’ on the other side of OUR CHANNEL, you are our MISTRESS/MASTER, QUEEN/KING, or whatever term is acceptable to others. SO THANK YOU.
2. And now for this May day’s contribution how about: they don’t make TUNES like this nowadays? Hacking cough, sore throat, feverish; loss of taste/smell? But “don’t panic” and think you’re off to Corporal Jones’ Locker. It may not be Covid-19. So stop, think, cheer up with a 1935 dose of Nat Gonella and his Georgians playing Hesitation Blues. When performing at The Grand Spa, near the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, Nat had a HART he’d regularly call upon to stand in for so many in his group. By marriage he — this versatile perfectionist — became my Uncle JIM.
George, I think your posting on Nat Gonella and His Georgians will be lost on most people these days, except those of us like you and me who have an interest in the British Dance Band Era. How about ‘Stop Beatin Round the Mulberry Bush’ recorded by Nat Gonella and His Georgians on 2nd November 1938. The title pretty much sums up the latest press inspired saga.
There’s more – with thanks to twitter watchers – and you really couldn’t make it up. Ms Kuenssberg tweeted now (here) that he didn’t break the rules. I suppose all those loud critics think he should have stayed with his ill wife, him being ill as well, and left their little child to cope on his own, rather than get help from his family.
The minds of our intrepid reporters are a wonder to behold …
Kuenssberg quotes No. 10 as saying neither Cummings nor his family were spoken to about the matter. The Guardian reports otherwise. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/22/dominic-cummings-durham-trip-coronavirus-lockdown
And since there’s no honour amongst thieves, the other MSM prominence are now attacking Ms Kuenssberg, because “she’s made herself not the speaker for Cummings’.
The same people who said Neil Ferguson shouldn’t be hounded for having it off with his mistress because ‘he’s only human’ are now baying for Cummings’ blood because he dared to put the welfare of his small child first, saying he could’ve let social care handle it …
It’s always interesting what ‘Our Reporters’ let dribble out once their “scoop” is out in the wild.
Since they keep using Twitter, here are two, one from Ms Kuenssberg – link – and an even more hilarious one, showing that people ‘in the meehan’ knew this in April, passed round as ‘direct message’, here (hard to read).
Still – ‘rulz’ innit – and never mind that this snitch has obviously got it wrong (I’m being very polite …)
The snitching on others bit I find really bad. I received a letter a few weeks ago from the council providing phone numbers if anyone had a problem due to covid-19, fair enough. Then it went on to ask people to phone them or the police if a second home or a holiday home was being occupied. It also warned to check that any occupants weren’t NHS workers.
This just too 1984ish and is a disgrace. It is not the first time though I do remember a case where children were asked to report speeding cars in one region of the UK.
To my mind clapping has become an embarrassment when one considers the number of empty beds in our hospitals. As for the Nightingale Hospitals I hear that they have been relatively empty.
There was some reason when very little was known about this virus but that was a long time ago now.
Just for once Kim I have not found my Council too bad on the snitching issue. (They are apallingly bad in other ways.) They have not bothered ME too much. BUT they HAVE clamped down on a sheltered housing project where a friend lives. Police tracking number plates to make sure residents only escape once a day for essential shopping. No one allowed to visit other residents rooms. Only allowed to walk about within the limits of the property !!
You are 100% right in your last sentence. Some excuse at the start. No excuse now. End the lockdown.