Showing posts with label Great Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Britain. Show all posts

Friday, April 9, 2021

The Role of a Lifetime: Prince Philip had a front row view of the entire world that nobody else had. In good times and bad, he exemplified the robust pride, courage, determination, stubbornness, and honesty of Great Britain and Britons


The Role of a Lifetime: Prince Philip had a front row view of the entire world that nobody else had. 
In good times and bad, he exemplified the robust pride, courage, determination, stubbornness, and honesty of Great Britain and Britons.


For 95% of the world, the closest thing to permanence -besides the Queen herself- we've had on the scene...

The last time #QueenElizabeth didn't know who #PrincePhilip was, she was 8 years old. 
1934. 
The @Cardinals' "Gashouse Gang" beat the @tigers in World Series. 
#FL's population was 1.585 million. 
Only 5% of #UK's population was alive before they married.





https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1380475865323212800

It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen has announced the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle.

The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss. Further announcements will be made in due course.
Visit http://royal.uk to read the announcement in full.


https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/prime-ministers-statement-on-the-death-of-his-royal-highness-the-prince-philip-duke-of-edinburgh

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's statement on the death of His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.


From: Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

Delivered on: 9 April 2021 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered)

It was with great sadness that a short time ago I received word from Buckingham Palace that His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has passed away at the age of 99.

Prince Philip earned the affection of generations here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth and around the world.

He was the longest serving consort in history,

one of the last surviving people in this country to have served in the second world war at Cape Matapan, where he was mentioned in dispatches for bravery

and in the invasion of Sicily, where he saved his ship by his quick thinking and from that conflict he took an ethic of service that he applied throughout the unprecedented changes of the post war era.

Like the expert carriage driver that he was he helped to steer the royal family and the monarchy so that it remains an institution indisputably vital to the balance and happiness of our national life.

He was an environmentalist, and a champion of the natural world long before it was fashionable.

With his Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme he shaped and inspired the lives of countless young people

and at literally tens of thousands of events he fostered their hopes and encouraged their ambitions.

We remember the Duke for all of this and above all for his steadfast support for Her Majesty The Queen.

Not just as her consort, by her side every day of her reign, but as her husband, her “strength and stay”, of more than 70 years.

And it is to Her Majesty, and her family, that our nation’s thoughts must turn today.

Because they have lost not just a much-loved and highly respected public figure, but a devoted husband and a proud and loving father, grandfather and, in recent years, great-grandfather.

Speaking on their golden wedding anniversary, Her Majesty said that our country owed her husband “a greater debt than he would ever claim or we shall ever know” and I am sure that estimate is correct.

So we mourn today with Her Majesty The Queen

we offer our condolences to her and to all her family

and we give thanks, as a nation and a Kingdom, for the extraordinary life and work of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.



Thursday, June 6, 2019

#DDAY75 - So many stories to tell and share, including actor Charles Durning's, but one in particular that connects-the-dots: Four generations of one family remember Great Britain's D-Day heroes






I've been watching Sky News since late last night, early this morning in France, so wanted to share just some of what I've seen and been thinking about all day on this very important day.


























#DDAY75

Four generations remember Britain's D-Day heroes
Sky News
Uploaded on June 6, 2019

Clive Pitt is a D-Day veteran and, as the 75th anniversary of the landings returned, his family - including Sky News presenter Sarah Hewson - heard from him about his journey and made a journey of their own. #DDAY75



















Monday, September 1, 2014

As usual, Anne Applebaum is 100% correct: If war is coming to Europe, shouldn't we prepare? Meanwhile, Strobe Talbott & Kateryna Kruk notice the very same ominous signs that I do; You ought to start following them today: @anneapplebaum, @strobetalbott, @Kateryna_Kruk














Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Immigration Hump Day: Wednesday morning's SkyNews Press Review and guests Rowenna Davis and Tom Newton Dunn made many of Mickey Kaus' go-to points re immigration, esp. about new immigrants lowering wages, etc. due to 2 front page immigration stories, in The Sun and The Daily Star; This common sense aspect of immigration & economic policy is one that was completely ignored by South Florida news media during #GangofEight bill this summer, esp. its negative effect on working poor Blacks in Miami


Immigration Hump Day: Wednesday morning's SkyNews Press Review and guests Rowenna Davis and Tom Newton Dunn made many of Mickey Kaus' go-to points re immigration, esp. about new immigrants lowering wages, etc. due to 2 front page immigration stories, in The Sun and The Daily Star; This common sense aspect of immigration & economic policy is one that was completely ignored by South Florida news media during #GangofEight bill this summer, esp. its negative effect on working poor Blacks in Miami

Lots of talk about Labour leader Ed Miliband and former Foreign Sec. and Home Sec.
Jack Straw
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/11/12/jack-straw-labour-migrants-europe-workers_n_4263548.html
going public with Labour's past mistakes in an attempt to catch up to public opinion and make laggard, hold-out Labourites realize that it's time to either get on the train or be left behind on the issue. But they say that Tony Blair says he has no regrets, and is esp. happy about the 300,000 Poles who have come to Great Britain at some point over the past few years.

The Press Review guests were Tom Newton Dunn, The Sun's Political Editor,
and Rowenna Davis, Labour Parliamentary candidate for Southampton Itchen, a chic little dynamo who can get in some real weighty zingers with a smile.
Precisely the sort of English woman I always go for!









Mickey Kaus @kausmickey https://twitter.com/kausmickey
Kaus Files blog: http://dailycaller.com/author/mickeykaus/

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Battening down and bracing for a battering! Met Office warnings re UK weather has Britons buzzing amid very bad memories of the Great Storm of 1987. As most powerful storm to hit Britain in 26 years approaches, much-wider area than first expected will be pounded by gales, downpours and powerful winds of 60-80 mph, with flooding and widespread power outages expected; @metoffice

Battening down and bracing for a battering! Met Office warnings re UK weather has Britons buzzing amid very bad memories of the Great Storm of 1987. As most powerful storm to hit Britain in 26 years approaches, much-wider area than first expected will be pounded by gales, downpours and powerful winds of 60-80 mph, with flooding and widespread power outages expected; @metoffice

Even as your faithful blogger posts from his home in South Florida, two miles west of the Atlantic, way across the North Atlantic, a huge storm riding the jetstream from east of the United States, is preparing to batter southern England & Wales on Sunday night and Monday morning, bringing gales and downpours and causing widespread disruption, with powerful winds of 60-80 mph winds expected.
Winds are expected to be even higher in coastal areas, where risk of damage to property can and should be expected.

The storm, moving SW to NE, will then continue across The North Sea and arrive in Norway, Denmark and Sweden on Monday night, with heavy snowfall expected in parts of western Sweden currently experiencing autumnal temperatures.

I've been watching SkyNews the past two nights and have seen their video of much of the advance preparation for the storm that's expected to lash parts of Great Britain for hours, with ferry and shipping cancellations already taking place, trimming of some trees to reduce damage and possibility of becoming projectiles, and removal of anything movable on piers and in dockage areas, where some destruction seems highly likely.


Two storm-related video pieces done by veteran Sky News correspondent David Bowden that aired Saturday night:  
http://news.sky.com/story/1160250/britain-braced-for-severe-80mph-storm
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/video/warning-major-storm-way-172515226.html

Shortly after 8:30 p.m. Eastern Saturday, I heard a number mentioned during the newscast as an estimate by some group (?) that total clean-up costs could hit 1000 £1m, i.e. a Billion Pounds.

Again, there are still memories present among many over what can happen when there is a lack of proper preparation by those in charge and they are caught up short:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Storm_of_1987

Last I heard, there's an expectation that very windy and rainy conditions will exist in the affected areas from 5 a.m. until 9 p.m.

That means cabin fever.
I'd have those candles, junk food and coolers of ice-filled drinks and pre-prepared sandwiches ready for when the lights go out -and stay out .

Below, a screenshot I snapped of Aftonbladet's website mid-Saturday night about the approaching storm:


HÖSTSTORM PÅ VÄG! (Autumn storm on its way!)
Early Sunday morning, SMHI, the Swedish equivalent of NOAA here in the U.S., issued Gale Warnings for ships in and around the Baltic Sea, and they have also issued a warning to my friend Andreas and everyone else living in Gotland that there is a very great risk of powerful dust storms there, though that will obviously be before all the heavy rain gets there and soaks them as well.








The most recent public dispatch from the Met Office is this one:

Severe storm heading for the UK
26 October 2013 - The Met Office is warning of the risk of a significant storm bringing exceptionally strong winds to parts of England and Wales on Sunday night into Monday morning

Currently forecasts suggest a low pressure system will rapidly deepen just to the south west of the UK on later on Sunday, before moving across the country to be out over the North Sea by the afternoon on Monday.
This is expected to bring gusts of 60 - 80 mph widely across the southern half of the UK, with gusts of more than 80 mph possible in places - especially on exposed coasts.
Any major storm which occurs in early autumn has the potential to cause widespread severe disruption through falling trees, structural damage, transport disruption or power cuts and possibly flooding.
Frank Saunders, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: "We are confident that a severe storm will affect Britain on Sunday night and Monday. We are now looking at refining the details about which areas will see the strongest winds and the heaviest rain.
"This is a developing situation and we'd advise people to stay up to date with our forecasts and warnings over the weekend, and be prepared to change their plans if necessary. We'll continue to work closely with authorities and emergency services to ensure they are aware of the expected conditions."

Sunday, October 20, 2013

"Who is mystery blonde girl found in Greece gypsy camp?" Roma/Gypsies need a Hollywood PR Counselor, stat! Channel 4 News video is devastating reproach to many well-intentioned but naive people who just thought Roma were victims who had bad PR.; #childtrafficking



Channel Four News video: 19 OCTOBER 2013 -Greek plea over mystery girl found in Roma gypsy camp
http://www.channel4.com/news/roma-missing-girl-gypsy-madeleine-mccann-abduction

"Who is mystery blonde girl found in Greece gypsy camp?" Roma/Gypsies need a Hollywood PR Counselor, stat! Channel 4 News video is devastating reproach to many well-intentioned but naive people who just thought Roma were victims who had bad PR. No, in Sweden as in England, genuine facts and reality re Roma must trump holier-than-thou platitudes and good intentions/guilt; #MadeleineMcCann, #childtrafficking

I received this disturbing news on Saturday via my daily Snowmail from Channel Four News at 12:06 p.m.

With this news on Saturday, it appears to me that the year of all the naive pro-Roma stories written in Europe are about to come to a thud, esp. in the U.K. and in Sweden.

As I've previously mentioned to some of you via an email or two, this past summer, a week after Nationalsdagen, a sort of Swedish July 4th but without the military angle but with picnics, a nationally-televised TV show fusing Swedish traditions, music and the Royal family,



a college in the Stockholm area, for security reasons, ordered all of its students out of their dorms near a campus parking lot after Roma took it over with their vehicles and set about transforming it into a  place to live, and soon engaging in some unruly criminal behavior, to boot, which got the attention of everyone in the area.

TheLocal (Sweden)
Students forced out over traveller safety fears 
14 Jun 2013 18:26 CET
By Oliver Gee

The reason that the college felt obliged to require the students to get out toute-de-suite was that the Police did NOT want to intervene right away and remove the new arrivals because, as we'd later learn months later, there were some complication.
Complications and secret efforts that very few people in Sweden knew, which is to say that about 99.99% of the country did not know anything until later this summer:


Plus,
a.) Sweden has what is, alternately, a charming/quaint/preposterous law that is treasured by many and lamented by some that allows people to use/camp/hike on unoccupied private land if it's not specifically prohibited, but with that comes certain responsibilities.

In this instance, and not for the first time you suspect, the Gypsies involved intentionally conflated and stretched the limits of what is permissible under Allemansrätten and the Police knew that if they tried anything, they'd cite their rights under Swedish law.


Clearly, a university parking lot is not one of those places envisioned by the law, which was/is geared towards allowing the public free access to nature, near private property on lakes, forests, etc.

(NOT asphalt and concrete and proximity to a 7/11, which are on every third or fourth corner in Stockholm for reasons I'll get into in a future blog post.)

Owing to the fact that it was summer break for most college students, so the parking lot  was obviously more empty than usual- and,

b.) Police were very concerned that in light of the riots in immigrant-intensive Husby this spring in the town NW of Stockholm, professional Leftist community activists-types and 
the area's legitimate political players would immediately criticize the Police for trying to remove them, as we'd expect to see happen here  in a similar case of trespassing.

So in essence, the Police wanted a green light first from these political players that they could proceed rather than simply walk into what they perhaps rightly perceived a no-win trap, and
subsequently find everyone criticizing them for just doing their job.

That's the part of Sweden and Swedish life that you never read about in the U.S. news media, and which consistently drives many people there -like my friends, par exemple- quite crazy, since some things in a society DON'T need a consensus, they simply need people prepared to do their job correctly and as professionally as possible, however difficult sometimes.

My friends and their neighbors want the same thing that people here in Broward County want in their interactions with and expectations of local and regional government, and especially the Police Department. 
They want PREDICTABILITY.
The same thing the individual police officer wants.
But politics and good intentions often gets in the way of that, just as it does in England as well.

The Telegraph YouTube Channel video: Truth about the Romanian beggars of Park Lane. Uploaded July 28, 2013. http://youtu.be/SNhhJh81GxE

By the way, here's one of the possible reasons why the Police in Skåne had a registry of Roma children in the first place: http://www.thelocal.se/50464/20130926/

So that when, oh, hypothetically, blonde-haired, green-eyed girls were found that are clearly not related to anyone they are traveling with, Police know to immediately put out an alert.

Or to quote the piece, "Channel 4 News has been told the story reflects
a common trend in Eastern Europe." 
Right, because sometimes, a list is composed NOT to keep track of who belongs in a group, but rather for who doesn't, no?

Exactly.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Tweets of Note: Recent Political, Public Policy & Pop Culture tweets you may've missed -October 1 thru October 12, 2013 -From Amnesty to Angie Harmon, Jack Bauer to Jack Wilshere, Fraser Nelson to Mickey Kaus and illegal immigration

Congressman boasts immig amnesty will win because "there is no money on the other side" http://t.co/BlXaS9EyeO #wheresCommonCausewhenUneedit
















































































"Jack Wilshere should stick to his guns over Englishness of Manchester United teenager Adnan Januzaj
Jack Wilshere is wrong to make U-turn over Manchester United prospect Adnan Januzaj's eligibility for England – not least because he has a point."



























































I wrote about Chaz's blog post on Monday in my blog post titled, "Chaz Stevens' latest blog post is a reality gut-check for the State of Florida re their lax enforcement of rules and laws re municipal CRAs, including where he lives in the Grand Duchy of Deerfield Beach, where bureaucratic self-enrichment is a tradition, not a rumor
"
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2013/10/chaz-stevens-latest-blog-post-is.html





















James Romenesko @romenesko: Chaz Ebert: "Dear Roger, It has been six months since you left us, but...