Newsnight made a lot out of an incredible statistic: that the UK had more deaths yesterday than the entire EU. The problem is the numbers are nonsense. The FT has exposed reporting on the continent to be littered with “flawed data”…
In fact some of the data in foreign countries is so dodgy that, according to the FT’s data guru John Burn-Murdoch, if England had adopted Spain’s new ‘method’, it would have reported just 20 new deaths yesterday. England is equivalent to 13% of the population of the EU, and yet would appear to have just 6% of the death rate, if it adopted Spain’s manipulated reporting…
Newsnight is supposed to provide analysis that goes behind the headlines, did no one at Newsnight not think the data was suspect? Was it just “too good to check” and they just preferred the Twitter buzz…
UPDATE: Newsnight sourced the dodgy data from controversial website ‘Worldometer‘, a website that even Wikipedia editors have decided to avoid. The data manager for independent statistics website Our World In Data told CNN that “We think people should be wary, especially media, policy-makers and decision-makers. This data is not as accurate as they think it is.” Take note, Newsnight…
A fortnight ago, British Remainers were claiming Boris adding four days onto parliament’s conference recess was akin to a dictatorship. Guido has been surprised to see total silence from those same people over an EU State Government using the EU Arrest Warrant to pursue Catalonian separatists for holding a referendum against the wishes of the central Spanish government. The draconian sentences and have sparked riots in Spain:
- Former Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras – convicted of sedition and misuse of public funds. Sentenced to 13 years in prison.
- Former Catalan Foreign Minister Raül Romeva. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Former Catalan Labour Minister Dolors Bassa. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Former Catalan Regional Government Spokesman Jordi Turull. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 12 years in prison.
- Former President of the Catalan Parliament Carme Forcadell (pictured above with her British opposite number). Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 11 and a half years in prison.
- Former Catalan Interior Minister Joaquim Forn. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison.
- Former Catalan Territorial Minister Josep Rull. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison.
- Pro-Catalan Independence Activist Jordi Cuixart. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to nine years in prison.
- Pro-Catalan Independence Activist Jordi Sànchez. Convicted of sedition. Sentenced to nine years in prison.
Remainers’ hysteria quickly turning to silence is deafening…
More footage of Spanish police beating peaceful people trying to vote.#CatalanReferendum pic.twitter.com/z1fpLfwgtC
— Gissur Simonarson (@GissiSim) October 1, 2017
Pacific defenders of the referendum being kicked by Spanish police with fury. You have got to watch this… pic.twitter.com/dIIrykpNKb
— Repression@Catalonia (@RepressionAtCAT) October 1, 2017
Elderly woman seriously injured after being hit by Spanish riot police. #CatalanReferendum pic.twitter.com/ynfXAr3Pxz
— Fuad Alakbarov (@DrAlakbarov) October 1, 2017
Disturbing scenes in Spain…
The Spanish have long argued – years before the referendum – that Gibraltar existing as a British enclave means the “disruption of national unity and territorial integrity” of Spain, and that it hurts the Spanish economy. There is just one question Theresa May and Boris Johnson need ask their Spanish counterparts: what about Ceuta? Ceuta (and another city, Melilla) are two low tax Spanish enclaves on the northern coast of Morocco. They are the EU’s only land border with Africa. Morocco want them back, but the two enclaves are autonomous, have their own governments, and return deputies and senators to the Spanish parliament in Madrid. Well, Spain, do Ceuta and Melilla disrupt the economy, national unity and territorial integrity of Morocco?
Miriam Clegg, who is being used increasingly by TV producers as an ‘expert’ pro-Remain talking head, made some revealing comments on Gibraltar on Mair this morning. She reckons there are “two sides” to the dispute and defended Spain’s apparently “conciliatory tone”. Brave tactic for the wife of Britain’s chief zombie Remainer. The only “two sides” are the right one and the wrong one…
