Shackled … for how long?
Lacking any Brexit ‘news’, their ‘sources’ still on holidays, the MSM are in full cry after two other ‘foxes’. One is the drone strike which killed that Iranian general, the other is … Dominic Cummings. Those two items illustrate yet again how the establishment is playing us. However, we have learned from our experiences during the last three and a half years battling for Brexit, experiences helping us to ‘interpret’ what the MSM are and are not telling us.
First though, there were two little Brexit snippets. According to The Express, Johnson will meet Ms vdLeyen on Wednesday. It’s of course a ‘crunch talk’. I predict that, for our Brussels correspondents, all talks with the EU will be ‘crunch talks’ this year:
“The Prime Minister will sit down with his Brussels counterpart on January 8 for bilateral talks, just weeks before Britain is set to leave the European Union. It is likely the two leaders will attempt to steal an early march on the trade negotiations, which Mr Johnson wants to have wrapped up by the end of 2020. Ms von der Leyen has expressed doubt that the UK and EU can secure a comprehensive trade pact in the 11-month timetable set by the Prime Minister.” (link).
I hope Johnson is fully briefed on Ms vdLeyen’s background as disastrous German Minister of defence. Far more interesting and indeed significant for us is this other report:
“Austria has thrown the European Union’s decades-long Mercosur trade talks into disarray after the country’s new government will not support the pact in its current form.” (link)
Austria held a GE in September, but thanks to their electoral system, their PM Sebastian Kurz needs to form a coalition government. The only party available to give him the majority he needs was the Austrian Green Party – and this is their ‘price’:
“Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, has agreed to reject the EU-Mercosur trade agreement in its current form, in order to secure the support of the Green Party for his newly formed coalition government. […] Austria is now demanding new environmental and consumer protection standards in any new trade comprehensive trade deals brokered by Brussels. It also urges that enforceable labour standards are included as part of future European trade agreements.” (link)
You will see immediately how this could impact the agreements Johnson hopes to negotiate. After all, the rump EU has to agree to whatever trade agreement our negotiators come up with. Given the attitude to green crappery in the Tory Party’s manifesto the EU will obviously hope to enforce their ‘green directives’. Here’s another indicator for the way Brussels is hoping to get us to ‘stay in’ while ‘being out:
“Austria’s parliament last September threatened to derail the EU-Mercosur package after passing a motion ordering the government to veto the pact’s ratification, which is expected towards the end of 2020. The EU-Mercosur trade agreement was agreed in principle in 2019 after twenty years of negotiations, and brings together the bloc’s 27 members and much of South America. Ireland and France have also both threatened to veto the trade deal unless Brazil takes it environmental obligations more seriously.” (link)
Twenty years of negotiations … blimey, M Barnier’s estimate of needing at least three more years to negotiate looks positively speedy! M Barnier, Mr Horgan (Trade Commissioner), Ms vdLeyen, have made clear that they don’t want us to be competitive with the EU, and “Green”, a race to being ‘carbon-free’, is the next Big Thing for Brussels, never mind that it’ll destroy their economies. So ours must also be destroyed and, Brexit or not, they’ll try to tie us into it. Our Remainers are happy to help – in an exemplary case of preemptive obedience, we read that from 2025:
“Households could be required to install a boiler capable of burning hydrogen when they next upgrade their central heating system. The government is considering a proposal from the heating industry to set a date by which all boilers on sale would be “hydrogen ready”, meaning they burn natural gas but can be converted easily to burning hydrogen.” (link, paywalled)
I leave it to you to ponder why it’s only ever us peasants who have to pay for Government Green stuff, from Ed Miliband’s energy laws which burdened our household fuel bills so that many are now in what is called ‘fuel poverty’ (funny how Labour never talks about that, isn’t it!) to this latest proposal. I can hear Johnson already: ‘it’s a Green Brexit’ …!
Speaking of Labour and Miliband, there was a very interesting report on that drone strike. Our MSM are in full hysterics, it’s Project Fear written large and written globally. From luvvies apologising to the Iranian dictators (“it wasn’t us, please don’t kill us”) to what President Trump was eating when he got the news of that drone strike (how heartless!) to critique of Johnson for not recalling Parliament (they’re back on Monday anyway, so why should he?), garnished with moans that ‘we weren’t told’ it’s wall-to-wall ‘omigawd: WWIII’.
There’s one piece of information though which throws a light on Labour and shows that Corbyn wasn’t an aberration. The DT reports:
“The Daily Telegraph has learnt that British special forces were ready to kill Soleimani in 2007 when he was identified as the man running the campaign against UK troops in the southern port city of Basra. The SAS had him in their “crosshairs”, sources said, but Mr Miliband called off the operation, meaning Soleimani survived until he was killed on Friday morning in a US drone strike.” (paywalled link)
Let that sink in: the Labour Foreign Secretary, Mr David Miliband, interfered in what was a military decision … the reason? Read the whole thing:
“As part of Iran’s attempts to undermine coalition attempts to restore order to Iraq, Soleimani sponsored a number of Shia militia groups that carried out deadly attacks against American and British troops, including car bombs and improvised explosive devices. British commanders responded by sending teams of British special forces to destroy the Iranian-run militias, including an SAS team that was tasked with assassinating Soleimani. When the SAS unit located Soleimani, and was set to carry out a mission to eliminate the Iranian leader, the operation was called off on the orders of Mr Miliband. “The Foreign Secretary said that he wanted to talk to the Iranians, not kill them,” recalled a senior military officer based in Basra at the time. “We had Soleimani in our crosshairs, but we had to call the operation off because of sensitivities in London about conducting this type of operation.” (paywalled link)
Never mind the lives of our soldiers sent into danger by that Labour government – being ‘sensitive’ to terrorists is what was more important. Corbyn’s comment won’t surprise you:
“Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, criticised the drone strikes, saying they were: “An extremely serious and dangerous escalation of conflict with global significance. The UK government should urge restraint on the part of both Iran and the US, and stand up to the belligerent actions and rhetoric coming from the US.” (paywalled link)
These are the same people, regardless of who will end up as Labour leader, who are doing their utmost to keep us In, Johnsons’ Bill notwithstanding. Brexit, I’m afraid, is not ‘done and dusted’.
I believe we’ll get upbeat messages from Johnson who will point to the ‘big shackle’ now shattered while he and his government, together with Brussels and Barnier, are going to create lots of tiny new shackles: small concessions here and there, looking palatable and painless. Meanwhile, they’ll be implemented by those with vested interests in many small acts of preemptive obedience, as we saw above.
In the wake of that Cummings ‘job advert’, as Whitehall is spluttering all over today’s MSM, with cries that he ‘must not destabilise the civil service’ (gawdalmighty – he’s only been thinking out loud on his blog!) there was this little piece, hidden away at the bottom of one such article:
“[…] journalists reporting from Westminster, known as the lobby, raised concerns over planned Government changes to how it operates. They included fears that holding briefings inside Downing Street, where phones are not allowed, instead of Parliament will limit scrutiny and allow the Government, or a future administration, to “refuse access to journalists it may not approve of” (paywalled link)
This is preemptive wailing of the finest. The main point though is about phones not being allowed in No10: how awful! These are the same journalists who are irate that President Trump didn’t tell our government what he was going to do. It doesn’t seem to occur to them that some things must be kept secret and that splattering it all over the MSM and social media is not helpful nor is it ‘scrutiny’.
I wish these journalists would scrutinise, with critical beady eyes, what Brussels is trying to do to keep us In. A pious wish, I know – Remaining is what they want. So it’s up to us, again. That’s why we’ll
KBO!
Photo by Shawn Harquail 
I’m happy with Trump’s actions and hope he gets another term. Quite right that he did not involve us – a) in view of Milliband’s action. And b) it was a good turn to us, if we were not involved or informed, then we should not be subject to terrorist reprisals. Sounds like the media are being plain stupid as usual.
As for the Green Madhouse EU – It’s up to Boris with his strong Tory government to get us well clear by the end of this year. No excuses now.
In May this year (while we are in transition period because the remainers/rejoiners stopped us leaving), Smokers and Vapers are VERBOTEN the benefits of menthol in whatever they gasp. EU ruling. Apparently it makes smoking or vaping more pleasurable so it must be forbidden!
Just another little detail of EU’s determination to control every aspect of it’s members lives. Liberty? Human Rights? Freedom of the individual?
My vote still goes to Trump and Boris.
Perhaps Mr Corbyn would have been happier had it been a car bomb used to kill the general. After all, they’re a favourite with Hamas, the IRA & Hezbollah…
“… a race to being ‘carbon-free …”
A race to being prosperity-free more like it. However, I’m sure their comrades-in-arms in Communist China will be very approving and be ever so grateful.
“Households could be required to install a boiler capable of burning hydrogen when they next upgrade their central heating system.”
Yes, not content with inflammable refrigerants and highly flammable aluminium cladding for buildings (Grenfell anyone?)
the CLIMATE CROOKS now want hydrogen, which leaks through virtually anything and if it does will be lost for ever to space and which burns like billy-o fed direct to our homes!
Oh and the process used to create this hydrogen will result in MORE CO2 being put in the atmosphere, not less. (You know, like burning wood-chips in Drax instead of coal).
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/01/02/bbc-blend-20-hydrogen-in-natural-gas-to-reduce-home-co2-emissions/
Seemingly a collective madness which has infected many. I wonder if the perpetrators actually believe this nonsense or do they see it simply as a control mechanism. Certainly some such as Gore have made their fortunes out of it.
I daresay BJ is the one having to toddle off for a meeting with Ms von Lederhosen. Why can’t these EU non-people come here for their ‘discussions’? Our PM should have better things to do than running around for the convenience of that bunch.
That might seem a trivial point to many but it is always to ones advantage to have discussions take place on home, or at least neutral, ground.
Most of us on this site were MORE than sceptical about Blustering, Bulls*itting Boris from the start.
The ditch is empty………….but if he fails to produce? We are more than capable of finding ‘ditches galore’ in which to commit his bones and his second-rate repartee – which is not only becoming tedious, but sounds even more insincere as the year progresses.
The slug I call him.
‘Preemptive obedience’ (fawning not fighting) and ‘preemptive wailing’ (getting you retaliation/excuses in first). Nice.
There’s an awful lot (or a lot of awful) preemptive everything these PC days.
How about preemptive censorship, you know, when some harmless British tradition is cancelled/blocked because it MIGHT offend someone. How are newcomers supposed to learn to integrate if they don’t learn NOT to be offended by us, who were, like, here first?
Yes, I do know it’s a Leftist scam to obliterate our culture.
How about preemptive no-platforming, when some snowflake, or steely marxist, claims some words/ideas MIGHT offend someone. I am offended time and again by all sorts of trash, but no one would care if said I was offended.
It seems some have a ‘right’ to be offended; some don’t.
Yes, I do know it’s a Leftist scam to obliterate dissent from their world view.
How about preemptive Health & Safety, when some jumped up nobody cancels an ancient Cheese Rolling festival, say, (during whose long history there never has been an accident) fearful of litigation because someone MIGHT injure their thumb. When did we vote to be wrapped in cotton wool, and not make our own decisions?
And when were we, stoic nation that we are, taught to cash in on accidents for all they are worth?
Yes, I do know it’s a Leftist scam to obliterate our national character.
I’d like to see some preemptive (i.e. old fashioned) teaching: remember ’Sticks and stones…’; remember ‘Do unto others…’; remember ‘Don’t make a fuss; it’s only a scratch’?
Remember repairing the hole in the road when your nasty knee happened to graze it!
Lovely posting PO’S
We can live as a people with another sweater and high leccy prices due to the green scam but not with politically arranged extinction by replacement. This is our crunch issue but the crunchies won’t be talking about that at their crunch meetings.
Iran:
“The Foreign Secretary said that he wanted to talk to the Iranians, not kill them,”. Seems like he had taken lessons from Obama the Appeaser who was largely responsible for the situation faced and dealt with by Trump, even apparently supporting them financially. Showing weakness by appeasing terrorists and rogue regimes has never worked so why would it be different now?
Lady Nugget ( the solid lump type, not the gold) was on the BBC this morning telling us she has a long memory and “have we not learned anything from the Iraq war?”. She apparently has not learned who played a major part in starting this war through outright lies and deception (and quite possibly ordering an execution himself) and hasn’t yet faced a war crimes court. Maybe her memory is not quite that long, it couldn’t be that it is merely selective, could it?
Jim R…I am quite sure you know she is a Lawyer/Barrister…….what else do we expect of this dreadful woman? An excellent post!!!
Many of us have been pointing out to anyone who might listen, that the only thing Muslims and Islam understand is power, strength and the sword. That is how they view THEIR world, which THEY believe, from birth to death, THEY own.
They operate on blackmail and terror – which is ingrained into them the moment they are born – no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ – THAT is their teaching, their belief and their sole aim in life……as practiced and preached by their bandit, child-molesting ‘leader’ – SO……what should anyone expect other than their total arrogance in THEIR beliefs………..and WE? We stand for the Islamic ‘three card trick’……because THAT is what we are teaching our kids……in increasing numbers, day by day, making them learn the Islamic verses and the Islamic way……..and meanwhile, should anyone, Christian or otherwise, object……..then WATCH OUT ……the ‘thought police’ or Muslim Mobs will be on your tail.
We have no need of further immigration from Muslim countries – more especially ‘Islamic States’ ………..and, as the man said. ” There ought to be a law against it……….”.
The time must come when WE teach our children the way that Muslims teach their children, that it is forbidden to make friends of mad-believers, Muslims, and never to trust them………they are daily proving that they cannot be trusted……..all over Europe and all over the world.
Read, if you will, what is happening in Sweden, Germany, France and most European countries, they are being raped daily in every area of their existence….and feral, rapist gangs are in charge of many areas ‘verboten’ to the indigenous populations.
Thank goodness we MAY now have SOME control over our borders…….Yes, maybe!
Fans of global wa… err… cooling should check how we have just dodged the end of the world, Siberian temperatures, nuclear war as we battle for resources in a collapsing world. That was a ’16 years to save the planet’ prediction from 2004.
JF
Well there is some more ‘noos’ as well apparently the global climate super star has turned 17 and has changed her twitter name to ‘Sharon’ and we have 3.5 million people here in the U.K who have never done a days paid work. It’s going to be MSM shock horror probe stories all the way and only January 4th.
Yeah, she missed a trick there, she should have changed it to Charon.
I wonder if she is still classed as a kid in her own country at 17 but she surely must have been when the indoctrination started; an indoctrination far from absent in our own schools. Those adults responsible for such indoctrination deserve to be prosecuted for child abuse.
It is IMO absurd to describe any post-puberty human as a “child”. We should treat them as adults, informing them in their last year at primary school of all their rights AND responsibilities as such. The school-leaving age should be drastically reduced.