Ooops!
Elon withdrawing support from Farage?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTgKcvy6WBA
Elon Musk has called for Nigel Farage to stand down as Reform UK leader, saying he “doesn’t have what it takes.”

The Royal Academy, Mayfair, London

Once back in London from our Scottish adventures and the gruelling trip down the M4, Hairy wants to spend our last day taking in the ‘Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Florence, c. 1504’ exhibition at the Royal Academy (a historic place for doyens of Art). We brave the train from Mortlake to Waterloo for a start, listening for news of shutdowns which always happen somewhere. Luckily none of these affected our journey this time.  Were to now? I ask at busy Waterloo. To a place called ‘follow me’ he answers as usual. So that is what, as usual, I do. On to the grimy Bakerloo tube and then off to Mayfair, (Monopoly Hotels $400), with Regent Street still lit up for Christmas, the Royal Arcade and the Burlington Arcade a delight for diamond and other sparkly shopping, Saville Row nearby too, as well as all of the big couture brands where custom seemed brisk enough.
 
We had booked a time for the exhibition and had time for lunch first, which we took in an English pub called the Goat’s Tavern, just opposite the more famous King’s Head hostelry, though the Goat’s Tavern was interesting too. It was once a haunt in the late 1600’s of Royal Navy Officers and later for astronomers for the Royal Astronomical Society founded in 1820. The exhibition itself was timed for one hour per session, which was long enough to see the way in which the younger Raphael did drawings (‘cartoons’) copying the works of the other two masters, and then putting similar thought slightly different movement and action into his own pictures. All three masters had pieces exhibiting and all three were awe inspiring to see. Security was tight and they took my water bottle off me. No soup from idiot climateers wanted in these precious precincts, and guards were standing around everywhere. The clientele of viewers was definitely of a certain social class.  Obvious from accents and clothes. Polite Britain on display, culture hand-held in the consulted catalogue.

I had a great time afterwards, taking a rest stop where coffee was served at the main entrance in front of the dramatic staircase. I was fascinated that it seemed to be a meeting place for well-off young people who likely had conversed first on the internet then phone. It became unavoidable not to hear one young swain trying to impress a beautiful princess (in his eyes) that he had just met. What are your brands? she asked him by way of conversation. In watches? Oh, Cartier and Omega, he answered, which seemed to go down well. They sipped their champagne glasses containing some concoction of coffee froth and scattered coffee beans, chatting away.

They seemed to be asking what they thought of each other. I did catch her saying jokingly that she would find him more forgettable than he would find her. I moved a little away from them, not wanting to intrude. Are we done now? I heard him ask as he stood up, the glasses empty. My friend comes back from Italy on Friday, she answered, teasingly. As they walked off I saw that he went to put his arm around her, and then dropped it back, obviously thinking better of the move. And on they both went with their lives, together through the entrance at any rate, perhaps for ever. Or perhaps not. 

noted a few other scenes of arrival and departure with great interest, not all of them romantic ones, simply of friends or family, until Hairy returned from the loo and we too went off in the darkening afternoon. We walked by the Ritz on the other side of the road, all lit up with Christmas lights still, completely glamorous. A sad man about forty years old sat on the pavement on our side under his coat, huddled against the cold, looking at the Ritz, his begging cup empty. I emptied my coin purse into it, more than three pounds, as we had no further use for coins. His gratitude was humbling. I don’t care it it ‘only encourages them’. I can’t comfortably walk by that.

Anyone old enough to remember Rundle St Adelaide, 1961?

I’d better say my goodbyes now, as the latest set of panic memes about drinking alcohol will have me dead soon!

Ahaha! Head line from ABC (US not Oz):

Lawmakers brace for Trump’s promised Jan. 6 pardons. Some are urging restraint

Suuuure. Like Biden has been restrained in pardoning and awarding the nation’s ne’er do wells. A “restrained” orgy, if you like.

They’re still madly gaslighting about the 2020 election, of course. They have to, there is no other option for them.

MPs left ‘speechless’ at police HIDING ethnicity of grooming gangs

The video discusses concerns about grooming gangs currently operating and being inadequately investigated by police. It highlights the lack of proper data collection by law enforcement and local authorities, including the omission of details on victims’ and perpetrators’ ethnicity. The absence of this data impedes distinguishing between different grooming gangs. The speaker expresses dismay that police are seemingly unable or unwilling to address these data gaps, particularly regarding ethnicity, which is considered a basic competence in child protection. This oversight has left some MPs “speechless” at the police’s approach to such serious crimes.

n the video “Women Question Their Marriage For Pixels…” from the Thinking-Ape channel, the creator discusses the influence of a mobile game called “Love and Deep Space” on women, particularly focusing on how it can lead them to question real-life relationships. The game, which features anime-esque characters and romantic storylines, has a subreddit where women share how it affects their emotions and perceptions of relationships. The creator critiques what he sees as delusional behavior, highlighting posts where women draw connections between their dissatisfaction in marriages and the game’s portrayal of ideal relationships. He argues that such games exploit emotional weaknesses by offering fantasy solutions disconnected from reality, and describes the online support among women as enabling delusion rather than offering critical perspectives. The overarching theme is that these games encourage unrealistic expectations and self-delusion, ultimately affecting real relationships negatively. The narrator concludes that catering to female delusion could have detrimental social implications as games like these become more prevalent.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Ukraine, War, Peace, Putin, Trump, NATO, and Freedom | Lex Fridman Podcast #456

In this episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine discusses various geopolitical issues, focusing primarily on the ongoing conflict with Russia. The conversation highlights Ukraine’s ongoing struggles with disinformation and corruption accusations, battling the perception of corruption during wartime, and the importance of transparent operations. Zelenskyy emphasizes that Ukraine’s war effort is primarily supported through military aid rather than financial aid directly, and underscores the complexities and misinformation surrounding this aid. The dialogue further delves into the impact of the Russian language in Ukraine, where Zelenskyy shares personal anecdotes about his language preference and its symbolic significance amid the war. The conversation covers the symbolic nature of language choices in war, reflecting on Ukraine’s fight for freedom and national identity. Zelenskyy also addresses peace prospects, exploring potential paths for peace with Russia. He expresses a willingness to negotiate but with conditions that ensure Ukraine’s security and sovereignty. The discussion touches on potential roles Donald Trump and Elon Musk might play in supporting Ukraine, whether in peace talks or technological aid. Finally, Zelenskyy emphasizes the need for secure and lasting peace, mentioning ideas like NATO membership and international alliances that could provide Ukraine with necessary security guarantees. He insists that any form of ceasefire or peace agreement should involve strong security measures to prevent future conflict aggression from Russia

Elon Musk on Saturday called for Britain’s King Charles to dissolve parliament and order a new general election over complaints about the British government’s handling of “grooming gangs” a decade ago, marking the Tesla CEO’s latest venture into global politics as British officials say Musk has shared “factually inaccurate” claims on social media.

forbes

The recent Farage/Musk X stoush seems a good example of Trump’s technique of ambit trolling. Farage is described by the MSM as influenced by Musk. To get the same media to show Farage is independent of Musk you start a troll stoush. The MSM can’t help but promote it. Farage wins. Musk wins. Given Trump’s negotiation techniques described in his books (highly recommended), this looks like it was cooked up by the three.

It’s almost like the pommy establishment tries to compensate for their own cowardice and uselessness by attacking white Brits. Don’t forget too that they’re not only destroying British society but also the real economy there. Of course the two are intertwined.

Stunning painting. What the fvcking mueslis did to that Cathedral is utterly disgusting. Was there 15 years ago and it was one of the most disheartening sights ever.

To see its glory in the painting only makes it worse.

Is there nothing these satanists will not destroy??? Rhetorical question.

Just a question regarding the painting. Would the Eastern Orthodox church have allowed a Communion run by Roman bishops in the Cathedral? By the late 12th Century the schism was well established. Anybody know?

House Insurance due for renewal
30% increase on last year??

Chalmers said inflation was under control.
Are you saying Chalmers is lying ?

This is not medical advice.
Purely my own experience.

Two months ago I started taking N-acetyl cysteine.
I haven’t taken a peak flow test or anything like that since I was a teenager so don’t have metric I can base anything off.

I can say I am now running faster for further than I have for a long time.
It’s the only change to my supplements I’ve made in that time.

If you’ve got breathing issues maybe something to raise with your health care professional.

The generic response by Albo & co re healthcare costs is usually a combination of bulk billing, access to “free” emergency care, more drugs than ever on the PBS & private health insurance increases less than inflation.

Some of that’s right.
The key issues are the real costs when you drill down into it.
How many doctors rely on bulk billing only? The co-pay to see my GP is $70.
And private health insurance. Sure premiums have gone up less than inflation (just).
The issue is very few plans cover has increased while the costs of the service has increased by over 100% since 2020.
A pair of glasses might have been 300-400 bucks.
Good luck getting a quality pair now for less than 800.
(quality = surviving a dog head butt or dog foot, not some fancy brand name).

Healthcare costs are going through household savings like a hot knife through butter.

Trudeau you little wuss.

I thought this may be of interest whilst the Cricket was on. 😀

This pus on humanity is up to his old trick of playing the “Look over there” diversion:

You’ve got this arse-about mate. – Michael Smith News

House Insurance due for renewal
30% increase on last year??
Lots of uninsured houses in future!

Shopping around is good but you need to be on them, seems to be a default 20% a year rise inbuilt. Car we’ve gone from AAMI to Suncorp and back in last 5 years. We have dropped other insurances on items not worth it as the premiums were worth risking not having it.

As for the companies I have long been of the opinion they need a stronger hand to stop some of the more unconscionable conduct they try to pull. Particularly with travel insurance, some are d-heads but there’s been also a darker side too, I know of people who have basically had to lawyer up when an insurance company digs heels in…

Know its a fine line however and minimum maybe needs to be a plain English explanation of what you are signing up to and regulatory backstop to enforce without having to resort to expensive legal representation.

I don’t agree that Farage’s concerns about Tommy Robinson are purely class based.

Robinson may have his heart in the right place, but he is a loose cannon with a criminal past (fraud, IIRC).

Right wing parties always have to be wary of fringe individuals with the potential to hand their opponents ammunition on a plate.

That said, the persecution and imprisonment of Robinson (not his real name, BTW) is to be deplored. But, criticising such actions should not be conflated for support for the individual involved.

It may be that Nigel is getting too big for his boots. However, Elon Musk is perhaps not the best judge of every aspect of British politics, since he does have one or two other things on his plate.

Don’t know if anyone has linked this but wow talk about tin ear if he said this in the last few days:

https://www.michaelsmithnews.com/2025/01/youve-got-this-arse-about-mate.html#comments

Click the twitter link, goes for about 2min.

I’m starting to wonder whether he has some skeletons in the closet that are being used against him. He couldn’t be that dim.

How Europe Sabotaged Its Own Economy

The video “How Europe Sabotaged Its Own Economy” from the Economics Explained channel examines the economic challenges facing Europe compared to the USA. Despite being a large, advanced economy with high living standards, Europe has experienced almost two decades of economic stagnation whereas the USA has pulled ahead. The primary issues are self-inflicted and relate to five key areas: innovation, immigration, industry, integration, and energy. 1. **Innovation**: Europe is lagging in technological advancements compared to the USA and China. Despite some exceptions like ASML in the Netherlands, Europe lacks a critical mass of technology companies and investments seen in places like Silicon Valley. 2. **Immigration**: While immigration is crucial for economic growth, Europe’s approach, focused more on social issues rather than economic stimulation, is less effective than Canada’s or Australia’s. Additionally, Europe is facing a brain drain, losing skilled workers to the USA and other regions. 3. **Industry and Energy**: Europe’s energy sector suffers from a reliance on external sources, with recent geopolitical tensions exacerbating this. High energy costs and regulations are making it difficult for industries to thrive compared to more lenient areas like the USA. 4. **Integration and Interpretation**: The EU’s strict regulations can hamper business development, and while this can lead to beneficial global standards, it can also stifle innovation. Additionally, Europe’s economies, while less productive than the USA, might offer better quality of life due to less expensive healthcare and living costs for average citizens. 5. **Demographic and Labor Concerns**: Europe’s aging population and high youth unemployment pose challenges. Although labor force participation is relatively high, many older people work out of necessity rather than prosperity. The video suggests that Europe’s economic issues, while significant, can be addressed given their self-inflicted nature. Improvements in energy policy, innovation, and immigration strategies are potential areas for growth and stabilization. Despite current challenges, the overall quality of life in Europe remains high compared to the USA. However, continued stagnation might threaten these advantages.
—-
It’s the bureaucracy stupid!

The left-wing Labour Party government in Britain is “haemorrhaging” voters to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK over the issue of mass migration, a “mega-poll” has found.
According to a seat-by-seat analysis conducted by the Stonehaven political strategy firm, Reform UK would surge to 120 seats if the election were held today after just sending five MPs to Westminster in the general election in July.
Meanwhile, the left-wing Labour Party would “plummet” from 411 seats to 278, and the so-called Conservatives are projected to win 157 seats, the i paper reports.
The survey found that 55 per cent of voters who backed Labour in last year’s election but who now support Reform listed immigration as their top concern, followed by healthcare at 47 per cent, cost of living at 46 per cent, and energy prices at 32 per cent.
Commenting on his party’s surging support, Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf said that it showed that Reform is on the precipice of “making history and will win the next general election”.

“Reform won five seats in July. Six months on this poll shows we would win 120 seats,” he said. “Imagine where we will be in a year and in four years. The century-long stranglehold the two old parties have had is finally breaking.”
Stonehaven said that their analysis demonstrated that Labour’s support is “shallow”, noting that the party swept to a large majority in the Parliament with just 34 per cent of the vote nationally, and thus, it must demonstrate to the public that it is willing and able to tackle mass migration.
The head of data science for the firm, Luke Betham, said: “Immigration is the key issue that is driving them away from Labour,” adding: “Labour should start by focusing on where these voters are, not where the party wants them to be.
“The change that was voted for at the last election cannot be realised, in their minds, unless immigration is part of the Government’s delivery narrative come the next election.”
Separately, a survey from YouGov this week found that 70 per cent of Britons believe that the levels of immigration have been too high, the highest level since the pollster began tracking such numbers in 2019.
Of those, 50 per cent say that immigration has been “much too high”, also the highest on record for a YouGov poll. Conversely, just 15 per cent said they thought immigration levels to the UK were “about right”.
Overall, the survey found that the economy remains the top concern for voters, at 52 per cent. Immigration comes in a close second, at 46 per cent, followed by healthcare at 40 per cent.
In his speech at the Reform UK conference in Leicester on Friday, party leader Nigel Farage argued that the issues facing the British economy and social services are intrinsically linked to mass migration.
“It’s my view that the population explosion of more than 10 million in the last 20 years is the biggest contributor to our diminishing quality of life. We cannot get access to health care, our children and grandchildren cannot get onto the housing ladder, the traffic is impossible, nothing works anymore,” he said.
“This has been done to us not just by Tony Blair and Labor but it’s been done to us above all by a Conservative Party who lied through their teeth at every single general election and our job now is to replace them as the opposition party in British politics and that is what we are going to do,” Farage vowed.

Labour Voters Flock to Farage’s Reform UK over Mass Migration: Poll

Heresy!

Popular California vegan restaurant chain closes after angry customers mercilessly attacked it for putting meat on the menu (Sky News, 6 Jan)

A popular California vegan restaurant chain announced it was shutting its doors after years of financial struggles — but the final nails in the coffin came from angry vegans who began attacking the company when it put meat on the menu.

Sage Regenerative Kitchen & Brewery will close Sunday after 14 years, a move its owner Mollie Engelhart told Eater was a “sad victory” for the vegans who came out in droves to protest the eatery’s decision to start serving bison burgers, cheese and other non-vegan fare in an effort to draw in new customers.

While the restaurant, with locations in Echo Park and Pasadena, was one of California’s most beloved plant-based bistros, it had struggled with rent and taxes for some time.

Furious vegans review-bombed the restaurant with one-star reviews.

“Will never eat here now that they serve meat. I’m sure y’all lost a lot of your vegan base when you added meat. Disgraceful,” one reviewer said on Yelp.

“I brought all my friends there to have meals and it was a safe and delicious place for Vegans. You’ve turned on your core roots and the animals in a way that is so disappointing,” another reviewer said.

When Sage announced it was closing with a post on its Instagram account, many vegans responded with delight.

It’s amusing that a normal restaurant can have vegan options on their menu and no one bats an eyelid, but if a vegan restaurant puts even a cheese dish on their menu the howling and denunciations are epic.

Bolta putting the boot ib=n:

The Albanese government and its agencies spent $453,000 on welcomes in the last two years

The ritual, which treats millions of Australians as strangers to the country they were born in, has become a racket worth millions of dollars for race warriors.

Andrew Bolt

Now we know for sure what a fraud these welcomes to country are.

Stop press: the activists welcoming us to our own country are doing it for the cash.

We’re talking about fake welcomes but real money – a race racket now worth millions of dollars.

Don’t buy the spin.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party says in its Reconciliation Action Plan that we need these welcome ceremonies to “demonstrate respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”, and Albanese himself last year claimed “it costs nothing to show respect”.

But that’s sure not the case with these welcomes to country, invented in 1976 by television presenter Ernie Dingo and musician Richard Walley, and often performed now by urban activists.

It turns out that Albanese’s government and its agencies in fact spent $453,000 on welcomes in the last two years, according to Freedom of Information records obtained by federal Liberal MP James Stevens.

What a waste, but the worst of it is that this big cash giveaway – around $1266 per ceremony – is just a fraction of the full cost of this divisive ritual, which treats millions of Australians as strangers to the country they were born in.

As strangers even to the soil in which many of us have buried our parents.

Add, for instance, the welcomes paid for by every city council.

Brisbane alone spent $135,000 in these past two years.

In fact, many of our other more than 500 councils and shires around Australia also pay for welcome ceremonies.

Melbourne’s ultra-woke Moreland, Port Phillip and Yarra councils were already each spending around $11,000 of taxpayers money on welcomes in 2011 and 2012, and even the tiny Harvey Shire in Western Australia was recently spending more than $6000 a year.

And we’re still not even close to the full cost.

Businesses and schools also pay activists to welcome the rest of us, as do universities and sporting codes – the AFL is hooked on the ritual – plus woke associations and hospitals.

Some people pay extra for frills.

SBS hired a “loreman” to not only perform a welcome a welcome at its Artarmon headquarters, but also a “smoking” of every floor “to help cleanse away the past few years”.

One Aboriginal corporation even charged $2000 for a ceremony so a NSW surf life saving club could use its local beach for four events, including a Nippers program.

So this is big business for some activists.

In Melbourne, for instance, Colin Hunter – who identifies as a Wurrundjeri elder – has been paid to welcome us at AFL finals and the Melbourne Cup, but he’s also done the job for a very long list of clients, including the Melbourne Central shopping centre, Berry Street child services, Stonnington council, the Hawthorn Bowling Club, Swinburne University of Technology, and the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.

No job seems too small or peripheral.

Hunter has also performed welcomes for the Australian Society of Archivists, the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity and even the Preston Bullants Junior Football Club.

Meanwhile, Ian Hunter, who also identifies as a Wurrundjeri elder despite also having Scottish ancestry, has done welcomes for Telstra, Monash council, the Australian Physiotherapy Association, Berwick College and many others.

That’s not to say anyone has acted unlawfully by taking advantage of these woke rituals.

But all these welcomes around Australia add up to more than a mountain of money that could have been better spent on getting young Aboriginal children a good schooling, rather than on activists pandering to middle-class whites after some collective feel-good.

It also adds up to too many welcomes to mean anything genuine.

How many times must an Australian be welcomed to their own country before the whole thing sounds as fake as Bruce Pascoe? Three? Ten? Twenty?

How do these welcomes work? Is a welcome to the MCG valid only for one game? Does a welcome to country at our federal parliament expire after three years?

A true welcome to our country can’t be so temporary, surely.

But maybe they must be, to help some race warriors turn a buck.

They need the repeat business.

Of course, I could be unfair to say these welcomes are just for the money.

So let me suggest some transparency to clear the air.

Let every welcome to country start with an acknowledgment of how much the welcomer got to give it: “I acknowledge the $1500 I was paid …”

Then we’ll at least know if their welcome comes from the heart or the wallet.

We’ll know if we’re welcomed as fellow Australians or just more customers.

Daily Tele