Keeping my beady eyes on the Westminster MSM …

 

I am not certain yet, but I suspect that our Westminster MSM are ‘serving’ slightly different fare to those who still buy their print editions as opposed to those who only read online. I suspect that they’ve taken a leaf out of the Whitehall playbook according to which a proposal for a policy is judiciously leaked in order to gauge the reaction from us plebs. The online editions are far more useful for this because most of those ’news stories’ have enabled readers’ comments, permitting the interested observers to gauge ‘what the people think’. 

It seems that today provides an example: the crop of print front pages (link) is mostly about Hunt and taxes. At the time of writing the broadsheets have kept their leading articles in place. The DM however hasn’t – and this is where it becomes very interesting indeed. Online, their leading article is about a horrific case of police brutality (link). 

There’s also an article in The Times (link, paywalled) and the same story has surfaced in the DT, headlined:

“US on edge after graphic video of Tyre Nichols fatal assault released: victim cried for mother – Cities such as Memphis and New York braced for possible unrest as police show footage of incident that led to motorist’s death” (paywalled link)

Verily, we needed to be told again that police brutality exists, that they are all racist. Here’s the snag though: this attack happened on January 7th. It’s not precisely ‘breaking news’. Moreover, something not mentioned explicitly in the DM but admitted in The Times and towards the end of the reports in the DT: all police officers involved are black. All of them.

So why is this of such importance that pixel-space has been devoted to this story? Isn’t it racist to show that black police officers were brutal? I am puzzled indeed, especially since the terrorist attack in a synagogue in Jerusalem is a bit closer to home? Unlike the DM and The Times, The DT at least has a report:

“On Friday night, police sirens roared across East Jerusalem as officers cordoned off the scene. The attack took place on Holocaust Memorial Day and shortly after the beginning of Shabbat in the Jewish faith. Israeli police said the attacker arrived at the scene in a car at around 8.15pm local time and opened fire with a handgun, killing seven and wounding three others. He then went “on the run” but was caught within five minutes and shot dead, police said. One local media report identified the shooter as a young Palestinian man from East Jerusalem.” (paywalled link)

No, that cannot possibly be of importance for us here in the UK! “We” better keep worrying about racism and ‘racist, brutal police’! However, it just might be important: the Coronation of KCIII in a few months. Bear with me: some nudgers are busy nudging our opinion about yon Spare being invited to that Act. There’s been ‘a poll’, reports the DT, according to which 

“The majority of the British public think the Duke of Sussex should be invited to King Charles III’s Coronation, a survey has found. Two-thirds of Britons responded to an Ipsos poll for the London Evening Standard by saying they think the Duke should attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey in May.” (paywalled link)

We all know what to think about polls! This one polled 1,001 people, but its aim becomes clear when looking at the data:

“The 55 and over age group was almost split in half, with 42 per cent against his attendance and 47 per cent in favour of it. On the other hand, three-quarters of 18 to 34-year-olds were in favour of the Duke attending, as well as the majority – 65 per cent – of 35 to 54-year-olds.” (paywalled link)

Oh, the ‘orrible boomers are at it again! They’re a menace, racists to the bone by rejecting poor Aitch because of his wifey. Better not mention that said Aitch has painted a huge target on his, his wife’s and the nation’s back with his boast about how many Taliban he killed. Taliban, i.e. muslims, are peaceful, as the attack at the Jerusalem synagogue showed! They wouldn’t, couldn’t, possibly dream of attacking yon prince, never mind the King and the people, on that occasion, could they?

Anyway – we have the (racist, brutal) police and security services, they’ll protect us, don’t we! They’ll have to be paid for, by us taxpayers. Not that the non-boomer ‘classes’ care about that, they clearly are happy to shell out more of their income … and then cry for Labour and Starmer to make the tax burden go away while cancelling ‘Toree Austeritee’ at the same time. 

Meanwhile, on the ‘health front’, there’s an article in Autie B which is exemplary in documenting how to write properly a good scare story. It’s about killer fungi (link). The author first uses a straw man, then knocks it down and then produces the real killers. Sacry and scarily well written. 

Furthermore, there’s the latest nudge piece in The Times, providing ‘scientific’ support for the Chancellor who aims to make more people over 50 go back to work. Apologies, dear readers: I smashed another mug against the wall when I read the headline (my emphasis):

“Inside the medical trial that could save us — and the NHS  Our ageing population is one of the greatest threats we face. But Our Future Health’s Dr Raghib Ali has a solution: just work out how to keep people healthier for longer” (link, paywalled)

I did read on … In summary, this is about some blood tests which are being trialled. These tests will find actual and incipient ‘diseases’ such as cancer, blood pressure, inflammation, which can then be treated – hello, Big Pharma! Thus we’ll be kept in good working condition so that the age for the state pension can be raised, and so that everybody can shovel more taxes into the Treasury coffers. Now it makes sense: who wants to have this ‘greatest threat’ hanging over our nation!

I leave you with ‘news’ that the Army is unhappy. The DT reports:

“Army concerned RAF and Navy are not supporting Ukraine enough – It is felt among senior defence sources that the other forces within the British Military should help to ‘shoulder the burden’” (paywalled link)

Yep, let’s ‘donate’ ships we don’t have, let’s ‘donate’ aeroplanes we don’t have because we don’t need to patrol and protect our own borders! And “we” have enough money to afford all that, of course we do!

That’s all I have for today. I’m glad that, decrepit and old as I am, I’m regarded as ‘one of the biggest threats’ for our country! Mind you – I think we’re a threat not because of our health and decrepitude, thus becoming ‘a burden’, but because we have learned to think for ourselves and aren’t as easily nudged as the following generations. Enjoy the weekend.



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