I’ve had an email from someone surprised to see Elizabeth and I enjoying Havana cigars in the smoking room of JJ Fox, the oldest cigar merchant in the world, in our recent Xmas message (video, 27:13). Maybe he’s the one person among 69 people who’ve voted on it, and downvoted it.

He politely requested an assurance that the cigars hadn’t been purchased with J4MB funds. Not that I owe the man that assurance, given Elizabeth and I draw no income from donations and party membership subscriptions, but I thought others might be wondering the same thing, so I’m pleased to confirm that Elizabeth and I paid for them, at a combined cost of £30.10. We thought, “It’s Xmas, it’s been a good year, let’s celebrate!”

When I had rather more money than I do today – up to about 10 years ago – one of my few luxuries was buying political cartoons. One of the few I still own is a cartoon by Dave Brown, then as now the cartoonist for The Independent. I bought it in an exhibition – “The Rogues’ Gallery Exhibition” – at The Political Cartoon Gallery in London, in 2007 (the store no longer exists, sadly). The key to the cartoon is, obviously, the similarity in the pronunciation of “Iraq” and “Tie Rack”.

I still have the catalogue for the exhibition, both the (framed) cartoon and its catalogue remain in pristine condition. An image I’ve just taken on my smartphone:

The picture references William Blake’s God Judging Adam (1795):

I’m looking for a reasonable offer for the picture, along with the associated catalogue. Approximate dimensions:

Visible image: 33 x 23cm
Frame: 57 x 47cm

Please contact me (mike@j4mb.org.uk / 07967 026163) if you’d like to make an offer for the picture. Reserve price £500.00. Thanks.

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Mike and I are both fans of Led Zeppelin, and Santa. The combination of our two shared passions is truly epic! Video (0:11).

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A piece by Paul T Horgan, published today on TCW. I’m about to post a comment pointing people to William Collins’s website, The Illustrated Empathy Gap, specifically the Index. Nobody in the world has done more to expose dodgy statistics being used to attack men as a class.

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Our thanks to John for this. The video is 16 seconds of comedy gold, showing what’s been described on some sport websites as the worst own goal in football history. An extract from the article:

It’s fair to say a comedy of errors lead to this goal. The cross is poor, the keeper has a mare, the defender has no idea what she’s doing, the striker has a terrible effort and the second defender is left with egg on her face.

Maidstone did win 12-0 but there’s no excuse for just how dreadful that goal was, especially as it was only the third so it’s not like anyone could have given up already.

It’s honestly the best and worst goal we’ve seen and needs to both be celebrated and mocked in equal measure. It’s a special feat of footballing skill really.

Compare the skill level of the Prince of Wales defenders with that of six-year-old Oscar Herbert, from Northampton – here. The short video is sporting gold rather than comedy gold, and the lad is impressively modest about what he’s just done (on his second attempt, hence the modesty. Usually he manages it first time, I expect).

It does beg the question, could teams of boys under seven years of age beat the British women’s teams at football and rugby? Now those would be matches I’d travel some distance to see…

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Our thanks to Peter for this (video, 10:05).

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I had the misfortune of catching the last few minutes of today’s Politics Live. The programme is on iPlayer here for the next 29 days, available to BBC licence holders only.

Chaired as usual by the feminist presenter Jo Coburn, the guests were:

Lord Daniel Finkelstein – Jewish Conservative peer, formerly an Editor of The Times, currently a columnist with the paper.

Tim Stanley – Telegraph leader writer.

Grace Blakeley – economic commentator, research fellow at the left-wing think tank, Institute for Public Policy Research.

Ayesha Hazarika – former Labour advisor, now a “comedian” (think Kate Smurfwit, equally unfunny, older).

Zara McDermott – Love Island contestant.

The start of the final section of the show, from 43:02:

Coburn: Right, we have a minute left. Political predictions, has anyone got a firm political prediction or wish?

Hazarika: I’d like to see Zara (McDermott) get into politics. I think she’s spoken the most sense on the panel. We could have our new future… but on a serious note [J4MB: What had she NOT been serious about?] I would like to see more normal people like clever articulate… [J4MB: She points to McDermott] because politics is too full of, basically, I’m afraid, posh white people, largely men, [J4MB: She turns to Lord Finkelstein] no offence to the people on the panel here, and we’ve got to get better people who connect with the public.”

Lord Finkelstein, sat next to Hazarika, said not one word in the final minute, and just looked sheepish and glum as the sexist, racist, class-hating “comedian” directed insults towards Tim Stanley and himself.

This is what has become of the BBC’s flagship lunchtime politics show, and it’s getting worse by the week. The show’s producer is a man. He should be ashamed of himself, for putting his name to this vile propaganda.

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A lengthy piece just published by the BBC. For a change, the gender balance of the dead “people” is mentioned, early on:

Almost 600 homeless people died in England and Wales last year, according to official figures published for the first time.

The figure represents a rise of 24% over five years, according to the Office for National Statistics.

These are the first official estimates of the number of deaths of homeless people, which show 84% of those who died were men.

I can see no mention in the article of the fact that men represent the majority of the street homeless (85 – 90 per cent) in large part because women are more likely than men to be offered accommodation when in difficult circumstances. They include, of course, many Armed Forces veterans, who are far more likely to be men than women.

Street homelessness reduces life expectancy by over 30 years, in part due to high suicide rates among the homeless. We covered the issues of homelessness and suicide in our 2015 general election manifesto (pp.40-8).

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Our thanks to Douglas for this. He writes:

While the article spends way too much time making excuses, it at least gives an amount of coverage to the inequality of trying to help women do better when they are already doing better.

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Our thanks to Douglas for this. The BBC can do it, if it tries. The links include one with commentary from Mankind Initiative. In typical BBC fashion, the “survivor’s story” is of a man… in a same-sex relationship.

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We’re in the middle of a storm in a teacup over whether Jeremy Corbyn called Theresa May a “stupid woman” after she’d finished speaking in yesterday’s PMQs. As always in such circumstances, any man who calls any woman stupid is automatically judged guilty of misogyny – the ultimate crime – rather than expressing his views about an individual woman. In stark contrast, plenty of women refer to men (individually and collectively) as stupid and far worse, yet are not judged by most to be misandrists as a result.

In common with most women selected from all-women shortlists to become prospective parliamentary candidates for safe seats, Helen Whately MP is, it would appear, obsessed with women’s issues, and utterly unconcerned with men’s issues. She is, in common with all the current female Conservative MPs, and far too many male Conservative MPs, a feminist. An extract from her Wikipedia page:

In July 2017, Whately was criticised for accepting several thousand pounds’ worth of hospitality from the Saudi Arabian Government before going on to defend their record in a parliamentary debate. The debate followed an urgent question by Liberal Democrat Tom Brake over fears of the imminent execution of 14 men for protest-related offences, [J4MB emphasis] including a number who were children at the time of their alleged offences. Whately had urged parliamentarians to “appreciate that the government of Saudi Arabia are taking to steps to improve their actions on human rights”, but was criticised by an opposition Labour Party MP as being a “serial apologist for the regime”.

I thank Ray for bringing to my attention an email he received today from Ms Whately, emphases ours:

Today at Prime Minister’s Questions Jeremy Corbyn called Theresa May a ‘stupid woman’.

This is just the latest in a long line of misogynistic behaviour from Corbyn and his top team.

Jeremy Corbyn ‘mansplained’ [J4MB: The contempt for men couldn’t be clearer] to the Prime Minister on International Women’s Day, called for women only train carriages [J4MB: A demand of some feminists] and has a Shadow Chancellor who called a female MP a ‘b****’ and said she should be lynched.

Show them you won’t stand for this by joining the Conservative Party today.

We’re supporting more women to go as far as their talents will take them. Including tackling the abuse and intimidation women face in public life. [J4MB: … and tackling the justified criticisms women face in public life.]

On top of this, with a Conservative government the female employment rate is close to a record high [J4MB: Remember, this is a Conservative MP] and the gender pay gap is at a record low. [J4MB: The gender pay gap – really?]

That’s why I’m incredibly proud to be the Party’s Vice Chair for Women – join me as a member of the Conservative Party today.

Yours

Helen Whately MP
Conservative Party Vice Chair, Women

PS: Show Corbyn he can’t get away with calling Theresa May a ‘stupid woman’ by joining the Conservative Party.

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