Category: Sparrow Chat

^{Does my gourd look big in this? So asks PETA, now claiming vegetables are good for men’s sexual stamina. Vomit bag at the ready if you click to enlarge.}

Arwa Mahdawi wrote a piece in the Guardian today that got my aging grey cells jingling. I enjoy reading Arwa’s stuff, she’s an interesting writer and often makes a lot of sense. Her essay was about the advertising campaigns of PETA – ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’.

I remember this shower of nutters from my time with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They were constantly trying to infiltrate the ruling Council of the Society so they could take it over. They harangued their members into joining the RSPCA, which gave them the right to vote at the annual general meeting, then turned up en masse every year and tried to vote their representatives onto the Council. Thankfully, at least while I worked there, they never succeeded.

Arwa Mahdawi, herself a vegetarian, was lambasting these crazed “animal lovers” for the disgusting adverts they produce in an effort to persuade everyone to give up eating meat (note the above image from PETA’s latest public offering):

Peta’s latest act of tofu terrorism is a new ad centred around masculinity. “Traditional masculinity is DEAD,” it announces. “The secret to male sexual stamina is veggies.” It brought this thesis to life with a puerile video featuring men vigorously waving vegetable genitalia. Nothing has ever made me want to eat a carrot less. Or an aubergine. Congrats, Peta: you’ve put me off fruit and veg. I’m craving a hamberder, as I believe the meat-treats are called in the White House.

Peta’s ads are so distasteful that I sometimes wonder whether the organisation is a genius invention by the meat industry, designed to make animal rights activists look ridiculous. In December, it irritated the internet with a plea to stop using phrases such as “bring home the bacon” or “flog a dead horse” because they trivialise violence against animals. Peta also has a good record of irritating feminists with misogynistic advertising that treats women like pieces of meat.^[1]

If there’s one thing I detest it’s pressure groups. Well, actually, there’re quite a few things I detest but that’s for another day. Pressure groups spend all their time trying to force, coerce, or harangue folk into accepting what their own warped belief systems are festering. Christians probably rank near the top of the list, and those blasted Jehovah’s Witnesses that come waking you up at two o’clock on a Sunday afternoon trying to flog their sodding Watch Towers.

We men can’t open our computers these days without being told we’re all crazed, lecherous, sex-fiends out to ravish and rape any woman who dares set foot out her front door. #MeToo, which incidentally, I once supported, has now become just another platform for the men-hating, vitriolic, Germaine Greers of this world. She once wrote, “women have no idea how much men hate them,” which is just about the most generalised load of bollocks to spew forth from any rampant feminist’s orifice.

There have been sicko perverts around, like Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, since the dawn of time. The curse of social media, however, is relatively recent and solely responsible for the upsurge in misandry (it’s like misogyny, but the other way round) that is causing men to fear going closer than half a mile from any woman, for fear of the dreaded scream…

“Sexual Harassment!!!! His coat brushed my sleeve as he past, officer. I think he wanted to rape me!”

No! For Gawd’s sake, he was just late for work and rushing to catch the 8.45 from Paddington.

Of course there’re crapbags out there. Women need protection from them. No reasonable man would argue with that. But, ladies, don’t judge us all by the Weinsteins of this world.

#MeToo began as a worthy cause, but has metamorphosed into a monster pressure group. Its vocal supporters would have women believe that all men are lechers. Well, I have to admit, yes we are. In a sense, they’re quite right. I doubt there’s a red-blooded, heterosexual, male out there who after a couple of pints wouldn’t readily admit (though not to his wife!) that on the train, the bus, in the supermarket, or anywhere else where ladies gather, when entering such establishments his eye doesn’t immediately roam to the prettiest wenches around. I’ll freely admit to the occasional glimpse at forbidden fruit. I may be seventy-three (nearly), and my hair a delicate shade of white, but as the old adage dictates: there may be snow on the roof, but there’s still a fire in the cellar.

That doesn’t make us all dangerous rapists. It just makes us – well, men. And yes, we have a responsibility to respect, and protect, all the ladies – whether seventeen or seventy – with whom we share this planet. 99.99% of us will do that. So, please, don’t let the fanatic feminist brigade condemn us all for the few rotten apples floating around in the barrel.

RJ’s dictionary definition: Pressure group ~ a bandwagon jumped on to enable one to feel superior to others.

As for PETA, their core ideal may be good. And the ethical treatment of animals is a cause I could support one hundred percent, but not when it’s corrupted into the rotten political structure that exists under the title of, ‘People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’.

^{[1] “There’s one thing that really puts me off veganism: Peta” Guardian, 20th January 2019}

^{Click to enlarge}

Media throughout the world have been broadcasting their own versions of les Gilets jaunes protest marches in France over the last two months. I’ve not seen one that hasn’t focused on the violence and damage to property inflicted during these protests.

Please note, I wrote ‘during’, not, ‘by the protesters’. ‘Les Gilets jaunes’ are ordinary French people doing that which the citizens of many other countries should be copying: making their voices heard by a government no longer doing its job of representing the people – all the people, not just the top, wealthy, one percent of society.

Unfortunately, as is so frequently the case, these protests are infiltrated by ultra-right anarchists hijacking peaceful protests and committing violence and mayhem on the streets of French towns. These thugs camouflage themselves by wearing similar yellow hi-visibility vests as the genuine protesters. That way they can move among them more easily without being noticed.

Compare the image above with the one below. Peaceful protesters, like those in the top image, have no need to hide their identity. Only thugs out to cause mayhem cover their faces, like the anonymous criminal below:

Then, of course, there are the copycat brigade. Unable to think of any emblem to identify their own particular bee-in-the-bonnet, they’ll steal someone else’s…

…no, this is not a bunch of wayward Frenchies desperate to be British, it’s British ‘yellow vest’ protesters causing mayhem outside the UK parliament. Hands up anyone who can spot one intelligent face among them. Don’t think for a moment these people are siding with the French movement, who disavow any affiliation with them. They’re the Brexiteer brigade using violent protest to try and ensure they get their own way over the handling of Brexit.

This guy, on the right…

…is James Goddard, one of the rabble leaders. Facebook has just taken down his page. The right-wing rag, “Voice of Europe” is loving every minute:

Activist James Goddard, who is part of the movement and targeted Westminster Bridge, just yards away from the British Parliament told Politicalite: “This is just the start.”

“We wanna see people out on the streets challenging the political class.” “We’re gonna bring cities to a standstill, We all need to start doing this”

“There’s no funding, there’s no leader or political affiliation, this is real people taking action, without the help of people who are high up.”^[1]

There’s no funding, says Goddard, except his private PayPal account:

FB have silenced me & I now have journos outside my mums house, all for approaching a politician about her views! I rely on the support of REAL people to carry on doing what we’re doing, if you would like to support me the link is here: paypal.me/JamesGoddard230616

Ooops, sorry James, it looks like Facebook’s not the only one you’ve fallen out with…

^{From Goddard’s Twitter feed}

…no Learjet yet, then.

The Guardian today (OPINION: Gaby Hinsliff) reveals the disgusting antics of these anarchists outside parliament, as they harass politicians and pro-remain [in Europe] journalists:

This is thuggishness, pure and simple. There’s no other way of characterising the ugly scenes unfolding outside parliament, where prominent remainer MPs, journalists and activists now run a daily gauntlet of intimidation.
It was painful to watch an unbelievably composed Anna Soubry battle her way into her office through a crowd of protesters chanting “scum” and calling her a Nazi. Soubry is as resilient as they come and she kept her dignity, but she looked so horribly vulnerable in this situation crackling with barely repressed violence. It is even harder to see police officers stand by and do nothing as a handful of men in hi-vis costume hold public debate hostage by screeching abuse at pro-remain MPs, journalists and anyone else they recognise from the telly. (I say anyone; there’s a wearily familiar pattern emerging, and it’s that women, people of colour and other minorities get it worst. Sky TV’s Kay Burley tweeted that she now needs personal security just to get on and off College Green, where broadcasters have been conducting live interviews with MPs for decades without this kind of interruption. The anti-Brexit campaigner Femi Oluwole and my colleague Owen Jones have also been targeted.) ^[2]

I’m all in favour of people rising in protest at the unfairness of their society. It’s not just happening in France, but elsewhere in Europe, particularly in eastern nations like Hungary^[3] and Poland^[4] where ultra right-wing parties have commandeered power. Sadly, it’s not happening in one country that needs it more than most – the USA.

Unless ordinary folk make a stand against tyranny it will spread, as it is already doing, across the globe. It’s not just ultra right-wing governments that must be curbed, but less extreme regimes like that of Emmanuel Macron in France, and Theresa May in the UK. Pandering to the wealthy at the expense of the poor should never be tolerated in the 21st century.

Those who use others to gain some political advantage, the anarchists infiltrating Les Gilet jaunes of France and the latest fascist element in the UK, need bringing to heel and dealt with severely by a fair and honest legal system. It’s not their rights they fight for, but to replace true democratic government with anarchy.

^{[1] “It begins: British yellow vests announce second London protest” Voice of Europe, December 15th 2018}

^{[2] “Mob politics is the hateful new norm – it must be resisted at all costs” Guardian, January 8th 2019}

^{[3] “Hungary’s opposition plans more protests after ‘slave law’ passes” Guardian, December 18th 2018}

^{[4] “”Yellow vests” began protests in Poland” Front News International, December 12th 2018}

Who is this man?

His name is Christopher Grayling. He’s a British Tory Member of Parliament and presently Theresa May’s Secretary of State for Transport. (The title used to be “Minister of Transport”, but Secretary of State sounds grander – it isn’t).

Grayling has served in, or maybe ‘cocked-up’ would be more accurate, a number of ministerial positions, most notable that of Lord Chancellor. Grayling had not one wit of knowledge or qualification to hold this position. The weak-chinned and pathetic apology for a prime minister, David Cameron, put him there. It has always been the prerogative of a senior member of the legal profession to hold the Office, and Grayling was the first non-lawyer in 440 years to do so. He was also the first Lord Chancellor to cause the first ever strike in British history by barristers and solicitors, over his draconian cuts to legal aid payments for the poor.

“Most judges, lawyers, probation staff, prison officers, victims, court staff and people denied access to justice believe that you have been the worst Lord Chancellor since Lord Shaftesbury in 1673,” Chris Grayling was told by his Labour shadow Sadiq Khan, as they faced each other in the Commons for the last time before the election.

Okay, you can expect criticism from someone from the opposition party in Parliament, but how about a leading Queen’s Council, Lord Pannick:

Lord Chancellor Grayling, […] in the words of one QC, Lord Pannick, is “notable only for his attempts to restrict judicial review and human rights, his failure to protect the judiciary against criticism from his colleagues; and the reduction of legal aid to a bare minimum”.^[1]

Prior to this debacle, Grayling was the Minister for Works and Pensions. This put him in charge of all the jobcentres in the country. To cut costs he threw 100,000* jobcentre workers out of their employment, then proceeded to castigate the unemployed and cut benefits in an effort to force people with long term disabilities back to work.

^{(*This figure from Wikipedia cannot be verified, but it was certainly many thousands).}

While Lord Chancellor, he banned prisoners from having books on the grounds they may contain drugs. Between 2012 and 2015 he cut the numbers of prison officers from 23,000 to 18,000 causing the Justice Select Committee, an oversight committee comprised of MPs from various parties, to conclude:

.. “it is not possible to avoid the conclusion” that changes in policy, including efficiency savings and staffing shortages, “have made a significant contribution to the deterioration in safety”…The MPs’ year-long inquiry into prisons concludes…

The MPs warn that there is a “very real danger of unmanageable growth” in the prison population, which at more than 85,000 is already at record levels, unless there are significant changes in both the current “tough rhetoric” and policy on sentencing. ^[2]

For all his ‘good works’, Theresa May made him Secretary of State for Transport, and in the run up to Christmas 2018 Gatwick Airport was forced to close over three days due to drones near the runways. Surely, one would assume, an incident worthy of the attention of Britain’s Secretary of State for Transport?

On December 23rd, The Daily Telegraph published the headline:

DfT [Department for Transport] accused of delaying crack RAF team from taking on Gatwick drone.

According to Wikipedia (somebody had obviously paid the extortionate fees demanded by this Tory rag, to read the Telegraph article):

…Grayling had ignored “numerous warnings” about the threat posed by drones, halting draft legislation due for publication in early 2019 thereby allowing civil servants to be diverted to Brexit related tasks. According to the Daily Telegraph, the RAF offered the assistance of a specialist anti-drone team almost immediately but Grayling’s department – which would have had to pay for the service – was reluctant to accept.^[3]

Graylings latest coup de grace comes today via a headline from the Guardian newspaper:

Grayling defends giving Brexit ferry contract to company with no ships.

In an effort to dilute the serious effects of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit, the UK government is spending hundreds of millions of pounds, 13.8 million of which the esteemed Secretary of State for Transport has handed over to a cross-channel ferry company to increase capacity and get trucks across the English Channel more quickly.

The only drawback to this fine scheme is that the company concerned has no ships.

The local Conservative councillor Paul Messenger was the first to raise concern in public about awarding such a lucrative contract to a firm with no prior experience. “It has no ships and no trading history so how can due diligence be done?” he told the BBC.

He said the company had not moved “a single truck in their entire history … I don’t understand the logic of that”.^[4]

It seems unlikely that anyone else does either – except, of course, Secretary of State for Transport The Right Honorable (can you believe that!) Christopher Grayling, the UK Prime Minister Theresa May who gave him the job, and a number of other ‘Oxbridge’ spew-outs calling themselves ‘right honorables’, and pretending to know how to run a country when in truth they’d be incapable of running a child’s electric train set.

Ineptitude: the hallmark of Britain’s politicians today, with Christopher Grayling at the forefront.

^{[1] “Chris Grayling the worst Lord Chancellor for 342 years? No, worse” The Independent, 17th March 2015}

^{[2] “UK justice minister ‘complacent’ over 38% rise in prison deaths, say MPs” The Guardian, 18th March 2015}

^{[4] “Grayling defends giving Brexit ferry contract to company with no ships” The Guardian, 2nd January 2019}

^{[3] “Wikipedia, Chris Grayling.}