AE on Telly News (NEW CONCEPTS)

[Ishmael]

It's frustrating that these media monopolies have distorted reality for so many in the world.

[Mick Harper]

Don't tell me....you've managed to undistort the reality but you're not going to tell us what this scandal is.

[Ishmael]

Spygate

President Obama appears to have used presidential authority to place at least one FBI operative inside the Trump campaign. This spying may have begun before Trump even announced his candidacy! The one spy that has been identified was paid a million dollars (at least) for his services. That spy, Steven Halper, appears to have fed information to the FBI that, in cooperation with British intelligence, was used to compile the Steele Dossier. He also arranged the very meetings that the FBI would later claim as justification before the FISA court, for their investigation.

The conjecture at this time is that documents are on file with the FISA court bearing the signatures of Obama and then AG, Loretta Lynch. To authorize this spying. The law requires this documentation to be placed on file with FISA. There is a miniature constitutional crisis occurring right now as congress has been demanding all FISA warrants related to so-called "Trump-Russia" and keeps being refused by the DOJ. Congress is now threatening to impeach the acting head of the DOJ! The speculation is that it is Obama's signature on these early authorizations which has the DOJ so concerned about releasing this info.

Everything that CNN has been doing for over a year now has been to convince its audience that the notion of Russian interference in the election is a reasonable conjecture--when it isn't. They will rely on this propaganda campaign to justify Obama's actions once the truth comes out.

The BBC is also compromised. You can bet that Elizabeth May authorized the involvement of British Intelligence in this scheme. The scandal may take down your government when it becomes known that May conspired against the current, sitting president of the United States.

[Ishmael]

Of course, if the complete truth becomes known, it will ultimately show that Trump was not the only US Citizen against whom Obama authorized spying of this nature.

[Mick Harper]

Oh, that one. My own impression is that the FBI had informants (rather different from spies) in the Trump campaign as soon as the Russian angle became a runner. They would be remiss in their duties if they hadn't. But we'll see. Even if your version is correct it wouldn't be a particularly high grade scandal. 'Who's a naughty boy then?' Naughty girl if Theresa's involved. Forgotten by Christmas. Except by Fox. They'll still be going on about it (e.g. Benghazi) until they are taken over by Disney and we lose Team Sky. Now that would be a high grade scandal.

[Ishmael]

It will be forgotten by Christmas. I don't doubt you are right.

I no longer care to be a part of this. Leave me out of all future political discussion.

[Mick Harper]

Let's hear it for Dame Nellie Melba!

[Wile E. Coyote]

"A Very English Scandal." is based on a book about the first MP to stand trial for incitement to murder, the Rt Hon Jeremy Thorpe MP, charismatic ex leader of the Liberal party.

As we find out in episode 1, Thorpe was having a homosexual affair with fantasist stable hand, Norman Josiffe (later Scott), and the desire to cover this up leads to the alleged attempted murder of Josiffe, by one Andrew Newton. Newton bungles the attempt, but does manage to assassinate Josiffe's dog, Rinka....

Thorpe is found not guilty, but doubts about the verdict lead to the formation of Auberon Waugh's Dogs Lovers Party..................and the loss of Jeremy's seat.

Audiences have been shocked, not by the petroleum and anal sex, but by the demise of poor Rinka.

Part establishment conspiracy, mixed with farcical cock ups, it is a well written, superbly acted hoot.

[Mick Harper]

I'm not sure I entirely agree. I am finding it surprisingly leaden but this may just be my queasiness whenever homosexuality is an important theme in a telly prog and is, my therapist friends assure me, because I am myself a repressed homosexual. I'm a repressed serial therapist murderer but I'm keeping that under wraps too. Never mind all that, what of the story?

Wiley is certainly correct in his judgement about the verdict. The judge's bias in Thorpe's favour was so pronounced as to be itself A Very English Scandal and yet, overall, we were not scandalised. I think this was, contra Wiley, because only a dog died in the end. The shaming of Thorpe and the ending of his career was considered punishment enough. I can't remember what Newton got for canicide though the programme itself clearly indicates that it was attempted murder of Scott --it claimed Rinka was shot preparatory to shooting Scott but the gun jammed. I do not myself believe that Newton would have murdered Scott nor do I entirely believe the programme's claims that Thorpe was wholly serious either. He was a fantasist too, remember.

But we shall never know the full story because of the judge and the clanging shut of British Establishment doors.

[Grant]

[Mick Harper]

Surely two docks. Unless you're suggesting...

[Wile E. Coyote]

The best thing on TV is currently "Missions". I hate sci fi, but I am loving this.....

Each episode is about 20 minutes, and it runs like a (adult) children's serial rather than the normal wearisome plots within the plot.

Anyway... two space crews French and American are both determined to Land on Mars first. The French are about to proclaim victory, only to tragically discover that the Yanks by using a new nuclear powered propulsion system have arrived first by just one day ........

But who was actually first on Mars....?

Its supernatural, pschological sci fi, with lots of eerie Megalithic stuff going on........

[Mick Harper]

I did have a cursory look but decided it was too French or something. I'm a sci-fi fan but not a Star trek fan, if you get my drift. I will return with zeal on your recommendation.

PS Surely the best thing on telly at the moment is Atlanta.

[Hatty]

Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes was aired on Channel 4 on Sunday evening with accompanying blurb, viz: The untold story of the 51st Highland Division, who were left in France when Dunkirk was evacuated, and ordered to fight on against Hitler's war machine, in the face of overwhelming odds..

The title is intentionally misleading since the whole point is the 51st Highlanders weren't at Dunkirk but along the coast westwards, at St Valery. Even the Guidance Warning refers to Dunkirk, "With scenes of the war-torn beaches at Dunkirk'.
You can watch via the Ch 4 catch up https://www.channel4.com/programmes/dunkirk-the-forgotten-heroes

It features former Highlanders who'd been POWs after the division's surrender in 1940. James Holland, a historian who regularly presents Second World War documentaries, had posted a reminder about the programme on Twitter so I took the opportunity to question the decision to surrender and got taken thoroughly to task by someone called Ian Forbes.

[Grant]