Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Sue Gray report: Drunken No 10 party culture in lockdown laid bare – BBC News

  • Political and official leadership must bear responsibility for the culture at No 10
  • Staff partied – some until after 4am – on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
  • At another party, in June 2020, there was “excessive alcohol consumption by some individuals. One individual was sick. There was a minor altercation between two other individuals”
  • A No 10 official sent a message referring to “drunkenness” and advising staff to leave No 10 via the back exit after a December 2020 Christmas quiz to avoid press photographers
  • “Multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff”

The PM’s key aide Martin Reynolds was urged to cancel a “bring-your-own-booze” party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, as it posed “somewhat of a comms risk”.

An unnamed special adviser also told Mr Reynolds via WhatsApp that it would be “helpful” if people avoided “walking around waving bottles of wine etc” ahead of the event, as it was taking place immediately after a televised Covid press conference.

Mr Reynolds later told an unnamed adviser “we seem to have got away with” the party. He has since left Downing Street, returning to his job at the Foreign Office.

 

Source: Sue Gray report: Drunken No 10 party culture in lockdown laid bare – BBC News

Partygate: No.10 laughed at cleaners and security staff who risked their lives | openDemocracy

A security guard was left “shaking his head” after being laughed at for warning about rule breaking, BBC’s Panorama reported this week. And today’s Sue Gray report shows this was no isolated incident.

Gray highlighted “multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment” of security guards, and of cleaners, who were left to regularly clean up bottles and rubbish littered everywhere, red wine splashed all over the walls, and, presumably, vomit (Gray heard that one person had thrown up following a Downing Street gathering).

It is sickening. But it is also unsurprising. Those at the heart of government didn’t just laugh at cleaners, security guards, and other low paid workers. They sent them out to work at the peak of the pandemic – with no protection, often no sick pay, and no choice. And some died.

Source: Partygate: No.10 laughed at cleaners and security staff who risked their lives | openDemocracy

Chive Blossom Vinegar

Ideas and Advice for How To Live a Joyful and Empowered Life.

Chive blossom vinegar is very easy to make and takes your regular vinegar up a notch!

Pick your chives on a dry morning after the dew has dried. I picked and used blossoms with stems attached since the stems are flavorful also.

Stuff the chives into a sterilized glass jar and pour over your favorite vinegar – I used white wine vinegar because the chive blossoms will color the vinegar pink. You could use plain white vinegar and if you don’t care about the color, you could use apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar. Be sure all of the chives are covered with the vinegar to prevent mold.

Put the lid on the jar and place in a dark but warm area for 3-4 days. After 3-4 days, strain and store in the refrigerator. It can be used anytime any way that you use vinegar. Salad dressings are my…

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The Anti-Black Racial Horrors in Buffalo, Abertillery, and Beyond

Ospreyshire's Realm

I know I’m on hiatus, but all of these stories have angered me so much that I just have to talk about them.

I’m sure you all know about that horrific act of racist terrorism in Buffalo, NY. I don’t have to repeat too much, but I didn’t want to see the loss of life or how soft that devil Payton Gendron got so far. Some updates have come up that Gendron was in a groupchat on Discord and other online platforms that detailed his original plan of killing at least THREE DOZEN Black people. That “lone wolf” excuse crumbles after that news came out. All those people should be hit with conspiracy charges! This is just sick with how these white supremacists are coddled in this country. Please check out this video for more information. I’m glad Phil called out how these racist jokes and memes are dangerous. They…

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Everyday Gun Ownership Set the Stage for the Uvalde Massacre

Guns make society worse. From a collective standpoint, they do little but beget needless violence. They are a net negative for all. In 2020, they killed 45,222 people in the United States. Most often, the person killed is the owner, either by their own hand—in 2020, the most recent year for which complete data is available, 54 percent of gun deaths were suicides—or by accident, according to the Pew Research Center. Firearms drive up the murder rate, with 79 percent of homicides involving guns, mostly handguns.

The gun-related death toll has climbed sharply in recent years, jumping 34 percent from 2019 to 2020 and a staggering 75 percent from a decade prior. The rate of gun violence has also increased, with 13.6 deaths per 100,000 people—the highest since the 1990s, though still below the historical high in the 1970s.

Guns put their owners, and their families, in danger rather than keep them safe. A landmark study on gun ownership recently found that owning one makes you less safe at home—with women at particular risk. If you own a gun, you are more than twice as likely to die from gun violence than if you do not. The gun owner is a threat not only to themself but to everyone in the household. In particular, living with a gun owner makes you more likely to be shot to death by a domestic partner, and the researchers found living in a household with guns provided zero protection from being killed at home by a stranger.

Source: Everyday Gun Ownership Set the Stage for the Uvalde Massacre