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https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679 (https://archive.ph/5Ba6o)

A heated row has broken out over a move by Britain's largest bakery chain to launch a vegan sausage roll.

The pastry, which is filled with a meat substitute and encased in 96 pastry layers, is available in 950 Greggs stores across the country.

It was promised after 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the snack to be launched to accommodate plant-based diet eaters.


But the vegan sausage roll's launch has been greeted by a mixed reaction: Some consumers welcomed it, while others voiced their objections.

View image on Twitter


spread happiness@p4leandp1nk
https://twitter.com/p4leandp1nk/status/1080767496569974785

#VEGANsausageroll thanks Greggs
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7
10:07 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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Cook and food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe declared she was "frantically googling to see what time my nearest opens tomorrow morning because I will be outside".

While TV writer Brydie Lee-Kennedy called herself "very pro the Greggs vegan sausage roll because anything that wrenches veganism back from the 'clean eating' wellness folk is a good thing".

One Twitter user wrote that finding vegan sausage rolls missing from a store in Corby had "ruined my morning".

Another said: "My son is allergic to dairy products which means I can't really go to Greggs when he's with me. Now I can. Thank you vegans."

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pg often@pgofton
https://twitter.com/pgofton/status/1080772793774624768

The hype got me like #Greggs #Veganuary

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10:28 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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TV presenter Piers Morgan led the charge of those outraged by the new roll.

"Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan later complained at receiving "howling abuse from vegans", adding: "I get it, you're all hangry. I would be too if I only ate plants and gruel."

Another Twitter user said: "I really struggle to believe that 20,000 vegans are that desperate to eat in a Greggs."

"You don't paint a mustach (sic) on the Mona Lisa and you don't mess with the perfect sausage roll," one quipped.

Journalist Nooruddean Choudry suggested Greggs introduce a halal steak bake to "crank the fume levels right up to 11".

The bakery chain told concerned customers that "change is good" and that there would "always be a classic sausage roll".

It comes on the same day McDonald's launched its first vegetarian "Happy Meal", designed for children.

The new dish comes with a "veggie wrap", instead of the usual chicken or beef option.

It should be noted that Piers Morgan and Greggs share the same PR firm, so I'm thinking this is some serious faux outrage and South Park KKK gambiting here.
 
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I'm praying desperately that the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King's College, Cambridge is never mucked about with. Sure there have been some crap modern carols commissioned, but that's been the worst of it to my knowledge.
Leave Britney Hark the Herald Angels Sing alone!!1!
I am happy to announce that, despite the usual consumptives who flock to such things to die hacking, no mucking about occurred.
Though the tempo of O Come, All Ye Faithful was a little too fast, probably because they decided to sing all the extra verses this time.
 
News o'clock.

More corrections for the Sandie Peggie ruling, Mostly editorial ones but still.
The judge in Sandy Peggie's employment tribunal case has made more corrections to his original ruling.
The nurse partially won her claim against Fife Health board after refusing to share a women's changing room with doctor Beth Upton, who is transgender.
Last week, the tribunal took steps to amend the published judgement, after complaints that a quote in it - about another case - was made up.
Now the judge has set out 11 more changes to the ruling, which are described as clerical mistakes, errors or omissions.
None of the changes affect the ruling in the case.
Ms Peggie has said she will appeal the tribunal's findings.


https://archive.ph/o/IP7dm/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c75v1d6npr1o
The corrections have been published on the UK government's website.
One amends a line that set out how the tribunal used the term "trans man" - the line initially defined the term as "a person assigned as male by sex at birth" when it should have read "a person assigned as female by sex at birth".
Another corrects a quote from a court case, which initially read "the man was not provided with toilet facilities" when it should have read "the claimant was not provided with toilet facilities".
Quotation marks were taken out of another line referencing a separate court case and a capital letter in another line (in the word "Both") was changed to a lower case letter ("both").
The final correction was a reference to the campaign group "Not All Gays" - a group which promotes the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people. The original ruling referred to the group as "Not For Gays".

Angela Constance continues to refuse to admit she was wrong publicly. This is the most petulant and stupid shit and we could be done with already had the Greens not backed the SNP.
Scotland's justice secretary Angela Constance is to be investigated over whether she breached the ministerial code in her remarks about a grooming gangs expert.

Constance has recently been accused of misrepresenting Prof Alexis Jay's position on public inquiries into child sexual abuse and exploitation, and of misleading parliament as a result.

The SNP minister told parliament Prof Jay did not support further inquiries, though Prof Jay later clarified her remarks did not refer to inquiries in Scotland.

Constance survived a vote of no confidence at Holyrood last week after opponents alleged she had breached the code by failing to correct the record.
The Scottish government's independent advisers have now notified First Minister John Swinney that they wish to launch an investigation into Constance.

In a statement, the Scottish government said they expected to probe to be concluded in a "timely manner".
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgr3970gglo
Constance made the comments about Prof Jay when she opposed a Conservative amendment to a victims bill, which called for an inquiry into grooming gangs.

Emails released by the government later showed Prof Jay clarified that she made the comment "in the context of the England and Wales Public Inquiry on Child Sexual Abuse," which she chaired.

Prof Jay wrote: "It had nothing to do with [the Conservative] amendment, or the position in Scotland, as could be interpreted from your statement."

She said Scottish ministers should instead collect "reliable data" on the issue and clarify her position.

Constance apologised to Prof Jay over the matter last week.


A clarification was issued in meeting notes last month, but not in the Holyrood Chamber, which means it was not noted in the official parliamentary record.

Opponents initially called for Constance to stand down, then for Swinney to sack her – however the first minister backed his colleague.

A no confidence vote was brought by the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour but was defeated as the Scottish Greens sided with SNP MSPs.

Constance has since publicly apologised to Prof Jay at Holyrood's education committee, telling its convener, Scottish Conservative MSP Douglas Ross, she did not believe it constituted a breach of the ministerial code.

She said she made an initial apology in a "personal" telephone conversation with the academic.

No government officials were present on the call, the committee heard.

Constance has described her comments about the academic as "accurate".

Opposition parties later wrote to the independent advisers to ask for an investigation to be opened.

A team of three independent advisers are appointed by the first minister to provide guidance on the code set out for ministers.

Usually, the first minister would refer matters where a potential breach has occurred to the advisers for further investigation.

However, as of December last year, the advisers can notify the first minister that they intend to initiate an investigation independently.

Swinney said that rule was introduced to "set the highest standard of propriety and integrity".

It is the first time advisers have launched an inquiry independently of the first minister since the rules were changed.

The decision on whether a minister remains in office is ultimately made by the first minister.

The first minister retains the final decision on whether a minister keeps their post
Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, said Swinney had been "defending the indefensible.

He added: "His lack of judgment and refusal to face the facts is bewildering.

"Having lost all trust and credibility, it's long been evident to everyone apart from John Swinney that Angela Constance's position is untenable. She needs to go."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the investigation called Swinney's "lack of judgement" into question.

He said: "The justice secretary clearly misrepresented Prof Alexis Jay on an issue as serious as grooming gangs and child sexual exploitation.

"There are now serious questions for John Swinney to answer too. The sad truth is that this is an SNP government which time and time again lies to the public and thinks it can get away with it."

While some news sources are building up their whining about cut down press briefings I haven't seen any "danger to our democracy" that many ran over Trump doing similar.

Sweeping changes to Downing Street’s press lobby system have been criticised by journalists.
No 10 normally holds two briefings on most days that parliament sits to allow the lobby – political journalists that cover Westminster – to question the prime minister’s official spokesperson.

But in an email on Thursday, Tim Allan, Downing Street’s executive director of communications, said there would be no afternoon briefings from next month. He said No 10 would instead hold “occasional” afternoon press conferences with ministers, as well as technical briefings with officials.
He said the morning lobby briefing would continue but would sometimes be replaced by a press conference with ministers, or possibly Keir Starmer, the prime minister, “setting out the main government announcements of the day”. These would be open to specialist journalists and social media content creators.

Held inside 9 Downing Street, lobby briefings are on the record but not broadcast, and journalists can ask as many questions as they want, and on any topic. Government press conferences, in contrast, tend to have a limited number of questions from selected journalists.
The reduction in scrutiny was criticised by the organisation representing lobby journalists. David Hughes, from PA News, and Lizzy Buchan, from the Mirror, the outgoing and incoming lobby chairs, said in a joint statement: “We are greatly concerned by this step and furious that the lobby was not consulted about this move which restricts access and, we fear, scrutiny.
“Downing Street has promised more ministerial press conferences but they will obviously control the timetable for those and will no doubt seek to choose who they take questions from. None of this bodes well for transparency from a government which came into office promising to raise standards.”
In his email, Allan said the media landscape had been “utterly transformed”, leaving the current arrangements “not fit for purpose”.
He said: “The afternoon lobby has become very sparsely attended. It often repeats lines given at the morning lobby or repeats government lines on stories which are freely available elsewhere. It is not a good use of journalists’ time, or a good use of our communications resources.
“Instead of afternoon lobby, we will commence occasional afternoon press conferences with ministers in No 9 Downing Street. These will start with the minister setting out a new announcement from the government and taking questions on it.”
Allan added: “We will be instigating a series of morning press conferences in No 9 Downing Street with ministers, and occasionally the prime minister setting out the main government announcements of the day. These will be open to the lobby, to sector journalists and to content creators. When such press conferences occur, there will not be a lobby briefing that day.”
Kemi Badenoch said a future Tory government would restore the afternoon briefings. The Conservative leader said: “Keir Starmer is running scared. This is a Labour government that hates scrutiny and blames everyone else for its failings.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “The government will not improve its ability to communicate with the public by drastically reducing transparency and the media’s daily access. Updating how it communicates to better reach people is vital, but that can’t be done at the expense of scrutiny and accountability.”
 
I ate until I couldn’t eat ny more. Then topped up with booze, Now taking my dad to the pub.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!
Sounds really lovely. I'm off to work in a bit but I'm looking forward to the peace and quiet. I've a messy admin project to get to grips with, decent coffee and will stick classic FM on.

I had a bit of a down moment yesterday at the absolute state of Cadburys selection boxes these days. Probably a dumb thing to get upset over but they're absolutely pathetic and all the chocolate bars are just dumped into a cardboard tray. Total raging let down in comparison to the huge plastic stocking ones of my childhood.
 
Assume the plan is meant to "fail" in exactly the way it is, just like we all knew it would. The public faces of Western politics are almost all retards, but some of the people who tell them what to do are not. Predictable outcomes are intended.

The plan appears to be—so assume it is—to end civilization so thoroughly that it's unrecoverable forever, and to do it as painfully, humiliatingly, and brazenly as possible. They believe it's their duty, their place, their calling (divine or at least higher than yours).

They go to work every day, just like anybody.
I know many, including me, are taking a jab at the particularly abysmal situation of the UK, but with this defeatist attitude, you have lost.
I already see the seeds of discontent with the liberal order starting to flourish in normie communities.
 
So, how's everyone's heads and stomachs today?? Managed to prise ourselves off the sofa yet?
Fine. Seem to be the only person without a raging hangover today. Sofa has been my preferred place today, listening to some music while the kids play with their presents and feeling a bit maudlin if I’m honest. I dislike the void after Christmas.
The cat got into the leftovers and was sick on the rug in the middle of the night. He was just sat sadly staring at it this morning as I scrubbed the rug.
Yeah I did that. Got it right on the rug. Yeah i know not the hard floor, why would I be sick on that? Anyway… Where’s my breakfast?
 
Woke up about half 9, proceeded to exist on gin, party food and slightly crap board games. Tomorrow I drive a couple of hours to do my duty with the other set of aged parents. What I wouldn't give for a day of solitude.
 
God damn I fucking love cold turkey and hot rum.
Seem to be the only person without a raging hangover today.
They should teach hangover prevention like pregnancy prevention, it'd probably work just as well, but the trick being to... drink water and eat something (anything) before passing out is about as simple.
 
Fine. Seem to be the only person without a raging hangover today. Sofa has been my preferred place today, listening to some music while the kids play with their presents and feeling a bit maudlin if I’m honest. I dislike the void after Christmas.
The cat got into the leftovers and was sick on the rug in the middle of the night. He was just sat sadly staring at it this morning as I scrubbed the rug.
Yeah I did that. Got it right on the rug. Yeah i know not the hard floor, why would I be sick on that? Anyway… Where’s my breakfast?
The neighbours cat snuck in and helped himself to some Parma ham last night. Came through to see us and was a very happy boy, licking his little chops. Sat by the fire and proceeded to drop some of the absolute worst farts I have ever smelled, stank the room up and then went home to his mum.

To be honest I think we should take 18 year olds, get them pissed and see how they behave. Violent asshole? No alcohol for you. People like to say they're "not themselves" when they drink, but in vino Veritas and all that. We're more us than at any point with a skinful in us.
 
I got absolutely soused last night after getting the best Christmas present ever - my brother revealed that him and his missus are having a baby next year. Came right out of the blue since he's my older brother and I'm no spring chicken, so I'd totally give up on him ever having kids!

Haha they've got so many tiring days and sleepless nights to look forward to, but I'm not going to spoil it for them. Right now it's just pure joy and celebration.

Now into getting sozzled round two, now with World's Strongest Man and turkey sandwiches. Might play buckaroo and game of life later.
 
I got absolutely soused last night after getting the best Christmas present ever - my brother revealed that him and his missus are having a baby next year. Came right out of the blue since he's my older brother and I'm no spring chicken, so I'd totally give up on him ever having kids!

Haha they've got so many tiring days and sleepless nights to look forward to, but I'm not going to spoil it for them. Right now it's just pure joy and celebration.

Now into getting sozzled round two, now with World's Strongest Man and turkey sandwiches. Might play buckaroo and game of life later.
Buckaroo is great,but do you remember that knock off, Ali Baba and his bucking camel? Someone knew exactly what they were doing with the name.
 
So, how's everyone's heads and stomachs today?? Managed to prise ourselves off the sofa yet?
Been better, but took in an afternoon of football in Cardiff.

Top of the league for Christmas but we were lucky today against a very poor Exeter City team.

Just about to watch True Grit with a mate at his house.
 
Sat by the fire and proceeded to drop some of the absolute worst farts I have ever smelled
Aren't they just. The other day my calico was on my lap asleep, I then sneezed and she ripped one that could be classed as a war gas and hid under the tree further polluting the room. She does the absolute worst ones from any other cat I've had, though she has been noted to eat her own vomit.

With that nastiness out of the way, I hope every Kiwi had a great Christmas.
 
In hilarity news the Blairs are apparently in full "shut it down!" mode.

Tony Blair believed his Labour government had defeated the threat of a breakup of the UK by delivering devolution to Wales and Scotland, newly released documents reveal.
Rejecting calls in 2004 for the then Welsh Assembly to have full law-making powers, he said voters in Wales and Scotland had "no appetite" for more powers and that his government had "lanced the boil of separatism".
The then prime minister made the comments during a significant government cabinet discussion on further devolution for Wales - the minutes of which have just been released.
Blair, who backed the setting up of the assembly in 1997, agreed with a proposal for limited law making powers for Cardiff Bay politicians.


https://archive.ph/o/A2sDY/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1w948q8533o
The UK government cabinet debate on more Welsh devolution, as proposed by the Richard Commission, has been unveiled in newly-released papers from the National Archives.
In 2004, a commission chaired by Labour peer Lord Ivor Richard made several recommendations including primary law-making powers for the assembly - but at the time there was significant Welsh Labour opposition to further devolution.
The Richard Commission was discussed by the UK government's cabinet in 10 Downing Street on 22 July 2004, with the meeting led by the then Secretary of States for Wales, Peter Hain, who outlined proposals for a more limited extension of powers.
Hain laid out some of the arguments against full primary law-making powers for Welsh assembly, saying: "There was no consensus in Wales for radical change. What Wales needed was better administration, not extra powers for the National Assembly.
"Many of those advocating legislative powers were doing so because they wanted to use such powers to slow down reform".
According to the minutes, Hain said the proposals in the commission were a "minimalist solution and the least worst available" if the UK government was to head off a severe split amongst its supporters in Wales.
Concluding the cabinet discussion on the issue, the note recorded Blair saying the cabinet had rejected the commission's "more far reaching proposals" of allowing Wales to make primary legislation.
"There was no appetite in Wales for a further referendum on devolution, and this provided a brake on such a radical change most people, both in Scotland and Wales, were satisfied with the devolution settlement, which had lanced the boil of separatism," he said.
"There were longer term questions around devolution, and in particular about getting a better alignment between spending powers and responsibility for raising the necessary taxation to which the cabinet would need to return to."
The minutes say the cabinet "took note" of Blair's summing up of the discussion.
On becoming prime minister in 1997, Tony Blair had committed New Labour to set up a 60-member Welsh assembly which would take over responsibility for a £7bn budget from the UK cabinet's Welsh secretary.
The National Assembly for Wales opened in 1999 and from the very start there was a big debate if the powers it had were sufficient, initially running day-to-day matters such as the NHS, education and councils.
Legislation was later passed in March 2006 to allow the assembly to make laws in areas in which it was responsible, provided it got permission from both Houses of Parliament.
That 2006 legislation included the option of full law-making powers for the assembly in devolved areas, provided it was backed in a referendum.
In March 2011, Welsh voters backed direct assembly law-making powers in a referendum by 63.5% to 36.5% on a turnout of 35.4%.

Analysis​

by Mark Palmer, Wales assistant editor
This is a significant internal UK Labour government cabinet discussion over the future of devolution in Wales.
Welsh issues rarely get a mention in these high level meetings at the centre of government - but this was different.
The then Welsh secretary had difficult job to do walking the tightrope in trying to keep Labour politicians happy at both ends of the M4.
The compromise which arose did not rule out Welsh full-making powers for ever – that happened in 2011.
But was Blair correct in saying he'd "lanced the boil of separatism"?
The arguments over independence for Wales and Scotland haven't gone away – Scotland of course had an independence referendum in 2014, and Plaid Cymru are currently vying for the lead in the opinion polls.
And another thing that hasn't gone away - differing views, sometimes fiercely expressed, within the Labour Party over whether powers should lie in Cardiff or London.
Original BBC headline
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Current state of the article on the BBC site
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London records fewest homicides in 2025 since records began


The main reason I've seen speculated is that it's due to the decline in younger people due to falling birth rates and less younger men (who are the most likely to engage in violence).

On this point, I know a lot of this board leans right wing a key part of the strategy of groups like reform is how immigration brings criminality. Do you think stats like this refute that argument in any way as London has become more non White and do you think leftists could exploit stats like this to counter that argument?
 
Do you think stats like this refute that argument in any way
No. I see an immediate problem with the endpoints. It's a short dataset, but it looks like a sinusoidal behaviour, with the record starting on a peak and ending in a trough. They've drawn a straight line from one to the other and called it a downward trend for political purposes, but that straight line doesn't remotely represent reality. The actual trend is probably close to flat. It would require a much longer record to be sure.

It's a bit of a distraction as well. The dissident claim is that criminality in general has risen, but the establishment counter-argument is always framed in terms of a subset of violent crime, which is further narrowed to only murders in this case. It's basically statistical manipulation. Very deceptive.
 
Strangely enough, only a 'late' vote in Carmarthen led to the creation of what is now 'The Senedd.'

For the past 25 years, it has been a total cancer and achieved nothing - whilst Alun Michael, Rhodri Morgan and Carwyn Jones were at least bearable the three stooges (Drakeford, Gething and Morgan) have been completely useless as 'leaders' and talk is that Morgan might go before the elections in May.

Interesting to read what Hain said to Blair - the Senedd was always going to morph into something which even they knew could be bad, and today the divide between Morgan and Starmer is palpable with a breakdown in relationships between the two.

Next year, 96 Senedd Members will be elected - the majority of them could well be from a party which doesn't even want the Senedd to be there.
 
No. I see an immediate problem with the endpoints. It's a short dataset, but it looks like a sinusoidal behaviour, with the record starting on a peak and ending in a trough. They've drawn a straight line from one to the other and called it a downward trend for political purposes, but that straight line doesn't remotely represent reality. The actual trend is probably close to flat. It would require a much longer record to be sure.

It's a bit of a distraction as well. The dissident claim is that criminality in general has risen, but the establishment counter-argument is always framed in terms of a subset of violent crime, which is further narrowed to only murders in this case. It's basically statistical manipulation. Very deceptive.
This makes me think of that IQ curve meme. You're on the high end, Im on the low end. We agree, but my logic is just "Well you can prove anything with statistics, innit?".

London doesn't feel safe. I don't think these sort of "look at the data" arguments really work on anyone. I mean, maybe I'm not worried about being litrully murdered on any given day, but stabbed and having my phone stolen? Yeah, that shit happens dozens of times a day all over. Focusing on very serious crimes like murder to mask a much increased level of lower level criminality seems like a pretty obvious ploy. As always, just ask who is collecting this data, how is presented and what motives might certain organisations have for it to "look good".
 
If murders are down in London it's because of the distribution of bleed kits and the improvement in treating stab wounds leading to more of them being survivable. No city ever got more peaceful as a result of an influx of degenerate barbarians.
 
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