The look of a victor!

My, wasn’t it hot yesterday! People ‘flocked’ to the beaches as the ubiquitous photo illustrates, that photo of the crowed Bournemouth beaches in today’s MSM. However, something hasn’t happened: ‘Our MSM’ have refrained, so far, from writing about ‘climate catastrophe’ and they have, so far, restricted themselves to reporting about the various cries from local councils to please observe CV-19 rules: no general attempts by their opinion editors of bullying people into complying with muzzles and other government diktats.

There’s one point worth making. According to The Times local seaside councils have issued apps to show ‘tourists’ that their beaches were ‘full’ and they ought to keep away:

“Almost all beaches in Bournemouth and on the seven-mile stretch of coast between Christchurch and Poole in Dorset were full by mid-afternoon. An app launched by council officials in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch showed that 19 beaches, including Sandbanks, were full and listed under “avoid, social distancing not possible”.” (link,paywalled)

Apparently council officials assume that everybody has a smartphone and that people will do as they’re told by a smartphone app. I wonder if other local councils have also created such apps since, according to that report in The Times, beaches were ‘full’ from Pwllheli in Wales to Clacton on the opposite side of these Isles. 

The questions we ought to ask is: have civil serpents, local and national, now taken to ‘governing by app’? Are statutes and bye-laws now superseded by ‘government apps’?That would be an interesting change in governance! It was reassuring though to see that the beach-goers can’t have been giving the proverbial but went to the beaches anyway. Meanwhile, the Local Government association (LGA) demands ‘more powers’ so they can close down pubs because:

“there is evidence of pubs and clubs flouting the rules by cramming in drinkers and failing to record details of their customers. It follows an outbreak in Staffordshire when a pub failed to take customers’ names – meaning they cannot be traced – after hundreds were crammed in and ten people caught the virus. The LGA has urged the Government to rewrite the Licensing Act so that pubs or clubs could be closed down if they were judged to pose a risk to public health because of their lax approach to social distancing.” (paywalled link)

Perhaps they ought to develop an app instead, warning pub goers to keep away from pubs? Apparently all those pen-pushers in local and national government offices are utilising CV-19 to live out their dreams of hedging us in by more bureaucracy in order to garner fines for their empty coffers. Perhaps it’s time to remind them that we pay their salaries and pensions, that our taxes kept them in clover during these past months where they were ‘furloughed’ on their full salaries.

There’s another item which has mainly been disregarded in ‘Our MSM’. Lockdown Sceptics has the story and analysis here. It’s about an update to a Government paper – here – about the impact on the Nation’s health caused by the CV-19 measures. It makes grim reading, but at least the DT had a report, providing us with a scary quote from that paper:

“The paper also estimates that a further 26,000 people could die by next month because of the healthcare restrictions. […] Although the medium to long-term deaths from delayed healthcare have not been quantified, an earlier report by the same team suggested they could be as high as 185,000. The report is the latest to show that the impact of lockdown has been severe, and puts more pressure on the Government to avoid further nationwide restrictions this winter.” (paywalled link)

I’m reasonably certain that we can now expect more government emphasis on restrictions to our liberties, from tracing apps to muzzles to more fines, local and national, for transgressors. After all, that 2nd wave is looming – in the minds of government, Whitehall and ‘Our MSM’.

And so to “immigrants”. Yes – wonders never cease: this issue has now reached the front pages of our broadsheets. ‘Government’ will be doing something about it, hurrah! Sorry, calm down – it’s the usual guff. Headlines in those broadsheets shout that ‘ministers demand’ or ‘ministers are pushing back’. When one takes a closer look these articles just emphasise, involuntarily, how useless government actually is. They’re still only ‘considering’ measures:

“Ministers are considering blocking migrant boats in the Channel before they can enter British waters in an increasingly desperate effort to stem the rising number of crossings.” (link, paywalled)

Yes, that’ll help – thinking about doing something! When we read next that Whitehall ‘officials’ are more worried about illegals possibly drowning should ‘measures’ be taken we can predict that nothing will happen.

Furthermore, why should the French Navy consent to patrolling the Channel coasts with our pitiful Navy remnants when they are only too glad to get rid of those illegals? And why would Ms Patel actually act rather than spew phrases when

“one Ministry of Defence source was said last night to have described a plan to send in the navy as “completely potty”.”(link, paywalled)?

Rest assured, nothing will happen – Whitehall is scared! They do talk about an Aussie points system for legal immigrants but are frit to implement the Aussie policy of turning back illegals. After all, the mighty UN condemned the Aussies because resisting an invasion by illegals is contra to the UN’s migration policy. So Ms Patel’s wiggling is par for the course:

“[Ms Patel] came close to admitting yesterday that she was powerless to prevent crossings. “I am working to make this route unviable. This involves stopping the boats leaving France in the first place [and] intercepting boats and returning those attempting to make a crossing,” she tweeted, but added that “we face serious legislative, legal and operational barriers” to make the changes. She said that “we need the co-operation of the French to intercept boats and return migrants back to France”. The unilateral introduction of “push back” tactics would risk alienating France.” (link, paywalled)

Good grief – “we” need the French so “we” can do something? “We” mustn’t ‘alienate’ the French? Admiral Nelson and the 1st Duke of Wellington must be rotating in their graves! But see why Ms Patel feels helpless:

“Senior government figures admit that it would also risk confrontation at sea. Migrants have threatened to jump overboard if they are turned back, in which case Border Force and the navy would be forced to withdraw because the preservation of life is paramount under the law of the sea.”  (link, paywalled)

Omigawd! This is a new height (or low, rather) for our touchy-feely civil serpents. Why do ‘government officials’ now talk as if this were a totally new, unprecedented situation when for years Mediterranean ‘refugees’ have swamped Italy, aided and abetted by NGO ‘rescue’ ships, using that same argument?

Don’t worry, ‘Our MSM’ are on the case, with tear-jerk stories about ‘desperate’ people fleeing war-torn France:

“Migrants and asylum seekers attempting to cross the Channel by water are resorting to makeshift flotation devices such as lemonade bottles and paddling pools. A place on a dinghy or inflatable boat can cost thousands of pounds and charities have warned that migrants are turning to cheaper and more dangerous alternatives to make the crossing.” (link, paywalled)

I’m just waiting for ‘charities’ to appeal to our generosity and donate money so those poor people can afford a place on a people trafficker’s rubber dinghy! After all, a refugee ‘charity’ used donations so that those poor, poor things, sat in four-star hotels, could go on a lovely visit to Anfield as Nigel Farage reported in his latest video!

Funnily enough, Ms Patel could actually do something – government has data on those illegals even though they chuck their passports back into the sea once they’ve landed. However, what she’s actually doing is beyond pathetic:

“Checks on fingerprint databases have also revealed that about 40 per cent of Channel migrants have made asylum applications in other EU states. Only 155 were returned to Europe between January last year and this April. A further 166 are awaiting return to France, Italy and Germany and requests have been made for another 577 who arrived this year to be sent back to European states. Ministers are planning a charter flight next week.” (link, paywalled)

Equally pathetic is that article in the DT by the ‘minister for immigration compliance’, a certain Mr Philip. It reads like a bad ra-ra speech. The headline is pure wishful thinking and empty promises:

“We intend to return as many illegal migrants who have arrived as possible – The French need to stop these illegal migrants from getting in a boat, and we need to intercept those who do and return them” (paywalled link)

I believe you can click on that link and see the stomach-turning photo of ‘desperate refugees in their rubber dinghy’, as well as reading the comments. Meanwhile, British tourists holidaying in France are also desperate – they don’t know if they’ll have to face a 14-day quarantine when they come back (link, paywalled).

Could government policies, driven by Whitehall mandarins, become more absurd? Allow illegals into the country, no problem – but keep Brits under the cosh of quarantine and fines! Sometimes I wonder if Sir Mark Sedwill has left behind secret advice to his fellow mandarins, to make life as difficult, as absurd and as horrendous for the Johnson government as possible. We, the unfortunate tax-paying peasants, are simply collateral damage in that fight.

I leave you with news that one ‘Whitehall power struggle’ has come to an end. One of the adversaries has given up and is retiring to the country, to spend more time with his family. Palmerston, the Foreign Office cat famous for his fights with Larry, the Chief Mouser, has had enough and is leaving his plush surrounds (link, paywalled).

I fervently wish two-legged denizens in Downing Street and Whitehall would follow him. But I’m sure you’ll join me in wishing Palmerston all the best, with many delicious mice!

KBO!

Photo by UK Prime Minister