West Indies Cricket Fans

"A man armed with a six-inch knife who was rugby tackled to the ground by police outside Buckingham Palace has been sentenced to 16 months in prison. David Belmar, 44, from Haringey, north London, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court for trespass and possession of a bladed article."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25751843" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"A foster carer who sexually abused two young girls has been jailed for eight months. Herbert Keith Moss, 71, had previously denied two counts of sexual assault on a girl under 13 and one of indecent exposure to a child aged five."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-no ... e-25717461" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These two stories tell me that the class system is alive and thriving in Britain....

How can the defendant in the first case get twice the prison sentence of the defendant in the second case? Is carrying a knife in the Queen's garden twice as serious as sexually abusing two girls under the age of 13?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25922896" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Chairwoman Margaret Hodge said there was "huge scope for savings" on the annual £31m of taxpayer funds given to the Queen to spend on official duties. But a spokeswoman for the royals said spending was now more transparent. The Sovereign Grant replaced the old Civil List and grants-in-aid system in 2012 and is used to fund royal duties, pay staff and maintain palaces. The report said Buckingham Palace had overspent on the grant by £2.3m last year and had to dip into its reserves, "leaving a balance of only £1m at 31 March 2013 - a historically low level of contingency"....The committee's report found: the Royal Household had escaped public sector austerity, only reducing spending by 5% in the last six years; royal estate properties were in a "dangerous or deteriorating condition"; there had been no estimate for how much the backlog of repairs will cost; While the committee praised the Royal Household for generating £11.6m last year - up from £6.7m in 2007/08 - it said more could be done....The Sovereign Grant was £31m last year and is set to rise to £37.9m by 2014-15.'

So the Royal family are spending more than they accrue , just like on benefits street .

"Benefits street" is a perfect analogy, Gils....

"The Queen's income is expected to rise by more than 5% next year after the Crown Estate announced record profits. The Sovereign Grant, which covers the costs of the Queen's official duties, will reach £40m next April."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28030509" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What kind of nonsense is this?

While everybody else has to tighten their belts, and staff are being laid off at companies around the country, the Sovereign Grant will rise from £35m to £40m...to pay for what exactly?

It's time we took these palaces away from the Royal Family and put it to better use. Put it in the hands of a company who is then mandated to turn them into profit-making ventures. I find it reprehensible that we've been subsidising these benefits scroungers for way too long....

It's time we took away their housing benefit.

The commission says its findings are based on one of the most detailed analyses of its type ever undertaken.

It found that those who had attended fee-paying schools included:

71% of senior judges
62% of senior armed forces officers
55% of permanent secretaries (the most senior civil servants)
53% of senior diplomats.
Also privately educated were 45% of chairmen and women of public bodies, 44% of the Sunday Times Rich List, 43% of newspaper columnists and 26% of BBC executives.

In sport, 35% of the England, Scotland and Wales rugby teams and 33% of the England cricket team also went to private schools.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-28953881" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This compares with 7% of the UK population as a whole.


This is one of many reasons why I can't support the England cricket team....

Empire V.2.0

A closed secret society, constantly replenished at its lower rungs by economic refugees in search of a better life, migrants they are most often responsible for.

And will Prince Andrew get away with this?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peopl ... 54198.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'A woman has alleged that she was repeatedly forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew as part of a lawsuit that claims an American investment banker passed her around rich and powerful friends as a “sex slave” while she was still underage. A Buckingham Palace spokesman has said the claims are “categorically untrue”. The accusation was made in a lawsuit brought by women who say they were exploited by Jeffrey Epstein, an American multi-millionaire who was convicted of soliciting sex with an underage girl in 2008, reports the Guardian. The woman filed the case anonymously, and is understood to have been 17 at the time, which is considered a minor under Florida law.'

The Green Party is like a breath of fresh air....

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/01 ... d%3D324628" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'The party would remove the royal family from Buckingham Palace, but Green leader Natalie Bennett said she was "sure we can find a council house for her" as a result of their programme to build more. Among their radical policies are the abolition of the monarchy, but Ms Bennett said the Queen would not be left homeless. "I can't see that the Queen is ever going to be really poor, but I'm sure we can find a council house for her - we're going to build lots more," she said.'

And this is how members of the British private-school-educated elite have managed to take over the ranks of journalists....

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfre ... graph-hsbc" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

mikesiva wrote:And will Prince Andrew get away with this?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/peopl ... 54198.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

'A woman has alleged that she was repeatedly forced to have sexual relations with Prince Andrew as part of a lawsuit that claims an American investment banker passed her around rich and powerful friends as a “sex slave” while she was still underage. A Buckingham Palace spokesman has said the claims are “categorically untrue”. The accusation was made in a lawsuit brought by women who say they were exploited by Jeffrey Epstein, an American multi-millionaire who was convicted of soliciting sex with an underage girl in 2008, reports the Guardian. The woman filed the case anonymously, and is understood to have been 17 at the time, which is considered a minor under Florida law.'

... he's been promoted !

Prince Andrew promoted to vice-admiral on 55th birthday (click for more)



"It's about this big!"