Guardian Grinches
By Paul Homewood
GWPF reposts Dominic Lawson’s piece in the Mail about the Guardian grinches:
Of all the accounts of Christmases ruined by the Gatwick drone incident, the most affecting came from 16-year-old Tivka Dillner.
She described, in a letter to the Guardian, how her grandfather’s dying wish was that his five grandchildren — who’d never before been on a plane — should be able to enjoy a Christmas trip to Lapland
‘My grandma kept the trip a secret from us until December 17, when she broke the news: we would be getting a plane early in the morning, riding on a sleigh, meeting Father Christmas and his elves, petting reindeer and so much more in one beautiful day. We were ecstatic.’
Tivka went on to describe the ‘heartbreak’ when the flight was cancelled after the emergency shutdown of Gatwick’s runway: ‘I’ve never heard my grandma cry so much — she is devastated.’
Jan Johnson (centre) had paid for a Lapland trip for her grandchildren – from left, Tori, 12, Teddy, 10, Tirah, eight, Tivka, 16, and Tivon, 14 – but their hopes were dashed
But Tivka’s letter did not arouse the slightest sympathy on the part of Guardian readers — or at least not those whose letters were published by the paper last Saturday.
Diana Heeks of Llanrhystud, Ceredigion, wrote in to say: ‘The last thing I would do is book any flight for my grandchildren … I applaud the people who flew drones over Gatwick, perhaps checking by a tiny amount the advance of global warming.’
And Laura Clout of Ivy Hatch, Kent, declared the damage caused to the planet by such holiday flights made her wonder ‘why to even bother continuing.
Our only real choice comes down to whether we boot our fellow travellers into the void, or help them find a firmer grip — until perhaps this ruined planet shifts and rolls and belches its sorry self free of the whole damned lot of us.’
These Guardian readers would have been superb material for Charles Dickens, the writer we most associate with the joy of an extravagant Christmas for families whose day-to-day life is penurious.
With names like Heeks and Clout they already sound like his invented characters. They are Scrooges for our age — although the misanthropy and righteous pessimism of such people is beyond satire.
https://www.thegwpf.com/dominic-lawson-these-green-zealots-are-the-modern-scrooges/
By coincidence I came across this article today in the Belfast Telegraph from 2009:
The UK may have to consider restricting the number of flights people take in the future, an independent body set up to advise the government on climate change confirmed today.
Lord Turner, chairman of Parliament’s committee on climate change, said the Government may have to consider ways of reducing the demand for flying as part of a series of measures that need to be taken in the future.
He also said that action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was needed across Europe.
When asked if flights may have to be constrained in the future, Lord Turner said: “In absolute terms, we may have to look at restricting the number of flights people take.”
His comments came at a meeting of the Environmental Audit Committee on Wednesday.
“Pan-European action on aviation emissions is required,” he said. “The UK will be able to emit 30 million tonnes C02 as part of a global share.
“We therefore need to look at what is achievable in terms of reducing aviation emissions in comparison with other |sectors of the economy.”
Former Labour minister Brian Wilson, chairman of the pro-aviation coalition FlyingMatters, said: “One always suspects with these half-baked proposals that the people who put them forward really intend them to apply to ordinary people, many of whom have only recently gained |access to air travel, rather than to themselves.
“Any political party inclined to support flight rationing should tread warily since |voters do not take kindly to limits being placed on their mobility.”
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environment/climate-issues-may-limit-flights-28466032.html
One wonders how air miles Lord Turner has clocked up in the last decade?
Comments are closed.
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
According to the internet “Between 19 and 21 December 2018, hundreds of flights were cancelled at Gatwick Airport near London, England, following 67 reports of drone sightings close to the runway. The incident caused major travel disruption, affecting about 140,000 passengers and over 1,000 flights.” So if we assume the average disruption per person was 6 hours, then around then around 840,000 hours were wasted which works out to 96 years. So I hope that when the individuals responsible for this action are exposed, the judge responsible for sentencing them takes this into consideration and gives them each a term of 96 years divided by the number of individuals responsible in jail.
If there even was a rogue drone. Looks increasingly like there was a drone sighting – possibly mistaken, which prompted the Police to put up drones, which resulted in hundreds of drone sightings!
Yes, and exactly how many airmiles did the 22,700 delegates to the UN Climate Change Conference in Katowice clock up? Or did they all go by sailing ship and/or bicycle?
There is now a question of whether there ever were any drones over Gatwick Airport.
Astonishingly, despite the scare going on for days with multiple ‘sightings’ not a single video from a smart-phone (or otherwise) has been published.
Considering there’s barely an event in the country, however momentary, not captured on an individuals smart-phone, then almost immediately uploaded to Face Book, You Tube or Twitter, it seems strange there’s none of ‘The Gatwick drones’ which shut one of Europe’s busiest airports.
Perhaps our Diana or Laura would have been happier if one if these alleged drones had brought down an aircraft to ‘decrease the surplus population’?
Appologies to Charles Dickens.
Do as Turner says, not as Turner does. He is a member of the establishment elite, so he can do whatever he likes. Us peasants must do as we are told.
Yes. Put the plebs back where they belong.
So intolerant are some people that they would deny the pleasure of others, who, being so ignorant, are unaware of the damage they are causing mother earth. More condescending drivel from the illiberal left who feel certain they know best.
Absolutely.
Most of these smug zealots need to have some humility and sense beaten into them.
The sooner the better.
A few minutes’ Googling reveals that in 2018, in addition to his UK engagements, Lord Turner spoke at the Global Macro Conference, Geneva in January.
Then in April 2018 he was in Washington DC, giving a speech at Johns Hopkins University, in May he was at the 5th Asian Monetary Policy Forum at the Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, after which he attended the Ambrosetti Conference in Cernobbio, Italy, in September.
Who knows, he may have taken other flights, in amongst the above. But that’s not the point. He’s an important man and his journeys are vital to the planet, nothing like those made by you and me, which are frivolous and unnecessary in this time of climate crisis.
You may ask why many of these international conferences and forums couldn’t just be held over Skype. But that wouldn’t really be possible, because… I’m not sure exactly but there must be, you know, important reasons for this.
So you can have a good time sha**ing your secretary.
Lord Turner is vital to the planet?!!!!
Words like sunshine and the position of one’s head comes to mind for Alex the writer of this drival. The world is constantly changing always has and always will.
I think Alex forgot to add [sarc]!!
In the meantime China will open the world’s largest airport this year and is planning to develop over 200 new airports by 2035:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/outofasia/2018/01/10/beijings-new-daxing-international-airport-set-to-be-worlds-largest-but-business-aviation-an-afterthought/#6729283e68ef
https://gbtimes.com/china-aims-to-develop-over-200-new-airports-by-2035.
Perhaps Guardian readers should be launching a few drones there.
And they’re developing their own airliner manufacturing industry…
Diana Heeks describes herself as an “intuitive artist”.
So she is well-equipped to pontificate on the evils of climate change.
I’ll be joining her chat group……
It’s a cold hell, where the grauniad wants to put us, Communists tend to do that sort of thing, it’s for your own good they’ll scream and still they’ll the Communists will jealously cling to, fight tooth and nail fo maintain, have their own cushy lifestyles – no hypocrisy allowed in!
I see a future of posters around airports.
” Is Your Journey Really Necessary ?” Just like those in railway stations during World War II in England. There may be some around in a warehouse, still
http://www.advertisingarchives.co.uk/detail/33325/1/Poster/Is-Your-Journey-Necessary/1940s
Or
some one should get a start and print a few for the new era of regulated travel , get in at the beginning , corner the market. !
It is amazing how the Left no longer even pretends to care about others and no longer even pretends to want the poor to become wealthy. Even under Stalin the USSR aimed to make sure citizens richer than Americans but now the Left would rather have a pristine planet with every human exterminated than let a few children have some fun.
The sheer, unadulterated hatred of everybody else these people express is the face of the new Left, an intolerant, pseudo-religious cult of self-appointed priests and fascist followers.
As Gummer’s predecessor at the Climate Change Committee, Adair Turner has quite a “green” pedigree, he has been a trustee of the Quasi-Governmental Organisation, WWF-UK and is also an Al Gore acolyte, having launched the Carbon Disclosure Project with him in 2006.
On 7 September 2005 he was created a life peer as Baron Turner of Ecchinswell, in recognition of his public service to the nation. (?)
In 1985 He married Orna Ni-Chionna (who he met at McKinsey). She was Chair of the council of the Soil Association until 2013, still a member of the SA council. She is currently deputy chair at the National Trust: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/our-deputy-chair.
Adair Turner’s response to the Stern Review:
“The scientific evidence of global warming is overwhelming but some commentators and lobby groups have continued to oppose offsetting actions on economic and competitiveness grounds. This comprehensive and authoritative report demolishes their arguments, explaining clearly the complex economics of climate change. It makes plain that we can cut emissions radically at a cost to the economy far less than the economic and human welfare costs which climate change could impose ”
On the 4th of February 2009, he told the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) that: –
“The core (of the UK Climate Act} is contract and converge. We cannot imagine a global deal which is both doable and fair which doesn’t end up by mid-century with roughly equal rights per capita to emit and that is clearly said in the report. This is strong support for what Aubrey Meyer has been saying.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_Meyer
Aubrey Meyer is an author, climate campaigner and composer. he is also a former member of the Green Party.
He co-founded the Global Commons Institute in 1990. At the request of the IPCC in 1992, Meyer conceived and presented his analysis of ‘The Unequal Use of the Global Commons’ to the Policy Working Group of the IPCC. It is still at the core of the Social Agenda of the UNFCCC.
Turner was at McKinsey for 13 years, was Vice -Chairman at Merrill Lynch, and was also Chairman of the UK Financial Services Agency, in charge of regulating the Banks. That went well.
The top level of the National Trust has become a leftie liberal cesspit these days obsessed with virtue-signalling so Turner’s wife would fit right in.
Ah, another major hypocrite, do as I say not as I do seems to be his idea. What a disgrace to the HoL!
Lord Turner the very embodiment of not just a nanny state, but a hard nosed nanny state.
Don’t you just dream of a World without Guardian readers.
I like the idea of rationing flights, since I don’t fly I could presumably sell my allowance at a tidy profit.