You Kipper UKIPpers - a Brexit story (take 2)

[Roger Mexico]

Well Boris claims that he was told about this by a newspaper editor.  Which I'm sure we all agree makes it even more reliable, if that were possible. 

The EU has of course wearily pointed out that it is nothing to do with them - but blaming British originated red-tape on the EU has been the standard diversion tactic for the last 40 years.  Usually followed by complaints that "The French wouldn't stand for it" as if they should also follow whatever nonsense a British civil servant has dreamt up.  Responsibility seems to be a thing the British ruling class don't do any more - and Boris is probably the most perfect example of this.

But of course it doesn't matter if it is true.  It has got in all the newspapers and the ones that support Boris won't bother to correct it.  Indeed no one will probably to find out what the particular regulation is, whether it is EU, UK or even Manx.  Or indeed whether it exists at all.  This story has been around since last night, but no seems to have found the offending regulation or the advice to use these strange-sounding  plastic-ice-whatevers or indeed the aggrieved kipper-smokers (it's not like there's a lot of them).  The media just gormlessly take whatever they are fed and regurgitate it with the appropriate spin.

[woolley]

7 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said:

 The media just gormlessly take whatever they are fed and regurgitate it with the appropriate spin.

Indeed. So long as it advances whatever is their agenda.

[Barrie Stevens]

59 minutes ago, woolley said:

Indeed. So long as it advances whatever is their agenda.

Allegedly the Daily Express launched this kipper story. A few days ago the same paper carried a photo captioned HMS Montrose when clearly the ship shown was flying the old Japanese imperial flag as used by the Japanese Defence Force and the ship was clearly not British design..Boris says it is British and the Jap flag was hoisted by the EU...

[Barrie Stevens]

Boris is like kipper...Two faced and no guts...

[Yibble]

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

It has got in all the newspapers and the ones that support Boris won't bother to correct it. 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/07/18/boris-johnsons-claim-eu-forces-kippers-packed-ice-pillows-exposed/

 

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

Indeed no one will probably to find out what the particular regulation is, whether it is EU, UK or even Manx.  Or indeed whether it exists at all.  This story has been around since last night, but no seems to have found the offending regulation 

Yep, lazy journalism. However when reporting any 'new rule', the papers rarely to trouble to cite the law / regulation concerned. 

 

[gettafa]

It's either Boris taking the piss or....more likely, it's a spoof by the newspaper editor or whoever, in which case the joke is on Boris and everyone else.

[Roger Mexico]

14 minutes ago, gettafa said:

It's either Boris taking the piss or....more likely, it's a spoof by the newspaper editor or whoever, in which case the joke is on Boris and everyone else.

The BBC has now done a fact check on it, suggesting that whoever responsible for this nonsense was getting confused between the regulations for transporting fresh fish (which of course you'd never mail[1]) and processed fish.  This seems rather too kind - obviously for a potential Prime Minister or a newspaper editor to make such a simple error would suggest that you shouldn't send them out for chips[2], never mind put them in a position of responsibility.  It's also interesting that no one seems to have found the complaining kipperer - it would hardly be difficult to ring round the potential suspects.

But the joke isn't on them but on the public.  in a normal country in normal times such made up stories would lead to one or both being sacked, as indeed Boris was sacked for making up stories early in his career as a journalist.  Now it doesn't seem to matter - providing it works as propaganda for the 'right' people, then there are no consequences - in fact it's all seen as a jolly lark.  And if it is journalists who are doing the fabricating, none of their colleagues will call them out on it. 

For all sorts of social and financial reasons, the omerta of the London press is even tighter than that of the Manx Civil Service.  They will simply never criticise each other in print - or allow anyone else to[3].  At most you might get a few bitchy remarks in Private Eye's Street of Shame.  And when members of the public dare to expose something that is of public interest, but not what the journalists want known, it is them who will be attacked for effectively do reporters' jobs for them.  Think of the way the papers went after the people who reported Boris's domestic fights.

What has happened is that the British media have awarded themselves perpetual immunity from the need to do what should be their job.  There's been a lot of hand-wringing recently about the failure of British politics, but in the real failing is among those who are supposed to be keeping them honest.  And it's not a coincidence that so many of the more venal politicians - Boris and Gove for starters - are originally journalists.

[1]  Unless you really hated someone.  And their postie.

[2]  And certainly not for anything to go with them.

[3]  There was an interesting Twitter thread and linked Medium article last month from someone who had produced a requested article about a topic (I suspect for the Guardian) and it was never printed because he refused to remove truthful criticism of other journalists, even though those journalists were right-wingers.  The clannishness of the Press is more important to them than reporting the truth or the political views they claim to support.

[the stinking enigma]

Ultimately, this has got to be worth at least 6 billion pounds in free advertising for us. I fully expect kipper sales to go through the roof. may even save the post office.

[Neil Down]

59 minutes ago, the stinking enigma said:

Ultimately, this has got to be worth at least 6 billion pounds in free advertising for us. I fully expect kipper sales to go through the roof. may even save the post office.

Will there be enough for the MEA debt?

[Roger Mexico]

53 minutes ago, the stinking enigma said:

Ultimately, this has got to be worth at least 6 billion pounds in free advertising for us. I fully expect kipper sales to go through the roof. may even save the post office.

Don't give them ideas.  Think of the awful garbage they came up with when trying to justify the fairy houses.  In actual fact the danger is that Boris will have put everyone off ordering kippers by post ever again, as they will think they now each come attached to its own melting iceberg.  That assumes that there are actual people who believes anything he says mind, but someone must do or he wouldn't be favorite to be PM.

[dilligaf]

I hate to say it, but there is not much Manx about a Manx kipper.

Imported frozen from foreign parts defrosted and then smoked. Yay, now its a Manx kipper.

Not something to brag about.

At least the shell fish are from here and can actually be called Manx.

[NoTail]

22 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

I hate to say it, but there is not much Manx about a Manx kipper.

Imported frozen from foreign parts defrosted and then smoked. Yay, now its a Manx kipper.

Not something to brag about.

At least the shell fish are from here and can actually be called Manx.

Only if all 4 grandparents were Manx

[dilligaf]

1 minute ago, NoTail said:

24 minutes ago, dilligaf said:

I hate to say it, but there is not much Manx about a Manx kipper.

Imported frozen from foreign parts defrosted and then smoked. Yay, now its a Manx kipper.

Not something to brag about.

At least the shell fish are from here and can actually be called Manx.

Only if all 4 grandparents were Manx

On the Queens side or the Kings ? 

[woolley]

2 hours ago, the stinking enigma said:

Ultimately, this has got to be worth at least 6 billion pounds in free advertising for us.

 

1 hour ago, Roger Mexico said:

Don't give them ideas.  Think of the awful garbage they came up with when trying to justify the fairy houses.

"You'll look forward to going back." on a giant hoarding where the Peveril Hotel used to be, as the tourists emerged from the Sea Terminal told you everything you needed to know about our marketing. It hasn't improved.

[andy mackay]

On 7/18/2019 at 3:00 PM, Barrie Stevens said:

It was probably a Curtis kipper...Anyone older enough to remember them....The EU closed them down Boris told me...

I remember them, when we used to got to the IOM for holidays in the 70's, my mum would always go to Curtis and buy a case of Kippers. Now Kipper are manna from heaven at the best of times, but fresh from the smoke house they were amazing. I remember it being on the harbour somewhere, maybe Peel, though I could be wrong, it was a long time ago and I was a wee laddie.