Tag: The Sun

  • Grubby Story Time With Fergie & Friends

    Grubby Story Time With Fergie & Friends

    ‘Randy Andy’s’ ex-wife Sarah Ferguson excels (again) in sharing videos of coronavirus bailout money grabber Sir Richard Branson’s son on her not so popular YouTube channel

    You’d have thought Sarah Ferguson – ex-wife and live-in comedy sidekick of he who doesn’t sweat (unless he’s in the Woking branch of Pizza Express or allegedly grubbing around  doing a bit of  groping in the mansion of a now dead paedophile) Prince Andrew – would have kept her gob shut for once, but no, as ever, this weird whackjob just could not help herself.

     

    On Saturday, in spite of stories circulating about the pugnacious pair being sued for £6.7 million after not stumping up what they owe on a £20 million Swiss ski chalet (as only these spendthrifts could be expected to do) and yet more tawdry revelations about Prince Andrew inappropriately paying £355,927 to his former private secretary via his PACT charity (strange that that shares a name with that of their “charity tin rattling” mate Baroness Meyer’s now-deservedly-also-closed-down “venture”), Sarah Ferguson decided to take to YouTube.

     

    Here, on her not especially popular channel (she has just 2,500 followers), she shared a video of the son of one of the most loathed individuals of the coronavirus lockdown, Sir Richard Branson, strumming on a guitar and reading a story (it must have been hard for him to sit on a very expensive private island doing that whilst daddy was out begging for yet more millions of public wonga).

     

    Grubby Story Time With Fergie & Friends – ‘Randy Andy’s’ ex-wife Sarah Ferguson excels (again) in sharing videos of coronavirus bailout money grabber Sir Richard Branson’s son on her not so popular YouTube channel.
    Sarah Ferguson seems to think reading stories to children on YouTube will help redeem her reputation; the investors and creditors owed millions quite rightly think otherwise.

    As part of her crassly titled “Fergie & Friends” (does she actually have any left?) stories series, Sam Branson read from a book titled: I Am Human: A Book of Empathy. Somewhat laughably, the tale about “finding my way and choosing my path” (something Fergie most definitely isn’t terribly good at) had only received 12 likes on YouTube by Monday morning and given any chance of forgiveness for the ‘Duchess of Dork’ – whom also is facing legal actions from Chinese investors whom she took over £500,000 from – is all but over, she’d perhaps have done better to have parked this particular episode.

     

    Also last week, self-declared “spokesperson, best-selling children’s author, businesswoman, wellness advocate, producer and global humanitarian” (is there anything she can’t turn her money snatching hands to?) Ferguson joined LinkedIn. God only knows why she took such a course of action as frankly no one in their right mind would employ this train wreck. Frankly, instead, the well-known toe sucking wastrel would have done better to have simply done something else: She should have given up on the idea of ‘work’ (not that she knows what such even is) and taken ‘Randy Andy’ and retired together Sotogrande. If she did that, perhaps poor old ‘Brenda’ might get out of supposedly once again having to pay off yet more of the on-off couple’s bills and the non-sweater could save a dime and enjoy yet another freebie on the golf course.

     

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzFslpUsGyc
  • Heroine of the Hour – Lorraine Kelly

    Heroine of the Hour – Lorraine Kelly

    In suggesting obese people slim to avoid death by coronavirus Lorraine Kelly is spot on; she’s also right about Harry and MeGain

    The ‘Queen of Gorbals Gobbledygook’ that is Lorraine Kelly OBE has struck again. In her column in The Sun today, this “gritty heroine of our times” spoke for the nation in announcing: “Telling obese people to slim is no insult.”

     

    Quite correctly pointing out the obvious in stating: “This awful coronavirus is far deadlier to those who are overweight,” this “gritty heroine of our times” has yet again shown herself to be a lady of metal rather than a fluffy friend of the vain and the vacuous.

     

    Completely the opposite of daytime dimwits like ‘Verging on Vile’ Vanessa Feltz (whom could most definitely do with losing a few pounds herself) and the ‘Daytime David Icke’ 5G conspiracy theorist Eamonn Holmes in her approach, Ms. Kelly did not seek to “fat shame,” but instead shared her own experiences and offered solutions rather than highlighting problems.

     

    “This is not about going on a stupid faddy diet,” cautioned the Glasgow born presenter before adding: “It’s all about a lifestyle change and doing exercise you enjoy. My advice, which is hard-earned over the years, is not to have too much unhealthy food in the house, especially right now in lockdown when it’s so easy to sit watching TV while guzzling whole packets of biscuits. If you don’t buy the junk, you won’t be able to gorge on it. That’s not to say you can’t have a treat. You can. Just don’t eat a whole plus-sized bag of Maltesers or only leave a few Hobnobs in the biscuit tin.”

     

    Concluding on this particular topic, Ms. Kelly remarked: “I wish you luck” before turning to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Of this tedious duo she stated:

     

    “I’m confused. Harry and Meghan demand privacy and are suing a Sunday newspaper to ensure they are left alone… They want to have as normal a life as possible… And yet… They have moved to Los Angeles, the very hub of celebrity culture.”

     

    Here, Lorraine Kelly highlights a pair not in need of “luck” since they’ve already burnt through plenty of that. Instead, ‘Hapless Harry’ and ‘Mendacious MeGain’ just need lobotomies and one-way tickets to nowhere.

     

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  • Moron of the Moment – Lady Brady

    Moron of the Moment – Lady Brady

    ‘The Steeple Times’ suggests that in the wake of the latest drivel she spouted in ‘The Sun on Sunday’ well-known washed-up wench and all-round “nasty piece of work” Karren Brady belongs in the funny farm

    In her weekly column in The Sun on Sunday yesterday, The Right Honourable The Baroness Brady of Knightsbridge CBE – better known simply as Karren Brady, an “overpainted Aunt Sally caked in cheap makeup” whose businesses associations have primarily involved the grubby pornographer David Sullivan and the “cross between Shylock and Al Capone” that is Sir ‘Shifty’ Philip Green – shared a bit of information that nobody need ever know.

     

    Aside from illustrating her rank on the Mensa roster in revealing something nobody else on the entire planet knew in stating: “What a month it’s been for Boris Johnson,” Lady Brady also announced: “I am as keen as the next person to regain my freedom.” She then, pass the sick bucket urgently please, added: “At present, in fact, I am mainly wearing pyjamas all day as well as in bed.” As constellation, at a time when we are all coping with the COVID-19 lockdown, one can at least be thankful that she didn’t go further and follow Baroness Mone and go on about her bra choices or dip into the territory of Ferne McCann and try and flog some soiled knickers.

     

    Disgracefully ennobled by David Cameron for utterly no good reason, “muckspreader” Lady Brady (AKA ‘Baroness Bozo’ and #LazyBrady) went on to show how out of touch she is with the ordinary populous. In a segment ever-so enthusiastically titled: “PREGNANT PAUSE FOR A NATION” (in caps for extra-special emphasis), this dimwitted oddity bizarrely offered “huge congratulations” to an American model of Dutch-Palestinian descent named Gigi Hadid and an English singer of Pakistani-Irish descent named Zayn Malik. We’re no doubt lightyears away from fathoming the reasoning as to why the ever-so-vital “pregnant pause” and the ever-so “huge congratulations” are especially required for Hadid and Malik, but, hey ho, we are dealing with Karren Brady – Lord Sugar’s token bit of sideline smut from the graveyard for self-declared “genuine celebrities” that is The Apprentice.

     

    Aside from not explaining exactly which “nation” exactly she was referencing (she probably doesn’t actually know what a nation is herself, poor love), former “dildo merchant” turned “faithful companion of Jesus” Lady Brady helpfully then declared: “They are expecting a baby… which just proves that life goes on. What a beautiful baby they will have. It’s great to have some good news amid the gloom.” Let’s all join her and praise the Lord.

     

    Of this wannabe prophet, one reader previously observed: “All business transactions associated with Lady Brady end in Richard Branson-esque failure” and now we’ll go further: “All falling for the supposed wise words of the pyjama-clad Lady Brady henceforth may find themselves joining her in the funny farm.” It is now time to lock this hapless harridan in a padded cell and throw away the key.

     

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  • Penny Streeter OBE (née Penny Stiff)

    Penny Streeter OBE (née Penny Stiff)

    A classic ‘rags to riches’ tale is that of Penny Streeter. Born in what was then Rhodesia, this police superintendent’s daughter came to England when she was 12 and worked on Margaret Thatcher’s Youth Training Scheme and in Pizzaland at the age of 16. She went into business with her mother at 22, went bust and after ending up living in a homeless refuge with her children, worked her way back and launched what has become A24 Group, a healthcare recruitment agency in 1995. By 2002, this hard-working woman’s company was the “fastest-growing company in the UK” and in 2019, she was listed as being worth £208 million in The Sunday Times ‘Rich List.’ Streeter and her husband now own a vineyard in South Africa and a winery in Horsham, West Sussex. We say: Cheers to her!

  • Steve Cotten (AKA ‘Britain’s Grumpiest Landlord’)

    Steve Cotten (AKA ‘Britain’s Grumpiest Landlord’)

    Alongside a cat (yes, a cat) named ‘(Frederick Albert) Hitler’ as his barman, the landlord of the “maddest pub in Britain” Steve Cotten is not known for being the most involved of hosts. On TripAdvisor, whilst one grumbler pointed out that his attitude to diners is: “If you want to eat, bring your own food… Or use the kitchen yourself,” Devon Live noted in February 2020 that Prince Harry and Damien Hirst are “fans” of the “off-grid,” Fawlty Towers-esque The Poltimore Arms in South Molton, Devon. The pub has no website, no television, no Wi-Fi, no fruit machines and no telephones and is powered by solar panels, but for lovers of craft ales and locally produced spirits, a woman going by the name ‘The Real Ale Girl’ operates a “secret weapon… emporium” selling such in a back room.

    Summing up his refreshingly no-nonsense approach to running his business, Steve Cotten once commented: “I just make it up as I go along.  I might not know how to run a pub but I know what’s wrong with every pub I’ve ever been in. There’s no landlord anywhere, nobody talks to each other.  I involve the whole community – everyone knows it’s not my pub, it’s everybody’s pub… We are a dark and cold and miserable boozer – and that’s what people like about it… They all know you can do what you want here, use it for what you want, come here on your own at any time of the day or night and help yourself to a tea or coffee. Everybody will talk to everybody… You can discuss any topic under the sun here, nothing is taboo… Everyone has a go serving behind the bar, we all have a laugh and everyone joins in… No one else talks to them like crap like I do.”

    Frankly, one is simply left asking: “Why aren’t there more places like this?” Cheers to Steve Cotten.

  • Where’s Ghislaine?

    Where’s Ghislaine?

    As Prince Andrew faces the possibility of being sued by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we again join those asking: “Where’s Ghislaine Maxwell?” Suggestions that she’s on a submarine do seem a bit far-fetched, but you never know…

    Whilst Fergie’s been busy making a prized prat of herself mopping floors in an attempt to ‘resonate’ with a populous in panic over a pandemic and her ‘selfless’ daughter has had to yet again postpone her wedding and deal with the ensuing “heartbreak,” things aren’t looking that rosy for the ‘House of Dork’ right now.

     

    Throw in news that Prince Andrew could potentially face legal suits from victims of Jeffrey Epstein – even after they receive payout deals from the late paedophile’s estate – and frankly 2019’s annus horribilis seems like an Austin Powers-esque party. The fact that ‘MeGain’ and a near global lockdown are keeping this wing of the royal family off the front pages (for now) is the biggest lottery win this tawdry collection could ever have hoped for.

     

    Where’s Ghislaine? As Prince Andrew faces the possibility of being sued by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we again join those asking: “Where’s Ghislaine Maxwell?” Suggestions that she’s on a submarine do seem a bit far-fetched, but you never know… Featuring Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, Lady Victoria Hervey, Virginia Giuffre (Virginia Roberts), Rupert Murdoch and Laura Goldman and the late Robert Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
    The Non-Sweating Prince and the Charwoman – Prince Andrew NOT sweating at Pizza Express (Woking branch) and Sarah, Duchess of York pretending she knows how to use a mop in a kitchen that most definitely hasn’t been visited by the former Meghan Markle’s very, very expensive (publicly funded) interior designers.
    Where’s Ghislaine? As Prince Andrew faces the possibility of being sued by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we again join those asking: “Where’s Ghislaine Maxwell?” Suggestions that she’s on a submarine do seem a bit far-fetched, but you never know… Featuring Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, Lady Victoria Hervey, Virginia Giuffre (Virginia Roberts), Rupert Murdoch and Laura Goldman and the late Robert Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
    Lovers of fancy dress and lovers of deviancy (from left to right) – Now jailed sex offender Harvey Weinstein, now deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, currently missing alleged paedophile procurer Ghislaine Maxwell (at a party thrown by Prince Andrew) and now deceased pension plunderer Robert Maxwell (at another party); what an utterly charming and delightful bunch.

    Meanwhile, just as Epstein’s most outspoken victim, Virginia Giuffre (née Roberts), quite rightly carries on calling out her abusers on Twitter, theories about the whereabouts of the ‘missing mucky madam’ and ‘procuring queen’ of this sordid saga, Ghislaine Maxwell, continue to do the rounds.

     

    Quite ludicrously in February, the Mirror claimed ‘Bouncing Bob’s’ bombastic “bitch” of a daughter could be “hiding in a submarine.” Nobody mentioned whether she was playing Yellow Submarine down there or if she had Amelia Earhart and Glenn Miller singing along with her, however. After it was more recently claimed that Miss Maxwell has been sheltering at her late mother’s former home, Chateau de la Malartrie, La Roque-Gageac, 24220 Vézac, France, the journalist Laura Goldman came out claiming to the contrary. Yesterday, this supposed “friend” ‘authoritatively’ tweeted: “#GhislaineMaxwell isn’t at her family’s chateau in France.”

     

    Elsewhere, in an open letter published in the somewhat way-out-beyond-wacky title Politicalite on 2nd April, Goldman was described by a group of Epstein’s victims as “a dubious source with a colourful history.” They termed her a woman whom they believed The Sun “[should not] consider a reliable source” and added: “Anything said by Ms. Goldman… presented herewith is not trustworthy.”

     

    With no sightings in the UK or America in months, it has been speculated that this pension’s plunderer’s daughter could have taken refuge in Israel. This theory seems more likely than most and whilst another supposed “chum,” Lady Victoria Hervey, described Maxwell as “like a James Bond character,” nobody with half-a-brain would go as far as to argue she’s even close to being on a level with Ernst Blofeld or Max Zorin.

     

    “Not renowned for having much upstairs” Lady Hervey subsequently stated: “I just don’t believe anyone is going to find her,” but, whatever is the case, there are a lot of outstanding questions awaiting Ghislaine Maxwell. It is now jolly well time this wicked wench turned herself in and it’s jolly well time she faced the music – be it accompanied by a Beatles tune or otherwise.

     

    Pictured top: Disgraced media mogul’s spawn Ghislaine Maxwell with currently-still-a-media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

     

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    Where’s Ghislaine? As Prince Andrew faces the possibility of being sued by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we again join those asking: “Where’s Ghislaine Maxwell?” Suggestions that she’s on a submarine do seem a bit far-fetched, but you never know… Featuring Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, Lady Victoria Hervey, Virginia Giuffre (Virginia Roberts), Rupert Murdoch and Laura Goldman and the late Robert Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
    Virginia Giuffre, a victim of sexual abuse and grooming by Jeffrey Epstein, is not giving up. In a recent tweet she announced: “#TimesUp #PrinceAndrew #GhislaineMaxwell Co-Conspirators – lie through your teeth – the truth is coming out!”
    Where’s Ghislaine? As Prince Andrew faces the possibility of being sued by victims of Jeffrey Epstein, we again join those asking: “Where’s Ghislaine Maxwell?” Suggestions that she’s on a submarine do seem a bit far-fetched, but you never know… Featuring Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Sarah, Duchess of York, Lady Victoria Hervey, Virginia Giuffre (Virginia Roberts), Rupert Murdoch and Laura Goldman and the late Robert Maxwell and the late Jeffrey Epstein.
    A tweet from Laura Goldman claims Ghislaine Maxwell is not at a French chateau belonging to her late mother, Dr Betty Maxwell, but many are now asking: “How does this supposed friend actually know?”
  • Dumb & Dumber

    Dumb & Dumber

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press (but strangely not including ‘The Sunday Sport’) just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers, have yet again proved themselves as nothing but ridiculous attention seekers suggests Matthew Steeples

    In a way you can’t blame the “tone death wastrels” that are the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for their latest move. In announcing they’ll childishly be ignoring the likes of the Daily Mail and The Sun completely henceforth, one can fathom that they think that such a strategy will make their ‘problems’ go away. Frankly, these entitled brats will very deservedly find quite to the contrary.

     

    In a statement that appears to have been written by someone with no grasp or command of common sense or correct use of grammar, sent at the height of a global pandemic killing thousands each day, attention seeker ‘MeGain’ has achieved exactly what she wants: A return to herself garnering acres of press attention each and every moment. This mendacious madam has utterly no shame – after all, for her, it’s always just been the “me, me and more about bloody me” show – and in calling her out Andrew Neil is quite right. In a tweet, the veteran broadcaster remarked: “Their solipsism is amazing. Can’t they just consign themselves to oblivion for a while? Or at least hire someone who can write a press release in clear, decent English” and now this wicked wench will find to her cost that the silent majority will agree. We have all heard enough and more and more sympathy is switching to poor old Thomas Markle – a father who has been treated utterly abysmally by a deviant who’d put herself in the White House if she thought it might get herself just a bit more fame.

     

    On Friday, the first hearing relating to Associated Newspapers publishing ‘The Modern Day Mrs Simpson’s’ correspondence to her father is due. Plainly, thus, this badly advised move is related to stoking the media up as part of a strategy to fight that case. It won’t work as the public are not as stupid as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex think, but most amusingly as one Dr Midd pointed out on Twitter: “Notice that Meghan and Harry haven’t included the Sunday Sport in their blacklisting, a victory for quality journalism.”

     

    The full statement from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex:

     

    As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex now settle into the next chapter of their lives and no longer receive any publicly funded support, we are writing to set a new media relations policy, specifically as it pertains to your organisation.

     

    Like you, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex believe that a free press is a cornerstone to any democracy – particularly in moments of crisis. At its best, this free press shines light on dark places, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, standing up for what’s right, challenging power, and holding those who abuse the system to account.

     

    It has been said that journalism’s first obligation is to the truth. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex agree wholeheartedly.

     

    It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print – even when they know it to be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason. When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much needed industry is degraded.

     

    There is a real human cost to this way of doing business and it affects every corner of society.

     

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know – as well as complete strangers – have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.

     

    With that said, please note that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement. This is also a policy being instated for their communications team, in order to protect that team from the side of the industry that readers never see.

     

    This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media have every right to report on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie. They also want to be very clear: this is not in any way a blanket policy for all media.

     

    The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking forward to working with journalists and media organisations all over the world, engaging with grassroots media, regional and local media, and young, and up-and-coming journalists, to spotlight issues and causes that so desperately need acknowledging. And they look forward to doing whatever they can to help further opportunities for more diverse and underrepresented voices, who are needed now more than ever.

     

    What they won’t do is offer themselves up as currency for an economy of clickbait and distortion.

     

    We are encouraged that this new approach will be heard and respected.

     

    The publications that the couple will not engage with not engage with henceforth are:

     

    Daily Express

     

    Daily Mail

     

    Daily Mirror

     

    express.co.uk

     

    Mail on Sunday

     

    MailOnline, including US outlet DailyMail.com

     

    mirror.co.uk

     

    Sunday Express

     

    Sunday Mirror

     

    Sunday People

     

    The Sun

     

    The Sun on Sunday

     

    thesun.co.uk

     

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    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
    Dumb & Dumber – Duke and Duchess of Sussex score yet another own goal – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, in stoking a new war with the press, have yet again proved themselves to be ridiculous attention seekers just prior to the commencement of their case against Associated Newspapers.
  • Save The Free Press

    Save The Free Press

    As #SaveTheSunNewspaper trends on Twitter, an analysis of the sorry state of the British press should act as a wake-up call to our nation suggests Matthew Steeples

    Yesterday, ‘Save The Sun Newspaper’ was all over Twitter. Those clicking the hashtag were not taken to a page bemoaning the fact that the Rupert Murdoch owned paper has lost £68 million in the last year alone, but to a Go Fund Me campaign that has raised over £16,500 that will be donated to the Essex Coronavirus Action Urgent Food Bank Appeal.

     

    Set up by an Essex based food bank campaigner named Simon Harris, #SaveTheSunNewspaper garnered support because of the intense dislike for a newspaper that some claim is “not fit to wipe their arse with” whilst others (especially the people of Liverpool, a city where it is mostly banned due to their crass reporting of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster) condemn it for its “lies” and “bigoted” reporting.

     

    Whilst the ‘fake’ hashtag was about helping foodbanks, on Sunday night, the Guardian’s Roy Greenslade highlighted a genuine problem for the British press. In an article titled: “Why our newspapers might not survive the contagion of coronavirus,” the media commentator observed: “It is the bleakest of ironies: the biggest news story in a lifetime is killing off the very industry that exists to report it. Coronavirus is destroying newsprint newspapers across Britain, delivering the coup de grace to businesses that were already in the process of dying.”

     

    Whilst it has been for long known that traditional media has struggled to cope and find a way to exist and maintain revenue streams in a period where online and social media have battered it, coronavirus, it appears, will be the death knell for many a print newspaper.

     

    Just like, for example, the restaurant sector, which will likely see many establishments fail to reopen once this pandemic is over due to them not having the resources to get their staff back and pay their rent and suppliers, many print newspapers – most especially local titles – will not weather the storm. As Greenslade points out, “it seems inconceivable that publishers, already struggling to fund journalism, will return to the previous status quo.” Going further, he remarks: “That’s because the status quo was, itself, one of perpetual fragility in which publishers were engaged in the delicate task of managing newsprint decline while, in parallel, seeking to create a digital journalism business model.”

     

    Here comes an epoch of change and with newsrooms across Britain currently completely empty, publishers will indeed start to rationalise when so-called “normality” returns (in whatever form that takes). Expensive city centre offices will be shut and like cancer, profitless titles will most likely be permanently closed down. This will not be a loss that should be glorified and it will not be something that should celebrated; without good journalism, we’ll all be the poorer. Those thinking we can rely on the Twitterati for news are in for an era of the emperor’s new clothes and they’re in for a future where fake news will quite wrongly reign.

     

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  • Shame on the Met

    Shame on the Met

    Matthew Steeples suggests that at a time when public resources are totally overstretched, that the Met Police are set to waste more money on the plainly pointless search for Madeleine McCann is an outrage

    Let’s be honest: Madeleine McCann will most likely never be found. Whatever people might say and however much they might hope, with nearly £12 million of public money and much more private cash wasted on a search that has achieved zilch, zero, nada, anything more is just throwing good wonga after bad.

     

    Now, with news last night that the Met Police will be allocating further funds to continue the search (at a time when they’re asking for retired officers to return to help police the public during the coronavirus outbreak), the public will be rightly outraged.

     

    Whilst I and others have for years argued that the disproportionate allocation of resources to this case stinks and that other missing children (whose cases get little to no financial aid) deserve parity, this latest announcement is a step too far. Speaking to The Sun yesterday, an unnamed police source stated:

     

    “There has been some recent speculation that the investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance could be put on hold or discontinued because of the coronavirus epidemic and a shortage of officers working. This isn’t the case and we can’t see the outbreak causing a problem for this ongoing inquiry. Neither can the Home Office. We’ve been told there will hopefully be no problem with new funding.”

     

    Gerry and Kate McCann’s closeness to the likes of Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May and Baroness Meyer has also aided their ability to keep the cash rolling in since their daughter ‘disappeared’ in May 2007. Equally, with mega rich ‘friends’ like the job killer Sir Richard Branson, the alleged sex abuser Sir Philip Green and the angry busybody J. K. Rowling on their side, the McCanns – unlike less wealthy parents of other missing children such as Kerry Needham – have been able to manipulate the media without good reason.

     

    Frankly, nothing new has been uncovered in this case in years and now it is not the time to give more money. Instead, it’s time to shelve the search for Madeleine McCann and instead use precious and scarce financial resources to solve cases that can actually be solved.

     

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    Shame on the Met – Met Police shouldn’t waste resources on Madeleine McCann – At a time when public resources are totally overstretched, that the Met Police are set to waste more money on the plainly pointless search for Madeleine McCann is an outrage. Ben Needham and Martin Allen cases deserve equal treatment, for example.
    Missing still yet little to no police resources for their cases – Ben Needham disappeared in Kos, Greece on the 24th July 1991 aged 1 and his mother gets little help for her search; Martin Allen disappeared in London on 5th November 1979 aged 15 and though his brother, Kevin, keeps the case in the public eye as much as he can, he gets little to no help from the Metropolitan Police.
    Shame on the Met – Met Police shouldn’t waste resources on Madeleine McCann – At a time when public resources are totally overstretched, that the Met Police are set to waste more money on the plainly pointless search for Madeleine McCann is an outrage. Ben Needham and Martin Allen cases deserve equal treatment, for example.
    Meanwhile, Madeleine McCann – whose parents left the doors and windows to the apartment they were staying in and did not pay for childcare on that fateful night – disappeared on the 3rd May 2007 in Praia da Luz, Portugal. The investigation into how she went ‘missing’ has cost nearly £12 million of British public money thus far and more is going to be given. Something, frankly, does not add up and interested individuals should take a look at our previous analysis: “Missing Madeleine – Questions without Answers.”
  • With Friends Like These…

    With Friends Like These…

    That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the diminutive skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached

    ‘Randy Andy’ has never been considered capable of carefulness in his choice of company, but in opting to have one of the stingiest billionaires on the planet round for a spot of dinner (and a “few high-spirited games” afterwards according to The Sun) shows this alleged groper’s demise is nearly complete.

     

    This morning, the paper reported the Duke of York and his family had the poisonous dwarf Bernie Ecclestone round to his Royal Lodge, Windsor home last Wednesday to celebrate his birthday. That they couldn’t get a better quality of guest given the scandals they’re engulfed in is not surprising, but one is only left asking: “What did this reprehensible bunch consume?”

     

    Given tax careful Bernard – a man with qualities that would make Leona Helmsley look generous – is renowned for his meanness with money, most likely he brought with him the cheapest margherita from the Woking branch of Pizza Express. Undoubtedly nobody sweated either and one can likely predict that ‘The Coffin Dodger’ opted to take the takeaway cardboard box home with him for re-use later.

     

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    With Friends Like These… Bernie Ecclestone and the Duke of York – That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached.
    Prince Andrew is plainly a man who’ll hang out with anyone – as long as they are rich and/or powerful. He had no qualms in staying with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein after he got out of jail.
    With Friends Like These… Bernie Ecclestone and the Duke of York – That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached.
    He’s spent time with the alleged procurer of underage girls Ghislaine Maxwell as recently as last summer.
    With Friends Like These… Bernie Ecclestone and the Duke of York – That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached.
    He’s a friend of Donald and Melania Trump. The President is well-known for tax evasion and many other nefarious activities.
    With Friends Like These… Bernie Ecclestone and the Duke of York – That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached.
    He and his wife spent time holidaying at the expense of the alleged paedophile Peter Nygard.
    With Friends Like These… Bernie Ecclestone and the Duke of York – That Prince Andrew decided to share his birthday with the skinflint Bernie Ecclestone shows the new low he has reached.
    The Duke and Duchess of York also associated with the convicted paedophile Stuart Hall. Shame on the pair of them.