A powerful voice for sanity in Britain
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sparked an intense reaction after declaring “we shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be” during a speech at his first party conference as leader.
Mr Sunak — who is looking to rally his ruling Conservatives for next year’s general election — is trying to position his party as a force for change, even after 13 years in power and increasing disaffection among voters.
In a speech lasting more than an hour to the party’s annual conference, he promised that the Tories — on course for defeat at the next vote, according to opinion polls — would break the mould of the last 30 years of government.
“We will be bold, we will be radical. We will face resistance and we will meet it,” he told delegates.
Many will see his comments on the transgender debate as the most bold and radical of his speech.
“It shouldn’t be controversial for parents to know what their children are being taught in school about relationships,” he said. “Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women. We shouldn’t get bullied.”
At this point, Mr Sunak was interrupted by loud applause from Tory delegates including his Cabinet colleagues.
When it died down, he continued: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t.
“A man is a man and a woman is a woman, that’s just common sense.”
The conference again erupted into applause and cheers, with some in the audience whistling.
But there was also widespread concern among the transgender community and advocates online.
“Outrageous hate, which is going to encourage bullying and physical attacks by thugs, utterly vile,” transgender British newsreader India Willoughby wrote.
“If a single trans person gets attacked or murdered after today then Rishi Sunak should be arrested and charged,” added another.
“Never had so many DMs from worried UK trans people and their families,” wrote a third.
“The important thing following Rishi Sunak’s hate speech: IT IS NOT LAW. Nothing has changed. Trans are still legally recognised and protected. Yes it’s scary – but they do not have time to change rules/law.”
Mr Sunak earned a much-needed standing ovation from Conservative diehards gathered in Manchester, as he used his first party conference as their leader to pitch his vision for Britain’s long-term future.
With next year’s expected general election high on attendees’ minds, Mr Sunak was intent on delivering the message that he represents change — despite more than a decade of Tory governments.
And the message seemed to land well with members who last summer picked his short-lived predecessor Liz Truss over him to be leader, only for her premiership to implode weeks later.
“I came here from last year as a Truss-ite, I probably up ‘til yesterday … would’ve voted for Truss again, but he did well,” said Conor Boyle, 20, a student Tory from Northern Ireland.
“I actually thought it was brilliant,” he added of Sunak’s hour-long keynote address, describing him as “a bit of a breath of fresh air”.
Ahead of the 43-year-old former finance minister’s speech, a slick big-screen video montage themed around “change” and how Mr Sunak is “different” left onlookers in little doubt about his imminent message.
His Indian-born wife Akshata Murty then arrived at the podium as a self-proclaimed “surprise addition” to the speakers’ line-up, insisting her husband had “no idea what I’m going to say”.
Delivering personalised remarks about their 14-year marriage without a teleprompter, she nonetheless stuck to the script that Mr Sunak is a new kind of leader willing to take tough, unpopular decisions.
“Sometimes when the going gets tough, I remind Rishi that he’s fighting for his values, that he’s fighting for this party’s values, knowing that it’s a hard road ahead,” she said.
Large banners on the hall walls in front of her hammered home the intended message, bearing the conference’s slogan: “long-term decisions for a brighter future”.
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"I've travelled the world and Kemi Badenoch is right, Britain IS the best place to be black"
Just like the party faithful at this week's Conservative conference, I applauded Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch when she said — quite rightly — that Britain is the best country in the world to be a black person.
But I've learned that it's always worthwhile paying attention to the reaction to big political speeches.
A quick survey of the blowhards lambasting her on social media, among them the usual suspects such as Left-wing commentator Owen Jones and Green MP Caroline Lucas, revealed a fascinating detail: a lot of them happen to be white.
I'm prepared to be charitable and accept that some of these liberal do-gooders may have noble, anti-racist intentions. But that doesn't make them right — either about their misrepresentation of what Badenoch said, or their assumptions that black people in Britain are systematically 'oppressed'.
First of all, Badenoch never said Britain was perfect, but I've travelled and lived all over, and I know it to be far better than most places when it comes to racism.
In Britain, I've scarcely been exposed to aggressive, in-your-face abuse since the bad old days of the 1970s. But I have experienced exactly that sort of abuse in France — where people of colour are often effectively segregated in rough and crime-ridden suburbs — as well as in Italy and Spain.
In these nations so beloved of Remainers, I have been eyeballed by local people who spat out racial epithets and made me feel not only unwelcome, but unsafe. I recall one particularly terrifying experience on a crowded train in Spain, where a middle-aged woman directed a lengthy diatribe against black people directly at me. I was scared because I had no easy way to escape until a Spanish-speaking friend physically intervened to defend me from her.
I lived in the USA in my teens and I would never want to be a young black person there, either. During my childhood in Essex, I was the only black girl in my state primary school and all my friends were white. Many of my boyfriends have been white and both my children are mixed-race to different dads.
But in my experience, American blacks and whites tend to live separate lives with unequal life opportunities and little prospect of mixing.
That's just not true here, which is why so many people risk their lives to come to Britain. We can see the success of integration all around us in the huge numbers of families who have accepted black and brown people with open arms, seeing them as a son or daughter-in-law without judging them for the colour of their skin.
As the Prime Minister himself said today, he is 'proud' to be the first British-Asian PM, but 'even prouder that it's just not a big deal'.
In fact, it's the race zealots — and some black activists — who pigeonhole people according to the colour of their skin, a form of discrimination that starts with the ridiculous assumption that all black people are the same, have the same aspirations, the same problems and also — the Labour Party is particularly bad in this regard — the same political views.
But that's clearly nonsense and the statistics speak for themselves.
Some 62 per cent of black people aged 19 are in higher education — compared to 40 per cent of young white people. British-Nigerian students are doing better than their white counterparts in their GCSEs and A-levels.
Black people have thrived in this country in everything from sport and music to business and, particularly, politics — especially the Tory party.
So it is no surprise to me that Kemi Badenoch should become a Conservative minister. She can see the Tories still operate according to that famous message of civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King: 'I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.'
The irony is that judging people by the colour of their skin is what the liberal elite loves to do. And this doesn't do black people any favours. If you tell a thousand black youngsters they are 'oppressed', a few might work harder and succeed, but more will be demoralised and give up altogether.
Tell them anything's possible and you will inspire a generation.
That's what Britain offers to black people. It's not perfect, but as Kemi Badenoch said, I firmly believe that it's the best country in the world for us to live in.
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Another Company Is Closing Locations in Crime-Ridden San Francisco
Earlier this year, Townhall reported how a Nordstrom store in San Francisco’s massive Westfield Mall announced that it would shut down for good amid rising crime. In addition, AT&T announced that its flagship store in the city would close for several reasons, with “street conditions” being one of them. And, one retailer announced that it would sue the owners of the Westfield Mall for failing to bump up its security measures amid rising crime.
Starbucks is the latest major company to announce that it would shrink operations in the Golden City. The coffee chain is slated to close seven stores in San Francisco as the city struggles with rampant crime.
Starbucks’ regional vice president for Northern California, Jessica Borton, sent a letter to employees at the stores to inform them of the decision.
"There are several factors Starbucks considers when tasked with the tough decision of closing a store, but it is all part of ensuring a healthy store portfolio," Borton reportedly wrote in the letter.
"We will continue to listen to the needs of our partners to ensure they can focus on crafting beverages and creating connections in a welcoming environment,” she added.
In a statement to SFGate, Starbucks spokesperson Sam Jefferies said that “each year as a standard course of business, we evaluate the store portfolio to determine where we can best meet our community and customers’ needs.”
“This includes opening new locations, identifying stores in need of investment or renovation, exploring locations where an alternative format is needed and, in some instances, re-evaluating our footprint,” he added.
“This includes opening new locations, identifying stores in need of investment or renovation, exploring locations where an alternative format is needed and, in some instances, re-evaluating our footprint,” he added. The employees of all the closing stores will have the option to transfer to another location.
According to the New York Post, around 40 retail stores in the Union Square section of the city alone have closed in addition to “dozens” more in other areas of town.
Earlier this year, San Francisco Mayor London Breed asked for federal assistance to deal with the city’s issues, including drugs, violence, and homelessness. In a letter obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle, Breed said that the problem is “beyond our local capacity.”
https://townhall.com//tipsheet/madelineleesman/2023/10/04/starbucks-san-francisco-n2629344
*********************************************UK: Hunt pledges law change to stop de-banking for ‘wrong political views’
The Government has pledged to change the law to prevent people being de-banked for having the “wrong political views”.
It plans to amend existing rules to ensure banks, building societies and other financial services firms are not undermining people’s right to freedom of speech.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said during the Conservative party conference on Monday: “Nobody should have their bank account closed because somebody else decides they’re not politically correct. “We’ll tighten the law to stop people being debanked for the wrong political views.”
It is already illegal for financial institutions to discriminate against customers on the basis of lawful freedom of expression.
But the Treasury moved to tighten the rules on account closures earlier this year after former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said Coutts bank, which is owned by NatWest Group, had moved to shut down his account unfairly.
The changes included extending the notice period for banks deciding to close someone’s account from two months to 90 days.
The move was intended to give customers more time to challenge the decision through the Financial Ombudsman Service or to find a replacement bank.
Banking firms will also be required to give customers “clear and tailored” explanations for why they have chosen to close an account – except in some circumstances where it is unlawful to do so.
It means it only applies when there is a commercial reason for doing so, such as if a financial firm thinks having a certain customer will pose a reputational risk.
But they will not have to provide an explanation or a 90-day notice period in serious cases, such as if they believe a customer has committed an offence or to protect staff and customers from harm.
Meanwhile, the UK’s financial watchdog is reviewing the treatment of so-called politically exposed persons (PEPs) and their families who are subject to extra checks by banking providers.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said it wants to make sure financial firms are being “proportionate” in their risk assessments of PEPs.
Last month, the FCA said it found no firm evidence of banks denying people access to accounts over the past year due to their political views.
In its preliminary review of the issue, it said data submitted to it by banks and others suggests that no firms had closed an account primarily because of customers’ political beliefs. But it admitted that the information collected was limited and needs further investigation.
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My other blogs. Main ones below:
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See 
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