Comments by "leafy" (@leafy803) on "The Times and The Sunday Times"
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'The UK has provided more than £1 billion in aid to Yemen since 2015. However, UK assistance has fallen from a peak of £260 million in 2019 to £77 million in 2022. For 2022/23, the UK has pledged £88 million compared to £87 million in 2021/22. At the UN pledging conference in February 2023, the UK was the fourth largest donor to the country, again pledging £88 million for 2023/24.'
Research Briefing
'UK aid and Yemen’s humanitarian crisis'
Published Monday, 25 September, 2023
UK Government:
'Over the next financial year, the UK hopes to match last year’s budget and will pledge up to 88 million pounds.
This will feed at least 100,000 Yemeni people every month, provide lifesaving health care and nutrition services through 400 health care facilities, and treat 22,000 severely malnourished children this year.'
Published 27 February 2023
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'In a lengthy ruling delivered at south Manchester coroner’s court on Wednesday, the coroner Geraint Williams concluded that while Yousef did have a knife on the day of the killing, he had not waved it at Molnar, and it had been in his jacket pocket when he was stabbed. Consequently, Molnar had not acted in self-defence, Williams ruled.
However, Molnar “did not intend to directly or obliquely kill Yousef or cause him serious harm”, Williams added.
Williams ruled that Molnar had shown “calculated deceit” in hiding two knives in gardens nearby, before lying to the police about others being responsible for the killing, blaming “four black guys”.
Williams found Molnar “an articulate and intelligent young man” but described Chowdhary’s evidence as “self-serving and disingenuous”. The coroner dismissed Chowdhary’s claim to have not seen the stabbing, and suggested that then, as now, Chowdhary was frightened of Molnar.
Chowdhary admitted arranging the drug deal on the day of the murder, and ordering £90 worth of cannabis – more money than he had. When his dealer turned up with two other men, he panicked and ran away, leaving his two friends alone.
The men beat up Molnar and stole his £2,000 bike, the court heard. Annoyed with Yousef for not intervening and angry with Chowdhary for running off, Molnar forced Chowdhary to hand over his jacket as “surety”, Williams ruled. This led to an “altercation” in the street in Hale Barns, which led Molnar to draw his knife, and ultimately to Yousef’s death.'
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'In July of 1801, Elgin wrote to Giovanni Battista Lusieri, an Italian painter he employer to coordinate his marble collection in Athens: "I should wish to collect as many marble as possible. I have other places in my house which need it, and besides, one can easily multiply ornaments of beautiful marble without overdoing it."...
1816 parliamentary committee convened to evaluate Elgin's request that the British government purchase the Parthenon marbles from him. (Parliament went on to vote 82 to 30, to buy them and give them over to the British Museum)'
According to the paper, the government's committee report stated an Italian translation of the permit for removal was signed by the Ottoman Empires Grand Vazier Abdullah Kaimacan. (Commonsense would be a translation is not signed, so does it list who signed the original)
Title: DID ELGIN CHEAT AT MARBLES?, By: Rudenstine, David, Nation
Source: brown edu online
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'ELGIN, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl (1766-1841). Autograph letter signed (‘Elgin’) to C.R. Broughton, B[room]hall, 13 June 1812.
Two pages, 224 x 183mm, bifolium, integral address leaf (repaired seal tear).
Lord Elgin eagerly reports on the arrival of the Elgin Marbles and the possibility of their sale to the British Government. After expressing some frustration at the state of his accounts, Elgin announces triumphantly the arrival of his Marbles: ‘I am very happy to say, all my Marbles are safe arrived – So that nothing is now in the way of an arrangement with Government – By which, I trust, to be very shortly above all the Embarassement in which you have so kindly helped me. What I now want is only till that transaction’.
Following the removal to Britain in 1812 of his final collection of Parthenon marbles – a shipment totalling around 80 cases – Elgin’s flagging hopes of negotiating a sale to the nation were revived, and with them, his chances of clearing the large debts he had incurred since 1801, when he first encountered the marbles. His financial difficulties would not be alleviated immediately: it would take until 1816, after a select committee of the House of Commons pronounced that Elgin had not misused his powers in removing the marbles, that the government would commit to their purchase, entrusting them henceforth to the British Museum.'
Source: Christie's Auction
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'Governor Sani, however, lamented that a teacher who was kidnapped alongside the pupils couldn’t make it out alive as he developed some complications while in captivity.'
'The kidnapping of 276 mostly Christian schoolgirls in northern Nigeria in 2014 by Boko Haram, the jihadist group, sparked global outrage. About 100 are still in captivity.'
'The kidnappings in Chibok were orchestrated by Boko Haram, a jihadist group intent on establishing an Islamic state in Nigeria. This group, whose name roughly translates to “western education is sinful”, was responsible for abducting more than 1,000 children in northeastern Nigeria from 2013 to 2018, according to Unicef.'
'Hostages are often held in the country’s vast forests. More than 3,600 Nigerians were kidnapped last year, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.'
The Times: 'Nearly everyone I know in Nigeria has seen a loved one kidnapped'
Vanguard Nigeria news: 'Kaduna abduction: 137 school children abducted, not 287 — Gov Uba Sani'
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Can education ratings, statistics be deceptive. Does the Goverment focus on statistics rather than wellbeing, happy futures. Michael Gove in 2012 made schools previously rated outstanding exempt from Ofsted inspections.
So then the records are then deceptive, schools just once rated outstanding and that grading is held without reassessment. In 2021, 3,700 had not been inspected for 10 years or more. In 2023, 3,000.
The Goverment was risking child safety by exempting inspection.
Goverment has also cut funding of Ofsted repeatedly, to 2023 at a quarter of what it was twenty years ago.Vists forced to be shorter, compacted stress due to lack of funds. Seems Goverment is about labelled results rather than wellbeing of students or teachers.
The Ruth Perry tragedy, her school had not been inspected since 2009 until 2022. Downgraded to inadequate on safeguarding the knowledge, protocols, report keeping. Even though 2009 inspection was with different management, head teacher Mrs Chris Tomkins, with Ruth becoming the head later in 2009. New management, head teacher, commonsense would be to reinspect a year in but no, that was not part of the Goverment regulations to my understanding. Goverment was negligent.
So how do you know the system is truly working, children are safe, welfare, mental health of student and teachers. Long-term not deceptively labelled results for the current Goverment.
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Yes.. 'Rishi Sunak Takes Staged Election Questions from Conservative'
23 May 2024
'Rishi Sunak has been accused of faking support for the Conservative party, after taking two questions from supposedly ordinary members of the public, who turned out to have been Conservative Councillors.
Broadcasters on Thursday morning carried footage of an individual wearing a hi-vis jacket, asking the Prime Minister a question about his Rwanda scheme, during an event at McVitie’s Biscuit warehouse in Derbyshire.
The man told Sunak that “the biggest issue is going to be immigration over this election campaign” before asking him whether “your Rwanda plan is going to see results and stop the small boats coming.”
The Prime Minister thanked the man for his “important question.”
However, neither Sunak, nor broadcasters informed viewers that the man asking the question was actually Conservative Leicestershire County Councillor Ross Hills.
Hills confirmed to Byline Times that he had been the individual asking the question.
“That was me yes,” he told this paper, before confirming that he had been asked to appear at the event.
Asked whether the Conservative party had asked him to ask Sunak the specific question about Rwanda, he insisted that he had to get to work and ended the call.
Hills lists his job online as being a “part time dentist” alongside his job as a councillor.
This paper later identified a second hi-vis jacket-wearing individual asking Sunak a question at the event about the economy as local Erewash Conservative Councillor Ben Hall-Evans.
Hall-Evans told Sunak that “You’ve talked a lot about the economy, specific to everybody, the cost of living crisis… What’s been done and what sets you apart for the future to benefit that pound in the pocket.”
Sunak replied that this was a “good place to start” without revealing to viewers who the man was.
The Conservative party was contacted for comment.'
Byline Times news
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Yes, atleast 2 in hi-vis jackets were invited councillors ..'Rishi Sunak Takes Staged Election Questions from Conservative'
23 May 2024
'Rishi Sunak has been accused of faking support for the Conservative party, after taking two questions from supposedly ordinary members of the public, who turned out to have been Conservative Councillors.
Broadcasters on Thursday morning carried footage of an individual wearing a hi-vis jacket, asking the Prime Minister a question about his Rwanda scheme, during an event at McVitie’s Biscuit warehouse in Derbyshire.
The man told Sunak that “the biggest issue is going to be immigration over this election campaign” before asking him whether “your Rwanda plan is going to see results and stop the small boats coming.”
The Prime Minister thanked the man for his “important question.”
However, neither Sunak, nor broadcasters informed viewers that the man asking the question was actually Conservative Leicestershire County Councillor Ross Hills.
Hills confirmed to Byline Times that he had been the individual asking the question.
“That was me yes,” he told this paper, before confirming that he had been asked to appear at the event.
Asked whether the Conservative party had asked him to ask Sunak the specific question about Rwanda, he insisted that he had to get to work and ended the call.
Hills lists his job online as being a “part time dentist” alongside his job as a councillor.
This paper later identified a second hi-vis jacket-wearing individual asking Sunak a question at the event about the economy as local Erewash Conservative Councillor Ben Hall-Evans.
Hall-Evans told Sunak that “You’ve talked a lot about the economy, specific to everybody, the cost of living crisis… What’s been done and what sets you apart for the future to benefit that pound in the pocket.”
Sunak replied that this was a “good place to start” without revealing to viewers who the man was.
The Conservative party was contacted for comment.'
Byline Times article
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Is it attempting to identify? Or asking Goverment leaders for funding, supply for technology, defenses Israel has, asking why Ukraine doesn't?.. 'Germany, Israel sign ‘historic’ $3.5bn missile shield deal'
'Germany has signed a deal to acquire the Israeli-made Arrow 3 hypersonic missile system that will become a key part of Europe’s defence against air attack.
The signing of the deal in Berlin on Thursday was a “historic day” for both countries, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said at a news conference alongside his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant.
Worth about $3.5bn (3.3 billion euros), the sale is the biggest ever deal for Israel’s military industry.
The Arrow 3 system would make “German air defence ready for the future”, Pistorius said.
Germany has led a push to bolster NATO’s air defences in Europe after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, urging allies to buy deterrence systems together.
“We can see with the daily Russian attacks on Ukraine how important antiair defence is,” Pistorius said.
The signing of the deal was a “moving event for every Jew”, looking back at the events of the Holocaust, Gallant said.
“Only 80 years since the end of the second world war yet Israel and Germany join hands today in building a safer future,” he said.
The long-range Arrow 3 system, designed to shoot down missiles above the Earth’s atmosphere, is powerful enough to offer protective cover for neighbouring European Union states.
The system was developed and produced by Israel and the United States and the sale had to be approved by Washington before it could be finalised.
The system was first deployed at an Israeli airforce base in 2017 and has been used to protect Israel against attacks from Iran and Syria.
Arrow 3 is a “mobile system” that can be deployed depending on the threats faced, according to manufacturer Israel Aerospace Industries.
A landmark fund
The money for the deal comes from a landmark 100-billion-euro ($105bn) fund unveiled by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to bolster the country’s defences in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
More than a dozen European countries have so far signed up to Germany’s common air defence project, the European Sky Shield Initiative.
The Sky Shield project would involve joint procurement for short-, medium- and long-range systems, including the German-made IRIS-T, the American Patriot system and Arrow 3.
Some of Germany’s neighbours have however so far declined to sign up to the pact, including France and Poland.
Officials in Paris have argued instead for an air defence system using European equipment.
Berlin has said it expects the Arrow 3 system to be delivered in the final quarter of 2025.
Source: AFP
Al Jazeera
Published On 28 Sep 2023
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'Earlier coroner Mr Williams, concluding the inquest, said: “I find as a fact Yousef Makki did not use a knife to threaten or attack Joshua Molnar.
“I also find use of a knife unnecessary, disproportionate and unreasonable. I conclude he did not act in lawful self-defence.
“Therefore, I conclude that Mr Makki was unlawfully killed is fully made out by the evidence.”
Mr Williams said Molnar was angry at the time of the stabbing and he was dishonest in the aftermath, using “calmness and calculated deceit.”
And Molnar’s explanations as to what happened he described as “self-serving and too convenient” as the evidence pointed to Yousef not being violent.
He added: “No explanation has been offered why Mr Makki would suddenly produce a knife and threaten Joshua Molnar, his good friend.”
Molnar admitted lying in panic about what happened after the stabbing and lawyers for the Makki family highlighted many “discrepancies” in his account of how Yousef was stabbed.
Molnar told the jury at his trial that during a row Yousef had pulled a knife out first.
At the first inquest he said he could not remember who took a knife out first.
Another youth, Adam Chowdhary, was with the pair at the time. He said he did not see what happened because he was on his phone. Chowdhary had bought the flick knives online.
Mr Williams said he did not accept Chowdhary did not see what happened. He added: “I find Mr Chowdhary to be an unimpressive witness. Parts of his evidence were self-serving and disingenuous.”
Yousef, from Burnage, Manchester, became friends with the pair, both from wealthy Cheshire families, after winning a scholarship to £12,000-a-year Manchester Grammar School. All three were 17 at the time.
While a jury in a criminal trial must be sure beyond reasonable doubt of guilt, at an inquest a coroner can make conclusions based on the lower standard of using a balance of probabilities.
Molnar’s trial heard that Yousef’s death was “an accident waiting to happen”, he and Chowdhary being “rich kids who have never had to live in the real world”.
They called each other “Bro” and “Fam”, acting out “idiotic fantasies” of being “middle class gangsters” by messing around with knives, smoking cannabis and listening to drill music, the jury was told.
Molnar was jailed for 16 months for carrying a knife in public and perverting the course of justice after initially lying to police.
Chowdhary, now 21, did not give evidence at Molnar’s murder trial. He was found not guilty of perverting the course of justice and given a four-month detention order after admitting having a knife in public.'
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