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Watford, England, a quick ride from London, was the setting for the 70th anniversary of NATO.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was the host and, despite a few squabbles, everything went well.
Watford residents were probably the most consterned, not to mention inconvenienced.
On November 13, Hertfordshire Police began warning about the residents’ inability to circulate fully between Monday and Wednesday this week. The BBC reported (emphases mine):
Police in Hertfordshire are suggesting people work from home to avoid disruption caused by a meeting of world leaders in Watford next month.
Heads of state will congregate at the Grove Hotel on Wednesday, 4 December as part of Nato’s 70th anniversary summit.
Several roads and footpaths will be shut and the Grand Union Canal will be closed to both boats and pedestrians.
The force said it aimed to keep the impact to an “absolute minimum”.
The meeting is part of the London anniversary summit which Nato said will be “an opportunity for leaders to address current and emerging security challenges”.
Hertfordshire Constabulary has been liaising with the Metropolitan Police and other agencies to take measures to “minimise the impact on the community”.
Closures will be in place for all, or some, of the time between 06:00 GMT on 2 December and 20:00 GMT on 4 December but there will be access for emergency and essential services.
I heard from someone who has friends there that Watford ‘looked like a war zone’ with concrete bollards at the end of certain streets. Thankfully, it’s all over now.
On Monday, December 2, the Watford Observer reported on the road closures in town and included photos of security at The Grove, where Bilderberg met a few years ago in June. The Grove was once home to the Earls of Clarendon. Today, it is a pricey hotel and conference centre with a golf course.
One Observer reader commented:
I hope Herts tax payers aren’t paying for the extra security. The Bilderberg meeting cost us half a million.
The skies were busy:
As Conservative Party leader, Boris is in the midst of an election campaign. Voting day is Thursday, December 12. Therefore, given President Donald Trump’s universal unpopularity here, journalists believed that Boris would minimise his appearances and private meetings with him.
President Trump had his own concerns, as Democrats continued impeachment hearings on December 4:
This week it is the turn of the House Judiciary Committee:
Returning to NATO, The Sun has a good summary of the participants in and schedule for this year’s summit.
Boris interrupted his attendance with a few election campaign appearances:
This is a great photograph from Wednesday, December 4:
Before the summit began, The Spectator encapsulated the contentious tone that French president Emmanuel Macron had established:
This week is seminal for Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron. Boris, in Watford, is hosting one of the most important Nato summits for years. Its significance is not because it marks the Alliance’s 70th anniversary, but because of President Macron’s ‘disruptive’ and trenchant criticism of the Atlantic Alliance as close to ‘brain dead’, which has touched a nerve. The French President went on to reiterate his remarks at an Elysée press conference, with a visibly uncomfortable Nato Secretary General, three weeks later. Macron attacked the ‘strident and unacceptable disconnection’ from world threats during the last two Nato summits as being ‘uniquely devoted’, in his sarcastic words, ‘to finding solutions to how to lighten the United States’ financial costs’. All this, says Macron, while major strategic questions such as relations with Russia, Turkey and ‘who is the enemy?’ remain unanswered.
The Trumps arrived early Monday morning at Stansted Airport in Essex, not far from London. The Daily Mail has several photos of the Trumps’ arrival.
Ambassador Robert ‘Woody’ Johnson hosted the couple at Winfield House in Regent’s Park, the US ambassador’s palatial residence. American heiress Barbara Hutton had the neo-Georgian mansion custom built in 1936. After the Second World War, she sold it to the US Government for one dollar.
This was the scene on Monday night as the Trumps returned to Winfield House after a reception at No. 10 Downing Street. Amazingly, an NHS lorry just beat the motorcade. The ongoing false accusations of Labour against Boris planning on ‘selling the NHS’ to the United States made this all the more ironic:
President Trump has been rightly exercised over the refusal of nearly all NATO nations to pay their share, leaving the US to largely foot the bill:
In January, NATO’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg agreed with Trump’s strategy:
Even James Mattis, who left the Trump administration as he and the president did not see eye to eye, admits that his former boss has improved NATO:
On Tuesday morning, the US president hit the ground running, beginning by co-hosting a breakfast at Winfield House with Jens Stoltenberg for principal NATO leaders and cabinet members:
He gave an extensive interview afterwards, covering 17 topics. Sky News has a good summary, some of which is excerpted below.
On the upcoming British election, he said:
On the NHS, he said:
I have nothing to do with it. Never even thought about it, honestly.
I don’t even know where that rumour started.
We have absolutely nothing to do with it, and we wouldn’t want to. If you handed it to us on a silver platter, we’d want nothing to do with it.
On Jeremy Corbyn:
I know nothing about the gentleman.
On France and, indirectly, Emmanuel Macron:
Nobody needs NATO more than France.
France is not doing well economically at all, they are struggling. It’s a tough statement to make when you have such difficulty in France.
You look at what happened with the Yellow Vests, they’ve had a rough year, you can’t go around making statements like that about NATO. It’s very disrespectful.
That’s why I think when France makes a statement like they do about NATO that’s a very dangerous statement for them to make.
On upcoming US and French taxes:
Well look, I’m not in love with those companies – Facebook, Google and all of them, Twitter – though I guess I do pretty well with Twitter on the other side – but I’m not necessarily in love with those companies. But they’re our companies, they’re American companies, I want to tax those companies.
They’re not going to be taxed by France. So France is going to put a tax on, it was totally out of the blue, they just had an idea, Emmanuel had an idea, let’s tax those companies, well they’re American companies. I’m not going to let people take advantage of American companies because if anyone’s going to take advantage of American companies it’s going to be us, it’s not going to be France.
And so we’re taxing, as you know, we’re taxing their wines, and everything else and we have a very, very big tax to put on them. Plus we have a tax going on on Airbus and that would be a good thing for Boeing but we’re only going to do that if it’s necessary.
But they’re American companies. I don’t want France taxing American companies. If they’re going to be taxed it’s going to be the United States that will tax them.
On North Korea and Kim Jong-Un:
Likes sending rockets up, doesn’t he? That’s why I call him rocket man.
We have a very good relationship and we’ll see what happens. It may work or not. But in the meantime, it’s been a long time. President Obama said it’s the number one problem and it would have been war. You’d be in a war right now if it weren’t for me.
If I weren’t president, you’d be in a war right now in Asia. And who knows where that leads? That brings in a lot of other countries.”
On Mr Kim, he added: ‘You know my relationship with Kim Jong Un is really good but that doesn’t mean he won’t abide by the agreement we signed. You have to understand, you have to go look at the first agreement that we signed. It said he will denuclearise. That’s what it said. I hope he lives up to the agreement but we’re going to find out.’
ZeroHedge had another remark from the US president on his French counterpart:
‘I do see France breaking off. I’m looking at him and I’m saying he [Macron] needs protection more than anybody and I see him breaking off, so I’m a little surprised at that,’ Trump said.
Returning to the NHS, here’s a video of Trump saying he’s not interested:
Labour supporters continue to circulate an old video saying he is. If the video you see does not look like the one immediately above, then it’s old — and obsolete.
Late Tuesday afternoon, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall welcomed the Trumps to Clarence House for tea.
They then went to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen hosted a reception for NATO leaders:
The Daily Mail has extensive photos of both the reception and tea at Clarence House.
I cannot help but feel sorry for Her Majesty being squashed by Jens and Boris. Why could they not have given her some breathing room?
During the reception, Justin from Canada made his views known about Trump. He later admitted that he was talking about his meeting with the US president, which ended up being 40 minutes late because of the extended press conference:
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, also in attendance, hoped to corner Trump to tell him not to engage in any trade negotiations regarding the NHS. In the event, Corbyn was on one side of the room and Trump on the other. They never met.
Meanwhile, several dozen radical protesters demonstrated outside:
Then it was on to No. 10, where Boris hosted a reception for NATO leaders. Some news reports said that Boris wasn’t there to greet them, but other news accounts said that he had been delayed by ten minutes in returning from Buckingham Palace.
In any event, since when does the Prime Minister personally open the door? It’s always a policeman or woman who handles that.
The Trumps looked ill at ease when they arrived, despite a choir singing Christmas carols in the background. Had they already found out about Justin from Canada’s hot mic moment at Buckingham Palace?
On Wednesday morning, Trump arrived at The Grove for the final day of the summit:
It is said that the president left early. He was there for the photo op. Perhaps he simply cancelled a second press conference. What more did he have to say?
The US president had his own hot mic moment that day:
In another NATO hot mic moment, President Donald Trump was recorded saying it was “funny” when he called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced.”
Interestingly, Boris’s key adviser, Dominic Cummings, was spotted sitting on the sidelines that day:
No doubt the residents of Watford were happy to see the sun go down that day, heralding a return to normality for them:
The summit went well, as the Estonian and Dutch prime ministers respectively tweeted:
President Trump was happy, too:
Back in the UK, later that day, questions for Boris still persisted about the NHS:
Politics aside, our Prime Minister can be pleased with his role in hosting the 70th NATO summit, which took place without incident.
Thursday, November 28, 2019, proved to be a memorable Thanksgiving in the United States and elsewhere — in Hong Kong.
This year’s Thanksgiving came later than usual. Country Living has an interesting article on how President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fixed the date for this American holiday. The article also says:
This year, the month of November begins on a Friday, which means the fourth Thursday of the month falls on Nov. 28—it’s the first time Thanksgiving has been this late since 2013.
The turkey pardon took place on Tuesday, November 26, at the White House. It is a relatively new tradition which began in 1989 under Bush I:
Americans could vote for either Bread or Butter to be pardoned:
This is the farmer who raised them:
Both turkeys went to Gobbler’s Rest at Virginia Tech, where pardoned turkeys and their mates go to enjoy a pampered retirement. Agricultural students study them for research purposes.
The event includes invitations to people in the media and elsewhere who are friends of the current president. This year, Judge Jeanine of Fox News was among the supporters who attended.
President Trump gave a speech that day, which included this:
… it was George H.W. Bush who first issued an official pardon.
In keeping with that tradition, today I will issue a pardon to a pair of very handsome birds: Butter and his alternate, Bread. (Laughter.) …
Their names were chosen by the students of Harrells Christian Academy in North Carolina. Great state.
Bread and Butter were raised in Tar Heel State by farmer Wellie Jackson, who’s here with us with his wife Tara and their lovely family. And I want to thank you very much. Great job. Great job. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
He made a few impeachment jokes:
Thankfully, Bread and Butter have been specially raised by the Jacksons to remain calm under any condition, which will be very important because they’ve already received subpoenas to appear in Adam Schiff’s basement on Thursday. (Laughter and applause.) It’s true. Hundreds of people have. It seems the Democrats are accusing me of being too soft on turkey. (Laughter.)
On a serious note, President Trump had these words for the holiday:
This Thanksgiving, we bow our heads in gratitude for the newfound prosperity and spirit that’s taking place all across America. The country has never been more successful. Our military has been rebuilt. We captured the number-one terrorist in the world and killed the number-one terrorist in the world — al-Baghdadi. And I want to thank our military because there’s nothing like our military. (Applause.)
And I want to thank almighty God for the — shedding his grace on our nation. Our nation is special and we especially send our love to members of the United States Armed Forces serving all around the world. We are forever thankful for those who wear our nation’s uniform and the families who support them. The families are so important. They can never be the same without those great families. Because of their selfless service, millions of our follow Americans are celebrating another wonderful Thanksgiving in safety and in peace.
And it’s just a very special country, a very special place — the Rose Garden at the White House. If you’re looking back here, that’s the Oval Office. Some of you haven’t been here before. But every time we walk onto the grounds of the White House, we realize how special it is.
So now we reach the moment Bread and Butter have been waiting for so patiently — their presidential pardons. Melania and I wish all Americans a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving. We love you all.
On Thursday, in the world of nature, Alaskan moose shared their own Thanksgiving meal:
Meanwhile, in the Lower 48, two beautiful turkeys enjoyed the day in freedom:
The skies had been busy with scheduled flights getting Americans home for Thanksgiving:
President Trump issued greetings:
Meanwhile, half a world away, Hong Kong residents held a Thanksgiving Day rally in appreciation of the signing of the Hong Kong Rights and Democracy Act:
Demonstrators carried photos of a mock-up Rocky picture recently tweeted from the president’s Twitter account:
Back in the United States, kids of all ages were delighted when the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade television broadcast began.
New Yorkers enjoy it, too:
The New York Police Department have a huge role to play in ensuring all goes well:
For anyone wishing to distract children during the holiday period, here’s the 2019 parade in full: all two hours of it. I used to love watching this as a kid, so I’m sure yours will, too. The huge balloons of cartoon characters are amazing. Highly recommended:
Moving on to the Trumps, here is the latest photo of First Son, 13-year-old Barron, who now seems to be taller than his father:
Newsweek — now only online, no longer in print — blasted the US president: ‘How is Trump spending Thanksgiving? Tweeting, golfing and more’.
The Trumps gathered together at Mar a Lago in Palm Beach. There was only one official item scheduled for Thursday:
Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham tweeted:
That evening, President Trump embarked on a secret Thanksgiving mission. He left Palm Beach for Joint Base Andrews:
Trump was on his way to Afghanistan to celebrate Thanksgiving with American troops:
This is a splendid photo of his arrival at Baghram Air Force Base in Afghanistan:
The Afghani president was also in attendance:
President Ashraf Ghani stood just behind President Trump during his remarks:
The troops were delighted to see their Commander in Chief and share dinner with him:
Then it was time to return home:
The next day’s shopping revenues were superlative — and the best ever for online sales. Americans can thank Trump for that:
Thank Trump, America!
The sensible among you are grateful. That I know.
May our good Lord continue to guide the American president through the daily drama that his enemies dish up. They will not win.
——————————————————————–
UPDATE — The Newsweek reporter who wrote the aforementioned article has been fired. On Saturday, November 30, the Washington Examiner reported:
The Newsweek reporter who wrote an inaccurate story about President Trump’s Thanksgiving Day plans has been fired. The outlet’s original story claimed the president only planned on tweeting and golfing during his holiday break, neglecting to mention his trip to Afghanistan.
Newsweek’s Jessica Kwong, whose Twitter handle identifies her as a political reporter “covering Trump administration and family,” initially published the article Thursday morning, before the president’s trip to Afghanistan was announced publicly …
Hours after the president’s trip was announced, Newsweek edited Kwong’s story and added a note at the bottom of it. The beginning of the story now focuses on the president’s trip and his speech to the troops, while the new headline reads, “How is Trump spending Thanksgiving? Tweeting, golfing — and surprising U.S. troops in Afghanistan.”
The note at the end of the story reads, “This story has been substantially updated and edited at 6:17 p.m. EST to reflect the president’s surprise trip to Afghanistan. Additional reporting by James Crowley.”
— —
UPDATE: Kwong put some of the blame for the story on her editor. Read more here.
— —
That article has a statement from Newsweek:
“Newsweek investigated the failures that led to the publication of the inaccurate report that President Trump spent Thanksgiving tweeting and golfing rather than visiting troops in Afghanistan,” a Newsweek representative previously told the Washington Examiner. “The story has been corrected, and the journalist responsible has been terminated. We will continue to review our processes and, if required, take further action.”
Newsweek did not answer additional questions about the editor’s status with the outlet or if they would face any consequences over the publication of the story.
For a change, below are three stories one can file under ‘happy news’.
This little fellow from England has taken his first steps at the age of four. He has a rare form of cerebral palsy and recently underwent an operation to reduce the spasticity in his legs. The video is subtitled, so you can read more about him. The joy on his face is a sight to behold. God is good:
Speaking of walking, the little boy thrown from the third floor of the Mall of America on April 12 is once again fully ambulatory. I bet his and his family’s Thanksgiving was extra special this year. God is good:
On November 23, Fox News reported (emphases mine):
The 5-year-old boy who was thrown from a Mall of America third-floor balcony and survived is “walking perfectly” and could be off his medication soon.
The family of Landen Hoffman gave an update about the boy on a GoFundMe page, saying the open wound on his belly had “finally scabbed over and new skin is growing.”
“Mom has been doing everything she can to speed up the healing of his wound and working toward getting off some of his medications,” the post said.
Hoffman was hospitalized with two broken arms, a broken leg and fractures to his face and skull when Emmanuel Aranda, 24, tossed him about 40 feet during a random attack at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn. on April 12.
He was forced to undergo 15 separate medical procedures and surgeries due to the injuries and “severe complications.” He returned home months later.
Now, Hoffman [is] said to be enjoying life and is going to kindergarten with his twin brother and sister.
“He gets out of the car every morning happy and blows kisses all the way in! He’s a strong, happy boy,” the post added. “When his mommy asks him if she can look at his wound or asks how he’s doing, he always responds with ‘Mom, I’m healed, you don’t need to ask me anymore.’ Landen loves life and Jesus!”
It continued: “He tells people all the time when they get hurt, don’t worry, I fell off a cliff, but Angels caught me and Jesus loves me, so I’m ok and you will be too!”
Bless his heart.
And, finally, did you know the adorable baby portraits on the Gerber baby food jars are of real infants? Ann Turner Cook, the model for the original portrait, turned 93 last week:
ABC News reported on an Instagram post celebrating the occasion:
“For over 90 years, it’s been our pleasure to welcome countless babies to our ever-growing Gerber family,” the caption said. “Our dedication to each and every generation of little ones has long been part of our heritage, and we’ll always take time to celebrate a true classic!”
The iconic charcoal sketch was first created by Cook’s neighbor, Dorothy Hope Smith, who specialized in children’s portraits and submitted the sketch to Gerber, according to the company.
The irresistible baby first appeared on Gerber products in 1928 and became the company’s official trademark in 1931.
Many happy returns, Ms Cook!
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American readers!
Thursday, November 28, 2019 is the nation’s day for turkey, Macy’s Parade and football.
It’s a hectic day for anyone — likely to be a woman — who prepares Thanksgiving dinner. By the end of Thursday, home cooks are understandably tired.
Some are tired all year round from household chores.
However, there is an upside to these tiresome tasks, as New York City’s WOR radio talk show host, Mark Simone, explains in the following list:
So, it’s not all bad.
In fact, it’s all good.
For that reason, let us say a prayer of thanksgiving to God for all His blessings.
Of course, Thanksgiving is meant to be about leftovers and tasty treats that last through the weekend. Anyone who needs a few quick food ideas should read an excellent Thanksgiving recipe thread led by one of my readers, Daughn at the Q Tree. Daughn begins by sharing personal Thanksgiving anecdotes guaranteed to warm the heart.
For those who like a bit of political discussion with relatives and friends over roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, take the Nolan Chart test: a quick ten-question survey guaranteed to stimulate conversation. As ever, I tested as a centrist.
Wherever you are in the world and however you choose to spend it, have a very happy Thanksgiving Day!
This week’s posts have largely been about last Saturday’s televised interview that Prince Andrew gave to BBC Newsnight‘s Emily Maitlis.
My post from Tuesday has a link to the full interview, and for those wondering why the public sentiment is so against him, here are several reasons. Yesterday’s post featured his announcement to retire from public life and subtitled video clips from the interview.
Today’s looks at the reasons why Prince Andrew maintained his friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. The following quotes are taken from the transcript as published in The Express. Emily Maitlis is ‘Interviewer’.
It’s quite a read, according to this Sunday Times journalist:
How they met
It appears that Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s erstwhile girlfriend, introduced the two (emphases mine):
Well I met through his girlfriend back in 1999 who…and I’d known her since she was at university in the UK and it would be, to some extent, a stretch to say that as it were we were close friends. I mean we were friends because of other people and I had a lot of opportunity to go to the United States but I didn’t have much time with him.
I suppose I saw him once or twice a year, perhaps maybe maximum of three times a year and quite often if I was in the United States and doing things and if he wasn’t there, he would say “well, why don’t you come and use my houses?” so I said “that’s very kind, thank you very much indeed”.
But it would be a considerable stretch to say that he was a very, very close friend. But he had the most extraordinary ability to bring extraordinary people together and that’s the bit that I remember as going to the dinner parties where you would meet academics, politicians, people from the United Nations, I mean it was a cosmopolitan group of what I would describe as US eminents.
Interviewer: Was that his appeal then?
Prince Andrew: Yeah.
Maitlis asked the prince if the two of them enjoyed partying:
because you were perceived by the public as being the party prince, was that something you shared?
Prince Andrew: Well, I think that’s also a bit of a stretch. I don‘t know why I’ve collected that title because I don’t…I never have really partied. I was single for quite a long time in the early 80s but then after I got married I was very happy and I’ve never really felt the need to go and party and certainly going to Jeffrey’s was not about partying, absolutely not.
This might help jog his memory:
And what about this?
Back to the interview.
Maitlis asked if he trusted Epstein:
Yes, I think I probably did but again, I mean I don’t go into a friendship looking for the wrong thing, if you understand what I mean. I’m an engaging person, I want to be able to engage, I want to find out, I want to learn and so you have to remember that I was transitioning out of the Navy at the time and in the transition I wanted to find out more about what was going on because in the Navy it’s a pretty isolated business because you’re out at sea the whole time and I was going to become the special representative for international trade and investment.
So I wanted to know more about what was going on in the international business world and so that was another reason for going there. And the opportunities that I had to go to Wall Street and other places to learn whilst I was there were absolutely vital.
Epstein’s visits to the UK
Emily Maitlis then asked about Epstein’s visits to the UK as his guest:
Interviewer: He was your guest as well, in 2000 Epstein was a guest at Windsor Castle and at Sandringham, he was brought right into the heart of the royal family at your invitation.
Prince Andrew: But certainly at my invitation, not at the royal family’s invitation but remember that it was his girlfriend that was the key element in this. He was the, as it were, plus one, to some extent in that aspect.
Interviewer: Am I right in thinking you threw a birthday party for Epstein’s girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell at Sandringham?
Prince Andrew: No, it was a shooting weekend.
Interviewer: A shooting weekend.
Prince Andrew: Just a straightforward, a straightforward shooting weekend.
Interviewer: But during these times that he was a guest at Windsor Castle, at Sandringham, the shooting weekend…
Prince Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Interviewer: We now know that he was and had been procuring young girls for sex trafficking.
All above board in Epstein’s houses?
Prince Andrew then said that he never noticed anything abnormal about Epstein’s houses other than the number of people at all times of day.
He was also a patron of the Full Stop campaign for the UK’s NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) early after the Millennium, a position he held until 2009.
Oh, the irony.
Prince Andrew: We now know that, at the time there was no indication to me or anybody else that that was what he was doing and certainly when I saw him either in the United States…oh no when I saw him in the United States or when I was staying in his houses in the United States, there was no indication, absolutely no indication. And if there was, you have to remember that at the time I was Patron of the NSPCC’s Full Stop campaign so I was close up with what was going on in those time about getting rid of abuse to children so I knew what the things were to look for but I never saw them.
Interviewer: So you would have made that connection because you stayed with him, you were a visitor, a guest on many occasions at his homes and nothing struck you as suspicious…
Prince Andrew: Nothing.
Interviewer: …during that whole time.
Prince Andrew: Nothing.
Could it be a matter of perception? In an appearance this week on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Lady Colin Campbell (second tweet) made a dubious distinction:
Moving along:
Interviewer: Just for the record, you’ve been on his private plane.
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Interviewer: You’ve been to stay on his private island.
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Interviewer: You’ve stayed at his home in Palm Beach.
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Interviewer: You visited Ghislaine Maxwell’s house in Belgravia in London.
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party — 2006
Maitlis asked Prince Andrew about inviting Epstein to Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday party:
Interviewer: So in 2006 in May an arrest warrant was issued for Epstein for sexual assault of a minor.
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Interviewer: In July he was invited to Windsor Castle to your daughter, Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday, why would you do that?
Prince Andrew: Because I was asking Ghislaine. But even so, at the time I don’t think I…certainly I wasn’t aware when the invitation was issued what was going on in the United States and I wasn’t aware until the media picked up on it because he never said anything about it.
Interviewer: He never discussed with you the fact that an arrest warrant had been issued?
Prince Andrew: No.
Interviewer: So he came to that party knowing police were investigating him.
Prince Andrew: Well I’m not quite sure, was it police? I don’t know, you see, this is the problem, I really don’t know.
Interviewer: It was the Palm Beach Police at the time.
Prince Andrew: But I mean I’m afraid, you see this is the problem is that an awful lot of this was going on in the United States and I wasn’t a party to it and I knew nothing about it.
Epstein’s 2008 conviction
The prince said that contact with Epstein was in abeyance for a few years:
Interviewer: In 2008 he was convicted of soliciting and procuring a minor for prostitution, he was jailed, this was your friend, how did you feel about it?
Prince Andrew: Well I ceased contact with him after I was aware that he was under investigation and that was later in 2006 and I wasn’t in touch with him again until 2010. So just it was one of those things that somebody’s going through that sort of thing well I’m terribly sorry I can’t be…see you.
The 2010 dinner party
To celebrate his freedom, Epstein threw a private dinner party in December 2010. Prince Andrew was a guest of honour:
Interviewer: He was released in July, within months by December of 2010 you went to stay with him at his New York mansion, why? Why were you staying with a convicted sex offender?
Prince Andrew: Right, I have always…ever since this has happened and since this has become, as it were, public knowledge that I was there, I’ve questioned myself as to why did I go and what was I doing and was it the right thing to do? Now, I went there with the sole purpose of saying to him that because he had been convicted, it was inappropriate for us to be seen together.
And I had a number of people counsel me in both directions, either to go and see him or not to go and see him and I took the judgement call that because this was serious and I felt that doing it over the telephone was the chicken’s way of doing it. I had to go and see him and talk to him.
And I went to see him and I was doing a number of other things in New York at the time and we had an opportunity to go for a walk in the park and that was the conversation coincidentally that was photographed which was when I said to him, I said “look, because of what has happened, I don’t think it is appropriate that we should remain in contact” and by mutual agreement during that walk in the park we decided that we would part company and I left, I think it was the next day and to this day I never had any contact with him from that day forward.
Interviewer: What did he say when you told him that you were breaking up the friendship?
Prince Andrew: He was what I would describe as understanding, he didn’t go into any great depth in the conversation about what I was…what he was doing, except to say that he’d accepted, whatever it was, a plea bargain, he’d served his time and he was carrying on with his life if you see what I mean and I said “yes but I’m afraid to say that that’s as maybe but with all the attendant scrutiny on me then I don’t think it is a wise thing to do”.
Interviewer: Who advised you then that it was a good idea to go and break up the friendship? Did that come from the palace, was Her Majesty, the Queen involved?
Prince Andrew: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that came from…so there were a number of people who…so some people from my staff, some people from friends and family I was talking to and I took the decision that it was I had to show leadership and I had to go and see him and I had to tell him “that’s it”.
Interviewer: That was December of 2010.
Prince Andrew: Yep.
Interviewer: He threw a party to celebrate his release and you were invited as the guest of honour.
Prince Andrew: No, I didn’t go. Oh, in 2010, there certainly wasn’t a party to celebrate his release in December because it was a small dinner party, there were only 8 or 10 of us I think at the dinner. If there was a party then I’d know nothing about that.
Interviewer: You were invited to that dinner as a guest of honour.
Prince Andrew: Well I was there so there was a dinner, I don’t think it was quite as you might put it but yeah, okay I was there for…I was there at a dinner, yeah.
However, it was not as if the prince stayed in a hotel or with other friends and went to Epstein’s only to dine. No, he was a houseguest of his:
Interviewer: I’m just trying to work this out because you said you went to break up the relationship and yet you stayed at that New York mansion several days. I’m wondering how long?
Prince Andrew: But I was doing a number of other things while I was there.
Interviewer: But you were staying at the house…
Prince Andrew: Yes.
Interviewer: …of a convicted sex offender.
Prince Andrew: It was a convenient place to stay. I mean I’ve gone through this in my mind so many times. At the end of the day, with a benefit of all the hindsight that one can have, it was definitely the wrong thing to do. But at the time I felt it was the honourable and right thing to do and I admit fully that my judgement was probably coloured by my tendency to be too honourable but that’s just the way it is.
Interviewer: Because during that time, those few days, witnesses say they saw many young girls coming and going at the time. There is video footage of Epstein accompanied by young girls and you were there staying in his house, catching up with friends.
Prince Andrew: I never…I mean if there were then I wasn’t a party to any of that. I never saw them. I mean you have to understand that his house, I described it more as almost as a railway station if you know what I mean in the sense that there were people coming in and out of that house all the time.
What they were doing and why they were there I had nothing to do with. So I’m afraid I can’t make any comment on that because I really don’t know.
Why he was friends with Epstein
Prince Andrew explained why he maintained his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein:
Now, still not and the reason being is that the people that I met and the opportunities that I was given to learn either by him or because of him were actually very useful. He himself not, as it were, as close as you might think, we weren’t that close. So therefore I mean yes I would go and stay in his house but that was because of his girlfriend, not because of him.
Also:
As far as Mr Epstein was concerned, it was the wrong decision to go and see him in 2010. As far as my association with him was concerned, it had some seriously beneficial outcomes in areas that have nothing and have nothing to do with what I would describe as what we’re talking about today.
On balance, could I have avoided ever meeting him? Probably not and that’s because of my friendship with Ghislaine, it was…it was…it was inevitable that we would have come across each other. Do I regret the fact that he has quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? Yes.
There’s a lot more those interested can read on their own.
Update
This is what happened on Monday and Tuesday before the prince announced his retirement from public life for the foreseeable future.
It appears that the Queen did give the go-ahead for this interview. On Tuesday, November 19, The Express reported that, although she is standing by her son, his charities’ supporters are not:
THE Queen has thrown her support behind Prince Andrew. It comes despite worldwide criticism over his TV interview on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and a backlash from supporters of his charity patronages.
Sources confirmed that the 93-year-old monarch granted her approval for the Duke of York to give an interview to BBC Newsnight and stands by him. She signalled her backing as Andrew made it clear last night that he “regrets” the whole scenario and not expressing sympathy for the paedophile’s victims. And it emerged yesterday that key sponsors and supporters of Andrew’s charities are reviewing their involvement with him.
Sky News reported on KPMG on Monday:
However, The Express article says that KPMG might have taken the decision prior to the fateful interview:
Royal sources stressed KPMG’s decision was taken before the furore over Andrew’s interview with Newsnight. But the eighth in line to the throne, 59, has been embroiled in controversy since the summer, when previously sealed evidence, including claims about him cavorting with young women in the pay of Epstein, was released.
Another partner of Pitch@Palace, pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, has indicated it is considering ending its work with the duke.
The article also said that the University of Huddersfield will keep the prince on as chancellor (patron), as the students only ‘discussed’ a petition for him to stand down.
Palace officials are concerned, because the Royal Family is supposed to stay out of the limelight during a general election campaign:
During campaigns, the Royal Family continue normal duties, but are usually urged to be careful to avoid doing anything that will attract controversy and distract attention from the politicians.
Labour supporters have said Andrew’s problems have disadvantaged their party particularly because it is behind in the polls and needs maximum media attention to have a chance of catching up.
The media have been asking politicians their views on the interview. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wisely refuses to be drawn in. Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates, when asked for their opinions, have been critical of the prince.
At the end of the article, Royal Family author Phil Dampier posted an editorial blaming the present situation on the lack of seasoned courtiers currently advising the Queen:
She has lost some experienced advisers in the past couple of years. It seems likely as Buckingham Palace has said she was made aware of it, that she allowed him to get on with it without worrying too much about the details. She has always indulged Andrew and at 93 and 98 she and Prince Philip don’t have the same grip on the family that they used to have …
But in the past few years the Queen has appeared to exercise less authority over her family, not least when her private secretary Christopher Geidt was forced out in 2017, apparently because of opposition from other members of the family and their households.
The fallout from this interview is just another sign of the looser grip she is exercising now that we are in a period when the monarchy is gradually preparing itself for a handover to Prince Charles.
Another article in The Express says that when Prince Philip stepped away from public life a few years ago, the fabric of the Royal Family began to unravel:
The Royal Family is missing the involvement of Prince Philip, with royal commentators warning Prince Andrew’s calamitous BBC interview is evidence the Queen has “lost control” of Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh, who at 98 no longer plays an active royal role, was widely considered to be “the disciplinarian in the family” and one commentator has said his departure from royal duties has led to a series of royal upsets.
This includes rifts between brothers William and Harry, Meghan Markle’s claims she is struggling with adjusting to royal life and now Prince Andrew’s “car crash interview”.
Veteran courtiers have suggested if Philip was still actively involved, there would have been “no way on this Earth” he would have allowed Andrew to be interviewed.
The Mirror’s Royal Editor Russel Myers has said in the past, the Duke of Edinburgh has warned against media interviews.
Currently, the duke is at Sandringham for health reasons, The Express says:
The Duke of Edinburgh has been staying during the past weeks at Wood Farm, a five-bedroom house on the Queen’s Sandringham estate, where he spends his days reading and “pottering around”, according to a royal insider.
They told The Sun: “A few weeks ago Philip had a bit of a wobble and hasn’t felt so energetic …
“Until recently he has been very active — carriage riding, fishing at Balmoral and driving around royal estates — although he no longer drives on public roads following his crash in January …“
I wish the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh all the best. They are a very close couple, each other’s best friend.
However, the spotlight remains on their son. A November 19 report in The Express discusses David McClure, author of Royal Legacy, who wonders how Prince Andrew can fund his lavish lifestyle:
The Duke of York has two large properties including a £13 million chalet in Switzerland ski resort Verbier and the 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Park.
He travels extensively and while nowadays this is mostly for the work in the past he has enjoyed regular skiing trips, jaunts in St Tropez and golfing holidays.
McClure said:
“There is a mystery as to what he lives on and where his money comes from.
“Andrew’s situation raises the wider issue of the lack of meaningful employment opportunities for middle-ranking royals.
“Traditionally the armed services have been the port of call for princes like him.
“But he left the navy at the age of 41 in 2001 and since then he has struggled to find a proper role in life.”
The Times reported Prince Andrew’s main income comes directly from Queen Elizabeth II and is used to maintain his office at Buckingham Palace and pay for his private secretary.
This money comes from the income the Queen receives from her property portfolio The Duchy of Lancaster and amounts to around £249,000 a year.
This year the duchy’s profits amounted to £21.7 million.
Will we ever know? I wonder.
On Tuesday, November 5, 2019, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas team posted a ‘hot mic’ video about ABC’s 2016 cover-up of Jeffrey Epstein. This is a must-watch:
In August 2019, ABC’s Amy Robach expressed her frustration to an ABC colleague about the network’s spiking the news story. Project Veritas has more (emphases mine):
Newly revealed footage leaked by an ABC insider has exposed how network executives rejected allegations against Jeffrey Epstein years ago, even though there was content regarding the merit of those claims in-hand.
Amy Robach, ‘Good Morning America’ Co-Host and Breaking News Anchor at ABC, explains how a witness came forward years ago with information pertaining to Epstein, but Disney-owned ABC News refused to air the material for years. Robach vents her anger in a “hot mic” moment with an off-camera producer, explaining that ABC quashed the story in its early stages. “I’ve had this interview with Virginia Roberts (Now Virginia Guiffre) [alleged Epstein victim]. We would not put it on the air. Um, first of all, I was told “Who’s Jeffrey Epstein. No one knows who that is. This is a stupid story.”
This was in 2016, during the presidential election campaign. Hillary Clinton was the Democrat candidate, and the footage, Robach says, would have implicated former president Bill Clinton. If aired, that could well have put an end to Hillary’s campaign. We all know she was supposed to win.
Robach says she and her team encouraged Virginia Roberts Giuffre to come out of the shadows and discuss her horrific years with Epstein, which she did.
At this point in 2016, ABC was weeks away from getting an interview with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge — Wills and Kate:
She continues, “The Palace found out that we had her whole allegations about Prince Andrew and threatened us a million different ways.”
Robach does not think Epstein committed suicide, as was widely reported:
Robach goes on to express she believes that Epstein was killed in prison saying, “So do I think he was killed? 100% Yes, I do…He made his whole living blackmailing people… Yup, there were a lot of men in those planes. A lot of men who visited that Island, a lot of powerful men who came into that apartment.”
Robach repeats a prophetic statement purportedly made by Attorney Brad Edwards “…[T]here will come a day when we will realize Jeffrey Epstein was the most prolific pedophile this country has ever known,” and [d]isgustedly Robach states “I had it all three years ago.”
Later on November 5, Robach and ABC issued their own statements. The images below come courtesy of Project Veritas:
The Project Veritas went viral that day:
There were another 500,000 views three hours later:
This exposé might not have been covered in much of the Western world that day, but at least it made Australia’s news …
… and Fox News in the US:
It’s hard to disagree with that.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, Sarah Sanders’s father, adds:
Later, CNN covered the story but without a reference to Project Veritas, only ‘an activist group’.
On November 6, The Daily Caller reported that ABC was looking for the person who leaked the video. The article explains how CBS could be connected:
ABC News has launched an investigation to determine who leaked the video of anchor Amy Robach alleging that the network killed her story on Jeffrey Epstein, it said in a statement Wednesday …
ABC News is trying to determine who leaked the video to Project Veritas, according to a statement from the outlet, journalist Yashar Ali wrote Wednesday.
“We take violations of company policy very seriously, and we’re pursuing all avenues to determine the source of the leak,” a spokesperson for ABC News said according to Ali.
ABC News also allegedly knows the former employee who had access to the video of Robach, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Ali. The outlet is still unsure if that person leaked the footage to Project Veritas or if they shared it with others who leaked it.
The former employee is now allegedly working at CBS News, the sources said, according to Ali. CBS News did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Daily Caller article includes part of Ali’s Twitter thread on the developing story:
Not only is there a possible CBS connection but a possible Disney one, too:
The petition is gathering strength:
I wish James O’Keefe and his team the best of luck with this and other exposés:
We know if conservatives were covering up major news stories about highly corrupt and destructive people, it would be all over the news 24/7 for months — and worse:
This story is developing:
Again, best wishes to all concerned who are helping Project Veritas.
On Sunday, October 27, 2019, Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden was denied Holy Communion at Mass in South Carolina because he has publicly supported abortion.
Fox News reported that Biden, a self-described ‘practising Catholic’, had no comment on being refused the Sacrament:
“I’m not going to discuss that,” Biden told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an on-air phone interview on Tuesday.
Biden and his wife attended Mass at the St. Anthony Catholic Church in Florence during a campaign stop, but he was denied Holy Communion — seen by Catholics as receiving the body and blood of Jesus Christ — after the pastor took issue with Biden’s support of a woman’s right to an abortion.
The pastor of St Anthony’s was quite open about the refusal:
“Sadly, this past Sunday, I had to refuse Holy Communion to former Vice President Joe Biden,” Rev. Robert Morey said in a statement on Monday. “Holy Communion signifies we are one with God, each other and the Church. Our actions should reflect that. Any public figure who advocates for abortion places himself or herself outside of Church teaching. As a priest, it is my responsibility to minister to those souls entrusted to my care, and I must do so even in the most difficult situations. I will keep Mr. Biden in my prayers.”
Good for him. It was unlikely to have been an easy decision to make, considering the former vice president’s status as a political celebrity.
A Catholic pastor, Fr Ryan of St Mary’s in Huntingburg, Indiana, explains the finer points of refusing Holy Communion:
However, Biden is on public record for his support of abortion ‘rights’. Note in particular the first tweet below. The Scripture citation is 1 Corinthians 11:29:
Every Catholic knows what the rules are for Holy Communion.
Joe Biden should have learned from John Kerry in 2004.
That said, perhaps supporting abortion means more to the two of them than receiving Communion.
Now there’s something to think about.
CNN calls itself ‘the most trusted name in news’.
It might have been 40 years ago, when it actually reported news.
Since 2015, however, CNN’s chief Jeff Zucker has issued a policy of anti-Trump editorialising all the time.
On October 14, James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas posted a 19-minute video full of interviews with CNN employees, most of whom complain that Jeff Zucker has gone far enough, perhaps too far, with the anti-Trump narrative. Please take time this weekend to watch this fascinating undercover exposé:
Employees interviewed say that Zucker has a mandatory 9 a.m. telephone call issuing the day’s anti-Trump theme. Most often, this is impeachment, impeachment, impeachment.
The interviewees are not Trump supporters, but even they say this is taking away from CNN’s ability — and their own desire — to cover real news, not editorials.
Staff members say that Zucker helped create the Trump media ‘monster’ by overpublicising him since 2015.
The White House has seen the film, as a campaign lawyer mentions the main CNN whistleblower Cary Poarch in writing. The letter below, dated October 16, 2019, gives notice that Donald J Trump for President, Inc., intends to take legal action against the network:
The day before, Trump tweeted:
Oh, if only.
James O’Keefe has experienced Twitter labelling portions of the Project Veritas video as ‘sensitive content’:
Twitter also omitted the Project Veritas video from their trending list, as O’Keefe explains in the next video:
This is the link to the video of Cary Poarch and Sean Hannity. This Fox News article has a brief summary of the interview.
By the time the Hannity interview took place, Poarch was no longer with the network. Hannity described him as a ‘contractor’ and ‘former satellite uplink technician at CNN’s Washington, D.C. bureau’. Poarch told Hannity that he had problems sleeping at night because of CNN’s extreme bias.
Poarch said he was a Bernie Sanders supporter in 2016 and voted for the Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson that year.
He told Hannity that he and his boss discussed his resignation, which, at the time, they agreed would be voluntary. However, the Project Veritas video circulated so widely and so quickly that the network terminated his employment that day.
The next video, from October 17, features a CNN employee saying that the House of Representatives abuses its power everyday, yet Congressmen and Congresswomen are trying to impeach President Trump for no justifiable reason:
Not everyone at CNN agrees with that assessment. The next video shows an employee saying that the anti-Trump coverage will only go away if the president dies! Pathological:
There have also been sexual shenanigans going on at CNN:
This is a terrible state of affairs but one many of us already suspected.
I congratulate Project Veritas for finally being able to expose CNN.
